SMACK! Media

The “Smackanistas” Eli and Morgan join Kristian Rauhala in New York City for a press tour to promote PEAR Sports and the launch of the Square One.

When Eli told me that we would be going to New York City to meet with the major health and fitness magazines and editors to introduce PEAR Sports with Co-CEO and Founder Kristian I was so excited about the assignment that I nearly forgot that it was also my first trip across the country. I’ve been working with several of these incredible people for almost a year and was looking forward to putting faces to the names. However, the full picture set in as Eli and I discussed outfits, weather and plans throughout the week–yes, the women of SMACK! were ready to drop the PEAR bomb on the big apple!

The trip itself was a very successful 48 hour whirlwind. We accomplished all of our plans and met with everyone we intended to including Eli’s family members (two brother-in-laws plus a twin brother), highlighting the SMACK! importance of true face to face PR even on a family level. Meeting with the magazine editors from Runner’s World, Health, More, Fitness, Men’s Journal, Shape and Self and watching Kristian present the Square One and Training Intelligence System was extremely gratifying for both of us as we have worked very closely with PEAR Sports from the initial development to launch, inclusive of branding, copywriting, web site development, photo shoots, packaging, social media and of course, PR. This truly was the Square One coming to life!

In between meetings, we power-walked through the streets of Manhattan resulting in plenty of accidental sightseeing: Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City Music Hall and The New York Stock Exchange. Kristian picked out a hip little hotel called The Time located in Times Square and in prime location for an evening of people and city watching. The red eye flight hit us hard and none of us stayed up past 11 pm in the city that supposedly never sleeps. This left us refreshed and energized for another round of power meetings the following day.

While my best memories are the learning experiences I had during the press tour meetings and an amazing lunch at Le Pain Quotidien in Bryant Park, Eli’s remains amazed at my constant consumption of huge black and white cookies and cupcakes! We both quadrupled our typical coffee intake during the trip and like true California girls, we couldn’t wait to slip back into our sneakers and yoga pants for the plane ride home back to our families and sunshine!

Yesterday was an adventurous day in Los Angeles shooting with SHEEX and Ironman World Champ Mirinda “Rinny” Carfrae.  Rinny was such a good sport as she had been sick all week, although no one would have noticed.  I met up with Rinny’s agent (and good friend), Shannon from PCH Sports and thank God, she drove, otherwise, I’m not sure I would have taken the risk of a long drive solo at 36 weeks pregnant.  Due to the rain, we settled at the Mondrian hotel in LA (great place, BTW) and took over a few nice suites in the hotel.

Rinny Rolling on SHEEX

We shot some LPGA players, NFL players and Rinny. The conversations about running between Steve Smith (NY Giants) and Rinny were great. Below are a couple highlights from the shoot:

Here’s Rinny rolling around on SHEEX.  Her funniest quote during this take was, “Oh, this isn’t awkward at all.”

RInny rolling in SHEEX

We then moved into another room and did some still photos.  Her smile is gorgeous. Don’t you agree?

Rinny posing for SHEEX still photos

While we were shooting, Rinny learned about how SHEEX was founded which went a little something like this: In 2007, Susan Walvius (then head women’s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina) and Michelle Marciniak (her assistant coach at the time) were sitting at the gym after a long day of coaching a summer camp.  Susan was exhausted and while looking down at her comfy running shorts said to Michelle, “I love this fabric, and I’d love to have bedsheets from this stuff.” Michelle said, “Let’s do it.” And with zero formal business experience, the two women stepped boldly into the world of entrepreneurship.  3 years later, they are days away from a national launch into Bed, Bath & Beyond!

It was fun to listen to Rinny and Michelle trade questions about basketball, triathlon and careers.  Michelle was a Final Four MVP as a member of the Lady Vols’ 1996 National Championship team coached by Pat Summitt.  She then played in the WNBA for the Portland Fire and Seattle Storm and went on to be an assistant coach for the USC women’s basketball team from 2003-2008.

Now to come full circle, Michelle is training for her first half-ironman this fall and although many people don’t know this, Rinny was actually a basketball stud in Australia before she began racing triathlon.  So you can imagine how fun the conversations were.  They each ask a question in these videos:

Rinny asks Michelle about her biggest challenge

Michelle asks Rinny about swim starts

Be on the lookout for Rinny’s face in upcoming SHEEX collateral and for more info on the product, visit www.sheex.com and if you’re interested in getting into some of these super cozy performance fabrics yourself, use promo code: “rinny” on the SHEEX web site to get her special deal.

And so begins my first blog post. While I’m not quite sure what the exact ‘blog strategy’ will be, I plan to just write and listen… and hopefully be able to enlighten and entertain simultaneously.

I launched Smack! Media in November of 2008 with a goal to work with companies on developing effective brand strategy and PR in the endurance sports and fitness market. It’s the industry I grew up in and one I’ve always been passionate about. Here’s one story why:

This photo is of me (and my twin brother to my left) having a meal with World Cup soccer players from Brazil in 1994. The guy to my right is “Dunga” and he was the team captain during the 1994 World Cup, and then went on to coach the Brazilian National Team from 2006- 2010. In fact, he and ”Branco,” the guy at the very left of the photo were 2 of the 3 players who scored the penalty shots in overtime to win the World Cup Championship game against Italy in 2004. The 3rd player was Romario but he didn’t make it out to this meal. My point in telling you this story is that I grew up around these type of personalities. And the most important lesson I learned is that they’re all ‘people like us,’ and yes, while they’re celebrities, they just want to be treated like human beings. I used to make a huge deal about them and my dad would say, “just be their friends and act normal around them.” And then he’d tell my older brother, “Hey, Pele is arriving at the airport in 2 hours. Go pick him up please,” as if it were just another buddy flying in from another continent. My time with the Brazilians and other soccer teams was a great one. I took them shopping, I brought their gear to their rooms and for one player (“Branco”), even helped him pick out a ring for his soon-to-be fiancé. I remember thinking, “Geez! I want a ring like that someday.” I learned a lot from interacting with the team and working with the Federation.

During one of our car trips to the stadium, I asked “Dunga” what his nickname meant and he told me it meant, “Dopey,” like in the seven dwarfs. For real, check out this Vanity Fair piece: http://ow.ly/4dd5c Case and point, he was a rockstar in my eyes, but spent an hour telling me about some of his childhood stories and his nickname…a conversation I will never forget. He was just like any other kid growing up ~ just happened to be good with a ball.

My greatest lesson learned here is that no matter how great technology is, there is no substitution for “real-time” experience, face to face communication, and looking at someone in the eye to really get to know them. I value relationships tremendously and I think you’ll agree that no matter how many Facebook friends you have, the real ones you cherish and keep forever are the ones you can trade childhood stories with and be by their side through some of the most memorable moments of their life. So get off your computer once in awhile and invite your

friends and even clients to have lunch, go for a run or even something random like go-carts, skydiving or an adventure race. You will learn a lot about that person and soon enough, uncover some very special relationships for life.

Just for fun…here is my World Cup ticket from 1994 autographed by the three players (Branco, Dunga, Romario) that scored the penalty kicks for the win. While the ticket is sweet and I’m sure has some value, the experiences and memories are much sweeter.