The Costco Connection - October 2013

By David Wight

WHEN THE CONNECTION learned that Costco member Brandi Chastain was impressed with a 1-Hour Photo service, we were eager to track her down for the story. You should recognize the name, and may recall her iconic image—on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Newsweek and Time magazines— celebrating the penalty kick with which she took her team to a World Cup win in 1999.

We caught up with the Olympic and World Cup champ, author, mom, youth coach, ESPN color commentator and not-for-profit co-founder (Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative) by phone at her California home.

The Costco Connection: What got you interested in transferring old media to DVD?

Brandi Chastain: I was going to take a trip to Brazil for the U.S. State Department and U.S. Soccer, a goodwill-ambassador trip trying to get local government officials and people to recognize how important it would be for young girls to participate. I thought it would be great to bring some video of my teammates and me playing. If I could get that on a disc, great, because I don’t have a VHS [player]—I don’t think most people have those anymore. I found tapes from when we played Brazil, and took those to Costco because I knew they did transfers to disc. I asked if I could get the transfer back in five days—I’m always doing stuff at the last minute—but they told me the process takes about three weeks.

CC: But you didn’t take “three weeks” as the final word, right?

BC: I learned that the headquarters of Yes Video, the
company that provides the service, was close to my
home, so I drove by to see if that would be any faster.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t do it, and after seeing
the process, I understand why. I am in awe of how
incredibly secure and safe everything is, and how
delicately they [treat] every single piece of media.

CC: What type of videos did you convert?

BC: The USA–Brazil soccer stuff, but I also had all this other stuff, from when I was 3 or 4 years old with my brother in the bathtub, to youth soccer, to Olympic soccer. As it turns out, we were having this family reunion, so I got to show my grandmother some old things of my father and my mom and cousins together—just some really funny things.

CC: Will you be doing more transfers?

BC: I have a ton more. That was just the tip of the iceberg. I have Hi8 tapes of our first-ever professional women’s soccer league in the U.S., and other national league stuff—on the road or behind-the-scenes kind of stuff.

CC: You retired from professional soccer in 2010. How are you spending your time now?

BC: I don’t like that word [retire]; it seems so final. I’d rather say I’m on a sabbatical [laughs]. Mom is the No. 1 [priority]. My son is 7 years old, about to go into second grade, so our summer vacation has been about him, and about coaching soccer. It was actually the first summer I remember that I didn’t play soccer.

CC: In conclusion, what do you want to share with Costco members about your overall experience?

BC: Both of my parents passed away fairly young, so photos and videos got lost in the shuffle. That’s a reason why this is such a gift: I’m re-collecting these things for myself. If you haven’t tried it, feel comfortable in knowing your memories will be safe and secure, and that you’ll have access to them on a regular basis. C

The Costco Connection

Convert your fading home movies, videos or slides to long-life gold DVDs. It’s a good time to plan holiday gifts of converted memories. Typical delivery time is three weeks, and pricing starts as low as $17.99. Costco members receive free online storage with easy access for sharing media memories with family and friends, even on smartphones and tablets. Information is available at 1-Hour Photo counters in most warehouses, by phone toll-free at 1-866-463-7694 or search “home movies” at Costco.com.