Friday, December 10, 2010

Kentucky

Hey guys,

It's about time I kicked off my first post....

Things over here in Kentucky have turned out a little different as expected.

As many of you know I came over here to the states on a swimming scholarship to study my degree and compete for 4 years with University of The Cumberlands. I had been training hard in the pool until mid-October when I learned some bad news. The NAIA had decided to penalize me 3 years of competition due to my acceptance of financial reimbursements for nationals over the past few years which I had received from my club back home. They claimed this to be an unfair advantage having accepted 'money'. Consequently, the University made the decision to only allow my scholarship to run through to May when the academic year ends. As a result of this decision I will be continuing my studies here and in May I will be transferring to UTAS.

The University has appointed me to the positions of Assistant Swim Coach and the sole Fitness Coach (Personal Traning background) - taking charge of and the development a new dry-land program.


This means I can come home and resume modelling with Smitten Merino which is a huge plus!

Anyway, I arrived to a humid Kentucky August. Settling in was a little different.....manditory participation in the Annual Gallon Challenge....1 gallon (3.78 litres) of milk to be finished in 1 hour and held down. As being one of only 2 to succeed; throwing up after was inevitable (decided not to post the video!).


The Smitten sleeveless T was a perfect choice for the challenge when the air turned from humid to a little fresh.

Thanksgiving Break (November 23rd-28th) saw me travel to Rhode Island, down to Philadelphia via Connecticut, New York & New Jersey. I then headed back up to New York for a night and then travelled to Ohio and back down to Kentucky.


As one would expect, November's weather had turned to chilly zero degrees celcius so rugging up became vital. Hitting up Broadway (above) I wouldn't dare have left my hotel without wearing my Smitten Leggings and Crew Hoody underneath my coat. It was imperitive that my body core temperature remained stable.

It's now December and dumpings of snow have become a regular occurance. temperature is consistantly below freezing and as one can imagine, my Smitten gear: Leggings, Crew Hoody, Boxer Shorts, Zip Jacket, and both my long and short sleeved Crew Neck Top are getting a HUGE workout.


My Smitten Merino Singlet is working perfectly in the gym, keeping my body dry in allowing moisture to be whipped away from my skin.....

....Couldn't ask for more.

Keep up the good work Smitten Merino.



Until my next post...



Charlie Gard

Monday, December 6, 2010

Photos from the Asian Jungles

Hey Guys,
Quick update to say I am really happy to be part of the Smitten team.
I do not know how I did without Smitten products on the roads and rivers of the world.
I am in the middle of a 3 month tour of Asia and wearing Smitten almost every day.

In the Sumatran Jungles I was instructing an advanced white water course on the Asahan river with an Indonesian kayak group. From Indonesia I headed up into the cold mountains in amazing Central China. Here I was paddling the big waves and huge rapids of the Salween River, Yunaan Province.

In the hot and humid jungle I wear a light weight Smitten T's, both on and off the river, they breath save you from the sun and don't stink.

In the cold Mountains of China I was wearing the super heavy weight tops and bottoms as the sole layer under my dry suit.

Photos of China to come soon but for now enjoy the Asahan Valley - Sumatra