Friends Made in 08, and Old Friends Revisited (3 videos)

I meant to post more videos from my NYC Birthday Party. Unfortunately I got too busy. I did manage to cut together this quick highlights vid. The overall vibe is as "faded" as it appears. Shooting at the end of the night isn't always the best idea. I do care about my friends looking and sounding their best. Instead, to be true to the moment, I'm only giving a glimpse.  It should be noted that everyone had a good time, packing a life-time of catching up into only one night. Then we all took cabs home--as responsible adults.

Dean Hutchinson, my old roomie from the 1994 Goodwill Games, came (with his wife) to celebrate. Dean's a great guy, a father of three, and a swim coach at Rider University. Back in the day, he was a National Team athlete. He's also a proud alumnus of Auburn University: 

As a member of the US National Team alumni, we've stayed in touch through these vlogs. Specifically, that's how the vlogs got started. The idea was simple: Record trips to swimming meets where the National Team traveled. Go behind the scenes. We wanted to give alumni the feeling of being there, making new friends with the "present" National Team Members and their coaches. (These relationships are life-long, life-defining--so meaningful.)

Back at the Olympics, when LaBi and I vlogged, we were giving insider information to an audience of very knowledgeable viewers, athletes who had traveled and represented their country abroad. Of course our content dealt with food, how the events were run behind the scenes, the feeling of the crowd and the media and how it effected the athletes. We also talked about the little tit for tats between the athletes. We were honest about the hardcore sense of competition between the swimmers... What we learned is that a lot more people were tuning in to get the inside scoop. We actually pulled back a bit on the info out of fear that we were giving up too much insider stuff. 

One thing we did do was act out the swimmer milieu. (Swimmers who swim in tiny suits aren't modest. They're very open and free and can come across too much so for many people.) In short, we vlogged in bathrobes and shower-caps, swim-caps, fighter-pilot helmets...we did what swimmers would do among friends having fun... 

The results of the above has been overwhelming. Swimmers, master swimmers, swimmer-parents and swimming fans have tuned in, and continue to come back for more information. A lot of the info is serious, but we try to keep it fun...  If you're new to this blog, don't be afraid to ask any questions. I try to answer each and every one.... 

As for the "man-panties" Dean Hutchinson was referring to in the vlog above, my daughter is new to the swimming world (only joining a team this year), and she is just now realizing her dad ran around half-naked most of his life.  

****The video above was shot by the Chris Michael and Mike Gustafson, from the SWIMNETWORK show Chlorination. Swimnetwork is the leading voice of swimming in partnership with the national governing body. They do a fantastic job reaching out to all types of swimmers, encouraging participation, fun and fellowship******

Comments

[goldmedalmel]

No worries, Crystal. It's all good..................

[crystal]

i seriously love the chlorination stuff. and the cat bit at the end of the last vid? priceless.

Mel, did you catch C's vid where she interviewed Sean (i think that's his name). it was so funny!

of course there's more 007 stuff goin down on new years day :P

i totally didn't mean to just spam your blog with OYTD related stuff o_o

[Candace]

If I ever get one, a GMM exclusive interview is an absolute must.

[goldmedalmel]

Much love back, Candace.... Looking forward to seeing your talent in '09! (You need a network hosting gig. You've got IT!)

[jdy]

"and she is just now realizing her dad ran around half-naked most of his life."

I think it's funny when male swimmers refer to being half naked in their speedos...you're easily 9/10ths naked, fellas (granted it's an important tenth).

I'm a little sad to hear I was a somewhat late in tuning in and missed out on the unfiltered GMM experience. But it's a great blog/vlog, Mel. You obviously still have a passion for the sport and it comes out in your writing, commentary and interviews. It's great to see swimming being covered that way. Thanks, and have a great New Year!

[Candace]

How ironic that you posted this Chlorination video. During our pre-party-meeting, mid-GMM-fangirling phase, Valeria and I were huge fans of these Chlorination videos and thought them proof of your awesomeness - we still do.

So honored to have been part of your highlights video (and to have been invited to the party in the first place)

Much love, as always!