The Nike Life: Bridget Konttinen
Bridget Konttinen epitomizes the phrase "Just Do It". After graduating from Cal Berkeley in 2017 as a part of the Women's Crew team - Bridget took her talents to Nike as a Creative Coordinator as a part of their Global Brand Team. After leaving sport and Berkeley behind, she transitioned to Portland to find herself in the thick of the action with Nike. Take a tour of the Nike life from sunrise to sunset and her insight on life after sport!
7:00AM
I love mornings! My alarm goes off at 7, but usually I'm awake by then. I'm a big morning person so I never usually hit the snooze. First thing I do is drink a big glass of water that I leave by my bed. A lot of people forget our pipes have been dry for 10 hours and need water bright and early! Next, simple, but I always make my bed when I get up. It takes 1 minute and it makes me feel organized and purposeful when I start my day.
7:15AM
Morning Workout—I love to mix it up! I never usually do the same thing two days in a row. For me this makes me look forward to my workout and also confuses the body to build different muscle groups and tone up.
Depending on my mood, my range of workouts includes running, CorePower Yoga, swimming laps, spinning, lifting, and my infamous BK Home Gym body circuit. No equipment needed, just a spare room! (Full workout COMING SOON). Whatever the activity, it's around 45 mins - 1 hour and I finish with a 5 minute stretch and 5 minute meditation. These last two steps are easy to put off, but SO beneficial. I breathe deeply, visualize my goals for the day and think of one thing I am excited for that day. Say this out loud. Seriously, positive energy is everything.
8:15AM
I'm not a big make-up person, so I usually only take 5-10 minutes to put on some Dermologica tinted SPF moisturizer, fill in my eyebrows (If I could choose one make-up item, eyebrows are bae), add a shimmery highlighter/blush, Burt's Bees lip balm, a spritz of Jo Malone perfume and I'm out the door.
For breakfast, my current obsession is making overnight oats. This also saves me so much time in the morning, because I just grab it from my fridge and take it with me. I switch up the recipe depending on what ingredients I have (Pumpkin puree, berries, Banana etc...)
My Overnight Oats recipe:
1/2 cup Meusli (Bob’s Red Mill)
1 tbsp chia seed
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 scoop vanilla plant-based protein powder
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 handful of frozen berries + granola + 1 tbsp PEANUT BUTTER to top. Don’t forget the pb. I go through a jar per month, not kidding.
Finally, COFFEE is a given (Peet's French Roast) in a thermos to go.
8:30AM
Commute to Nike campus (15-30 minutes depending on traffic) from downtown Portland. I am living for my Spotify podcasts that make the drive enjoyable. My go-to podcasts are ESPN (First Take or The Jump for all the latest NBA hype), The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes and Girlboss Radio with Sophia Amoruso.
Afternoon
My job at Nike as the Creative Coordinator in Global Brand Experience:
Essentially my team takes the athlete stories behind product campaigns and delivers to our territory teams what the execution will look like in digital/physical retail. And my role specifically involves a variety of projects such as video/photo shoot production, outlining Creative Gameplan and developing operational tools across the business. I love it because no day is the same depending on what athletic competition or campaign is in the works.
Right now, I’m working on a collaboration with Nike Training x Headspace, bringing light to the importance of mental health awareness for athletes*. If you haven’t tried Headspace, it’s an awesome tool to kick-start a workout or de-stress after a long day!
If you have a body, you are an athlete.
1:00PM
Sometimes I'll do a workout on my lunch break depending on my schedule. Nike offers endless options on campus like the swimming pool, 3 gyms, kick boxing classes, yoga instructors, and the dozens of running trails on site.
5:00PM
I get home anywhere between 4-7pm depending on if I have meetings later in the day or if the sun is out and I can work from my apartment second half of the day;)
6:00PM
FOOD! I’m starving when I get home. I’m big into healthy fun recipes, so my latest creation is Chickpea carbonara pasta. It’s high protein, but tastes like cheesy pasta.
While I eat dinner, I'll either FaceTime family/friends or watch TV. Living in my own place can be quiet, so I like enjoying food with loved ones. Sometimes I'll even arrange virtual cooking dates with my boyfriend where we get all the same ingredients and cook our favorite recipes via FaceTime ...Haha Pro tip for anyone braving the LDR (long distance relationship).
8:00PM
I love watching ALL sports-- especially if it's during the NBA playoffs, a Tennis Grand Slam or the Olympic Games. I grew up playing tennis with my dad and would watch Andre Agassi play at our local club in Tiburon, California. Federer and Serena are my favorite players (Nike bias aside). Roger is simply a class act on and off the court and Serena won a grand slam while pregnant. Enough said.
For a chill night, I live for reality TV to unwind. Current favorites include The Real Housewives, Fixer Upper and Survivor. Yes Survivor is still a thing and 35 seasons going strong. No shame.
9:00PM
I like to read before bed because it makes me sort of leave reality and escape to a different place. Plus it helps me fall asleep. I just finished reading The Power of the Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy and it actually changed my life. The takeaway for me was that our thoughts become actualized in physical conditions. We can harness the power of our subconscious thoughts to control our outcomes. In other words, we become who we imagine ourselves to be, so think good things!
I'm currently reading the Steve Jobs biography and wow, also highly recommend. Basically I'm convinced that anyone who has changed the world by pioneering an industry (be it Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan, Phil Knight) is neurologically different. He or she is able to see a world that doesn't yet exist. This is what Jobs did by foreseeing the potential of the personal computer. Chills.
10:00-12:00PM
Lights out!
Weekend Plans
Typically on weekends I look forward to a long run in Portland’s Forest Park, downtown waterfront or Nike Campus. I love running with friends from work because it’s a fun way to catch up and also motivates me to get going!
Portland has running races nearly every weekend and I just competed in my first half marathon. It’s a great way to meet new people in the running community, stay motivated to workout and also donate to a good cause.
Hiking trails may be the crown jewel of the Pacific Northwest. Lush waterfalls in the greenest forests you have ever seen line the Columbia River Gorge. If you’re in the area, it’s a must see excursion.
Breweries are a given. The city is home to the most micro-breweries in the entire country! Yeah this blew mind. Every summer, Portland even hosts international beer festivals where you can try 100+ different brews from vendors around the world. After sipping on handcrafted IPA’s, I will never drink a Natty Lite again in my life. (I’ll leave that to the frat boys.) And if the weather permits, rooftop joints are the move.
Other fun things to do in Portland include pro sporting events (The Portland Thorns won the MLS National Cup last season) or the Saturday Market downtown where you can try ethnic foods and funky fun crafts. And, of course, you can’t forget the foodie scene. The PNW has a LETHAL brunch game with all kinds of vegan/fusion restaurants.
BEST THINGS about life after competitive sports
· FREEDOM! Hands down #1! Having the power to take control over your own body, schedule, life, happiness
· Energy: Omg no 5:30am wakeups, no double sessions
· Free time: You can do/plan so many more trips, spend time with family, actually have time off
· Chill: Not as high strung from living in a constant environment of intensity
STRUGGLES you may have within the transition outside of competitive sports
· Loss of team, feeling of inclusion
· Bing away from your people: It can be hard living in a new city and essentially starting over. Staying close with family/friends keeps you rooted!
· Free time: It’s a big change without weekend competition, homework, etc.
· Something you're not good at for once
· Loss of identity or purpose: Once always the athlete and now forced to explore a greater purpose or find other passions
Connect with Bridget on LinkedIn here.