graphic designer in need of help

[SB00S4B5]

i'm a graphic designer and am trying to convert a 3D image into a vector graphic. as you can see its the word "kinetic", but its shaded 3-dimensionally. i'm trying to use Illustrator to make it completely vector based (through gradients, paths, or other means) for resize-ability and convience purposes and am having issues accomplishing this.

i've tried using the gradient mesh tool, but have not used it that much in the past and am not getting any success w/ it.

...can anyone help me do this or tell me how i would go about doing this. thanks!