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Deric Gunshor
Sr. Manager, Event Marketing at Aspen/Snowmass
Interview by Jennifer Kalban
What is your name & official title?
Deric Gunshor, Senior Manager of Event Marketing at Aspen/Snowmass
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA before going to the University of Massachesetts Amherst. I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Sport Management and met my wife during four great years at UMASS.
What type of music do you listen to?
I really listened to an eclectic mix of music. Favorites on my playlist right now are Blitzen Trapper, Blakroc, Wilco, Phoenix, Mayer Hawthorne, Monsters of Folk and really looking forward to the new Arcade Fire this summer.
What sports or activities are you actively involved in?
Working at Aspen/Snowmass allows me to snowboard regularly from November to April. I spent the rest of the year mountain and road biking.
What drew you into the action sports industry?
I choose to go to UMASS because I wanted to be close to the mountains in southern Vermont so I could snowboard in the winter. The Sports Management major was very focused on traditional sports so when I choose to do research on winter sports for my thesis I was linked up with the staff at Mount Snow where they were beginning preparations for Winter X Games 5. My passion for snowboarding got me involved through school and I immediately met great individuals who inspired me to stay involved.
Before you were at Aspen Snowmass what other companies and projects were you involved in?
Prior to working at Aspen/Snowmass I worked at ESPN on the X Games franchise and a variety of other events.
Tell us what your role is at Aspen Snowmass?
I have a unique role as Senior Manager in Event Marketing, which allows me to touch many elements of our business throughout the year. The core of my job consists of working with our team to create, manage, market and execute a calendar of concerts, athletic and lifestyle Aspen/Snowmass events along with hosting third-party events such as Winter X Games. We develop events with our resort partners and evolve them each season. I manage our Team Aspen/Snowmass athlete program, work closely with our marketing department on advertising and operations on our terrain parks.
What does your daily routine look like … take us through it:
It really depends on the day and season. We spend a lot of time on the hill or in meetings during the winter.
How many people are on the staff and what are their roles?
We have five year-round people and grow to eight during the winter. The key roles of event marketing are divided up amongst the team with corporate partnership accounts split between a couple people, everyone taking on management of individual events, and all of us helping out depending on what needs to get done.
With your current position, do you travel much? If so where?
My travel is pretty limited which is part of the reason I took the job. I end up in Denver a couple times a year for different events. We also make sure to benchmark other events throughout the year which is a great way for us to see what other event producers are doing and we can maker our events better.
Tell us about some of the events Aspen Snowmass puts on throughout the year.
We have a very diverse calendar of events that we put on including a eight-week big air series, six free outdoor concerts, an amateur open registration Slopestyle and pipe event, a big mountain ski and snowboard event and our winter sports film event in the fall. I took over management of our free outdoor concert series a few years ago and have been able to bring some great acts in to perform throughout the season. My favorite show this year was Ghostland Observatory during Winter X Games. The concerts create an amazing vibe in the resort.
What are some of the perks of your job?
The biggest perk is to get to snowboard as much as I do. It allows me to be picky and choose to ride on the best powder days. You can count on the office being pretty quiet until noon on powder days.
What projects do you have coming up in the near future?
We are throwing a lot of energy into our summer operations in Snowmass, which will involve the operation of the Elk Camp Gondola for the first time this summer. It is really going to open up a ton of new opportunities for biking. Right now we are working on a recap of all the events from the winter and starting to map out a calendar for next winter.
How has Aspen Snowmass been using social media?
We have focused on our social media this winter by increasing the amount of interaction through our Twitter and Facebook accounts. Our PR department takes the lead on social media and it has been a great way to communicate with guests and locals about events. We did a great contest on Twitter with K2 Snowboarding during the Covergirl Snow Angels Invitational, asking people to send in pictures from the event with the pipe, to giveaway a limited edition GB POP.
How has the economy affected your part of the industry?
We have been very lucky to have great partnerships with strong companies that have continued to support our event initiatives. Along with everyone else we have gotten lean and tightened our belts but not had to cancel any events or scale back our calendar. As a resort we have maintained our focus on the guest experience which has been a great strategy because it delivers more to those who traveled here to ski or ride.
What’s the best advice you have been given?
Be as passionate and dedicated to every project you work on even if they may not be your favorite.
What do you like and not like about working within the action sports industry?
My favorite part is getting to participate in the sports I work on and the people that work in the industry.
What do you think about group Y and its events?
I only attended one group Y event last year and thought it was very informative. It was a great way to connect with others within the industry. The constant flow of news through Twitter has been a great way to stay connected.
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