Ghana’s Olympic ski team, Kwame ‘The Snow Leopard’, is indeed a rare breed, as his nickname implies. Here are three reasons why:
1. An experienced chess player, he refuses to play online due to the lack of eye contact with opponents.
2. Before races, he pumps up to a little R&B (“R. Kelly?” I asked, pleased to discover that yes, we did share a favorite musical artist).
3. Two university degrees bear his name (one is a Masters), and as you can see here, he likes to play reporter.
Thanks to Kwame’s sponsorship from the Mt. Washington/Comox community and a snazzy leopard-print truck from Ford Country Courtenay, the Olympian got to train on real ski hills, instead of his usual indoor terrain.
He is the feel-good story of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and has been hit by every major media outlet in the world (ABC, BBC, and CNN, to name a mere few).
At 10pm, decked out for Mt. Washington’s Hawaiian party (which he attended with world-class entourage: hilarious manager Rich, menacing bodyguard/IT expert Dave, and organic-loving physiotherapist Tim), he and I had a little chat for the camera. You should check out the full interview on FMA Entertainment Weekly – airing Saturday, February 27 at 1030pm PST on KVOS.
After grilling Kwame on topics I’m guessing CNN skipped (fashion, music, and art), I hit the hill in my toasty Orage snow gear for about five minutes. Ha. We were shooting our FMA segment intro.
Then for the good stuff : Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa. My cameraman Jonathan and I were treated to massive seaside suites with Westin quality beds (the plushest around), then a Pacific Mist Hydropath spa service (exclusive to North America).
The Holiday was on TV, Fanny Bay Oysters and a bottle of white had been left in the room, and while at the local supermarket grabbing some snacks, I made these fantastic product discoveries:
Green stuff: an incredibly smooth and deceivingly creamy twist on a condiment staple – Maille’s 3 Herb Green Mustard.
Red stuff: a must-try – Newman’s Own ‘Tequila Lime Salsa’. Who would have thought? It’s virgin and amazing.
My night was made.
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Ciao for now.