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Yellowman

Statistics

Created: 10/09/09

Last Edited: 10/30/09

Appreciations: 2

Comments: 1

Project Info

Owners

Ron Wu

Credits

Paula at Terry, Odessa Gunn

Tags

photography, sports, fashion,

No use is allowed without explicit permission from owner.

Fields: Photography, Fashion, Art Direction

From: Ron Wu's Portfolio

Tribute to Peter Mui :: YellowMan :: 1953 - 2009

Dear Team YellowMan:

I want to thank you and share with you a story about the magic of YellowMan and Peter Mui. Magic is the only way I can explain what happened at the first ever GranFondo bicycle event in California last weekend.

A tiny bit of background on the event. GranFondos are popular in Europe. They are hugely-attended citizen "bicycle races" of the biggest, grandest routes that the pros ride. Thousands of people attend them and they're usually really challenging in duration (100 miles+) and/or difficulty (Alps). Levi Leipheimer, podium finisher at the Tour de France and a resident of Santa Rosa, CA, had an idea to bring them to the US and the first one was held last weekend up the infamous King's Ridge and down the northern California coastline: levisgranfondo.com.

We decided to do our spring catalog photo shoot with this in the background so my photographer, Ron Wu (ronwuphoto.com) and I flew out with our bikes. The day before the event, a last minute fedex package arrived with the women's YellowMan cycling jerseys and armskins. Of course I had to wear one to the event. And not just one, I brought a couple more in my pack so I could change. Ron had arranged for us to get press passes which enabled us to get into the VIP hospitality tent. It was there that the magic of the YellowMan jersey kicked in. Odessa Gunn, Levi's bombshell, pro racer wife took one look at my outfit and I was no longer an invisible 50 year old, vertically challenged, poser cyclist. I was the best dressed out of the 3500 people who showed up to ride. I said "nice bike", she said, "where'd you get that jersey & those arm warmers?" And then got called to the start line with her famous husband and a bunch of other cycling celebrities.

So of course we had a beautiful day, took lots of photos, got tons of attention and ended up back in the hospitality tent at the finish. After some champagne, wine, maybe a beer or two and a costume change into jersey #2, Ron pushed me into approaching Odessa to ask her to model for us (this would be like asking Cindy Crawford to model for your homemade swimsuit catalog while having cocktails at her husband's swank bar). So I was nervous. The cycling goddess, Odessa, was flattered to be asked and said as long as she could model the YellowMan jerseys she was in.

So the next day, pinch me but here we are at Levi Leipheimer's house, shooting his 5'9" wife in YellowMan with her custom Trek carbon bike and 7 rescue rat dogs for the 2010 Terry catalog. We've never scored such a coup. She's the real deal, and then some. She LOVED your jerseys and I barely was able to peel them off her. She wants one in every iteration and I'm sure her best buddy and cycling pal, Sheryl Crow, will need a set, too.

This may mean nothing to you -- you deal with celebrities all the time. But to have your first official appearance at the first GranFondo and get the attention of the first lady of cycling, well, I'm just kind of blown away. And although I never got to know him, I am 100% certain that this is exactly what Peter Mui had in mind.

I can tell you that these jerseys are the only jerseys I will ever wear. I want that magic in my life.

Paula Dyba
VP Marketing
Terry
www.terrybicycles.com