Paul Skilbeck, an athlete who has traveled all over the world competing in some of the most prestigious cycling events, accomplished what few people have managed to do in the business world: establish a full-time career out of a favorite pastime.
His home-based business, O2 Sports Media (
www.o2sm.com), specializes in public relations, media management, and sponsorship activation for cycling, triathlon, and mountain sports. “I work in an industry I am passionate about, and I have the power to choose clients that conform to my philosophy of life and society,” comments the San Francisco resident.
Formerly a globetrotting bicycle race reporter and then a communications director for a firm that ran the nation’s largest cycling events, Paul started his own business in 2003. “I prefer to work for myself,” says Paul, who has also published a couple of books on mountain biking. “I am a very hard worker and I work in an industry that does not tend to reward people financially for very hard work, so I prefer that all the overtime hours I put in go to my benefit rather than somebody else's.”
Paul’s clients include racing teams, individual athletes, manufacturers, and sporting event organizers. His favorite project has been working on the Race Across America. “Last year we ran a campaign for FreeStyle Team Type 1, a cycling team composed of people with diabetes that ended up winning with a record breaking time,” he reports. “Talk about making the best of a bad situation, those guys really were inspirational.”
Paul is currently working on the USA Cycling National Talent Search, a long-term project powered by RacerMate to find replacements for Lance and beyond. “I get a real kick out of what I do, and I have enough free time to indulge in my leisure pursuits,” shares Paul, who enjoys participating in ultra-distance cycling events where two-person relay teams ride 500 or so miles in about 25 straight hours. “The business is growing steadily and I expect I will end up doing pretty well out of it, but financial success will always be secondary to a healthy body and a happy mind.” HBM
