Surviving Grover at Staples

LOS ANGELES – There were about 40 invited media representatives who showed up to claim Nike sports bags, socks, playing shorts, T-shirt, jersey, compression shorts, towel, slippers and a brand-new pair of Kobe 8 at the Staples Center yesterday morning.

But it wasn’t just a case of come and get it. You had to work hard to earn the loot. As the Philippines’ only media hounds in the gathering, Mico Halili and I vowed to be up to the task. Nike invited two from the Philippines and about 10 from China as the only Asian “delegates” to the big Kobe 8 launch at the AT&T Center last Thursday. The rest of the pack came mainly from the US although a few were from Canada, Mexico and France.

The launch was a private affair. Los Angeles radio announcer Big Boy hosted the program that featured an audio-visual tracing the creation of Kobe 8 and brought out Bryant himself on stage. Big Boy did the asking and Bryant the answering in a 15-minute session. Later, they were joined on stage by Nike innovation leader Jeff Spanks and graphic director Erick Goto, both of whom were heavily involved in developing the revolutionary shoe.

After the four talked among themselves, the floor was open to questions. I sneaked in three in a row which caught Big Boy’s attention. I asked what was Bryant’s distinct contribution in the creation of the shoe (he said it was his insistence of the shoe being lightweight), how many shoes he has in his collection (less than 1,000 but he keeps a lot) and if he wears a new pair every game (he confirmed it).

Then, with Nike’s Ilana Finley showing the way, we were led to a private area on another floor of the building for the one-on-one sessions with Bryant. Mico, representing Slam Magazine Philippines as editor-at-large, and Slam Magazine US Ben Collins collaborated in interviewing Bryant together. When it was my turn, Bryant even offered me a stool and it was more like a chat than an interview that ensued. Although it was close to three hours that Bryant was exposed to questions from media, he was in high spirits talking about the Philippines. At least, he wouldn’t be bothered by traffic going back home from downtown L. A. to Newport Beach. He flew in and out by helicopter.

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Yesterday morning, our media brigade went over to the Staples Center. First, we had a briefing on Nike’s new technology of customizing shoes and the evolution of Bryant’s new apparel line. The briefing was held at the Nike Vault, a store within the Staples Center complex. The customization is a mind-boggling development. Using an iPad, you actually choose the colors of the Nike shoe you want and personalize it by adding your initials and marks on the tongues. This service will be offered in 40 Nike outlets, including in China and Japan, and on-line starting Dec. 4 with orders ready for shipment on Dec. 20.

Second, we were brought to the Staples hardcourt, wearing our brand new Nike gear for a 90-minute workout with Michael Jordan’s celebrated trainer Tim Grover who also happens to take care of Bryant. Grover said Manila is one of his favorite places and mentioned he has travelled the world preaching the gospel of basketball conditioning. He was with Bryant in his two Manila visits last year and remembered conducting a clinic for the De La Salle senior varsity team.

As a bonus, we changed clothes in the Lakers own dressing room surrounded by the lockers of the men in purple and gold – Bryant, Dwight Howard, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash. The atmosphere was surreal.

The workout wasn’t easy. There were halfcourt sprints, duckwalks, stretching exercises, down-on-all-fours hops, lateral skips, pushups and shooting drills. Grover pushed everyone to the limit as he does with his clients. We had post-up drills from the right and left flanks, layup drills from a halfcourt sprint and elbow shooting drills. Personally, I’ve never been exposed to this kind of regimen before. In five attempts at the hoop in the elbow shooting and layup drills, I missed them all. I counted Mico hit two shots.

Grover then split us into teams of four to play halfcourt ball. In about four shifts, I shot 1-of-1 field goals, preserving my perfect record at the Staples Center. In 2000, Anthony Suntay and I played a pick-up game with the NBA broadcasters against Hollywood celebrities, including Toby McGuire and Dean (Superman) Cain. I took a 20-foot shot over Cain and made it. I didn’t attempt again, for fear of ruining my 100 percent clip. Anthony and I covered the Lakers-Indiana finals for Solar TV that year.

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To close out the session, Grover had everyone do a three-minute halfcourt up-and-down sprint. I managed to do only 19 1/2 turns, huffing and puffing at the homestretch. My hope is this experience will help me become more conscious of being fit to improve my squash. We all had a big smile on our face after the workout. Grover was very gracious in sharing his time and we appreciated his effort in giving us a little taste of what his clients like Bryant go through day in, day out to stay at the top of their game.

We went home in our Kobe 8 sneakers, holding our Nike bags proudly as survivors of the gruelling Grover grind. The Nike experience is something we’ll never forget.