where is this sport going (really)
12-28-2003, 10:01 PM
#41
www.Redline-Xtreme.com
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Tampa, FL
Age: 46
Posts: 3,195
For those that do not believe this sport needs a new makeover...do me a favor and sit down in the stands at the next event instead of being out there participating. Do this from the time the event starts until it finishes and then tell me what your thoughts are.
Not trying to start any ****....just trying to give a different perspective on things. The only way to know how a spectator sees this sport is to become one. I know Dirty B did his homework heading into the NSRA, so I am willing to bet that the 2004 NSRA events will be pretty successful.
Not trying to start any ****....just trying to give a different perspective on things. The only way to know how a spectator sees this sport is to become one. I know Dirty B did his homework heading into the NSRA, so I am willing to bet that the 2004 NSRA events will be pretty successful.
12-28-2003, 10:24 PM
#43
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: frackville,pa
Age: 58
Posts: 390
it's pretty much to the individual. you can get what ever you want out of the sport. doin paid shows, comps,vids, or just hangin out with friends at the local spot. what ever makes ya happy
Last edited by squirrel; 12-28-2003 at 10:30 PM.
12-28-2003, 11:48 PM
#44
Blue light means go?
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Durty South, ATL
Age: 33
Posts: 746
For any sport to grow means there is money being made off it. Money made at any show is a result of bodies occupying seats in the arena. If there are no fans paying $$ to see the sport then it's stagnant.
We've interviewed successful promoters for FMX, Skateboarding, Monster Trucks, Snowboarding, and SX events who all have the same resounding message regarding the shows that they are involved with... "what draws the crowd to see it?"
A very important marketing rule to remember is that word-of-mouth advertising is extremely powerful, for better or for worse. If an arena full of people who paid $20 to watch you ride then another $60 on food for the family plus shirts for the kids, then ended up bored before the end of the show, what exactly do you think they're going to tell their freinds who are contemplating attending the next stunt riding show that comes to town?
There are two issues here that need to be recognized and appropriately seperated in the context of Tony's original question. Riders' motives for being on a bike, and incentive for someone to attend a competition. Big T's question was "where do you think the sport is going?". Whether you throw a leg over a bike because your uncle Jim has some deranged fantasy ever since he saw Road Warrior and super-glued you to his Hodaka forcing you to ride every day since you were 6 years old, or perhaps because it makes you feel like nothing else has ever made you feel before in your life, has squat to do with how many people enjoy watching stunt riding enough to spend their hard earned income to go see it.
If you think that any sport can grow (or actually be considered for the X-Games) without huge numbers of people paying to see it then you need to go back to school.
How about studying the successful shows in other sports to get some idea of what keeps fans in the stands. I would love to see this sport become huge.
-E
We've interviewed successful promoters for FMX, Skateboarding, Monster Trucks, Snowboarding, and SX events who all have the same resounding message regarding the shows that they are involved with... "what draws the crowd to see it?"
A very important marketing rule to remember is that word-of-mouth advertising is extremely powerful, for better or for worse. If an arena full of people who paid $20 to watch you ride then another $60 on food for the family plus shirts for the kids, then ended up bored before the end of the show, what exactly do you think they're going to tell their freinds who are contemplating attending the next stunt riding show that comes to town?
There are two issues here that need to be recognized and appropriately seperated in the context of Tony's original question. Riders' motives for being on a bike, and incentive for someone to attend a competition. Big T's question was "where do you think the sport is going?". Whether you throw a leg over a bike because your uncle Jim has some deranged fantasy ever since he saw Road Warrior and super-glued you to his Hodaka forcing you to ride every day since you were 6 years old, or perhaps because it makes you feel like nothing else has ever made you feel before in your life, has squat to do with how many people enjoy watching stunt riding enough to spend their hard earned income to go see it.
If you think that any sport can grow (or actually be considered for the X-Games) without huge numbers of people paying to see it then you need to go back to school.
How about studying the successful shows in other sports to get some idea of what keeps fans in the stands. I would love to see this sport become huge.
-E
12-29-2003, 02:02 AM
#45
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 113
Let me just say this, have any of you been in a sponsor/croud driven sport in the past? I come from a snowboarding background where I was given free toys and paid travel for competitions. I beat out technical riders because I was more fun to watch. I pleased my sponsors with every chance I had. I cant tell you how many people went into the shop I rode for saying, nick sent me, but I guarantee that it was more than 5 a week. Be friendly to your fans, make people feel special for knowing you, and care about the people who fund you first, your needs come second until your a rock star. Unless a company wants to pay me to be a **** off I wont be. Thats the easy way you can be sure to make it. While having a bad attitude and saying your **** doesn't stink can bring success, its rare. People need to love this, everyone that owns a bike needs to want to do what you do, your way. Backside rodeo sevens were the **** at one point, in front of a crowd thats what I would lead off with, not because its my favorite, or really that hard, but because after I did everyone wanted to see what I did next. So what I plan to do for the sport is figure what gets people jumping so perhaps they will want to see something slow after. Where this sport suffers is the average person cant do it, people think its crazy to trash an 8K bike, and the owners of the 7-10K bikes are the ones with money, the ones that need to love this. They also need to love you before they will like some technical trick its not like FMX, were just playing ballerina on bikes, where's the danger in that. There is nothing "extreme" about a slow tricks, and if im not mistaken we're pushed into that genera.
12-29-2003, 03:05 AM
#46
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: new jersey
Age: 42
Posts: 1,598
Originally posted by prize fighter
Let me just say this, have any of you been in a sponsor/croud driven sport in the past? I come from a snowboarding background where I was given free toys and paid travel for competitions. I beat out technical riders because I was more fun to watch. I pleased my sponsors with every chance I had. I cant tell you how many people went into the shop I rode for saying, nick sent me, but I guarantee that it was more than 5 a week. Be friendly to your fans, make people feel special for knowing you, and care about the people who fund you first, your needs come second until your a rock star. Unless a company wants to pay me to be a **** off I wont be. Thats the easy way you can be sure to make it. While having a bad attitude and saying your **** doesn't stink can bring success, its rare. People need to love this, everyone that owns a bike needs to want to do what you do, your way. Backside rodeo sevens were the **** at one point, in front of a crowd thats what I would lead off with, not because its my favorite, or really that hard, but because after I did everyone wanted to see what I did next. So what I plan to do for the sport is figure what gets people jumping so perhaps they will want to see something slow after. Where this sport suffers is the average person cant do it, people think its crazy to trash an 8K bike, and the owners of the 7-10K bikes are the ones with money, the ones that need to love this. They also need to love you before they will like some technical trick its not like FMX, were just playing ballerina on bikes, where's the danger in that. There is nothing "extreme" about a slow tricks, and if im not mistaken we're pushed into that genera.
Let me just say this, have any of you been in a sponsor/croud driven sport in the past? I come from a snowboarding background where I was given free toys and paid travel for competitions. I beat out technical riders because I was more fun to watch. I pleased my sponsors with every chance I had. I cant tell you how many people went into the shop I rode for saying, nick sent me, but I guarantee that it was more than 5 a week. Be friendly to your fans, make people feel special for knowing you, and care about the people who fund you first, your needs come second until your a rock star. Unless a company wants to pay me to be a **** off I wont be. Thats the easy way you can be sure to make it. While having a bad attitude and saying your **** doesn't stink can bring success, its rare. People need to love this, everyone that owns a bike needs to want to do what you do, your way. Backside rodeo sevens were the **** at one point, in front of a crowd thats what I would lead off with, not because its my favorite, or really that hard, but because after I did everyone wanted to see what I did next. So what I plan to do for the sport is figure what gets people jumping so perhaps they will want to see something slow after. Where this sport suffers is the average person cant do it, people think its crazy to trash an 8K bike, and the owners of the 7-10K bikes are the ones with money, the ones that need to love this. They also need to love you before they will like some technical trick its not like FMX, were just playing ballerina on bikes, where's the danger in that. There is nothing "extreme" about a slow tricks, and if im not mistaken we're pushed into that genera.
good post!
12-29-2003, 03:49 AM
#48
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: 0,0,0
Age: 54
Posts: 62
This might sounds stupid
One way for the sport to take off would be if wheelies on motorcycles were legalized in any one of our 50 states and people were allowed to do freeway wheelies so long as they weren't being dangerous. The roots of our sport lie in freeway wheelies, and with increased crackdown and decreased activity, I think exposure to the sport is decreased as is interest.
I'm noticing less and less wheelie landing marks on the freeway as the months go by.
Also, injury, death, high speed are all interesting components to the sport from the spectator's point of view.
Remember Evil Kinevil? People didn't care that he could make a jump. They cared that he dared to attempt jumps he knew that he couldn't make at all. It wasn't "will he make it." It was "what will happen to this dumbass if he doesn't make it" that brought them back.
There hasn't been another evil since evil. Johnny Airtime and Robbie Kinevil just don't screw up enough to be interesting.
The police act like doing a wheelie on the freeway is 10,000 times more dangerous than just riding down the freeway. The reality is that for an experienced rider, it's maybe 2x as dangerous if that. If we could legalize the freeway wheelie, and just all move to that state and entertain random people, and have groups rides with responsible riders doing legal stunts on the freeway, maybe things would change. God knows I would travel to said state on a regular basis and I would wheelie all over the place with cameras everywhere. Just for the fun of it.
In general, I do agree that lack of understanding for the sport is the biggest reason it's being held back. Most people I talk to who don't understand the sport are way more impressed when I tell them I have wheelied at 140mph than if I tell them I can slow down a freeway wheelie. Of course slowing down a freeway wheelie scares me more since I haven't scraped before, and I'm afraid to loop out.
Just some more random thoughts from someone who doesn't care about circles, scraping, captain americas, and even long distance endos as much as impressing someone on the freeway who knows jack about bikes (especially the young ones).
I like pacing cars looking in windows for as many miles as I can last. No tricks .. just straight smooth freeway wheelies looking to the side and pacing.
I'm noticing less and less wheelie landing marks on the freeway as the months go by.
Also, injury, death, high speed are all interesting components to the sport from the spectator's point of view.
Remember Evil Kinevil? People didn't care that he could make a jump. They cared that he dared to attempt jumps he knew that he couldn't make at all. It wasn't "will he make it." It was "what will happen to this dumbass if he doesn't make it" that brought them back.
There hasn't been another evil since evil. Johnny Airtime and Robbie Kinevil just don't screw up enough to be interesting.
The police act like doing a wheelie on the freeway is 10,000 times more dangerous than just riding down the freeway. The reality is that for an experienced rider, it's maybe 2x as dangerous if that. If we could legalize the freeway wheelie, and just all move to that state and entertain random people, and have groups rides with responsible riders doing legal stunts on the freeway, maybe things would change. God knows I would travel to said state on a regular basis and I would wheelie all over the place with cameras everywhere. Just for the fun of it.
In general, I do agree that lack of understanding for the sport is the biggest reason it's being held back. Most people I talk to who don't understand the sport are way more impressed when I tell them I have wheelied at 140mph than if I tell them I can slow down a freeway wheelie. Of course slowing down a freeway wheelie scares me more since I haven't scraped before, and I'm afraid to loop out.
Just some more random thoughts from someone who doesn't care about circles, scraping, captain americas, and even long distance endos as much as impressing someone on the freeway who knows jack about bikes (especially the young ones).
I like pacing cars looking in windows for as many miles as I can last. No tricks .. just straight smooth freeway wheelies looking to the side and pacing.
12-29-2003, 12:07 PM
#50
BACK UP IN THAT ASS
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: in between the corn
Age: 48
Posts: 684
SPONSORS = $$$$...... PERIOD
Support from large sponsors, in my opinion, is the only way this sport will materialize into something that can offer "real" carreer type opportunity for its participants (Starboyz excluded). Based on the fact that this hasnt happened yet makes me VERY skeptical that it ever will. I don't think this makes our sport a failure - we got thousands behind us - f*ck em ---
Everyone does this for different reasons - find yours, and go for it.
Props to all pushing this sport further and tryin like hell to make it huge.
Everyone does this for different reasons - find yours, and go for it.
Props to all pushing this sport further and tryin like hell to make it huge.
12-29-2003, 03:07 PM
#51
back in the saddle again
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: terre haute, IN
Age: 41
Posts: 7,322
i'm gonna eat more tacos next year....LOL..just playing
i've been working hard this fall and come spring i'm going to submit my video to XSBA so i can compete in it. i'm making it my goal to attend every xsba event and compete. we are booking more local shows by the day and constantly getting more and more people to open their eyes around us. also as a team we are hoping to put out a full out produced video at the end of next season. we have our local video coming out here late january but it's nothing to promote nationally.
i've been working hard this fall and come spring i'm going to submit my video to XSBA so i can compete in it. i'm making it my goal to attend every xsba event and compete. we are booking more local shows by the day and constantly getting more and more people to open their eyes around us. also as a team we are hoping to put out a full out produced video at the end of next season. we have our local video coming out here late january but it's nothing to promote nationally.
12-29-2003, 08:13 PM
#55
Originally posted by XRodgCC
my money is on . . . . . . .
my money is on . . . . . . .
12-29-2003, 08:29 PM
#56
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: ****ing Sweden
Age: 42
Posts: 124
check out www.thetricker.com ... got some pics there.. I'll contact Yamaha in late January about the bike and put up some news. Possible, if I get a hookup ... I can offer a treat from the site (such as info how to purchase one, seeing the US is not supposed to get it)
12-29-2003, 10:21 PM
#58
I Enjoy Posting At StuntLife!
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Dallas,TX
Age: 44
Posts: 3,519
Im sure some of you guys have seen "Ghost Rider"-Well, I remember watching him do wheelies during a police chase-I was on the ground just laughing my *** off!! I just love to see somebody on a bike lose a cop-and f*ck with their heads at the same time!
12-29-2003, 10:24 PM
#59
I Enjoy Posting At StuntLife!
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Dallas,TX
Age: 44
Posts: 3,519
Sometimes I want to go out, find a cop and stunt the hell out of my bike in front of him so he chases me. I guess its an insanity I have and other riders I know share who hate the police.
12-30-2003, 12:49 AM
#60
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: I-35
Age: 43
Posts: 4,357
Everyone bitches about slow wheelies.. ok. Why not have a pace car follow a rider around and they have 2 mins or maybe 1 mile(s) to get as many tricks off/combos etc. Then for the last __ yards pull off maybe a coaster or endo or something. Incorporate that into a comp!! Everyone loves to see a bike wheelie next to a car @ high speeds.. like in still motion yet its moving at 60+ mph!
Dood, im on to something! Someone write this sh*t down!!
Dood, im on to something! Someone write this sh*t down!!
