Marcus Turner leads a double life, being an account executive by day and competitive dragon boat racer by night. He finds that dragon boat racing teaches him valuable skills about teamwork that he applies to his day job. As a dragon boat racer, he practices several nights a week with his team and they have won their local race twice. Both his colleagues and teammates are surprised by his other life and hobbies outside of work.

1. people
/out of hours
MY
DOUBLE
LIFE
RESEARCHers reveal how their out-of-hours pursuits influence the day job
Tell us about your against teams who are far I’m the sales guy, which means I
day job younger than us and teams that have to figure out how to get
I’m in new business practise all year round. The through to people without
development at RDD Field following year we won again. becoming a nuisance. When
Services. We do telephone We’re out to retake the title this you’re trying to win new
surveys, online surveys and year so we’ll see what happens. business you have to be creative
focus groups. We operate a call I also took part in a 26-mile in the way you approach
centre in Las Cruces, New race in Seattle. It took us four people. You have to build a
Mexico, and we have a focus and a half hours, and after three relationship with people before
group facility here in Portland, and a half I just felt like I was they’ll trust you enough to work
Oregon. I’m the one pounding dead, like I had nothing more to with you.
the streets making the phone give. I’m not a young guy – I’m
marcus turner
calls, trying to develop new in my 50s, so I have to work What do your
By day:
business for us. We’ll do any hard. But it was fun, it was a colleagues say when
account executive,
RDD field services English or Spanish-speaking good experience. you tell them about
By night: survey online or over the phone your other life?
dragon boat racer – our two biggest clients are how do you fit They mostly think I’m crazy.
Photo: Cara Lee Crowder
local but we have national the two around They’ll see me walking slowly
accounts too. each other? or in pain in the office and they
I practise in the evenings. At say, “Wow, you must really like
Tell us about your first I just did it a few months a this sport.”
other life year but now I’ve got really into
I’m a member of two it and I practise all year round. What do your
competitive dragon boat racing I’m out on the river two or three teammates say when
teams. A dragon boat is a nights a week. you tell them about
traditional Chinese rowing boat your day job?
usually decorated with a What does competitive It’s interesting how little people
dragon’s head and tail. There’s a boat racing teach you know about market research. I
team of paddlers, a steerer and a that you can use in tell them that anything
drummer. One of my teams won your day jOB? successful that happens usually
the boat race at the Portland The team element. You can’t has research behind it. Apple do
Rose Festival two years running. really have a superstar paddler a lot of research, car
– the team is only as good as its manufacturers do research,
how did you get into weakest link, and that appeals movie-makers do research. But
dragon boat racing? to me because it means people don’t realise how much
I’d never seen the Rose Festival everybody has a part to play. I of it goes on, because it’s a
race but by chance a friend said practise a lot because I feel a below the radar sort of activity.
they were looking for a responsibility to the team. If I They ask if you’re the guy
right-side paddler – I didn’t even just went to the gym or went who rings them up asking
really know what that meant running on my own I would end questions when they’re having
but I’m right-handed up finding an excuse not to do their dinner.
so I said sure. The team gets it. But because you have a team
“you can’t really
together at the end of March who rely on you, if my arms are If you had to give up
have a superstar and practises for months. sore or if it’s snowing, raining or one of your two lives,
paddler – the team is I was fearful the first time we hailing, I still go. which would it be?
raced because it’s much harder That’s a tough one. If you took
only as good as its
than I thought it would be – the What does research money out of the equation I
weakest link, and north-west is very competitive teach you that you guess I’d have to say the day
that appeals to me in the dragon boat event. We can apply to boat job, much as I love it here.
came third, but it wasn’t a sour racing? I just enjoy being on the
because it means
loss because we lost to the two Persistence, I guess. And the water so much.
everybody has a best teams in the region. Then mental side of things – I’m
IF YOU LEAD AN EXCITING
part to play” the third year we won, and that always interested in what goes DOUBLE LIFE, EMAIL
was amazing because we race on in a race mentally. At RDD robertb@researchmagazine.co.uk
research • february 2012 • 41