Former Vancouver Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit has been busy since retiring from the soccer club in 2014. In addition to raising his 18-month-old son with Olympic-gold-medal-winning wife Ashleigh McIvor, the Rise and Shine documentary star co-owns and operates Portmanteau Stereo Company (known for the Rockit Log), and is taking his personal message of self-belief and using it to inspire today’s youth with his Pemberton-based youth athletic camps.
We caught up with the American soccer icon at Portmanteau headquarters in Vancouver to learn more about his camps and crafting customized sound.
What is the origin of your brand Rise and Shine?
DeMerit: “Rise and Shine” is the title of a documentary about my life’s story. The film was the highest independently funded film in Kickstarter history in 2011. The soccer community was supportive after the World Cup in 2010, which I was fortunate enough to play in. A lot of people knew who Jay DeMerit was; a cult hero who was never supposed to make it [to the pros], at a time when nobody in America had ever heard of him. Thrust into the spotlight after sleeping on attic floors and eating beans on toast to "make it"in Europe as one of only eight Americans playing in the biggest league on the planet.
My story is one of self-belief, work ethic, and positivity. My goal is to establish what the Rise and Shine stories are for another generation. The Rise and Shine youth camps are where I feel my true value lies.
What sets your Rise and Shine Camp apart from a traditional summer soccer camp?
Society is now “specializing” kids so early that they are not allowed to be more than an athlete. Most good athletes will get picked up in a residency program, whether it is hockey, golf, music, or any other endeavour. Children can face the challenge of their support systems telling them who they are. If they are going to be the next Lionel Messi or LeBron James, they have to be doing 60,000 reps a week type mentality. Children don't get a chance to learn about themselves or how to be well-rounded leaders.
How does your camp change that mindset?
At the Rise and Shine Camp half of the time focuses on the skills the kids are there to develop. The other half of the camp we provide “life” exposure. In addition to their respective sports, we introduce the attendees to five other activities providing some exposure to activities such as cooking, becoming a mentor, leadership building, marketing and music.
What started as a soccer retreat is evolving into a ski camp, a DJ camp and a music camp. Anyone who comes to the Rise and Shine Camp has to be there for an established focus, with the idea that the facility runs the camps. Every day a new mentor comes in to speak with the kids about their own life. The life coach will discuss with the camp attendees what makes their own life “awesome” as a doctor, lawyer, Fortune 500 company owner, entrepreneur or social impact professional. All of these people are mentors and friends of mine. Kids at these camps will meet a coach, followed by, [for example, social entrepreneur] Mark Brand on day one, and me.
Brand is a Stanford alumnus design school leader and chef. Brand will come up to talk about social impact and nutrition. We will provide an education on how to “score points” by cooking a nice meal for parents or a loved one. We will teach the kids how to create meals for themselves. Young adults know that they should eat their greens, but do they know why, or what nutrients their greens provide? We will have smoothie stations in the mornings with lessons around them, such as “blueberries should be eaten after a game because they are natural anti-inflammatories.” Or, “when you get sick you should eat blueberries because they are high in antioxidants.”
An example of day two would be skier Ian McIntosh coming to camp to speak to the kids about one of his many first descents in Alaska. McIntosh might explain how he is about to climb the second largest mountain on the planet and ski down it. Think about how wide the eyes of a 14-year-old team-sports athlete will get if you sit McIntosh in front of them, then throw on a video of him skiing and tell them what it is like to climb a mountain where if you fall you will die.
On day three, the kids will see Derek Jory, the director of social media for the Vancouver Canucks. Jory will give the same talk that he gives to rookies about how to behave on social media. Jory will educate them about how to build a brand as a young individual; and dos and don'ts of how to make social media a useful part of your world, rather than an outlet for bullies. When you tell the children involved in the Rise and Shine Camp about how Jory gives these talks to NHL rookies they will look back at you like, “Okay, I'll give you five minutes.”
It is this type of experience kids can go home with and question whether or not they want to only focus on athletics. I was the captain of the team and would have to have these hard conversations at 17, 18, or 19 when through injury or their social environment, some kids discovered that they are not good enough and not going to make it. Some of these kids spent 18 years being told to only focus on playing soccer. All of it can go out the window in an instant. My goal is to help these kids find other passions, in case they turn 18 and don't make it professionally.
Also, high-end mentorship costs a lot of money. We pay for kids to come to camp through our foundation. We pay for the mentorship program that allows us to bring in high-end mentors for these kids. We want to create a lasting connection for these teens, even after the camps. Every one of those young adults that pass through my doors can bounce anything off of me, be it sport or life. Every mentor at the Rise and Shine Camp is sharing their story and telling the kids "I am your mentor; if you ever have any questions, reach out.”
I would be remiss if while sitting here at Portmanteau Stereo Co. we didn’t talk about your other pursuit, namely this dope coffee table I have thought about putting my feet on.
The cool thing about the coffee table design is that it sits in the middle of your room. The theory of speakers that point at you with directional sound is true. We have this idea where a custom designed table with a 300-watt boom box inside of it is in the centre of the room, spitting music 360 degrees. The table/speaker unit serves the purpose of what most people need in their home. Everyone needs a coffee table; everyone needs a sound system.
Nobody in Vancouver has any living space beyond what this combination coffee table/speaker system is capable of covering anyway, correct?
That's the theory. In a place like Vancouver where you would be spending $750,000 on 1,000-sq-ft, people want to design their own things, and you still cannot buy a speaker system that you can customize. All the wood that we use is local which helps personalize the speakers. One of the major flags we fly is that we reclaim all of our products.
Even with the Rockit Log, they are so different from each other and customizable. Walking through the forests around Whistler and Pemberton with the wood that has fallen or is slashed down had me thinking about how we could bring the beauty of the local surroundings into homes repurposed as a new design piece for your home.
The vintage suitcase speakers fit your 'reuse' business model.
Yes, and that product is where we got our name, Portmanteau. “Portmanteau” meant “to move one's coat” back in the colonial days. I was on a party bus with one of the suitcase speaker units and thought it was the coolest thing – it has a unique design and is innovative. Afterwards, I looked into getting a suitcase speaker and could not find them anywhere. I decided to put my [industrial design] degree into action and made one. I ran the Portmanteau prototype around Pemby Fest and had a couple of orders by the end of the weekend. We officially started Portmanteau Stereo Co. in January of 2015.
Music and design are part of our culture, and nobody has been able to incorporate custom design into the music player. We are not trying to reinvent technology; we are just trying to reinvent the box.
• Registration for the Rise and Shine Camp is now open for the summer of 2017.
Editor's note: This article has been amended for accuracy.
