‘SUZY CHAPSTICK’ TURNS 55 (NOV. 29)

‘SUZY CHAPSTICK’ TURNS 55 (NOV. 29)



TELLURIDE, Colo. (Wireless Flash) – The name “Suzy Chapstick” may not have been on your lips for awhile – but the woman who inspired the name turns 55 tomorrow (Nov. 29). Skier Suzy Chaffee was a skiing champ in the late 1960s and early ’70s, but she’s best known for her mid-70s stint as “Suzy Chapstick,” the Chap-Stick spokeswoman. Suzy now admits the squeaky-clean commercials gave her a bland, apple pie image that wasn’t necessarily the real Chaffee. In reality, she says she was a rebel who used her money and fame to overturn Olympic rules that made it difficult for non-wealthy athletes to participate. These days, Chaffee isn’t in the limelight but it hasn’t dimmed her activism. Her pet project is “Native Voices,” a group dedicated to getting Native American teens to participate in athletics instead of drugs.

Wed 11-28-01