Category: Video

Top 5 best freestyle snowboarders of all time

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Shaun White

Shaun White is undoubtedly the first global superstar in the history of snowboarding. Shaun started snowboarding when he was just 6 and was offered sponsorship when was 7. He has won 2 gold medals in the Olympics. He is also the winner of ten ESPY awards with an overall medal tally at 24 and holds X-Games gold medal record at 15.

For a number of years, White was almost untouchable when it comes to snowboarding. However, this success inevitably brought him slight criticism from certain quarters.

He is among the highest paid freestyle snowboarders with quite a few sponsors including the likes of GoPro, Nike, BF Goodrich Tyres and Target. In addition, he also has a number of corporate endorsement agreements under his belt.

Terje Haakonsen

Originally from Norway, Terje is another popular name in the world of freestyle snowboarding.

Terje Haakonsen, in fact, holds a legendary status among all the snowboarders. This guy entirely dominated competitive snowboarding during the ’90s and went on to win countless competitions which include the European Champs (five times), the Mt. Baker Slalom (seven times) and ISF World Championship (3 times).

A consistent flow along with the ability to rule any kind of terrain was a primary characteristic of his snowboarding which had a great impacted on the entire sport of snowboarding. Terje also became a familiar face in the British-Columbian and Alaskan mountains riding lines that not many could dream of.

Danny Kass

Danny started snowboarding when he was just 12 years old. After several years of practice around Mid-Atlantic states, Danny decided to enter the Okemo Mountain School in order to focus his attention on the better park towards the East. As of now, Danny has won 2 silver medals in the Olympics, 4 US Open championships and 7 X Games medals.

Danny also holds major sponsorships from brands like Monster, Union Bindings, Oakley, Grenade, GNU and Nike.

Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen started snowboarding when she was just 11.

Gretchen has won 4 X Games gold medals in Aspen. Most expected Bleiler to grab another gold medal during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver; but, she fell short during both of her runs. Yet, she is considered among the best female snowboarders the sport has ever witnessed.

In addition to a dream career in snowboarding, Bleiler has also designed an independent snowboard and outerwear clothing line under the K2 Snowboarding and Oakley brands. She also has sponsorships from famous brands like Coca-Cola, Aspen Snowmass, and GoPro under her belt.

Travis Rice

Travis was inspired to take on skiing by his father. Soon, he started showing interest in snowboarding and by the time he was 18, he decided to enter‘Superpark’ contest by the Snowboarder magazine without any sponsor.

The event turned out to be hugely successful for Travis and kickstarted his career as a snowboarder. Travis has won 4 X Games medals till date. He has also been featured in over 20 snowboarding films including First Descent, Neverland, Transcendence, etc.

How Red Bull started dominating the world of extreme sports

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Founded in Austria in the year 2007 and brought to the US in 2011, the Media House of Red Bull is one of the top brands that offer premium content and media products across various media channels. Right from its establishment in Austria, the primary aim of Red Bull was to follow the athletes of action sport across the globe, capturing their adventures through a documentary.

Instead of keeping all the footage to itself, Red Bull had the vision to develop an innovative technique so as to make the most of its footage. This lead to the creation of Red Bull Media House. 

Till this date, Red Bull has organized numerous innovative sports events and also supported athletes during their involvement in adventurous athletic feats. One of the most notable and recent examples being the Red Bull Stratos mission – this is a 7-year project by the company cultivated by Felix Baumgartner that broke 3 world records during its free-fall from 128,100 ft. to the earth.

Copyright and Media Assets 

For each unique mission and action sports event, the Media-House holds media assets, as well as copyright ownership. This has granted both the Red Bull as well as its Media House adequate amount of freedom in regards to determining the best way to develop not only their brand but also their products. 

The copyrights and media assets that Red Bull holds within its sporting events enable them to engage in different media opportunities that range from magazines publications that have circulations well over millions worldwide; video games and a music publishing firm.  The Media House by Red Bull has besides found success via more conventional media channels. 

TV Contract with NBC

The Media House signed up a TV contract with NBC Group in 2012 in order to air the Signature Series by Red Bull. NBC broadcasts 35 hrs of action sports programs by Red Bull during the entire year under this agreement.

Red Bull on YouTube

Recently, the Red Bull YouTube Channel reached one million subscribers. From its launch since 2006, the videos have gathered more than half a billion views only on YouTube.

The Media House also features skateboarding ramp, Formula 1 car, and a huge movie theater. Also, the Media House is presently waiting to know how the discoveries of their Stratos Mission progress in the scientific arena. To sum up, anything is possible when it comes to a brand like Red Bull.

Red Bull’s marketing, branded content and self-sponsorship have allowed this fizzy drink company from Austria turn into something much bigger than a drink maker. Red Bull uses a sponsorship technique which will most likely be followed even by its competitors in the coming years.

In the present day context, Red Bull has grown into a media powerhouse by dividing its marketing strategies into a number of unique areas. Everything that Red Bull does focuses on their content marketing strategies and overall brand value.

After their successful ventures in magazine sales, TV distribution and record development, it is not that difficult to understand why this “nothing is impossible” feeling exists amongst the people of Red Bull.