Ron Andruff

Relationship Status: Married to my joy and inspiration, Ombretta.

Claim to Fame:

Seeing the world from a different perspective.

Favorite Motto:

Focus on your breath...

Company:

lifedotsport - If sport is your life, your life is here!

Work Title: President & CEO

Titles:

Won League and AHL First Place Title, Calder Cup Champion, Nova Scotia Voyageurs, 1975/76

Won League and German Bundesliga Title, Deutschemeistershaft, Mannhein ERC, 1979/80

Awards:

Les Cunningham Award winner; given annually to American Hockey League's "Most Valuable Player" of the regular season, as voted on by AHL media and AHL players; 1975/76

American Hockey League All Star Team; 1975/76

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy nomination: awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey for my service as Honorary Chairman to Big Brothers Association (Colorado Chapter). Winner selected by poll of Professional Hockey Writers' Association; 1977/78.

Lieblingsspieler (MVP award; selected by fans), Mannheim ERC, 1979/80

Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing, selected by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and pays special tribute to outstanding individuals who define innovation, creativity and accomplishment; 2006.

Championships:

Member of Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens, 1974/75; 1975/76

Member of Calder Cup Champion, Nova Scotia Voyageurs, 1975/76

Member of Team Canada, Bronze Medalists, 1977 Moscow Isvestia Tournament

Member of Deutschemeisterschaft (German Bundesliga [National League] Champion), Mannhein ERC, 1979/80

Location: Show address on map

Interests: motorcycling, kiteboarding, karate, downhill skiing, sailing, rollerblading, scuba diving

Brief description: Former professional ice hockey player; I share an enjoyment of adrenaline sports and travel with my wife, Ombretta.

Weight: 185 lbs / 80 kilos

Height: 6 feet / 85 cm

Website: www.dotSportLLC.com

Age: 60

profile:custom_profile_type:

About me

I was born into a sporting family on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, in 1953, with my dad teaching my older brother, Dan, and I how to play baseball, to skate and compete.  Soccer and basketball soon followed. We played multiple sports as one season lead into another, year-round. 

When I turned 19 years old, I had the honor of being selected 32nd in the 1973 NHL draft (in a 16 team league).  I was also the first pick of the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association that same year. During my 9-year pro career I had the distinction of winning a Bronze Medal with Team Canada in Moscow; participating in a Stanley Cup championship (NHL); winning an American Hockey League (AHL) Championship; the Deutsche Meisterschaft (German Federal Hockey League Championship); a scoring title; and two Most Valuable Player awards.

I played my last two seasons I played in Germany with Mannheim Eis- und Rollsport Club (MERC).  I won the Deutsche Meisterschaft along with a Lieblingsspieler (MVP) award. The following season we lost the Championship in the final game... Argh!!  But those two years pro in Germany were magical ones.

Professional sport was good to me.  And I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful opportunity to learn about sport, life, and right from wrong. But, around my 27th birthday, I knew I needed to get on with something else, so like all good things, my hockey-playing days came to and end. 

With no formal training I chose to pursue sports marketing.  And as good fortune would have it, when I turned 28, I began my career as the Marketing Director Europe for World Championship Tennis (WCT).  Eventually, I co-founded my own shop catering to the likes of big banks, luxury automakers and the largest global 'fast food' company.  They were good and interesting years that came as a result of some good and interesting people. 

And so, via this trajectory, I find myself here today. 

What has been amazing to witness, is the fact that my few years having been a professional athlete carried along with me all these years! I would have never thought so, but indeed I have come to find that there is a little bit of sport interest in everyone - and everyone likes to talk about sport when they come to learn that I once played pro.  Sport has a magical quality to it... 

Sport is what caused me to leave my family at 15 years old to go off to play for a team 300 miles from home. That experience planted the desire in me to explore the world.  More than a half century on, I have done so extensively, so my experiences have made me immensely grateful for the opportunities that sport has provided me.

It is because I have lived a life of sport that I came to co-found lifedotsport.  lifedotsport aspires to become the space for deeper engagement around sport between athletes, friends, and fans.  

I'd be grateful to hear if you think lifedotsport is delivering on this vision.  Or not.

Kind regards,

RA

12 February 2012