This post is sponsred by FitFluential on behalf of Propel. I was compensated and all opinions are 100% my own.
Where to even begin. The Propel Photo Shoot I was part of 2 weekends ago was an incredible experience that I will never forget. Can I just say that I have so much respect for anyone who is ever involved in an ad campaign from the photographers to the art directors to the models to the crew on set making sure no one loses their mind. There was at least 30 people on set each day and even more that were part of the production that I never even saw!
There is so much for me to share about my 4 days in LA, so I am going to break it up into 2 posts. This one will be an overview of all of the awesomeness. Then- I will go into the specifics later, sharing more photos and video from the entire experience!
Thursday…
was mostly a travel day for me. My flight from Minneapolis was about 3 and a half hours long getting me into LA at around 1. Jon and I flew in at the same time and were picked up by a driver (Darrell- one of the most interesting people I met the entire trip), who brought us to “The Propel Crib” in Beverly Hills! We were instantly greeted with a camera crew as we made our way down the steps into the house. HONEY I’M HOME! Presley was already there waiting for us with a giant smile on her face. Presley and Angi (or house mom as we called her), gave us a tour of the place. I still can’t believe we were nestled on top of Beverly Hills with the most beautiful view of the valley below. #IsThisRealLife
While we waited for Dai and Theodora who flew in 2 hours later, we snacked….a lot…and did some practice interviews to get comfortable in front of the camera. Yeesh. Me + Camera = Awkward Turtle.
Once the whole Propel Ambassador Team was there, we had a quick meeting with Team Fathom and Team Propel about how the weekend would go. We had gotten an agenda before the trip and I was feeling a little overwhelmed with the amount of things that had to get done and anxious because I have never been part of a full blow photo shoot, let alone the model in the photos. This meeting was a really good thing because we broke down the weekend and got to meet faces I had only met in emails.
We also got to meet Beth and David, the other two peas in our pod. They had modeled to the previous 2 Propel Shoots and came back for a 3rd. They fit right in to our quirkiness. I actually want Beth’s abs. Here’s all 7 of us
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday…
are all kind of a blur, and I mean that in the best way possible! We were up by 5 each morning and up until 11 or 12 each night. These three days were dedicated to getting the shots we needed for the Propel 2014 Ad Campaign as well as getting video footage for the Propel Social Media Campaign. We shot about 10 different fitness scenes for the ad campaign and in each shot one of the ambassadors was the main focal point. Sometimes there was just one ambassador in the shot and others, there were 2-5 people as extras in the background. I had 2 scenes….the very first and the very last…They also happened to be the 2 longest. The venues varied from a gym, to a country club, to outside, to an actual studio.
I am not able to share what my scenes were just yet…but they were definitely ME. What I mean by that, is Propel and Fathom worked together to choose specific scenes that were tailored to each of the ambassador’s personalities. If you know what kind of workouts I’ve been into lately…you could probably guess which two scenes I was chosen for. So, the swim and zumba? LOL. Same with our hair, makeup and wardrobe. On set we were asked how would you wear your hair if you were doing X. What kind of clothes would you be comfortable in doing X. Pretty cool if you ask me. And real too.
The Set
Being on set of a real live photo shoot was an eye opening experience. Like I said, there were anywhere from 30-40 people on set at all times. Right when we got to the set each morning, we went right into hair, makeup, and wardrobe. To be honest, they didn’t LOAD us up with a ton of make, but we did wear it. The whole premise of the campaign is “Real People, Real Workouts.” Propel isn’t going to be going back and photoshopping our bodies, they are using US just how we are. I really did enjoy hair and makeup. However, I clearly need to work on my eyebrow plucking and hair doing
While the ambassadors were getting ready, the crew was working hard setting up the set, which could take anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. Then it was time to Pose. Sprinkler to the right. Smile with your eyes. Move an inch to the right. Step back. Change shirts. Tilt your head to the left. Turn the bottle. My first shoot took around 3 hours and same with the second one. I was an exhausted and hungry…but the outcome was so worth it!
I seriously can’t wait to show you how they turned out
Downtime
Like I said, not all of us were in every single shot, so there was a lot of downtime, which was probably my least favorite part. Sitting for long periods of time is not my kind of thing, but I totally understand why we had to stay on set. You never know if a certain photo will look better with someone in the background! I’m sure you are wondering what the heck I was doing if I was not in a certain shoot. Like Saturday for example…I pretty much wasn’t needed until 2Pm. So we took lots of selfies, stretched, did lots of push ups (thanks Dai), ate lots of snacks, did some squats, ate more snacks, laughed, chatted, etc.
Free Time
Most of the free time that we had was early in the morning and late at night. I LOVE LOVE LOVED getting to know each of the ambassadors. Jon is from Colorado and is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. He has a hilarious sense of humor and can just tell he’s super genuine. Presley is actually one of a kind. Every word that comes out of her mouth is in a southern drawl and will make you laugh. She is an incredible storyteller, witty, and would be my best friend if I lived in South Carolina. Theodora is an East Coaster with the cutest laugh you will ever here. She inspires me like no other with her marathon running and I envy her fierceness for living in downtown NYC. You can pretty much just think of Theodora, Presley, and I as Moe, Larry, and Curly. Dai pretty much seems like the best Dad ever. Like Jon, he is super genuine and such a great example of healthy living. As a young entrepreneur, Dai inspires the crap out of me with how he manages his work-life-balance. David is a trainer from Orlando and I love his passion for healthy and fitness. He’s got a baby blog too and can’t wait to see where he takes it! I feel like Beth and I could be sisters. She is super chill and all around a really nice person. She also lives in Orlando and has abs of steel <—like an 8 pack, I’m not kidding!
We also got some free time Friday morning to lounge by the pool …and a chance to run at some really cool trails near the house.
Here is a photo of the gang with Gunnar Peterson on the last day of shooting.
PS: I know I didn’t talk much about food yet, and that’s because I’m saving the best part for post #2. Propel gave us our own personal chef for the entire week. Not any kind a chef- but a farm to table chef. That post is going to be insane…because the food was actually insanely amazing and fresh and full of flavor. So inspiring!