Feature - David Savoie

David, or “newbz” as he’s known on ST, is a certifiable guy. He lives in Ohio, but does have some other things going for him; he’s a good student, a wicked fast triathlete, and a kick-ass photographer.

David started his athletic career in rowing… getting blisters at 4:30 am for 6 straight years. From what I understand, he was pretty good at it too – he spent his last two years trying (unsuccessfully) to make the US national lightweight team. When it was time for a change (and a switch to triathlon), his rowing fitness helped him get darn fast, darn quick. Still in his early twenties, newbz has already picked up a couple overall wins, and just got accepted onto the USAT mideast elite team for this upcoming season. He’ll be racing all over - at the Desoto Triple T, at Rockman and Powerman Ohio, and at Beaches2Battleship (for his first ironman-distance race). It should be a good season for him, and I can only imagine he’ll get better as time goes on.

Professionally, David is still a full-time student, studying photography at Denison University. He hasn’t finished the degree yet, but he’s already turning out professional-quality work. As you’d expect, he shoots some athletic subjects, but usually finds a cool way to do them – not just documenting the action, but showing the effort and emotion below the surface. He shoots a lot of non-sports stuff too, and really, I think that’s where he produces the best stuff. A lot of work with cool subjects, work with cool lighting, and just altogether good composition. I’ve posted a few short samples of his work below, but a lot more can be seen on his blog. David can print everything on there for a pretty good price, so if you like what you see, by all means, help a brother out.

David’s self-portrait:



And two general shots:

Feature (part 3) - Randy McLain

"Roommate Randy," as he's known to the people who live with him, is a pretty cool dude. He works hard, he trains like an animal, and he's a ton of fun around the house. Plus, he just bought a couple boxes of girlscout cookies that I get to eat, so his stock is pretty high right now.

Randy works for McKesson Corp., the mega-huge health care company. He works as part of a team that helps smaller health care providers deal with some of the most expensive chronic diseases (like diabetes) - giving them some of the support and tools they need to manage the disease. The idea is to work on preventative management - to treat the disease before it lands people in the emergency room... which keeps the patient happy, and which keeps money in the pocket of health care providers. While doctors and nurses create much of the content for the programs, Randy works on the financial side of things - creating the pricing plans for each client. He decides if do a project for 15 million, or just 14. It's important work - not only because the quotes have to be solid (you don't want to forget a zero on that one), but because Randy has to understand the big picture of every project. It isn't a job for just any number-cruncher, and from what I gather, Randy's pretty good at what he does.

Randy's athletic resume is pretty decent too - he's a former D-1 football player (at Northwestern), and now, a darn good triathlete and cyclist. He did IMWI a couple years back, during his heavily tri-obsessed days, but didn't have a great race (nutritional problems on the run). Now he races bikes more than anything, and enjoys some darn good results on the track – he was best all around rider (30-34) at nationals in ‘06. This season, he'll head out on the track circuit (for both nats and worlds), hit a couple road races, and wreck havoc on the 5430 Long Course bike leg (I'll try and run his ass down). Judging by some of the training he’s already doing, it should be a pretty good season for him.

If you want to connect with Randy or connect with McKesson through Randy, you can use his work email: randy.mclain@mckesson.com. He can get you in contact with the right people quickly, and cut out a few steps for you. Plus, he said he'd buy me some more cookies if a client signed on through Tri Biz. So just maybe, I can kick some back to you.

A couple pictures of Randy.

The Head Shot:


And the Racing shot:

Feature - Any Vantassel

Amy’s a cool chick. She’s a real-deal athlete (she did IMLP in 2006), but she doesn’t always act like it. She’s up for going hard at masters, but up for getting a beer afterwards too. And above all, of the most importance, she’s a really good bowler (editors note: she’s not really that good… but she told me to write that).

Professionally, Amy makes the admissions department at Marlboro College tick. She travels around a lot, promoting the school all over the country. And of course, she does the work to meet applicants, and eventually, to fill the school. If you’d like to know more about Marlboro, or if you’d just like some insight into the admissions process (or if you’d like to chat about bowling), you can email Amy at: avantassel@marlboro.edu.

Amy Eating Fig Newtons At LP... Twice: