How Gen Y Social Media Savvy Helped Lift An Olympian Down On His Luck
Posted by meredith on 03-03-2010
Today’s Ypulse Youth Advisory Board post from Bryan Spencer picks up this month’s ongoing YAB discussion of role models. It takes a slightly more personal angle than our usual YAB fare, but we felt it was an appropriate exception in light of Libby’s earlier post on the missed opportunities she saw for the Olympics to connect with younger generations and the games themselves coming to a close this week. The story below not only underlines that potential opportunity for the Olympics or affiliated brands to bring inspirational, young athletes together with youth today, but also how close this new media landscape can bring young people to their role models.
Remember, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment.
How Gen Y Social Media Savvy Helped Lift A Fallen Olympian
Bill Schuffenhauer is a name most of you won’t know. Before I read his story on CNN.com, I could say the same. But after learning how he overcame a myriad of injuries, saw his dreams change, and still worked hard and made sacrifices to continue competing in the sport he loved, I was inspired to not only learn more, but also to reach out. In the spirit of another Olympic Winter Games coming to a close this week, I thought I’d share his story and how I get involved.
Growing up in Salt Lake City, Bill Schuffenhauer bounced between foster homes and homelessness. Finally his grandmother took him in, and he found track when he was in high school. He was gifted with blazing speed, and attended Weber State University on a track scholarship. After winning Junior Nationals in 1992, Bill set out to become an Olympian. While training for the 2000 Sydney games, Bill’s dream was suddenly derailed by a severe ankle injury, leaving him barely able to walk.
A discouraged Schuffenhauer then returned home to Utah, where a friend tipped him off that the US Olympic Bobsled team was training. Team members noticed Bill observing their practice, an imposing figure at 6’ and 200lbs, and asked him if he wanted to become a member of the team. Bill accepted, and from that point on, began training for the 2002 Winter Games.
The 2002 Winter Olympics were in Salt Lake City, where Bill spent most of his early years growing up. He was scheduled to be an alternative, but after one of the bobsledders tested positive for steroids, Bill was called up. It was there, just two years after picking up the sport, that Bill was given a chance to compete in front of a hometown crowd, and walked away with a silver medal. He continued training, and after the Torino Olympics in 2006, where he finished 14th on a two-man team, Bill decided to retire. He had reached the pinnacle of athletics, and was living his dream, but it was difficult to support a family on the little money bobsledders make. Bill settled down with his girlfriend and children, and began working.
However, after two years and seeing the bobsledders return to Park City, Bill couldn’t let his dream slip away. He was determined to make it to Vancouver. His girlfriend’s salary as a nurse wasn’t enough to support the family in the house they had, so they had to move out while Bill trained for seven months at a time. Another injury proved a major setback, and he was now part of the USA3 team, with only a slim chance of qualifying for Vancouver. However, a sixth place finish at a Swiss race was good enough, and Bill once again earned a spot representing the United States for his third Olympic games.
Like I mentioned before, a lot of people still don’t know who Bill is, and maybe if he was in a more glorified sport, it would be a different scenario. Personally, I was shocked to hear that a lot of Olympians have to have jobs other than their sports to compete, as sponsors generally only pay out to the most popular athletes. Learning about this I wanted to help Bill, but I wasn’t sure how. I’m in college and am barely able to support myself so monetary donations weren’t exactly feasible. But then I realized I had something I could offer, something I had been training and working hard at for the past few years: social media skills.
He told me he was interested, and now I am developing various social media outlets for him to use. The biggest focus has been getting together a Facebook Fan Page for Bill (coming soon), and developing a mass marketing plan for it, in order to get his story spread quickly while there is still Olympic-mania going on. I am also working with him to get his Twitter more active in order to connect him with fans more directly.
Bill’s story really hit home to me because of my own track background and the various road blocks I’d encountered (a baseball injury that led me to finding track, a track injury that led me to focus more on marketing), and his ability to overcome injuries and change his dreams. It served as a reminder that people from all walks of life can achieve greatness if they are determined, and an inspiration to help Bill be recognized for his accomplishment.
About Bryan
Bryan is a lost soul. Not in a bad way, as it keeps things interesting in life. When he is not studying Marketing at the University of Kansas, Bryan is busy maneuvering his recently started fraternity, mentoring high school student’s from his alma mater, and too often texting. While he tends to spread his talents to many fields, his forte may be in his ability to hold a conversation with just about anyone about the finer aspects of cuisine, both cooking and consuming. He does not hold quite as much writing experience as others on the board, having never taken an English class at the collegiate level. However, he still finds himself too opinionated to not express his thoughts on paper.
Categorized under: Youth Advisory Board