Melissa Fry, Hooters’ Senior Director of Marketing

Rick talks everything Hooters this week in terms of marketing and sports with Hooters’ Senior Director of Marketing, Melissa Fry.

She has over 23 years in the hospitality industry, from management to marketing with proven success in guiding brand messaging and delivering impactful marketing solutions.

Hooters, a long-running partner of both Chase Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports, has officially unveiled the newly designed No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro that will appear three times throughout the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.

The brand-new paint scheme, which features a primarily orange and black base design, will make its on-track debut in the second event of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25.

NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver will then carry the Hooters colors on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro for a second time at Texas Motor Speedway on April 14, before the scheme makes one final appearance at Richmond Raceway on August 11.

The company, which has developed a pedigree in the NASCAR Cup Series over the last three decades, is widely known for its stint as primary sponsor of the late Alan Kulwicki from 1991 to 1993.

Hooters has been involved with many different sports over the years. From golf to NASCAR and everything in between. The Hooters brand is about empowering women and part of that is their annual Hooters calendar.

Give a Hoot Background

During this year’s annual October Give a Hoot campaign, Hooters raised $786,000 in the fight against breast cancer. The funds were presented to the V Foundation for Cancer Research during last night’s 2023 Men’s Jimmy V Basketball Classic held at Madison Square Garden.

Since the program began in 2002, Hooters has raised a cumulative $9.4 million towards breast cancer research, reinforcing the cause as a priority for a company whose workforce is roughly 70% women, most of which are made up by the iconic Hooters Girls whose numbers have reached nearly 10,000 worldwide.

Consumers can still support the cause with calendars available for the holidays. For every 2024 Hooters Calendar purchased, Hooters donates $1 toward the Give A Hoot fundraising effort.

Enjoy this interview with Melissa and learning about Hooters.

Limpert Tech on iHeartRadio 4/8/22 - Sandeep Harpalani, VP of Product Management at NETGEAR

Talking about high speed internet this week with Sandeep Harpalani of NETGEAR.

Harpalani, VP of Product Management at NETGEAR as an expert source on WiFi 6E and the future of WiFi technology.

Have a listen as he discusses with Rick.

According to recent research from NETGEAR, average US household Internet speeds rose 30% to 196 Mbps and peak Internet traffic increased 32% this past year over pre-pandemic levels as people regularly spend more time online between working, learning, and playing. As a result, WiFi congestion and sensitivity to delays have become a major pain point. To solve this, NETGEAR became one of the first adopters of WiFi 6E technology with the introduction of the industry-first Orbi Quad-band Mesh WiFi 6E system in October 2021.

They discuss:

The future of WiFi and streaming and how it relates to sports streaming.

Harpalani is the Vice President of Products at NETGEAR responsible for their complete product portfolio for the consumer home. Sandeep has been with NETGEAR for the past eleven years and has been responsible for the launch of industry leading products like Orbi Mesh WiFi Systems and Nighthawk WiFi Routers. He has been through multiple WiFi technology transitions from WiFi 4 (802.11ac) to WiFi 5 (802.11ax) to WiFi 6 and now 6E.

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio 10/9/21 -

More sports and metal health this week.

Kim Carducci's debut book, The I of the Tiger, goes into depth about the mental health aspect of being a top performing athlete and offers ways athletes can manage their minds.

“I was nothing and no one without sports,” writes Kimberly Carducci in her debut book, The I of the Tiger: The Athlete Identity and Remedying Sport’s Greatest Conflicts. Carducci continues, “For the first time since I was five years old, it felt as if gravity, the commonality that kept all beings rooted on Earth, suddenly stopped and I had no idea what was up, down, or sideways."

Carducci joins Rick on iHeartRadio this past weekend for a fascinating talk.

Carducci was able to rise above her darkest moments after retiring as a D1 swimmer at the University of North Carolina but many top sports competitors don’t. In The I of the Tiger, Carducci uncovers the many layers, fears, insecurities, and complexities the athlete identity produces. She offers insights on how this identity negatively impacts mental health and ways athletes can navigate pivotal transitions.

“When life hits us hardest, it’s important to understand the biological and psychological effects of pain to shed light on how we can best process our emotions.” offers Carducci. “With this understanding, we can move past the shock of a situation, grow stronger with a refreshed identity, and adopt a framework for life that encourages strength, clarity and light.”
Kim Carducci’s deftly written book combines heart-felt personal anecdotes with references to a number of historical and prominent athlete figures in our world today, such as Tonya Harding and Michael Phelps aimed at discovering:
⦁    How competition influences athletes and their mental health
⦁    Why athletes build an inflated sense of ego based on physical capabilities
⦁    How injury and retirement deflate athlete’s sense of worth
⦁    Daily implications of being a fierce competitor
⦁    Daily guiding principles for athletes on their transition journey
⦁    The art of letting go of things athletes once leaned on that wasn’t sturdy enough to support them beyond sports

The I of the Tiger: The Athlete Identity and Remedying Sport’s Greatest Conflicts is available September 21, 2021 everywhere books are sold. Learn more at www.everythingathletes.com.

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio 6/13/20 - Gary Revel, Author, Musician and a New Book

To Live or Maybe Not is an entertaining walk down memory lane with musician Gary Revel. From his less-than-orthodox upbringing to his Special Intelligence Operations during the Vietnam War, and eventually his cross-country travels where we meet colorful characters from the music industry, Revel immerses readers in his adventurous world and promises more to come.

Rick talks to Gary about many topics this week!

Musician and historian Gary Revel fully expects readers to say, “No way this could be true,” as they peruse the pages of his colorful memoir, To Live or Maybe Not.

“Don’t worry, I feel the same way when I remember some things I have done in my life,” he quips in the book’s prologue.

 
Part coming-of-age and part adventurous road trip, To Live or Maybe Not begins in Florala, Alabama, near the Florida state line in 1949. Readers who experienced the nomadic, hippie culture of the ’60s and ’70s will be overcome with nostalgia, as Revel takes a long, winding stroll down a memory lane paved with colorful characters and unforgettable situations. We follow Revel through his unusual upbringing, his high school days and his US Navy service during Vietnam.

Most people associate Revel with his accomplishments in the music industry, and it was after his honorable discharge from the Navy that he found himself in Hollywood, California, where his music career blossomed. He eventually traveled back across the country to New York City, Memphis and Nashville. Revel includes entertaining anecdotes from his music career and his pivot toward family life before his life took yet another turn and he began his investigation into the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.  

To Live or Maybe Not leaves off with Revel and his family back in Hollywood. It’s the end of the book but the beginning of more adventures and books to come.

Author Gary Revel was born in Florala, Alabama. After his parents divorced when he was just 5, music became a trusted companion, and he formed his first band when he was 15. After a long career in music, Revel found himself investigating the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in association with the US Government's House Select Committee on Assassinations. Revel continues to release and distribute music via his Jongleur Music company as well as develop motion pictures via his Jongleur Pictures company. He is also the author of My Angel from Heaven, Milestones, Grempk and Don’t Stop Dancing: Stranger Than Fiction, his investigation into the life of Michael Jackson.

Also, check out Gary's new book Don't Stop Dancing: Stranger Than Fiction.

It is the story of my investigation of the life, music and career of Michael Jackson.

Thanks to Gary for stopping by!

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio 6/7/20 - Margarita Ventura, A Power Body, A Power Life

A great guest in Margarita Ventura this week on iHeartRadio.

Have a listen:

As the Senior Project Manager of Global Creative, Digital & Content at bareMinerals, Filipino-Spanish fitness model, dancer, actress and competitive athlete rolled into one – Life can get REALLY hectic! In the midst of it all, Margarita went on a journey with the Iron. She co-hosted the show Sex, Love & Bodybuilding on the Generation Iron Network. Then went to train in CrossFit, Olympic Lifting and, of course, strength & bodybuilding. She started dancing and acting again to tap into my artistic integrity and creative expression. So far it’s been so much fun and has served as a great outlet when combining methods.

Not having completed since 2015, I decided to step on stage again for my Pro Show Debut at World Beauty Fitness Fashion Worlds 2019 where I placed Top 5 in the World WBFF Diva Bikini 35+ and just recently Top 4 at WBFF Atlantic City. Not too shabby for my first time at WBFF Worlds where the line up was the best of the best from around the globe.

As a former professional dancer and gym rat since a kid, being healthy and active has always been a source of strength for her through any adversity. However, after years in the advertising world, like many others, she neglected to make my health a priority.

Balancing my professional and personal life was time consuming enough that it almost felt selfish to take time to take care of myself. Being unhealthy can come in various forms, from being too skinny to being overweight or yo-yoing between the two by leaving your nutrition, sleep and exercise regimen to chance. Meanwhile also enduring mental and emotional stress that can affect your physical and hormonal health too.

Margarita joins Rick and talks fitness, life and doing it all!

Great advice from Margarita.

Check her out on online at www.margaritaventurafit.com.