I was on the chair lift yesterday thinking this is one of those days that I need to think back on whenever I think I have it rough. Days like yesterday are the days that make my job so cool, and make me think I am the luckiest person in the world. I got to ski and film a commercial with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The CEO of Mammoth introduced me to Arnold as the “National Champion” and the Governor’s reply was (insert best Austrian accent) “Yes, I could tell. She looks like a racer!” Not sure if that is a compliment or not but it made me laugh.
We then took four or five runs to film the commercial. Arnold led, and the rest of us were to ski behind him. Everyone who has asked me about it so far has asked if he is a good skier or not, and the answer is that I was surprised how good he is. Of course, if you consider he grew up in Austria, you soon realize it is in his blood. He skis with an ‘old school’ style, with his skis together and very upright, but he is graceful!
Of course security around him was really tight, actually tighter then when the Olympic team went to the White House to meet the president. We were briefed to only address him as Governor, and absolutely no cameras or cell phones of any type at any time. When I was at the White House, we had to go through a metal detector, but there were no rules about addressing the president, and I have a picture with one arm over the shoulder of him, and the other holding the camera to take a picture of us!
Some of the things I noticed about Governor Schwarzenegger that interested me: He had a pretty quiet personality, he was shorter then I expected, and he travels with a make-up artist. Those are 3 things I never would have guessed! It was a really cool experience, and I was able to restrain my urge to talk with an Austrian accent around him!
I will keep you up to date on any other cool experiences, but I bet this will top off spring as one of the coolest. Check back often!
STACEY COOK is an elite member of the U.S. Ski Team’s alpine skiing program. She competed in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy and was a member of the 2007 World Championships Team... {more»}
