Given the first anniversary of Bill Walton’s passing on May 27, I reflected on the man I was lucky enough to get to know, and the words just started to flow.
It was five years ago in July that I was introduced to Bill Walton by Kerin McGibben from Smartt Entertainment to help promote his Bike for Humanity event as a guest on Lick the Plate Radio. I was thrilled and a bit nervous to visit the home of one of my favorite athletes on the planet.
We met in what I refer to as “the jungle,” a well-maintained, lush area between his two homes in San Diego, which also features a giant tipi.
Bill’s first words to me were “David, Bill Walton here, and I love to lick the plate.” I knew right then it was going to be an epic show. You can check out those five fabulous episodes here.
After the interview, we got talking, and Bill inquired about my job at Stellar Solar, as both of his houses had solar panels, and he drove electric cars. He latched on to that, expressing to me that he would love to represent a company like Stellar to spread the word about solar energy.
I thought it was a long shot at best, but next thing I know we negotiated an agreement that had Bill Walton as our “Solar Evangelist,” which included monthly visits to the jungle to record content for television, radio and digital platforms with my cameraman Brooks Venters and various players from the Stellar team.
I knew this was going to be different when his quote in our press release announcing him included his line: “I am proud, honored and grateful to be a part of such a special team at Stellar Solar – this is a cosmic harmonic convergence of the highest order.” Expressed as only Bill Walton can.
As a marketer, this was a dream scenario: having someone as well-known as an athlete as he was for his Grateful Dead fandom (and all music), and who was genuinely passionate about solar. That does not happen much in the world of athletes pitching products. We thought it would be at best a three-month deal, so I kept telling Brooks to soak in the experience, as it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Well, those three months turned into three more, and next thing I knew, we were approaching four years of regular Bill Walton sessions, during which we got to know this epic human.
Besides recording our content, Bill always made time for stories, from his illustrious basketball career to concerts, books, and playing percussion with the Electric Waste Band in San Diego, as well as in the band we booked for a Stellar Solar Christmas party. We would wind up our sessions in his tipi, have a beer, and let the camera roll as Bill free-formed rambled, which was his forte.
We were also present when the ESPN film crew was recording portions of his 30 for 30 four-part series, which I highly recommend. Every time we hosted a public event with Bill, it was clear that he had touched the lives of many people, as everyone had a Bill Walton connection and a story.
We also laughed a lot, and Bill had a genuine interest in what we did and where we were from. He, of course, had stories about playing against the Detroit Pistons, which I loved.
It was great fun to hear him announce college basketball games alongside Jason Benetti, whom he introduced me to and who is now the voice of the Detroit Tigers. We had plans to team them up in our marketing when I received the news that Bill was sick, and it didn’t look good.
The last time I saw Bill, he was full of life and positive energy, which he had always been, so this did not seem possible, considering he was only 71.
The day after my birthday last year, the texts started pouring in that Bill had passed. Words can’t express the sense of loss I felt. I knew Bill touched a lot of people, but the tributes that poured in from the world of sports and entertainment were truly special. I feel lucky to have had the experience I did with him and never took a second of it for granted.
