Derek Parra Update:

Six Months After the Olympics
Nine Months After the Olympics
One Year After the Olympics



Six Months After the Olympics/ August '02

Since the Olympics Derek has been on a whirlwind tour of the US and as of this writing the phone is still ringing.  Highlights include the “Derek Parra Day” parade, induction into the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, The ESPY Awards, ringing the opening bell on Wall Street, and of course the 60’ tall billboard tribute to Derek that will stand for years to come in his hometown of San Bernardino, courtesy of new sponsor Big Bear Mountain Premium Spring Water.

A one page summary of what he’s been up to his online here.

Derek has given more speeches to more people than we can list.  Just last week there wasn’t a dry eye in the house in Kansas City as he emotionally relayed his story to the American Chiropractic Association.  In the next few weeks he’ll be speaking for both the IRS and the CIA…we’re still not quite sure why, but it seemed foolish to say no to either of them.

To view a listing of other companies Derek has spoken for, click here.

Derek has been particularly active in the Latino community through scholarships, speaking engagements, awards and honors. In just a few weeks he’ll be honored with a Hispanic Heritage Award (on NBC) and he was recently named Sportsman of the Year by Hispanic Magazine.

To read what Derek has been doing in the Latino community click here.
 


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Olympic Champion Still Going Strong
by K. Lunka

How long does the shine of an Olympic medal last?  With the dog-days of August fully upon us we’ve now quietly marked the “six months since” anniversary of Team USA’s record setting 34-medal performance in Salt Lake City.  But how many of us can actually name any one of those successful dream chasers who took home the hardware?  With the mercury rising most thoughts are of anything other than snow and ice, but a handful of Olympians have survived the thaw and appear to be making the transition from once-every-four-years obscurity to here-to-stay celebrity.  One of the lucky few is a diminutive, yet big hearted  speedskater you may remember from an onslaught of Home Depot commercials that ran during that fortnight in February.  Derek Parra has not melted away, in fact, his in-crowd now includes none other than our country’s Commander in Chief.

“He came out, saw me, and said “Hi Derek”, and my first reaction was to reply “Hey George”, but I caught myself and said “Hello Mr. President” recalls Parra, referring to his induction ceremony into the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport. “It’s pretty strange, I’ve now met the President enough times that he actually knows me by name, THAT, was certainly not part of even my wildest dreams.”

But for Parra, who took home two medals in speedskating from Salt Lake, including a gold medal world record performance in the 1500 meter event, life since the Olympic flame was extinguished has been one remarkable, and lucrative ride.

Derek Parra grew up in San Bernardino, about an hour southeast of LA. He went on to establish himself as one of the greatest roller skaters of all time before transitioning to ice speedskating and capturing our hearts in Salt Lake City as he mouthed the words “I love you” to his young wife for all the world to see just moments after winning Olympic gold.  Heartfelt tears on the medals podium solidified him as a sentimental favorite coming out of the Olympics and perhaps it was that raw emotion that corporate America took note of and decided that he is their kind of guy.

“I’m an emotional guy says Parra, and I always have been. In fact I’ve given tons of speeches since the Olympics and I still get choked up, every time, thinking about it all.  I was prepared for the Olympics and trained to win, but I wasn’t prepared for what life would be like afterward, if I did win.  I never expected any of this.”

Who would?  Seven months ago Parra was, as he said during a recent speaking engagement, “Just some little Mexican-American kid going around in circles all day on an oversized ice cube, then wham…just like that I’m on the Rosie O’Donnell Show.”

Rosie, Letterman, Leno, you name it, Parra’s been there.  Just last week he made his fifth appearance on the Today Show and that is an indication that he’s here to stay.

“The Olympics are no longer news, that’s obvious” says Patrick Quinn of Q Sports, Derek’s agent. “But the fact that it’s the dead of summer, and Derek is still making his way onto major programming like Today, is a clear indication that he has come out of this year’s Olympics as one of the stars who will be around for the long haul.”

Parra’s recent stint on Today was promoting inline skating events in NY City, just the latest stop on his whirlwind tour of post Olympic success.

“Frequent Flyer – is perhaps the understatement of the year”, says Parra.  “Is there such a thing as a Constant Flyer?”

There have been just over 180 days since the Olympic Games closed and Parra has had some kind of speaking engagement, PR commitment or promotional appearance on all but 26 of those days (as of this writing).  All that work has translated into pockets that are a bit more full than they were a year ago. In fact, Parra’s daily speaking fee is now not far off the total income he earned for all of last year running up and down the aisles of Home Depot between twice daily speedskating workouts.

Home Depot, who had helped sponsor Derek before the Olympics has continued their support and newcomers have come knocking from all different directions.  Big Bear Mountain Premium Spring Water, a bottling company from Parra’s hometown snatched him up into what has been rumored to be a lucrative four year deal that will keep his shot at the 2006 Olympic Team very much alive.

“Big Bear has been great, just another dream come true.  They produce a healthy product (water), are from my hometown, and they’ve already committed to funding my training and living for the next four years”, said Parra.

USANA Health Sciences, Novell Computer Systems, Nike and Wells Fargo have followed suit, signing Parra to host of endorsement deals.  Next time you shop at The Gap, check out who’s looking back at you in their newest ad campaign. That’s right, along with Willie Nelson and Sissy Spacek, that’s Derek Parra.

Nowhere has Parra been better received than in the nation’s ever growing Latino community.  As the first Mexican-American to ever get to the Winter Olympics, let alone bring home a pair of medals, Parra’s impact on Hispanic American’s has been ever more pronounced.  He’s been nominated by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the US, named Sportsman of the Year by Hispanic Magazine and in just a few week’s, after a stopover at the Latin Grammy’s, he’ll receive a Hispanic Heritage Award broadcast on NBC alongside popstar Ricky Martin (who’ll be honored as well).  Talk to him for just a bit and names like Edward James Almos and Tony Plana creep into the conversation, all just stories of life since crossing the finish line.

“My wife and I have been in People Magazine, but so far not in People en Espanol, I’d like to get in there”, relays Parra.

Hey Amigos, wake up, Senor Parra is here to stay.

With so many American Medal winners(thirty different American athletes won medals in Salt Lake) why is Parra coming out on top in the competitive corporate endorsement world usually reserved only for graceful figure skaters and high flying skiers?

“Derek enjoys people” says Quinn, “since the Olympics I’ve seen him sign thousands of autographs and every time he’ll look the person in the eye and ask them their name.  He connects with people, he loves it, and they love him”.

More importantly though, Quinn goes on to say that Parra transfers the same hard work ethic that made him successful on the ice, to his new role as public endorser and growing celebrity.

“Derek never just wings it, when someone hires him to speak or make an appearance on behalf of their company, he prepares.  He works almost as hard on public speaking as he does and sharpening his skates and that’s why it’s paying off for him.”

Paying off indeed, though neither Quinn nor Parra himself would comment specifically on the skater’s newly bulging bottom line, Quinn says, “Suffice to say the next time you see Derek Parra in Home Depot, he’ll be there because he wants to be not because he has to be.”
 

 

Nine Months After the Olympics - November '02

In case any of you were concerned that all of the public appearance demands and new found celebrity that accompany an Olympic gold medal may have had an adverse effect on Derek Parra’s return to the world of international competitive speedskating…you can put those worries aside.   Mr. Parra has made it clear that when it comes to training, it is “quality”, not “quantity” that matters most.

Returning earlier this week from three World Cup competitions in Norway, Germany and Holland, Derek brought back with him four more medals to add to his ever growing collection.  He is currently the overall World Cup points leader in the 1500 meter event (the distance in which he won Olympic Gold in February).

Parra:
“I must confess, I went over to Europe simply hoping to be in the top ten.  With everything that’s been going on in my life since the Olympics I’ve really had very limited time to train, so my expectations were adjusted for what I expected to be some humbling races.  When I won the first bronze medal in Norway I was pretty excited, and more than just a little relieved.  Then when I took gold and silver in Germany I was pumped.  After that, having to settle for bronze again in Holland was actually disappointing.  With the minimal amount of training I’ve had this summer I know I shouldn’t be disappointed with any podium finish, but I just can’t help it.  I want to win.”

Derek’s coach, Bart Schouten:
“In light of the kind of schedule Derek’s been keeping since the Games, I’m certainly pleased with the results.  But, given the proper training, all of those medals could have been gold and Derek knows it.  He’s clearly the best skater in the world, he established that at the Olympics, and his performance in these first few World Cups confirmed it.  I’m excited to have him back to full time training and we have our sights set on the World Championships this Spring.”
 

What else is new with Derek…

- Watch for Derek on the cover of the upcoming edition of the Orlando Yellow Pages
- Derek was recently honored to be included in the inaugural run of a series of trading cards showcasing the greatest Olympians of all time.
- The Derek Parra motivational speaking tour rolls on.  His last stop was for Franklin Covey Inc. (now available on video)
- In between World Cup medals and speaking engagements Derek has begun work on book about his life and struggles en route to Olympic Gold.
- Derek was recently nominated for the James E. Sullivan Award, “Presented annually by the Amateur Athletic Union since 1930, the Sullivan Award is given to the athlete who, “by his or her performance, example and influence as an amateur, has done the most during the year to advance the cause of sportsmanship.”
 

One Year After the Olympics - March '03

Salt Lake City, UT, March 24, 2003 – It’s now been just over one year since Derek Parra won gold and silver medals at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games.  He recently returned to Salt Lake after completing the post Olympic year speedskating season, culminating with a second place world ranking on the World Cup circuit.

“It’s been a crazy year, to say the least.  I think I carried a lot of the momentum out of the Olympics and into the early part of this season through the fall competitions (Parra was ranked #1 through early winter).  But I think some of the post Olympic year chaos caught up to me in the second half of the season and I just couldn’t hold on to that top step (of the winner’s podium).  All in all, with everything that’s gone on since the Olympics, it was still a great year but I sure am looking forward to relaxing a bit and spending some time with my family.”

That may be wishful thinking for Parra.  Later this week he’ll begin the second year of his new found Olympic celebrity by headlining a Xerox/Special Olympics event in NY (Sat.), followed by an appearance at Disney World (Mon.), then a four day showing at the Dodge Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament in Naples, Florida (Wed.- Sat.).

“I’m flattered that people still want to hear my story and invite me to attend all of these events.  That’s certainly one part of the Olympic experience that I never expected.  I thought for sure, by now, things would have died down, but it looks like I’m in for another busy spring and summer.  It’s just incredible.”

In fact enough people want to hear his story that Parra is in the final stages of putting the tale of his rise from the streets of southern, CA to Olympic Gold into a book.

“The book is going really well.  I didn’t just want to throw something down on paper three weeks after the Olympics just to getting something on the shelves.  It’s been such an incredible experience that I wanted to take some time to really reflect on what it’s meant to me.  In fact, it was only after many people who heard me speak encouraged me to write the book that I actually decided to do it.”

Parra was recently nominated for the James E. Sullivan Award (the amateur sports “Oscar”) and was honored by inclusion in the inaugural run of a series of greatest Olympic heroes trading cards along with Bruce Jenner, Greg Louganis, and Mark Spitz (http://www.olympianheroes.com/).

Despite his growing celebrity, you’ll still find Derek Parra right where he started, running the aisles of Home Depot, though lately he there because he wants to be, not because he has to be.

“The people who have stood behind me at Big Bear Mountain Water, Home Depot, Nike, USANA, the ACA (American Chiropractic Association) continue to do so, and for that, I’m so, so grateful. Without them, even with the gold medal my skating may very well have ended after Salt Lake, but now, don’t count me out for Torrino (2006 Olympics) because I’m planning on being there.”

Parra now looks forward to moving into his new home with his wife (Tiffany) and daughter (Mia) in Orlando before returning to Salt Lake to resume full time training on May 1.