So what was this ad going to be like and what would they need of me? In the weeks leading up to my ad shoot I received emails that informed me little by little as to what was going to go down in Chicago. Kelly, my Got Chocolate Milk contact, would email me asking about my shoe size one day and the next it would be what day's worked out for me to fly out and so on. Talk about building the excitement! With all my flight details and my hotel stay confirmed I was off to the airport for Chicago.
After a little delay in my flight I arrived and opt to take the train into the city. I reach my stop and head up to street where it's cold, it's windy, it's CHICAGO!! I get my bearings and I head to my hotel. They had set me up in the Ritz-Carlton hotel which was fancy schmancy. My room was great with an awesome view of the city and Lake Michigan. After a bit of rest I head down to meet up with Kelly and two others working on the campaign for a dinner/meeting at Bar Tome to discuss the shoot for tomorrow morning. I then head out by myself to explore the city some with my main objective to eat one of my favorite sandwiches the Italian Beef from Portillos before going to bed.
I wake up at 4 am from the feelings of excitement and nervousness about the shoot and I can't go back to sleep. It was a good thing my friend Dan was able to take me out for a run at 6:30 am to get rid of all those butterflies. We ran along the Lakeshore Path in the freezing rain and wind. Great run with a good friend to ease my nerves before the shoot.
"THE SHOOT"
Kelly and Wu pick me up to take me down to the shoot at Lincoln Park. To be honest I figured there would be 3 or 4 people out there to do the shoot but this was a big production. They had a big trailer, lots of equipment, and just about 20 people to work on the shoot. I mean there was a make up artist, a stylist, producers, and lots of crew. I got to meet everyone and finally meet the photographer, Jim Krantz. This guy was awesome and really put my mind at ease from the start. Even though he was an intense guy, I could tell he was just about as excited as I was to shoot the ad pics.
He tells me that he wants to capture the moment after a race or a workout where I have that feeling of "I did it! Now I'm' ready to refuel and do it again." He wants it to be real with no posing as he'll be taking hundreds if not thousands of shots of me and only needs ONE to get the perfect pic and that we will get that pic today.
It's raining, windy, and cold! Jim tells me that this will actually make for a better picture and that it'll look freaking badass. I agree and tell him I'll need about 15 minutes to run and warm up my body to get ready to shoot. I figured taking pictures directly after a run would make it more realistic and he agrees. After the run we do our first shot where I'm leaning on a railing and looking around. I take a gulp of chocolate milk, look around, and then drink more chocolate milk. After each change of scene, I do a warm up and repeat the process of sipping chocolate milk and looking around. For some of the latter shots, at the end of the day, Jim had me saying "I did it!" every so often to get me in zone. I think it worked well to get me in the mood of the scene.
I ended up running about 6 miles with all the running before the shots and drinking about a gallon and a half of chocolate milk. That's a lot of chocolate milk! Good thing I love the stuff! I got to see some of the shots that they may use and I'm excited to see what shot will actually become my ad.
I tell you what. If you ever have low self esteem, go out and do a shoot with Jim Krantz. This guy had me feeling like a million bucks after the shoot. He was awesome to work with as was the whole team that I worked with that day.
Ended my stay in Chicago just walking around the city and seeing the sights. I had to get me some deep dish pizza at Giodano's before I left and yes I got a small pizza all too myself.
Joining Team REFUEL has been an awesome experience! If you're reading this and love low-fat chocolate milk like I do, go ahead and make yourself or your team a video and apply! You'll get $500 in sponsorship money free gear, free races, and everlasting memories. Head over to www.gotchocolatemilk.com to apply.
Thank you so much Got Chocolate Milk Team REFUEL for giving me this experience of a lifetime.
Look for the ad in your fitness magazines most likely in June! I can't wait to see it myself!
I DID IT!!
I DID IT!!
How so very cool! I loved this behind-the-scenes look at the process. I hope you enjoyed the Chicago food. My office just enjoyed some Lou Malnati's for lunch.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Jeremy. You lived like a star, and ate like a king for a day. That must have felt awesome, truly awesome. Until your flight was delayed. LOL. It was great running with you.
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