We all grew up as dreamers. We wanted to be superstars, kings, scientists, athletes and world explorers. Somewhere along the way, we had to make choices – practical choices, safe choices. Choices that made us forget what we dreamed to be. But in the course of adult lives, we’ve been challenged to search for our passions. Entrepreneur suggests that in order to find our passions, we must revisit our childhood, make a creativity board, make a list of people who are where we want to be, just do what we love and take a break from business thinking. For many, that’s quite a lot to handle. Thinking of what we love to do, finding the time to pursue them and looking for the right people to look up to don’t come easily.
Luckily, we found the right people to give you #lifegoals inspiration. Team David’s Salon (TDS) is the first mixed relay team from South East Asia to compete in the Race Across America on June 17, 2017. If you’ve been struggling to find a balance between your career, family and passion then you should look up to these guys.
Race Across America is the toughest race of its kind and has been running for over 35 years. RAAM is not like the European Grand Tours because once the clock starts it does not stop until the finish line. It is a true test of endurance. RAAM is 3,000 miles, that’s 30% longer than Tour de France. To top that, racers must complete the race at a maximum of 9 days (the fastest ever finished in about 5 days). This year, it will start from Oceanside, California and ending in Annapolis, Maryland. TDS will cycle across 12 states, climb over 170,000 vertical feet, 4 rivers (Colorado, Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio) and 3 major mountain ranges (Sierra, Rocky and Appalachian).
The team is made up of 2 women and 2 men all with the passion for fitness, cycling and travel. And if you’re not convinced that they should be your peg for #lifegoals, get to know the team.
Carmela Pearson
Carmela is a 35-year old mother, has built a career in finance and truly has the passion for cycling and promoting women’s active lifestyle. She is an Industrial engineering graduate with 7.5 years in Hewlett-Packard and is currently Head of Treasury and Head of Corporate Banking for a boutique financial institution. She is the Founder and Organizer of Audax Randonneurs Philippines, a finisher of first Philippine Hells 500 Everesting Challenge, completed 25 Audax rides in the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and France and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt.Kosciuszko (Australia) and Mt. Kinabalu (Malaysia). She has also completed and led the 2011 and 2015 Paris-Brest-Paris Philippine contingent and is the record holder as the fastest Filipina! From 2008 to 2012 she finished at the podium in cycling, duathlons and triathlons in thePhilippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. Recently, she finished Grand Fondo Mallorca 312.
Vanessa Hans
Vany is a 27-year old French-Filipina and is the Managing Director of French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Canada and Master of Science in Corporate Social Responsibility from UK. Where does cycling come in? Cycling started very early for her, it is a family tradition and a lifestyle so much so that being a champion comes naturally to her. She is a 4-time French National Junior MTB Champion, French National Junior Road Cycling Champion, French National MTB High School Champion and Regional Junior Champion in MTB, Road Cycling, Time Trial, Cyclocross. She was also part of the Top 5 Swiss Junior MTB Power Cup,Regional Elite Training Center in Colmar, France and finisher of first Philippine Hells 500 Everesting Challenge. (Wait, we’re not yet done.) She completed 7 Audax rides and had several podium finishes in MTB, cycling, triathlon, duathlon and run events in France, Switzerland and thePhilippines. In case all these has got you inspired to take cycling seriously, Vany is also a certified mountain bike instructor.
Colin Pearson
Colin is a 46-year old father, husband of Carmela, a British national and has lived in Asia for 17 years. He started his career at Credit Suisse inLondon and is currently with Deutsche Bank in the Philippines as Country IT Manager for Global Markets. No big deal, right? Competing in cycling began as early as 1985 where he finished 3rd in BWCC Road Race. Some of his notable achievements include finishing eight 5-day cycling Tours, Tour EGAT, Tour of Thailand, Andermans Tour with multiple podium finishes as well as the 5th Singapore Nationals Road Racing series. He was also a finisher in Paris-Brest-Paris in 2011, Vuelta Dagupan and Tour of Matabungkay in 2012, Super RandonneurPhilippines in 2014 and 2015, and finally Gran Fondo Marmotte in France last year. All these achievements are not surprising considering he started cycling at 11 years old.
Gaillaume d’Aboville
Guillaume is a 58-year old Frenchman and a father to 3 daughters. He has been living in the Philippines for the past 33 years and is the Managing Director of GDA Power Resources Inc. Guillaume is a genuine athlete who has been competing not just in cycling but also in football, rowing, rugby, karting and swimming. For him, sports is the best school of life teaching the values of discipline, determination, perseverance and respect for others. His view of sports definitely pays off. He was a finisher at 1980 Paris-Dakar, 1996 Philippine National Karting Championships and Paris-Brest-Paris in 2015. He also has many firsts: first open water swimmer in the Philippines to cross from MindoroIsland to Verde Island (7km) and from Mindoro Island to Luzon Island (17km) and first Philippine finisher of Hells 500 Everesting Challenge. Finally, he is the record holder of the 4-hour solo non-stop go-kart race 2010 in the Philippines.
While you are floored with their achievements, there is definitely one question burning in your mind: How do they do it? We can barely find the energy to give 100% at work and at home, what more to our passion (to our passion in sports at that!). The answer is dedication to our family, career, passion and the things that can help us give 100% to them and more. For TDS that includes watching and improving their fitness, practicing, training and definitely, hard work.
TDS has partnered with Malayan Insurance in their road to RAAM 2017 and in their races throughout this year through Travel Master. Travel Master offers personal accident coverage, emergency medical treatments, recovery of travel expenses, travel assistance and much more. We, at Malayan Insurance, want to make sure that TDS and all others flying from the Philippines to other destinations travel worry-free so get travel insurance today. Check out more #lifegoals travels from TDS by searching for these hashtags on Facebook #MalayanInsurancePH #TravelMaster.
Team David’s Salon will be competing in the Race Across America on June 17, 2017. Follow TDS on Facebook for the latest news about the team and read write-ups about them by Tribune, TASK US and Business World. Know more about Travel Master and follow us on Facebookfor more information.
