ELEPHANT PARADE - Interview

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Marc (71) and Mike (44) Spits are father and son. And they're the founders of the Elephant Parade. Their passion is to create the biggest elephant charity in the world. With the Elephant Parade, they're well on their way...

Marc, Why did you start Elephant Parade?

I was on vacation in Thailand and had heard that Marc Faber a very smart investor,
had moved from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai, a city in Thailand that I had never heard of.
But I thought; there must be a reason that such a smart man moved there; why not check it out?

So we booked tickets to Chiang Mai and the travel agency put us in a big horrible hotel and I was not happy at all. Only when we went for a Thai cooking class and we met some really nice people from Australia I started to like it a bit better. We changed the big hotel for a small family owned guesthouse (for only ten euros) and got to know the very kind owner, a retired businessman from Bangkok.

He told me that Chang Mai used to be the elephant epicenter of Thailand, but that most of the elephants had died out. He also told me that the first elephant hospital is located near Chiang Mai, run by a very passionate and driven woman, Soraida Salwala.

So, what did you do when you got this information?

I decided to travel to Lampang to see the elephant hospital.

The hospital is located in Lamgpang about 70 km south of Chiang Mai. It consists of open buildings, a conference center, a pharmacy and many sick and wounded elephants. Soraida told me about her long struggle to save elephants-over 2500 from the beginning and the fact that there is no government support. They need funds to keep saving elephants and would also like to expand the premises as the space is very cramped at this moment.

Who helps the elephant hospital, Friends of the Asian Elephant?

The biggest benefactor is the Brigitte Bardot foundation. We want to become their biggest donator. She told me that she desperately was in need of funds, not just for now but also for the future. Once I was there, she told me to come with her because she wanted to show me an elephant. This was the decisive and turning point for me; once I saw the badly wounded baby elephant.
Mosha, as they called her, had stepped on a land mine. Her lower leg was ripped off by the blast, a horrible and extremely painful accident. Mosha could never leave the hospital…….she would need care for the rest of her life.

Elephants in Thailand are very important, but…..almost nobody realizes that when the elephants are not helped within ten years we can only see them in the zoos!

So, why would you get involved in the elephant cause?

I tell you, once you see a baby elephant that just came in with a ripped off leg from a land mine, you would have to be made out of stone not to want to do something. So right there and then, I decided that I would do something to help. I did not know yet how, but I wanted to do something. And more than just writing a check. I wanted to do something structurally, something that would maybe change the bleak future of the Asian elephant. I also knew that lots of money and exposure is necessary to alter the future of the Asian elephant.

But Marc, a one-man show who is not able to write a ten (or more) million Euro cheque, what can he do?

My background-although lightyears away-is copyrights-I launched the Smurfs commercially-and I thought that just asking for money even for a great cause is not for me and is not efficient.

I bought a newspaper and in it was an article of two young Chiang Mai sculptors who made funny dog sculptures from paper- mache. I found them and visited them in their little house and together we developed three funny baby elephant figures ;I paid them for their work and the transfer of their copyrights.(They still work for us).

How come that you chose 3 elephants in your logo?

Soraida's foundation 'Friend of the Asian Elephant' had a trademark of three elephants,we decided that we should have a trademark inspired on theirs with our copyrighted elephants. We next registered our trademark worldwide.

Ok, so you had your elephant sculptures, your logo; how did you go about getting so much attention for the Elephant Parade?

When I returned from this trip I saw my son Mike. He's more of a best friend than a son, and I told him that I would love to do this project together with him. He replied with that if he would not join me, I would end up with may elephants but no events. That's the type of relationship we have. So we became 'partners in elephants'.

Well Mike, what were your next steps?

I had no idea where this adventure would take us, but I knew three things. One, I liked the idea to do this project together with my dad. Second, I loved the idea to help the Asian elephant in a way that we did not need to beg for money but that we could have a win-win for sponsor, auction buyer and elephants. And third, this would be a fantastic way of giving something back to the earth we are all living on. I did have the idea that if we would really put our teeth in this project, it could become big, very very big!

So, how did you go about it?

The first thing we talked about was where to do our first event. It was quite easy. At that time, I was still living in Holland and Marc is originally from Rotterdam. We both had a very good feeling with Rotterdam as very dynamic city and thought that Rotterdam would be ready for such an event. I approached the Rotterdam Zoo, and the rest is history. Rotterdam hosted us with 50 sculptures and the event was a huge success. Both media (national print, tv, radio) and the auction (euro 248.500) were a great success. We also sold quite some replica elephants.

And then what?

We approached Antwerp and Amsterdam. Antwerp is currently running with great, great success and impact and Amsterdam is coming up next year. Additionally, we were approached by the Elephant Family in London, asking us to come to London to support their elephant preservation causes.. Elephant Family is the world's largest elephant charity organisation. So this was a great honor that they chose our project to raise awareness and funds for their fantastic work in London. Amsterdam and London will more or less start at the same time. Amsterdam mid-august next year and London in september.

So now you're running your second Elephant Parade event, how are things Marc?

We're getting a great response from the Belgian people; they love our elephants as much as the Dutch. Additionally, we are selling the replica limited edition elephants in the Stadsfeestzaal in the centre of Antwerp with great great success!

So what is next Mike?

We are working feverishly hard with our Elephant Family partners in London on getting everything organized there for the event which will kick-off in September 2009. Also, the same thing for Amsterdam. We are now talking with many potential partners and have already made some interesting deals in London and Amsterdam.

And what about the economic situation Marc, is this hurting your efforts?

I think alot of companies are now very very cautions in spending money on advertising and things they may not need directly. The great thing about Elephant Parade is that we have build it based upon my old business (principles). The city events create lots of awareness and funds for the elephant preservation cause. Our replica elephants and designs are available for companies for sales promotinal purposes. This drives customers to their business or products because they want our cuddly cute elephants and people love to help our cause! The nice thing about this is that part of the proceeds of all Elepant Parade products go towards elephant preservation - in time this should make us the biggest elephant preservation support organisation in the world!

For more information please feel free to contact Marc ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Mike This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it