Who? Didi Gluck, VP, Editorial Director
Didi’s creative hero: Ernest Hemingway
Why Ernest Hemingway? Because his writing is a master class in clarity and brevity. And because my father was Hemingway-esque. He was also literary, and loved hunting, fishing, adventure travel … and women. They were from a similar era (though Hemingway predates my dad by a bit), so reading Hemingway feels oddly familiar.
The piece of Hemingway’s work that Didi comes back to again and again: The Old Man and the Sea. I read it every few years. I can’t take it more than that because just thinking about the ending makes me weep — like, ugly cry. But it’s such a gorgeous story of friendship, loyalty, perseverance and dreams. It’s also the kind of book that means different things to you at different stages in life. My kids didn’t understand my infatuation with the book when they had to read it in high school, but I suspect they’ll come back to it and develop a deeper connection to it later in life. Or maybe I’m projecting.
How Didi overcomes creative challenges: I do something — anything — else: laundry, texting people back, cleaning, organizing, grocery shopping, whatever. Usually when I’m not thinking about what I should be thinking about, that’s when it comes to me.
Didi’s favorite piece of creative work she’s produced for Manifest: Creating our client IMG Academy’s content hub, IMG Academy IQ, and an accompanying downloadable guide to mental performance, alongside a team of strategists, designers and writers, has been some of the most gratifying work I’ve done at Manifest (or anywhere!) to date. Getting to come up with everything from the name “IQ,” to the logo, to the content for the hub itself has been so fun. Plus, having been a competitive figure skater as a teen, and again as an adult, I’ve been able to apply a lot of what I’ve learned from the mental performance coaches at IMG Academy about confidence, focus, commitment, resilience and handling pressure to my performance on the ice. Still, I’m convinced that absolutely everyone, athlete or not, can benefit from mental performance coaching.
Her most treasured possession: My figure skates.
Didi’s idea of happiness: Anything involving Paris or figure skating.
Her least favorite word: Level-set, pivot, deep dive, circle back. Speak real English to me, baby!
Her favorite word: Ganache. It’s so good you can almost taste it.
Didi’s first concert: Thompson Twins. Gen X forever!
