Earlier this summer I took an "inappropriate" action by crashing a class at FranklinCovey in an attempt to further explore an avenue that catches my interest. I forgot to follow up with the results of that and some of you have recently called me on it. Thank you, because it's a fun story that I will enjoy telling you at a later time. For now, I want you to feast your eyes on Brian Fuhs, a fellow Marquette University alum who found/put himself in a very exciting and "inappropriate" situation last month.
I have never met Brian. But thanks to Marquette Alumni network and the wonders of the internet, his story wound up in my Inbox one day and it put a huge smile on my face because it aligns with what I believe in terms of risk taking. It made me happy to see someone taking a risk, pushing boundaries, being daring. I wish I had his quick gutsiness.
Fortune smiles on the daring, friends. Brian's payoff was bigger than he probably imagined. Check out his story:
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July 13, 2006
So it's Thursday of last week, a half an hour before I'm scheduled to take a customer out for lunch. I soon receive a call from him telling me that he won't be able to make it. With my customer’s cancellation, I now have an hour and a half to burn. At that point I recall seeing a blurb in the paper that Dwyane Wade was hosting his second annual basketball camp which was coincidentally 15 minutes away from my customer's site. I decide to try it out in the hopes of catching a brief glimpse of the Marquette star in the parking lot or something.
As I pull up to camp, it becomes quickly apparent to me that the task of getting a pic with D-Wade is going to be very, very, difficult. I calmly get out of my car, grab my planner, and approach the entrance of the building which is covered by volunteers and a couple police officers. As I'm walking to the entrance I still have no idea what I'm going to say until, "Hello, I'm Brian Fuhs from the Marquette Tribune, and I'm here to do a quick piece on Dwyane" pops out of my mouth. I have no idea where that came from!
Suddenly, the cop pages the camp director, who then approaches me at the entrance. The director, Dwayne’s brother, tells me to follow him around back, where they'll supply me with the proper media credentials I need.
I get fitted with my media pass and am directed to a room with reporters from NBC, ESPN, Fox, WGN, etc.. Now I'm thinking that I've taken this waaaaaaaay to far.
"Hello, Rich King, WGN Sports."
"Oh hello, ummm, Brian Fuhs, Marquette Tribune".
We're told to get ready for the "media session" before it will kick off in 10 minutes.
In walks Dwyane, cameras start to roll, reporters begin asking question. At this point, I almost remember thinking to myself, "Hell, I made it this far, might as well keep this rollin'." Next thing I know, there's a break in the action, and out pops my question.
"Dwyane...Brian Fuhs, Marquette Tribune. Could you talk about your time at Marquette with Coach Crean's demanding practices, and your run to the Final Four; how those experiences helped get you to where you are today; the NBA Finals Champion and MVP?"
Dwyane loves the question, dedicating more time to it, then any other question from any other reporter. I obviously don't have a recorder/camera, so here I am standing in front of Dwyane, holding my phone out in front of me as I record a voice memo ( real professional).
As the media session ended, I got a picture with the man and Alonzo Mourning, and had Dwyane sign my ticket stub from his Triple-Double in the '03 Elite 8 against Kentucky. At the end of the day, it ended up being one of the funniest things I've ever had happen to me, and I got a chance to meet one of my favorite athletes of all-time.
Still can't believe I did that, and still can't believe I pulled it off with no one catching me. Freakin' hilarious.
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