From the shoes we wear on our feet to the high definition televisions in our living room, wearable devices, the sports universe is a breeding ground for technology. Writer and Photographer Rick Limpert will examine this each week on The Tech of Sports – With guests which include athletes, inventors and journalists that cover the intersection of sports and technology.
Rick is joined by football legend, Dan Hampton this week, who just got inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Hampton, a Jacksonville High School product, earned All-America honors in 1978 when he logged 98 tackles, including 17 tackles for loss, and was named the Southwest Conference defensive player of the year.
The No. 4 pick of the 1979 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, Hampton went on to earn four Pro Bowl selections and was a member of the NFL 1980’s All-Decade team.
Hampton, part of the dominating Bears defense that won the Super Bowl for the 1985 season, was a 1991 inductee into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor and a 1992 inductee into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Hampton was also selected as the No. 2 player on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s all-time list of the top 10 Razorbacks in the NFL in 2020, behind only Lance Alworth.
Rick is joined by Lorena Figueroa, the founder of My Ultimate Bag.
100% odor-scent proof, UV-resistant, and airtight. Protects against theft, tampering, leaks, and damage. This is the only bag you need for ultimate security. Get yours now!
Keep whatever you carry with your safe and dry. Lots of uses in sports and taking to sports event.
Rick catches up with one of his favorite characters this week… Wild Bill from the National Ski Patrol.
The National Ski Patrol not keeps skiers safe on the slopes of North America, but also are first responders when something goes wrong.
Mission
To ensure the safety and well-being of individuals engaged in skiing, snowboarding or biking activities, through education, rescue services, and community support.
Vision
To be the preeminent provider of outdoor safety and rescue education, empowering individuals with the knowledge and skills to ensure their safety and the safety of others in all outdoor environments.
Core Values
Excellence
Service
Camaraderie
Leadership
Integrity
Responsiveness
Rick talks about all of that and more with Wild Bill, who volunteers for the National Ski Patrol in Nevada and Utah.
National Ski Patrol’s Role
The National Ski Patrol (NSP), founded in 1938, has followed its creed of “Service and Safety” since the establishment of skiing as a popular sport in the United States. As snow sports and guest services at resort areas have evolved, so has NSP — from a service organization to a professional education and membership association. Other snow sports, such as snowboarding, tubing, and snow-skating, introduced new equipment and new terrain, which in turn required developing and teaching new safety and emergency care training methods. Increased access to the backcountry beyond ski area boundaries has also meant new training regimens for NSP members. NSP’s most recent endeavor has welcomed bike patrollers as members, in response to the increasing development of summer and year-round outdoor recreation operations.
Today, the organization is composed of more than 30,000 members serving over 650 patrols. These individuals include patrollers who are paid, and patrollers who volunteer their time. While most of NSP members are in the U. S., the organization also has members in Canada, Europe and Asia.
Alfred MInnaar, is an award winning artist born and raised in South Africa, now living in Indonesia.
His specialty… underwater photography and underwater caves.
Great to catch up with him at the DEMA show in Las Vegas.
My philosophy in brand photography is connecting the brand to real people to tell real stories. I do this by connecting brands to extraordinary stories with unique individuals. I believe storytelling is everything in today’s world of marketing, and I aim to capture that in a single image.
I did not start my photography career working with brands. My first job in the industry was working with tourists in Bali, Indonesia. I would follow people out on their dives capturing the experience. From there it was and still is a climb becoming a professional photographer. I find that a lot of people want a career in this industry overnight but the reality is it takes a lot of time like any other profession. I would take photos during the day and at night I would study and watch online tutorials, post productions, and really anything I could find related to photography. They were very long, and sometimes frustrating days, but I was dedicated to pursuing and perfecting my craft.
I was lucky in the sense that over that time I saw a lot of growth on my social media platforms. I was discovered by a big dive magazine in the UK on Instagram and they decided to publish a series of portraits I did on divers that helped jump start my career. The world of diving is a small one and brands saw my talent and it helped to give me credit in the industry. From there I would visit dive EXPO’s in Singapore and Europe where I was consistently networking and pitching ideas to various brands for opportunities. It was in a show in Germany that landed my first big project. The idea was to document a bunch of divers who lived on lake Baikal, Siberia. Lake Baikal is the coldest lake in the world where the temperature can drop to -13°F on the coldest days. The dive club, DC Svall, has not missed a dive on a Saturday in 20 years. The difficulty of this project was highlighted when the editor of Dive Mag UK told me a previous photographer did not give them the desired results. As I stated before, my passion is to connect real people and real stories directly to the brand. I collaborated with a luxury watch brand, a dive brand, and Dive Mag UK to make the project happen on an extremely tight budget. I really needed a project that would prove that I can back my concept and ideas with results and it paid off in the end. In 2020 I won the International photography award in the advertising and branding category. I beat campaigns like American Airlines, which had a way larger budget than myself. I believe it was mainly to do with how I highlighted the unique story of the divers at DC Svall.
I do not believe that my journey in photography could’ve been sped up. Looking back to what I know now I could’ve streamlined certain things like my efficiency with editing photos, but I had to put in the time to network, perfect my craft, and build trust with people. At the end of every year for the last 7 years I would say I am better than the year before and that’s just about putting in a ton of time, honing in on my photography and post production skills, which is extremely important if you want to work with brands. When pursuing a career in photography there are just no shortcuts and it is definitely a lifestyle choice, and with the right focus and perseverance, it is very rewarding.
Erik Korem Bio: Leading the Future of Health and Performance in Pickleball
Korem is an innovative leader in human performance, bringing nearly 20 years of elite experience in sports science, performance coaching, and technology integration. His distinguished career spans across professional sports, collegiate athletics, and groundbreaking contributions to the fast-growing sport of pickleball.
Founder & CEO of AIM7: Dr. Korem’s creation of AIM7 marks a significant advancement in the sport of pickleball. This health and performance app leverages wearable and health data to deliver personalized exercise, recovery, and mental fitness plans, significantly enhancing players’ stress resilience and performance.
NFL and NCAA Pioneer: Dr. Korem has served as a performance coach and sports scientist in the NFL and with NCAA athletes, training Olympic gold medalists along the way. His expertise has shaped the careers of countless elite athletes.
For over 40 years, McLeod Racing owner Paul Lee’s passion has been racing since his first trip down the quarter mile at age 17. Growing up in New Jersey, Paul was surrounded by great race tracks such as Englishtown and Atco Dragways.
Paul joins Rick this week!
“It was a terrific learning experience for a driver racing as much as we did at nearly every track in the Northeast.” Paul’s racing goals have always been the same: to someday win an NHRA Funny Car World Championship. Paul realized long ago that if he were going reach his racing goals, he would need the proper education and business skills to both become successful in business and to betterunderstand big corporations’ marketing goals and objectives. “Today, a successful professional driver needs to know how to market and promote a sponsor’s products or services and to show them how they will receive a measurable and tangible return on investment.”
With the importance of education as a priority, Paul graduated Summa Cum Laude (highest honors) from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania, has two post-graduate degrees in business and law (MBA & JD) from Rutgers University, and is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association. His background in finance and management gives him great skills to run McLeod Racing but his passion for the industry is what gives him his drive. “Owning McLeod Racing and building a team of people here that designs and builds the finest quality high performance clutch and driveline products in the automotive aftermarket are a dream come true for me. I bought my first McLeod clutch while I was in high school, and now I am the President. How cool is that!” “When you buy from McLeod Racing you can rest assured that we would not sell you any part that I wouldn’t use in one of my own cars. Thank you, our loyal customers, for your continued support!
