The Brand:The spirit of challenging themselves through a fusion of fitness, lifestyle, culture, and inspiration is what represents each of these Epic Men. When I first learned about the Epic Man brand I was spellbound by the 'nothing can stop me' mentality of it all...{see post on Urban Epic triathlon}. In a world full of money hungry big business it is so refreshing to experience a brand with such a positive message and kickass representation. In my opinion, it's rare!
The Quest: Hanging out with the 2011 Epic Man team for only a little bit of time left me feeling energized & inspired. This was a true testament of "Dreaming Big Dreams". This is proof that we as human beings can handle and achieve a hell of a lot more than we ever think we can. When Justin told me he was going to Kayak 2.5 miles, Bike 157 miles {overnight} to the start of the Boston Marathon and RUN the marathon 26.2 miles {on no sleep}, I thought he was out of his mind!!! I didn't want to discourage him from dreaming big but damn, that's aggressive! Regardless of what I thought, I supported him through his training and was excited for him and the rest of the team.
A Journey Of Thoughts {& Questions}: While the race was underway it got me thinking ALOT…What is it that holds one back from achieving their true potential?How will you ever know your true potential if you aren't constantly pushing your own limits? Well, I won't really get into all of the details but know that I walked away from this a changed person! I've gone as far as committing to running my first half marathon {and I DO NOT enjoy running…yet, read more about that here}. I feel this is an appropriate time to use one of my favorite quotes…
The starting point of great success and achievement has always been the same. It is for you to *DREAM BIG DREAMS*. There is nothing more important, and nothing that works faster than for you to cast off your own limitations than for you to begin dreaming and fantasizing about the wonderful things that you can become, have, and do.
Unfortunately the task of shooting the entire Epic Man, which took place from April 16-18th, fell through because I came down with a serious case of Bronchitis (thanks to my sister Kristy). Since I didn't want to get any of the athletes sick I only got to shoot a little bit of their trek, here it is!
Will (co-creater of Epic Man, in yellow) and Jason lead the team into the Trek Bicycle Shop in Portsmouth, NH.
Bianca (in yellow) 2011's only Epic Woman made this team look good ;) Her sister Jenna followed her along the way to cheer her on!
Seth (left) co-creater of the Epic Man with his dad and brother Tyler who also was an Epic Man
The short break consisted of quenching their thirst with Miller Highlife and curing hunger with juicy Chipotle burritos to fuel up for the overnight bike
Oakley also provided these sweet shades to each team member
Men stretching in tights… yes, there was a lot of that going on!
Not to worry, there was also mini celebrations along the way… sorta like this
Trek was awesome enough to tune up the bikes before they hit the midnight roads!
Among other things, Epic Man also supports the fight against Cystic Fibrosis
Dinner was served and the team was off into the night...
After stalking Justin with phone calls throughout the night I met him down at the halfway point of the Boston Marathon for the last leg of the journey
THE EPIC MAN CHEER SQUAD… the most essential part of this teams success!
