The Origin Of Ski Rex Media
It was on the Ski Rex Media Twitter page that one of the fans of the podcast, Lance Tormey (@TormeyL), asked about the name. He asked, "Tell me about your company name ? U are a fan of dinosaurs?"
The actual story of the origin of the Ski Rex Media name starts about ten years ago and has very little to do with skiing. It all started during my days in retail while living in New Jersey.
I believe it was the winter of 2008/2009. I was a team leader for a Target store in Brick, NJ at the time (Shout Out T-1153). The team I was leading was stock and logistics, so that required me to be in the backroom/stockroom during the night. It was during one of those visits to the stockroom that I ended up jogging from one end of the stockroom to the other, though I don't remember why I felt the need to jog, Also, that probably not a safe environment to do so. But, I did it anyway for whatever reason.
Now, while I was jogging through the stockroom, I had my arms up to about the middle of my chest, which is not how I usually run. I will admit that I am not the best runner in the world, but I at least have a proper form or at least one that is close. With my arms up like that it didn't take long for my coworkers to notice that I looked as if I had little Tyrannosaurus Rex arms. I would have much preferred they went with the Velociraptor, a true jungle hunter, but they didn't. They went with the Rex, resulting in the nickname, T-Rex.
As time went on, the name stuck. Just about everyone who worked there at that time took to calling me T-Rex. It was all in good fun and didn't bother me. In fact, I can admit that there were times that I ran with the limp-wristed, high on the chest, looking like T-Rex arms purposefully just to get the attention. But, there came a time I thought I would change the bit up a little bit, take it over, and make it my own. Again, this wasn't because of anything mean spirited or because it bothered me. No, it was more for the attention and I thought it could be funny.
You see, I didn't hide from anyone that I am a ski enthusiast. Everyone who worked there knew that I was into the sport, that I did a lot of skiing while I was growing up in Vermont, and that I would go back to Vermont as often as possible to ski. There were even folks at the job that would go up there with me to ski. So, I told the team one night, probably during a lunch break, that I wasn't just a T-Rex, but that I was a Ski Rex. That's when they all looked me dead in the face and told me that no, I was a T-Rex and that's what I was. So, I failed in turning the bit.
Time goes by, the T-Rex name is still very much a thing, but I'm still thinking of ways to push the Ski Rex bit. After one of the ski trips back to Vermont, I thought I had an idea. I figured that if I gave those who knew the bit something to see that I could get Ski Rex to be a thing. That's when I took to photoshop and made this picture to the right. It's nothing fancy, just some pictures I stuck together to make the very first visual representation of Ski Rex. However, that didn't turn the bit either. It just leads to in-person and Facebook jokes about archeology and a close friend of mine asking "Is that a picture of you the guys took last week?" referring to the ski trip I had just returned from.
It would seem that T-Rex was here to stay and that I would have to live with that. Again, this was all in good fun, so I didn't mind at all. But, I wasn't going to give up on Ski Rex. It was actually a few years later that I came up with another idea for a picture. Not to give out too much of a spoiler, the next picture would become the first logo for Ski Rex Media years later.
So, as I said, it was a few years later before I came up with the idea for the next picture of Ski Rex. This time I wanted it to be something less goofy. Not that I didn't like the first one. I really did, but I wanted to do something a little different this time. So, I took to photoshop once more, but couldn't quite get the look I wanted. I wanted something that looked a bit more hand-drawn, but I was not, and am not, the best artist. So, with a combination of photoshop and tracing paper, I was able to get what I wanted.
Now, for this drawing, which is to the left this time, I wanted to do something special to show it off. I wanted to come up with something that could really drive home the idea of Ski Rex and make it stick this time. So, I had that drawing made into a t-shirt. It was, and still is, pretty awesome I think. I mean the shirt has taken quite a beating since it was made in 2014 and has been used for skiing, working out, geocaching, and other physical activities, but I still love it! Those who saw it thought it was kind of awesome, too. I did get a few compliments on it at the time, but in the end, I still had friends and coworkers saying no, I was a T-Rex and that's what I was.
There is a side story to the t-shirt, however. I used one of the online services that allow a person to make their own online shirt store. Though the original intention was for just me to have one to show off to my friends, I figured that if I could sell a couple and make a few extra bucks, why not go with it? So, I made them available to the public and one did sell. Yes, there is a second, original Ski Rex design shirt out there, though who knows who has it? If you are that person, let me know. Post a photo of it if you can and tag it with #SRMWalkingBillboard.
Anyway, back to the story. I have my shirt and, once again, a few years go by. At this point, I have left New Jersey, moved to Las Vegas, and eventually move back to Vermont. Once I get back to the land in which I grew up, I start to think about what I want to do with myself. I decided I want to do something with my love and enjoyment of winter and skiing and try my hand at writing. I have always loved to write and had learned how to do in school. So, I started up a little blog with the intent to write my own stuff and try to be a news media outlet, as well. You know, report on the industry, competition, weather, gear, and other things of that sort. It was a slow start, as I needed to relearn some writing techniques, but it wasn't a bad start. That is until I realized that I needed to name this new venture.
What's in a name? Well, enough to get it to stand out from others, which is something we all want to do. It didn't take long for me to come up with the idea of using Ski Rex as the name. The fact is, since the first minute I said it I thought it was wicked original. So, why not run with it for this? Well, it's not all that original. I started to notice that there were other Ski Rex entities out there. Now, none of us that use the name or a similar name has ripped off the other. It really is a coincidence. It's actually not that popular either, just enough to notice. In any case, I had to change my name just enough to get it to stand out. It took some thought, but after realizing that I was not only trying to be part of the media but that I wanted to eventually try different ways to present that media, like podcasting and video and whatnot, that I should use that as the name. It was that realization that leads to the birth of Ski Rex Media.
That's right, a bit that a bunch of coworkers and I came up with almost ten years ago became the name of this little media outlet that I am working on creating. It really is an example of how a story can start in one place and end in a much different or random place. But that's just the origin story. You'll have to stay tuned to see where the story of Ski Rex Media goes from here. Also, since I would like Ski Rex Media to have as much community interaction as possible, you can help that story along. If you enjoyed this story, enjoy the other written content, or just enjoy the name, you can subscribe here and share the love by sharing this story or any of the others. I would appreciate it if you did.
The actual story of the origin of the Ski Rex Media name starts about ten years ago and has very little to do with skiing. It all started during my days in retail while living in New Jersey.
I believe it was the winter of 2008/2009. I was a team leader for a Target store in Brick, NJ at the time (Shout Out T-1153). The team I was leading was stock and logistics, so that required me to be in the backroom/stockroom during the night. It was during one of those visits to the stockroom that I ended up jogging from one end of the stockroom to the other, though I don't remember why I felt the need to jog, Also, that probably not a safe environment to do so. But, I did it anyway for whatever reason.
Now, while I was jogging through the stockroom, I had my arms up to about the middle of my chest, which is not how I usually run. I will admit that I am not the best runner in the world, but I at least have a proper form or at least one that is close. With my arms up like that it didn't take long for my coworkers to notice that I looked as if I had little Tyrannosaurus Rex arms. I would have much preferred they went with the Velociraptor, a true jungle hunter, but they didn't. They went with the Rex, resulting in the nickname, T-Rex.
As time went on, the name stuck. Just about everyone who worked there at that time took to calling me T-Rex. It was all in good fun and didn't bother me. In fact, I can admit that there were times that I ran with the limp-wristed, high on the chest, looking like T-Rex arms purposefully just to get the attention. But, there came a time I thought I would change the bit up a little bit, take it over, and make it my own. Again, this wasn't because of anything mean spirited or because it bothered me. No, it was more for the attention and I thought it could be funny.
You see, I didn't hide from anyone that I am a ski enthusiast. Everyone who worked there knew that I was into the sport, that I did a lot of skiing while I was growing up in Vermont, and that I would go back to Vermont as often as possible to ski. There were even folks at the job that would go up there with me to ski. So, I told the team one night, probably during a lunch break, that I wasn't just a T-Rex, but that I was a Ski Rex. That's when they all looked me dead in the face and told me that no, I was a T-Rex and that's what I was. So, I failed in turning the bit.
 |
| The Very First Ski Rex |
It would seem that T-Rex was here to stay and that I would have to live with that. Again, this was all in good fun, so I didn't mind at all. But, I wasn't going to give up on Ski Rex. It was actually a few years later that I came up with another idea for a picture. Not to give out too much of a spoiler, the next picture would become the first logo for Ski Rex Media years later.
So, as I said, it was a few years later before I came up with the idea for the next picture of Ski Rex. This time I wanted it to be something less goofy. Not that I didn't like the first one. I really did, but I wanted to do something a little different this time. So, I took to photoshop once more, but couldn't quite get the look I wanted. I wanted something that looked a bit more hand-drawn, but I was not, and am not, the best artist. So, with a combination of photoshop and tracing paper, I was able to get what I wanted.
 |
| The Second Ski Rex Picture |
There is a side story to the t-shirt, however. I used one of the online services that allow a person to make their own online shirt store. Though the original intention was for just me to have one to show off to my friends, I figured that if I could sell a couple and make a few extra bucks, why not go with it? So, I made them available to the public and one did sell. Yes, there is a second, original Ski Rex design shirt out there, though who knows who has it? If you are that person, let me know. Post a photo of it if you can and tag it with #SRMWalkingBillboard.
Anyway, back to the story. I have my shirt and, once again, a few years go by. At this point, I have left New Jersey, moved to Las Vegas, and eventually move back to Vermont. Once I get back to the land in which I grew up, I start to think about what I want to do with myself. I decided I want to do something with my love and enjoyment of winter and skiing and try my hand at writing. I have always loved to write and had learned how to do in school. So, I started up a little blog with the intent to write my own stuff and try to be a news media outlet, as well. You know, report on the industry, competition, weather, gear, and other things of that sort. It was a slow start, as I needed to relearn some writing techniques, but it wasn't a bad start. That is until I realized that I needed to name this new venture.
What's in a name? Well, enough to get it to stand out from others, which is something we all want to do. It didn't take long for me to come up with the idea of using Ski Rex as the name. The fact is, since the first minute I said it I thought it was wicked original. So, why not run with it for this? Well, it's not all that original. I started to notice that there were other Ski Rex entities out there. Now, none of us that use the name or a similar name has ripped off the other. It really is a coincidence. It's actually not that popular either, just enough to notice. In any case, I had to change my name just enough to get it to stand out. It took some thought, but after realizing that I was not only trying to be part of the media but that I wanted to eventually try different ways to present that media, like podcasting and video and whatnot, that I should use that as the name. It was that realization that leads to the birth of Ski Rex Media.
That's right, a bit that a bunch of coworkers and I came up with almost ten years ago became the name of this little media outlet that I am working on creating. It really is an example of how a story can start in one place and end in a much different or random place. But that's just the origin story. You'll have to stay tuned to see where the story of Ski Rex Media goes from here. Also, since I would like Ski Rex Media to have as much community interaction as possible, you can help that story along. If you enjoyed this story, enjoy the other written content, or just enjoy the name, you can subscribe here and share the love by sharing this story or any of the others. I would appreciate it if you did.
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| The Fourth And Current Version Of Ski Rex |
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