The One Sport the Olympics Should Include
Marc Exposito was born for the Olympics. Literally. The Barcelona native arrived into the world during the heyday of the city’s 1992 Summer Olympic Games.
A self-proclaimed “sports guy,” Marc first tried archery at 12. By 18, he was a competitive archer, training 4-6 hours a day and traveling across Spain to shoot arrows alongside the country's best bowmen and women, including members of the current Olympic archery team in Rio, Miguel Alvariño, J. I. Rodriguez, and Antonio Fernandez. (Although the modest interaction designer is quick to shun any comparisons.)
Marc left his custom-made, Olympic-grade bow at home when he relocated to IDEO Chicago for a 7-month internship, but he cheers on his country’s team remotely every night, binge-watching Spanish videos of the day’s competitions on his home laptop thanks to some clever, scrappy, and—ahem—ingenious online “workarounds.”
While firing arrows at a bullseye 70M away might be a thing of the past, archery taught Marc many lessons he pulls out of his quiver as a designer today: honing your technique, being honest about your strengths and weaknesses, staying open to new ideas and strategies, and improvising in the moment. Lessons that also apply to successfully launching a Finger Blaster to nab a coveted banana 10 yards away.
WATCH: The ever-hungry intern takes aim at a midday snack. Video by Sophie Feng.
But, then again, if this design thing doesn't work out, there's always Tokyo 2020!
An Experience Director at IDEO Chicago with a background in writing and live performance, Annette believes in the power that memorable stories, meaningful rituals, and thoughtful environments have in creating happy, thriving communities.