2008 spa Man of the Year - Scott Crosby

see Scott shoot as one of our 2010 Fashion Shooters and hear him teach in a Blue Ocean workshop
From Andy Bondurant's speech:

One of the most remarkable details of spa, is the member's that make it up and the comraderity that is formed online, on the phone, in the same cities and especially here at the annual spa Event.  The details of each of our lives are shared here and helping hands are outstretched with love and encouragement.

This past year has come and gone quicker than anyone could imagine I'm sure. Yet one of our members here has taken spa by storm.  He takes people for who they are and catapults their potential and basically just loves to stir the pot. If he tried to walk with a swagger, he'd just look clumsy, but he would do it anyways just to make you laugh. And not a simple little giggle, but the kind of laugh that starts deep in your belly and  makes you tear up and your shoulders shake .  This year's spa man of the year is unconventional and reminds us of one of those goofy school boys who we all photograph every year. Although, I don't even know how he has any time at all to take a picture and sell it.

He is in the photography business to make a living, but he is in the "honorable man" business of life and is changing the the world one photographer at a time. It's like he would rather say too much than to not say anything at all. He doesn't leave anything out. He wants to know everything about you and wants to go down every road you've been. He wants to know how you got to where you are and wants to get you to where you want to go next.  Spa member, Mike Turner,  said he would be nothing as a photographer without him. He took Mike under his wing a year and a half ago when Mike thought an f-stop was when his wife had a headache.

It's evident that he's an awesome photographer, but it seems as though now he's a life coach on the side. The information he shares is valuable and can be put into use immediately. Sherrry Reichert said "that she cant even count the number of times she's seen him voluntarily go to other studios to help them out and even stay until 1:00 in the morning,  drive all the way home.... and receive absolutely nothing for it."

When you see this H2 roll up to your studio, you'd think a man with chains that hang low and boots with fur is gonna hop out. Instead a man with a heart of gold walks out and graciously gives you every little bit of knowledge in his big brain. (You know people with big heads always say they have big brains.)

He even created a spoofed version of the movie "Wedding Crashers" and has rolled through several spa studios with a dozen other photographers, labeling themselves as "Spa Crashers." Everyone of us could call him and he would talk for hours about a technical problem. His upbeat and jovial meanor is a true example of "livin life and lovin it."

It's like the Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt movie "Pay it Forward," where a young boy believes in the goodness of human nature and he changes the world by doing acts of kindness for others. Our spa man of the year has created a trickle affect among each photographer that he has helped. His selfless, gracious acts of service have everyone buzzing about his goodness. Hopefully, every spa member will belive in the quality and benefit of helping others grow too.

For a lot of us, these are the best days of our lives and this year's spa man of the year has helped a number of people brighten their smiles.
So if he has helped you in the past or possibly in the future.. and you can't imagine how you could ever repay him ... just pay it forward.

We are all so blessed to know and love the 2008 spa man of the year, Scott Crosby

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