Derek Parra is still waiting for his picture to appear on aWheaties box.
Parra, 34, a San Bernardino native, won a gold and a silver medal in
speedskating in the February 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the
first Mexican-American to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.
Parra's time in the 1,500 meters - 1:43.95 - was a world record.
Immediately after his Olympic triumph, Parra signed with Q Sports
International in Lombard, Ill. Agent Patrick Quinn vowed to put Parra's
name before the public. In the six months following the Olympics, Parra
traveled the talk-show circuit and appeared on "The Tonight Show." Parra
signed endorsement deals or made personal appearances on behalf of
Xerox, Nike, Home Depot and Stater Bros. Markets, among others, and
commanded $22,000 for personal appearance and motivational speaking
engagements. "The telephones were ringing all of the time," Quinn said.
"I couldn't keep track of all of the requests we were getting."
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Steven Medd / The Press-Enterprise
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Olympic speedskating medalist Derek Parra
holds his two Olympic medals during his visit
to the 2002 State of the City breakfast in San
Bernardino. Seated at left is Ralph Affaitati,
of the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce
and at right is San Bernardino Mayor Judith
Valles.
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Parra found he had a natural gift for public speaking and that he
enjoyed the celebrity.
"I had people come up to me on Fifth Avenue in New York who knew I was,"
he said. "That was a great feeling."
Parra signed a deal with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to
endorse Big Bear Mountain Premium Spring Water. Parra didn't say how
much the tribe pays him, but the sum is enough for he and his wife
Tiffany and daughter Mia Elizabeth, 2, to live in Orland, Fla., while he
trains.
Two years later, Parra is in Salt Lake City, training 36 hours a week
for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
He and Quinn admit they struggle to keep Parra's name before the public.
Parra's personal appearance fee has dropped to $15,000. His
autobiography, "Reflections in the Ice" - available only over the
Internet and at Stater Bros. stores - has sold 5,000 copies since it was
published privately last January.
To some degree, Parra's lower profile was inevitable, Quinn said.
Speedskating is a minor sport, with no professional circuit in the
United States, and the public has a short memory for Olympics heroes.
"Speedskating is never going to have the marketing appeal of baseball,
football or basketball," Quinn said. "That's just the way it is. We knew
that going in."
"I don't think Derek was treated entirely fairly, particularly with the
Sullivan Award, which isn't supposed to be a popularity contest," Quinn
said. "Trying to promote a minor sport has been a little frustrating. I
like to tell people that Sarah turned pro and Derek went back to working
the aisles for Home Depot."
Still, Parra isn't complaining. His yearly income is "six figures plus,
Quinn said. The Business Press spoke to both men by telephone last week
in separate interviews.
Business Press:
How hectic was your speaking schedule immediately after the Olympics?
Derek Parra: I remember one three-day stretch where I
went from Germany to Holland to Los Angeles. I would do seven cities in
seven days. I would wake up in the hotel and say, "which city is this?"
Even today, with training, I can go months without seeing my wife and
daughter. That is very difficult.
BP: How have you kept the public from forgetting
about you?
DP: Well, they told me I had a small window, so I had
to get out there quick. There is no professional speedskating here like
there is in Europe. There are five teams that are corporate-sponsored
and the top people make about $300,000 a year. Not having something like
that in the U.S. has gotten a little frustrating. I really wish U.S.
Speedskating [in Westlake, Ohio, the sport's governing body] would do
more to promote the sport. BP: Do you feel like
your fame is running out? That your 15 minutes are almost up, so to
speak?
DP: [Laughs] No. I've never thought of it that way.
BP: You signed with Q Sports International, a
smaller agency. How has that worked out?
DP: I think that turned out to be the right move. I
liked the idea of signing with someone smaller so I wouldn't get lost.
BP: Why did you decide to write your autobiography,
"Reflections in the Ice," which you wrote with your manager?
DP: That came out of my motivational speeches. People
would come up to me and say that they wanted to tell people what I had
talked about. So Pat bought a tape recorder and I started speaking into
it.
