Inspired Choices and Great Opporunities

What an amazing day! Once again twenty-one young people prepared themselves for a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet one of their heroes. This time, the impressively talented and completely lovely Ryan Giggs.

They winners of the Alliance & Leicester's Premier 21 Current Account Master Class made their ways to Manchester Piccadilly this weekend where they were picked up and taken to Carrington Training Ground - the official training ground for Manchester United. This was the first time that anyone could remember anything like this ever taking place at the sacred pitches, where so much magic happens on a daily basis.

After settling in they met Ryan, who told them about his life and how he got to where he is today. They got to ask their questions and get them answered by the legend himself - all this before Giggsy put them through their paces.

Now I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest football fan, but even I got excited about walking around the ground and realised how honoured I was to be able to meet these great people and see everything first hand.

After a warm-up and a spot of lunch they were off for some proper training and, of course, a kick about.

There was a great mix of people; some athletes, some pro youth footballers, some sports lovers and some who were just excited to be there - all of them had a great time and got some great advice.

They all walked away feeling that they'd been given a great opportunity - in fact one of them was later approached by Manchester United and may even be up for an assessment - who know's, maybe The Lounge Group could have introduced the next Ryan Giggs to Man U.

Good Luck to him - hopefully he'll remember us when he's rich and famous - or at least remember the tips he got on how to shoot to success.

Cheers,

Paul

A bit of Gok on the radio

Last week we had a Radio Day with Gok Wan for the launch of new Alliance & Leicester Premier 21 Campaign, it was an early start for all - but it turned out to be really successful.

Gok was a true professional, and although he made the odd innuendo and talked about his bum hanging out of his pants, he was really good at talking about the Premier 21 Account’s Master Class Day with him. He even mentioned the research; that 52 per cent of youngsters who leave school do so because they want to get a job where they don't need a degree. All morning radio hosts seemed really happy with the interviews.

He talked a lot about his early life and how he got into fashion; apparently the first time he'd spoken about that. All in all we did all have a giggle, especially when he was asked for a Summer Style Tip and came out with, "Don't forget girls, if you're going to the beach this summer, remember to trim your bush" - and let's not forget the naked picture of a naked woman on her breakfast table, which they wanted Gok to comment on. It turned out to be one of the radio presenters for a later show. I'm still laughing now!

Worth the early start, although I felt a bit sorry for Gok as he had to run off to a shoot and knew he would be working til quite late at night.

Looking forward to the next press day though - hopefully equally as entertaining!

If you are 16-21 year you can apply to spend the day with him through www.prem21.co.uk

Paul

Gok a liscious

Happy Monday from The Lounge.

The Lounge recently filmed a podcast with Gok for the Prem 21 Campaign, in which he opens up about his life, career, top tips and speaks about his experiences growing up, which he has never really spoken about before. Gok was very down to earth and a really nice guy – he looked every bit the fashionista we know and love! For anyone interested in breaking into the fashion industry or just love Gok you will enjoy the podcast….

The campaign is pretty cool. A&L are offering 21 young people the chance to spend a whole day with Gok at one of London’s most famous fashion haunts, then he will take them for a luxurious lunch and give them a styling challenge on the streets of London! For those that don't get a chance to meet Gok, there are some amazing prizes on offer such as a shopping spree, photo shoot & signed Gok goodies. If you are interested you can find all of the information on www.prem21.com

I will keep the updates coming…

B xx