By Robert Parkwire
& Tracey Stein
In his early thirties, Zack Teperman has led a successful, young life that proves to us all that you can live the life you want, whilst still enjoying the things you like to do.
Follow Zack’s life in full via Instagram at instagram.com/zackteperman or on his company website: www.ZTPR.net
Zack Teperman – for the love of marketing, PR and paddling
Zack, currently the President of Los Angeles-based public relations agency ZTPR (www.ZTPR.net), started his career as a radio disco jockey in Miami, Florida, Bracebridge, Ontario and a special on-air gig at Mix 100FM in the capital city of Canada’s Northwest Territories, Yellowknife. For those who may not know about this hidden gem in the north, Yellowknife is home to some of Canada’s most scenic and natural lakes including Great Slave Lake, Long Lake, Frame Lake, Reid Lake, the Lower Cameron River and the Tartan Rapids.
While living and working in radio in his late teenage years, Zack described to us how beautiful Yellowknife and its lakes were. “I wasn’t in Yellowknife for too long, just one summer, but it was one of the most incredible summers there. Going down the Ingraham Trail and paddling in all the lakes was just mind-blowing. The water and air is just so fresh. You could just put your hand in the water and drink it out of your palm, and it tasted better than anything out of a bottle. Working on-air at the radio station weekdays, I was able to spend my weekends just exploring all the nature around me… It was an experience I’ll never forget, and probably where I fell in love with being out on the water in just a canoe or kayak for some ‘me time’.”
After hanging up his radio microphone and headphones in Yellowknife, Zack travelled back to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to continue his work in the radio industry, while starting to tone his craft in marketing, sales and public relations. While living in Toronto, Zack tells us he was able to escape from his normal 9-5 work day by heading down to his family cottage near Algonquin Park to relax on the water. “Being able to work in the city and drive a few hours to relax my mind in nature was a real perk. I was never really a ‘city guy’ but that’s where work was, so I had to be there. However, whenever I could getaway, I would.”
His time in Toronto came to an end when he took a chance at a job opportunity in Hollywood, California. It was there that Zack took everything he had learned previously to work up the ranks in the public relations industry, starting his own agency after a few years and taking it global with clients in entertainment, music, technology, fashion, food, health and business.
TRAK Kayaks
What started as just an agency in Hollywood, grew over the years to all parts of the United States and then finally back to Zack’s home country of Canada, where he was able to connect and help represent a company that fitted in with his own passion of paddling. That company was TRAK Kayaks (www.trakkayaks.com), makers of the portable kayak and with Zack’s expertise and guidance, TRAK in on track for a very successful 2019 ahead.
“When I first spoke to Nolin [Veillard] and the team at TRAK, I just knew they had something special. Being someone who likes to travel myself and kayak, I was blown away with everything TRAK had created and been doing. I had to get involved.”
With big plans for TRAK this year, Zack and his team at ZTPR have been able to insert themselves into a market they love, which makes their job even more enjoyable. Zack says, “When I first started out in PR, I had to work for someone else and was given clients to handle, whether I thought they were great or not. Since I started my own firm a few years ago, I feel very lucky that I am able to now select and work with companies, products and people who I’m actually fully dedicated and passionate about. It makes work fun, and it’s very satisfying to watch start-ups and companies like TRAK go from a concept to something everyone wants to own.”
While Zack enjoys kayaking in the latest TRAK 2.0, he still tries to canoe and stand up paddle board whenever he can, whether it be in Marina Del Rey, Lake Elsinore, Lake Arrowhead or Malibu around his hometown in California, or in other parts of America such as his recent trip to Spencer Glacier in Alaska where he kayaked around the ice and snow, or overseas from him in the clear hot seas surrounding the island of Bora Bora in the French Polynesia.
“Being able to work, travel and do the things I love has been a blessing. Everything in my life, from my days being an intern getting people coffee at radio stations, to being on-air myself, to now being in marketing, public relations and investments, has happened for a reason.”
With ZTPR now expanding its reach beyond North American waters to places like Australia, the UK, Singapore and Switzerland, the future for young Zack looks bright. He has a loving wife, baby girl (who is one of Hollywood’s youngest television actresses), and has also started a marketing platform/portal that anyone on any budget can use called MEDYA (www.GetMEDYA.com). In addition to all these companies he has even written a humorous best-selling marketing guide book entitled, ‘Cut The Bull$hit’. Through it all though, Zack’s love of the water and paddling has continued forward and helped him stay ‘relaxed’ through any changes life throws his way.
