Getting to Know Your Offleash Team: Scott Lechner

Offleash grabs some time with our own Director of Media Relations, Scott Lechner. 

If you could grab a beer with any sports figure, who would it be?
Jeff Kent, a former second baseman of the SF Giants. Why Kent? He is one of my all time favorite baseball players. He had this no frills, blue-collar approach to the game that I really admired. He could both hit and field and was institutional to the Giants’ late ‘90s success, which bridged the team and fan base to the now well known and super successful present-day Giants, who sell out AT&T park every day.

It sorta kills me that after the Giants he played on the Dodgers for a few seasons, but I have learned over the years to let go of things out of my control. His prime was with the Giants. He was an integral part of the 2002 World Series team, which was my favorite Giants team, so I would enjoy hearing him talk about that experience, including the highs and the lows. Also, I believe the guy lives on a ranch in Texas, so I am sure has some rockin’ stories to tell!

What lessons have you learned playing sports?
I played a ton of sports growing up and on some adult leagues later in life. While I’ve used sports more as a way to get out on a field or diamond and forget the trials and tribulations of real life, I have learned some unique lessons along the way.

We talk a ton in our industry of presence and being in the moment, and being on a soccer field, for instance, forces one to be 100 percent in the moment. All other mental noise outside the game at hand melts away. It’s an incredibly liberating feeling! And the bond with teammates is something that can’t be matched. For an hour and a half, being on the field with that group of people is all that matters. It also feels really good to win, both as a team and individually, and there’s huge value in using competition to build self-confidence.

As a father, it’s also important for me to be able to teach my kids how to correctly throw, kick and shoot a ball, so the experience of playing sports transcends simply from being fun activity to being an important aspect of parenthood as well.

What do you like best about working with media?
Out of everything in PR, I enjoy our media relationships the most. It took me a while to realize this, but the journalists we work with are just like us. They are normal, hard working people with an important job to do. In PR we build the media up so much they can become intimidating, but in reality they put their pants on one leg at a time, just like us.

Also, ingesting news – whether it’s broadcast, print or online – is important to all of us. Being a part of the larger journalistic process by working with media is very rewarding.

Tell us about one of your best camping trips
It was a 60 mile, four night backpacking hike through the Lassen forest I took with my dad and Boy Scout troop. I was around 14 years old and it was fun being in the wilderness with other kids and a few adults, but it was a very difficult hike. I was an undersized kid, so it was a challenge carrying the backpack up and down the mountains out there. I almost quit as a few Moms dropped off supplies at the halfway point. It seemed so easy to just give up, jump in the car and leave and I hate to admit it, but the thought did creep into my head.

I didn’t quit though, mainly because a couple buddies pushed me to stay the course with them and the rest of the trip was just epic. It is a life lesson I think about almost everyday, and that decision to fight through adversity was an important turning point for me and my personal growth now that I think back on it as an adult.

The most memorable thing you’ve seen in the wilderness?
Aside from seeing a few bears, elk and bald eagles (which were all amazing), the most memorable thing I’ve witnessed was a skunk walking through our campsite. I was sitting at the fire, when a black and white-striped monster waddled its way right into the site – past our car, past me and behind a bunch of people at the table.

I was so surprised and was laughing so hard that I couldn’t speak. I tried to warn everyone, “don’t move” but the words just didn’t work. In the end, the skunk just walked right past everyone, a foot or so away, and no one even knew. It’s among my funniest camping moments, though it could have been an even better story if someone had accidentally stepped on the thing.