Episode 46: Steve Pankow

Unknown Speaker  0:00  
Music.

John Twork  0:09  
Welcome to Redbird buzz. I'm John Twork from University Marketing and Communication. Our guest today is Steve Pankow, the head equipment manager and team travel coordinator for the NBA Chicago Bulls. Pankow is a 2011 graduate of Illinois State University who majored in criminal justice sciences while also serving as a student equipment manager with the Redbird football team. Since then, he's interned with the NFL Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts, worked with Navy athletics and later returned to Illinois State University as a head equipment manager, and during that time, he and I worked together in support of roles for the Redbird men's basketball team. A native of Lombard, Pankow now is living his dream job as one of at least eight Illinois State alumni who work for the Bulls. And you can read more about him in this summer's edition of STATE magazine.

It's my pleasure to welcome Steve Pankow to Redbird buzz. What's the word Redbird? Tell us, what exactly does the head equipment manager and team travel coordinator do? That sounds like a big job, Steve.

Steve Pankow  1:20  
yeah, it is. Thank you guys so much for for having me. This is awesome to this is something I've dreamed of for a long time, ever, ever since leaving ISU, to be able to to kind of tie back my my roots, to the school that that that kind of like molded me into who I am, both as a person and professional. But, yeah, yeah, my job has evolved a lot over over the last seven years. I'm going into my eighth season here with the Bulls, and, you know, I started as the assistant equipment manager, so really, just, you know, assisting our head equipment manager, who has been here for for years and years. You know, he's won all six championships, been here over 35 years, and really just started as, kind of, you know, the organization and and and distribution of of equipment for players, and it's, it's kind of become more than that. As I've as, I've as I've found my niche here. Yeah, I got promoted to head equipment manager two years ago, and then also started overseeing all the travel logistics for the team, something that I kind of found a new, a new passion for. I really love, like, I've always loved putting the puzzle together and then kind of stepping back and watching it, you know, fabricate successfully. And that's like a big that's always been a thrill of mine, you know, ever since I had basically set foot on campus at ISU as a freshman and and was, and was working with the with the football team there, and in an equipment manager, student equipment manager role. So, yeah, every day is different. That's what I love the most. You know, I don't sit, you know, behind a desk all day, and I don't, I'm not, I'm not built for that, so I need to be on the move and going all the time. And so that's, that's what this job is. It's everything from, you know, coming in the morning, making sure the players have what they need for practice, or shoot around, packing for the road trip or, you know, and then with the travel logistics side, like getting, you know, getting rooming lists ready, you know, securing hotel rooms for all 41 road games, making sure our Delta flight manifest is up to date and accurate as we're about to leave on a on a trip, and, you know, a flight in the afternoon. And you know, making sure that every city we're stopping at on that flight, we have a gym to practice in or shoot around in. We make sure we know what time we can arrive at the arena pregame and and then making sure that all the busses and the truck is there for our equipment, and then making sure we got a flight out of there that night after the game. So it's just, it's a lot of a lot of organization. I've kind of built my own way to do all that. And it's, it's, it's just a joy every day, you know, win or lose, I have a job to do, and that's move us, you know, successfully, to the next city or home and and get ready for the next one. So it's a it's a lot of fun.

John Twork  4:07  
We'll talk more about the Bulls in a bit. But before we do that, let's rewind to how it all started. Uh, tell me, Steve, when and why did you decide to get into equipment management, and how did you get involved?

Steve Pankow  4:18  
That's such a great question, and so timely. Literally, yesterday, I I was cleaning out my apartment, and I found, I found a like a photo album that my parents had made me when I graduated Illinois State, and in it, my dad had printed the email that I sent to Denver Johnson, the head football coach at ISU when I started there as a freshman in 2007 and yeah, I should I read? I literally read that email yesterday to Coach Johnson, and it was, you know. It said, you know, Hey, Coach, I you know, I love sports. I love football. I can't play at this level, you know, but is there anything I can do to be around the team like that's that's what I want to do. And I'll never forget, Coach Johnson forwarded that email to Jay Bailey, who was the head equipment manager at the time, and Jay emailed me back and said, Hey, why don't you come out to practice, you know, tomorrow, and that was my first day of class, freshman year at Illinois State, and I showed up at the football field at two o'clock and, you know, he's like, alright, well, this is an opportunity you can help us out with practice. You set up the field, you break down the field, you're involved in drills. You're going to be working, you know, with the linebackers coach and and so that was my first that was my first taste of it. And like my first kind of eye opening moment where you can be involved in sports without being gifted enough to play um, you know. And I was a, I was a criminal justice major, and I loved that. And by the time I was a sophomore, I was like, Man, if I, I'm gonna ride this equipment manager thing until the wheels fall off, and if it ever does, I'll fall back on the criminal justice degree and, you know, go be a police officer or something like that. And luckily for me, it just never has like that's I've just been so lucky to be in the right place at the right time and get to know the right people and work my butt off, and, you know, take every opportunity that's been put in front of me and just kind of climb the ladder. And so I have this, you know, I have this awesome criminal justice degree that that still, you know that that gives me some some street sense and some street smarts, but not necessarily one that I use, but what I use is everything I learned, you know, on the football field and in the athletic world at Illinois State during my four years there.

John Twork  5:18  
your first experience as a student trainer with the football team had to have been a grind. You know, for our listeners, they may not all realize that, you know, football season starts in July, with camp and and then you're locked in until, you know, it starts snowing out basically in in late fall, early winter, unless the team makes it to the national championship, and that's in January. And that's not for everybody, but, but what was it that that really got you through that? And it had to be a lot to balance as just a freshman, too, right? 

Steve Pankow  7:08  
Yeah, for sure, it. You know, sports is my passion, like I just love, I love being around the game, and I love and I'm a fan of it, but even more so, I love being a part of something that's bigger than me, and like trying to attain a common goal, you know, which is to which is to which is to win, and to, you know, win conference championships, win national championships, win a win an NBA title. Now, you know, it's, it's just something that's that that drives me and, like, gets me, gets me, you know, up, up out of bed every morning, and and, and encourages me to work hard. And, yeah, it was a lot, you know, you just, I don't think about that often, but going back there, you know, in my memory of just, yeah, like summer camp would start in July, we'd be the first people on campus, and we'd be doing two a days. And you know, we'd run back to the dorm or the apartment to take a nap before we had to come back and set up for the afternoon practice. And, you know, it was, it was really my passion, you know, like the the classroom was, was great and, you know, and necessary. But what, what drove, you know, what got me, what drove me was, was going to football practice and being around even in the off season, or going down to, you know, to help out Matt Harbeck and in, in, in the field house, equipment room, or, you know, doing anything I could to help out, you know, the equipment managers while I was there and realizing that it was something that I wanted to chase as a career.

John Twork  8:33  
Is there anything that you look back on your four years with Illinois State as a student manager that you learned that maybe you still utilize to this day. I assume it all is a foundation that sort of you built upon. But, you know, is there anything that jumps out as like, hey, that I learned that when I was a student, and it still works to this day?

Steve Pankow  8:54  
Yeah, you know, as I begin to, as I begin to manage more people here at this level too, like I have a, I have an incredible assistant, Daniel Langston, who, who is just, he's come on the last two years and has really, really, just like, dominated the equipment room for me, while I kind of focus a lot more on travel logistic type stuff, but you know, it was actually something that that Jay, that Jay taught me, Jay Bailey, was, is that he said, I'll never forget early on, freshman, sophomore year, he said, I'll never ask you to do something that I've never done myself. And learning that, and looking at him as, like, such a, you know, like such a professional in the equipment world, was like, Oh, man. Like, if this guy's done it, then, then I can do it, you know, whether it's even if it's the most, you know, crazy job you could ever think of like I remember on on Fridays we would after practice at at the at Hancock at the football stadium, the coin managers would go around, and we go through every garbage can in case any coach threw out their practice plan over the course of the week, and we'd have to pull them out, out of the garbage because the other team would be arriving for, like, a walkthrough on Saturday morning, like the morning of the game, or even Friday night. And it was like, you know, it's that moment of, like, what am I doing right now? But it's like, no, this is like, this is necessary. This is what it takes to, you know, to anything I can do to help the team, to help the team succeed, is what I'm going to do. And so that's the other thing. Is Like, no job is beneath, is beneath you, like, anything, that needs to be done, if you do it, you're, you know, you're going to look back and like, and be and be proud of the job that you did and know that you didn't, you know, say, say no to something. I feel like that's maybe a little bit of a newer I'm going to sound, I'm going to sound like an old head now, but maybe that's like a newer, a newer, like, thought is like, Oh no, I'm not doing that like, whatever it is. And it's like, no, that's not how you that's not how you get ahead in life. That's not how you become, you know, one of the one of the top, one of the top, whatever it is that you're doing, which is, which is, has always been my goal. So yeah.

John Twork  10:54  
And so you from Illinois State, went on to intern with the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts, worked with Navy, and then you returned to Illinois State to serve as a head equipment manager. That's where our paths first crossed. You were working with the Redbird men's basketball team along with other sports--what are some of your favorite memories, and how cool was that as an alum, to get to come back in a full time capacity at ISU?

Steve Pankow  11:22  
I know I loved it. I was so lucky. You know, after Jay, after Jay Bailey left, Nick Watson took over, who's still there now, as as as in it, he's turned into an incredible head equipment manager for that, for that university. I mean, I can't even count the years he's been there now, it just, it's, he's really, he's really elevated the the standard there for for equipment at Illinois State. So when Nick, when Nick called me, I was, I was working at the Naval Academy, you know, I had moved, you know, out to Annapolis, Maryland, where I didn't know anyone, and made new friends out there at Navy. And, you know, left my family back in the Chicago suburbs. And you know, when that phone call came and he said, Hey, I might have a job opening down in Redbird Arena, you know, would you like that? You know, would you like that opportunity? And it was like, man, like I had to listen. It was coming home. It was bringing it was bringing me closer to my family. And it was taking a step up in terms of, like, sports, right? I was, I oversaw men's and women's soccer cross country, track and field at Navy. And this was an opportunity to do men's and women's basketball, volleyball, swimming and tennis at at ISU and and I jumped at the opportunity. It was so cool to come back, so cool to have my own office there, you know, down in the in the bowels of Redbird Arena, and really make it my own. And it was trial by fire when I got there, you know, Nick was, Nick was all, you know, bogged down in football and and Matt Harbeck has a as a stranglehold on the Horton equipment room. And, you know, for me, it was just like, all right, how do we do this? Let's figure it out. And, you know, working with the great, the great coaches and the awesome student athletes I had there was so much fun as, like, a recent, more recent graduate, I was able to connect with the student athletes there, understood what they were going through from a classroom perspective, because I had just done it, and also knowing the demands that are placed on them to play a college sport at that level. It was, it was awesome. It was a dream come true.

John Twork  13:18  
And that's something that you know behind the scenes is obvious but but for all of our listeners, they may not realize, like, when you become a part, you really are a part of the team, though you aren't out there scoring baskets or, you know, whatever, you're not on the stat sheet, but truly, you are able to build these relationships with with the student athletes. Can you just talk about that and sort of the unique role that the equipment manager has in building these connections with student athletes during their time on campus?

Steve Pankow  13:52  
Yeah, that's such a great question. I really, I really tried to close the gap there from the Redbird Arena equipment room to the team. I feel like it was a little bit it was lacking in terms of that connection. I think that the, you know, the guys that that were in that equipment room before me were great at their job, but I don't know that they had the connection like, I just remember when I came to work there full time, I was like, I was the first equipment manager at Illinois State to sit on the bench like for men's basketball game, which is where I strongly believe the equipment manager belongs. You know, it's your coaches, your players, your athletic trainer and your equipment manager and your strength coach, like they're the lifeblood of the program, like they're the ones who, you know, get the team ready to play, keep them on the court or the field and and so I really tried to close that gap and kind of fought for myself to be able to be kind of in the mix there. And you know, it's, yeah, it's, it's just, it's a it's a joy to work with, with athletes, and be able to build that relationship. The equipment room is also often one where and--This stays true here at the bulls. It's, it's a room where players and even coaches and staff can come, and we don't have to talk about basketball or whatever sport you're playing. We just talk about life. You come in here, the door is always open. We're always here. We're here early, we stay late, and we're kind of like that, that safe zone, you know, for players to come and and relax. And I just remember having conversations with my athletes there just about about classes, about majors, about their families, about life. And that just goes so much further than you know, and especially as you get to climb the ranks into the higher level, which you know now, you know, I'm at the at the pinnacle working in the NBA. You know, sometimes these guys like they're just so over programmed. They don't want to talk about film, they don't want to talk about their playing time. They don't want to they don't want to talk about what they're saying about them on ESPN. They just want to come in and and kind of talk shop and talk about talk about life and and making those connections is, is something I was doing at ISU that I still do now. And it's like one of the I always say, like, we have a couple of unwritten job duties as a equipment managers, and that's one to one of mine is always to keep it loose and light, and the other one is to just be that, be that open door, be that safe zone for for athletes and coaches alike, to just come in and and kind of let their guard down a little bit and be able to to unwind well. 

John Twork  16:20  
you mentioned the support staff, you know, of course, there's the strength, strength and conditioning, and there's athletic training, from my perspective, the equipment manager, you know, that's sort of the fun, that's the fun office, like these guys and women, when you're working in Illinois State, you know, they've loved sports their whole life, presumably, If they're playing at that level, and you know, now at the NBA level. And am I wrong? Like these guys probably love gear too, right? And you've got all of it.

Steve Pankow  16:51  
 I've got all of it. I'm a popular person in certain times of the year, when, when the Nike shipment comes in, or whenever, you know, whenever the new shoe drops, or whatever it is. Yeah, totally. And it's, and you're right. We are it is the fun job, and that's why I do it like I just, I enjoy, I enjoy having a good time. I enjoy connecting with people. And, you know, we work hard, there's no question about that. But we also, we balance that with with just, you know, when, when you're doing something this, like this, it's so much fun. You hardly think of it as work. You know, we come in, I, you know, it's, you know, I was in this weekend. I came in on Saturday and Sunday in the middle of the summer, just because I, you know, had nothing to do. Might as well knock out a couple of these Nike boxes that are starting to come in this time of year, and, and, and just be in the building. So it's, yeah, it's a lot of, it's a lot of fun.

John Twork  17:40  
So how did you get connected with the Bulls and end up as, first, an assistant equipment manager with with the Bulls?

Steve Pankow  17:46  
Yeah, that's a great question. I was so I was so lucky. And, you know, one of the things that I'm most proud of in in getting this job seven years ago is that so many people, especially working in athletics, talk about, you know, it's all about who you know. And that's true. And and, and your connections help you along the way. I'm, I'm proud that I did it in an organic way. I literally knew no one I had. I had no connection whatsoever. The job was posted on on LinkedIn, or teamworks online, one of those two, which are really good resources for for both college and professional athletic jobs, you know. And I didn't, somebody told me about it. Hey, man, the Bulls just posted an assistant equipment job like online. I said, Well, you know, I'm down the road here. I might as well apply and and I did completely organically, sending my resume they received. You know how you know, now that I've done the hiring process. I know how many, you know, resumes come in, and they sorted through it. And I was lucky enough to get a phone call, and I told him, I I'll be up. I'll be up at the United Center in two hours from the time you said, go at any moment, you know, because it was something that I was trying to, you know chase. I wanted to be, I wanted to do this at the highest level, once I got into it and had started working, you know, kind of bouncing around from from different organization, organization or college. And, yeah, I was lucky enough to get a get an interview. I drove up, you know, drove up to Chicago, and I met with the director of sports performance, and I met with the GM, Gar Forman at the time, and John Paxson. And, you know, sitting in front of a Bulls legend, interviewing for an opening and, and was lucky enough to get the job offer. And you know, that was, you know, I had thought that I had done the best I could move in my, you know, me and my family closer to to home, which was the Chicago suburbs, you know, being down in Bloomington-Normal, but when the opportunity came to be literally in our in our own backyard, here, in in, in on the west side of Chicago. I couldn't, I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

John Twork  18:01  
And here you are. Let's talk a little bit about you mentioned. You know, this is, this is the off season right now, the NBA championship just happened, and yet you. You've got Nike shipments rolling in, getting ready for next year, presumably. Can you walk us through, sort of like the course of a season, what your overarching responsibilities are? And then I'd like to drill down to like a game day, a typical game day, which I know there's no such thing as typical in your job, but, but let's first talk about, sort of seasonally, what are your roles, especially from an equipment side,

Steve Pankow  20:23  
yeah, for sure. So where we're at now, you know, it's been a little bit of a quiet summer. We do have draft workouts throughout the course of the summer, from the time the season ends, basically, until now. You know where you know a group of guys, usually six at a time, six NBA prospects will come in, we'll outfit them for their draft workout, everything from, you know, Jersey shorts, practice, Jersey shorts, t shirt, socks, underwear. We you know, we get them, we get them a draft role set up and put it in the locker room. And they come in and they're evaluated by all of our scouts and front office staff. We get to meet them and kind of interact with them to kind of get a feel for what kind of a person they are, you know, that's, that's more, that's more in line with, with what, what my job is, not so much to evaluate them on the court, but just kind of their personality. You know, we're two days away from the draft, so we draft in two days, so we'll be that'll be all hands on deck, everyone in the building on draft night, which is one of my favorite nights of the year, because it's just everyone kind of like hanging out, watching the TV from their office, seeing who our next newest player is. And it's a really, really fun night. And then once we do that, you know, concurrently, I'm working too on once we draft a team, then we go to summer league in Vegas, so that this year is on July 12, we'll fly out to Las Vegas. So I'm working on all the travel logistics for that. So, you know, securing a flight, that's the only time we don't fly private-- We'll fly commercial to Las Vegas with our summer league team, securing our hotel there, our meeting spaces at the hotel. Once we get a summer league schedule, I'll make sure we have our practices and shoot around scheduled with with the UNLV is the host of summer league, so we work closely with them. We'll be out there in Vegas from July 12 to the 22nd then it gets quiet again in August and September. You know, there's always a couple players who are local. You know, we have, we have Jevon Carter, who's from Chicago, Ayo Dusunmu, who's from Chicago. So they've been in the gym a lot. And then the young guys usually stay. You know, our rookie, Julian Phillips, is here today working out. And so we see, we see a few players here and there over the course of the summer, then into August and September, and then on september 30, we start training camp. That kicks off with media day, which is a huge day for equipment managers, just to get, you know, whatever, jerseys ready. You know, we're still, you know, we're still almost a month away from playing a game, but you got to dress the guys like they're going out to play a game on media day. You know that day all too well. So we'll do that in in late September, and then we kick off training camp August for October 1. And then we're going, you know, preseason into the regular season. And it's non stop from October until April or May or June, if you're lucky enough to make a deep playoff run. So it's non stop travel, non stop games. Every day is different, and then, and then once, once April hits and the season is over, you know, you kind of disappear for a couple weeks, kind of shut the building down and recoup a little bit. But it doesn't take me long within, you know, within three or four weeks, I'm like, Alright, when's the next game I'm ready to go?

John Twork  23:25  
Yeah, yeah. And we should mention to our listeners, we're recording this on June 24 when this airs in in August, we will, we'll know who the Bulls drafted, and also will be even that much closer to media day and the season at that point. So, okay, walk us through a day, and I'm and I guess home games probably vastly different from a road game, I assume, but, but just a typical game day. What does that entail for you, Steve?

Steve Pankow  23:54  
for sure, yeah, you know, road games are also, are kind of easier, because you're in another you're you're being hosted by another team. So typically, game days always start with a shoot around in the morning. So whether we're at home or on the road, you know, for home, I'll get in super early, you know, maybe seven or 8am and just set up, you know, our our locker room and practice facility for shoot around, and then as the home team, we we host the visiting team. So let's say we got, you know, the Dallas Mavericks coming in for a shoot around. They'll let us know what time their bus leaving the hotel. Daniel, my assistant and I will meet them at the United Center. Will unload all their equipment off their bus, get it all set up in the locker room. Kind of help their equipment manager out while their team is out on the court, doing shoot around. Shoot arounds are usually 10 to 11, sometimes 11 to noon. So it's both are happening, happening at the same time. So the visiting team is shooting at the United Center while we're shooting here at the Advocate Center, our practice facility. One shoot around ends. You know, we'll set up our locker room. Make sure every every player has everything they need hung up in their locker make it, you know, presentable at the at the highest level for them, for when they come in for the game that evening, a little bit of downtime. Then in the afternoon, you know, if we're on the road, especially the NBA, nap is a real thing that's somewhere between, you know, like one and three o'clock in the afternoon, you shut it down because you got a whole, it's like you got a whole another day's work ahead of you when you get up, Matt, and the players definitely get their rest then too, you know. And then we're at the arena somewhere between three and 4pm players start rolling in. They'll do their pregame shooting and start getting ready for the game, you know. And at that time, it's just a lot of a lot of running around, making sure, you know any, any player request that comes in if they need, you know, a new pair of socks to, you know, a bigger size jersey for that night, or whatever they they might want. You know that it runs the gamut. And then, you know, ball goes up at seven o'clock. That's the best time. And I got that, that seat, you know, right behind the row, behind our bench for the game. And I'm just keeping an eye on, on anything, blood on jerseys, torn shoelaces. Player wants to change shoes in the middle of a game if he's not comfortable, anything like that during that time. And then, yeah. And then, if we're at home, we'll finish up the game, get the laundry going. We have a great staff of Team attendants that help out, kind of make a game day run smoothly, and help out with laundry post game. And then if we're on the road, it's straight to the airport, most of the time, straight to the airport, either onto the next city or home, which we're usually landing, you know, somewhere between one or two in the morning and and getting, you know, if we if we come home, that's nice. We get in our cars and go to our beds and and if we're into the next city, it's off the plane at 130 in the morning, load that truck, get to the hotel, unload, send everyone's bags up to their rooms while they're already laying in bed. And you know, we're kind of the last, the last ones to to put the finishing touches on the day and and get ready for the next so,

John Twork  26:57  
so other than that, NBA nap, you're not getting a lot of sleep during the season. I don't think, right?

Steve Pankow  27:03  
No, and I make up for it now--this is my time to rest, but you just run it on adrenaline. Man, is things need to be done. You're more the ones to do it. And I take, you take a lot of pride in it. You know, you can, there's, there's, there's times, you know, where you can, you can kind of shut it down. Or, man, you know, you look at those back to backs and you go, okay, that day after a back to back is we're gonna, we're gonna put our feet up and relax and get ready for the next one. So there's times, but yeah, few and far between. It's, yeah, it's 80 hour work weeks. It's, it's all it's around the clock. It's every single day, holidays, weekends. No such thing, no such thing.

John Twork  27:43  
 And it seems like you'd have to compartmentalize a little bit too now that you have the travel role in addition to the equipment role. So let's say you're on the road and you know, you are on the bench, presumably to a degree, emotionally invested in in the game, obviously, keeping it professional. But then win or lose. You know, there's various emotions that are attached to that, but you got to make sure the bus is there, the plane's ready, the hotel at the next stop. I mean, how do you disconnect from the game and then move on to the travel like that? Yeah,

Steve Pankow  28:16  
that's a really good question. I've gotten very good at that over my time. And it started with Illinois State football when I was a manager, you know, I wanted to win so bad with that team, and I wanted to go to the playoffs and and just experience, you know, victories. And I say now, like when that those two hours, that that game is going on, I want to win just as much as anybody. And when that final buzzer goes off, win or lose, it does. It doesn't affect me. It can't. I can't let it, you know, it's, it's, it's, there's a job that needs to be done, the laundry needs to be collected. I need to make sure that the that the, you know, the plane is there, you know, and that's happened too, you know, I'll be on the bench, and all of a sudden my phone starts ringing, and I'm like, I It's Delta, I need to go, you know, like, I need to get up and go back to the locker room and start troubleshooting. And, you know, we've, man, we had a kind of a rough year with that last year, just, you know, it was, you know, weather delays, or, you know, hey, you know, the the plane that's in New York waiting for you isn't going to be, you know, it's, it's late coming from this city, and, you know, and then it's, you have to start making, you know, decisions on the fly, okay, like, what's my next move? My next move is to call the hotel in New York. Hey, you know, I know we just left and checked out, but can we come back? Do you have room for us? Just in case? You know, I always try to work two or three steps ahead to make sure that we're covered and and, you know, and when, when? When trouble? When trouble hits, you know, I try not to let anyone know, you know, it's just, it's solved the problem, and come up with a solution first before you start ringing the alarms. Because I think that you know these coaches and these players and our executives have, you know, way too much to deal with, then, you know, that's that's why I'm putting the role that I'm in. To just effectively move us from place to place, without, without any hiccups, yeah, yeah,

John Twork  30:06  
incredible. And from an equipment perspective, are you responsible for everything except for the shoes? Right? So, about the shoes?

Steve Pankow  30:15  
Yeah. So each player in the NBA were, you know, obviously NBA has a partnership with Nike, and so everything from head to toe, you know, during, you know, during a game especially is, is Nike branded. Now, the shoes the players can have--can contract out their own shoe deals. So, you know, the majority of us are, the majority of our players are Nike athletes, either under contract or just like freelance, you know, like the the shoe contract really goes to more the premier players at this point, you know, but we do have so Zach Levine is New Balance. So we, we manage basically the players, you know, procurement, procurement, or order, ordering of of their shoes, but they can be any brand that the that the player either has signed a contract with or decides if they're a free agent in terms of their shoe deal. I see, so, yeah, and every every player is different. You know, with new balance, Zach just gets all his shoes shipped to him. He helps design them, and they just send a ridiculous amount of shoes for him for the season. And then a guy like DeMar, who's a Nike athlete, who wears Kobe's is, you know, he just gets his own shoes and they just show up at the facility, or he'll bring them from his house, and we just store him for him. And he's got, I mean, he's got the most extensive collection of Kobe's. I mean, probably in the entire league. You know, there's a couple guys who might rival him, but, like, it's well known that he is, he's the, he's the king of Kobe's.

John Twork  31:49  
So are you, uh, are you a collector yourself? Are you, or is You, know, are you a gear guy? Or is this just because this is your job, you don't want to see another Air Jordan when you go home.

Steve Pankow  32:03  
Yeah, it's so funny. I'm I'm the least, I'm the least fashionable person you'll ever meet. I wear, I wear this. I wear the sweats and the and the gear from two years ago. Because when we get stuff, we just issue it out to everyone. I don't take anything ever that's new. And it's not because I don't want to, it's just because I'm comfortable in the in the old stuff. Man, it's so funny. Yeah, and like, and I can't take any more of it home. I have enough. Yeah, and yeah, I'm simple. Man, I wear this thing. I wear the same, you know, shorts and a and a hot jacket with a sharpie cliped to my collar, and that's my look. And I wear the same Nike Pegasus shoes that I've been wearing for years. They just keep coming out with a different version. And I just keep, keep throwing those on my feet. They're comfortable. Man,

John Twork  32:45  
yeah, well, you don't have to go out there and, you know, make a free throw. So, yeah, it works, right? All right, Steve, we've learned so much about you and your role today before I let you go. I've got a little bit of a lightning round here that I want to go through. So, so just give me a quick answer for each of these. First one is, what is your favorite Bulls Jersey combination?

Steve Pankow  33:08  
Man, our, our statement edition. It's the it's the black with the pinstripe. It's the old school look. It's the all black. We wear black underneath it, and it's sharp. Man, I love it,

John Twork  33:20  
yeah. What about your favorite shoe? Maybe it's a Nike Pegasus. I don't know. What's your favorite basketball shoe?

Steve Pankow  33:27  
Yeah, the Nike Pegasus around this building, they call the Air Steves. I wear them all the time, um, actually, um, I love Kobe's. And I've gotten to see so many different like, just never you know, one of a kinds with DeMar, but my favorite basketball shoe, and is the shoe that Lauri Markkanen and wore when he came into the league with us as a rookie. Is the they don't make it anymore. Is a Nike hyper dunk. Okay, it's the best. It's like a mid it's a mid, mid top shoe, super solid, structurally sound. It's, I always say that's the best, the best basketball shoe. 

John Twork  34:01  
Very cool. Have to check that out. Okay, down onto the travel side. What is the best pregame meal in the league when you're on the road?

Steve Pankow  34:10  
This one's easy. We go to Detroit, and they play in Little Caesar's arena, and so they have Little Caesar's hot and Readys on deck all the time, and you go into that media dining and I like, I plan for it that whole day. I'm like, Oh, we're going, we're going to play the pistons tonight. We got little caesars ready to go. It's so good.

John Twork  34:34  
What's your favorite city to visit in the league?

Steve Pankow  34:38  
That's such a tough question. I like the smaller cities. I don't like the big cities because I feel like we sit in traffic all the time. I'm going to say Orlando, because we stay at a beautiful resort, and there's a golf course on it, and we get out there, we play, we play a little golf on on the off day. But, yeah, Orlando is gorgeous. I love it. Yeah

John Twork  34:59  
Who is the most famous former Bull that you've ever had the chance to meet?

Steve Pankow  35:05  
Another great question, I'm still waiting on MJ. [That's who I was wondering about.] I know, I know. Still waiting on him. [Well, he doesn't need to stop by for any gear.] My No, he doesn't need to. I've been keeping an eye on when we're in Charlotte, if he's ever, if he's ever around, but it's, it's Scottie. Scottie Pippin was around a lot when I first got here, and then I've run into Dennis Rodman a couple times. And actually, All Star Weekend in Cleveland, got to have a drink at a bar with Dennis Rodman. And that was, that was all time. That is a pin that was a pinch me, pinch me moment.

John Twork  35:42  
That's very cool. Okay, tell me what you mentioned your Sharpie for the five years I knew you at ISU. You always had a Sharpie pin, pin to your collar. What is the Sharpie for?

Steve Pankow  35:55  
Yeah, it's like, it's almost like my security blanket. Now, you know it's funny, because everyone asks if it's for autographs, which is which so many times here I'll be walking in and out of the tunnel at the United Center, and a kid will ask me for it because they want to get autographs. So I'm happy to give it to them. But it's, um, it's more so like, as an equipment manager, you're labeling things all the time. Like, if a guy needs a new T shirt, you want to write his number on it, sure, or if he switches game short. So it's just that, it's just, like, it's just always to and then always to have something to write with, you know, even though it's a Sharpie, not a pen. But, yeah, it's more so for, like, when we're issuing gear, it's just to label. It's to label on the on the tag. You know, who it's going to is the MO is, is usually what it's used for. 

John Twork  36:38  
It's become your signature item, though, right? People recognize you as being the guy with a Sharpie. Yeah,

Steve Pankow  36:42  
yeah. When I'm when I'm at home and I need something to write with, I tap, I always check my chest, and I'm like, no, wait, not at work. I don't have it. I'm not strapped up. Oh, yeah.

John Twork  36:55  
What is the strangest equipment issue you've ever had to deal with? Oh,

Steve Pankow  37:01  
that's a good question. Um, I'll keep it clean for the podcast, because there's a lot of stuff I'd have, I'd have to clean up. Please do, of course. Yeah, um, strangest, yeah, you know, I'll give a little, I guess, a little, you know, a little the strangest piece of equipment anyone has ever worn is our, is our my probably the player I love the most, who we've ever had is Alex Caruso, who's on his way to down or to Oklahoma City as we speak, and I'll miss him a lot. He wears because of the style of play--he what he he plays so like, hard nose on the floor, hustle all that stuff. He wears these padded shorts, basically that are made for snowboarders, like a full pad around the, you know, the hips and the butt and the and the and the thighs, and it's literally for, you know, snowboarding guys to wear. And he wears those under his game shorts every game. Wow, yeah.

John Twork  38:05  
Wow --he was also mentioned in the story his his shoe exploded, is that

Steve Pankow  38:10  
he blew right out of it, like, just like Zion at Duke. It was an older, older version of a Kobe. And when you, when you wear those kind of, like older retro shoes, the structure the shoe is good. It's the glue that gets, it gets old and worn and then becomes compromised. And that's, yeah, he just stopped on a dime and blew right out the side of his shoe. And, yeah, that's, you know, those moments are like, that's why I'm there, that's why I'm on the bench. That's why I'm I'm in close proximity to make sure that he can finish. I mean, we were in a close game and making sure that he can finish it out, because we need him on the floor. So just to make sure that, that when stuff like that happens, we're we're able to, we're able to fix it without any without any interruption to our to our flow, our game, or who's on the court, we got to keep everybody on the floor. Yeah,

John Twork  38:57  
last question in the lighting round, what is your best memory with the bulls so far?

Steve Pankow  39:05  
Man, um, you know, the honorable mention is this past year. You know, we got to host a play in game, which was, was an incredible, an incredible opportunity. You know, there's few times where you get to play a win, win, or take all, um, that's kind of what it felt like against the Atlanta Hawks. The United Center was rocking. It was so much fun. But having my having my parents, my family, my parents, out to our playoff game three years ago to against the Miami or against Milwaukee Bucks, and looking up and being able to see my mom and dad at a Bulls playoff game. It was actually the last, the last game my mom ever got to come to before she passed. So that easily is my is my favorite memory. I still can look up and kind of see in the stands where she was sitting in a in a in a raucous United Center, being able to watch us play in the playoffs was is definitely my, my favorite memory.

John Twork  39:59  
So. So special, yeah, Steve, before I let you go, I want to know you have your dream job. You're only 35 years old. So what's next? What goals do you have? I know you're very motivated and a driven individual, so surely, surely you have something left, even though you're only 35 so what is next? Steve,

Steve Pankow  40:20  
yeah, I don't know. I have a lot left. I just, I don't know what it is. I love this job. I love this organization, you know, being able to work for the team and go get ready for games that I used to watch as a kid, and I used to turn off the lights when the starting lineup would happen. You know, in my childhood home, is like, it's, it's crazy, you know, I want to, I want to win here. I want to be a part of of special teams here. I want to make deep playoff runs. I want to, I want to. I want to win an NBA championship, man, that's like, that's what I want to do. I want to, I want to. I want to have champagne in the locker room, you know, and then, and then also, you know, the travel logistics side is a piece that I've really like found a niche in. And I think that we're, we're going more towards, you know, it used to be in sports, you know, so many people wear so many different hats, and now, because these jobs are so specialized, the travel parties are bigger. You know, the expectation is higher with the way in which you travel as a team and stuff. You know, there's a lot of opportunity there for growth. And, you know, kind of doing some kind of travel logistics, whether it's here or another team, or, you know, on the other side with, like a company like, you know, Delta, that we partner with, or, or something like that. There's, there's a niche there for me too, in the logistics side of things, and just and, like I said before, you know, putting the puzzle together and watching it run smoothly. So I don't know. I'm happy. I'm thrilled with where I'm at. I'm lucky to be where I'm at. So we'll, we'll see.

John Twork  41:53  
Well, good luck. Hope that NBA championship comes sooner than later for you and the Bulls. Thanks to you.

Steve Pankow  41:58  
I appreciate it, man. 

John Twork  42:10  
that was Chicago Bulls head equipment manager and team travel coordinator Steve Pankow, a 2011 graduate of Illinois State University. You can read more about Pankow and other Redbirds working for the Bulls in this summer's STATE magazine. Thanks for listening to Redbird Buzz and be sure to tune in next time for more stories from beyond the quad.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai