Get Pumped

Hey y'all - 

So here's what's been consuming me for the past month:

For a while, I've been doing some freelance PR work for a global gym franchise. And for almost as long, I've been suggesting that they produce a commercial spot that they could share with their small-town franchises who might otherwise not be able to afford a slick-looking ad. So a year or two passes, and I get a call that starts, "WHAT IF we produce a commercial spot that we could share with our smaller franchises..." Having served my time in Hollywood, I'm more than familiar with people pitching my ideas back to me, and then pretending they're new and brilliant. I have no problem with this. 

After reminding them that I'm one woman who lives in Montana and whose wardrobe consists primarily of pajama pants and I should NOT be confused with an advertising agency, I pitched them two ideas. They liked both. Then I opened my big mouth and said, "Well, for only X dollars more, we could shoot and edit BOTH!" I'm still in my pajama pants, mind. 

So they approved both and suddenly, I was in the advertising business. And that's pretty much when I stopped sleeping. 

I put out a casting notice that we were looking for fitness models to appear in our commercial(s), and actors and models started sending me pictures of themselves, more nude than not. And I sat at my desk, eating box after box of Triscuits, deciding which perfect specimens should be called in for a meeting. At some point, I should mention that I do not belong to a gym myself, and have no business (again) having anything to do with the fitness industry. 

Your dad did a Navy stint in San Diego, flew home at midnight, and I flew out the next morning at 5am for casting in LA. We may have given each other a high-five in the middle of the night like wrestlers do when they're tagging each other in. 

I spent a full day in LA, meeting a new model every 15 minutes, all day long. I can't imagine what it's like to pursue a career based entirely on your appearance. God bless these folks, truly. 

At the end of the day, I went out with friends to a cool tiki-themed party at an even cooler restaurant on Sunset Blvd, but because Karen and I are both mothers of preschoolers and it was after 8pm this is how we looked in the ultra-trendy photo booth:

I spent the night at Brian and Tyler's house (sharing a bed with their dog, Ben), and flew out the next morning. I had been in LA less than 24 hours. 

Three days home, then it was time to fly back to LA for the actual shoot. By this point, I had developed a habit of taking pictures from the window seat on my flights.

Salt Lake City, Sunrise

De-icer, drying

Zen

Great Salt Lake

Vegas suburbs

I had worked myself crazy over this project, stressing over how every dollar was spent, and fearing that we wouldn't get the footage we needed at the end of the day. But when the day arrived, I could not have asked for a better shoot. The beautiful people were beautiful.

...and the crew - all of whom I'd worked with before and loved - were hilarious. 

The trainers who worked at the gym where we filmed gave the models a hard time all day for not lifting more weight or doing more reps. So I told the home team I would reserve the last hour of the shoot day for them, and if they had something they wanted to show me, I would film the heck out of it. And when it was their turn, they really brought it. 

They worked together with such heart and commitment and passion - stopping to high-five each other along the way - that I imagine they're going to end up being the bulk of this ad. 

On my way out of town, I stopped to have lunch with my friend Will and ate more sushi than I have ever eaten in one sitting in my life. More importantly, I got to see his sweet baby, Ethan.

I apologize to Will's parents for not being more sociable - it was great to see you! - but after 6 weeks of anxiety and a 12-hour shoot and two flights in one week and 18 pounds of rice in my system, I was bordering on comatose. 

Now I'm home and happy and ready for the holidays, and so thankful I have a family that puts up with my ridiculous job. 

Since getting back, I've gotten word that the gym is going to be opening franchises in Tijuana, so I'm also producing Spanish versions of these ads. I guess if I'm already not an advertising agency and I don't know anything about fitness, it won't matter that I also also don't habla espanol. 

Here's to failing upward. 

Love,

Mom