My Story: Meet Earthbath Eastern Territory, International Sales Manager Bob Nicastro

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Bob Nicastro is responsible for sales and marketing activities in conjunction with major pet specialty retailers, pet specialty distributors and multi-chain pet specialty retailers for earthbath natural and organic pet care products.

But there’s more to Nicastro than just high quality pet products. That’s where Pet Age’s My Story profile comes in.

Pet Age recently spoke with Nicastro to learn more about his story.

Why should people not be surprised to see you during an ESPN college basketball broadcast?

Many friends and family are quite surprised to see me on ESPN college basketball broadcast. That’s because in my spare time I can be seen at home Princeton University Men’s or Women’s basketball game on ESPN and other sports media channels. Since 1997 I’ve been a statistician for Princeton athletics. I’m on a team with two other statisticians that watch the game, call out the play, and enter the data in a computer program. The data we enter then is broadcast to media sources and on the court big screen. Most games are broadcast locally. Recently games can be seen on ESPN. When I started, stats we were entered manually on paper with pencils while seated in the stands. All the data was compiled manually after the game. Teams had no idea of player stats during the game. We now use a Genius Sports stat program used by both the NBA and NCAA. Touch screen computers have replaced paper and pencils. Statisticians sit at courtside with other game officials, score and clock keepers, announcers and the media. We can be seen court side to the right of the home team bench.

Which team do you root for in college basketball?

Which college team do I root for and follow, well it’s obvious, Princeton University teams. I’ve always followed professional teams in my youth. I’ve always enjoyed the fundamentals, but so much has changed. Over the years I gravitated to college sports. Since my two boys were in college, we attended their college games. Many times, their colleges teams would come to Princeton including Hofstra University and St Joseph’s University. Both Princeton men’s and women’s teams have had successful seasons. Both winning Ivy League championships and moving to NCAA tournaments, the men went all the way to the Sweet Sixteen in 2023. There is a lot of pride in the Princeton sports programs. Historically they have had successful teams in my 27 years as a statistician. Many successful players went on to play professionally and coaching at the college level.

When you’re not working, what do you do for your mental and physical well-being?

When I’m not working, I do many activities for my mental and physical well-being. But let me say I really have enjoyed my 35 years in the pet industry. I’ve been with three pet businesses since I started in 1989. Working in such a pet friendly and caring industry, doing good for pets and their pet parents has been good for my mental health. I take that with me outside of my work. I’m an avid road and trail cyclist. I just recently purchased an electric assist road bike. It’s great, I feel good about riding and the physical aspect of riding has been improved. I ride for charities including Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society and at local charities in my area. I support and participate in an annual 500-mile road ride over seven  days for Anchor House Ride for Runaways. I belong to Rails-To-Trails Conservancy with a nationwide system cycling trails around the country. My favorite is the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) from Cumberland MD to Pittsburgh PA. Cycling is the best for my mental and physical well-being! I also enjoy keeping myself in good physical condition. I attend a local gym for weight training, yoga and Pilates classes.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what is the one album that you’d want to be able to listen to and why?

If I was stranded on a desert island. What a haunting question. What album would I want to listen to? Well, I don’t need to be on a desert island to listen to my favorite album or music. After years of business travel, I’ve listened to so much music, jazz, country, rock, classics through contemporary, and I love it all, all but heavy metal… so I don’t have any one album. But if I had to choose, it would be any Simon & Garfunkel album. Their music takes me back to the simplicity of the times. The simple storytelling in their lyrics and the basic instruments. If you had asked my favorite song, it would be “The Boxer,” a folk-rock ballad, the lyrics written by Simon, an autobiographical for the times and inspired by the Bible.

So, if you want to catch me, you can see me on ESPN, on a bike trail near you or just at the next pet industry event!