Mike Trees talks about Tri4Japan

We have seen the dramatic footage from Japan over and over, but to some folks the images hit much closer to home. Mike Trees and his Japanese wife Rieko are really close to the situation and started Tri4Japan to raise funds for folks there. Mike talked to slowtwitch about it.

Slowtwitch: It is good to chat with you Mike.

Mike: Thanks very much for taking the time for me today.

ST: Although we would have much more preferred to talk with you under different circumstances.

Mike: Yes, I agree, but let’s not dwell on us, we are rather insignificant here, apart from acting as a vehicle to help others.

ST: How did the idea for Tri4Japan come up?

Mike: My wife Rieko and I put the TV on to catch up with the news before work, and we saw the disaster in Japan unfold in front of us and then suddenly we saw footage of a town called Kamaishi, literally get washed away as we watched in horror.

Suddenly, this was real and it was suddenly very personal. When we saw buildings we had stayed in, shops we had visited, and roads we had walked down vanish in front of our eyes under the relentless surge of that all consuming Tsunami, we knew we had to act. We want to help people suffering in Kamaishi, as well as those affected all over Japan. However, we are just two people, with limited resources and limited time. But rather than watch in vain and prey, we put a stake in the ground and said "now is the time to act." The earthquake and Tsunami we saw hit Kamaishi was the catalyst for our call to action.

Triathlon is all we know. I have been involved in triathlon for 25 years. It is not only our livelihood and our hobby, but a way of life. Although we say Tri4Japan, we want to include all sports; swim, bike run, endurance and sprint, individual and team. The true essence of our mission is that all people from all sports around the world come together and TRY FOR JAPAN. But in reality, the only area where we may exert a small amount of influence is the world of triathlon.

ST: During your career you raced for the British and the Japanese Elite teams and have competed in the Kamaishi International Triathlon. Give us an idea on the time frame.

Mike: Back in the 1980’s I got onto the British Elite triathlon Team, and won the national duathlon championships. That got me a scholarship to Sheffield University, where I studied Japanese. After graduating, I decided to move to Japan and make a career for myself as a professional triathlete. I was lucky enough to win their national Championships a few times over the years and as my wife was Japanese and my children were born in Japan, I gained Japanese residency. This made me eligible to race on the Japanese national team, something I was keen to do for my Japanese family and sponsors.

Kamaishi International Triathlon has a place in my heart, because in 1992, it was the first race ever to invite me and pay me to race. I returned to Kamaishi many times over the next 12 years, until I retired in 2004. I won the race 5 times and even used to visit the area in the offseason to run training camps.

Kamaishi was not the biggest race in Japan, but it was one of the friendliest, the people there were so delighted that we had all made the long journey to their town, from all parts of Japan and from overseas. The scenery, the food, the organization of the race, were all second to none, and they pulled us back year after year.

ST: When were you actually last in Japan?

Mike: Rieko and I were last in Japan, in November last year, and we will be over there again in a few weeks time. We have family and so many friends in Japan, and we are both equally at home in Japan and in the UK, so much so that we think of both countries as our home. We still have an apartment in Tokyo, and my wife and I still do business in Japan, so spend a much of our time there.

ST: It seems quite a few Pros such as Helen Jenkins and Courtney Atkinson have really jumped on this cause. Is that the perception you have?

Mike: We have had messages of support from so many triathletes. World Champions such as Alistair Brownlee, Tim Don and Helen Jenkins, were quick to offer support. Dr Sarah Springman, Vice President of the ITU and President of the British Triathlon Federation, as offered us some very good advice on how to set up our Charity. Only today Ironman world record holder Chrissie Wellington was on the phone to me from South Africa, offering many practical ways to help us. These are just a few of the messages of support I have received.

I can honestly say, that so many triathletes have raced in Japan, and love the country that it has really touched them. Japanese triathletes and members of Team TBB Hiro and Maki Nishiuchi are friends of ours, they too are also raising money for their country. But for them the tragedy is more poignant. The last news report Rieko had from Maki, was that Hiro’s father is stuck as a prisoner within his own house, inside the evacuation zone near the nuclear reactor in Fukushima, without any fuel in his car to drive to safety.

ST: So what can folks do to really help out?

Mike: We would like people to either make donations to us as individuals, or as triathlon clubs raise money and donate it to our charity. We have events in the UK, Italy and Spain, already offering us free places to their events, so that we can sell them for the charity. In the UK, we have designed and are making a 2,000 t-shirts to sell. My company TCL Sports has paid for these, so that all the proceeds from the sale can go directly to the charity. It would be great if someone could help us in the States and make some t-shirts to sell.

ST: Are you at all worried with all the recent earthquakes and other natural disasters that the sympathy and maybe the wallets of folks have worn thin?

Mike: We are worried that people may not help out, but that is my job, to make this campaign real, and remind them, that if for example they were all swimming at Kamaishi when the tsunami hit that could have been them. Rieko and I plan to visit areas, where children have survived, because they were at school, but their parents and homes have all been washed away. Could you imagine as a child losing everything, including both parents. This disaster is just so big, that it needs support from all over the world. It is also offers a chance for the international triathlon community to show that we can come together and that we are now big enough to affect a real change for the better, but only if we donate.

ST: There is also the issue of folks jumping on the bandwagon with somewhat selfish reasons. How is a willing donor to distinguish?

Mike: This is a grey area, and it frustrates me. As a businessman I distribute 2XU sports wear. It would have been very easy for me to say, buy 2XU goods and I will donate 10% of all income to the disaster. That would still leave 90% of the profit for me, and I would probably increase my sales and profits as a result. My company TCL is small, but we have bought 2,000 t-shirts and paid for the printing, we will also pay for the shipping within the UK. This means that 100% of the money you spend on the t-shirts will go to the charity. We desperately want someone to come on board in America, someone who like Rieko and I is prepared to worked for free and put all the money earned back in to the charity. Before donating, look and see if all the profits are going to a charity, because if 20-30% goes to the charity, that still leaves 70-80% going into someone's wallet.

ST: You have plans to go to Japan to see the situation first hand. When do you think that might be?

Mike: We are planning to visit Japan in April, and will drive up to Kamaishi. While there we will look to find out how our small charity can best use its resources to best effect. We will video this visit and document what we plan to do. This way, over the months and years you will see how your money is being used. It will be a micro project but one that we plan to stick at, long after the head line attention has moved on, because the scars from this disaster will take years to heal for those affected.

ST: Anything else we should know?

Mike: So far we have had a limited but good response, but then again, the earthquake only hit just over a week ago and hit has taken time for Rieko and I to get the website up and running. Having said, that companies such as Newton Running have been amazing offering their shoes for us to use to generate money. GU Energy gels have also offered financial help and product for us to use to generate more funds and 2XU have also come on board. Amazingly, it has not just been companies that I work with. Our competitors, BlueSeventy and Speedo have also offered to support us. I really want this charity to transcend the usual business barriers - I want support to come from all corners. Business is just about profit and loss, but this is about life and death. Please give generously!


The website for Tri4Japan is simply Tri4Japan.com