active buys

Don’t Judge a Bike by its Cover

Brightly colored spandex, racks of high-tech gear and bicycles parked neatly in a row on a floor that sparkles.  These are the sights we have come to expect in our local bicycle shops, but there’s a place in East Nashville that is changing the way we view cycling altogether.  Nashville Bicycle Lounge has broken the mold and created one of the coolest, hippest spots in the city for bike enthusiasts to shop, talk and hang.  With its concrete floors and cinder block walls, Nashville Bicycle Lounge is a ‘real’ bike shop where they live and breathe everything on two wheels.  They build them, sell them, fix them, ride them and love them!

I have to say, though, my first visit was certainly not what I was expecting.  I was greeted by READ MORE

[Profile] Sam Davidson – People Who Care ARE Cool!

Quickly name five small things you could do in less than 5 minutes to positively change the world today?  Of course there are lots of monumental things that need to be done, and could be done, that would make this place a vastly improved planet.  However, most people don’t think about the quick and simple things we could all do every day that, over time, would really help make this world a better place.

Enter Sam Davidson and Cool People Care.  In a nutshell, Cool People Care’s main goal is to help save the world, every single day, through small doses of inspiration!  For those of you not familiar with Sam, he’s a successful author, entrepreneur, sought-after keynote speaker, and considered an expert on all things regarding Generation Y,  philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, and community leadership.  Sam is as accomplished as he is humble and approachable, not a common trait in most people!  I recall sitting down with Sam for the first time before we even launched ACTIVEBUYS.  He was as down-to-earth, supportive and encouraging as anyone I have met to-date!

We got some of his time and were lucky enough to have him talk with us.  Here is some of the fascinating side of Sam Davidson and Cool People Care.

Where are you originally from? What brought you to Nashville?

I am originally from Florida.  When I was in grade school, my family moved here. After college in Alabama and a brief stint in California, my wife and I moved back to Nashville in 2004 since we already had a support network in place of family and friends and the city itself had a lot to offer.

How did you get the idea for Cool People Care and why did you choose to pursue it?

Stephen Moseley (Cool People Care’s co-founder) and I met working at a Nashville nonprofit organization, Oasis Center. While there, we were noticing many trends in the industry. Chief among those were these two:

1) The rising number of new college graduates (dubbed as Generation Y – those born after 1980) were getting out into the real world and looking for opportunities to make a difference. They were doing this because they were part of the first generation to come of age en masse with service requirements placed upon their degrees. As they were going out on their own, it was very difficult for them to find volunteer opportunities that had been spoon-fed to them for so long.

2) Due to the rapid advancement of technology, nonprofits were having trouble understanding how new tools could help them share their message with a younger audience. Remember – this is back in 2006. At that point in time, Twitter didn’t exist. Facebook was only for college students; YouTube was brand new, and MySpace was king of the heap. A lot has changed since then, but five years ago, we set out to provide a way for any nonprofit to get their information and needs in front of a young audience.

What is in the future for Cool People Care and Sam Davidson?

I see us continuing to READ MORE