Spina Bifida Association of Oregon, Support Group

Water skier uses �sit-ski’ in competition

When Kerri Vanderbom was approached about auditioning for a Gatorade marketing campaign, she had a hard time taking it seriously. Who would want to put her in an ad?

“I thought it was a joke at first,” said Vanderbom, a California transplant who moved to Corvallis in September to pursue a doctorate at Oregon State University. “I got an e-mail message through MySpace.”

But Vanderbom had two things the marketing people wanted: her name, and her story. Now both are featured prominently in print advertisements for G2, Gatorade’s low-calorie sports drink.

The company’s “Everyday Athlete” campaign features sports celebrities such as Kevin Garnett, Serena Williams and Eli Manning, pairing them with amateur athletes who share the same first name. Vanderbom appears alongside Kerri Walsh, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in beach volleyball.

While not a pro, Vanderbom is a champion in her own right. She has won both national and international titles in disabled water skiing.

Born with spina bifida, Vanderbom has used a wheelchair since the age of 5. The Gatorade campaign focuses on perseverance and determination, and Vanderbom’s ad highlights the way she has overcome her disability to excel in her chosen sport.

Vanderbom got into competitive waterskiing almost by coincidence.

When she was about 12, Vanderbom attended a sports camp for kids with disabilities near her home in Northern California. One of the instructors turned out to be the inventor of the “sit-ski,” an assistive device that couples a chair with a water ski.

“He actually knew my family because he lived, like, 10 minutes from where I grew up,” Vanderbom said.

The two maintained the acquaintance, and Vanderbom kept water skiing. After high school, with more time to devote to her sport, she started to get a little more serious about her skiing � and her mentor decided to give her a little push.

“One day he told me he signed me up for nationals,” Vanderbom said with a laugh.

Water skiing has been a big part of her life ever since.

Vanderbom competed in college at California State University-Chico and went on to join the U.S. national team. In 2005, skiing for the USA at the world championships in Belgium, she met her future husband, Derek Vanderbom, a disabled skiier on the Australian team.

For now, however, her competitive water skiing career is on hold while she pursues her postgraduate studies at OSU. Vanderbom is enrolled in a Ph.D. program in movement studies in disability.

“What I’m interested in is looking at exercise programs for people with disabilities to prevent overweight and obesity,” she said.

The campaign features some TV spots, but Vanderbom’s ads are strictly print, including billboards around the country and national magazines such as Sports Illustrated. And while the ads haven’t turned her into a celebrity, her December photo shoot in Southern California did give her a taste of fame.

“It was pretty surreal for a few days,” Vanderbom said. “Going to LA, being put up at a posh hotel, getting picked up by the Town Car.”

And yes, Vanderbom says, she does drink the product she’s pitching in those ads.

“I was really excited it was for the G2 because I’m really not a fan of the regular Gatorade,” she admitted. “It’s a lot lighter and not as sweet.”

Kerri Vanderbom

AGE: 31

RESIDENCE: Corvallis

FAMILY: Husband Derek Vanderbom

OCCUPATION: Student, Oregon State University movement studies in disability doctoral program

CLAIM TO FAME: The national and world champion disabled water skiier appears in “Everyday Athlete” ads for Gatorade’s G2 sports drink opposite beach volleyball star Kerri Walsh