You got to hand it to Monte M. He has some lessons to teach large corporations in the art of Spinning, that is: chutzpah will get you far in a world where people are willing to trust anyone who says they are out to do good.
As far as Unspun knows, he’s some Californian on an extended vacation in Bali. Apparently he’s not a bad swimmer. But he’s a better Spin Doctor as he’s got that combination of thick skin, chutzpah and persistence that many a PR hack would do well to study.
Back in May, the irrepressible Monte hit on a plan to style himself as a “world record ocean swimmer” out to set a new world mark swimming to fight child hunger. He somehow persuaded the UN, as part of the World Food Programme’s international Walk the World event to sponsor a swim of what he termed the dangerous Bali Strait.
How he managed to convince the UN that SWIMMING could qualify a WALK the World event is beyond me. But his accomplishments do not end there. Monte even got seasoned ournalists of theJakarta Foreign Correspondents Club to give him a ringing endorsement as chrinicled by Unspun back then:
The man is also not bereft of showmanship, as his e-mail to journalists shows:
Watch a dramatic 4-minute video of Monte’s first crossing from Bali to Java in the early morning darkness with a florescent light stick attached to his swimsuit
Fortunately there were no details of where exactly Monte placed his florescent light stick but that is not the point. The point behind why Unspun is recounting this story is that Unspun‘s spies in the journalistic world have reported that the indefatiguable Monte is now again on the move with another inspired idea.
Will the Birkenstock and socks wearing crowd at the UN sponsor Monte on another relentless battle against hunger or other worthwhile causes?
Will the JFCC again send out an e-mail to its members with a ringing endorsement of Monte’s spin?
We’ll just have to wait and see…
Unspun 