EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fifth version of our “Where Are They Now” series. Brandon Shorey, our videographer from 2006 until 2017, is as die-hard about the Manitou community as anyone else who has spent at least 10 summers in Oakland, Maine. During his career, he had the unique opportunity to lead the growth of his own program while also witnessing many campers and staff progress from young boys to become leaders of the camp community.
I just couldn’t take it anymore. Twelve years of it. I had to take my talents to the complete opposite side of the country just to get away. From Ackerstein’s “ARE YOU READY?”, to the Dan Stern “Tell Me I Can’t” mentality, to Garrett’s “Just Gotta Be in it for Pres Night” long game, and Elijah’s “We Don’t Believe in Curses” guarantee. It was all too much for me. I’m too old for another let-down.
The Shorey Curse was so strong towards the end of my career that I would have campers of all ages beg for me to not cheer for them, Dean’s would give me shirts and tell me not to wear them until camp was over, or worse – deny me a shirt! Blasphemy! Here’s a fun fact though – I correctly picked nine squads from first looks after the break and four of those years were toss-ups for me. Just think of how much higher my College League winning percentage would have been compared to Spencer Brody’s!
“Right, so … Shorey, Why pick all these other teams if your gut instantly told you otherwise?”
It was because of friendships. I picked those who I had been friends with the longest. So I guess I had no strategy at all. Except the Dan Stern pick. That one was strategic. Thanks, Stern.
In 2018 I had to “fly under the radar” in hopes of not spoiling what Dunk City (Florida Gulf Coast) was doing. During my visit in an off-the-record interview I made my choice known. Watching Pres Night announced all the way from California, filled that small void in my Manitou career. After 367 videos, 94 camp shirts, 48 plays, 12 years of College League and Color War (5 CW victories), and a nail in the foot, I was finally able to put up a W for College League.
Now that a College League victory had been obtained I could set my focus back to my air-conditioned corporate job at AT&T San Francisco Flagship as the Media Content Manager. Over the last year I’ve been involved in many once in a lifetime projects: designing opening day calendars for the Giants AT&T Park last year, executing Exclusive Flagship events & social media with HBO & other agencies, and shooting side by side with the Intel Drone Team capturing the first ever indoor drone show at our venue. Unfortunately, my talent hasn’t gone unnoticed and I frequently get asked to create additional market assets, some of which have been used on nationwide campaigns and training tutorials.
Check out @att1powell on Instagram for more great content, it’s run by yours truly. (shameless plug)
Arrival Day is coming soon and I’ll miss asking Dave countless times “when are the buses coming?” despite it being the same time every Summer. This year will be different though knowing I have finally won college league and it’ll make being away sting a little less. Also knowing the Video Team continues on striving to keep The Igloo the best decorated spot in camp helps too. Have a great summer everyone, thanks for all the amazing memories!
Brandon and Joel Graham (our current Video Director) formed one of the most productive and dynamic video duos in the camp industry. According to Brandon, they created a video every 1.8 days during their time working together. Below are link’s to three of their most talked about videos.
- Manitou of Steel – 2013 CL Promo
- Lego Wars – 2016 CW Fake Promo W/Lego Animation
- College League Moments – First Ever
Resources
- “Ask any championship coach to reflect on what they cherish most from their career and they’ll tell you it was the relationships they built with their athletes along the way.” Recently, Vaughn Beckwith shared this article on coaching relationships with us.
