connections

i have an entirely online kinship with Olivier Blanchard via his great Brand Builder blog and a few meaningful career conversations over the years. his is a blog i check the minute it goes live with an update in my Bloglines. i link to him frequently, we exchange comments and e-mails. i've failed to link to his business-partner-in-crime Roby's blog and i guess it's just simply time to do that. (and yes, both Olivier and Roby take phenomenal cycling photos and are based in the kick-assery state of SC).

Roby - whom i do not know - is in Afghanistan in defense of our country. did you get that? both Roby and Olivier have served their countries, which gives them bigger cred than i, and i have been absolutely leveled reading Roby's blog posts and looking through his photo galleries. Roby and Olivier both have insane photography skills, in addition to their marketing strategy and implementation abilities, those photography and writing skills are featured in Roby's documentation of his time in the "'Stan."

if you follow Olivier's blog, you'll know he is a no-B.S. guy, who sees marketing and his work through an incredibly clear lens. Roby's blog and gallery are equally frank and feature a look at war in a very human and real way.

give Roby's blog a look - it'll keep you grounded. and make sure you check out Olivier's blog for some in-yo'-face marketing speak.

as an onlooker, it's cheesy for me to wish Roby the best. but i am serious when i say i hope his ability to document the war is disseminated farther so others can benefit from these up-close-and-personal accounts of a life that preserves the lives we lead stateside.