The Sponsors
Putting together The Team (One from the Heart)
When I started to get serious about Project Superman, it immediately became clear that this was something that I simply couldn’t pull off by myself. I had to assemble a team. But where do yo start? And where does it end? And how do you get people to invest in a project with no guarantees whatsoever about the outcome? It’s simple. You ask them. I asked. They helped me out, for the love of the sport. Beautiful isn’t it?
I’m finding it hard to call the people on this team ‘my sponsors’ .
Because the term ‘sponsor’ suggest a calculated, well-reasoned, business-minded decision. It suggests a rational view on a – preferably - win-win situation. None of these people or companies have ‘reasoned’ or ‘calculated’ . They were all my first – and in most cases ònly – choices. If Dave hadn’t offered me Concap’s advice and guiding, I wouldn’t have gotten it anywhere else. All or nothing. I’m not using ore endorsing products because they pay me. They don’t. They put their heart and soul in this project just as I do.
All of them decided to work with me on face value. We talked, and I told them what I HOPED to be able to offer. They liked the audaciousness of the project. I chose the people and companies in this team because I believe they offer the very best in their field, offering the very best advice and support available to any age group triathlete. I am incredibly proud that all these people have put their trust in me. And as a matter of returning the favor I will put their products, their trust and patience to the test. You better believe it.
QTR Travel
A household name in the Belgian and international triathlon world, QTR is best known for its sports-related travel know-how. Mario Vervaeke from QTR is Luc Van Lierde’s travelling sidekick and QTR has been organizing training camps and taking care of all of Luc’s tri-related travelling needs for years. Just as they have for elite athlete Françoise Wellekens and age group winners Gerrit De Pauw en Stijn Demeulemeester. QTR is also the Belgian representative for Club La Santa and offers travel packages with slots to Ironman races all over the world. QTR was also closely involved in and dedicated to the deve lopment of Luc Van Lierde's already famous 7:50 triathlon camps.
Scott Bicycles
From my experiences over the last two months, I can tell you that Scott’s dedication and commitment to the sport is quite simply second to none. The were the number one brand on my list when I started looking. Since then they have offered me their expertise, their advice, their time, … But even more than the contribution of an innovative, tri-obsessed brand, this is the contribution of one man. Florian Brugger is really in a league of his own. I sent one mail to Scott Bicycles in Zürich, elaborating on the project, stating that I was looking for a time trial bike and that I really loved the Scott Plasma . Within a few hours, I received a deeply moving mail from Florian, telling me that he congratulated me on the project, that he thought it was fantastic plan. He told me that he wasn’t sure yet if the Scott company could provide me with a Plasma bike but that he would encourage and support this project any which way he could and that he would do everything in his power to help me get this show on the road. And so he did. Over the next few days and weeks, Florian sent me encouragements, names of magazine editors that I could sell my stories to, he proposed to get me cycling shoes, running gear, helmets, socks, apparel and finally … the Scott Plasma 2010 TT Bike!
I have driven a few top-notch tri-specific time trial bikes over the last few years. But the Scott Plasma is simply the most beautiful, most aero, most impressive bike I have ever laid eyes on. To ride this bike is simply a dream. When I thanked him, Florian told me that he was actually very happy that he could help me out.
“Because”, he said “it would be absolutely brilliant to support a triathlete who is not a pro-athlete, who does not have all the time in the world to train, but who is a person like you and I with a full time job, who has to squeeze in as much training hours as he can. Ninety-nine percent of all triathletes are age groupers and I think an age grouper with the mentality and commitment of a pro would be an inspirational representative for our brand”.
I think that accurately sums up what Florian and Scott Bicycles are about.
And as a special note to you, Florian … Every snowy, rainy, freezing god-darn day that I don’t feel like getting up at five in the morning to get out there for a run or a brick-before-work, I look at the print-out of that first e-mail that you sent me and that is now taped to the bedroom wall, next to my alarm clock. And than I put my Scott running shoes on. Thank you very much, I hope to make you proud.
Dave Bruylants and Concap
Former pro-cyclist Dave was the very first to express enthusiasm for and belief in this project. He was the first to get on board, the first to help me get more contributors and the first to offer me more than I asked for. Actually, it was thanks to Dave that I started to believe that maybe we could get somewhere with this experiment.
When I read (about a year ago) that Dave was representating Concap Sports Nutrician, I wanted to do an an interview with him about Concap and about his life after sports. And so we did (you can read that interview elsewhere on this site).
As it turned out, Dave did NOT retire from sports altogether. He still races for fun and recently discovered he has a talent for running. Dave tells me he is seriously thinking of picking up duathlon. (So watch out you multi-sport geeks, soon we may have a second Laurent Jalabert case on our hands.)
I also learned that Dave is nòt a representative for Concap but that Concap is his own company. After the interview we kept chatting for a while. I told Dave about ‘The Project’. Immediately Dave asked me out about my nutrician habits, my blood group (which I didn’t know), whether I had a sweet tooth or was more keen on salty snacks, he suggested other sponsors, a sports drink, he asked me if I would like to have some other pro-riders involved in the project … And I went: “Er … Yes … Of course! Sure! Absolutely! Would that be possible?!”. When we parted, my head was spinning. He assured me that with the right diet and nutritive discipline we could shave of another 10 minutes of an – already gruelingly sharp – target time. And that Concap would give me at least another 10 minute’s edge. “But what if it doesn’t work?”, I asked. I’m going to have to write about that too …” “Of course you do”, As he shook my hand, Dave smiled: “By all means, do. But I’m not the least bit worried about that …” Than he turned around and asked: “Do you drink a lot of cola?” I said yes, and Dave replied, with his trademarke accent: “Well that is going to HAVE to stop.”
And that was my first meeting with Dave Bruylants. I’ve kept away from Coke ever since. I take no vitamin supplements, no iron tablets, nothing of the sort. I take my daily ration of Concap Boost, Concap Force 1 and Concap Forte. And I find it gets me out of bed easier, it gets me training harder and recovering faster.
At this moment I consider Dave my most important counselor/coach/advisor and motivator. Not to mention that he shares his first name and initials with my all-time-favorite artist David Bowie.
Thomas Cook Sport
Thomas Cook Sport is mostly the work of Martin Van Caelenbergh, who almost single handedly built this department from the floor up. An athlete and a true sportsman himself, Martin applied his expertise gained from organizing training stages for several elite cycling teams to organizing bike- and training vacations with the likes of Roland Garros quarter finalist Sabine Appelmans, former mountain bike champion Filip Meirhaeghe and Tour of France stage winner Serge Baguet.
L’Homard Bleu/Le Jardin Blue/Peter Maximus
I met Peter, owner of l’Homard Bleu and Le Jardin Bleu at a garden party that our friend Hans organized for hir firstborn ‘little wonder you’ Roxeanne. Peter stood out. Sharp as a knife, a name like a champion gladiator and looking the part. I thought he was either a top party-harder or a top athlete. Turned out he was once the first, but had been the latter for over 15 years.
I was impressed with his pro-athlete looks, he looked like the kind of guy that you would only see at before the start of a race only to exchange glances again as he crossed you at the finish line having put on his training suit and racked up all his gear, on his way to the hotel, while you still had 11 miles of running to do … I liked him immediately. Besides triathlon, we share a passion for cooking. And for seafood. Peter owns one of the two best seafood/lobster restaurants in the city. And the best bed & breakfast around. A few weeks later, when he learned about ‘Project Superman’, Peter offered to sponsor me. I told him that would gladly put his logo on my website but that I couldn’t take any money from a fellow-triathlete. (Besides, I wasn’t looking for the ‘money-kind’ of sponsor. But Peter persisted. He simply would not nòt contribute to this project. And so, eventually, he came up with a proposition that is as moving as it is original: he would provide me with a stack of vouchers that would allow me to treat my sponsors and team contributors to a ‘thank you dinner’ at ‘l’Homard Bleu’. Or at least, that is what Peter suggested. Me, I was thinking more along the lines of eating free lobster every week. “And if you win a race”, he added, “you can throw a party for sponsors, supporters and fans at Le Jardin Bleu. How ‘bout that?”
Thanks again, Peter. I hope you make good money this year, because I WILL be aiming for that celebration party at your place. And I’m hoping to bring a crowd. (And by the way, one of these days, Peter, I WILL cook for you …)
Vomaxine
There is not an awful lot I can tell you about Vomaxine. But what I do know, really counts. Last year, my good friend Stéphane (he’s a hell of a drummer in a hell of a band. Check him out on www.myspace.com/curtistheband) went to Paris and brought me home a box of Vomaxine. Vomaxine is a powerdrink for endurance athletes, that helps build stamina. I wasn’t in brilliant shape at the time, had just broken my elbow and had all the difficulty in the world getting back into shape. I did an 8 week (…) and subsequently improved my IM distance PR by almost an hour, posting my best bike time ever, having trained only 600 kilometers on the bike. So there it is. Does it work? I leave that up to your discretion, but I will never race again without incorporating Vomaxine into my schedule.
‘The Magician’: Sacha Becquart
Sacha has layed his hands on world stars like Magic Johnson and Dennis Rodman. He treated numerous elite cyclists and worked for the US Postal and for Discovery Channel during Lance Armstrong’s 7-year reign. Last year, after my zillionth bike crash (I was scooped up by a couple of really nice old people who were really great at just about everything but driving a car), it was Sacha who pieced me together again. He worked hard. And so did I. It took me about a year just to walk straight again. And now Sacha is using all his experience, know-how and skill on me, not to make me normal, but to make me better than I ever was.
My trainer
I’ve met a few really interesting candidates, but so far none of them the fitted the profile like Filippe did. I hope I don't get on his nerves to much, I hope he will make me a better swimmer, and I hope he will see me race really good, one day.
Zoot Wetsuits
Quite early on, it was obvious that I needed something special for my wetuit. Swimming doesn’t come natural to me. As a kid I almost drowned a couple of times, had the near-death experiences to match. At Home de Ferro and Elbaman, I got sick in the water, threw up, most every sense of direction and almost died. Again. Every time I cue up to the starting line, I see my life flashing before me. I need something more than a wetsuit. I need a confidence booster. And a life jacket. The Zoot Zenith 2 delivers both. And then some. It was designed especially for triathletes that are built like me: tall, heavy, Fabian Cancellara-style thighs and by no means at ease in the water. The Zenith 2 is the only wetsuits that keeps strong, muscular upper legs like mine floating like this. The support from Zoot is exemplary for the way this whole project has evolved so far. Al Jake Janssen from Zoot said to me was: “This sounds like an awesome project Peter. I’m sure we can help you. What’s your size?”
And that was that. I know for a fact that this suit will help me annihilate my swimming PR. Watch out for my T1-splits. That’s how good the Zenith 2 really is.
WAX
Wax CEO Brecht Malfait is an old colleague and pal. He built this website for free. Or rather, he constructed a modular system that even an e-moron like me coul update. No matter how important the contributions of everyone that was mentioned here, no matter how strict the diet, how hard the schedule or how glorious the race efforts. None of it would matter if Brecht hadn’t visualized it and brought it to you.
There. That’s our team. I still can’t believe they have put in all this effort without me having proved anything. Thank you all. And now, let’s get to work.
Natural Performance Enhancer
Vomaxine
