His athletic background had Zandman-Zeman accustomed to serious workouts, usually with heavy weight-training equipment. But such was not to be found in his Peace Corps posting to the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
So he began using exercise bands he ordered online.
From that, a business idea was born. Zandman-Zeman improved and modified those bands into a business product he now calls “Rubberbanditz” and which he hopes will revolutionize the exercise industry.
“The idea was born out of necessity,” he told The Herald-Sun’s Monica Chen. “I had to work with whatever was available.”
For that adaptability, and the entrepreneurial spirit that led to Rubberbanditz, we’re pleased to bestow this week’s Durham Grit award on Zandman-Zeman.
- Is this a great city, or what?
If we needed more affirmation, last weekend’s Art Walk was just the thing.
Several thousand folks toured exhibits at the Durham Arts Council and many local galleries and studios in and around downtown.
The eclectic studios at the Golden Belt complex, renovated with an eye to being an arts community, were on the tour map, drawing many to an area of town that not so long ago was essentially abandoned and that now is a vibrant center of creativity.
The Arts Council building itself on Morris Street was a major draw, with several artists exhibiting there. Typical of visitor reaction was that of Tom Laco of Raleigh, who had come over to take in the event.
“I think it’s great,” Loco told our reporter, Keith Upchurch. “We haven’t come out here before, and we’ve seen a lot of neat things.”
Durham’s art scene is becoming increasingly diverse and exciting, and the arts walk was a good chance to show lots of folks what is happening. Moreover, it was a good opportunity to show off a downtown bristling almost every month with more engaging reasons to visit. Creative arts are beginning to define an especially critical niche in downtown’s attractions.
The arts walk is a great reason to come downtown and sample our burgeoning arts scene.
- Here’s an enticing item from this week’s Chronicle of Higher Education:
“The scholarly book getting the most buzz at the American Anthropological Association’s annual conference next week is likely to be a doctoral dissertation published 15 years after its author’s death. ‘Surviving Against the Odds: Village Industry in Indonesia’ is by S. Ann Dunham, the mother of President Obama, a connection noted on the book’s front cover.”
This story has a Durham twist. The book is published by Duke University Press.
Ken Wissoker, editorial director at the Duke press, told the Chronicle that the book is a natural fit. In an e-mail message, the Chronicle reported, “he pointed out that ‘Surviving Against the Odds’ aligns with the press’s editorial emphases. ‘Anthropology, Southeast Asia, and critical work on development are all central to our list,’ he said. ‘We are honored to have the chance to publish her prescient and pathbreaking work.’
Not a bad coup for the press, nationally renowned for the works it publishes, to be the subject of such buzz.
