Now that things are starting to warm up, I thought I’d post a fun recap of our 2nd annual Maverick Business Insider Summer Extravaganza event.  (I’ll admit it’s coming a tad bit late).  I produced this insanely fun event, along with Yanik Silver, for our Maverick1000 members and Maverick Business Insider newsletter subscribers.  This 1-day experience covered the maverick philosophy of make more, have more fun and give more.  (If you weren’t there – you missed out!)

We started off the day with the workshops and a presentation Yanik gave on “3 Pillars of an Extraordinary Entrepreneurial Life & Business” and the newest trends for 2011 online & beyond (you may have seen the updated webinar Yanik and I both produced a few months back, too).  Then a highlight of our “hard work” was throwing paper airplanes around for the “Airtime Mastermind”.

Here’s a picture that captures it well -

Air Time Mastermind in full flight

Everyone got a piece of construction paper to write down their most pressing issue or problem in business. Then they folded up their plane and launched them around the room. Everyone had to grab someone else’s plane and write down an answer to their question. We got some great conversation going and insights to problems attendees faced. (This game is very cool if you’re looking for a unique group mastermind experience!)

Then after filling up on a summer BBQ lunch, we transported everyone over to the Airsoft close quarter combat facility (the same place a lot of our nation’s special forces use). Now in case you haven’t seen Airsoft or heard of it – it’s billed as similar to paintball…WITH all the fun, but WITHOUT the pain. (Umm…BS!)  You definitely felt those damn pellets!

At the Airsoft facility, suiting up for the games with Mavericks Dr. Adam Summers, Mike Cline and William Lee. Notice William (who I affectionately referred to as Rambo). When they asked if anyone had played before, he didn't say anything. He chose instead to go for Shock & Awe when he started suiting up. Vests, extra magazines, a backup handheld gun (with flashlight), an automatic primary weapon (with flashlight AND silencer), ninja mask and more. The room got a little quiet as his violent side started to show

Did someone call for S.W.A.T.? (William is just practicing for the upcoming Maverick Covert Ops experience in October.)

Now for the Giving part – we had a “Charity Chicken”. What the hell is a charity chicken you may ask? That’s a perfectly valid question and one we’re not exactly sure the answer to either. But for some reason myself and Yanik Silver both got into the suit to bother people inside the playing field until we were shot. (Trust me, even with the dang suit on you still felt the bullets.)

Anyone who shot the chicken would donate $10 to Village Enterprise Fund (vef.org), one of the self-sustaining charities Maverick consistently supports. Here’s an action shot of the “Charity Chicken”:

The Charity Chicken also lays eggs during the game (good for bonus points and special powers). Chris decided he should get some practice beforehand...

The #1 player, and winner of a $500 charity donation in his name (2nd place got $250 and 3rd place got $100 -- they both chose American Cancer Society, and William chose the Dizzy Feet Foundation), why not pour some beer into your trophy? At least, it looked like a good idea.

To determine the trophy winners (and winners of the charity donation prizes), we held a special sudden death match at the end of the day with the top guns. 1st place went to Maverick1000 member, William Lee (“Rambo”).  2nd place was snatched up by David Dolak and 3rd place went to Jared Polin.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Maverick event without a few other fun awards.  Rakhi Sharma won the “Lost Cause” award for her er, um….”skills”.  And Maverick Member, Adam Summers, snatched up the MVP trophy for his awesome teamwork covering his buddies’ asses.

Here are all the awesome Members who stepped up to shoot the poor chicken (i.e. Yanik and me) and donate to charity:

Jon Butt (www.jononfire.com)
Mike Cline (www.techguyswhogetmarketing.com)
Robert Dickson (www.porcupinewebsitedesign.com)
David Dolak (www.dolphinjewelry.com)
Mostafa Azab
Jonathan Flaks (www.jfcoach.com)
Christian Hammarskjold (www.wideopenbaja.com)
Jeffrey Kirk (www.webgeniussummit.com)
William Lee (www.candytelegram.com)
Andy Miller (www.andymillerinternational.com)
Gary Nealon (www.rtacabinetstore.com)
Jared Polin (www.froknowsphoto.com)
Buck Rizvi (www.ultimatelifespan.com)
Rakhi Sharma (www.cheenifortots.com)
Jeffrey Sherman
Adam Summers
Jimmy Sweeney (www.honesteonline.com)
Ron Tager
Joe Tice
Joe Zapolski

And our most coveted prize went to Maverick1000 member, Gary Nealon.  He was given the award for Big Mother Clucker for hitting the defenseless chicken the most out of anyone and making the biggest charity donation. (Thanks Gary!)

Let's be honest, nothing says classy like a chicken hat.

And if you think your Maverick members would let the chicken cluck off into the sunset – you’ve got another thing coming. The next day a fearless group of Mavericks took to the air for a skydiving adventure. Many of the members experienced their first freefall and the chicken went along for the ride too.

Maverick members with limited edition 'Carpe Diem Bitch' t-shirts and one chicken head are ready to jump.

Now at the jump site, I’m sure they’ve seen some wacky things – but Yanik suggested that maybe we could get the Chicken up in the air. After asking if he was kidding or not, they checked in with his instructor…and he gave a very hesitant, “Okay”. He cut off the chicken wings so we weren’t working with a ‘squirrel suit’ and then checked Yanik out in the harness.

All systems go for project 'chickens aloft"

Here’s I am giving Yanik a friendly “hug” before we take off -

Insert your own caption here.

And here we are in full-on chicken glory

And here’s a fun video from my first skydiving experience (highly recommended!):

I look forward to hanging out with you at the next Maverick Business Insider Extravaganza!  (But you have to be a Maverick Business Insider to attend. Check out http://www.MaverickBusinessInsiders.com for a special free package we’ve put together for you!)

Catch you soon!

Chris

PS – If you haven’t seen enough or plucked your eyes out – you can check out a quick highlight reel we put together here: http://animoto.com/play/9kGbhKiQTkDc2F0xUWVYBA