Under Armour is Awesome! "Sneakers of the Future" project a homerun!

Two years ago, a major car company did nothing for my 4th graders as we sent in a Cars of the Future art project. I am not naming them because we can never be totally sure if it was the companies fault. Anyway, feeling a bit sorry for the lack of response that was given to my students from that company, I set out to find another way for the students to get some interaction with a major corporation. Sneakers of the Future was hopefully the answer.

I was a teen as Nike defined cool footwear and athletic marketing throughout the 80's. Their shoes were visually light years ahead of the others. Nike commercials, in my opinion, were often more exciting than the sporting events they advertised during. Under Armour has emerged as a possible new trendsetter in athletic marketing. Their logo is showing up EVERYWHERE. Students are wearing the gear, commercials all over and professional athletics have the logo showing up on jerseys across all sports.

So, last year, the 5th graders worked on a project that had them analyzing their own shoes and inventing concepts of how shoes could look and what innovations might show up on them in the future (I defined the future to be months from now up to 100 years from now). They worked mighty hard and they were sent down to Under Armour's corporate headquarters in Maryland. This shipment happened at the end the 2015-16 school year. 

Two examples:

About three months ago, I received call from Danielle Thompson, Assistant Production Line Manager - Youth Footwear, at Under Armour. A super nice young lady, Danielle said that Under Armour was very excited to see the student designs and that they wanted to do "something" to thank the students and their hard work. I, of course, was pumped. I told Danielle that my students would love "anything" that Under Armour would be willing to do. 

Most companies get some gifts in a box and send it off to us. Some get their design teams involved and we get a bit more thoughtful and interesting gifts. And only two, prior to Under Armour, have stepped outside the very cool and entered the awesome and those were BMW North America (check it out here) and Subaru (check it here).

(this next paragraph is slight speculation mixed in with many facts as I was not present with the folks at Under Armour as they went through this process) 

This year, the number of awesome responses from companies has jumped to three. Under Armour had their team of designers review the student artwork. They each picked their 5 favorite ideas presented by the students and then the top 5 of those were boiled down. The Under Armour team then decided that they would make a 3-D digital model of the finished shoe that combined those 5 elements. They then took that show and built a small commercial/thank you for the students. 

Put yourself in the shoes of my students and check out the video (really, no pun intended!!!! really!)... make it full screen....

The video brought the student work full circle. They could see their ideas in seeming real life. The students sketched, made a finished version of their ideas and Under Armour finished it off. The students were pumped.

The top five ideas were:

5. Color changing 

4. Self-fitting
3. Temperature Control

2. Storage Pouch
1. Fly/hover mode

Also, the designers at UA designed a 3D paper shoe (below) that the students could build. This probably took longer than the video to figure out! They sent some blank versions so the students could design variations of the Warrior 2055. So COOL!!!!

With some careful cutting and little bits of glue, you get a very cool paper Warrior.

I gauge awesome in this entire scenario by the response of the students. This was AWESOME! Under Armour should be proud of this team and their thoughtfulness. Creative people can change peoples lives with their time and their care.

my student's artwork gets them a visit from BMW North America

When I went into this job, I was quite the novice about things like discipline and even how difficult it was going to be to break down something as complicated as art into simple terms for kindergarten students. What I did know was that I like things that are considered different and wanted my space to be as different as the powers-that-be would allow and still be a successful teacher. The Art Room should be different. The Pennsylvania standards for the Art classroom are vague. Some are single words like: line, space, shape, form, color, etc. I have the honor of grinding those words down to their simplest forms and begin to build their comprehension up with the very young. So far, I can do it the way that I believe works best. I hope to never lose that! Having a great Principal is something I wish on all educators!!!!! Also, I would like to add that I am surrounded by professional, high quality classroom teachers, who deliver me the best students possible. Those faculty members are given my utmost respect! Thanks R.B. faculty!!!!

By the time my students reach 3rd grade, my hope is that they are forming a quality understanding of those single words that are truly complicated like line, shape, color, etc. It is about this time that my lessons start to really open up and allow for student-driven outcomes. CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING! The directions can't be as loose as high school or college projects, but I can start to have them push themselves to reach beyond the standard outcome and go after 3rd grade greatness! By 4th grade they should begin to expect that some freedom lies within most of my projects and that their individual ideas are essential. 


Cars of the Future is entering it's ninth or tenth year.  It was a way to have the students visually problem solve while having only their imagination to propel them forward. I created the project with a memory from my youth in mind. I will always remember writing to NIKE back in the mid-80's as their brand was beginning to explode. They would send me catalogs of shoes that were not even available in our area yet. It was an awesome experience! Ithas become a project that the whole school knows about. Kids ask me often about, "When do I get to design a car". This is a good sign. They feel like they are somewhere that only a select few get to experience. Cars of the Future attempts to put the students in a "special" situation. That was the goal. I am proud to say that car makers have responded generously on numerous occasions (sadly, not always). Every year, a different major auto manufacturer gets a package from R.B. Walter Elementary with 50-75 independent concepts conjured up by my 4th grade students. These car companies either react and celebrate a possible future car buyer....or they don't! Some companies sadly did nothing. Two years ago I wrote about how amazing Subaru was to R.B. in a previous post. 

This year I chose BMW and they responded in a major way...this story could take a while...

When I wrote to BMW (a letter in the box of student artwork pictured below), I explained that the students loved how the i8 looked when I clicked on it as we explored the website (pictured above). "Wows" were heard in all three 4th grade classrooms. The fine people at BMW took that little bit of information and thought it would be cool for the students to see one in person.

I found out that BMW loved the box and was pumped about getting some student designs. They told me that this was the first box they ever received from a school. That was good for us!!! Bring Your Child to Work Day was approaching and they used the designs to line the conference room (picture below) where the employees and their children would have lunch. The children entered the conference room and ran around choosing their favorite designs. Then, like all inspired kids, they asked for paper, pencils and crayons and wanted to design their own ideas for BMW Cars of the Future. That story sure had me beaming with pride. The timing for this package could not have been better.

I received a phone call from Kathryn Vallis, an Executive and Internal Communications Specialist, about the prospect of driving an i8 up from BMW USA's headquarters in New Jersey to visit the students of R.B. Walter. I couldn't say "YES!" fast enough. I had to get the "ok" from our new Principal first, but I was pumped for the students and what could be an amazing experience.

Kathryn Vallis and Rebecca Kiehne, a Product & Technology Spokesperson, planned on driving this hybrid supercar to R.B. early this school year along with some other BMW gear (some of the gear is pictured below) for the kids.

The two ladies and the i8 arrived on a beautiful late summer day. It was a striking machine.

I had called several media outlets and Kathryn and Rebecca had quite a bit of talking to do.

Even the rims looked fast.

The car was impressive from all angles. The students thought the doors were "sick". "Sick" is now a good thing.

Rebecca was very knowledgeable concerning the amazing features and cutting edge design found in the i8.

Kathryn and Rebecca talked briefly about BMW's look toward the future of car design and took many questions from our well behaved students.

Each class was given some time to interact with the car. They were very respectful and careful. A lot of "wow" and "oooh" and "aaah".

I had a large welcome sign set out for the ladies and we all posed for a picture to commemorate the day.

Each student will be getting a copy of the picture below as a bit of memorabilia. 

Big thanks go to BMW USA for allowing Rebecca and Kathryn to have the day and come to our school. Big thanks to Rebecca and Kathryn for making the long drive and being so kind to the students. Big thanks to our new Principal, Mrs. Wood, for allowing the day and helping to make it so awesome. Big thanks to Tyler Belz for coming and covering the event for WENY News. Big thanks to John Vogt from Wellsboro Home Page for covering the event and the excellent video that was produced (CHECK OUT THE VIDEO LINK ...it is very good!!!!!).

Big thanks to the hard working 4th graders (now fifth graders) of R. B. Walter for being so creative, so gracious and so well-behaved on what was a great day for all involved.

my good friend jonathan miller attempts yet another feat of strength

My wife was asked to draw a cartoon of my friend Jonathan Miller to celebrate an upcoming milestone. In our research for the comic, we have had to watch this video many times. Jonathan's sense of humor as he endures the effects of his stroke is truly remarkable. Give this thing a view and see how you might be handling the tougher things in your life. I know I need to keep things in much better perspective....thanks Jonathan!

one of those speed drawing videos

I have never been on video while drawing before. I didn't like the feeling and was glad when it was over. This is a low res test run that may be used in the near future to show how the CodeMushroom guys go from my sketches to an in-game build. Dan Reifsnyder, the man behind the original music on Terrayn, threw down a track to keep you from snoring. The video was not meant to be a "how to" instructional video concerning the rendering of a structure so I told the guys at a few points during the shoot to just skip ahead....FYI. The last image you see is the final version scanned into Photoshop and merged with a weathered piece of paper. As our 30 days are ticking down on Kickstarter, I am just trying to stay busy with the concept art that is still needed...

- I am using a mechanical pencil and lousy printer paper (some of my favorite art supplies)

so you think you're optimistic? yeah right!

My good friend is one of those characters that only exists in Hollywood films. You know the kind, something awful happens yet somehow, through all the horrible garbage that has piled up on top of that person life, they manage to stay positive and achieve success. We all know that we leave these films feeling all pumped up and in the back of our mind we think that the writers and directors have kept the storyline VERY VERY loosely based on a true story. It is all Hollywood hype. 

Well...I am here to say..."It really does happen".

This short film is one small story of one such character, Jonathan Miller. The full story is much longer, more awful at times and filled with unbelievable strangeness and luck (or fate). Through it all, his rose colored glasses have never been broken, chipped or even fogged-over in the slightest way. 

If you like his story, check out more over at www.outstroken.com or friend him on that Facebook thing by clickin' on his name above.

kickstarter video for terrayn

This video was put together by Adam Murtland, a talented young man from the Mansfield Area. He shot footage of the team talking about the game and I was very pleased to have been left out of the final video. My drawings are enough. No one wants to watch me ramble on about whatever and such. Trust me, Adam gets some major points for his knowing how to edit of the scrap. Thanks Adam....the world thanks you as well!

my brother, capt. gregg, on animal planet

My brother Gregg has been a charter fisherman for about 20 years now. First in Key West, Fl., then Vieques, Puerto Rico, and now in Matlacha, Fl. He's good at it. VERY GOOD. Like most things that he finds interesting, he's all in. He has dedicated his sponge-like mind to knowing as much as possible about his craft and gets his clients on the fish. His business, WildFly Charters, has excelled in all three locations.

The new show on Animal Planet, Off the Hook, features this professional wrestler that figures out strange ways to risk his neck while catching fish. The latest episode has this guy catching sharks from while standing on a paddle board. My brother appears for about 10 seconds in the interview portion while they all are considering the absurdity of the fishing that is about to take place. They're hangin' at Bert's Bar, a "must experience" for anyone driving through or vacationing in the area.

They also used his boat to haul the camera crew while filming the episode.

You don't get to pick your family. You're stuck with them throughout this life. Having a brother like Gregg has always made my life much more interesting. I'm very lucky. VERY. I hope I am able to blog more about his future success. Good people deserve good things happening to them and he's one of the good ones.



if you are going to do something...anything...try to be the best!

About a year ago I came across this YouTube video of some kid on a modified mountain bike. The caption below the link told of how amazing the riding was so I figured I'd give it a looksie. I was mesmorized for the entire 7 minutes. The cinematography, the music and the riding left me in awe. I knew right away that my students needed to see this kid ride. This kid turned out to be Danny MacAskill.

I am always trying to inspire my students to "do their best". I want them to attempt to be great at what ever it is they wish to do with their lives. I want them to look back on their young lives with pride and without regret. This young man, Danny MacAskill, is obviously living in the "now" and giving it his all. His sense of balance, body knowledge, timing and understanding of what is beautiful about a bike stunt comes together as total commitment to the task at hand...riding that bike well.

He pushed this passion for riding into a lucrative career. A career that I'm sure he loves. When the alarm goes off in the morning, he knows he gets to ride a bike all day at work. I'm sure he and his bike will see the four corners of the globe on someone elses dime. He also knows if he starts getting lazy, the money will dry up and he'll have to get some lousy desk job (or worse!).

I guess the most important point is that he took what he loved to do and did his best. If my students try to do this as well, they just might find that there is a career waiting for them down the road. 

!!!! I do explain to my students that some of the things he chooses to ride on might get him in trouble if he does not have permission. ....and that energy drinks can be dangerous....other than that, watch him work!!!!



Take a look...make it full screen and turn it up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw