It seems like we enter some type of time warp at the end of October. One minute, we’re dressing up for Halloween and the next we’re celebrating New Years. You can almost see the pages flying off one of the old paper calendars. October, November, December then boom! It’s January of 2015.
Since it is almost Thanksgiving, we decided to share a few things we’re thankful for and, while we're at it, put together a little wish list for 2015.
First, here are a few of the many things we’re thankful for:
1. Family. It all starts here. Family grounds us, gives us purpose and provides us with support. We were at a CAF dinner a couple months back and one of the speakers said that we all had someone we could thank for everything we had achieved. While some like to think of themselves as having boot strapped it completely on their own, the reality is that we all had help from someone. More often than not, that someone was a family member. It’s likely that somewhere along the way, a mom, a dad, a brother, a sister or an aunt or uncle gave you the encouragement and support you needed to accomplish something special. That’s certainly true for us at Coeur and we’re very thankful they did. To the greatest extent possible, we try to ensure that Coeur models the values passed onto us by our family. Work hard, treat people fairly and produce something useful.
2. The Coeur team. We are incredibly thankful for the Coeur team. By team, we mean the people who do the work of running the company, the ambassadors and our customers. They are all part of the team. They support each other and go out of their way to be incredible role models for women in sport. It is impossible to really convey how grateful we are for each and every one of them. They all had to make decision to try a new product, come onto a new team or in some other way throw their support to Coeur. So, all we can say is thank you! And we will find a way to repay the debt. We promise you that!
We are family
3. Women in the business of sport. On the "big picture" side of things, we are thankful for the women that are playing a role in shaping the future of endurance sports. We have people like Marisol Casado who is not only President of the International Triathlon Union but also a member of the International Olympic Committee. There’s Mary Wittenberg who oversees the New York Marathon as the President and CEO of the New York Road Runners. Plus, there are multitudes of women who are taking a chance and starting their own companies. People like Robyn Lalonde who started the Edge Athlete’s Lounge in Chicago and Cheryl Kellond who with her partner Sylvia Marino founded Bia Sport. These are women of character who are making a big difference in how the business of endurance sports is conducted. And for that we are thankful.
We're thankful for people like Robyn
4. Freedom. We know we’re running the risk of sounding corny but in all seriousness, we are incredibly thankful for our freedom. We know that having time to swim, bike, run and lift weights in the gym is a tremendous luxury. There are many people in the world that live in fear of their own government or of a group bent on their destruction. To them, the thought of working out for fun is beyond comprehension. Patriotism can take many forms but there is no doubt that we love this country and are deeply and profoundly grateful for the men and women who go in harm’s way to protect us.
5. Laughter. Ok…we know this is an unusual one to put on the list but the reality is that we love to laugh. There are some seriously twisted senses of humor on the Coeur team, so more often than not, we have to censor the jokes and about 99.9% of them never make their way into the public forum but whoa, if the walls of the Coeur office could talk! In any event, it is true that laughter is the best medicine and we make sure we try not to miss a dose. So, thank you to everyone who sends over the funny story, the silly picture or in any other way puts a smile on our faces.
To be clear, we could have gone on for days with things we’re grateful for but we want to save some room for things we’re wishing for in 2015. So, here goes. We hope that:
1. The world falls back in love with Cycling: We were watching the documentary "The Lance Armstrong Lie" recently and started to get a little depressed. Sure it was foolish for us to believe in Santa Clause but we really got the wool pulled over our eyes on that one. The story with the movie is that Alex Gibney had been given access to film Lance’s comeback in 2009. He shot some amazing footage and had started to work on the film when the doping allegations really began to heat up. The movie was changed once it became clear Lance had used performance enhancing drugs. Instead of a celebration of the comeback it became an expose on the cover up. We were all predictably depressed by the movie but about half way through, something interesting happened for us. Instead of paying attention to the story, we started just enjoying the cycling scenes. There were shots of the riders flying across the flats and climbing into the mountains of France and they were just incredible. There are few things in sport that can compare to a peloton in full flight. The power, the movement, the machines and the landscape combine into a symphony of color and speed that is a sight to behold. Cycling truly is a beautiful sport and one of our wishes for 2015 is that we learn the appropriate lessons, and then allow ourselves to fall back in love with this amazing sport.
2. Fifty Pro Women race in Kona next year. A mentor once said that people make emotional decisions and then look for the facts to back them up. We’ve seen that proven time and time again. It’s no surprise that both sides of this issue can find facts to support their position and for the sake of brevity, we will steer clear of the debate and not quote stats about how fast women are coming into the sport (but it is really fast) and the magnitude of their collective buying power (it's huge and growing). Or why having parity at the start line makes great business sense (show me the money!). Or even that the disparity sends the wrong message to women who are forming and opinion about the sport of triathlon (but it does). We'll just say that our wish is for 50 professional women to be lining up in Kona next year and leave it at that.
3. American Made makes a comeback. Coeur is proud to be made in the USA. We design, cut, print, sew, and warehouse everything right here in L.A. We love our factories and have become close to the owners. There’s no doubt that we benefit from extremely high quality and a short supply chain but we see how the factories have to fight to compete against the lower wages offshore. Now, we love competition but sometimes it just doesn’t feel like a fair fight when the factories in the U.S. have to compete against companies offshore that pay $38 per month to their employees. Yes...$38. Per month. That’s why we’re pulling for the USA on this one. We’re going to be true to the cause and keep the work here in the U.S. and we hope the high quality, innovative construction and fashion-forward designs win the day!
4. Independent Bike & Run Dealers flourish. There’s no doubt that opening a bike, triathlon, or running shop is a labor of love. The hours the owner used to spend running or biking are largely taken up behind the counter or out on the sales floor. Thin margins are being cut even more by the internet giants and there’s no doubt that the independent dealers have to evolve. And we truly hope that they do. The shop is so much more than a brick and mortar box. It’s where people get their introduction to sport. Where they come to learn and trade stories. A place where they can touch, feel and test products. As with our partners that run the factories, we’ve become very close to many of the shop owners. They’re great people and we’re pulling for them! So, the next time you’re out and about, stop by your local shop and say hello. Oh…and if you see something you like, go ahead and buy it!
5. Everyone has a joyous and love filled holiday season and 2015. We’ll save the best for last. More than anything, we hope that you all celebrate life, spend time with the ones you love and find true joy and happiness during the holiday season and into 2015!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Your friends at Coeur