I’ve either been actively skateboarding, BMXing, aggressive inline skating, body boarding, or snowboarding since I was 5 years old. Action sports have always played a major role in my personal life and recently I have made the decision to make it part of my professional life as well.
I was at the midpoint of my MBA program and I thought it would be a good idea to start getting some contacts within the industry, especially since I did not have any prior professional experience within the action sports arena. I was already pretty busy with another real estate internship, school and other side projects so I wasn’t really sure how I was going to fit in an additional job into my schedule. I came across the BambooSK8 job posting on Malakye and I thought it was almost too good to be true. They offered experience that I needed within the action sports industry and they only required interns to come into the office once a week. So, I submitted my resume, interviewed with Geoff, and my first day was the following week.
Within the first few sessions, Geoff had each of us interns set goals for ourselves in regards to what we would like to achieve for the company and what we would like to attain on a personal level. He encouraged us to work together and help one another to accomplish their goals. He also put forth an additional effort to tailor responsibilities in a way that would set us up for success. Since I didn’t have any prior action sports industry experience, one of my goals was to learn as much as possible about the intricacies of the industry. Geoff did a tremendous job at showing me the ins and outs of the industry and how I need to position myself if I want to be a successful player.
I have to admit, this internship is definitely atypical when compared to my previous internships. First of all, I come from mostly a corporate background and now being able to wear shorts and a tshirt into work is the most epic thing ever. Being able to come in at 10a.m. is probably just as awesome. Secondly, Geoff Koboldt, the President, gave me the opportunity to really be involved in many of the inner workings of the business and be a part of decisions that directly affect the livelihood of their company. For a President of a company to show that level of trust and respect for an intern is definitely uncommon.
The journey over the past 3 months has been amazing. The time intensity was higher than what I had originally anticipated and only coming into the office once a week quickly turned into working from home on a daily basis. There were several sleepless nights and long weekends but I must say that it has definitely been worthwhile.
KT
Tags: action sports, bamboo skateboards, bamboosk8, geoff koboldt, industry, internship, malakye, mba, Reflection, sports
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