Neal Munn, of Rhino Marketing Specialties, Inc. in Piedmont, South Carolina, was the subject of this article published in PPB magazine.

By Anne Pechuls, PPAI
Reprinted with permission.

Neal Munn, MAS, entered the promotional products industry on a part-time basis in 1992 after spending 18 years in the professional car wash industry. He decided, however, that the promotional products industry offered him a wonderful career opportunity and became a full-time salesperson two years later. In 1996, Munn opened his own Piedmont, South Carolina-based distributorship, Rhino Marketing Specialties, Inc. (UPIC: RHINOMKT), and later that year he partnered with distributor Forrester-Smith. He quickly realized the value of industry education and earned the CAS designation in 1997 and the MAS in 2001.

Not only has Munn been a very successful businessman, winning many top sales honors, but he has also found a balance between his work and other interests. He and his wife Roxie are very involved in their church's media ministry where he directs the video presentations on Sundays and Roxie works the graphic presentation. He is co-leader of the church's motorsports team, a group that repairs cars for those who need transportation or can't afford repairs. And they both lead adult Bible studies.

And somewhere in this busy schedule, Munn finds even more time to volunteer. He serves Meals on Wheels, participates in the local Chamber of Commerce, serves on committees and is a past president of his regional association, Carolinas Association of Advertising Specialists (CAAS). He also has served as a RAC delegate and is currently a member of the PPAI MAS/CAS Certification Committee. He even finds time to enjoy his two hobbies--barefoot water skiing and building cars.

Barefoot Water Skiing
Munn began water skiing at age 14 when his father, an Air Force pilot, was transferred to Orlando, Florida. "We lived close to Cypress Gardens where famous water skier Dick Pope was barefoot skiing when others were saying it couldn't be done," he says. "For some reason that experience stuck with me, and I thought it would be pretty cool someday to learn to accomplish such a trick."

At age 36, Munn began water skiing with a neighbor who had skied competitively, and they decided to try it barefoot. "We pretty much taught ourselves through a very painful trial-and-error method. Because we did not know what protective gear we needed (and at that time, such equipment was not readily available), we just wore a ski vest and cut-off jeans. We would come home looking as if we had been in a bad fight or as if someone had beaten us with an oar! We were bruised from head to toe from bouncing off the lake," he explains.

Munn soon learned about a one-piece suit, similar to a diver's suit, which is made of neoprene rubber with flotation material in it along with extra padding for the buttocks, back, chest and crotch. "With the right equipment, you don't hurt yourself too bad," he says.

As for his technique, Munn says he prefers the deep water start. "I just grab the rope and jump into the lake. As I lay on my back, which is arched, and with the rope underneath my heels, the boat accelerates. I push against my feet, and this allows me to sit up," he explains. "If I didn't have that leverage, it would really be hard to sit up because as the boat is trying to pull me forward, it is also trying to pull me under the water."

Munn says until the skier can get up enough speed to actually be on top of the water, the natural tendency is to sink. "By staying in this position with your feet out in front of you, you plane out as the boat planes out. As the boat picks up speed, you get into a seated position with your legs straight out in front of you," he says. "You can either stand up there or move outside the boat's wake in a little smoother spot and stand up there when the boat gets to the right speed."

But, how do you know when the boat is at the right speed? Munn says, "I have done it so many times I just know when to stand up. When I am training others, I tell them to count to 10. However, if they count too fast, their feet will come out from under them and they will do an 'eyes wide open face plant,' which means you see the water rushing up to meet your face and it happens so fast you don't have time to close your eyes," says Munn.

Munn explains that a boat pulling a barefoot skier must be able to do 40-plus mph. "For me, the boat must be able to go between 39 and 40 mph to barefoot forward and 35 to 36 mph to barefoot backwards. I have a Ski Sanger, a 20-foot inboard tournament water ski boat with a 275 horsepower V-8. And in barefoot skiing, you don't just ski with any driver--the boat driver must be someone you can trust, someone who knows what's going on," says Munn. "The driver is responsible for making the skier aware of upcoming bad water. When you are going 40 mph 100 feet behind the boat, you don't see the waves until they are right there. So the driver must give hand signals to prepare the skier for the waves." Munn's driver today? His wife Roxie.

Even though Munn has not barefoot skied professionally, he will, if available, perform skiing tricks at intermissions of lake events and as entertainment for cookouts. "How far and how long I can go on a barefoot run depends on how much lake we have, how nice and smooth the water stays and how my feet hold up," he says. "I have barefoot skied a little over a mile at a time--and with the boat going 40 mph, that really seems like a long time!"

As far as injuries in this hobby, Munn says most of his problems have been with his knees. "Of course, they weren't bad enough to make me stop, but they did slow me down a few summers; and I had to do physical therapy as opposed to surgery to correct the problems," he says. "One time I ran over a log and that was very painful on my arches. However, I have been fortunate that I have not broken an eardrum, which is fairly common in this sport."

How is Munn rewarded? "I'll barefoot ski for gas, beer and barbecue. It is so exhilarating for me, and people can never get enough because there are so few who can actually do it today," he says.

Building Cars
Munn's other hobby began when he was a young boy. "I loved building model cars and that love has never gone away," he says. "It's just that now I build full-size cars." After a number of years being involved with organized racing, Munn decided it would be a better use of his money to build cars for enjoyment and not just throw the money away.

The first project was the restoration of a 1940 Chevrolet 4-door Sedan, which he built about 14 years ago. "We found this car parked in a young man's backyard. It had been his grandfather's car, but the kid didn't want it--he wanted a fishing boat. So we traded out enough money for him to buy the boat, brought the old car home, stripped it apart and then rebuilt it," he says. "This was my first complete restoration, and it had a V-8 engine, automatic, air, cruise control and power seats--all the stuff you would need to head out across the country."

Munn sold this car about 10 years ago and saw it this past summer at a car show. "The guy who bought it from me still owns it, and it looks just like it did when I sold it to him," says Munn. "He says it runs great and has about 80,000 miles on it."

With part of his basement set up as a garage shop, Munn and his wife have determined their winter project this year is the rebuilding of a 1952 Chevrolet five-window pick-up truck. "A friend of ours found it in rust-free condition in Arizona so we had it shipped to us in South Carolina," he says. "We had a custom chassis made and located a fuel injected motor and transmission in a Camaro--so we are just beginning our work on this truck! I will use other shops for the spray painting and chrome plating, but we plan to do all the wiring and assembly ourselves. Roxie will be involved in choosing the colors and patterns for the interior panels."

As for his favorite restorations right now, Munn says the favorite sports car is his restored 1980 Datsun 280 ZX. "But, when it comes to a hot rod, it's my 1932 Ford Roadster, a car I had always wanted to build. The hobby defines a hot rod as a lightweight car with lots of horsepower. With more than 425 hp, this car meets the requirement," he says. "We decided on the motor and built the car around it. The chassis, brakes, body, windshield, gauges, tires, etc. were ordered from different catalogs and we did what we do best--assembly and detail. I just chose what I wanted from the various catalogs and put them together with modifications to make all the parts work together."

Munn builds his cars with a modern drive train so he can drive them down the road at highway speeds with air conditioning, heat and power steering. The cars look old from the outside, but the operating parts are all modern. The Munns like to take their cars to organized national events where other enthusiasts also gather. At these events, judges vote for their favorite roadsters, pick-ups and sedans among the entries. "I have not made the top 10, but I am still trying," says Munn.

Munn's business motto, "Charge like a Rhino," is just the way he lives his life by staying focused on what is important. He enjoys life and yet has found a way to balance his work ethic with his other interests--family, church, community and hobbies. PPB

Anne Pechuls is an associate editor for PPB.