The sound of the jump rope hitting the padded floor of one of the training rooms was rather steady and to a great extent, Esteban liked that part of the training for UFC-A and its upcoming tournament. He was aware of some of the other projects that Horizon was working on and their accommodating the transgendered in ways to give them a life they could be more comfortable with. In the past, he might have had issue with that, particularly when he'd been on steroids. That was something that Esteban did feel shame for, in that he'd abused a substance he shouldn't have for short term gains, and in the end took a fair amount of negative flack for it.
The abused had increased his aggression while he'd been on it, and Esteban could remember getting fights as a result and some of them being for the most absurd reasons. It was, in a sense, literal "roid rage" that had been a problem at that time. And even after stopping the abuse and retiring from professional body building many of the negative consequences didn't stop. That had been why he'd volunteered for Anton's "Project White Lily," as a means to get healthy and make up for it, and he greatly respected a lot of what Anton wanted to do with in the sense of helping prevent people from getting so caught up in it that they would be in need of the Animalia Virus to cure those negative effects.
But as an Animalian, many things seemed to feel better, and Esteban wasn't going to complain on that either. He could see the strong and muscular Alligator Snapping Turtle Animalian jumping rope in the mirrors and he did feel pride in that. He was stronger and healthier than he'd ever been and at the same time as an Animalian, he also found that while there was a competitive drive, it wasn't the raw naked aggression that he'd had in his past. In this, he was quite willing to support the other projects, even if he wouldn't be part of them. As if they became as happy and healthy as Animalians as he was, that was good. Esteban kept up with his work out for a few moments, though when the door opened behind him, he did stop and turn.
He thought it would be the other Project White Lily members coming in as part of their own training for the UFC-A tournament in the coming summer, as they had frequently trained together, often with Mario providing some direct instruction. Occasionally even Rachel Stega came in and provided pointers on certain boxing tactics too, which Esteban had to admit was impressive with regards to how much the female Stegosaurus Animalian knew from observing her own father box. But as Esteban turned he found that the people who joined him in the room were human and they were certainly not dressed to exercise.
One man was dressed in a rather nice looking suit and was carrying a clipboard. He was closely followed by another man who was in a orange polo shirt with the word "Gatorade" written on its upper-right chest. The second man was also carrying a decent sized cardboard box that also looked like it was decorated to support the sports drink company. Esteban could also hear the clunking of what sounded like plastic bottles bumping into each other as the two men approached.
"Hello... can I help you?" Esteban asked.
"You can... if you'd be interested in a sponsorship..." the man in the suit answered with a smile, "I'm Mark Stephens, I am here to offer a deal to help promote new formulas for Gatorade."
Esteban slowly nodded with some understanding. Sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade had long wanted to attach their companies to Animalia, particularly as many Animalians were interested in various forms of athletics. He remembered that even ESPN provided some time for some of the IAC events the previous summer and were looking to cover more events when the next IAC was held, again coinciding with the next Summer Olympics. It showed a lot of athletic interest among Animalians which was bound to attract attention from the various sports drinks. However, as far as Esteban knew, both Gatorade and Powerade had issues with the nature of Animalian digestion. Herbivores and carnivores had their systems being highly specialized which meant that the only Animalians that could digest their normal beverages without real harm were natural omnivores, like bears and chimpanzees. This essentially limited who could safely drink Gatorade.
"And you want me?" Esteban asked, sounding a bit hopeful, as he'd always liked Gatorade as a drink, even if he wasn't drinking it for sports or anything like that.
"Well... our first choice was actually an Alligator Animalian," Mr. Stephens spoke, "but most of those that are in Animalia and Lyre aren't that interested in competition and one is presently going all out over a wedding..."
"Jill," Esteban commented.
Jill's engagement to Beauregard had been a pretty big thing for Animalia's reptile community. It had passed from person to person with a lot of happy excitement for her. Esteban didn't know her personally, but when he heard about it while at the sauna, he was told that she was happy and was looking forward to going to New Orleans for the ceremony. Esteban accepted that with a small smile and didn't know more on the details. He'd heard somethings that would indicate the wedding was supposed to be in Lyre and that Beauregard actually lived closer to Baton Rouge than New Orleans, but that was all rumor as far as Esteban was concerned and he left it at that.
"Yeah," Mr. Stephens nodded, "but I was told you were an "gator" of sorts and figured that you might want to try it..."
"Alligator Snapping Turtle," Esteban answered, "I'm a turtle, not a crocodilian... but I do like Gatorade. What do you have?"
"It's a new formula, one we think will be better served to work with some of the specific dietary needs that specific Animalians need," Mr. Stephens spoke and then turned to the man following him and reached into the box before pulling out a bottle of a red colored beverage. "We've haven't changed much with regards to the specific tastes. So if you liked the fruit flavors and such, we still have those. But the specific vitamins and minerals that are used are more conducive to those that are strictly carnivorous or herbivorous, depending on where you are..."
"Alligator Snapping Turtles are carnivorous," Esteban spoke, "if you have a formula for herbivorous Animalians, you may wish to try a herbivorous Animalian, even if they aren't a "gator." As just about every Animalian can be fairly athletic... and those working with the Brown Farm might enjoy it... as they'd need to get their energy back too."
Mr. Stephens nodded and handed the bottle to Esteban who looked at it. Esteban found that the flavor was one of the flavors that they already used but he noted that in the ingredients there were more natural ingredients and more protein than there was before. It still had many of the same vitamins and minerals which were needed, but unlike before the new formula gave the indication that the ingredients were more natural, which essentially corrected for the issues that artificial ingredients often caused Animalians the most trouble.
"Our ingredients with the new formulas are all natural and cover the essential needs that would be needed to help with hydration and replacing electrolytes," Mr. Stephens spoke, "give it a taste... if you like it... we can talk more with regard to certain sponsorships."
Esteban raised an eye ridge, "and you won't charge me if I don't like it?"
"No," Mr. Stephens answered vigorously, "we really want to do business with Animalia and make sure that what we provide is enjoyed. In some ways, it is an opportunity for us to make money... but to do that, we need to make sure our product is desired."
"Okay," Esteban answered and carefully twisted the cap before taking careful swig. He ended up having to be rather careful, as his pointed beak wasn't the easiest thing to drink with, particularly with wide bottles or glasses, but that was something he already knew and had done a fairly good job of working with. It did taste the same as he remembered it, with a sort of fruity flavor, which really wasn't bad, and that sort of flavor was to be expected from a sports drink. He couldn't tell them they needed to make it taste like fish or meat, as that would simply be a request for a protein shake. And at the same time, while a lot of his personal tastes had changed a bit, it wasn't as though the drink was bad.
"It tastes fine to me," Esteban eventually said, "though I've always liked Gatorade. The big thing at the moment is that you have more natural flavors which I'd think would be the most beneficial."
"So you like it?" Mr. Stephens asked with a hopeful smile, to which Esteban nodded.
From there, Esteban happily signed the various forms that Mr. Stephens had brought with him to help promote Gatorade's new flavors and Mr. Stephens did explain more on the choices. It turned out that there was a "protein" flavor that was among the potential choices, which was welcome and Esteban taste tested those flavors he gave his opinion on what was good with each flavor and where some changes could be made, though he added that he did like the drink. In the end, all parties shook hands and were happy with the deal.