PERSONAL INFORMATION

FABRICE GROPAIZ
218 Villa Deaumesnil (esc.13)
75 012 PARIS, FRANCE
TEL : 00.33/1.46.28.99.76

I am 25, french national, law student, through with my national duty (which ended in June 1995), and I am ready to achieve my goal.

I belong to a sports oriented family: my father is a well-known swimming coach and was once world-recordman and European champion. I started practicing many different sports very early, particularly swimming and water sports, through which I developed muscles and strong endurance (I won an IIe de France swimming championships and was a water-polo player, 1st. division).

Moreover I have a good experience in traveling abroad. I have traveled all over Europe and the USA; I speak fluent English and Spanish; and can work my way out of most situations. These will be precious assets for my trip.

I have dreamed of this project for a long time, and I now want to make it real. I know I will find pain, insecurity, and many other difficulties on my way. But it is also a great adventure and my motivation is my best ally to achieve this challenge.

PHYSICAL TRAINING

Since my arrival in Paris (1990), I have used roller-skates. It is much faster and much more pleasant way of getting around than the subway. I started last year preparing for this project, and I have been training for hours every day in the Buttes-Chaumont park.

I made such trips as Avignon - Montpellier (60 miles in one day), and in July 95, I traveled Barcelona - Marseilles, 360 miles in 6 days. The last trip was physical training for my round-the-world trip.

TRIP PREPARATION

I have studied the geographical, political, climatic, administrative, and virological aspects of the countries I will visit. I have various contacts in some of these countries. I will also have to get information from the local people during my trip to adapt to unexpected challenges.

I carry with me in a customized trailer various skates, skate parts, tools, tent, and some light video equipment. Other supplies I will need will be purchased along the way. I have health insurance for the duration of the trip.

My budget is $30,000: $4000 for flights (5 in total), $4000 for skates and video materials, and $40 per day for lodging, food, and everything else. I have created a complimentary magazine which receives financial support from various businesses in the area. I also write articles for several magazines. It is not enough though, and I am counting on getting the rest of the budget from sponsors and public organizations.

• THE PROVENCAL (July 9, contact: Fred Guillodoux)
• THE MERIDIONAL (July 9, contact: Annie Chambeaud)
• THE MIDI LIBRE (July 7 1995, contact: Luc Malepeyre)
• THE MIDI LIBRE (July 8 1995)
• L'INDEPENDANT (July 7 1995, contact: Emanuelle Brousse)

RADIO

• FRANCE INFO (July 7, contact: Norbert Narrad)
• FRANCE INFO (July 8 1995)
• R M C (July 8, contact: Francis Maloyer)

Other Articles about Fabrice and the World Tour

What I propose to the Sponsors

To invest in this project and obtain a profitable and valuable goal. There are many reasons I can give you for sponsership:

• IMAGE - the prestige of a story, adventurous achievement is reflected on the company.
• QUALITY DEMONSTRATION - this world tour is perfect for proving the superior quality and durability of your product in all conditions.
• EVOLUTION - this tour is a great testbed for bringing your product through long enduring and diverse terrain conditions, particularly for skate materials, and will enable you to make improvements to your products.
• NOTORIETY OF THE PRODUCT LABEL - I will make the company known (interviews) thanks to different media coverage, (TV, press, radio, magazines, internet), especially upon my departure and return, and during the Olympic games in Atlanta, where TV coverage will be at a peak, and they will not just be covering the games, but all that is going on around them.
• INCREDIBLE ADVERTISEMENT - Besides the media, I will be crossing thousands of cities and passing by millions of cars and people. I will be able to promote your company by wearing your logos and a flag.
• TARGET AUDIENCE - I will be in contact with all the major skating organizations and clubs along the way, and many more people new to the sport.

I would like you or your company to sponsor me by offering 4 dollars per mile of the states or cities crossed which interest you. We will be partners by having a reciprocal service policy and by negotiating a package on the whole world tour.

So far I have confirmed the following media coverage for the world tour (this is as of 11/23/95, 4 months before the trip began):

• TF1 (Television, France)
• Eurosport (Television, European Sports Channel)
• Le Parisien (top Newspaper in France)
• Le Malin (Strasbourg)
• Le Provencal (Marseilles)
• Le Meridional (Marseilles)
• Skater Mag (top roller skating magazine in England)
• Roller Mag (top roller skating magazine in France)

This represents a small fraction of the media attention I plan to achieve during the next year and a half!

COMPARISON OF INVESTMENT

Based on the Perpignan - Marseilles Trip, the cost of media coverage through sponsorship is compared against traditional advertising techniques:

ADVERTISING:

SPONSORSHIP:
240 miles x $4 = $960.00

Not only is sponsorship more cost effective (by a wide margin), the attention level and memorization of the product/service is clearly higher.

Please contact Fabrice Gropaiz if you are interested in sponsorship. Or you can call David Lai at 650-933-4516.