Heather Hellman
Event Director/Sponsorships/Brand Marketing Professional
Heather has spent her career in brand marketing communications. In 2003, she established Highway 101 Communications to bring extensive knowledge and experience in branding to small businesses on the Central Coast of California.
Heather began her career at small marketing agencies in Los Angeles, California, before taking a consulting position with Philip Morris, USA. She worked in the event marketing department, promoting Virginia Slims Tennis worldwide, professional concerts, entertainment events, other sports initiatives and the launch of new brands.
After Philip Morris, and a short stint with Major League Soccer (MLS) Tampa Bay Mutiny, Heather returned to agency work in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo. Heather developed marketing strategies and executed many campaigns for Fortune 500 companies specializing in the automotive, financial, energy, political, entertainment, technology, retail, sports, fashion and non-profit industries. Heather has developed campaigns for American Express, ChevronTexaco, Honda, Cox Interactive, Working Assets and HBO to name a few companies.
Heather established Get Off The Couch Potato Sports Productions LLC with business partner Samantha Pruitt in 2010 to bring world-class events to the California Central Coast. She continues to work as a marketing consultant to several central coast businesses, bringing big brand ideas and experience to help them compete, build loyal customer relationships and realize growth.
Heather earned a degree at UCLA and continues to educate herself in the ever-changing world of marketing.
Samantha Pruitt
Certified Race Director USAT, Certified Triathlon Coach, ACE Certified Personal Trainer, Endurance Athlete and Endurance Sports Coach
Samantha Pruitt grew up on the beach in Carpinteria, California and as an adult has been lucky enough to live throughout the California Coastline south from San Diego north now in Arroyo Grande. Samantha attended both Santa Barbara City College and Palomar Community College where she studied Business and Marketing Management. After school she married and became a successful national sales and marketing professional in the cut flower industry.
Around the age of 25, the high stress of her work life and lack of self-care took its toll when her health began to deteriorate. Sam then divorced and moved her infant sonto San Diego for a fresh start where she eventually got remarried to her husband, Dave and his three children. Together they ran his nursery business but the inactive lifestyle and poor nutrition further compounded her health problems until her disabling digestive disorders barely allowed her to get through the day. Her body weight ballooned up to 185lbs on her 5’4” frame. Western medical doctors had no solutions, so in 2002, Sam went back to school studying holistic health. She quickly realized by taking responsibility for her own nutrition, personalized exercise and adopting a stress reduction lifestyle she could rebuild her health, body and life.
In 2003, Sam and her family moved to Arroyo Grande, California where she became a Certified Personal Trainer to educate and inspire others to change their own bodies and lives. During her personal journey back to health, Sam ran her first 5k race and gradually lost 50 lbs. In 2004, she took on the challenge of her first sprint triathlon. Teaching herself to swim, riding a borrowed bike and showing up on race day with a can-do attitude she had the time of her life! So empowered from her accomplishment, Sam embraced triathlon racing, became a Certified Triathlon Coach and formed an all level women’s team training program in 2005.
After several years of training and racing Sam’s health started to fail again. Through her own research and working closely with a registered dietician, Sam was finally diagnosed with Celiacs Disease, an autoimmune disease that responds to gluten. Liberated by this knowledge, Sam lives a more balanced life now and is highly motivated everyday to help others break through their own limitations and discover their best lives through multi-sport training and racing. In 2009 she launched the Central Coast Triathlon Club with fellow Coach, Liz North and became a Certified USAT Race Director. In 2010 she co-founded Get Off The Couch Potato Sports Productions to further live her passion of inspiring others to use multi-sports as a tool to live their best possible life.
Over the last nine years Sam has completed hundreds of races from 5k to Marathon runs, Sprint Triathlons thru to Long Course Triathlons, became a 50Mile Ultra Runner in 2010 and will become a 140.6Mile IronMan in 2011.
