ITU bound Brad Culp
Brad Culp just left Competitor Group's Triathlete Magazine and will be moving North to take on a new role as the ITU Media Manager. He checked in with slowtwitch to share some thoughts about the past and future.
Slowtwitch: Wow, you no longer work for Triathlete Magazine. Does it feel strange?
Brad: A little strange. I’ve had a lot of fun at Triathlete for the last two and-a-half years, but I was ready for something new.
ST: Where are you with your Visa process?
Brad: If no snags come up I should have my visa in hand next week. Then it’s time to pack the Jeep and head north. Although I’ve been thinking I should start in Tijuana to make it my first three-country road trip.
ST: What will you miss the most?
Brad: I’ll be going from the sunniest place on Earth to one of the rainiest, so I’m sure I’ll miss San Diego’s weather every day. Other than that, I’ll miss the big industry gatherings like Interbike and Kona. Not sure how many of those I’ll be able to make it to in my new role. Oh, and swimming in La Jolla Cove. That was always my favorite workout.
ST: With you and Jay now gone, that will certainly make it quite challenging at Triathlete in the near future. What do you think?
Brad: I’m sure they’ll be fine. Things are always crazy. That’s what keeps it fun. Both Triathlete and Inside Tri will continue to improve year after year, as both pubs have done for a very long time. I’m subscribing to both. And now I can read Slowtwitch without feeling guilty. I’m sticking to the main page though. Your forum is more addictive than crack.
ST: You are taking over Stephen Bordeau’s position. Is that correct?
Brad: Yep – I’ll be taking the role of Media Manager. I’ll do my best to fill Stephen’s shoes. He could whip out a 2,000-word press release within 90 seconds of a race finish. I know I won’t be that fast at first.
ST: Can you explain to our readers what your new job exactly entails?
Brad: To make sure the fine tri journalists like you, Dan, TJ Murphy, Jay Prasuhn and Susan Grant have the ITU on their minds at least 23 hours a day. I’m going to bombard you with ITU content over the phone, through e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, gChat, iChat, snail mall and courier pigeons. The only way to stop me will be to make sure slowtwitch is overloaded with ITU. It’s what your readers want.
ST: You traveled quite a bit before, but it appears that you will be even more of a traveling man moving forward. Will you even need an apartment in Vancouver?
Brad: I found a house in North Vancouver to share with two guys from Scotland. We’re walking distance to the lifts at Grouse Mountain and they both snowboard a lot too, so I think it’ll be a good time. There are also mountain biking and running trails just down the street. I’ll be able to jump on a trail and not see a paved road for a hundred miles. I can’t wait.
ST: The ITU also lost Peter Holmes in a tragic accident. Any word on who is set to take over his position?
Brad: It was tragic. That happened right when I applied for the job. I would’ve loved the opportunity to work with him.
Masa Takaya, who previously worked for the Tokyo 2016 Bid Team, is filling that position. I haven’t had a chance to meet him yet, but I’m looking forward to it.
ST: Can we expect to see a big Brad Culp board shorts sale on the San Diego Craig’s List in the next few days?
Brad: Hell no. Those things are coming with me. There’s nothing wrong with wearing boardshorts north of the border, eh?
ST: But you will buy a snowboard or two soon we would imagine.
Brad: I’ll be bringing one up there and something tells me I’ll have two or three by the end of the season. I’m really looking forward to taking advantage of the mountains up there.
ST: Before we let you go, what was the deal with you and the Toyota Cup?
Brad: That was taken in front of our office. I think Jay took it… I was holding the Toyota Cup hostage from Greg and Becky. Was planning on drinking beers out of it but it was really gross inside.
ST: Well Brad, thanks for the chat and we certainly hope you will stay in touch with us and keep us posted.
Brad: Like I said Herbert, I’ll do more than stay in touch. I’ll be your worst enemy after my first week on the job. But in all seriousness, I hope the ITU and Slowtwitch can work together to give the true core of triathlon some really bad ass content. Just get ready to take those early morning phone calls when you’d much rather be out for a ride…
