TRAIN 411… the latest and greatest

Naughty or nice? What do you think?

This shot of me and uber hotty, Vanessa Spaeth, was an outtake from the photo shoot we had recently at Steven Levy and Bill Neil’s unbelievably fantastic home (by the way, I’m moving in next week, guys!) You can see the first of many shots that will be used in giant format on one of the windows facing La Cienega, capitalizing on our best marketing tool, that of our brilliant location.

This project was made possible by the creative minds of our dynamic duo, Janet Fitzgerald and Tracy Paaso (what DO those girls eat for breakfast?) who envisioned and produced the sexy-goth-vampiric concept. The selfless contributions from TRAINsters: our prop master, make up artist, Kokeeta, our Sally Hershberger stylist, Steven and Bill’s sharing of their home on a precious Sunday, sage advice from cycling clients in advertising, graphic design and our amazing photographer who made us all look like supermodels made this all possible on our shoe-string budget.

As a small business owner in a challenging economic climate, it is heartening to witness the collective power of our TRAIN community. I am truly blessed to have crossed paths with such a richly diverse group of the city’s crème de la crème.

I was speaking with Susan B, another frequent TRAINster (can’t you tell? She’s got one of the most slammin’ bods west of Provincetown) and we were talking about how TRAINsters really rally around each other in times of need. We went on to add that we can also synergize and have fun! (Secret: We are in the early stages of planning a TRAIN Olympics and tying it with a holiday celebration!)

The point of all this is: We can all benefit from harnessing our collective. In Japan, industrialists work with other comrade industrialists and create vast networks of manufacturing partnerships called “keiretsu.” That concept made Japan the powerhouse it became. US companies learned from it and now you see disparate companies working together and forming supply chains that run, well, everything!

So, next time you’re at the gym, say hi to that familiar face and get to know each other better. Create a bond, build on that keiretsu, enlarge our TRAIN web. Then and only after then, can you put on your devil horns, sling a boa around your neck, show off your abs and strut your stuff!

Happy fall season!
Mylene