Erik Surjan
Erik Surjan: Athletic Competition
Erik Surjan
Erik Surjan holds a Master of Marketing degree from Monash University, which he received in 2012. He received a Bachelor of Business in Marketing degree in 2003 from Edith Cowan University. That same year, Erik Surjan received a Bachelor of Business in Management, also from Edith Cowan. He enjoys athletic competition, and has competed in many track and field events in Australia. One of his events is the decathlon.
Email: eriksurjan@outlook.com
Website: http://eriksurjan1.wordpress.com/
Location: Spearwood, Western Australia, Australia
Erik Surjan: Appealing Professional Qualities
Erik Surjan is an asset to any employer, consistently displaying the work ethic, resolve and determination to stay focused and diligently pursue and achieve company objectives. A model marketing and business professional, Erik Surjan continues to demonstrate the professional acumen, insight and work ethic needed to enhance company productivity and profitability.
Innovation
Erik Surjan has become known as an innovative thinker, someone who is always seeking a better and more efficient way to get things done around the workplace. His creative approach and unique perspective allow him to make the contributions needed to keep a firm competitive and successful.
Sustainability
Erik Surjan has always been a believer that everyone can do their part to improve and maintain a clean and healthy environment. He is committed to the representation of an organization that shares his values of environmental sustainability; one that not only pays lip service to environmentally responsible business practices, but that takes the lead in terms of effectively managing energy consumption, promoting recycling and reducing carbon emissions.
Community
Erik Surjan believes in the value of a healthy and strong community, as well as being an active and involved volunteer in organizations that provide both support and assistance to less-fortunate populations. He is particularly interested is helping make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children, those without the means to access the resources many of us take for granted.
Responsibility
Erik Surjan is dedicated to the notion of business and professional responsibility, one that places importance on the employment needs of those throughout the local community. He believes in being proactive when it comes to making a positive difference in the local community, and in people’s lives.
Erik Surjan: Proven Marketing Professional
He Erik Surjan has extensive experience in the marketing profession, and has distinguished himself as one of the most diligent and talented professionals in the industry. Most recently a professional of marketing and strategy with Sports MA, Erik Surjan has made substantial contributions to the field, exhibiting an unparalleled skill in marketing strategy, increasing brand awareness and retention, and creating better and more lasting connections between companies and consumers.
Erik Surjan experienced significant success with Sports MA, an Australian sports marketing firm, from 2010 to 2014, improving the company’s ability to create better brand recognition with certain targeted demographics, increasing the company’s client base and strengthening relationships with external and third parties that were critical to the firm’s, and the department’s, overall success. He was also an indispensable asset to the West Coast Institute of Training, creating significant lead generation opportunities, achieving a 100% strike rate for international award applications, strengthening company relationships with members of numerous industries and successfully managing the 2010 Inforce Conference. Erik Surjan worked for WCIT from 2010 to 2013, providing outstanding service and unwavering loyalty to the firm for over three years.
Erik Surjan worked in Marketing Administration for the KeyPath Group from 2008 to 2010, creating, developing and implementing highly-effective marketing strategy and campaigns aimed at reaching a wide base of potential clients and improving the company’s client retention rate. He provided KeyPath with innovative campaigns and enjoyed the opportunity to develop a better appreciation for the complexities of a global marketplace. Surjan was a valued employee of KeyPAth, and is proud of what he was able to achieve with the organization.
Erik Surjan: An Elite Athlete
Erik Surjan was a champion-caliber athlete within the Australian institute of Sport organization, proving to be one of his era’s most talented and successful track and field competitors between 2005 and 2008. The winner of two Open National Decathlon Championships, one in 2005 and the other in 2007, Erik Surjan quickly distinguished himself as an athlete willing to put in the training, focus and effort needed to consistently perform at a very high level.
Erik Surjan also put in qualifying performances for both the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2007 World Championships, representing his country honorably and with distinction during international competitions. As a member of the AIS Elite Track and Field Program, Surjan was truly and credit to the success of the organization, as well as to athletes throughout the country of Australia.
Erik Surjan also served AIS as a community relations advocate, making his presence felt at numerous community service occasions, leadership and peak performance forums and many charity functions and events. He strove to represent AIS with dignity, accuracy and pride throughout his participation in organizational functions and outreach events, and helped to build better connections between AIS and the community at-large.
Erik Surjan not only excelled as an AIS Elite Track and Field Athlete, but also as a respected AIS representative. Though his athletic career was cut short due to a severe injury, he continued to be one of AIS’s best and staunchest advocates and representatives. He is proud of what he accomplished during his tenure with the program, and gained valuable insight and experience through his involvement with the organization.
Erik Surjan: Preparing for an Acting Career
Australian professional and accomplished athlete Erik Surjan seeks excellence in everything he does, working hard to reach his objectives and maintaining his focus and perspective on the need for preparation. An individual of old-fashioned values in a world driven by fast-paced competitiveness and technology, Erik Surjan continues to compile an impressive list of accomplishments, building a resume that sets him apart from the status quo.
Erik Surjan is currently studying to become a professional actor, working with the likes of screen and stage veteran Bill McCluskey, as well as numerous notable acting groups and organizations, to hone his skill and build the portfolio needed to break into a highly competitive business. He has committed himself to the study of the craft, and has participated in the Sydney Screen Acting Group’s Screen Acting Workshop, as well as PAC Screen Acting and others, in an effort to make a name for himself in the acting community.
Acting, however, hasn’t been the only pursuit for Erik Surjan, who currently possesses several degrees in business from accredited academic institutions. He holds a Master’s in Marketing from Monash University in Melbourne, as well as two Bachelor of Business degrees from Edith Cowan
University in Perth. Erik Surjan also remains vigilant about the upkeep of his blogs, exercising his considerable talent as both a writer and as an amateur philosopher.
Erik Surjan also works towards the betterment of the local community, supporting charitable organizations that focus on helping disadvantaged children. His particular interest in community service revolves around the support of indigenous Australian children.
Erik Surjan: Seize Your Opportunity
As a former athlete, aspiring actor and consummate professional, Erik Surjan understands the importance of grabbing hold of the opportunities that cross our paths. Hesitation and/or laziness, as he knows, have the opportunity to lead to regret, something no one wants to live with for the rest of their lives. Erik Surjan has been able to not only recognize opportunity when he sees it, but to seize it with all his effort and to turn it into a valuable and memorable life experience.
The opportunity to participate in track and field competitions, both in Australia and abroad, brought Erik Surjan many years of success, and helped to show him the value of mental and physical preparation, as well as the thrill of both athletic competition and of victory. Erik Surjan appreciates the idea that it’s not how you react to winning that decides your character, but how you are able to cope with defeat, an attitude that has set him apart from many throughout both the professional and the athletic community.
Now a successful college graduate and rising star in the Australia acting community. Erik Surjan looks forward to not only creating and discovering acting opportunities, but to firmly take them by the horns and make the most of each new chance to experience the moment. He strives to improve his acting ability through training with both reputable acting groups as well as notable names of the stage and screen, and promises to experience a full and rich career in the highly competitive acting field.
Erik Surjan: The Pride of Australian Athletics
Accomplished and successful former athlete Erik Surjan was a notable and winning competitor throughout his athletic career, excelling in the pressure and the heat of battle with focus, commitment and a determination to see himself cross the finish line before anyone else.
Erik Surjan put in countless hours of training in order to prepare for every track and field competition, testing the limits of his own physical and mental endurance before entering any contest. An athlete with experience competing in multiple events throughout both Australia and the world, Erik Surjan exhibited not only the work ethic, but also the talent, the will and the determination to set himself apart and consistently distinguish himself as a winning athlete.
Erik Surjan experienced multiple successes in such events as the shotput, the discus throw, both the high and long jump competitions and track races, such as the 100, 400 and 1500 Metre dashes. He even ran an incredible 10.91 seconds in the 100 metre dash in a 2004 Perth competition. Though his career ended early due to injury, Erik Surjan is still recognized in many circles as one of Australia’s best and brightest stars of the Track and Field. His legacy of preparation, success and excellence continues to inspire athletes throughout the country and the international community.
Erik Surjan now pursues a career in acting, and has several acting credits under his belt following college graduation. He pursues acting with the same zeal, enthusiasm and motivation that he committed to professional athletics, and promises to have a bright acting career ahead of him.
Erik Surjan: Extraordinary People
"The world has, and continues to be, populated by extraordinary people," says Erik Surjan, a former athlete, frequent blogger, and developing actor from Australia. He has an impressive background that many would probably call extraordinary.
The people closest to Erik Surjan know him as a person of integrity, a man with old-fashioned values in a modern world. That, in and of itself, is uncommon. But Erik Surjan has already accomplished much in life, and he is still a young man. He is a former professional athlete who competed in many Track and Field events around Australia. And he was good: "Had I been able to remain injury free," Erik Surjan acknowledges, "I would have been competing on the European circuit in the World Combined Events Challenge, where prize money regularly reached 30,000 euros for a first place finish."
Erik Surjan also holds several business degrees. He earned a Bachelor of Business degree with an emphasis on Marketing, and another Bachelor of Business degree with an emphasis on Management, both from Edith Cowan University in Perth, and a Master of Marketing degree from Monash University in Melbourne.
More recently, Erik Surjan has been developing his talents as an actor. He is currently studying the craft with stage and screen veteran Bill McCluskey. He has also studied with the Sydney Screen Acting Group's Screen Acting Workshop, and with PAC Screen Acting. Additionally, Erik Surjan has been involved with the Actors Centre Australia in the Acting Edge, and with Faith Martin Workshops.
But Erik Surjan does not focus all of his energies on himself. He has long been associated with various charities. He is especially fond of those that benefit disadvantaged children, in particular indigenous Australians.
Erik Surjan: Have A Go
Erik Surjan has already accomplished a lot, and he is still a young man. He holds several business degrees, including a Master of Marketing issued by Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. As a professional athlete, he competed in numerous Track and Field events around Australia, in such diverse events as the 100 Metre dash, pole-vaulting, and the discus throw. He has also competed in decathlons, a classic but grueling two-day event.
"In recent weeks I have begun to remind myself of a comment I made to the people who helped celebrate my 21st birthday," he wrote on his blog in 2012. He then quoted himself from the day he turned 21: " ‘I'm not sure what it is, but feel like I am supposed to do something great with my life.'"
It appears that the best is yet to come for Erik Surjan. "I have been blessed with many talents," he says, and his talents do not stop with his athletic and academic gifts. Most recently he has been developing his talents as an actor. He is currently studying the craft with Bill McCluskey, the noted Australian actor who, over a thirty year career, has appeared in many productions on stage and screen, and has worked with such screen legends as Meryl Streep.
Already, Erik Surjan has had some success. He has been in several TV commercials in Australia, including one for the automaker Toyota, and has also acted in several instructional videos. He has studied with the Sydney Screen Acting Group's Screen Acting Workshop and with PAC Screen Acting. Erik Surjan has also studied at Actors Centre Australia in the Acting Edge, and with Faith Martin Workshops. Apart from that, Erik Surjan has also been trained in voice and acting in several other forums and workshops.
"The worst thing any person can do is to abandon our childhood dreams, hopes and aspirations," Erik Surjan says. "You may be fifty or you may be seventy, [but] no matter how out there your dream may be, have a go!"
Erik Surjan: The Words of Famous People
Erik Surjan is a former professional athlete who lives in Western Australia, and is currently developing a new career as an actor. He has already appeared in several TV commercials, including one for Toyota, and in several instructional videos.
He is also a voracious reader who loves to encounter new thoughts and ideas, and is fond of collecting quotations that inspire him. "Mahatma Gandhi famously said ‘Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever,'" Erik Surjan wrote on his blog. "Gandhi's words inspired me to seek out and collate collective wisdom – an almanac of expression, if you will."
Erik Surjan made a New Year Resolution to add one new quote per week into what he called "my little black book of thoughts," also known as his blog. In a post he entitled "So You Think You Can Quote," Erik Surjan listed a series of quotations that, at least at the time, had meaning to him.
"For your reading pleasure (and the sake of posterity)," Erik Surjan wrote, "here are ten of my favourite 2014 discoveries. At the least, I hope you, the reader, find meaning in one of these." The quotations ranged from sources as diverse as Confucius and the comedian George Carlin, and include the following:
"Live out of your imagination, not your history," attributed to Steven Corey
"Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you." – Roger Ebert, the late film critic.
"Follow your bliss." – Joseph Campbell
"Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everybody I have ever known." – Chuck Palahniuk
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." – Confucius
"No one knows what's next, but everyone does it." – George Carlin
Erik Surjan concluded his list with an ironic line from Back to the Future, the 1985 movie starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. "Don't worry. As long as you hit that wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88mph the instant the lightning strikes the tower… Everything will be fine."
Erik Surjan: Since The Dawn of Time
"Track and Field," says Erik Surjan, "has been with civilization since the dawn of time."
He may well be right. Running is an elementary skill, and there has always been something in human nature that leads one person to test his or her skills against someone else, and always with a desire to excel.
Erik Surjan knows the thrill of competition. He has competed in numerous Track and Field events around Australia, in such diverse events as the 100 Metre dash, pole-vaulting, and the discus throw. He has also taken part in the event that draws many of these competitions together: the decathlon, a classic but grueling two-day event.
The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when a cook from the city of Elis won the stadium race, a footrace of six hundred feet. According to some accounts, this was the only athletic event of the games for the first thirteen Olympic festivals.
Erik Surjan knows that Track and Field is a demanding competition that is as much a psychological ordeal as a physical one. "The easiest thing in the world is to give up or to not try," he says. "Very little is accomplished by resting on laurels. It's my belief that a person's attitude toward failing, making mistakes or dealing with worst case scenarios is what defines them, as opposed to the rainbow period of success or good times."
Erik Surjan is no longer participating in Track and Field at the level he once did. Today he is developing his acting career, which like athletics, can be a fiercely competitive pursuit. Erik Surjan has several TV ads and instructional videos to his credit.
Erik Surjan Is Seeking His Dream Career
Regardless of where Surjan lands professionally, he holds many qualities that are beneficial to a business. He has been noted for his strong leadership abilities, his aptitude for confident decision-making, and his overall tendency to be a capable self-starter. He is also looking for a new career that will allow him to build lasting relationships and communicate his messages clearly, effectively, and concisely.
Much of this is due to the fact that he considers himself to be a strong researcher and strategist. Since his youth, he has always had an innate need to understand how things work. Once he grasps the operation of an item or business, he can start to explore the ways it can be streamlined or improved. While being a communications professional is a highlight of his life, he is wholly committed to the relationships that he has built with his family and community.
Wherever Eric Surjan lands with his next professional endeavor, there are a few things that are unmistakable. He has the ability to manage and develop a team of individuals that are positive and productive. He also brings to the table the ability to provide exceptional leadership through example. Along with this are his strengths in motivating and driving the staff he manages. He is a shrewd businessman who has years of experience to prove his successes in the field.
Managing resources is another way that Surjan will benefit a future employer. He does not believe in wastefulness or overspending for the sake of doing so. Being able to purchase the needed items without going overboard is something that he does well. One of the ways that he avoids over spending or the poor management of resources is through his commitment to organization. He is an incredibly organized and self-regulated professional. Staying organized at all times allows him to adapt to changes quickly and efficiently.
Taking initiative is a trait that he has had since birth. This strength has been honed and improved over the years through higher education, work experiences, and decathlon training. Business's will be hard pressed to find another individual who is more of a self-motivator. Above all, Erik Surjan offers his next company his wide range of exceptional communication skills and habits.
Erik Surjan on the Decathlon
Today, there are two different decathlon versions, one for men and one for women. Each follows a similar format though with a few changes to the event lineup. The women's decathlon consists of the one-hundred-meter race, the discus throw event, a pole vault competition, a javelin throw event, and a four-hundred-meter race on day one. Day two includes the hundred meter hurdles, the long jump, a shot put competition, the high jump, and lastly the fifteen-hundred-meter race.
The men's decathlon starts on day one with a hundred-meter race followed by the long jump. Athletes then participate in the shot put, high jump, and four-hundred-meter race. On the second day, the men compete in the one hundred ten meter hurdles, the discus throw, and then the pole vault event. The javelin throw and the fifteen-hundred-meter race end the men's decathlon.
Each of the decathlon races, for both women and men, are measured in seconds. The only race that is graded in minutes and seconds is the fifteen-hundred-meter race at the end. Many athletes are only separated by tenths of a second when in competition. The jumping and throwing events are measured in meters, with judges looking for longer meter lengths in both event types. Scores are determined based upon a pre-made charting system that correlates seconds or meters to a certain amount of points.
Ideally, an athlete would earn one thousand or more points for each of the ten events, though that is exceedingly rare. At the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China, American Ashton Eaton set the current world record. Eaton scored 9045 points in total. The World Junior Record was set in 1982 by Torsten Voss of Eastern Germany. From the Oceanic region, and Erik Surjan's home of Australia, Jagan Hames set a previous record of 8490 points in 1998.
Of the top ten ranking male decathlon athletes, four are natives of the United States. The remaining six hail from Germany, the Czech Republic, and Estonia. The women's decathlon top ten list contains athletes from seven different countries.
Erik Surjan values the time he spent as a decathlete, as this experience has helped him improve his ability to take initiative, which is an important asset for many jobs.
Erik Surjan and Sports MA
As a sports management firm, Sports MA is responsible for representing the interests of domestic and international athletes. To do this well, employees like Surjan needed to create benchmarking standards and run internal systems audits of the company. Market research and segmentation analysis were tasks he handled daily, as was the development of new strategies. He worked closely with the company to increase brand awareness and establish new markets. The marketing strategies that he had to create were based on the company's core database, as well as the e-Marketing plans that he instituted. Some of the e-Marketing that he handled included social media advertising and campaigns.
Erik Surjan's time with Sports MA is where he believes he really learned how to work with the public through communication and marketing. His efforts brought the company much profitability through the strengthening of brand awareness and industry visibility.
Erik Surjan Worked with the Keypath Group
As a Marketing Administrator, Surjan had many responsibilities. He was charged with the company's marketing campaign ad planning implementation, their divisional marketing, and their strategic plan preparations. The establishment of new systems and the maintenance of their databases was also a primary task. He was responsible for overseeing all internal and external marketing communications, as well as the company's brand integration and management.
Surjan's role was vital to the installation of AMP campaign planning and the resulting execution to clients. He managed the CRM database materials, handled the sourcing and production of marketing collateral, and handled the production of marketing plans with strategic business units. He was tasked with developing and implementing an internal marketing program while always supporting the needs of the Keypath Group Marketing Manager.
Erik Surjan learned the intricacies and difficulties of employment in the financial sector while working for the Keypath Group. This was even more visible during his tenure as it coincided with the global financial crisis, and the impact was felt around the world. His experiences there taught him the value of a hard-earned dollar, and the many reasons why it is important to help others manage their finances in a thoughtful way.