Gold Medal = Aston Martin (I would have done the same thing)
02-21-10, 09:41 PM
#1
Gold Medal = Aston Martin (I would have done the same thing)
Only one car for golden boy Evan Lysacek: Aston Martin
By Martin Rogers
Yahoo News Link
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — After his dramatic victory in men's figure skating on Thursday night, Evan Lysacek is the man with the golden medal. Now he wants to be The Man With the Golden Gun.
Lysacek's Olympic glory has given him the perfect excuse to indulge two of his favorite interests — cars and James Bond.
The American admitted exclusively to Yahoo! Sports that he plans to reward himself for his Vancouver exploits with a top-of-the-range Aston Martin DBS sports car, the vehicle of choice for the last two Bond films starring Daniel Craig as Agent 007.
"Aston Martin all the way, baby," Lysacek told me, rubbing his hands together. "Got to be the DBS. Just like Bond."
Lysacek currently drives a Range Rover and considered switching to a Bentley Coupe before eventually deciding on the Aston Martin, which starts at $269,000. After attending the Closing Ceremony and fulfilling some promotional obligations in Los Angeles, he will make time to visit a local dealership.
"We know how much Evan likes his luxury cars, and he will enjoy taking a tour of a showroom and test driving the DBS," said Gary Briggs, executive salesman of Aston Martin Newport Beach in Southern California. "The DBS has typical understated elegance and is very much the gentleman's sports car. It is a fine choice for an Olympic champion."
Lysacek can live the Bond lifestyle better than most. After all, he even has a villainous Russian nemesis in Evgeni Plushenko, the deposed Olympic champion who tried to belittle Lysacek for his refusal to perform a quad jump.
By Martin Rogers
Yahoo News Link
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — After his dramatic victory in men's figure skating on Thursday night, Evan Lysacek is the man with the golden medal. Now he wants to be The Man With the Golden Gun.
Lysacek's Olympic glory has given him the perfect excuse to indulge two of his favorite interests — cars and James Bond.
The American admitted exclusively to Yahoo! Sports that he plans to reward himself for his Vancouver exploits with a top-of-the-range Aston Martin DBS sports car, the vehicle of choice for the last two Bond films starring Daniel Craig as Agent 007.
"Aston Martin all the way, baby," Lysacek told me, rubbing his hands together. "Got to be the DBS. Just like Bond."
Lysacek currently drives a Range Rover and considered switching to a Bentley Coupe before eventually deciding on the Aston Martin, which starts at $269,000. After attending the Closing Ceremony and fulfilling some promotional obligations in Los Angeles, he will make time to visit a local dealership.
"We know how much Evan likes his luxury cars, and he will enjoy taking a tour of a showroom and test driving the DBS," said Gary Briggs, executive salesman of Aston Martin Newport Beach in Southern California. "The DBS has typical understated elegance and is very much the gentleman's sports car. It is a fine choice for an Olympic champion."
Lysacek can live the Bond lifestyle better than most. After all, he even has a villainous Russian nemesis in Evgeni Plushenko, the deposed Olympic champion who tried to belittle Lysacek for his refusal to perform a quad jump.
very very nice choice!
02-22-10, 05:54 AM
#6
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U.S. Olympic comittee awards $25,000 for a gold medal so unless he's got some sort of endorsement deal going on(male figure skater? unlikely a big money deal if any at all), he's from a rich family.
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02-22-10, 06:54 AM
#8
Lexus Champion
uh yeah, that's what I was thinking....how the hell does a male figure skater have enough disposable cash for an Aston Martin?
02-22-10, 09:00 AM
#10
They usually end up signing for that Stars on Ice Tour that Scott Hamilton founded. I'm guessing they may a decent amount of money there since it usually includes the biggest names.
www.starsonice.com
02-22-10, 12:36 PM
#11
Lexus Champion
Olympic gold equals big money for athletes
gold_medalists.gi.top.jpgVancouver gold winners from left to right: Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, and Bode MillerAaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writerFebruary 22, 2010: 3:12 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Winning gold could mean even more money for the Winter Olympics' superstar athletes. Of the top earners, experts say Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White and Bode Miller stand to gain the most.
Vonn is first in line to to reap the biggest rewards for a number of reasons: The alpine skier has a story to sell, having overcome a shin injury to win her first gold in the downhill; she was already a star, earning up to a reported $3 million in 2009; and her physical appearance didn't hurt either, landing her a spot in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit Issue, wearing a bikini by sponsor Under Armour (UA).
Other sponsors include Red Bull, Head skis, Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500) and Rolex. All Vonn needed was that first gold medal to grow that list and double her earnings for 2010, according to Bob Dorfman, endorsement expert and executive creative director at Baker Street advertising and marketing agency.
"She got a little bit of flack for posing in the swimsuit edition," he said, but "winning a gold for her really legitimized her as an athlete and as a marketable commodity. That gold is probably worth more to her than it was to Shaun as a market asset."
Marketing the halfpipe
Dorfman is referring to Shaun White, who is photogenic in his own right. The snowboarder's long red mane, which earned him the moniker "Flying Tomato," is a highly recognizable trait that has become an important part of his product branding.
"He's not just a household name," said Dorfman. "He's a household face."
White, who earned close to a reported $9 million last year, is one of the highest earning U.S. Olympic athletes. His sponsors include Burton snowboards, Oakley goggles, AT&T (ATT) and Red Bull, which built him a halfpipe in a remote section of Colorado. He has his own clothing line at Target (TGT, Fortune 500) and his own video game from Ubisoft.
"He's got the sustainability, because he has all of these tentacles that go out from the Shaun White brand," said Matt Delzell, director with Davie-Brown Entertainment, an entertainment branding strategy company.
Delzell noted that White is also a skateboarder, which allows him to stay in the spotlight even when winter snow is long gone, as well as during those four-year stretches between Olympic games.
White won his second gold medal at the 2010 Olympics after winning his first in 2006. Experts say his toughest challenge now is growing his bankroll significantly, but that's only because he already makes so much money.
White might have added up to $2 million to his earnings potential by adding another gold, and by showcasing a complicated new stunt, dubbed the "Double McTwist 1260," according to Delzell.
"Most people would go down and do a safe run and take the gold," he said. "He goes down and does a new move that only he does -- and it's a very difficult move and it's risky -- when he doesn't need to do it. That's a reflection of the people who follow him: a little edgy, take some risks."
The ghost of Olympics past
Other U.S. gold medallists from the 2010 Winter Olympics include figure skater Evan Lysacek, speed-skater Shani Davis, mogul skier Hannah Kearney, snowboarder Seth Wescott and alpine skier Bode Miller.
Of this latter group, experts point to Miller as having the biggest potential cash-in for his first gold, though he's still haunted by a hangover from four years ago.
Miller was a letdown in the 2006 Winter Olympics when he failed to win gold and was taken to task for his bar-hopping. As a result, he lacked hype going into 2010, compared to Vonn.
But then he made a comeback, winning the gold for his run in the downhill super combined. According to Delzell, Miller's gold medal could double his earnings from 2009, which totaled more than $1 million according to experts.
Like Vonn, Miller has a story of overcoming adversity that he could tell during paid speaking engagements to corporations, according to Delzell.
"The guy was drinking too much and having too much of a good time," he said. "He matured, then set his goal, set his mind to something, dedicated himself to it, and achieved it. Bode's going to have some good success."
But Steve Levitt, president of Marketing Evaluations, the Q Scores Co., said that Miller's past antics could block him from kid-friendly sponsors like Gatorade and Cheerios, who bank everything on a wholesome image.
"The problem with Bode Miller is that his recognition comes with baggage," said Levitt, whose company evaluates positive and negative recognition. "Look at the uphill battle that you've got with a personality that gets more people turned off than turned on." To top of page
gold_medalists.gi.top.jpgVancouver gold winners from left to right: Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, and Bode MillerAaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writerFebruary 22, 2010: 3:12 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Winning gold could mean even more money for the Winter Olympics' superstar athletes. Of the top earners, experts say Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White and Bode Miller stand to gain the most.
Vonn is first in line to to reap the biggest rewards for a number of reasons: The alpine skier has a story to sell, having overcome a shin injury to win her first gold in the downhill; she was already a star, earning up to a reported $3 million in 2009; and her physical appearance didn't hurt either, landing her a spot in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit Issue, wearing a bikini by sponsor Under Armour (UA).
Other sponsors include Red Bull, Head skis, Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500) and Rolex. All Vonn needed was that first gold medal to grow that list and double her earnings for 2010, according to Bob Dorfman, endorsement expert and executive creative director at Baker Street advertising and marketing agency.
"She got a little bit of flack for posing in the swimsuit edition," he said, but "winning a gold for her really legitimized her as an athlete and as a marketable commodity. That gold is probably worth more to her than it was to Shaun as a market asset."
Marketing the halfpipe
Dorfman is referring to Shaun White, who is photogenic in his own right. The snowboarder's long red mane, which earned him the moniker "Flying Tomato," is a highly recognizable trait that has become an important part of his product branding.
"He's not just a household name," said Dorfman. "He's a household face."
White, who earned close to a reported $9 million last year, is one of the highest earning U.S. Olympic athletes. His sponsors include Burton snowboards, Oakley goggles, AT&T (ATT) and Red Bull, which built him a halfpipe in a remote section of Colorado. He has his own clothing line at Target (TGT, Fortune 500) and his own video game from Ubisoft.
"He's got the sustainability, because he has all of these tentacles that go out from the Shaun White brand," said Matt Delzell, director with Davie-Brown Entertainment, an entertainment branding strategy company.
Delzell noted that White is also a skateboarder, which allows him to stay in the spotlight even when winter snow is long gone, as well as during those four-year stretches between Olympic games.
White won his second gold medal at the 2010 Olympics after winning his first in 2006. Experts say his toughest challenge now is growing his bankroll significantly, but that's only because he already makes so much money.
White might have added up to $2 million to his earnings potential by adding another gold, and by showcasing a complicated new stunt, dubbed the "Double McTwist 1260," according to Delzell.
"Most people would go down and do a safe run and take the gold," he said. "He goes down and does a new move that only he does -- and it's a very difficult move and it's risky -- when he doesn't need to do it. That's a reflection of the people who follow him: a little edgy, take some risks."
The ghost of Olympics past
Other U.S. gold medallists from the 2010 Winter Olympics include figure skater Evan Lysacek, speed-skater Shani Davis, mogul skier Hannah Kearney, snowboarder Seth Wescott and alpine skier Bode Miller.
Of this latter group, experts point to Miller as having the biggest potential cash-in for his first gold, though he's still haunted by a hangover from four years ago.
Miller was a letdown in the 2006 Winter Olympics when he failed to win gold and was taken to task for his bar-hopping. As a result, he lacked hype going into 2010, compared to Vonn.
But then he made a comeback, winning the gold for his run in the downhill super combined. According to Delzell, Miller's gold medal could double his earnings from 2009, which totaled more than $1 million according to experts.
Like Vonn, Miller has a story of overcoming adversity that he could tell during paid speaking engagements to corporations, according to Delzell.
"The guy was drinking too much and having too much of a good time," he said. "He matured, then set his goal, set his mind to something, dedicated himself to it, and achieved it. Bode's going to have some good success."
But Steve Levitt, president of Marketing Evaluations, the Q Scores Co., said that Miller's past antics could block him from kid-friendly sponsors like Gatorade and Cheerios, who bank everything on a wholesome image.
"The problem with Bode Miller is that his recognition comes with baggage," said Levitt, whose company evaluates positive and negative recognition. "Look at the uphill battle that you've got with a personality that gets more people turned off than turned on." To top of page
