Well, ladies and gents, this internship is moving right along and its really an eye opener. Seriously, I have been looking at details more than I ever have and organizing my time….well trying to anyways. Normally, we get free range of our blogs and what we would like to share with our readers. Hence, all the goofy pictures of me on my boards. You know what? Being in the action sport industry as an intern, isn’t all skateboards and competitions, it a lot of business. I can say that I have learned a lot about business in a short amount of time.
Firstly, I am learning to receive constructive feedback. Lets be honest, no one wants to be told that they are wrong. Since we are being honest, I used to have this bad. Ugh, my pride would get me into SO much trouble!! You couldn’t tell me anything! Needless to say, I was humbled over and over again until that pride thing was broken. Now, I’m not saying that it doesn’t make a cameo every now and again. The difference is, is that I don’t let it win. Business is something that is fairly new to me. You have to have a very thick skin to be in business and sometimes you will be given feedback that you don’t want to hear. Believe me, I know!
Ultimately, the feedback isn’t intended to make you cry or upset you but it does. The trick is to turn it into something positive. Take that feedback and implement it into your life or your career. It will make you a better person and employee if you let it. But of course, you have to let it.
Overall this internship is a learning experience that can be applied to my life. This is new territory, new industry and responsibilities. I am surrounded by intelligent, focused people who are very efficient and love what they do. I love it! It challenges me to step up to the plate and chart this uncharted territory. I’m stoked on it!! I live in a very small town where the stars are insanely bright but not everyone is reaching for them. I want to reach for them, I am reaching for them. I am motivated and driven to do the best that I can to become a better person and a better employee. BambooSk8 is an amazing company and I will do everything i can to spread the word about what they stand for.
This week in the cold I caught up on some Netflix….. oh yea, they DO have shark week….STOKED!!
We are ending week 6 and I must say, this has been the best week so far! Wyatt, the CEO and owner of BambooSK8, was here in Denver on Saturday and it was really great hanging out with him. We were able to check out a couple of shops here in Denver and he gave me some really helpful tips for dealing with sales. It was also Valentine’s Day this week, so I hope everyone enjoyed it! Or at least indulged in all of the chocolates on sale at our local grocery stores (I know I did)!
After getting well into our commitments this week, I finally feel very confident that I could have a good, long career in this industry. This internship has really started to challenge me and show me what it really means to be a leader and a self starter. Those two characteristics alone will make or break you right now. My time here at BambooSK8 is not only teaching me about the industry, but teaching me a lot about myself. I’ve been working on “what needs to be done daily” as a part of my philosophy items and have learned that this doesn’t mean “how many things can I do today” but really what needs to be done that will make the biggest difference for tomorrow. This has really motivated me to get started on planning for the next few months, as I will graduating from college and would like to have a plan for when that time comes.
In the mean time, it is finally warming up here in Denver and the skateparks are just about dry. So in my next blog, be ready for many pictures from future adventures at skateparks and roadtrips for BambooSK8 related tasks. Check out the hoodies I made for repping at parks, they came out pretty good.
The Green movement is officially upon us. BambooSK8 is a leader in the eco-friendly movement in skateboarding. BambooSK8 is passionate about teaching skaters about this one world we live in. The time is NOW for us to save it. We all are responsible for this earth and you can take small steps to promise a bright future to the next generation. Here are a couple tips:
1) Turn off computers at night
2) Take a shorter shower
3) Wash clothes in cold or warm water
4) Pay bills online
5) Recycle old cell phones
Have you ever googled recycled art? You would be amazed at what pops up. My friend, Evan Grybush, took his love of skateboarding and passion for design and made something beautiful. He is majoring in Industrial Design at the University of WI- Stout. For one of his industrial design classes he made these lamps. His old skateboards will continue to be used, not for the original purpose they were intended for, but to now light up his room.
Take a step back this week and think about your life. Is there a small step I could take to help save our planet? We are in a green movement so let’s make the most of it people!
I am learning a lot with BambooSK8. When it comes to business, it really is amazing to see how a company works. With BambooSK8, you have the ability to see it very clearly because it is such a small company. I am able to quickly recognize the tremendous value each employee adds to the company, even the interns! Once again, since it is small, all the employees wear multiple hats. One day you can be working on sales, another marketing, and the next managing how the company operates. Being able to see and experience all these different roles first hand has also allowed me to learn what I do like and what I do not like. One example of something I learned about myself is that I can be salesperson. I never really considered myself a person with a sales mentality, but I have gotten a chance to learn this skill with BambooSK8. I have found that not only I can do it, but also I enjoy it. I enjoy the aspect to it of building relationships with people. It is also interesting to me to see how sales affects and adds value to a business firsthand.
Trying to manage all the different tasks with the various roles I mentioned above is not easy. That is why the leadership at this company is crucial. The president of the company, Geoff, does a good job at this. When he shows us the importance of what we are doing and stresses that what we achieve here will ultimately determine our next jobs; this helps to keep me on track and motivated. It also spurs on myself and other interns step up and assume leadership roles. This internship is 16 weeks long. Six weeks are in the books with ten now to go. Leadership will be critical to ensure we meet our goals in these remaining weeks.
Youth Uprising Skate Plaza East Oakland. Gotta love that sticker slap baby!
So far I have been learning a great deal about taking ownership, I feel like I was too used to everything being laid out for me in work and in school and in this program, you need to step up and make it happen. This is an important attitude to have in life in general, you have to go out and seek and find whatever you’re after relentlessly.
Daly City Sullivan Ave. Park
Town Park - West Oakland
Leadership is what holds everything together. Our leaders have presented us with challenging tasks, opportunities for experience, great feedback, great ideas, and guidance. By taking ownership of our tasks and by leading and working with each other, we have all been more driven for success and driven to collaborate and push each other to help reach our goals.
Wow, I’m already in week 6. Time is going by so fast and with all the things we’re doing, I didn’t even realize that the halfway point in this internship is coming.
In the last few weeks, I’ve learned about using the feedback from my mentors and bosses here at Bamboosk8 to improve how to get my commitments done, reach goals and be a team player. I also learned about being a leader with my groups to get things done properly and efficiently regarding Hook it and Facebook, while helping other leaders of other teams with their goals. Receiving positive and negative feedback I can grow as a person and as an employee. It’s funny because when we started, I thought I was good at this and that, while now I know that I’ve got so much still to learn and at the same time I’m making gigantic steps. The feedback is always relevant and when I follow through with it, I see the difference in my speech at meetings, while writing with my fellow interns and when making sure projects are handed in at the right time.
There are so many tasks to do each week that motivation is not hard to come by generally! If you stop you fall behind and possibly out of the internship, however the staff is always there to guide us and make sure we work to achieve the weekly goals. We are all leaders in different groups and meetings, which is an invaluable experience in the real world. Tasks keep pouring in each week, so we keep motivated and we understand how to work under pressure and in a timely manner by using a spreadsheet with all our weekly duties.
To stay on the internship we constantly have to reach KPI’s each week, which are rewarded under the form of points, the backbone of what keeps us going forward in the stage and it’s like a recognition of our efforts since our final grade will determine our recommendation.
If you look for an internship in the action sport industry and you want to make a difference in real life to other people and the planet, this is it. Bamboosk8 will take you beyond what you think it’s your limit and you will discover how much potential you have.
By the way, I’ve just received my 10 decks from Bamboosk8 and now I can’t wait to show you all my fantastic skills on a bamboo made skateboard, while all the other people in Australia wonders with their jaw wide open at what I’m riding and where to get one!
Wow. I can’t believe its week 6! Time flies when you’re working your butt off!!! We have some big things in the works. All of us interns are really pushing each other to hit our goals; and let me tell you, IT’S HARD!!!
I came into this internship hoping to refine my marketing skills, and I have definitely been successful on that endeavor. What I didn’t realize was that I would be learning about myself. I am learning how to handle different situations that arise, and how to handle criticism. This internship has helped me realize that there are aspects of business that I thought I was good at…. but boy was I wrong!
Now, on to the good stuff….. WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING?!
Well, it’s so good of you to ask…and it can be summed up in 1 word. CONTESTS!!! My team and I have been creating and implementing contests! Not only are they great for promotion but they also help to push sales. We are on our way to hitting social media goals with just 1 contest in place. They can be utilized across the social media board! Our Slap That Sticker contest is being pushed through Facebook, Twitter and Hookit!
I also spent time creating a reveal page for the Facebook Fan Page. I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty excited about it. Jackie, the graphic designer here at Bamboosk8 did a killer job at creating the graphics for it! It is still a work in process but it has already increased our Facebook “likes” immensely!
On the Analytics front, we are working to implement this on Facebook. I actually found a way to link Google Analytics to the Facebook Reveal tab that I created. That is something that I am stoked about because it’s killing 2 birds with 1 very well crafted stone!!!
I’m excited to be working so hard and seeing those projected numbers rising!!
If you haven’t already, help us out and like us on Facebook!!!
We are moving right along at the Bamboosk8 internship, I am learning a lot about the company as well as myself. One of the things I knew that was going to be hard for me was learning how to be coached and taking positive and negative criticism. One of the main reasons I came into this internship was to learn more marketing and sales skills, so being criticized is just part of the process. All of that I knew, learning how to deal with all of it was something I was not that prepared for. Now that I am 6 weeks in to the internship I am beginning to understand how to really take all of the criticism and use it in a positive way and then learn from it. Although some of it is hard to take I am beginning to like the critisism because it is helping me see the things that I am good at and the things that I need to improve upon.
One of the biggest tasks in this internship program is leadership without it I think the whole program would never succeed. I always saw myself as a leader, someone who likes to take charge and make sure things are getting done. I have learned over the last few weeks that trying to be a leader and just being one are really difficult, especially when there is a group of so many different people with different ideas. Leadership is really important in this internship, especially now because we are really trying to work on some new things for Bamboosk8 like contest, competitions, and events. All of the things will get great new exposure for the company, hopefully. Without someone guiding, motivating, and tracking what we do none of this would be possible. I hope that I can continue doing my part and together we will create something great!
Wow! Today is the last day of week 4 and time has just been flying by! We have learned so much in this first quarter of the internship and I can’t wait for what’s next. For me, this week was about getting my ducks in a row. There was some serious lack of communication going on between the sales team, so we made a huge effort to get on the same page and begin working as a team. Luckily that effort paid off and we should start meeting goals and seeing results in all future weeks! Go team!
Something else going on is prepping for the mid-term. So far, we have learned about different aspects of accounting like gross profit. Geoff told us that the most difficult part of the mid-term will be lead time. We haven’t learned about it yet, but I’m worried it will be similar to the concepts I learned in my Operations Management class… which was my second least favorite class in history!!! I will be sure to keep everyone updated.
Highlights of my week are that I ordered a nice variety of decks to sell and they will be here next week. Then I will begin visiting skateshops, a part of the internship I am most excited about! I also went to Aspen this weekend for the X Games! And yes, Shaun White’s pants really are that tight.
It is currently snowing like a boss outside, so visiting skateparks will be for next week. Eleven inches plus here in Denver… time for a little urban snowboarding!
I can’t believe it’s already the end of week 4. Time has been flying by. It sure has been fun and at the same time, intense. They mentioned in the ad for the internship that it would be intense and that what part of what drew me to this opportunity. It has been really testing my skills and abilities. It has drawn me out of my shell and got me to interact with people more, out skating, even just out in the city, and has inspired more confidence in myself.
Collaborating with all the other interns has been an awesome experience. Working together has been a blessing and a challenge. The interns have provided great insight and great tools to contribute to efficiency and results. It’s been really hard getting us all together but people have been flexible and worked with their schedules for the best of the group.
We’ve had great weekly discussions. We received a great deal of information and insight into business strategy and bamboosk8’s strategy that has helped immensely to understand what bamboosk8 is all about.
I’ve been adjusting to working with new social media tools and new ways to use social media tools I’ve already worked with. I’ve had problems managing my time efficiently and I have addressed these issues by paying more attention to every task I work on and how long it’s taking me. I’ve also took advantage of having a timesheet with priorities laid out so that I have direction in my activities and know when I spend too much time on a task.
The big bosses have provided great feedback and constructive criticism. Mark has really helped me with how to address interview questions and with great insight into value added activities. They all have been great motivators, they radiant positive energy that is contagious and inspiring.
Overall, this is been the most intense, most amazing experience so far. I already feel that I have achieved much personal and professional growth and am looking brightly at the future 3 months.
It’s all about the bamboo!!
Alameda Skatepark
The street signs in my neighborhood are made with skateboards!! ha
The Bamboo decks I am selling at skate shops and skate parks!
We are already into week 4 of the internship! I have to admit that I did not think this internship would be such a big commitment when I signed up for it. I am finding it is difficult to meet my 20 hour requirement while also working another job. It is definitely a sacrifice to do something like this without being paid. With that being said, I believe this internship will pay dividends down the road. The things I am learning about business will make me much more marketable when this internship is completed. Even more importantly, I am learning more about myself. Since I still do not know exactly what I want to do for a career, I like the fact that I am exposed to every area at BambooSk8 from marketing to sales to operations and inventory. I think working a little bit in each of these areas will help me identify what I do like and what I don’t like so I know what to focus on when I get out of here.
Even though we are only interns, we are definitely not treated like interns. We have access to all their information, facilities, etc. from Day 1. We are held accountable for meeting our goals. The office is super cool too. It is a laid back environment but everyone works really hard! Being connected to the warehouse and getting to see all their products helps even further to understand the Bamboo business model. And finally, a company wouldn’t be anything without good people. The mentors here are all dedicated to helping us succeed. On top of that, they are fun to hang out with. Since I work in the office on Fridays, I am around when they make their weekend plans so I got a chance to hang out with the crew for pizza and drinks Friday night, good times!
Yasha Meyer: 2nd place at 4th Southern Slaughter 2012
On January 29th, 2012 I attended the 4th annual Southern Slaughter 2012 skate competition at 3rd Lair Park in Golden Valley, MN. I went to support BambooSK8’s own ECO TRIBE- Level 3 rider, Yasha Meyer. After battling through day one and qualifying for the final on Sunday, I was there on Sunday to cheer Yasha on. He was riding the NEW 4th Generation Owl & Cat deck with all the swag in the world. After a long day on Sunday, Yasha was ready for the results. His BambooSK8 Owl & Cat deck served him well and he placed 2nd in the 13-15 year old finals!
The event brought out some awesome skaters with a lot of talent. I fell in love with all the kids in the 8 and under age group. The future of skating boarding will be in those kids! 3rd Lair did such an awesome job for this event. I cannot wait to go back for another event! Props go out to Mark Muller and all the guys down at 3rd Lair. BambooSK8 is super proud of Yasha and everything he is doing. Check out the video of highlights from the event.
Hello Hello!!
It is week 4 of this internship and it is flying by. There have been a lot of things to do but it’s totally worth it! I can’t get over how much I have learned so far! I’m still pretty stoked about being an intern! Over the past couple of weeks, I have been doing a lot of PR work for BambooSK8! We are given goals or commitments to reach per week and let me tell ya, it’s an eye opener! I’m learning to manage my time better and that “the devil is in the details.” Yet in still, it’s awesome! I love that I get to spread the word about these products to everyone I see, call and email. Lately, I’ve been contacting different festivals, eco events and magazines that BambooSK8 can be a part of. Time to represent!!
Oh! how could I forget the Greenwashed Music Ritual? Curious huh? Well…
The Green Washed Ritual II digital music compilation features 10 amazing artists from around the world who have kindly donated one song each to promote sustainability. For every purchase on the BambooSK8 website, you will receive via email an access code for all 10 songs upon completion of the shopping cart purchase. As a bonus, you will also get the 20 songs from the first GWR compilation. Pretty stellar, right?!?! I mean, who doesn’t like music?
Show some love for these awesome bands by letting your friends know who you are listening to and purchase the bands music!!
With everything going on, I did steal some time to skate a bit….
to do some luging?
and sing “With or Without You” by U2 to a lady at work….note the pen microphone! LOL
She was diggin it!!!
I think overall all of us interns are developing strategies to meet our goals and represent for BambooSK8 in the way should! And we will!! It’ll be really cool to see what the next couple of weeks will bring and what I will learn from this company, my mentors and from the other interns! I’m expecting the best in every situation.
By the way, you want to do your good deed for the day?
“Like” us on FB: www.facebook.com/BambooSk8
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/BambooSK8
Check out the Greenwashed music Ritual: www.bamboosk8.com/misc/music.php
And last but certainly not least, buy a bamboo board! Save a tree. Skate green!
Yo Yo,
It is now week 4 and I have learned so much in this internship already it’s crazy! I am the in-office person for Hook-It, Twitter and YouTube and just keeping up with these 3 is a challenge. I am always looking for a challenge, but I was not expecting the amount of time this internship was going to require. It has taken me a while, but I am beginning to adapt to the chaos and starting to actually enjoy it. Moving forward, I have learned tons of information on the strategy taken by companies to improve their product. It is amazing how you can go about selling the same product in a different way and have it succeed rather than fail. Bamboo has a competitive niche in the market and that is that their boards are lighter; stronger; and most importantly eco-friendly. This gives them the competitive advantage over other board companies. I started riding my first deck last week and I can now tell people what I truly think of the product I am selling. I can only say one thing, they are AWSOME!!! I am never going to ride a maple deck again!
The bosses are really helping me this week when it comes to the different goals and commitments I am working on. I appreciate all of their help, because I know how much time it takes out of their day to help us as well as how much this information will help me in relation to my future jobs. I am also learning a lot about myself, how much I can accomplish and how long it is going to take me. I am excited to start editing old videos and brainstorming new ideas for projects. I am also excited for future contests and events that we are going to hold, because it is good to be involved in the community and give these kids something to get excited about!!! I leave you with a link to the video I made from my trip to Bali in August…
I have been interning at Bamoosk8 for about four weeks now and let’s just say I got off to a very rocky start. I was so excited to start the intern process that when it actually started I got so overwhelmed with everything my performance definitely suffered. It has been really fun learning how to Skype with all of the interns, there is nine of us that have survived the first few weeks. I am also enjoying getting to know Geoff Koboldt the president at Bamboosk8. He has been my mentor the last few weeks and I have really learned a lot from him. Another highlight was selling my first deck, it was a Bamboosk8 blank pool deck to my friend Jeff he is an old school skater and loves long boards.
Now that I am a few weeks in I have been thinking about what is next, I have been thinking of a few of the top companies that I would want to work for other than Bamboosk8 once I finish my internship. My top choice would definitely be Billabong. I have loved them as a brand for a while now and even have a few friends that I know that work there. They are located next to where I live so my commute would be a breeze which is always an added benefit. RVCA would be my next choice. They are owned by Billabong and are a very strong company. I love what they stand for; bringing art, music, and action sports together is awesome. Hurley would also be a top choice of mine, the company stands for love for the ocean, positivity, with a premium on smiles. All of these things I try and live by in my life. Having the opportunity to work for any of these companies would be great, they all are strong and have a large part in making the action sports industry what it is today. Now, I just need to stay positive and finish the internship here at Bamboosk8, so I can hopefully work for one of these great companies someday!
We’re now at the end of our first month with Bamboosk8 and lots it’s happening. When I start to think “OK, I’m getting the hang of it” something comes up in my email and a new exciting task is given to us. So far we’ve been put in charge of different sections of the brand with KPI’s that we have to reach weekly forcing us to work hard and come up with new ways to achieve our goals.
Also, this week I’m moving to a new place which makes everything even harder, however I’m very excited to make new friends and spread the word about Bamboosk8. I’ve got some decks coming Down Under soon, so I’ll start skating different spots and get people’s attention with my higher than usual ollies thanks to the greater pop that comes from the bamboo!
Have you ever had to move house? How was it? leave a comment if you want.
On top of that, this week I also lost a friend and it’s been hard to keep positive and keep going through such a hard time. Shaun was a good friend of mine and I’ll miss him, but what I’ll miss more is having a chat everyday about the surf or having a beer on the veranda, while another plane was passing by in order to land. You would have never thought he was ill, apart from rare occasions and he was always laughing. Anyway, that’s a picture of him and I will always remember him as a friend that never asked anything in return for his friendship.
Did you loose anyone in your life? how did you cope? leave a comment if you want.
In the end, it’s been a hectic month, but I’m leraning so much that it cannot be put in text here. I’m in a team working on Facebook (go and LIKE the page if you haven’t yet at http://www.facebook.com/BambooSk8), we’re working with athletes and followers on Hook it (http://www.hookit.com/brands/bamboosk8/) and we’ve been learning about how to work in a team, about cash flows, income statements and more.
This internship is a massive learning curve for me and everyone else, I hope you get inspired by our stories and you will apply as well for future internships in your way to get work experience in the action sport industry and to help people learn about the environment buying sustainable brands.
Hurry up, summer! Winter is so hurtful and mean!!
~T
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