Onward.
A Team. Crested Butte, CO - 2020 (2 weeks before pandemic)
My best friend, Brian Leto, and I launched Cadence in 2007 in our mid 20’s in an Austin, Texas garage. Let’s be honest, there wasn’t a lot of thought put into quitting our first jobs out of college and starting a company. I believe at the time I really just wanted to move to Austin! We did not know much but had clarity on one thing: we were not going to settle on any job and hellbent on carving a path with our existing passions to make a difference. It had to involve sports, people, and being outside. We both played soccer since diapers and being active was all we knew...we could certainly figure out a way to make it a business, right? Suffice to say neither one of us were Rhodes Scholars but we figured what the hell - no regrets!
I moved to Austin (from Lubbock, TX where I went to college) with a few things, little savings, and a high interest credit card that I believe I signed up for at Senor Frogs in Cancun. It made complete sense at the time. We set up shop in Brian’s converted garage-room and I lived in his spare bedroom. Old twin bed and tupperware drawers for socks, boxers, etc. I certainly wasn’t scoring many hot dates with that set up so may as well work!
We had no clients, per se, but did have a few relationships - one of them being Jim Birrell and his business partner Chris Aronhalt with Medalist Sports. Jim is now ED of Obliteride and a founding member of CCC. Without those guys giving us young eager beavers a chance, I would not be typing this blog post. With a few contracts from Jimmy & Chris, we knew that we could at least eat - probably only veggie ramen but could see the chicken flavor on the horizon. One thing we did know...it was going to be hard to outwork us - a methodology that still provides solace today because lord knows nobody is perfect in the event space.
There is no such thing as a perfect event which can either drive you crazy or keep you motivated. It’s both for me. The opening ceremony at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was not perfect - even though it appeared so. One of my favorite montra’s is that if you’re not making any mistakes then you’re not trying hard enough. Despite the typical ups and downs, I’m not sure we would change anything about the journey. What an amazing ride (no pun) it has been. Each day we work with organizations and their events who are literally making an impact and creating positive change for people around the world.
If there is one thing we definitely did not ponder in 2007, IF (big if!) we somehow made this work, it would mean a LOT of travel. In 2019, I took 125 flights (2020 = 5 flights). In addition, there are not many events that happen on a Tuesday! The majority of the population, regardless of their career choice and hierarchy level can at the very least look forward to the weekend. Our business takes working for the weekend to a new level. It’s not as though you are not working Monday-Friday. In many respects, an event professional has a rather normal Monday-Friday. Spreadsheets, conference calls (or Zoom calls!), etc. But then you’re onsite at 3AM and depending on the event you might get 6-8 hours total sleep in the next 2-3 days. This is not an earth shattering revelation but outdoor events typically happen when the weather is favorable! Another shocker, this is also when most normal people do things! You know, take a trip or go to a concert (well…). Most major holidays? Forget it. Pre 2020, I can’t tell you the last time we did not have a major event on Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. Since 2009, Thanksgiving has been 3AM-3PM with just enough time to eat a little, watch the Dallas Cowboys get steamrolled again, and fall asleep. There is even a borderline depression in the few days after a major event where being physically/mentally exhausted meets disappointment that it is over. There are months of ramp up and then poof!...it’s all over in a few days. As strange as it may sound to some, this way of life gets in your blood. The energy and camaraderie that comes with live events becomes a way of life. That said, I’m not going to lie, during the pandemic (and still…) it has been awesome to have open weekends and being home with Kim and our young son, Emerson. They do grow fast!
I’m a cryer. It doesn’t take much. It could be a happy moment, but if I relate that moment to an underlying symbolic meaning I’ll lose it every time. So, as you might imagine I cry at all of our events (never without my sunglasses). IMO there is not a greater melting pot of emotion than a cause-related event. If you want perspective just go watch or volunteer. You simply can’t beat witnessing a cyclist currently going through cancer treatment in tears as they cross the finish line. Or someone who has NEVER consistently ridden a bike completing a 100M ride because they are, in their own way, trying to equate the struggles and suffering their loved one is going through. Laughter, tears, joy, sadness, pain - it’s all there and much more - every single time.
This time last year, like so many other organizations in our space, we were preparing for another great year. The economy arguably had never been stronger with unemployment at its lowest in decades and GDP at its highest. The cause-cycling space, in particular, was coming off a record breaking year in 2019 that saw the top 48 events raise a collected $235M for their respective missions. Our team convened in Colorado in mid February to do a little ‘planning and playing’ on the slopes before the year went into high gear. We were entertaining a number of new clients, daveling with new technologies, preparing for the ‘20 P2P Conference in our hometown of Austin, Texas - life was good! What could possibly happen?...
I remember like it was yesterday. My better ½ (Kim) had a conference in Denver in late February 2020. The conference was at the Gaylord Rockies (sidenote - if you’re ever in the Denver area I recommend checking it out - unbelievable) so we decided to go as a family. We had welcomed our son (Emerson) into the world in April of ‘19 and had committed to making travel a big part of his life - just like his parents. In his first year, he took 30 flights and visited Europe and South America. At this point, a quick flight to Denver was easy. During the conference, we met Kim down in the lobby after one of her sessions. She was with a colleague and introduced him to me, so of course, I extended my hand. He then half jokingly removed his hand and instead extended his elbow! I had no idea what was going on but figured this might be a secret company handshake? As someone who is always socially present and is terrified of awkward situations I quickly extended my elbow still not knowing what the hell was going on.
They both kind of chuckled in their nerdy engineer way. After her colleague left, I asked Kim,, “What’s the deal with the elbow thing? Threw me for a loop!” Kim said, “We just got out of a session and learned about the looming coronavirus and social distancing” “Coronavirus? What the hell is that?” “What happened to SARS?!”, I thought. When we were leaving the conference Kim asked me to take a few items to the onsite FedEx for shipment. It was Monday, the conference was over and the hotel was all of a sudden dead, which is typical. I started making small talk with the FedEx guy and said something like, “I bet you stay busy with all these conferences?”. His response was, “Well usually yes but I just learned that ALL conferences at the Gaylord have been cancelled indefinitely starting TODAY.” “Are you fucking serious?,” was my exact response. “It's this Coronavirus thing”, the equally perplexed FedEx guy said. Then it hit me - the elbow and la coronasita or whatever Kim and FedEx guy said it was called. You mean this isn’t another random disease that makes a news cycle and then is contained in some extraordinary way by even more extraordinary people?
A few days later, the annual SXSW conference in Austin was cancelled. Sidenote: You don’t just cancel SXSW...but that’s exactly what happened. To my knowledge, this was the first ‘major’ outdoor/indoor event to be cancelled due to COVID-19. Many will say they knew it was serious when the NBA cancelled the season but SXSW did it for me.. If you live in Austin or have ever previously attended SXSW you understand the enormity of this event. SXSW is promoted for 2 weeks but it seemingly takes place the entire month of March. The secret of Austin, Texas has definitely been out for a while and the growth has been stratospheric in the last decade. SXSW brings the spotlight (and density) to an entirely new level. The overwhelming amount of people from all over the world and mix of business, music, and culture is a sight to behold. Not to mention an ENORMOUS economic injection into the city. Unfortunately, like many organizations in the sports/entertainment/travel industry, SXSW had to lay off more than a ⅓ of its employees. At least in my mind, I knew when SXSW was cancelled we were SOL...well, so to speak.
Just like dominoes, the world began to unravel quickly. The stock market lost 20% from mid February highs, more than 3.3 million American’s filed for unemployment just in 1 WEEK in March - many of them from the travel/entertainment/leisure industry. Everything cancelled, quarantines, masks, no school, small businesses closing. Where the hell is the toilet paper?! What do you mean my 11 month old can’t go to daycare and must call in using Zoom everyday? What the hell is Zoom? I like to think of myself as someone who follows business quite astutely and knows the markets, blah, blah. I’ll be honest though, I’d never even heard of Zoom! Maybe we (and our clients) were old school but with all the conference calls we were accustomed to attending each week I’m not sure we had ever intentionally scheduled a video call! I can not believe I did not buy any of that stock right then and there! Hindsight 20/20. Who knew it was going to last this long? It’s kind of funny to look back on the naive perspective that I and so many others had. Admittedly, I thought for sure we would be back up and running by Fall. It was like SARS, right?!
Another mantra that has always resonated: Where there is difficulty lies opportunity. Before the pandemic, a virtual event was basically a meaningless aspect of the vast majority of events. If this statement doesn’t apply to you then consider yourself a globetrotter. For everyone else, virtual was simply a registration setting in the fundraising platform which basically meant...Don’t want to participate but still want to fundraise?
Click HERE, create a page, and we’ll send you a t-shirt...and maybe a water bottle. Not anymore! Just about the same time that a Zoom call became common nomenclature so did we’re going virtual. Think about it, what makes a live event amazing also restricts it. We are confined by our location - like a brick and mortar without an online presence. If there is a ride in California whose mission is near and dear to your heart but you live in Switzerland, I’m going out on a limb and say that you will probably never make it out! Furthermore, there is a likelihood that you will never hear about this organization in the first place. The virtual element removed all logistical borders and it was evident in the demographics to most well run virtual campaigns last year. All 50 states and multiple countries represented became the norm for many small-medium sized physical events. Those types of demographic numbers are normally only reserved for the largest, most powerful events. Not anymore! Of course, we also experienced the pandemic at the right time from a technology perspective.
The proliferation of platforms such as Strava, Zwift, Discord, etc. only make it easier to support your favorite mission and actually participate in an engaging manner.
The residual effects and longevity of virtual are yet to be determined but we, along with many others feel strongly there are throngs of folks around the world who will likely never physically participate but would consider getting involved from afar if given the platform and opportunity.
To be clear, we would much rather have a physical event vs. a virtual event any day of the week. You simply can’t duplicate human energy and emotion. People have been gathering since the dawn of man and god willing we get back to that place soon. If not, there may be some of our staff members that go postal!
It does appear the world is slowly taking the steps to open while still maintaining caution. Uncertainty (tired of that word) will inevitably linger for an indefinite period but I’m confident in science and the human need for social interaction. As I type this first CCC blog post, it is 7 degrees in Austin, Texas and there are millions without power and water. We are fortunate to have power but no water. It’s amazing the reliance on those two things! More perspective on how lucky we really are!
I am proud to join fellow colleagues to launch the Cause Cycling Coalition. The CCC has been a looming idea for a few years now. Truthfully, this is Adele Nelson’s (No Kid Hungry - Chefs Cycle) brainchild. I just don’t think she wanted to do the paperwork! In all seriousness, it is our hope that CCC provides a go to location for anyone involved in the incredible cause-cycling space to learn, network, and collaborate. We welcome everyone who wants to be involved and welcome any feedback to help it flourish.
Gary Metcalf, Co-Founder of CCC
