1. How did you find yourself working within the tanning industry?
In May 1992, Smart Tan’s Matt Russell hired me to investigate UV light research long before anything was on the internet. I spent six months talking with researchers and working out of the University of Michigan Public Health Library. That project laid the groundwork for the scientifically supported position of sunburn prevention as the correct alternative to sun-abstinence. I’ve been peeling the onion on the issue, layer by layer, ever since.
2. What was your very first job?
I worked my way through college at the University of Iowa as a reporter and then managing editor of The Daily Iowan. My first job after college was as a business writer/investigative reporter at a newspaper in Michigan. Oddly, one of my beats was the electric utility industry, and one of the issues in that market in the late 1980s and early ‘90s revolved around the allegation that electromagnetic radiation emitted by high-voltage transmission lines was harmful to livestock. It turned out that those making the allegation were connected with groups who would suffer economically if more transmission lines were constructed, and guess who spent the next 25 years studying the topic? The same FDA division that regulates sunlamp products. Everything comes full-circle.
3. What’s something people would never guess about you?
I’m going to cheat and tell you two things: (1) I’ve run two 26.2-mile marathons – Chicago as a solo run in 2020, and The New York City Marathon in 2022. You take one look at me and you’d say that’s like entering a cement-mixer in the Indy 500. But I got it done! (2) In the 1990s, I took a course in stand-up-comedy at Michigan State University and actually performed at some comedy clubs. I was remarkably mediocre. But the course turned out to be a profound lesson in corporate communication dynamics, which I never expected. You learn things from just about any experience if you keep your eyes and ears open.
4. What is your most prized possession?
Memories and experiences more so than possessions. I’ve spent my life dedicated to spreading happiness and making things better for everyone around me, and there are hundreds of precious memories associated with that. At the end of the day, they’re really our only true possessions.
5. What skill would you most like to learn?
I love to sing and if I could play the piano, I’d probably be performing in a small lounge on a cruise ship today. So, maybe it’s a good thing that I never learned to play.
6. What is your favorite family tradition?
Any holiday or occasion – Big Ten football tailgate parties, or whatever – to get the whole family together. You only have so many of those moments.
7. What are you most excited about in your life right now?
Professionally, the ASA is doing some amazing things to blaze the trail for the future of the professional suntanning community. Everything I’ve done for the past 32 years has positioned me to help blaze that trail.
