Edwin Moses  remember Monty and his invention and creation of Laureus Sport Awards

Edwin Moses former Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy , Gold medalists in the 400 m hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics

Audrey: How do you met Monty?

Edwin Moses: The first time I see Monty… and I always tell the story…. he was running backwards because he was at a track meet. He’s the photograph all day the World Cup and the meets in Germany and Italy and he was a photographer on the track when I was running, so I always remembered his hair…he still had the hair at the same haircut…  you know… forever…same hair do and he was always moving backwards….

I was running and he was running backwards following me. That’s how I met Monty.

Then when I saw him later in Laureus….. I said… “I know you.. I know that face” he said “yeah I remember,  me I was on the track” …so I met him…. he was cover football, and athletics…. as a sports photographer.

Audrey: When you think about him, what is the first thing that come in your mind?

Edwin Moses: I always see him as a photographer, catching something happening live….cause that’s how I met him…you know…. I would be running after the race of victory lap,  waiting to the crowd, and he’d be running backwards following me…. so he’s I always see him as someone who could run backwards or move backwards with the camera and follow the subject….so I always see him as a creative.

Audrey: and you saw him in Milan sometimes too.

Edwin Moses: Yeah ….I saw him in Milan…but  I’m not sure if he was in Milan on July 3, 1980 because I ran a world record like two weeks before the Olympic games in 1980 and he very possibly could’ve been there…..but at the Laureus event that we used to have….. he was always especially at the Italian events,  at the Monza Grand Prix, at the Laureus fundraisers in Milan…he was always there so…. big personality around Laureus….. from the very beginning…. from the conceptual stages of Laureus …back in the in the 90s before it was started so…. and then I think the last time I saw him in Milan and I think… you were there as well…

We all went shopping…. and bought a couple of nice pair of shoes and some other things.

Audrey:  It was like a king of Milan..  if you see now Monty now, what won’t you want to say to him?

Edwin Moses:He was everyone’s friend…. everyone like Monty and…. especially the Academy.. the Laureus World Sports Academy members, everyone had a special place in their heart for him. He was always very kind to me….. and really had a lot of respect for my athletic career and my accomplishments ….and always want it for me to be able to have the best… do a lot for Laureus, but also …..you Konw… I have the best possibilities for me as as a person….. so he was always very dedicated to me as a person…..yeah… always very interested, wanting to know what’s happening, what’s happening and always had ideas on possibilities for me that I could be doing.

Audrey: You know him from the beginning of Laureus?

Edwin Moses: Monty was a member of the original board and which Bernie Ecclestone was on the board,  Monty was on the board, at the beginning of Laureus, was the original … i forgot the name of it but there was about five people.

I think Johaan (Rupert)  was on the board, Bernie Ecclestone, Monty anf few other people and Laureus it was about five people… on the original board…. with people from Mercedes-Benz.

Audrey:the idea of Laureur became from Monty?

Edwins Moses: Yeah … Yeah…. so he was there for the beginning and talked about the concept ….how Laureus was to begin… how to involve athletes… I know for sure that he gave recommendations on Academy Members who he thought should be on the Academy…. and what the academy should do…. so he was there from day one for the time we had our first meeting in 2000…..

Audrey: and he  was always say  to you “Bambino:?

Edwins Moses: Yeah….yeah..Edwin pats himself on the back of the head to remember the gesture Monty made to greet him in a confidential manner

Audrey: The most unique thing about Monty? 

Edwin Moses: I think the most unique thing about MONTY was he was always thinking about creative possibilities and he was always thinking about branding, personalities branding, what would look good and print on photographs or a video of movies…he was always thinking way ahead on our organization…. he was thinking about what happened in 10 or 15 years…. he was thinking about those things 10 to 15 years ago.

Different types of branding,  how people could work with the brand, how the academy work with the brand so,,,, he was very forward thinking in terms of marketing, advertising,  things of that nature. I know he consulted with a lot of different brands and know all the Ceo’s and the personalities and …..he had those those two or three phone books that I’ve seen him…. go through I think back…. in maybe it was the early 2000s…. we had dinner in Beverly Hills California. 

He came to California and we had a table… we had lunch for two or three hours and Monty was had two phone books and he was just calling people all the time….. doing the phone books …. big superstars and sports entertainment He came to California and we had a table… we had lunch for two or three hours and Monty was had two phone books and he was just calling people all the time….. doing the phone books …. he let me speak with some of them….. “Guess who I have here?Edwin Moses you know who’s on the phone?”… so I had a lot of access…  Everyone loved them……. Everyone loved them.

Audrey: some funny moments?

Edwin Moses: ….I think one of the good moments was the time we used to go shopping and he would take me shopping,  and take me to a shoe store,  and it would measure my foot,  and ….mind… would say …..give him that one… that one ….and that one…. here… “take these”…he decide which shoes I was gonna wear….. and we walk out of the store with four pairs of shoes, beautiful shoes and clothes and what not jackets and suits…. yeah…. yeah….. yeah… I never ask…..

He just always said “you need to have these and you need those and you need this jacket”… and he talk to the manager of the shop or the brand and i’d have….So I still have all those things.

Audrey: If you could talk to him in heaven, what would you say to him?

Edwin Mose: Come back …..yeah…. we miss him a lot…… especially Laureus and…. you know… no one seen each other for the last two years and  so….  it’s just hard to believe or someone just…. is not available anymore …for everyone…. so that’s really a hard thing. 

I was heartbroken when I think… Guy called me and told me the news that it was just like one day to the next… someone is just not around anymore…. so I’m sure that everyone would wanna see him one last time that they had the opportunity….

Audrey: he did some picture of you?

Edwin Moses: Yeah… Yeah…I’m sure he has some in his library of me… If he has any in his catalog pictures when I was running, he probably has some… I know he has some very unique pictures… cause not many people were down on the track… 

Audrey: when we was in the in the event it was always with the camera. 

Edwin Moses: Oh ..Yeah…. before was the same with the camera…. had a small camera..he always took pictures behind the scene, he was outstanding behind the scene photographer not in your face, but always behind the scene….you never knew…. you seen with the camera, but you hardly never saw in use… A little bit here in a little bit there.