______________________________________________________________ActiveMSers: Staying active with multiple sclerosis

ActiveMSers in the News

Los Alamos Monitor Cover Feature
(February 27, 2007)

Tucked in the mountains of northern New Mexico, Los Alamos is the where the original atomic bomb was developed during WWII. The once secret laboratory is now home to a community of scientists and engineers, as well as a hidden-gem of a ski area (www.skipajarito.com). It is also home to one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the US. When I was given the opportunity by Pajarito general manager Tom Long for some free snowboard lessons for some teen MSers, I jumped. I also contacted the Los Alamos Monitor managing editor Kelly LeVan to see if the paper would be interested in covering the event. They were, and the article landed on the front page.

Albuquerque Journal Feature
(August 4, 2006)

I contacted Albuquerque Journal reporter Rick Nathanson about promoting the local MS150 cycling event and this new organization called ActiveMSers. At first he was in the completley understandable mode of "oh great, yet another nonprofit group wants a plug in the paper, but they don't have a new story compelling enough to interest our readers." He told me to contact their "Reach Out" section editor and they'd put in a paragraph blurb. But then I told him my story.

A week later he contacted me and said the editors loved the idea. He came over to our house and interviewed me for over three hours (Rick is thorough to a fault). A few days later, I met Rick and a Journal photographer at my local gym, Defined Fitness, for a photo shoot. They also wanted to take pics of me and my wife Laura together, so I invited them on a mountain bike ride. I was testing a cooling vest from Arctic Heat at the time, so it worked out perfectly. The resulting story and photo essay appeared on the front page of the "Personalities" section in the August 4, 2006 edition of the Albuquerque Journal. To read the article, search for "Bexfield" on the newspaper's home page or try here:

http://www.abqjournal.com/venue/personalities/default.htm?mdr

[Minor article corrections: Rick did a fairly accurate job—spelling Infiniti, Infinity, is understandable—but there are a few areas I want to make clear. ActiveMSers is a global endeavor (not just Albuquerque centric), I wouldn't quite describe the website as "a clearinghouse on information" for MSers as it describes in the caption, and I can sooo lift more than the pounds listed in the lead paragraph (seriously, I was going lighter so the photogapher would have time to shoot). And, lest I forget, I rarely exercise legs and arms on the same day (he got confused). Unfortunately, the photo of my bike, which shows a seatpost suspension, is accurate. I know I lost points with hardcore mountain bikers, and for that I apologize. Hey, my rear gets tender.]

94 Rock Radio Interview
(July 19, 2006)

I was interviewed by 94 Rock's TJ Trout, Swami Rob, and Phil Mahoney on Albuquerque's most popular morning program in July of 2006. I tried my best to do MSers proud. In between talking about Vietnamese prostitutes, getting a numb "third leg," and giving a shot in a guy's "left sack" (this is a rather raunchy morning show), some good information was given to listeners across the state (and on the net) about MS. Highlights included:

• MS strikes approximately 1 in 1,000 people; the odds of winning $100 in the PowerBall are 1 in 12,000
• The effects of MS can be devastating and the current medications only slow the disease down by 30%
• The annual MS bike ride for the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation is a great cause

Of course the most unusual part of the show came when I gave myself a shot live on the air. I went for the stomach for shock factor (my leg usually hurts the most), and put the auto-inject right near the microphone so everyone could hear the click. After, when they asked if it hurt, I said, "no, actually I thought I had accidentally left the cap of the needle on!" Boy, that would have been embarrassing. Overall, a fun show and good for the MS community.

Wall Street Journal Ad
(June 15, 2006)

In 2005, before I had gotten my official diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, I received a mass e-mail from Nissan/Infiniti about them featuring an owner (I own a G35) every week in the Wall Street Journal. Why not me? So I sent an e-mail in to Nissan about my position as editor-in-cheif of a Nissan/Infiniti car magazine. Months went by before I heard back, and yes, they were interested. But by this time things in my life were in flux. I was just starting the process of launching a new all-Nissan, all-Infiniti, all-Datsun magazine called Nissan Sport (first issue comes out in September)—too early to make an announcement. And by this time I had been diagnosed and had already launched ActiveMSers. 

I was interviewed by several members of their ad team over the phone for over a half hour. We talked about my travels, work, life. At the end of the interview, I said, "There is another part of my life I haven't mentioned before, and it might not be appropriate for an Infiniti ad, but I have MS and have started a not-for-profit." I told them all about ActiveMSers. When we hung up, I didn't know what direction they'd take. Well, now I know. The Infniti execs loved the idea of ActiveMSers and wanted to plug the site specifically. I couldn't have been happier with the result. Although they do make me sound a bit like a cross between Indiana Jones and the Pope. Ha!

Download the ad (at right), which incudes a WSJ-style illustration of myself by Kevin Sprouls (www.sprouls.com) and an amazing Infiniti photo taken by Igor Panitz (see more of his work at www.t-mitchell.com).