In the old days, Mike Vespoli lived in an attic overlooking the banks of the Schuylkill. These days, he wakes up every morning in a cozy home in the historic New England town of Guilford, Conn.
In the old days, Vespoli tooled along Kelly Drive in a Volkswagen bug, no comfy feat for the 6-foot-5 former math teacher and crew coach.
When he arrives tomorrow at the edge of the river just north of Boathouse Row to watch the 67th Dad Vail Regatta, Vespoli will have plenty of leg room in his SUV.
As a college coach, Vespoli lived on a grand total of about $4,000 a year. Today, well, put it this way: If you don't know Vespoli boats, you don't know rowing.
*
Mike Vespoli is as unassuming as his boats are dynamic. Vespoli boats - the gems of the multimillion-dollar company that bears his name - are the fastest ride in competitive rowing.
"We've won 19 Dad Vail [championships], and I think we've won 18 in Vespoli boats," said Gavin White, the veteran Temple crew coach. "I wouldn't row any other boat."
His boats are made from "aerospace materials" - carbon fiber and honeycomb (a paper-like nylon derivative) held together by epoxy adhesive - that comprise a hull similar to those of sailboats in that they minimize drag. Vespoli sells about 500 boats a year.
That's about half of the total sales in the country, according to a competitor, at prices that range from $5,300 for a single shell to $28,900 for a luxury model eight.
At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Great Britain rowed to a gold medal in the men's heavyweight eight and Australia to a silver in Vespoli boats. In the last 25 Dad Vails, 24 men's heavyweight eight winners rowed Vespoli boats.
"He was one of the first to go with the plastic construction techniques," said J.B. Kelly III, president of the Vesper Boat Club. "He was a great oarsman himself and one of the leaders of the sport."
Vespoli's business philosophy is simple: Build boats that everyone can buy, from the richest rowing club to the smallest high school.
"He's a very aggressive competitor," said William Tytus, the president of Pocock Racing Shells in Everett, Wash.
In November, Vespoli USA, which is based in New Haven, Conn., and employs about 50, will celebrate its 25th anniversary.
Vespoli, 58, was a rower long before he became an entrepreneur. A "grade B" basketball player by his own account growing up in Orange, Conn., Vespoli was urged to try rowing when he attended Georgetown University in the 1960s.
