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The end or the start?

Saturday, April 28th, 2012

Hi all,

this is my last blog entry for the Bamboosk8 internship. To you all that are starting this internship soon, good luck. It will change the way you see things, you’ll make lots of friends, you’ll learn a lot about action sports, skateboarding, people and business.

To those that worked with me for the last 4 months, thanks for all your effort and for helping me when I needed it. I hope to see you guys soon and work with you again.

To Mark, Geoff K, Geoff C and Jacquelyn, thanks for all your knowledge and friendliness. I can’t wait to meet you guys and work with you again in the near future.

4 months ago I was wondering what to do after I finished my studies and I didn’t have much experience or quantifiable results to show to prospective employers. Now, after 16 weeks I have a baggage of knowledge, confidence, experience and quantifiable results to go ahead with my career and I know I will stand above the crowd of job seekers.

I can’t thank enough everyone for their time and support, I wish actually I met you guys earlier, but this is where my destiny is taking me right now.

If you’re looking for a positive change in your life and all the other internships never filled that void, well, buckle up for the roller-coaster of your life. You’ll sweat a lot and you’ll be tested to your limits, but every week you’ll see how much you’re learning in sales, PR, marketing, finance and what others take years of work to learn or are never given the chance.

I consider myself lucky, being part of this class and having these people take time from their daily jobs to create something meaningful for future graduates or current university/college students is something that you won’t find anywhere and I know. I searched all of Europe, Australia and USA for this and only Bamboosk8 accepted me and had what I was looking for…real, quantifiable experience that I could then use to get a job in the action sport industry or whatever it is that you’re looking for.

Thanks again for making my life so hard at times, now I have the bigger picture and I know it was all worth it.

Bamboosk8 rocks!!!

Gabriel Ghigi

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Almost there!

Saturday, April 14th, 2012

It’s week 14 in the internship, we have done a lot to get here and it was worth it.

I’m already thinking f the next step. After all, this was  a stepping stone to go onto greater things. Everyone’s putting in a lot of effort to reach the goals we were given at the start of the internship to pass the stage and get a good reference. Alissa, just found a way to get more active on Hook it, we just had a new deal for 2 deck for the price of one going online, Gavin has closed a deal with another e-commerce website called Krush who’s selling our gear for two weeks, Tameka has been organising our final event and it’s almost ready to go. Jamie has been working hard this week to get all he files uploaded to the network so we’re all up to speed with commitments, Michelle has been leading the way with the math for us in finding a way to make a future company works in an exam we took earlier in the internship. David has been killing it on Twitter with a 300 more people added to the account and getting some clips for the Panda suit. Jessi is driving people to Facebook like no other and numbers are going up and up.

The points are flying everywhere and in the meantime we’re finding new ways to improve the internship and make life easier and better to the next batch of interns that will start after us. We have now only two weeks left. Next week we’ll go ahead with a final interview to see how we use the STAR method and to get that hard to get job in the action sport or wherever others want to go. I wish I was there to party and the final event we’ve been putting together, but it will do just by passing the internship or I’ll be super devo because I’ve put so much effort into it.

To the new interns starting soon and whoever reads this blog and wonders if doing this or not I say just go and do it. The worst it can happen is that you learn more than you would think of regarding yourself and your professionalism. Sure it’s hard work and it’s free, but it’ll give you an edge towards other people looking for a job.

One last thing, go check our Hook it contest Prop My Deck

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Gabe

 

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Week 12 here we come!

Monday, March 26th, 2012

We reached the end of month 3 in this hard but amazing internship. What can I say…every day I’m learning something new! If it has to do with going to skate shops and get them on-board with our awesome decks, like I did this week or if it has to do with making sure our riders on Hook it are doing their part and respecting their contract’s duties, it’s all happening here at Bamboosk8.

Personally, this last two weeks I’ve visited a shop on the Gold Coast and they’re so happy, maybe we’re starting a distribution in Australia. They love our decks and my sales rep abilities made it all possible (aahahahh, I’m a genius!!!). At the Hook it team, we’ve been working on competitions and bringing more people active to interact with us with emails, comments ect. The latest competition we’ve created is bringing a lot of action to the website and our brand, it’s called the Bamboosk8 Treasure Hunt and kids have to find clues hidden in other sites of ours and the first to find the clues win a prize.

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The crew residing in Cali was fortunate enough to participate at the Clash at Clairemont, but were unlucky with the weather since it rained all day and no demos went on, but Bamboosk8 stayed there to the end supporting all the kids and fanatics around.

Time is flying by now and if everything goes according to plan in 4 weeks’ time we all graduate from the internship with enough points to move forward with our careers. This week also we have our final exam, daunting but very important to teach us about lead times and shipping costs together with understanding how a business stays profitable over the course of a year. Last time I did well, but this week I really want to go the extra mile and get maximum points.

We have been also interviewed on all the questions we are given during the internship, to see our changes to responses and to see if we are learning to use the STAR format. A very useful way to be prepared and kick it at future interviews. We’ll have another one in the coming weeks as a final one before the end of the internship, but this one was good because I gathered a lot of feedback on what to improve.

Well, I guess that’s enough of me for this time, let’s go out there to shred in Bamboosk8 fashion!

Thanks for reading

Gabe

 

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6 to go!

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

How  are you little leprechauns????

St.Patrick’s day is coming this weekend and we got so many things happening at Bamboosk8.

The internship is going really well and we’re all putting in a lot of effort in making it as successful as the others. This weekend we have the Clash at Clairemont event where we’ll have a booth so don’t be shy and come say hi. You can meet most of the interns making the pilgrimage to Cali and you can try and buy our decks, new graphics and new apparel clothing!

We are striving to reach time efficiency by using our MPS system and the time-sheet  to record how much time we spend on assignments and duties and how we perform compared to previous weeks. using a time-sheet is also really helpful to assign things to do to different days of the week so that we’re more efficient and we can have more time to put toward other commitments.

Learning first hand how the action sport business works I can say that it’s a 24/7 job. You never rest and everything is going on anytime, but when the results come in is very rewarding.

I hope to learn more during the next few weeks so that I can use the information and experience to find a job sooner than later.

Thanks for reading

Gabe

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The calm after the storm!

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

Hi all Bamboosk8rs fans and readers of other people’s blogs!!

We just had a week from hell with a financial exam and everything else going on. This internship is redefining the meaning of “busy”. I truly have admiration for Gavin and Jessi who always seem in control of what’s going on, but I guess being in the office helps a big time. All the interns though are putting so much effort to get everything going and results are coming in.

This week we’ve been working on Hook it, Facebook, Twitter, Movie Maker Xtranormal, an event in Cali, auctions in Last Click, work on Seshday, Survey monkey on different things and the exam on how to create Income Statements and Cash Flows.

We’re also running multiple events on all platforms. Check our websites for what we’re offering our followers and trusted customers,

Twitter: who tags the most @Bamboosk8

Facebook: Are you the chosen one? enter team video to win

Hook it: How green are you contest, posting pictures of how to be green recycling ect..

Bamboo we: Bamboo bonanza code to buy and then enter sweepstake

I mean what else can we do?

Wait and see our next blog to find out what’s coming at you.

We’re so proud of making so much difference already and another 2 months ahead of us!

Bye Bye now!!!

Gabe

 

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Halfway point in sight sir! arrrghhh

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Wow, I’m already in week 6. Time is going by so fast and with all the things we’re doing, I didn’t even realize that the halfway point in this internship is coming.

In the last few weeks, I’ve learned about using the feedback from my mentors and bosses here at Bamboosk8 to improve how to get my commitments done, reach goals and be a team player. I also learned about being a leader with my groups to get things done properly and efficiently regarding Hook it and Facebook, while helping other leaders of other teams with their goals. Receiving positive and negative feedback I can grow as a person and as an employee. It’s funny because when we started, I thought I was good at this and that, while now I know that I’ve got so much still to learn and at the same time I’m making gigantic steps. The feedback is always relevant and when I follow through with it, I see the difference in my speech at meetings, while writing with my fellow interns and when making sure projects are handed in at the right time.

There are so many tasks to do each week that motivation is not hard to come by generally! If you stop you fall behind and possibly out of the internship, however the staff is always there to guide us and make sure we work to achieve the weekly goals. We are all leaders in different groups and meetings, which is an invaluable experience in the real world. Tasks keep pouring in each week, so we keep motivated and we understand how to work under pressure and in a timely manner by using a spreadsheet with all our weekly duties.
To stay on the internship we constantly have to reach KPI’s each week, which are rewarded under the form of points, the backbone of what keeps us going forward in the stage and it’s like a recognition of our efforts since our final grade will determine our recommendation.

If you look for an internship in the action sport industry and you want to make a difference in real life to other people and the planet, this is it. Bamboosk8 will take you beyond what you think it’s your limit and you will discover how much potential you have.

By the way, I’ve just received my 10 decks from Bamboosk8 and now I can’t wait to show you all my fantastic skills on a bamboo made skateboard, while all the other people in Australia wonders with their jaw wide open at what I’m riding and where to get one!

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On a roll!

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

Woz up??

We’re now at the end of our first month with Bamboosk8 and lots it’s happening. When I start to think “OK, I’m getting the hang of it” something comes up in my email and a new exciting task is given to us. So far we’ve been put in charge of different sections of the brand with KPI’s that we have to reach weekly forcing us to work hard and come up with new ways to achieve our goals.

Also, this week I’m moving to a new place which makes everything even harder, however I’m very excited to make new friends and spread the word about Bamboosk8. I’ve got some decks coming Down Under soon, so I’ll start skating different spots and get people’s attention with my higher than usual ollies thanks to the greater pop that comes from the bamboo!

Have you ever had to move house? How was it? leave a comment if you want.

On top of that, this week I also lost a friend and it’s been hard to keep positive and keep going through such a hard time. Shaun was a good friend of mine and I’ll miss him, but what I’ll miss more is having a chat everyday about the surf or having a beer on the veranda, while another plane was passing by in order to land. You would have never thought he was ill, apart from rare occasions and he was always laughing. Anyway, that’s a picture of him and I will always remember him as a friend that never asked anything in return for his friendship.

Did you loose anyone in your life? how did you cope? leave a comment if you want.

In the end, it’s been a hectic month, but I’m leraning so much that it cannot be put in text here. I’m in a team working on Facebook (go and LIKE the page if you haven’t yet at http://www.facebook.com/BambooSk8),  we’re working with athletes and followers on Hook it (http://www.hookit.com/brands/bamboosk8/)  and we’ve been learning about how to work in a team, about cash flows, income statements and more.

This internship is a massive learning curve for me and everyone else, I hope you get inspired by our stories and you will apply as well for future internships in your way to get work experience in the action sport industry and to help people learn about the environment buying sustainable brands.

Talk to you soon
Gabe

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Bam-boo! Bam-boo! Bam-boo!

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

I’ve finally started the internship at Bamboosk8 and now I am part of the tribe as well. I gotta admit.. I thought it was going to be an easy start you know??!! Au contraire! We’ve been flooded wit lots of things to do and to set up, which I’m really happy about, because unlike other internships I’m not going around buying coffees for everyone else, but I’m actually working to improve the company results and the tight crew here at Bamboosk8 really welcomed us all with open arms.

I’m working from Australia, which is cool since Bamboosk8 is not known here, so I’m really excited (and the guys in the office are as well) to hopefully expand in the land Down Under.

There’s interns from all over the US and from different walks of life, just stroll around the blog to read their posts as well and see how they’re going and what they think about the internship. It’s awesome to work all along towards achieving our goals in life and on the professional side.

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to go and watch an amateur contest search here on the Gold Coast (Australia), so I took the initiative of taking some footage with my Gopro for you all to see.

http://youtu.be/59RlUmXdChQ

It was great to see so much talent and the vibe was really cool, no barriers or security, so I could actually go and mingle next to the competitors in the contest area and have a prime view of the shredding happening. You know, there might be future flow riders there that haven’t been discovered yet!

Anyway, these two weeks I’ve started learning a lot about myself as a person and how hard it is to actually manage my time between my other job as a lifeguard and the requirements of the internship. From next week things will change again and me and the other interns will start working really hard to get quantifiable results that we can use towards achieving our goals.
My goals for the internship is to learn as much as possible about marketing and the action sport industry, while making leifelong friends and connections along the way.

Keep following my posts every second week to find out what’s happening at Bamboosk8 and how the internship evolves.

Cheers
Gabe

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