With its rebellious, counter-cultural roots, the skateboard community is a notoriously dubious group to market to. Enter Red Bull Interskate, a way for Red Bull to give back: a four-city DIY skate tour we helped concept, name and produce from soup to nuts. Red Bull Interskate tapped into the Midwest hardcore skating community through counterculture of typical sporting events—going so far as giving the first place team at each stop a roomy RV to drive to the next city, while cramming the fourth place team into a Fiat.
Red Bull wanted to create a skateboarding event that would highlight up and coming riders throughout the Midwest. They needed an event that was mobile and underground, something that appeals to the local amateurs who live to skateboard. The result was Red Bull Interskate, a five-day, four-city turf battle for the ultimate in street cred.
We proposed an experience that felt raw and lived in. We knew local skaters are always looking to up their exposure, but in an authentic way. They skate to skate, period. Working with the most respected skate shops in four major Midwestern markets ensured skaters would take the event seriously and get behind it. By having every shop defend their own city, the idea of making it a road trip was born.
As a final twist, we added a physical reward to each city’s competition. The winner of each stop would get to make the next trek of the road trip in a RV. Second place road in a SUV, third a VW Bug and last place stuffed three skaters and all their gear into a Fiat. Suddenly you weren’t just riding for pride, you were riding for comfort.
We outlined a route from St. Louis to Chicago to Milwaukee to Minneapolis, with each leg of the trip building on the next.. Every competition battleground was hand-picked as a key skate destination by that city’s skate shop, giving them home turf advantage and a chance to show visiting skaters what their scene is all about.
Five days and 726 miles later, a feeling of pride, accomplishment and community remained in the air. While Minneapolis’ Familia earned victory, everyone involved in the project came out on top. Whether competing, touring a city, or killing time on the highway, we helped deliver a memorable journey and experience for four of the best skateboarding scenes in the country.
Interskate proved to be a major success from every angle. The skaters were ecstatic about the whole experience, the shops got exposure from several major markets, including their own, and we helped Red Bull cement their position as the kings of authentic brand experiences and content.
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