Rowers Choice - Innovating Rowing

2024e4 - Mark Gainey - Strava
Mark Gainey was a kid from Reno, Nevada who never expected to end up on the Harvard Rowing team.  Mark was actually recruited to Harvard for running!  Mark was a fast cross country runner who had an unfortunate injury that ultimately let him to the Harvard boathouse.  Once he got in a boat he was hooked.  On top of that, he met his future business partner.  Now years later, Mark has launched multiple successful companies, most recently, the fitness app STRAVA. 

2024e3 - Tim Spell - OpenWater
Tim Spell is one of the founders of OpenWater and the definition of a grinder.  Tim and Alex first crossed paths at George Washington Rowing and have stayed close ever since.  In 2012 Tim founded OpenWater, one of the leaders in cloud-based software.  In addition to talking about the work that went into his company, he talks about the importance of fitness and the role it has played in being a leader.

2024e2 - Jack Carlson - Rowing Blazers
Jack Carlson didn't start out with the plan to start a fashion company that has been featured in Forbes, Equire and Target.
After being introduced to rowing in prep school, Georgetown, Oxford and a run at the US National team, Jack's side hustle of creating the Rowing Blazer's book, was launched in partnership with Ralph Lauren.  Hence, the Rowing Blazers brand was born.

2024e1 - The Gathering Place Brewery
The 2024 season of the Rowers Choice Podcast has a different theme than the past few years.  We are going to continue to talk with rowers, but this year we are focused on talking to rowers who started or founded a business.  We open 2024 with a good friend of Alex and CJ, Joe Yeado.  Joe is the owner of The Gathering Place Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Alex talks to Joe about his start in rowing at Marquette, rowing at Potomac Boat Club in Washington DC and then opening his brewery.  

On Friday afternoon of our Take over the Row - Coaches Conference, we held a happy hour and a recording of our podcast with two Philadelphia rowing legends, Bill Lamb and Bruce Konopka.  Enjoy this special episode!

Chuck Crawford is a rowing legend. After competing in the sixties and seventies, he started coaching in 1978 before taking over the head coaching roll at St. Joes Prep in 1980.  Chuck is best known for his time at the University of Delaware.  He started that program back in 1991 and has been involved in that program in some capacity ever since.  Now years later, the coach and athlete tree that Chuck has created is one of the biggest in rowing!  This is a must listen to podcast!

2023e15 - Ian Rapoport - NFL Network / Columbia University
Ian Rapoport is not like any of our other podcasts this season.  Ian didnt go to college to row, he went to college to play baseball.  When he didnt make it on the baseball team, Ian joined the crew team.  He ended up spending 4 years on the team, and now, years later, still thinks about his time on the team.  This is a very unique, special podcast for the 2023 season!

We were so excited to have this conversation.  Al Monte is the new head coach at University of Pennsylvania.  Al makes his return back to Philadelphia after coaching stints at Dartmouth and Bucknell.  Al got his start rowing right in Philadelphia at Roman Catholic High School.  He then went on to a great career at Holy Cross and with the US national team.  We are excited to see Al take over at Penn!

2023e13 - Steve Coppola - Cornell University
"Don't wear a hear cape."  
If you don't know Steve, you need to listen to this podcast.  Steve had an amazing career at Princeton and went on to have an amazing career on the US National Team, including a Bronze Medal at the Beijing Olympics.  Now Steve is leading the Cornell Women as he rebuilds their team.  Don't miss this great story teller!

Smart, ambitious, and a rowing nerd in the best possible way.  Trevor Michelson is going to lead the next generation of rowing coaches.  He is a sponge when it comes to rowing knowledge and has had the opportunity to surround himself with some legendary coaches.  A rowers at Wesleyan, he got into coaching at Fordham, before coaching at Wesleyan.  In 2021 Trevor joined the Dartmouth team and is currently the interim Head Coach of the Dartmouth Lightweight Men.  Listen to this podcast to hear his thoughts on rowing, his favorite rowing races, and the future of lightweight rowing.