What Are The Crazy Things Bloggers Do When Trapped In A Denver Hotel – And A GAIAM Product Giveaway

This weekend I attended the FITBLOGGIN15, fitness blogger’s, conference in Denver.

Let’s back up. I became a blogger about a year ago. I was such a naïve idiot, I thought I would start writing prolific diatribes of content and loads of people would revere and praise my prose. Uhhh….no. Not quite how it works. So, when I realized my blog was collecting the cyber equivalent of dust, I decided to find out how the experts did it. Fast forward to blogging conference registration. And not just a blogging conference, but a FITNESS BLOGGERS conference!

BLOGGER: a website containing a writer’s or group of writers’ own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other websites.

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The conference was full of idea-rich speakers, and excellent vendors (Jumpsport, Soybu, Eggland’s Best, Posturefit, California Avocados). I definitely learned some imperative tid-bits of blogger know-how over the weekend.

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The one thing I learned, that stood out the most, was that bloggers are pack animals. They may regularly hide behind their computers, but actually they are a close, tight-knit culture, who come together from time to time to converse, share ideas, collaborate, and drink. (What “fitness-themed” conference provides drink tickets? This one!)

Before I left for the conference I had the good fortune of partnering with a company called ALLSOP, to promote and share some great new products they are offering. Allsop is an official licensee of the well-known fitness and wellness brand, GAIAM. They have some fantastic new fitness tech gear and so, I thought I would take a couple items to the FITBLOGGIN15 conference to see how they played out.

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During the conference I ran a contest for the Gaiam iPhone armband and wrap headphones because they are so sweet, and fitness bloggers deserve cool stuff because they work so hard!

I had to first try them out, so I hit the hotel gym with my new armband and headphones. I never considered myself as an armband-wearing gym person. I always thought I would prefer to tuck my iPhone somewhere precarious on the treadmill, and periodically have it fall off and nearly trip me toward a head-concussing death. I’m crazy like that. Oh, and by the way, on the way to the conference I actually smashed the screen of my iPhone so I decided it would be a great time to try the armband since it would keep what was left of my phone intact, and safe.

I suspected that flipping songs and other tasks would be inconvenient with this thing strapped to my arm, but in truth, I found it simple to navigate, and easy to put on, and take off. It was especially nice to have my hands free and not be watching for what my iPhone would get tangled up with next. I also liked the fact that the phone is away from the core of your body and in a protective sleeve. (Cancer causing EMF waves anyone?)

The headphones are a shape that I had not used before. They go over your ears and around the back of your head. I typically am an old school, standard issue, ear bud kinda gal. I trash my earphones pretty regularly so I don’t like to buy really expensive ones. However, once I figured out how to get these things to sit right on my ears, (a bit of an adjustment from regular buds), it was pure comfort. The cord could more easily hang beside me, and out of the way, then with the traditional earphones. The sound quality was great, and for the price point, I would highly recommend them.

Back to the contest – I challenged the recipients of my cute, green contest bag to three things. Sign up for emails on my website, like my Facebook page, and comment, “I did it!” on any of my Facebook posts. I was so happy that many bloggers followed through! Fitness bloggers are “DOERS” for sure. I drew the winner randomly Tuesday afternoon, with the ten-year-old daughter of a friend as my witness.

And the winner was exceptional blogger Lena H of “Leanlena

Congratulations Lena. Your product has been shipped and you should be enjoying your free headphones and iPhone armband from Gaiam and Allsop.

The conference was fantastic, I am exhausted, and I am presently flying home from Denver to recover.

If you are interested in trying out this Gaiam armband click below to purchase. I used the iPhone 5 version, but it’s also available in an iPhone 6 version too. Both versions hold similarly sized Samsung/Android phones too.

iPhone 5 armband ~ GET IT HERE

iPhone 6 armband ~ GET IT HERE

Wrap Headphones ~ GET IT HERE

Watch for my next FACEBOOK contest because I have more great GAIAM products to give away!

Have you tried any other GAIAM products? What did you think? Comment below on your experience.

17 Responses

    1. It was! What conferences have you been to and would recommend? Honestly, I always go solo and hide out in my room for a good portion of it. 😉 It is nice that you have good blogger friends to go with. xo

    1. YA, I was surprised i liked it. It was actually kind of nice to strap it on and forget about it and frankly, I was a lot less likely to try to work too much from my phone while working out. Good boundary enforcer. 🙂

  1. So fun! Way to stretch yourself/your blog/knowledge. I live in Denver and wish there was a blog conference for us non-fitness bloggers! I love that you said we’re “pack animals”–it’s so true. I love connecting with other bloggers. I’ve only been at it for about 6 months, and droves of people AREN’T appearing at my blog either. Weird. 😉

    1. Ha ha!! I was just looking up some of my stats and theY totally suck. BUT I am going to keep going and keep learning and get this thing dialed in! I heard Blog Fest is REALLY REALLY good. I think that will be my next one after BLOGHER15 in New York in two weeks. Kind of regretting that decision. Doesn’t look like my “pack” at all. We will see!

    1. What one are you going to go to? Please let me know how it goes. I am going to BLOGHER15 in New York in two weeks. That one looks a little scary!

  2. So fun to read your blog! I’ll admit I hadn’t visited much because I’m not so into fitness. Gasp!
    But now I see there is a lot here to enjoy and learn from.

    And blogging conferences? How exciting! I can’t wait to hear about New York. I’m sure you’ll have a lot to teach us about blogging as well. 🙂

    1. They are oddly fun and overwhelming at the same time. SO insane how much a new blogger has to learn. Are you working on a book perhaps?

      1. No book, yet. Just blogging sporadically and free-lancing with small articles. I also teach, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for large projects.
        I would love to learn more about blogging! My blog is very 101. 🙂

        1. Well, keep an eye open for posts this weekend on facebook regarding the BLOGHER15 conference in NY I am attending. Maybe there will be some good stuff!

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About Dr. Denniston

Dr. Denniston is a wellness strategist for elite leaders and their teams, bridging the connection between personal well-being and professional success. She provides custom solutions for burnout and stress and facilitates cohesive habit-training strategies that maximize vitality, productivity, and resilience.

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