GBK BRAND BAR’S 2023 PRE-ESPYS LUXURY LOUNGE
A highlight of any year is a GBK gifting lounge. So my co-writer Laura and I were happy to attend this mid-summer edition, even though I had to take a pause in watching my precious Wimbledon tennis tourney live to do so! (That’s how much I love GBK events!) Laura was thrilled to join me, saying, “GBK puts on the classiest gifting lounges, where the mood is always celebratory and fun.”
Yankees great David Justice and Karen Salkin. Photo by Laura Saul, as is the one at the top of this page.
This one was to honor the ESPY Awards, which celebrates achievements in sports. It was held once again at what appears to be GBK’s fave venue, the rooftop of the LaPeer Hotel in West Hollywood. Laura noted, “There is nothing that says swanky event more than being on the rooftop of a West Hollywood boutique hotel!”
Because of the occasion, many of the guests were popular athletes. As a decades-long Yankees fan, I was absolutely thrilled to meet the adorable former Yankee, David Justice, who’s even better-looking than when he was playing! We actually had a “meet cute”—I was talking to one of the sponsors who asked me about being from Brooklyn because he’s from the Bronx. And then I heard someone behind me say, “The Bronx? I spent a lot of time there myself.” The sponsor then asked him, “Are you from there?” And the new voice answered, “I played at Yankee Stadium for a long time, and that’s in the Bronx!” I turned around and saw that it was David Justice! And he was darling to me. When I told him that a picture of me with current Yankee Giancarlo Stanton had popped-up somewhere that morning, he gallantly said, “Come on, we can do better than that!,” and put his arm around me. And the rest is history. (Well, only the history of meeting another Yankee great, so no worries for Mr. X!)
But guest list aside, Laura and I were excited to see our favorite food purveyor there, and to learn about many new products, mostly geared to athletes. So you can see why I was invited! (Joking aside, it’s because I admire them, not because I am one.) Here are our highlights:
Photo by Karen Salkin.
Ike’s Sandwiches—We were over the moon to see Ike’s Sandwiches there again! Just the night before, Mr. X was begging me to stop by an Ike’s Sandwich place for him, and then here Ike’s was, like an oasis! Besides that Laura and I both adore Ike himself, (yes, he’s a real person,) Laura says, “He makes the best sandwiches! And when you create such high-quality and tasty products as Ike does, you get to expand your empire, which he is steadily doing. If your own travels don’t show you the evidence of this, just do a quick Google search of Ike’s locations; he’s everywhere now, and for good reason!” She’s just hoping that they’ll expand to the Palm Springs area where she spends a lot of time, saying that area “desperately needs Ike’s superior sandwich shop.” They were serving four different varieties at the lounge, including the Steph Curry, which was new to me, and I loved it! But they were all delish, of course. When Laura asked Ike what his personal favorite is, he chose the Madison Bumgarner and the Paul Reubens. (All of them are named for famous people, often sports peeps, which was perfect for this pre-ESPYs event.) Now she can’t wait to try both of those. www.ikessandwich.com
Photo by Laura Saul.
LA Smile Specialists—Since teeth should be of the utmost importance to everyone, we loved discovering this Beverly Hills dental group right in our own backyard! They were gifting generous certificates for an assortment of services. Laura’s father is a retired dentist, and she told me that he’s amazed at “how dentistry has changed through the years, for the better.” And that LA Smile’s “cutting-edge technologies sound fabulous.” One of the things that really intrigues her about this office is that they don’t use “those uncomfortable dental molds to take impressions of your teeth; they now digitally scan them!” She further explains, “They also use GPS-guided implant placement, and AI technology and lasers to achieve the best and most precise results. It’s really exciting to see how dentistry has evolved. Is it too late for me to go back to school and get my DDS degree?” I can assure her that it is, so we’re glad to now know about LA Smile Specialists! www.lasmilespecialists.com
Photo by Karen Salkin.
Signal Relief—As, sadly, someone whose knees and back are in just about constant pain, you can imagine how thrilled I was to learn about this pain relief patch company! The patches work with a whole new technology that I’ve never seen—you put the (hundred times or so) reusable patch near the pain, not right on it. (Between the pain and the brain, to be exact.) The very pleasant rep is from Utah, which appears to me to be the ballroom dance capital of the country, and he was a dancer himself, so he understands what pain relief means to all of us. I can’t wait to show it to my new knee doc, so he can see how pro-active I am. www.signalrelief.com
Photo by Laura Saul.
El Cristiano Tequila—After meeting this company at a previous GBK gifting lounge, we were happy to see them again, (as I’m sure were the rest of the celebratory assemblage!) Laura sampled their Clase Reposado XR Tequila for the first time, and deemed it to be “incredibly smooth.” She appreciated that one of their reps “described their meticulous distillation process, and how it removes the impurities that you don’t want in an alcoholic beverage.” She adds, “They clearly know what they’re doing because I thoroughly enjoyed what I sampled!” I’m sure all the guests did! www.el-cristiano.com
Look at the pinkies, not the guys! Photo by Laura Saul.
PNKY—This was an interesting find, all the way around; you can guess all day, and you’ll never come up with what their product is! So here’s the story: We came upon two hunky guys whose company is named basically “pinky!” And it pertains to all of our little pinkies! What a dichotomy of visuals that was! Laura explains the product: “What the pencil grip is to the pencil, the PNKY is to the cell phone. The way we grip our phone is not great for us, ergonomically. The PNKY redistributes the weight of your phone off your pinky. We all use our phones a lot everyday. PNKY is doing what all businesses should do, which is to solve a problem.” www.pnkystore.com
Photo by Karen Salkin.
House of Pickleball—This company had a whole pickleball court set-up on the rooftop of the hotel! And everyone was invited to play, which many people actually took them up on, even in the heat. (Athletes, am I right?) Each guest went home with an attractive gigantic branded hoodie. www.houseofpickleball.net
Photo by Laura Saul.
Flexpower—As someone who’s been in constant pain for over a decade now, (from my broken back and messed-up knees,) I loved finding this special pain-relief cream that Laura learned “was at one time available to only professional athletes.” I adore now being privy to this secret of the pros! Laura checked-out the package, and told me, “I especially love that it’s scent-free, which is difficult to find in products such as this one.” www.flexpower.com
Photo by Karen Salkin.
Phase Activewear—This new streetwear company was gifting branded hats and keychains. Laura deemed them to be “cool,” and I even admired the attractive black carry box they came in! www.phaseofficial.com
You know how much I adore kindness, so I’m always delighted that GBK makes sure their events benefit at least one charity. This time there were three! They are:
Photo by Laura Saul.
Best Buddies—The mission statement of this lovely nonprofit says they are “dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” They do it in several different ways, including throwing events, encouraging volunteering, and requesting that companies “hire a buddy.” As a former teacher, and “celebrity” (I hate that word) at many Special Olympics, (which is the most worthwhile experience my former TV show ever afforded me,) I also encourage everyone to do whatever you can in this area, even a small gesture; it can make someone’s day. www.bestbuddies.org
Photo by Laura Saul.
The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing—I love this association’s mission statement: “Working globally to ensure that people who are deaf and hard of hearing can hear and talk. We want all families to be informed and supported, professionals to be appropriately qualified to teach and help children with hearing loss, public policy leaders to effectively address the needs of people with hearing loss, and communities to be empowered to help their neighbors with hearing loss succeed.” And, of course, I especially love that the person who wrote it knows how to use commas! www.agbell.org
Photo by Karen Salkin.
Eli A. Wolff Memorial Fund for Disability Justice in Sport—This fund honors the very kind and popular late Paralympian, Eli A. Wolff. He was also a human rights activist, Co-Director of the Power of Sport Lab, and Founder of the ESPY Award for Best Male and Female Athlete with a Disability. To honor Eli’s legacy, this fund supports scholarships and research to improve opportunities for athletes with disabilities. www.nasss.org/awards/eliwolff
Photo by Karen Salkin.
On top of all the above, to go along with the sports theme, there were a couple of opportunities for guests to engage in some match play. On one side of the rooftop was that aforementioned pickleball court; it was interesting to see the sport played live since it’s gotten so popular. The other side featured an activity that was totally new to us, Teqball, which is played on a specially-curved table. I was impressed with the people who were able to play either game because it was so hot out that I could barely even function out there! I guess that’s why they’re athletes and I’m a writer.
