A place where whole families jog together decked head to toe in the latest and greatest technological innovation, where speed and performance are the expected first words of children – replacing the more traditional (and let’s face it, boring) mum, dad, cat, yawn….

Maryland gave birth to Kevin Plank and he gave the city of Baltimore his own creation, Under Armour. PrettyGreen took a journey to the very core of the brand last week, visiting for the 2013 Sales Conference and ‘Armour Day’ – a celebration for the 4000-5000 employees and update on the year’s business and vision for the future.

Based in a converted factory from the City’s industrial past, the Under Armour ‘Campus’ looks over the city as an inspiring reminder of just what can be achieved with hard work and dedication. Kevin to this day strives to create an atmosphere of excellence, driving every one of his staff to ‘change the game’ and ‘get noticed’ in a crowded market.

Kevin created the dream in the most American fashion. A former Football (not soccer) player, he manufactured his own compression garments for match day, before opening up his business to teammates, friends and then professional sports teams across the country. With a driving focus to ‘make every athlete better’, Under Armour is an embodiment of an ideal, echoed through every hallway of the company and through the mouths of every employee.

Amongst the thought provoking quotes heard during the week: “We have to be smart enough to be naïve enough to not know what we can’t accomplish.”

We can’t speak for the rest of the congregation, but we certainly got the plane home feeling like we could run through walls!

The office cheered as all three names were called out, and then the phones started ringing… and ringing, and ringing. All systems were GO as we put the finishing touches to our schedule for the media day we had tentatively booked in for the next day. Thanks for keeping to our plans, Warren!

Interviews confirmed, photographer and venue booked we hopped on the Northern Line and headed south of the river (gasp) to Reach Fitness in Clapham to meet the boys who were eagerly awaiting a day of physical training and interviews about the upcoming Tour.

The boys sure were put through their paces; lifting heaving weights, squats, burpees, pull-ups – the works (it’s a tough job girls, but someone’s got to do it). The day was a great success, we captured some really strong photography and the boys gave interviews to the likes of The Daily Telegraph, BBC Wales, Evening Standard and Rugby World, amongst others.

We even held our first @UnderArmourUK Twitter takeover, letting the guys take control of the laptop and answer questions from some of their biggest fans (but avoided the rude ones, much to their disappointment).

Unsurprisingly the PrettyGreen girls are now pushing for the next appearance to be held at our Farringdon office (purely for sporting reasons, obviously). The boys however, are not so keen. We wish the boys all the best for the summer, we know they’ll be the heroes of the squad…

It’s been a busy few weeks for the Virgin Media team here at PrettyGreen. Three weeks ago saw the official launch of Virgin Media Shorts 2013 film competition. For those who have been living under a rock, Virgin Media Shorts is a short film competition that invites filmmakers to create a film of no more than 140 seconds for a chance to claim a £30k pot and BFI backing for their next project.

The prize isn’t half bad, nor is the head judge for this year’s competition. Director of films such as ‘Somers Town’, ‘This is England’ and the upcoming Stone Roses documentary ‘Made of Stone’, Shane Meadows will be the man to impress. Mouths dropped open at the news of Shane joining the judging panel and it’s fair to say the PG team are ’slightly’ excited to work with him.

As a team who don’t like to stop the ball or cheese rolling (reference to make sense momentarily), the Virgin Media team wanted to create something that really gets people talking to mark the launch. In steps Blur bassist, writer, cheese maker and now first time director-extraordinaire Alex James.

Provided with just a Nikon camera and the theme ‘Life is Short’, Alex jetted off to LA and promised to return with short in hand. Falling in love with the film making experience he decided to combine his passion for music with film and used a previously unreleased solo track ‘Superordinator’ to soundtrack the film.

The track and new film have been doing the rounds in the office until the official release today. So take 140 seconds to enjoy this:

Think you can do better, or fancy a bit of the action? VirginMediaShorts.co.uk is where it’s going down. Dust off the camera, call some mates and get involved in the UK’s biggest short film competition now!

The final Maximuscle event is taking place in Amir Khan’s Gloves Gym in Bolton. Protein Pledgers are stepping into the ring with King Khan himself and Kylie, Mark, Jack are currently jabbing and sweating their way through this prizefighters day.

There’s no standing still when you’re training like a pro! #ProteinProject vine.co/v/bQwaATVuUIv

— Maximuscle (@Maximuscle) May 3, 2013

Sian, Leanne and their amazing Marvellous Creations travelling funfair have rolled into Bleinhem Palace, Oxford. It’s an incredible experience and has got the events industry talking about PrettyGreen.

#FF @cadburyuk @dairymilk see you at Jousting @blenheimpalace this Bank Hol hoorah! twitter.com/BlenheimPalace…

— Blenheim Palace (@BlenheimPalace) May 3, 2013

And last, but by no way least, we have Crispello live in the Cadbury heartland of the Birmingham Bullring. Check out the band in full flow (Crispello style!)

And the sun is shining! What could possibly go wrong?

A few us already have it down as track of the year (which is a bold statement in April).

The video below of Dutch DJ, Michiel Veenstra really warming to the track pretty much sums up the office reaction to the first full play this morning.

Happy Friday!

Now, before we cause a Twitter meltdown from One Direction fan outrage with such a claim, please allow us to explain how we reached this enlightening conclusion. We know the One Direction boys have been big Nando’s fans ever since their X-Factor days, so it’s only right that Nando’s cater for the boys on their current UK tour to celebrate their huge success – who needs Nobu when you have Nando’s!

Whist arranging a private delivery for the band, we couldn’t help but have a sneaky peak at which one of the boys can handle the heat. it clearly identified that Zayne was the hottest One Direction boy, opting for his PERi-PERi with Extra Hot sauce. Case closed! Plus we always knew Harry was a bit Mango and Lime, you can see it in his eyes.

Turns out we weren’t the only ones asking ourselves which Nando’s One Direction order would ruffle our feathers, so were heat, Daily Express, Star and Daily Mirror readers…Nando’s anyone?

Harry
1 x Double Chicken (Mango & Lime) wrap with cheese & pineapple

Liam
1 x Butterfly Chicken (Medium) No skin
1 x Mixed olives
1 x Perinaise sauce

Louis
1 x Half Chicken (Medium)
1 x Creamy Mash
1 x Perinaise

Niall
1 x Double Chicken wrap (Medium) – no lettuce
1 x Spicy rice
5 x Wings (Medium)
1 x Perinaise
1 x Medium sauce

Zayn
1 x Double Chicken pitta (Medium) with cheese
1 x Mixed Olives
1 x Coleslaw
1 x Corn on the cob
1 x Hot sauce
1 x Extra Hot sauce

With the horrific backdrop of the Boston terrorist attacks and the country divided on the extent of state funeral given to one of British politics’ most recognizable figures, a definite nervousness preludes the ceremony.

Those PrettyGreeners who are ‘Thatcher’s children’ live in a country where her policies and their effect had such a fundamental influence on the shape of modern Britain, some of the most important include:

- Major deindustralisation of the manufacturing sector resulting in mass unemployment and a growth in the gap between the rich and poor
- Standing up to the European Union and resisting the UK joining European Monetary Union
- Victory in the Falklands War
- Eroding Trade Union power and its control over government
- Deregulation of the city and the ascent of London as a major financial power (and arguably leading to excessive financial speculation and the resulting credit crunch in 2007)
- Privatisation of state industries such as the railways, energy and telecommunications
- The sale of council houses and a rise of people owning their own homes
- Encouraging entrepreneurship

All of these policies have had a monumental effect on today’s Britain but if you are one of Thatcher’s Children it is likely that your opinion will be sculpted by your own experiences in the 1980s and where you grew up in the UK. For example if your Dad was a trader living in the London commuter belt you probably have a much more positive view on Thatcher than if you lived in the North East and your Dad lost his job on the shipyards and your local area was decimated by mass unemployment and low investment.

From the debate in the office, there is no denying that Baroness Thatcher was one of the most polarising characters in recent British history and hence one of the most interesting. The debate on her legacy and feeling towards her is likely to rumble on long after she is laid to rest later today.

The PrettyGreen resident supporters club were out in force (and voice) at White Hart Lane to make sure that happened, hosting media on behalf of Under Armour in their snazzy hospitality box. They say you should never mix business and pleasure but I’m sure Spurs fans across the world would identify more with an acute nervousness than the feelings of ecstasy so often experienced by the Manchester United’s of this world. And if you visited the Farringdon office on a Monday morning after a particularly disappointing match, you’d see what football loyalty can do to a person first hand…

Even our guest journalists seemed to catch the bug as the second half heated up, despite their allegiances falling to the usual suspects of Liverpool, United and *ahem* Arsenal, amongst others.

The food was fantastic, the ‘Lane electric and the result… well. Sometimes it’s best not to let the little things get in the way of a good day out. A 2- 2 draw in a match which could really have gone either way – let’s give the three points another go next week.

Six games to go in this year’s English Premier League season and you can count on Under Armour and the long-suffering PrettyGreen Spurs support to be cheering them through every one.

COYS

Below are a few more surprising wee facts we didn’t know about each other…

George – Starred in a TV advert for a Greek estate agent called Diamond Lettings at the age of 11

Lucy Mart – Appeared on Blue Peter twice

Lucy Porter – Was an actor in the Industrial Revolution segment of the London Olympic Opening Ceremony. Full bonnet and all.

Emma White – Background dancer in the club scene of Street Dance

Strings – His wife Wendy is really good looking. Every client who has met Wends says ‘wow’ with a surprised tone implying Strings should have bagged a 5 rather than a 9. (We don’t think so Strings!)

Tim – Once played football against Robbie Williams and got into a fight with him when he elbowed Tim in the face!!

Lauren – Was in a band called the ‘Georgie Kids’ with a hit song called ‘Friendship for a lifetime’

Claire Ashman – Escorted out of Radio 1 for saying ‘Fuck’ on Air

Jack Swallow – His woman is ‘The Nando’s girl’ and his lovely long hair sadly isn’t his own

Mark Scholefield – His girlfriend endures some very close encounters with cow, horses and sheep for a living

Katie Hunter – The star of 3 Playdays videos all staring Dave Benson Philips and performed a ballet solo for Princess Diana at the Covent Garden Opera House

Coco – worked at Bodeans

Bea Chew – Danced on stage with Boyzone for their ‘Melting Pot’ song wearing a full length gospel choir gown

Sophia – Went to Olivia Newton John’s house for Easter one year. She had unbelievable amounts of chocolate!

Charlotte – A backing dancer for Eric Prydz ‘Call on Me’ at a nightclub in Kingston. Also sang a song she wrote to the Queen at the Royal Albert Hall dressed as a fish.

Sarah Henderson – Appears in the Take That & Party tour video swaying with a lighter in the audience while Mark Owen sings Babe

Debbie Longmuir – Part of the crowd in Queen’s video ‘Will Be friends’, appearing 8 seconds in the black and white t-shirt

And to save the best till last. The very special Ben Thomas featuring in a nationwide billboard campaign welcoming people to Bahrain. Brilliant.

Renowned for some beautiful scenery and its effortless cool, Stockholm is home to DICE, the developer behind the acclaimed Battlefield series. Following the huge success of Battlefield 3 in 2011, lucky media from across the globe were invited to get the first glimpse of the highly anticipated Battlefield 4 before anyone else, and get some exclusive insights from the worryingly slick Swedish team behind the game’s creation. Free drinks at the bar, and the world’s largest buffet all helped to launch Battlefield 4 to some its most hardcore fans, and of course there’s nothing like a dark cinema and surround sound to heighten the excitement!

For anyone not lucky enough to be there you can see what you missed here:

And we’ll be on the look out for more Battlefield 4 news over the next few months!