Red Bull Wake Rivals

Red Bull Wake Rivals was a collegiate wakeboard championship and Red Bull Wake Athlete photo project in one. 

• Summary:

  • Florida's 4 largest collegiate wakeboard clubs battled head to head in a night time, jam-style contest, while being coached by industry leading professional wakeboarders and Red Bull athletes: Mike Dowdy, Steel Lafferty, Massi Piffaretti, and Meagan Ethell.

• Format

  • Inspired by Tony Hawk's Pro Skater "Graffiti" format, competitors must earn each obstacle, one trick at a time. The best trick thrown on each obstacle earns that obstacle for their team, as judged by a panel of expert judges. The team with the most total obstacles earned cumulatively, wins. Divisions include: Mens A Wakeboard , Mens B Wakeboard, Womens Wakeboard, and Wakeskate.

  • Video Contest: 2 minutes, no limits, each team gets 1 vote, as well as judged by panel of 10 industry experts

• Results:

  • 200% spectator growth vs. prior year

  • 105,000+ digital impressions

  • Athlete photoshoot shared by Red Bull global Instagram (8million followers):

    • https://www.instagram.com/p/BFLrS-UFK33/

    • Photos awarded content of the month on Red Bull Photography global content pool

  • I had the opportunity to author the event article for RedBull.com

    • http://www.redbull.com/us/en/stories/1331792637474/bringing-the-beauty-of-nighttime-wakeboarding-to-light

  • Pre-event and post-event press releases shared by top endemic media outlets:

    • Alliance Wakeboard Magazine:

      • http://www.alliancewake.com/wake/wake-rivals-recap/

• Testimonials

  • "It was a pleasure getting to work with James on this project. We had to problem solve consistently to produce the event and it takes a specific type of person to accomplish this. The photo content was a massive cherry on top of an already successful event." - Chris Garrison, Red Bull Content Pool Photographer

  • "This was easily the coolest wakeboard contest I've ever been a part of . The format was engaging, it was visually stunning, and it brought our community together." - Heather Bouchard, UF Wakeboard Club President

  • "I can't wait for Red Bull to put this contest back on next year. It's the most exciting thing we've been apart of as a team in years!" - Jhett Urie, FSU Wakeboard Club President

  • "I believe James is the first person in his position to have an article published on redbull.com" - Red Bull Athlete Activations Specialist