PUEBLO, Colo. (October 28, 2010) - Two years ago, Chad Berger was a little-known stock contractor from North Dakota.
He was a jovial man known for his then-trademark jean jacket and his contagious laughter, but by the time he earned his third consecutive Stock Contractor of the Year award in 2009, he had become a media-savvy personality well known among the Top 40 bull riders in the world.
Berger credited Chris Pantani with his transformation.
Last year, Pantani, a representative from Cooper Tires, worked withSkeeter Kingsolver, Robson Palermo and new World Champion Renato Nunes.
“Skeeter’s been doing radio interviews all year long for us,” said Pantani, who said the goal of Cooper Tires is to help riders develop their public relations skills, so that fans can get to know them on a personal level.
“How do you put their personality forward?" he askes rhetorically.
Pantani, who has also worked with drivers from the motorsports industry, worked with Palermo this past season, but he gives much of the credit for the rider's evolution to Palermo’s wife Pricila.
“She has truly engaged him into the American culture, the language,” said Pantani, “and I think that has done more wonders for him than anything.”
As the 2010 season progressed and Nunes established himself as a serious contender for the world title, Pantani and the P.R. team from Cooper Tires began working more with him as well.
Pantani said that in a brief conversation with Nunes, the 29-year-old from Brazil is excited about the opportunities that come with being the reigning World Champion.
“We’re going to work with him over the next two months,” said Pantani, who described Nunes as a family man with a serious side that is offset by a lighter attittude. “He’s a cutup. He says some of the funniest things.
“He relates to the fans. We took him up into the (Cooper Tires) booth and he was doing autographs, pictures, and his family attributes came out,” he continued. “Little kids would come up and he’d pick them up, take photos with them, and he embraced all the kids who came to the booth just to meet him.”
According to Pantani, at some point during the next two months, Nunes is likely to make a trip to Florida to work with their P.R. specialist.
While he’s there, he’ll work on a series of media drills, including camera work and being briefed on media-type questions, how to engage interviewers and fans, and how to continue improving his English skills.
“He’s just so excited about things,” Pantani said.
Once the 2011 season gets underway in New York, Pantani said that Cooper Tires will work closely with the PBR to assist with marketing and media from one city to the next.
He said that throughout the Built Ford Tough Series, the entire Cooper Tires team – Nunes, Kingsolver, Palermo and Flint Rasmussen – will take part in prerecorded and live radio interviews with various stations.
In recent interviews, Nunes has talked about the loyalty he feels from his sponsor. He said the help from Cooper Tires – they, along with the PBR, have helped set up his Facebook and Twitter accounts – has allowed him to focus on bull riding.
Nunes’ one caveat as he launches into this new phase of his career: “I’m a cowboy.”
“He can be both,” Pantani said. “He can be out there socially and still have his cowboy heritage.”
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