News / Internet
Tellman Knudson Meets President Clinton - No Shoes Necessary
Shaggy-Haired Internet Marketing Mogul Meets the Former President and Discusses His Record-Setting Coast-to-Coast Barefoot Run
Except when he meets the former President of the United States.
Technically, Knudson wasn't wearing a tie when he met Bill Clinton at a fundraiser for the Clinton Foundation at Russel Simmons' house last week. It was a bow tie. And in true Knudson style, his suit featured bold vertical red and white stripes, with a plaid fedora topping the outfit.
So how does a kid from small town, New Hampshire end up at a $15,000-a-plate fund raising dinner, sharing laughs with President Clinton and looking like a Colonel Sanders/Allman Brother hybrid? The answer is simple, Knudson says. "Go barefoot."
Knudson is in the midst of training for his ambitious Run Tellman Run project. On Sept. 9, he'll be departing Battery Park in New York City and running 3,200 miles, barefoot, to the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. Along the way he'll be raising money for Virgin Unite, the charitable arm of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire, with a goal of raising $100,000,000 to help homeless teens in America. You read correctly: one hundred million dollars.
If you knew Knudson's backstory, the idea of barefooting across a continent to raise such a vast sum of money wouldn't seem so incredible. He was born with femoral antiversion, a bone deformity that left his feet pointing 45 degrees inward. He could barely walk without stumbling and doctors said they would have to purposely break his legs and conform them in casts for six months. But when Knudson was 14 he disciplined himself to jog five miles to and from school every day, eventually straightening out his legs and going on to break school records on the cross-country team.
"My life changed during those hours and hours I spent jogging on the side of the road," said Knudson from his home office. "I finally gained Confidence, with a capital 'C'. If I could force my legs to turn around, I felt like I could do anything."
Fast forward a decade and Knudson found himself in a small apartment in Brattleboro, VT, flat broke after a series of failed business ventures like "Tellman's Salsa Co." That's when he got into internet marketing, starting his listbuildingclub.com direct marketing business. Within two years, he was making millions. He now employs 15 people in his corporation, fittingly named Overcome Everything, Inc.
"I feel like I've reached a milestone by meeting with the President," said Knudson from his home office. "But on the other hand, I've got a long way to go."
Readers can head to http://www.runtellmanrun.com to follow Knudson's progress on the barefoot run. He also urges everyone he meets to help convince Clinton to join a portion of the run by sending a note to the Clinton Foundation at http://www.clintonfoundation.org/contact-form.
About RunTellmanRun:
Tellman Knudson seeks to be the first person to run across America barefoot. He begins his 3,000+ mile journey in Battery Park, New York on September 9th and heads west, running the equivalent of one marathon a day. The route follows historic Route 66 for much of the way, with stops in Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Amarillo, Phoenix and finishing on the pier in Santa Monica, California.
Relationship to Virgin Unite:
Virgin Unite will be the recipient of all funds raised by Tellman Knudson's run across America, and will use those funds to help reduce the risks that homeless teens in America face on a daily basis, and help them get off the streets and rebuild their lives.
About Virgin Unite:
Virgin Unite is the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group. The organization unites people to tackle tough social and environmental problems with an entrepreneurial approach. The aim is to help revolutionize the way businesses and the social sector work together – driving business as a force for good. Virgin Unite’s overheads are covered by Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin Group, meaning that 100% of donations received go direct to the frontline where they are needed most. www.virginunite.com
About Teenage Homelessness:
Over two million youth (between the ages of 12 and 24) will experience at least one episode of homelessness each year and over 100,000 youth sleep on the street for 6 months or more in America. The vast majority of homeless, street-dependent youth will experience amplified risk of exposure to physical assault, rape, sexual exploitation, recruitment into gangs, and deepening mental health illnesses. Tellman Knudson has set a goal of raising $100 million dollars to help create the programs to reduce the risk these teens face on a daily basis, help get them off the streets, and rebuild their lives.
Run 10 with Tellman:
Join Tellman Knudson for a 10K (6.2 mile) section of his journey across America. Organized running events are planned for major cities along the route. Visit www.runtellmanrun.com/run10 for a complete listing of events.
Donate:
To make a donation, visit www.virginunite.com/runtellmanrun and donate $25, $50 or $100 to help end teenage homelessness.
Contact:
Luke Q. Stafford, PR Guy, Run Tellman Run
email: luke@runtellmanrun.com
phone: 802-275-2749
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