Holiday Season

Happy Holidays

I'm cheerful and feel fortunate as I have accepted a position at Hanesbrands in Winston Salem, NC where I'll be working on their marketing team.  This should serve as a good introduction to client side brand management and will locate me near my family in Asheville and a plethora of climbing and mountain biking areas along with a strong cycling community.  I'm scheduled to start work August 6, which means that I will have time to make a trip to Colorado this summer. 

A quick trip to Asheville for the Christmas will be followed to a trip to Hueco Tanks State Park outside of El Paso Texas.  This bizarre series of volcanic mountains rising out of the desert looks like another planet but hosts some of the best bouldering on this planet.

75% of the park is guided access only due to the sensitive desert habitat and largest collection of native american mask petroglyphs in the world.

We'll be mainly climbing on the North Mountain which hosts a selection of excellent rock climbs which should be paired with perfect 50 degree temperatures.  

I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season.  

Winter and Walmart

Fall is finally here and its brought my second year at Vanderbilt.  It's amazing to experience how much one can grow during one year.  The pace of life and work load now seem easier and my stress level is easily half of what it was last year.

This is primarily due to a job offer from Hanesbrands in Winston Salem that I'm VERY excited about. Michael and I crushed it this summer working to determine if Hanes could drive growth by focusing on the US Hispanic market.  I identified a $108MM opportunity and pieced together a proposed strategy which offered three tiers of investment with suggestions spanning from packaging to product placement and a diverse communication plan.

Yet, I'm still looking at other opportunities.  I visited the National Black MBA Association conference in Atlanta where 200+ companies recruit MBA employees.  Here is a quick pic of the show floor. 

I interviewed with Walmart at this event and will actually be flying to Bentonville on Thursday 11/4 to interview.  As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of Wally World and its industry leading sustainability goals:

• To be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy;
• To create zero waste;
• To sell products that sustain people and the environment.

I firmly believe that if all Americans were aware of their efforts many would consider returning and might just see the Walmart experience from a different perspective.  I'll provide more on my Walmart visit next week but I want to first share some images from Halloween weekend in Ashville Alabama .  This area is called Horsepens 40 and is certainly one of my favorite areas to climb in the nation.  This area values style and balance over brute strength. Enjoy the photos and look forward to getting the down low on Walmart headquarters.

Back in CO

Just finished my first year of Vanderbilt's MBA program.  I have 3-weeks off before I begin my internship at Hanesbrands.  There's no place I'd rather spend this time than CO.  I spent the weekend biking with my brother Taylor.  Here is a quick video of a boulder problem outside of Boulder that I recently did.

http://www.dpmclimbing.com/climbing-videos/watch/new-v7-30-min-boulder

Chattanooga Weekend

My trip to Chattanooga on 3/19 to meet my Mom, Doc and Sonja provided a good reason to make a long anticipated visit to the Chattanooga Aquarium.  It lived up to the hype.  I really enjoyed the fact that they had an ocean exhibit along with one dedicated to fresh waters.

Yes that's a sea horse in full camo.

Sting Rays

Mom and a crab from the deep

Sonja and I decided to visit a classic climbing area on the way back to Nashville.  Foster Falls didn't disappoint and I'm excited to see 0% chance of precip and 60 degree temps in the forecast for next weekend.  Until then I'll be focusing my class schedule which is FULL of marketing classes while attempting to get fit for a summer of activities.

Sonja enjoying the water fall at Foster Falls

Winston-Salem Bound

I'm thrilled to have accepted a summer internship at Hanesbrands (HBI) in Winston Salem. HBI will enable me to gain CPG & apparel experience at the same time.   I’m impressed with HBI’s dedication to environmental sustainability. In 2009, approximately 25 percent of the energy they used came from clean, renewable sources.  I'm honestly really excited to spend the summer in NC close to my parents. My big question now is which brand I'll be working on. Hanes, Champion, C9 or of course Playtex is an option. We'll see how the dice land.

CP+B Update

Life is quite hectic but fulfilling for me at the moment. Crispin Porter + Bogusky currently has me working solely on B-cycle, a bike-sharing program that seeks to redefine city transportation. My role includes composing marketing strategy, communicating with partner organizations, managing creative teams and coordinating B-cycle's digital presence. Next spring, we're launching 500 bikes and 50 kiosks in Denver which will be the largest bike sharing system in America. Find out more at bcycle.com.
I'm also applying to the MBA programs listed to the right which requires a significant amount of time. Nonetheless, the process is very rewarding for the self-reflection that it requires. I'm terribly excited to see where the next step in life brings me.
During my free time, I'm trying to stay fit in Colorado through biking and climbing. Unfortunately, my favorite exercise partner, pictured here, fractured her fibula in a recent climbing fall. Sonja will be in a boot for 4-6 weeks but will certainly be ready for more adventures come 2010.

Tomorrow is opening day at our local ski area. I won't make it out tomorrow but am already dreaming of the powder days. Let it snow!

Chiefshead

Chiefshead is a 13,579ft peak located 7 miles up Glacier Gorge in Rocky Mountain National Park. It has a 1,000ft face that is continous and of high quality. Alan Doerk and I climbed a route called Cowboys and Indians which is 11 pitches and given 5.11c. Alan was a great partner and we moved quickly although it was continuously difficult. The pitches were 10c, 10dR, 8, 10a, 11a, 11a, 10a, 10a, 11c, 9, 9. Getting down involved summiting the peak, traversing the ridge line and downclimbing a 1,500ft colour. The 7 mile retreat was a bit grueling but the day was worth it. All told it took us 17 hours car to car. Phew what a day.