Initially, our group was assigned to write about a bicycle company for The Intrepid, but after some scheduling conflicts, we had the opportunity to cover something a bit more connected to the Cal Poly community. Intego Sports is a student-run company that is focused on creating an inexpensive, long-lasting and sustainable soccer cleat.
I started off by researching anything I could find about Intego Sports, like the coverage done by CP Entrepreneurs, however since it was created just as the pandemic began over a year ago, the business is still in its early stages. Chief Operating Officer Samuel Andrews told us about the main purpose of the company and its product.
“Overall, we just want to provide an equipment piece that is reliable enough that people don’t have to worry about it and they’re getting the quality they expect,” said Andrews
Sydney Ozawa and Katie Halstead interviewed Andrews and CEO Alexandra Joelson as they worked to produce the written and video portions of the story. This was where we got an insight into the inspiration and goals of the company.
“Doing the word portion of this story was fun and I really enjoyed speaking with Intego Sports founders Alexandra Joelson and Samuel Andrews. They were both so passionate about the company that writing the story was easy,” said Ozawa
The next part was creating unique multimedia aspects of the story, all while dealing with the challenges of reporting on a company that has yet to manufacture its main product…all during pandemic conditions.
“The video I created gives a more in-depth look at the background of Intego Sports. Obtaining b-roll for the video was a little more difficult as the product hasn’t been made yet, but I was able to find copyright-free soccer videos online,” said Halstead
Lauren Ladrech, tasked with producing interactive material for the story, also had to navigate similar challenges to Halstead.
“As the interactive role for this story, I was able to incorporate photos from the Intego Sports social media platforms. The Intego Sports Instagram page promotes the company’s mission through their bio, as well as their photos and videos,” said Ladrech.
It was interesting going through the different steps of producing this story, especially since it was somewhat different from what we would be doing if it were for Mustang News. Being able to focus on one company ended up being a great opportunity to take a deeper dive into some of the creative and interesting work Cal Poly students are a part of.