Kickstarter

Good people of T-Rex! It's definitely time for an update.

The powers that be that govern international amatuer boxing (AIBA) have decided that 16-18 year old women must now compete in a separate youth division, not the "elite" division. No exceptions, not even for our 18-year old gold medalist. And since no teenage girl in her right mind is going to step in the ring with Claressa, she went unopposed at the last tournament. Then she flew home early to be a normal high school student for a change. 

Well, as normal as that can be when you have a gold medal under your bed and Sugar Ray Leonard on your Twitter feed. She's still boxing after school at Berston Field House, but she's also joined the track team, she's going to prom (wearing a gold dress, what else?), she's in love (follow her twitter feed for more info on that), and she's about to graduate.

The biggest news of late? She passed driver's ed and she's finally driving that Camaro that's been parked at Patsy's Auto Dealership waiting for her since August.

Zack and Drea and I are continuing to follow her as she finishes up high school and figures out what to do next. It's hard to stop filming! But we will wrap it up in a few months. In the meantime, we are shaping 300 hours of footage into something that is starting to resemble a movie. We're excited to share some scenes with you soon. We're still aiming for a release early 2014 so no sleep 'til then.

Last month, Zack teamed up with a a reporter at Mother Jones and did this great piece about Claressa post-Olympics: No Endorsements, No Problem: Boxing Gold Medalist Claressa Shields Keeps Fighting

And, hey, we are super proud to tell you that Teen Contender, Claressa's radio diary that Sue co-produced with Radio Diaries won a Peabody Award. #Can'tStopWon'tStop.

Thank you for being a part of this big ride.

With enormous gratitude,

Sue, Drea, Zack and Bianca

Wait, before we go.... if you missed Claressa's Olympic bouts, they are finally up on YouTube. 

Happy New Year T-Rexers! 

We head into 2013 extremely grateful and buoyed by all of your love and support. 2012 was incredible. 2013 is going to be even more of a trip.

 So much has happened for Claressa in the past few months: she was utterly charming on the Colbert Report, she made Sport's Illustrated's Inspiring Performers of 2012 "The Year of the Women" issue, and check this out: The Kickstarter Projects of 2012 include a Pizza museum, a squirrel census and the one and only T-Rexxxxxxxx.

The list goes on. Just last week she walked the red carpet at the BET Honors award ceremony in Washington DC , her name was the answer to a Jeopardy question, and Northwestern High School unveiled a sign honoring her. 

But there are also long stretches of time where the phone doesn't ring and she's buried in homework, trying to keep her grades and attendance up. (She got a 3.6 last quarter.) There's an expectation among her family and friends that all these trips, talkshows, and appearances would make her rich. Claressa thought so too. She thought that once she stepped off the podium with that medal around her neck, there would be sponsorships, endorsements, and a brand new car. Well, she got the car. It's from the Patsy's, the local car dealership, so far her one and only sponsor. (And she'll be able to drive just as soon as she finishes driver's ed.) 

She's got some money tucked away from her gold medal earnings and a few speakers fees, enough to help her family out with their bills and set her dad up with a small business selling Claressa Shields memorabilia. She's not complaining, it's not her style, but she is aware that Gabby Douglas and other Olympic medalists are getting book advances, appearing in commercials and on magazine covers and cereal boxes. 

Claressa is trying to figure out why she has been passed over. Is her skin too dark? Is she too strong? Too Flint? Or is America just not ready for a girl who loves to fight? If there's one thing she knows how to do, it's prove people wrong. She's back in the gym with her sights on Rio in 2016. 

As for us, we're logging and editing more than 320 hours of video and when we're not in Flint we'll be in the editing suite turning all this footage from this extraordinary year into a coherent story. Our plan is to have a rough cut in the fall, apply to festivals the end of 2013, and premier T-Rex in early 2014. And, we're still fundraising so we can release this baby without debt. 

We know you believe hugely in this film and we are extraordinarily grateful for your generous financial support. You're a part of team T-Rex now and we're going to need your collective knowledge and energy going forward. Here are two ways you can help right now:

College: high school has not been a mixed-bag for Claressa. All she wants to do is box. But she's a listener, and her corner is telling her she HAS to go to college. She's applying to nearby colleges but she could really use some recommendations for schools within an driving distance of Flint. If you've got any advice for her, send it along and we'll pass it on to her. 

Partnerships: Claressa is a gifted public speaker and she can read a crowd. She impressed a group of scientists and entrepreneurs with a 20 minute TED-style speech at Poptech's conference this year, talking about personal resilience. Have a listen. She's talked to youth groups, schools and churches.  Her story touches on so many themes—self-esteem, sexual abuse, girl power, resilience, and race and gender. We're looking for partnerships to further conversations around these issues when the film is out. If you work with or know of an organization that would be a partner, please give us a shout. 

Thank you! 

Finally, we know you're ready to watch her box again. She'll be defending her title at the USA Boxing National Tournament in March. We'll let you know when that happens we can send a collective T-Rex cheer. 

Wishing you all a big, happy 2013. 

Onward!! Sue, Zack and Drea

People of the Rex!  

Apologies for the radio silence.  We've been chasing our girl high and low as she rides the post-Olympic Rollercoaster.  Here's a brief catchup.  Gold Medal in hand, Claressa returned to Flint in August, a true champion.  Hundreds of Flintstones waited at the airport to see her in the post-Olympic flesh.  Media followed her every move, friends hugged and hi-5ed and family beamed triumphantly.  The next week she started her senior year of High School.  With that, the pace of her post-Gold life was set.  It's been this incredible back-and-forth between high school teenager and celebrity athlete.  Monday is school and then the gym.   Tuesday on the Colbert Report.  Wednesday she's at Driver Training class.  Thursday it's an ESPN interview.  And Friday she's hanging out with her friends at the mall.  The life of a phenom celebrity teenage female athlete.  But boxing is always at the center.  Earlier this month, she was back in the ring absolutely demolishing at the PAL tournament in Toledo.  And then back to Northwestern Academy, catching up on homework.  It's hard to put it all into perspective.  It's been a wild magical ride.  As winter in Michigan begins and we head closer to a long winter/spring of post-production, we'll keep you all updated on our doings.  Until then...

On a side note, California is a place, the side project of Drea and Zack just launched their latest film.  A Halloween special starring a costumed friend.  Take a peak...  

Onwards and Upwards!  

Team Rex

This week in London, Claressa put her stamp on history.  She will forever have a place in digital history books for years to come. She is the youngest and the first woman boxer to win a Gold Medal at 165lbs. This goes down as one of the biggest moments in sports. She's a fighter, she's a believer, and she's now an inspiration to millions of people around the world. From the basement at Berston Gym in Flint, MI to the Olympic Podium in London, England, Claressa "T-Rex" Shields is our Golden Girl!!!

It doesn't get any more real than this. This is why we're here. Claressa goes for Gold. Goooollllddddd!!!!! Russia is the opponent. Action starts at 430pm in London. 1130am in New York. 830am in California. Watch it live online. NBC in the States. BBC in the Kingdom. One fight left. It's certainly not going to be boring...

http://www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/