The subtitle of Gert Boyle’s 2007 life and business memoir One Tough Mother is Taking Charge in Life, Business, and Apple Pies. Boyle can now add or When a Thug Invades Your Home, Ties You Up, and Tries to Rob You to the revised and updated version.
Boyle is the iconic face and CEO of Portland’s Columbia Sportswear. She is best known as the star of the company’s successful television ad campaign, which also features her son, company President, Tim Boyle. Gert Boyle took over the struggling family company after the death of her husband in 1970 and turned it into the country’s largest skiwear producer, with over a billion in annual sales. She was the first woman inducted into the International Sporting Goods Hall of Fame.
We are not sure if her “Born to Nag” tattoo is real.
I worked for Graphic Arts Center Publishing when they published ONE TOUGH MOTHER. I got to meet Gert Boyle and she is one tough mother but with a soft heart. Recently, she proved that again in real life when she was attacked in her home. She foiled the attempt by activating her home alarm. Police soon caught the perp. I believe Gert was relatively unharmed. Way to go Gert!
Hey Brian, thanks for the link to the article bout Gert Boyle! What was that robber thinking? And the policeman in the North Face? Sweet. Got to love a tough old gal. I did a term paper on Columbia Sportswear for an accounting class, it really is a great story.