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“Shock the World” – Big Blue Did & You Can Too!

Michigan basketball just changed the game, rewrote history and won the school’s first title in 37 years. It’s a story of pain and resilience applicable for me and us all.

Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan's star celebrates with the Shock the World banner.
Yaxel Lendeborg, who didn’t have the grades for college back when, celebrates Shocking the World after the Finals win.

The Michigan Wolverines just wrapped up one of, if not the most dominant college basketball seasons in history, cutting the nets down in Indianapolis after beating the UConn Huskies in the Final 4, 69-63.

Despite a historically dominant regular season, Michigan lost it’s third game of the year, to a motivated Purdue game in the Big Ten Tournament Finals. Duke and Arizona became the hot, popular picks as champions.

Michigan took that loss to heart and went on a mission as the only team to score 90+ for 5 straight in the NCAA Tournament.

However, the UConn Huskies were hungry for a third title in four years. UConn hadn’t lost a final. That kind of experience is invaluable in crunch time, which was evident by all the close games they won in the tourney.

UConn had it’s way slowing down Michigan and muddying up the Final. No team had ever scored under 70, shot under 40%, shot under 15% on 15+ threes, gotten outrebounded and won.

0-50. Until Michigan did it last night, bringing it home despite the star player’s injury. Statistically, this Michigan team finished the season as the #2 team ALL-TIME in KenPom’s offensive and defensive efficiency ratings with an argument for most dominant – period(.)

______________________________

Personally reflecting: as a kid growing up, I loved playing basketball. I put in the work shoveling the driveway at night by myself in the cold dark winters of Michigan to get shots in. I went against the grain to the enemy Duke’s basketball camp twice around the 2001 championship, when Carlos Booker got stacked ((by the way, if you missed it: his sons were the tourney darlings going in to March Madness, featured on a commercial every break, leaving the tourney as the only #1 seed up 15 points at halftime out of 135 to blow the lead and lose. Cayden (the “other” twin) inexplicably turned the ball over before the 10 seconds ran out, as UConn’s Braylon Mullins hit a 35 footer in a finish no one will forget to advance to the Final 4)).

It’s crazy to think that at Michigan while I was there, we had former Duke star Tommy Amaker coaching a team with a bunch of notable talent that we’d see nearby walking around on campus. The team played well 3 of those 4 years but there were still ongoing sanctions in place for much of that stretch from the Ed Martin era sanctions tied to illegal gambling money and gifts going to players as loans, etc., which tainted 13 years of history, most famously the Fab Five team that lost to UNC in the Final because of the end-of-game timeout Chris Webber called that the team didn’t have.

I didn’t make it to Crisler for one game in college. Volleyball, hockey, baseball, women’s field hockey, softball, men’s and women’s soccer and each football game but not 1 for men’s basketball. The pulse was that low…

Then John Beilein arrived and restored hope, grit and spirit to the program. Everybody started showing back up.

I was there with my old roommates, classmates friends (and then some) in Atlanta at the 2013 Final 4, our first trip back since back when. A controversial Trey Burke block was called a foul and Louisville finished us off (although had to vacate the Championship for Pitino-era scandals of its own).

celebrating a semifinal win over Syracuse in the 2013 Final Four in Atlanta.
Celebrating a 2013 Final 4 semifinal win at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta over Syracuse.

We made it back to the ‘ship in 2018, but Villanova, who had the experience of winning it two years previous, took us down 79-62 to cut the nets.

Fab Fiver Juwan Howard took over coaching after Beilein went to try his hand at the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA, which didn’t last. Howard started hot and advanced to an Elite 8 in 2021, but he lost his cool on court and his teams faded to the lifeless 8-24 last place finish in 2024 and was shown the door.

Name Image and Likeness (NIL) became legal, players could now get paid and Howard cited not being able to keep up with the resources Michigan offered.

Star frontcourt player Tarris Reed transferred to UConn. Glue-guys Will Tschetter and Nimari Burnett stuck around, along with Jace Howard (Juwan’s son).

In came Dusty May, a former Indiana student manager under Bobby Knight, who made his way up the assistant ranks before getting a shot to lead at Florida Atlantic, leading the 9 seeded underdogs to an unheard of Final 4 and near championship appearance.

Michigan committed to upping resources available and with Champion’s Circle help behind the scenes (Michigan’s official Collective group, a small scrappy group of hard working folks I’ve gotten to know), May and staff mobilized quickly.

Michigan quickly fielded one of the quickest turnaround stories in history. But “we are all a bunch of outcasts” he said after finally smiling and cutting the net down back in Indy near where it started, bringing home Michigan’s first hoops championship since 1989. It’s true. Pretty much every guy had been counted out at some point, suffering anguish, lack of confidence and defeat.

May studied what the OKC Thunder did to go from doormat to dominant champ, stockpiling the right young guys. He met each player where they were at personality-wise and just asked them to be coachable and gritty. The team gelled, adjusted unlike any others at the half, went wild when walk-ons got stats at the end of historic blowouts. They just re-wrote the book on success in the NIL era, where fragmentation, the open transfer portal and dollars make continuity a challenge for everyone.

The “Fab 5” sat together on TNT’s altcast near courtside during the vaunted semifinal matchup against a dominant Arizona team that it dominated. They laughed, joked and carried on like it was 1993 all over again when they were going against the grain and changing the game, despite all the haters and doubters. 5 star combo guard Brandon McCoy committed to the Wolverines at halftime while talking the Fab 5 notably – what a moment.

Glen Rice held the “Shock the World” sign up when Michigan team last won in Seattle. Last night, 37 years worth of redemption songs came to fruition. But it’s not just the Fab 5 and ’26 champs that got redemption from the Martin scandals, it was everyone. All the players, the students, the parents, the fans – way too many to list.

Beyond that, it’s a story of hope when it feels like there isn’t much.

No one believes in you.

Your passive aggressive team thinks they can soullessly send you packing despite your loyal contributions. You got that email that you’re out, most recent casualty to a coding agent. Your elected officials have left you hanging, prioritizing themselves. Your family, partner or your health fails you. Whatever the (fill in the blank) reasons may be, it all feels hopeless. Why keep trying when the well is dry and it’s futile??

They don’t see or care that you’ve done the work, made the sacrifices and kept getting off the ground, pulling yourself up and back in motion.

“Those who stay will be champions.”

This is a story for you.

You can beat all the odds, reinvent yourself and become a champ in your own right too.

Go “Shock the World.”

celebrating the 2026 championship win
Celebrating the redemption story and 2026 Championship win with SLC Spirit Group friends and members.

New Book + Appointing Your Alter Ego for Life’s Challenges

Times are tough. Cue your Alter Ego to help you battle through life’s challenges!

Sometimes it just feels like life is headed to hell in handbasket.

I recently published my first book to help others like me chart a course to purpose, if they could use guidance redirecting without instilling radical change (check it out if you haven’t yet!).

Finding Your True North: A Calm Path to Purpose Without Burning Your Life Down. Designed to help people find purpose with built-in exercises.

It’s okay to not be okay. Recently, for me it’s all felt like it’s coming to a head. Personally and holistically it’s been one thing after the next. Externally, it feels like the rails are off and the train is speeding down the tracks to inevitable peril…

“Jolts” involving A.I. disruption, job losses, the Iran war, consumer goods prices, health, policies, debts, extreme weather, etc. are a few hot buttons that feel like they are forcing radical change. I would venture to guess that I am not alone feeling this way.

It’s almost like we haven’t had a “normal” year without daily shocks since 2019 pre-pandemic.

People need to develop coping mechanisms to help them get through life’s challenges. I’ve personally found helpful include: meditation / deep breathing, relaxing in the sauna or hot tub, experiencing nature, exploring somewhere new, exercise, blocking out the news and social media, focusing on projects and hobbies, therapy, journaling, gardening, talking with people (especially spending time in person), playing with kids and pets, escapism via sports, music, podcasts, shows or movies.

Immersion into reading is another favorite ticket away. I picked up The Alter Ego Effect and wanted to recommend it to you.

The author Todd Herman, trained by top mental health coaches and mentors, helps his clientele channel their most resonating character to transform into when duty calls. By going to a totem or artifact to flip on the switch, cueing your alter ego, you can take on the world and come out of it heroically.

Simple example, Sam grew up feeling underestimated on his smarts often breezed over in conversations, work, etc. He’s noticed in movies that those with glasses are often thought of us wise and respected for focus and intelligence. Even though his vision is perfect, Sam throws on his totem/artifact fake lenses to cue the “Professor,” and his mentality and then results change. He’s getting the respect and attention that he’s always yearned for and he feels like he has a new lease on life.

Whatever that symbolism equates to for you, it has to mean something special, motivating and compelling. Think superheroes, a specific animal or truly anything that innately sticks out as transformative difference-maker in your mind. You can keep it a secret too – don’t feel like you need to let others in on your alter ego.

There is a lot we cannot control in life. Normally we would choose to go into character for those traditional “moments of impact” – the big meeting, game, speech or challenge.

If those normal coping activities aren’t getting it done for you when anxious feelings pop up outside of your typical “moments of impact,” maybe it’s time to beam the Bat Signal!?

I would love to hear your takes!

The Silicon Slopes Tech Conference Didn’t Give Me Answers — It Gave Me Direction

Mark Cuban and Chris Klomp sparring on drug transparency issues

I didn’t leave last week’s Silicon Slopes with a tidy list of takeaways. I left with tension. And that mattered more.

Because when you’re building anything meaningful — a company, a career, a body of work — creation has a real cost. If there’s no friction, nothing new emerges. That idea threaded through nearly every conversation, keynote, and side hallway exchange I had over the week.

This wasn’t a conference about hype. It was about reckoning.

Tension Is the Point

One of the most grounding moments came during a deep‑breathing and reflection session led by Eric Espinosa of DeepLife. The prompt was simple and uncomfortable: What have you been carrying that’s holding you back — and are you ready to let it go?

I gave myself 48 hours after the conference to sit with that question. No productivity theater. No pretending I could out‑optimize it.

Just honesty.

Super hard in practice but that set the tone for everything else.

The Resume Is Dead. Values Aren’t.

We talked a lot about resumes — not as documents, but as signals.

Not titles. Not credentials.

Values. Behavior. Decision patterns.

The people who stood out weren’t optimizing for the next role. They were acting like the CEO of their own career — clear on what they stand for, how they work, and what kind of problems they’re willing to own. Author and LinkedIn editor Lorraine Lee spoke to this movement.

That framing is transformative. Especially now.

AI Isn’t Taking Jobs — It’s Exposing Them

There was no sugarcoating the AI conversation.

We’re in a 3–10× acceleration cycle for software change. Horizontally, there’s almost no defensibility anymore. Vertically — chips, semiconductors, infrastructure — everything is being reconstituted. The stock market collectively plummeted this week as a result of AI investments among FAANG companies and software was put on notice – if AI isn’t driving it forward.

A few things landed hard:

  • Salesforce was one of many stocks to slide this week but Salesforce Ventures’ Rob Keith detailed that its Agentforce augmentation service is already producing over $1 trillion and there’s more happened behind the scenes on the AI front.
  • Founders are becoming more technical again — not because they want to, but because learning velocity is the product.
  • Individual contributors who can think, build, and iterate are outpacing managers of process.
  • Product management as a standalone role is shrinking.
  • Customer success is becoming AI‑native.
  • CRM key functions are quickly being reinvented
  • Workforces will be half human, half agents — sooner than most companies are ready for. Right now you can build an agent-workforce to fill roles across the typical role spectrum for a cost fraction.
  • Humanoid robots in 5 years will be 95% there physically emulating movements.

“This year feels like the GPT‑3 moment — but for everything” (Ethan Choi, Khosla Ventures).

That’s not doom. It’s a filter.

Tools Are Table Stakes. Judgment Is the Edge.

Yes, we saw the tools:

  • Image‑to‑video workflows outperforming text‑to‑video.
  • Voice cloning and speech‑to‑speech becoming trivial.
  • AI music generation that’s already “good enough” King Willonius gave us a live demo on how he made music videos that have churned up massive virality.
  • Agent‑based coding environments changing how software is built.

But tools don’t win markets. Judgment does.

Domain understanding. Taste. Context. Ethics. Soft skills.

That’s the real defensibility now.

Soft Skills Are the Hard Advantage

Here’s the quiet truth that kept resurfacing: the more technical the world becomes, the more human the winners are.

  • Teaching your team how to talk about their work matters.
  • Storytelling isn’t fluff — it’s trust‑building.
  • Transparency plus aligned self‑interest is credibility.
  • Sales isn’t manipulation. It’s clarity.

You don’t get to opt out of selling — your ideas, your vision, or yourself.

And authenticity isn’t aesthetic. It’s operational.

Doing Well by Doing Good Isn’t Optional Anymore

Some of the most powerful conversations centered on healthcare, transparency, and human suffering. Mark Cuban of Costplusdrugs.com battled Chris Klomp, Director of Medicare on this principle and stage.

65% of people live with a chronic condition.

Healthcare remains the #1 cause of bankruptcy.

Pricing opacity is morally offensive and brought on by big insurance.

And yet — we now have the tools to fix parts of this system in days, not decades.

Not because it’s profitable.

Because it’s necessary.

Help human suffering. Help one another. Do well by doing good.

That wasn’t a slogan. It was a challenge.

So Where I Landed

Silicon Slopes didn’t make me more certain.

It made me more clear.

Clear that:

  • Speed matters, but direction matters more.
  • Specialists will struggle. Integrators will thrive.
  • Learning velocity beats pedigree.
  • Building things — and selling them — is still the path.
  • The future belongs to people who can learn, connect, and serve. There were so many great vendors and individuals represented who were trying to live that Silicon Slopes motto. Highlighting one in Keep the Adventure Alive for those battling arthritis.

And clear that the work ahead isn’t about chasing trends.

It’s about choosing problems worth solving — and having the courage to stay with the tension long enough for something real to emerge.

If any of this resonates — if you’re building, re‑building, or re‑thinking where you’re headed — I’m always open to thoughtful conversations. Not pitches. Not noise.

Just real work, done with intention.

Singapore Sling to the Philippines

Our Southeast Asian travels continued, this time to Singapore then the Philippines. We got to experience manmade and natural wonders and cuisine, learning a lot about the cultures in the process.

Calabawan Falls

After the safari of a lifetime visiting Borneo’s unique species’, we shipped off from Sandakan to Singapore via Malaysia Air, connecting first in Kuala Lumpur (the only connection while in Southeast Asia for us). We quickly spent the last of our Ringgits on a bottle of wine and some duty-free candy and in just over an hour in the air, we were in the fascinating island city-state of Singapore.

Changi Airport is the top-rated airport in the world. It’s expansive, has so many designer stores, gardens, aquariums and fountains (including Jewel Changi with a waterfall) and entertainment. Asian airports have shown how efficient travel can be, not to mention the amenities.

Knowing Singapore is one of the most expensive places in the world, we went budget on accommodations. We ended up at Hotel Fuji in Geylang, once a thriving red-light district (Singapore’s stance on sex workers, like its stance on most in the non-super-wealthy demographic, is SUPER exploitative to say the least). We got a cuisine recommendation from our Uber driver, who speaks excellent English like most in Singapore. It was a seafood market lit up like a mini Vegas and the menu featured all kinds of interesting novelties. Frog leg porridge was a suggested favorite here. Crab is a top specialty of the Singapore dining scene, which has many curated, immersive, multi-course elaborate experiences. I ended up trying the grilled frogs legs and crispy short-ribs (I enjoyed the latter more, but fried makes everything taste better). The area was walkable but every we went into a bar, many of which had karaoke vibes, as the underground gambling dens and beauty shop discreet sex workers were pretty strictly getting squashed out (and it felt like they were still . Lots of funny looks and not so welcoming vibes.

Singapore is one of the most meticulously clean, landscaped and managed places you’ll find in the world. It is also known for the strictest laws to keep the place clean in all the ways it perceives it can. We had a mad scramble to finish our gum before arriving and learned a lot about the hundreds of laws from the local drivers (many of which are doing it was a second job because it’s so expensive to live there, the locals have subsidized shoebox houses and shop in nearby Malaysia). Not only is chewing and spitting out gum a crime that can lead to caning, but so jaywalking, staying out drinking past 10pm with 3+ people, being naked in your house, and so many more things. Most laws are designed to keep the locals in line without wavering, catering to the rich finance moguls, visitors and expats. Cameras are everywhere, and you can get arrested typically 4-6 hours after a violation and sent to prison. It felt very dystopian (remember reading The Giver?).

We set out to experience Singapore’s top sites, including Chinatown, Gardens by the Sea and Singapore Botanic Gardens. We saw another ornate temple requiring shoes off and conservative dress to enter. Just outside on the market street in Chinatown, we tried the famous Singapore Sling cocktail (all the Brits will point you to Raffles Hotel for the very expensive original). We meandered, watched some chess with an audience and looked through the vendor goodies. The Botanic Gardens was this magnificently catered park curated with so many different species and garden zones with science labs cloning species in the middle of it all. We met a few pretty birds and nice big monitors and skink lizards while enjoying the beautiful curated surroundings.

The Gardens by the Bay was a paid attraction with electric towers lined with plants, and we paid to take in two top attractions: Cloud Forest and Flower Dome. Flower Dome was an indoor garden with plant species from all over the world organized in different zones made to feel like you were globe-trotting.

Cloud Forest was another indoor garden and jungle Jurassic Park animatronic immersive experience. These domed areas with clear glass provided views of the harbor and a lot of lessons about the various featured species. We especially enjoyed this experience, loving dinosaurs, the movies and nature like we do.

We capped it off in the largest skewered meat market imaginable and trying to catch a light show on the harbor (later realizing it was only at the ship in the sky-looking Marina Bay Sands Singapore hotel). They tried to charge $90 for 2 cocktails at this rooftop bar, luckily I talked them down a bit on that!

36 hours after arriving, we were happy to be taking off on Singapore Air (another amazing regional airline) for our last big leg. Just about four hours later we made it to Cebu in the Philippines. The Philippines are home to 7,641 islands, and only about 2,000 of which are inhabited. This reefy, volcanic splash of paradise hit me when flying in as I watched the islands stack up.

My grandfather fought in the 503rd/101st Airborne Infantry, the only regiment in the Pacific for World War II. My cousin’s husband (also on my dad’s side) Stephen Greene was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam in the same regiment and recently shared his newsletters about the stories.

“Grandpa” shared very little to my dad or us about those days, although famously would not eat monkey again and hated rice. We were told he was shot in the butt and that he won a Purple Heart and Silver Star and later learned he had some notable machismo adventures while based in Australia (ie. nighttime non-sanctioned jumps, fights with the Marines). I read about the battles he fighted in Leyte, nextdoor to Cebu, Mindano and Corregidor. Corregidor sits in Manilla Bay (near the Japanese taken Manila base), is known as “the Rock” and hosted one of the most infamous battles in American war history based on being the most difficult technical landing of a parachute troop drop historically, the casualty rates and multi-day siege that took place.

Connecting with my grandfather’s story resonated as we dropped into Cebu City the main city in the Central Visayas (3.4 million inhabitants span the 167 islands included in this central Philippine zone known for the greatest biodiversity, hence our visit). We were warned about civil wars ongoing in Mindanao and heard that Manila is very dirty and overpopulated, so they were avoided.

We stayed in Lapu-Lapu City nearby at the Blue Maribago Beach Resort, 15 minutes from the airport where a local opportunistic man picked us up in place of a Grab, ended up paying him in cash (a bit more than the going rate to help with his family mentioned as he was very nice, opportunistic and accommodating).

It didn’t take long before the Philippine spirit shined through via most of the people we met. Our room was upgraded to beachside by the staff, all of which would smile, put hand on heart and say good morning, afternoon or evening when walking by. The villa overlooked the sandbar island and lagoon beach in front of us. The room was spectacular and spacious, we were a within a short walk from hammocks, this amazing exotic seafood buffet and restaurant, another with a bar on the water, and beach-themed lagoon pools. There was live music, a thrilling fire-dancing show and beach service to the canopies. Food specialties were noodles or rice as a base, steamed veggies, all types of seafood, served all kinds of different ways, fried chicken and crispy pork dishes, along with different tropical fruits and veggies.

Our 3am departure and full-day tour was both of our top highlight of the entire trip. A driver brought us hours away to the southwest coast of the island to Oslob. We geared up and got herded out to the water, where the locals were attracting whale sharks with treats, the largest species of shark (harmless spotted filter-feeders). Soon, we were in the water getting brushed by these massive gentle giants (the rules were no sunscreen as it negatively affects them and don’t touch). While many were juveniles, the sheer beauty and magnificence of these ~25 foot wonders was incredible first-hand underwater, and I was lucky to capture our moments together on my GoPro.

Calabawan Falls awaited us, a jungle paradise and hike into a series of waterfalls. Rain closed another epic set of falls for flooding, and made the hike slippery – luckily we had the most attentive, happy, strong, agile barefooted young 5 foot tall local guide and photographer. The cliff diving and abseiling down waterfalls was incredible, as was the sheer beauty of the dense jungle surroundings. We capped it off with a fresh, hot meal on the coast, seeing the ruins from the latest cyclone two years removed.

We had a self-care day to make the missus happy, featuring facials, mani-pedis and a new hair-styling – all at less than the cost of one premium service here. We got to wander around locally, amidst the locals and their markets out of their houses, little stores, rickshaws, basketball courts and motobikes and scooters (2nd world feel to the place). The locals talked of the government corruption, which left road construction projects constant, slow and under-resourced. Our last night brought a wicked tropical thunderstorm, which was quite an experience.

I grabbed a Philippino-pained long ukulele to think back to my days looking at the sky-blue water and green island foliage of the islands. Sadly, soon after we got back, Cebu got hit by a 6.9 earthquake and cyclones, killing over 70 with massive impact on the locals. This volcanic hotbed can’t rest from tectonic movements.

Overall, this was the most inexpensive place we visited (felt it to be ~20% what we’re used to paying financially). The people were also the most happy, genuine, friendly, service-oriented wonderful folks. We would highly encourage others to visit, support the people and see what it’s all about. We will be back and our minds stay relaxed picturing the Filipino landscapes and mindset when in a peaceful state.

After a Taipei night for stop-over, we were riding the jet stream winds on a 10 (down from 14) hour flight back stateside to Seattle, asked a few Customs questions about my guitar (not a gun) and were officially back stateside. Back to the wild ride of emotions, big box stores and Americana, and still thinking about prospects of living and traveling around these wonders of Southeast Asia.

These majestic creatures are peaceful and very special
Swimming with whale sharks

Malaysian Wonders

This blog reflects on the wonders of Malaysia, sleeping giant, Muslim mecca with thick jungles, temples and 20% of the world’s species. It details our adventures exploring these wonders and getting to know the creatures.

After about 52 hours in Taiwan, we caught a midnight five hour Air Asia flight across the South China Sea to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Like Taiwan, Malaysia is an energy, resource-rich hotbed for wildlife that is affordable and another expat favorite for so many reasons.

AirAsia is on the economy side, but it was comfortable enough and who’s site and app were notably easy to use, even with flight changes. Uber isn’t currently in Malaysia, but there’s a few others that are similar, Grab being one I latched onto for rides for this trip. I learned the hard way from a driver that you have to match baggages with ride option and once I upgraded, it was a long hour+ drive to the central commercial zone of KL.

We got to our “hotel” and were greeting by armed guards in stand out front that gruffly let us through when we showed authorization of staying at The Manor KLCC. We went up a floor to a small hotel check-in place, realizing this place was more like executive residences than a true hotel. We paid a fee to check-in early and luckily could collapse in our unit, which felt like a luxury 1B condo overlooking the expansively growing skyline of KL, including Merkeda Tower (2nd tallest building in the world) and Petronas Towers (largest dual-connected towers in the world).

After a few hours of sleep, I set out to get a few essentials including an outlet converter as Malaysia has a different plug than ours unlike Taiwan. Malaysia is a highly Muslim country, which is evident by all the birkas on the flight, middle-eastern / conservatives appearances walking around, and the dichotomy of old world and all this new, modern construction and high fashion was fascinating.

Downtown KL has a ton of shopping and malls and the nearest grocery store was about a 25 minute hike away, past other executive residences.
I hit a food court in the mall and was lost trying to figure out breakfast options, went with what looked like the most similar and found myself trying to figure out what I got handed a hot water heater for boiling eggs with my toast and sandwich. I was able to finally figure out how to get a few staples, electric plug converter included to save the day. We learned that Malaysian food is like an Indian / Thai / Middle-Eastern collaboration, often quite spicy and there are markets dispersed for it around town. We tiptoed around it with some Thai and shwarma-like middle-eastern options.

The WOW moment downtown came at our rooftop pool – a stunning, relaxing experience to take in the sights all around.

After a day of adjusting, where we ordered in, our tour adventures continued starting with a visit to the legendary Batu Caves. We met our first Asian monkeys, who were very socialized and used to the many tourists, often opportunistically stealing bags for food jackpots and waters. We walked past the golden Lord Murugan Statue and up the stairs, where Alli was shift-grabbed by a monkey while trying to take a selfie. At the bottom and into the caves were these picturesque, colorful holy temples. Breathtaking to take it in and we had to grab a few souvenir gifts.

We stopped at a hand-painted shirt factory en route up north an hour and a half into the dense jungle for an epic elephant sanctuary visit. When offered the chance to bathe and feed young elephants as part of a private tour, we took it and didn’t regret getting soaked for the experience. Gandah, the only sanctuary-born elephant of the 40 in residence was a sweetheart. All of the gentle giants were there for injury or infringement on town areas and relocated for protection. We got to pet, feed and get to know about 8 elephants, who were eager for treats.

Off we left to fly out from there from the western peninsula to the island of Borneo, home to Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysian territory. At the KL airport, we had to pay to upgrade bag coverage past the tiny allowance. The domestic flight terminal was tight and cramped and I felt bad for the quiet, unassuming line of 15 short Muslim girls who got jumped by many others to get through the gate. Between there and the pool, where they could dip feet in only, the gender disparity gap seemed pretty wide and unfair, but not my place to judge.

We arrived in Sandakan in the state of Sabah on the northeast corner of Malaysian Borneo, caught some quick winks and were picked up for our all-included tour to experience the heart of where 20% of the world’s species reside. First stop nearby was the Orangutan Conservation & Rehabilitation Center. Orangutans are down in numbers to just over 100k and live on two islands, here and Sumatra. In this swampy, sticky jungle, organutans are fed and the sick cared for. They are free to go and the food is not what they’d consider top shelf, and they often have to fight off the local macaque clans to get it, which was fascinating to watch, along with the mom with baby and other cute, flexible, swinging relatives.

Nextdoor was a Sun Bear Conservatory, another fascinating animal nearing endangerment, who are secretive without much known about them. These guys are the smallest and most vulnerable of the bear species. We saw these little around 8 of these brown-faced critters munching on vegetation shared happily, including sitting up knawing on carrots. We saw a resource fight between two, which featured high-pitched squeals and screams and some chasing that felt more akin to badgers than bears.

From there, we drove to Sim Sim Jetty, a Chinese coastal neighborhood in the community, which featured some large Amazon pet fish and all kinds of beautiful potted plants lining this dock. Off we went staring at the mountains that fed into this coastal community with a scenic mountain island and speedboat ride sending us ripping our way an hour and a half into rivers with thick mangroves and trees lining the shore. En route, we spotted a large ~13 foot saltwater croc sunning on shore (the first I have seen!).

Our first river lodge (Kinabitu ?) had a lot of character, cozy cabins with AC and a fan, which helped in the sticky humidity. I appreciated getting to walk the labeled boardwalks trying to spot creatures, including at night with a headlamp, seeing tree frogs, spiders a lantern bug and more. At dawn and near dusk, we set out on our skiff to seek out wildlife near the shore at peak times to catch there. Our guide Lat knew so much about the species and both he and the driver were able to spot animals while moving fast, while also coordinating with other tour guides. The government protects the area with the help of tourist taxes, and it shows as the animals show little worry about nearby gawkers.

We quickly spotted Borneo-specific harems of Proboscis Monkeys, featuring an alpha and the mates and offspring. The pot-belied males feature the giant, long floppy noses and despite their figure, can launch themselves from tree to tree. The females have smaller, pointy noses. Reading Ancestor’s Tale, it details the divergence of humans down the line of primates and the Probiscus are a nearer relative not far off from the split from orangutans ~13 million years ago. Easy to see the resemblance, really started at you and sat there picking and eating leaves and you could confuse with people without too much imagination. We enjoyed watching babies doing acrobatics and bachelor groups as well.

Easy to enjoy the beauty of the river and sunsets, river inlets and quiet lakes off the main river and at dusk, the fireflies lighting up around a few trees and calls of the wild all around.

The lodge offered great fresh-cooked delicious meals featuring steamed veggies, rice, noodles, fish, shrimp, fried wontons, and delicious local fruits and tasty deserts. There was a special night that we all wore the native Sarongs and enjoyed a meal with local women old and young playing soothing music with their instruments.

At this point, we were seeing a number of sub-species of Horned Bills, one of the few species that picks and stays with a partner for life. We saw a pair of grey langurs, one grooming the other. In a palm tree at the second lodge, a staffer pointed to a flying lemur that was probably nearly 4 feet long, waiting for the chance to soar when night fell. We were seeing so many macaques that they were becoming pedestrian. At the second lodge, they gave us sticks to beat them off as they are known to go after bags for food. Alli stayed in the pool when everyone else went to lunch and the pack jumped right in, partying like it was spring break – hilarious!

On the reptile front, there was an emerald green pit viper sitting in the same spot daily near the kitchen with a lump of a catch from recently, fascinating to see it sitting in the bush like a stick a few feet away. We saw numerous skinks and geckos and were lucky enough to watch another nearly 10 foot croc from close before he spooked, snapped and leapt in the water.

What really made this incredible experience all the more special was that on the way back, the 1st lodge reported an orgunutan visiting, and we were able to zip back and watch him in the canopy near our breakfast spot the previous day. Part of the group instead followed a pygmy elephant, who came to the riverbank. As we waived at the staff sending us off and zipped past the floating bottles with fish flying off the wake, looking at the islands of the coast, we just smiled having experienced a truly incredible part of the world. I hope gets the protection it needs to stay that way.

Taiwan – Hidden Lion & Gem

Taiwan is not what you may think. This place is an incredible infusion of old ways and progressive living, lined with national parks, vibrant night markets and more.

Delta’s flights, which we connected in Seattle with a manageable layover with 3 separate Skyclub visits en route. I was lucky enough to be sitting behind a Michigan grad from Ann Arbor flying to China with his folks and we split the $40 internet fee to watch UM / OU (even though they announced that internet wasn’t available for the flight, this feed came through with regular manual refreshes).

Once we finally figured out our Arrival Cards and how to get out of the airport, we were eager to get to our hotel, the Miramar Gardens Taipei for some rest and adjustment to the 13 hour time difference. Luckily, Uber served Taiwan and we had about an hour ride to get to the Zhongshang District in the heart of the city. We found this to be a very nice, comfortable, convenient choice and cool neighborhood to explore. Highlight was the “Japanese Style” spa (read: had to sign-off on being naked to utilize the hot and cold tubs, steam & sauna rooms, etc. It was a very relaxing and soothing experience. The outdoor pool area with lounges was also very relaxing and appreciated, as was the bidet with all kinds of settings (we got quite used to having these regularly).

Taiwan is known for having a leading amount of convenience stores and the trip to my nearby 7-11 turned out interestingly. We brought a lot of snacks but I wanted to supplement a few meal with finds from there and what I got was not what I expected upon picking. Instead of cheese, I got an egg product another weird protein product that was like tofu, beef gizzards, sparkling wine in a can with bobas (they also invented Boba/Bubble Tea), crab flavored corn nut like and other chip-like things.

Another local staple is beef noodles and I tried it nearby and enjoyed the pho-like dish (although wasn’t willing to wait outside this famous noodle house and found another I could get served quickly). The Liaoning Street Market was a short walk away and fun to walk the streets seeing what the locals were dishing out and feeding folks. Visiting the night markets is a must in Taipei as they’re buzzing with energy and interesting vendor finds. We also checked out Raoshe, which was much bigger and more action-packed. Nextdoor was a fabulous 300 year old temple with a ton of intricate special details in the design.

We opted for a few photos out front and not the ride up what was the world’s tallest building in Taipei 101. Notably, Taipei despite being a top population dense city also felt green and sustainable with lots of parks.

The biggest highlights came via our private Viator custom tour, of which we had the best, most engaging guide in “Nicolas” (after Cage, who along with other Hollywood movie stars taught him his great English)., who left a career in business for the flexibility and change of pace in providing special tours. Despite his Lakers hat (sensitive subject with me historically), Nicolas connected well with both of us – he loved his baseball (following Taiwanese stars especially), the NBA and playing badminton regularly.

He taught us a lot about the culture while taking us to the Houtong “Cat Village”, an old coal mining town turned tourist attraction with community cats and related local ties. He also took us to Yangmingshan National Park, a mountainous volcanic forest with geysers and hot springs that fed right down into the north side of Taipei. One hot spring pool had a small temple to honor the ghosts of residents with no families. Volcano Island appeared off the rocky north shores of the island. We saw a big Formosan Rock (or Taiwanese) Macaque on a fence near the road, several skinks and an egret. For $34, we had an upscale 90 minute private spa soak room with a hot and cold tub piping mineral water.

Taiwan has a number of other national parks including Turtle Island, named after it’s appearance of a partially submerged turtle. It’s temperate semi-tropical climate make it a very comfortable place and its easy to see how why it’s a surging place for expats.

Lions are a key symbol for Taiwan, known for warding off spirits, being brave and courageous and lucky. We had good luck exploring this special place and think you would too.

First Asia Trip: Holistic Reflections

Travel adventures across Southeast Asia: introduction to our journeys.

Not too long ago, I set a goal of visiting a new country yearly and other new places along with it if going abroad isn’t in the cards. When I caught a flash deal via SLC’s newest international direct flight to Seoul for around $700-something, I jumped on it…that is until another flash deal for 36k Skymiles (Delta “Main”) popped up and I made the switch. I can’t even get to Chicago for that, no brainer! The timing was off-peak in September once school and fall slate begins (would prefer summer but I follow the deal!).

I talked to my world traveling friends about potential itineraries and reached out to the family travel agent that helped us with a Viking cruise for tour options and prices. I realized that we had to whittle down our list significantly and that the tours were a whole lot more for an area that I thought was supposed to be more on the affordable side.

We opted to visit countries that Alli, my wife, hadn’t yet and to save the China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam and opted for southeast Asia. I took the top recommendations and tours and started reverse engineering, looking for as many direct flights as possible, adding tours via Viator, tracking and booking flights and hotels in centralized, accessible areas via Expedia (which had the highest Rakuten rebate %). We did choose to keep one tour that had a lot of components in Borneo, having to pre-pay to hold it as spots and date availability was limited and we planned around that in the middle of the two book-end flights. Doing so allowed savings of ~50% from the tour packages.

I’m going to reflect on each stop separately, but what resulted was an amazing trek of adventures prioritizing visiting exotic animals in their mostly native locales while still possible. It was designed to be a combination of cities, cultures, tours and downtime for personal activity choices.

We purposely didn’t try to come off as Americans, yet didn’t hide it when it came up in conversation and had a lot to dispel in a tense global political situation to say the least. In fact, there was a shooting involving a political zealot in Utah while we were there, which put us on the map in the wrong way. Hard to ignore the flare-ups happening despite our wishes of international immersion…

Not surprisingly, we ran into a ton of Brits as we visited many former British colonies. They always seems have a nearly unlimited amount of “holiday” time for vacations and a dry sense of humor about things. Often, there was just enough English and signs able to be picked up to get around and some accents were tough to work with.

All-in-all, it turned out to be 10 flights, 4 separate islands, 1 peninsula and ~ 3 days between places. The airports were cleaner, more efficient and effective to navigate through. Each new country required an Arrival Card submitted beforehand in place of needing visas. Weight more often than number of bags was the limitation (usually ~25 kilos per international flight). Once for a domestic flight we had to pay for more baggage. We tightly rolled and bagged clothes and should have opted for doing laundry vs. bringing enough to last as we had some bags breaking down and it always took awhile to re-pack.

It helped to convert cash into native currencies at my bank before going. We found that bigger businesses took credit cards but “mom and pops” shops were cash only. This happens to be the low point for the $ in a long time, but most places were still affordable at ranges.

Unforgettable memories resulted from a trip of a lifetime celebrating an anniversary and birthdays – stay tuned for the individual location breakdowns!

The Next Life Chapter: No Pain No Game

Shutting a door with a bang and opening a new one going into 40.

I was embarking on a monumental life chapter on paper. A confluence of factors had me push myself on my New Year’s Resolution going into my turn going “over the hill.” I set out to step up and make it a transformative turn and it sure proved itself as the most difficult, challenging stretch of my life.

Immediately after the Cuba trip in mid-June, I tore the achilles lunging playing pickleball for the first time. It felt like a weight dropped on the back of my leg and I immediately felt a pop, yelled and looked around for someone that kicked me. I’m lucky it didn’t happen before the trip as it well could’ve. Sad moment for a proud athlete who prides himself in skiing 50+ days a year and never getting a real injury to date.

After limping around doing yard work hoping it was maybe a high ankle sprain, icing and sleeping on it hoping the issue would subside, I was proven wrong: this turns into a key metaphor for life and the moment. I woke up, the swelling moved down my league and bruising of the “cankle” was significant. A little Googling had me worried for the worst – a torn achilles. Urgent care got me a quick MRI that I ultimately didn’t need, but it showed a clear rupture. Because I got in early to my doctor, I got the option to not do surgery and just do physical therapy. Doing the research (re-injury rate is 3x less via surgery ) and my father-in-law felt like his ankle came back stronger after surgery and I flipped.

A friend recommended the new “speed bridge” surgery that Aaron Rodgers famously came back from, but that wasn’t readily available locally. I (half) jokingly had my screened and validated OSU grad doctor mark the correct leg to operate on to avoid the accidental procedure on the wrong leg. Luckily the surgery went well, I was wheeled home and fighting the pains trying to minimize the opioids for recovery as much as possible. In short, I’m very thankful for all the help from my father in law Peter, who pushed me to stay on regiment to the exact rep, not put weight on it and helped with chores. I can thank U of Utah’s Dr. Dave Carter (PhD. in achilles recovery), who Peter swore by, Peter and my wife for the support. I hit a flooring low point hope-wise early on knowing my summer and fall were shot, but I was focused on skiing come winter and I sucked it up, worked hard on my PT, hit the weight room hard to build the strength (and then some) and somehow in just under 6 months, worked my way back on the mountain and wrapped up a ski season skiing 54 days and nearly 800k vertical feet. To date, it’s no Rodgers story of non-field heroics, but I’ve just passed a year since surgery (about the date you can said to be recovered) and I’ve had no setbacks aside from sporting a purple, scarred bulge and the humbling life moment escapade that came with it.

A lot of mental work also brought me to forcing myself to step up, realize my needs and what I believe in and take a stand instead of quietly taking the easy way out. Just like hobbling on a leg I knew in my gut was shot and possibly extending the damage and thinking I could “sleep it off,” I had a tendency to internalize. What do I believe in? What breaks the code?

I needed to learn a key lesson when it comes to self-actualization and speak up for what and whom I believe in. Over the course of the year, I transparently called out my closest friends, family and coworkers. I stated my piece instead of allowing the status quo or playing both sides and it led to a ton of pain, heartache and feeling alone with a number of my closest relationships feeling very much in limbo.

I forced myself to start instituting and enforcing boundaries. I’ve realized that you can only control yourself and that people won’t change unless they are open to it. This is a work in progress. The truth is that many of those relationships will never be the same, people come and go and show their true colors. ‘Tis life – stay true.

The world has drastically changed dramatically politically, economically and socially. Many are feeling hopeless and forgotten and it’s easy to get sucked into deep despair following the news: I sure did. It’s ok to not be ok, just know what outlets are available.

While/when it may seem hopeless on a macro scale, it’s okay to tune out and focus on the micro. I just read “Go-Giver” and “Infinite Game” in my summer hammock. I’m a firm believer that karma is real, providing “glimmer” moments – small periods of joy and striving to find ways to give back can help lift spirits. Those can include dropping messages of goodwill, making random people laugh, compliments, gifts, giving time or feedback (transparent) pay dividends in “life purpose equity.”

Give and live! Take stock in what you have with gratitude and not the social comparisons – what a decade and chapter. Stand up for yourself and what you believe in.

You may feel ripped to shreds and alone in the world, but work the process and come out of it a new person; epic comeback story in the making.

Cuba Libre (Reflections from my 2nd Visit)

Cuba is open for business! Yes, still (despite what you may think, Americans). Sadly, since Obama opened the gates to American tourists to come visit again, his successor and even Biden since haven’t helped matters and the new cruise infrastructure that millions was dumped into sits empty and tourist visits have trickled, but that didn’t stop us.

Alli, my wife wasn’t happy that I went to Cuba without her and had been dying to return, this time with close friends of ours known for globe-trotting in Andy and Lisa. We connected in Miami (one of 3 U.S. cities you can enter from), got our tourist visa at the airport for $100, reason for the visit being to support the Cuban people.

After waiting for an extra 25 minutes on the side, while sweating for being overdressed for the tropics, to clear customs (they had some fun with me for a blurry initial photo). Then like that, we were cruising down the scenic seaside Malecon past the occassionally updated ruins to our casa in Habana Vieja.

This trip, we were much more centralized to the action then last time, when we stayed in Central Havana in a busy, noisy neighborhood (still walkable – just much less centralized). Within a 10 minute walk was the waterfront and view of the old fort and all the historic sights of Habana Vieja, tons of bars and restaurants competing for your business via English-speaking street help ($10-15/per gets you an amazing meal with a drink or two and live musicians playing for you). The “real (ie. local) downtown,” Central Havana was also closely connected as was the government center and fancy classic car tours waiting to show you around anywhere for $1.

Highlights were rooftop dining with city and water/fort views and watching a Afro/Cuban parade (orisha / Santeria) with procession dancing by on stilts, having the famous cocktails at the original source of the rum (aged rum tastes like good scotch), mojito and daiquiri with the likes of the statue (and spirit?) of Hemingway, all the food and musicians and the sheer beauty of the old ruins, city parks including a Gaudi Park Guell-like porcelain creation and restored historic grandeur.

Having experienced the vibrancy of Havana nights (and days), I was most excited about the chance to get out of the city and experience the countryside, beaches and towns. Luckily, as part of our 8 day tour, we had 4 nights and an extra day to sightsee across the largest island in the Caribbean. Highlights included: exploring the West Cuba mountains and caves by boat and a special Cuban cigar farm and tour (here’s how they do it), visiting the endangered Cuban Crocs at the Zapata Swampswimming in the legendary reefs around the Bay of Pigs and Fish Cave cenote, learning about the war history around the Bay of Pigs at the Garon Museum (years of civil war of which we unsuccessfully intervened) and popping through the old colorful colonial French town of Cienfuegos.

For this pirate-aficionado, I especially enjoyed the Caribbean town of Trinidad. Trinidad’s ancient streets are cobblestone and labyrinth, to mitigate pirate invasions back when. The history was rich and thick in and around the town square. We were served seafood and cocktails under cabanas on the rustic beach and the town was the birthplace to the famous “Canchancharra” medicinal cocktails (Black Tears rum, honey and a spritz of bubble water and lime). We returned from the beach to an extended rolling blackout, but found our way back to the town square where the owner of a new place recruited us to at the beach, where we found Cuba’s top singing talent (who could sing Adele in Italian, English and Spanish with soul) and a tropical storm around sunset under a roof with mountain, see and town views for many miles. We finished the night watching the tropical sky light up with lightning flashes in the distance from the roof of our place and trying to grab a few winks with no air conditioning.

The mountain pass we went through heading north was scenic and we stopped in a sugar cane factory en route to Santa Clara, where we took in famous communist revolutionary Che Guevarra’s monument while learning more about his contributions in the fight to bring education (he had a doctorate himself) and a reprieve from poverty and indentured servitude to the masses. The Che and revolutionary themes are everywhere in Cuba, despite the fact that he had a falling out with Fidel before he was assassinated in Bolivia.

We concluded our trip in the best possible way – relaxation in the beach peninsula paradise of Veradero off the straights of Florida (Atlantic side). The fine white sand beach was clear and waters crystal blue – much like the Florida panhandle beaches. We stayed a block from the beach, rented cabanas for $1 for the day, refreshed with 80 cent pina coladas and $3 burger lunches, popped by the Beatles Bar, and had nice sunset dinners after driving the strip in a convertible or horse-drawn buggy. It was very relaxing and a worthy Cuban send-off.

Cuba is a very mis-understood place. A friend was jailed for weeks there back in the day for putting up posters promoting a gay party. Beware as there is no extradition. When we asked our guide about facts, the answers were all over the place (ie. unemployment rates) and talking government policy is taboo. Today, it’s unsure of itself and who it wants to be, with a more active black market environment – elements of our market-driven economies and small businesses becoming a lot more accepted, even since the last trip.

True to our visas (which you’re supposed to back with non-government vendor receipts for 5 years), we readily supported musicians and anyone helping make the experience better with $1 or couple hundred pesos, which go oh so long a ways. Occasionally, we got hustled, which entails being led to a restaraunt/bar and overcharged. When the average monthly salary is $30 and doctors make $87, your perspective changes. Monthly rations (including “Vitamin R” and tobacco) are covered for all, as is housing, employment and medical (Cuba has one of highest doctor to citizen ratios and treatment levels).

Cuban industry has shrunk considerably (many people ask for medical and US logo/city products as they are scarce and expensive). Tourism has taken a major hit and all the hotels and resorts are government owned. Despite everything, life is simple, the reefs are still pristine, food (always get the pork) and drinks are as fresh and tasty as they come and the people are smiling, happy and full of soul and charm.

I recently read Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman (no surprise that it was written by a Dutchman). The premise is that society co-existed and thrived when sharing and started coming a part once individual possessions started to become a theme. There are some very evident, exponentially scary flaws to capitalism and clearly communism is a flawed ideology that far from achieves its means.

While I nurse my surgically repaired achilles of which I’m on the hook for thousands and dealing with the stress of all the missed agenda items and months-upon-months of recovery ahead, it’s hard to not think of the the different world-view such an injury brings about for someone in a place like Cuba!

Revolutionary!?

Football Dream Achieved Over Another Year Around the Sun

Well, another birthday has just come and gone. I love summer, but October is a bit more special for so many reasons for me: thrills, chills and football spills. One away from a big one and here I am sizing up my progress report.

Every kid has a dream.  My passion was sports and after I hung up the pro playing dreams,  I set out to be special off the field and on the business side where my hope was to someday run an organization, player personnel and business operations by making my up the business side.  I made the hard transition and some amazing senior ticketing leadership opportunities (like one I had teed up for years with my hometown NFL team) because I wanted to carve my niche out in the more strategic sponsorship side, with expertise in the two key revenue cogs for pro teams.

I passed up a great opportunity with a much-respected industry leader in the S.F. Giants because the role turned from manager to seller when the team won it’s first of three World Series in 6 years. Despite the hankering to be heading west after my study abroad experience in Australia, family proximity, program prestige and a chance to work in football swayed me east.

While pursuing a global MBA in the nation’s capitol, I had to swallow my pride of being an NBA-record ticket seller to start all over as an unpaid sponsorship intern, commuting on my own dime sometimes 6 days, 3 hours in traffic and 40+ hours per week in office for the pro football team who’s advertised claim to fame was being the most profitable team. I was shocked to discover everyone running around in fear, with no CRM or tech systems competing against each other and interns doing it all including managing the salary cap. I finally met the hiring manager and reference my program director connected me with, who was advertising for paid positions and was let go after introducing myself for “going behind the back” of my current direct report. In front of the office in the hall, the owner made fun of me for not having the rally shirt on (as these were cut out for interns).

From there, I was lucky to get on with NFL Players sponsorships to help manage deals involving 5+ players signed on with the Union. Day 2: I’m surrounded by Buckeye grads and we’ve started a friendly rivalry discussion. It was 2010 and my Wolverines were getting owned by the sweater-vested Tresselites of OSU. My only argument was that if you stacked up NFL depth charts at the time, that we had a stronger list of superstars. Scottie Graham, head of player engagement and proud Buckeye and NFL former player and New Yorker, gets involved in the discussion and soon seemingly starts to have steam coming out his ears from getting worked up on the topic (missing the “present day” context, he was bringing up past legends). To add to it all, Eddie George happens to walk in the door and get inserted into the conversation. OSU had just lost a tough one to Wisco, but he just said how big of magnitude The Game had. Class act with some great rivalry jokes that would come up when I later saw him while volunteering to work Player event appearances around the Super Bowl (which Jerry outsold the game and there was no ticket for me through the Players nor one available for the $1k in cash I had in my pocket, tough pill to swallow for a Steelers fan who paid his way down there to schlep event-to-event after a snowstorm and long drives with no salt).

NFL Players only paid a metro card for what would have normally been a full-time coordinator role, but I started learning the ins-and-outs of managing official league partnerships and all the moving pieces (emphasis on paperwork from disparate systems – lots).

I left with incredible stories (ie. approaching the #1 most expensive player on our appearance list, Kurt Warner who gave me the time of day despite it being his wife’s big celeb fashion show fundraiser to spell out why it’s family first unless you’re offering $150k/2 hour appearance). A lockout between the largely-black Players Union and old-boys NFL owner club was on the brink – but the group was very tight-lipped. I then went to help put on, sell and market the inaugural AT&T Nation’s Football classic at “historic” (read: dump) RFK Stadium, a foray into the traditions of HBCU culture – Morehouse College vs Howard University. At one point, it felt like the concrete was giving out in our 3rd floor office and we were marched onto the middle of the field after the 2nd earthquake wave (maybe not the best place with all the concrete facing inward).

I motored through and graduated with 2 separate degrees in 2.5 years total as the fear of my mounting loans were kicking in (both of which were designed individually to take 2 years each). Despite all this, I had my eyes on being on that Sports Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” prestigious list. I still wanted to work in football and here’s a few search highlights:

  • I studied the landscape and keyed in on one of the biggest upcoming opportunities in sports – the developing LA NFL situation. While in school, I got an internship interview with Lagardere – leaders in player representation. The assignment was to present a SWOT analysis on that developing landscape. Student life is for the experience and exposure at the sacrifice of your time, skills and ideas – indentured servitude to “pay your dues.”
  • Previous collegiate experience in football ops and with an agent friend showed me what an entry-point for football ops was often like. “Runner” agent interns will go to any length for contact info and access – no job security as “sharks never sleep.” Scouts live on the road for years to work their way up for peanuts.
  • While volunteering for the MIT Sloan Sport Analytics Conference and rubbing elbows with founders and sportsbiz stars Darryl Morey and Jessica Gelman, I got a surprise call from the Dolphins for an open role I had positioning myself through my Michigan network for months. I could never get back in touch with the hiring manager (who has a similar come-up story in sportstech and later told me he was dealing with some tough family issues at the time).
  • After months on end back home in Michigan to save $ applying for various positions and getting no hits, I realized that I had to go on a roadshow to churn up traction. I met a few team business execs at the NFL at conferences, who encouraged me to reach out when in NYC. Along with some other interviews, I informally interviewed at the league office on Draft Day in 2012 for hopes of getting a shot at a few open positions around the league.
  • On the tail-end of the NYC/east coast “lightning strike,” I interviewed with Matt DiFebo, the original outsourced ticketing leader who was in the process of signing Pitt athletics by way of a former colleague. We ate Italian and talked about my candidacy for the GM role vs. a local favorite. I dropped Matt off at the airport and completed the days drive spanning from Maine to Michigan.

The very next morning, I was on a flight out to Utah to visit the Maverik Center and Utah Grizzlies, where I was being recruited for an open sponsorship sales role. Long story short, I accepted a sponsorship role before I had another offer – done waiting at that point. I was ready to be full-time employed in sponsorship (and to ski the “major leagues” of ski slopes) but not ready for the culture shock and adjustment to the minor league model. As an AEG arena, I was plugged in and trying to be a visible contributor with key players at the global entertainment group that led the Staples Center / LA Live efforts who were the known favorite for the NFL-to-LA bid.

From there, I took a job for an MLS leader in sponsorship metrics (and pressure) in Real Salt Lake. In a year, I interviewed in-person at Staples Center twice – the appeal of a new progressive tech-driven ownership profile in Steve Ballmer was appealing. I struck out twice, though. I struck out trying to work my way into leadership and ownership via sweat equity and resume after a short stint with the first “Fan Controlled Football Team” where video games meet live arena-style play and ownership democratization.

All of a sudden, I came back from the holidays and found myself abandoned and jobless. I was floored and humbled down to the studs of dignity.

Luckily, I got a chance to build a better workplace/workflow solution realizing project management hadn’t reached sponsorship and filled a big gap left by CRMs. Over almost 8 years, I’ve worked my way from unpaid consultant of Sponsorship Buddy to CRO and a top cofounder and CRO (formerly CMO) of Trak Software – we wisely rebranded.

Before the world fell to its knees during covid at top sponsorship conference IEG in 2019, I met and developed a relationship with “Coach” aka Sean Gannon at the (who resembles Rams Coach Sean McVey, who happened to be in the same building in Washington as I was around the same time working on his own path). Relationships at that same show helped us land a covid lifeline in the Broncos, who took past experience using us with the Memphis Grizzlies – our first paid client and my former Grad Assistant sponsor, to setting a new standard for NFL sponsorship management when it was needed most.

4 years after that internal Rams introduction after a move, stadium, Super Bowl trophy, parades, much due diligence, back-and-forth, reference conversations and an intense legal negotiation, the eagle finally landed in record-fashion for Trak. We are now working with some of the most iconic, innovative NFL groups spanning the 49ers, Patriots, Chiefs and 16 of 32 clubs. On the global football note, we also signed Inter Miami FC just weeks before the biggest sports headline of the year – Leo Messi’s arrival to the club.

In February, I was recognized at the National Sports Forum on the field at SoFi Stadium. Quite a night highlighted by tours, amazing food and being a kid again playing on the field – winning retribution on the 40 yard dash after an epic slip up in my dress shoes.

I learned that no if no one wants to give you the role you believe you deserve – go make it happen yourself. Use your inner “Chip” to prove them wrong.

Yes we’re a vendor but we are valued as a team extension behind the scenes. Game days are great, we can still get those by choice but so is helping people achieve their dreams by making digital transformation dead-simple with technology.