Taking My Yooper Pride South
As difficult as this is to admit I just have to throw it out there, I’m moving to Lansing! I have already garnered a decent amount of heckling, harassment and being called a traitor from various people. Now that I’m announcing it here I expect a lot more of it, and that’s OK, I’m a hockey player and can handle a lot of heckling.
It has been three years since graduating from Michigan State and it’s about time I take on a salary and employer, a difficult task for someone who has done their own thing for three years. This is going to be an incredible opportunity for me and one of those opportunities I can’t pass up. I’ll be working at a marketing agency in Lansing where I will have the role of “the secret weapon” (yes, they hinted that could actually be my job title). I’m excited to help other companies grow, especially businesses in Michigan. I have found a passion for staying in the state and doing my part to help Michigan’s economy prosper. But believe me, I will be representing the Upper Peninsula every chance I get.
And yes, Yooper Steez will continue to do everything it does and more!
For those of you who haven’t read the story behind Yooper Steez you can read the inspiration behind it all. But what I don’t mention enough there is that I grew up in the Upper Peninsula most of my life, at least throughout high school. I grew up in Baraga, a son of two MTU graduates, until I was 18 before heading off to Michigan State University. It wasn’t until moving away from the U.P. that I really began to appreciate it as much as I do now. And each year I spent away the more I came to appreciate the wonders of this place. I’m really happy that I’ve been able to come back to the U.P. and live here for the last 20 months or so.
I can assure you this… my Yooper pride will not falter! In fact, it will probably grow once I start to realize all the things I miss. In addition, all of those trolls are going to have to put up with a lot from me, because the illustration above accurately depicts what I see when I think about Michigan (and when I look at it I think the Lower Peninsula still looks much too large).
An aspect of Yooper Steez I’m working heavily on is creating more partnerships, from Ironwood to Sault Ste. Marie and from Menominee to copper Harbor. Writers, photographers, retailers, you name it. And if YOU are interested contact me today. There are already some great partnerships in the mix, so even though I’ll be far away, I am just one member of a growing team of contributors and supporters.
Now that I’ll be a Yooper lost from home one of the things I’ll be doing is representing the Upper Peninsula to everyone I meet and teaching them great things about this wonderful place.
Things To Teach Trolls
- Educate the trolls on what “northern” Michigan actually means (it does not mean Traverse City!).
- Teach them that pasty is pronounced PASS-TEEE and not PACE-TEEE.
- Educate them about where Marquette is located.
- For the trolls who are especially kind and appreciative of the U.P. I will bring gifts of pasties, sweet rolls, knick knacks from Da Yoopers Tourist Trap, Keweenaw Brewing Company 6-packs (yes, you can even buy it in Lansing), various other things, and of course Yooper Steez shirts.
The biggest advantage is that I will be able to put more financial resources into Yooper Steez to offer more products, more inventory, more features, etc. You can also expect an awesome re-design by mid-summer.
Like I said, I will be doing my best to represent the Upper Peninsula. So if you have any stereotypes you would like me to reinforce or debunk, history lessons to teach, or just sly comments to pass on please let me know in the comments and I’ll make sure it happens!
