Film by: Simon Berggren
Photos by: Adam KlingetegIt's still snowy and Icy in Scandinavia but the temperature is rising. Which makes it very frustrating for us bike riders, the weather is nice but you can't ride your bike. That's why me, Simon Berggren and Adam Klingeteg decided to go creative with it! We all agreed that the only benefit winter has over summer is that you can actually ride on water. Said and done! We packed up the car with spiked tires, spiked shoes and a whole lot of warm clothes if something would go terribly wrong. The drive to Stockholm Archipelago took about 30 minutes and the only thing going through our mind was hundreds of questions. Will the ice hold up? Is this actually dangerous? Will I have any grip? What can I ride on? A deck? A boat?
Since he parted ways with slopestyle after his string of injuries, I'm curious where Redbull stands on sponsorship. They picked him up as a top talent in slopestyle and he's obviously no longer there. Do they continue the sponsorship indefinitely and find other ways for him to be an ambassador for the sport/brand ? I've seen this with other riders too. Carson Storch, for instance, was picked up as a rising slopestyle talent at a time when the talent field quickly became highly saturated with phenomenal athletes. The playing field quickly went beyond his level and he kind of went the route of fest/big mountain riding. Given how "renegade" fest series is, I'm curious where Redbull stands with this too. Does it hemorrhage money for them to "invest" in riders as marketing for their brand (providing flights, training facilities, trainers, etc) when those riders quickly pivot and go do something else? Is there a chance of Redbull approaching these athletes and parting ways or do they kind of offer a lifetime package as long as the athlete maintains an image that is reputable for the sport/brand?
Lots of riders stay sponsored after stopping competing/ achieving top results because of social media presence
We should do a bit on sponsorship, but Red Bull is famously tight-lipped on this stuff. Looking in from the outside, Red Bull does a good job of working with athletes in various stages of their careers, and athletes (like Carson) who want to change course on their goals.
www.instagram.com/p/BdfzSCfgmxb/?hl=de&taken-by=antonthelander
So there is examples for athletes who are stopped being sponsored.