On the eve of his first IRONMAN, David Lively, co-owner of Rave Retailer, shared a moment with business partner, Rafferty Pendery on the beach of Lake Erie.
“No big deal, it’s just a 2.4 mile swim…then the rest of it. Haha,”
was how the conversation went according to Raffy. That sounds about right knowing these two.
As you know, we write here on the RRblog mostly about technology. We are a technology company, after all. With that said, Rave Retailer is so much more than that, and we owe our company’s culture to these two men. If you take a look at our About Us page and read through our “bios”, you’ll see we literally come from all over the earth and have interests as varied as they come. The one thing we all have in common is our zest for work and respect for one another. Because we are all encouraged to pursue our individual passions in life, it makes work that much more enjoyable, and energizes us to be the best we can be in all areas of life.
One passion many of the RRstaff share is health and wellness, and this has partly been driven by watching David and Raffy’s individual journeys. Personally, since I started working for the company in 2010, I’ve had the privilege of watching David’s transformation from nearly 300 pounds down to a lean 100 something. David and Raffy are collaborating on a project (which will eventually become a book) called I Was 260 Lbs. They both weighed over 260 pounds at the start of their journeys.
I write this post just following David’s second IRONMAN and Raffy’s first. Currently in sunny Florida, they participated in the HITS Triathlon Series Ironman Event. Imagine this: a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, followed by a full marathon of 26.2 miles — talk about phenomenal physical and mental strength! The event literally took the span of an entire day to complete. It is hard to believe either one of them weighed over 260 pounds. I cannot explain what an inspiration they both are to me, personally. I know I speak for the rest of the Rave Retailer staff when I say, “I am in awe and inspired daily to accomplish anything I set my mind to.”
Way to go, David and Raffy. Keep doing what you are doing! It sure makes work fun, and interesting. Here are a few highlights from the event.
Hanging out the day before the race.
Surveying the bike transition area.
Pumped and ready the night before.
2.4 mile swim on a stormy Saturday morning, anyone?
Raffy half way through the bike.
David smooth sailing.
Raffy finishing strong on the bike.
The finish line.
Follow their continued journey. They’re certainly not done yet!
We promise to keep writing about technology on the RRblog, but we’d like to get to know you too. We are passionate about helping our clients be the best they can be, and sell more using the tools Rave Retailer offers. Start a conversation with us on Facebook. We’ll always be real, help you make the most of your online presence, and will work with you one-on-one wherever you are.
We love life and take work seriously because of it. Lucky enough to have a Chief Spiritual Officer who guides our intentions and work/life goals via a monthly focus meeting, we’re exploring the idea that Life = Risk all year. Our last meeting covered the metaphors that span the phrase “Life Is Like . . . ” Every single one of us lives by some version of this phrase. We’ve explored it for ourselves and would love to share with you. We’ll do so on our blog and share on our social media channels in the coming days. We’ll also be featuring each of our our staff individually so you can learn more about us before deciding if we are the right technology company for you. Stay tuned.