Skate Blog Intern Blog

Here it is: the End of the Long and Winding Road. I know this phrase usually refers to the journey of life, but I feel it to be a cogent representation of this internship.

It is no secret our blog entries these past sixteen weeks have been nothing but lyrical representations over a myriad of tracks in an emotional songbook. Through the highs and many, many lows, the only consistent aspect that provided any sort of amelioration can be attributed to personal growth. Don’t get me wrong—it came at a lofty price. The tremendous amount of growth is only paralleled to the blood, sweat and tears poured into this internship; and for that, I am truly proud of our class. The amount of work, sleepless nights, improvisation and growth was paramount and completely intrinsic to our success. There is serious vindication for all of us, despite our doubts and criticisms and (at least for me) novel mistakes.

To Class 14 and other prospective interns: look before you leap. This environment harbors no fortuitous nature of any kind—it will only reciprocate exactly what you put into it. You will work hard—possibly the hardest you have ever worked in your life—and then pushed to work harder. Your tasks will compound themselves. You will feel you are learning exponentially, at times too much. You will be asked to do more. You will be accountable for everything—even those of which you had no part. You will feel your efforts are never appreciated, let alone adequate. You will be frustrated. You will be exhausted. You will be weary, beaten and even broken. That is what this internship is designed for—to push you to your absolute limits. Your team mates and tenacious positivity will be your only allies–use them.

When it is all over, your original self will have been so warped and eroded that only a different version of yourself will remain—a version you never knew existed. For this person, I am so very grateful and you will be too, should you decide to embark on this tumultuous journey.

To BambooSK8: thank you for the opportunity and allowing a nomad like myself to run your public relations efforts. Lastly, to my fellow interns, past and present: I lack the articulation (and sophistication) to express my sincere gratitude. Just know I thank you more than I can ever express here. We are the total sum of everything we’ve experienced thus far, and I only hope the pride you have crafted these past sixteen weeks mirrors the image I have of all of you.

Cheers,

Virva
BambooSK8 Class 13

Week 16 is here, it’s true. It felt like it may never happen but it has and the three of us have made it. I’m so glad to share this experience with the people I have, I know we all worked very hard to be here. This internship as a whole has had its ups and downs and fallen soldiers. There have been a lot of learning curves, especially with financial break downs. I know this has greatly improved any existing finance and accounting knowledge I may have had.

For those about to endure their 16 weeks with BambooSk8 I will part with a few lines about the internship. It is about taking advantage of the situation and making the most out of the experience for yourself, no one is going to do anything for you. It’s about being true to what you say, digging deep, and being accountable. It’s about showing up and being present, every time. It’s about communicating, creating a bond, and seeing things as they are not how you want them to be. Overall, it’s about honesty, having standards, and not doubling back on them. In the end your hard work should prevail.

I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again, thanks to all the interns, past and present, for being such an asset to part of class 13. It has been great to meet you all and I wish you the best in the future. I am looking forward to pursuing a career in action sports and feel I made a good choice to start here. So to BambooSk8, thanks for the opportunity to be involved in an industry I have the deepest passion for, one love.

Jacob

Here we are! Week 16: the week we never thought we would see. Leaving on our legacy for the next class, who we have had the pleasure of interviewing this past week. God speed to you all. This will be one of the biggest rollercoasters ever. It has been for our class at least. It’s been quite an adventure, and with my intern class, it’s been an awesome adventure. I’ve learned so much about the business world, the action sports industry, and myself. It’s been a priceless experience that has given me what I feel is years of experience. Where the next road leads to, I don’t know, but I can definitely tell you that what this internship has taught me will carry with me for the rest of my life.

For those of you considerng pursuing this opportunity, let me tell you that this is not for the faint of heart. You will hate it at times, and you will be broken down to your roots. You will be pushed above and beyond your comfort level. However, if you’re like me trying to make your way through the action sports industry, this is a great opportunity that will help you immensely. Take leadership of your life and find your opportunity rather than sitting on Malakye and waiting for it to come to come to you.

So here we are, the Tres Amigos at week 14! Even though there are only three of us, we have adjusted our respective goals and are working hard to keep the momentum of the course going.

The course’s end is now more palpable than ever, but like the Olympic marathon runners I have watched this past week, I feel we are now using our last reserves of energy to reach our goals. We are so very close!

I have noticed there is a need to write PR SOP files for the next class; since they aren’t currently in existence.  Going back through the email history of this internship and my postings, I find that I have made a great deal of mistakes. However, these mistakes were all part of the learning process—it is only because I did not know any better and acted with the best of my abilities at the time.

I am now utilizing any spare time I have to write these SOP files specifically for PR; to ensure the next class will also learn from my mistakes and not repeat them. It’s quite an interesting position I find myself in; knowing literally nothing about PR at the start of this internship and now being able to impart so much of what I have learned. It’s a fantastic sensation when you feel your contributions are of equal magnitude to those of your peers’.

On that note, there is still quite a bit of work ahead of me including a 5:30 conference with Mr. Black & White Truffle Cheesecake…..<sigh>..the obligations one must fulfill in the name of work.

-Virva

Week week 14 and we are down to 3 interns. I can see the end of the road and I’m excited to see what it has in store. We’re all working extremely hard to meet our goals in this last stretch. Although we are 3 people short, we are still Achieving high results. We can do it! I’m confident in myself as well as my team.thatching more time to devote to our commitments now that we don’t have to do many of the things that were required of us at the beginning. Excited for what’s to come!

It is hard to believe it has been over 3 months since this whole endeavor has started. I expected it would cruise by faster than I would realize but I still get shocked when it happens. The past 3 months have been a journey. I have gained so much knowledge, experience, and possibly more importantly is confidence. There is always that period when a person starts something where confidence may be lacking due to in-experience but this internship has pushed me to look forward to those times. The internship isn’t over yet and points are still of the essence. With only three of us remaining it was an adjustment but we refocused our goals and are pushing forward by prioritizing our duties. I have confidence we can achieve what we have originally set out for but either way I am grateful for the opportunity to work within the skateboard industry. Skateboarding is something that has always had a huge influence on me, like a first love. I’ve been skateboarding since a young age and can’t imagine living a life without it. So for the chance to work with any skateboard related material, I say thank you BambooSk8!

With all that being said I was able to grab some more skateboard decks and get hustling at the skate parks! Been hitting up the skate park more these past few weeks than I have been able to in the past couple months (no complaints about that) and looking for those kids with the haggered boards. Kids have been really receptive to the boards and interested in trying them. Again, with points playing a major factor of finishing this internship out right I gotta push those sales!

The next time the blog is edited it will be my last days of the internship, so I’ll save it for now and get back to work. Even though we have two weeks left I have to say thank you to all the interns, present and not present, for all their hard work, assistance, and insight. It was great to meet you all!