In short, the purpose of my last article was to say that flatland as a whole is changing and progressing in a positive way that has the potential to help the sport grow, specifically by getting contests in a large series like Dew Tour and on television.
After 65 thought-out responses in the comments on the article and more than 150 posts on the global-flat.com forum board it was obvious I needed to post my own reply to the feedback and clear some things up. The comments on this site alone filled a 35-page Word document, so I’ll admit that I only skimmed through the comments and forum posts—it would have taken me all month to read everything.
I’ll start off by saying that even though some disagree with me and I obviously rubbed some people the wrong way, I am stoked that so many people took time to not only read my article, but also think about it and write something intelligent in response. The fact that the topic got so much traction is awesome!
When writing the original editorial I wanted to keep it as short as possible and get a few main points across. I don’t read very much text when it is on a computer screen, so I wanted to make sure it was as short and to the point as possible so others would be inclined to read the whole thing. However, I now see that some of my points didn’t get across. And although I’ll never get through to everyone, I will back up a bit, explain where I was coming from (and where I was trying to go), and try to address some of the comments that were made in response to my article.
Here goes…
Riding is very personal to each of us—it means something different to every rider. My article was never intended to be about the riding aspect of flatland, which is why the title reads, “More Than Just The Riding.” My article and thoughts were geared towards people may not understand flatland and don’t have a passion for it (yet). My opinions come from a very media-based mindset and a business mindset as well. Having said that, this is obviously not intended for the eight-hour-per-day hardcore flat rider. That kind of rider does not look at flatland as a business and does not think in media terms. I understand that, but that rider needs to understand that to others flatland is a business, and media exposure is important to the business.
When I said in my original article, “there was very little excitement in the sport,” I meant that non-BMX riding spectators, and mainstream TV viewers didn’t find flatland very visually stimulating. When audiences in 2000 saw flatland contests on TV, they didn’t get it and for the most part simply didn’t enjoy it. Most hardcore street, ramp, or dirt riders can’t comprehend flatland riding, so it is naive to think that a family of five watching ESPN on the weekend understands it. So for that family, I feel like you need more than what the old style of contests offered to keep their attention. I feel like you need better audience/announcer/rider interaction, more charismatic riders, a faster paced contest, a more visually appealing venue, and a format that works well for television. I feel that if presented properly on television and in person, contests like Circle of Balance, Voodoo Jam, and Ninja Spin would hold the attention of someone that doesn’t ride flatland. And this attention is where I’ll start pointing out the cycle I had mind when writing the previous article.
When you can capture an audience that previously had no interest in a subject, you have accomplished something pretty huge. I’ll use “sports on TV” as my example for this. During the ’08 Summer Olympics I got hooked on watching things like swimming, diving, and gymnastics. Any other time of the year I could give a rats ass about any of that crap (besides hot gymnasts maybe), but because NBC did such a great job of holding my attention, I found myself glued to the television at all hours of the night waiting to see who would win the gold medal. And because I was looking at the flat screen for hours on end, I watched the commercials that aired between the diving and 200 meter backstroke. Those commercials are a part of what make big events possible.
So because NBC has created an audience out of a particular sport, I watch TV. And because I watch TV, I see commercials. And because companies pay to have those commercials in place, the Olympics can be a successful business. And because the Olympics is a successful business model, thousands of people have jobs and athletes can make money doing what they love. And even though I didn’t join the YMCA and start swimming because I became a Michael Phelps fan, I would bet that a handful of young kids did. And what did those kids buy? Swimsuits, goggles, towels, earplugs, and who knows what else. The money spent on those items went directly into the swimming industry. So Speedo gets money from Joe kid at the swimming pool and can continue to pay Michael Phelps to endorse their products. Are you starting to see the cycle of how things work off each other? I hope so…
Let’s translate this into flatland and let me elaborate on where I was going with my last article… If flatland riding, the riders, and contests continue to progress and grow in the direction they are currently headed I strongly feel that flatland will be capable of capturing an audience that previously didn’t have any interest in BMX. What I envision is flatland being a part of a major contest series like the Dew Tour with prime time TV exposure and thousands of live spectators at each event. However, I don’t think Dew Tour would pick up flatland if it looked the same as it did at the 2000 X Games. Action sports on TV have evolved since then, which is why you see Mega Ramp and Superpark at X Games. They need to keep changing things to keep their audience over the years. They didn’t know how to change flatland, so they just dropped it all together. Sure, the tricks and riders of the 2000 X Games were amazing to the hardcore flatland riders, but to the millions of other people who tuned in to ESPN that weekend, the presentation of the contest, riders, sport, and lifestyle just wasn’t captivating enough to hold their attention. However, if the Dew Tour sees (or is shown) how they can present flatland to their huge, diverse audiences in a way that will be entertaining for everyone I feel there is a good chance Dew Tour will consider picking up flatland. And this is where a great cycle starts…
If flatland contests become a part of major events like Dew Tour and get television exposure, many other things will follow. First, the riders in the contest will get paid more. Right now there are only a handful of flatland contests offering up any kind of prize money for pros—and there currently isn’t a flatland contest in the world offering as much money as a single stop of the Dew Tour. So some of the best riders that aren’t making much (if anything) from sponsors right now will be able to make good money from contests, which will help keep them on their bikes and out of a shitty part time job. And if the riders begin to get TV exposure and other media exposure because of the contests, they become valuable to other companies, which means companies will pay them to use and promote their products. (IE: Dudes will get new sponsors.) For example, Justin Miller is said to be one of the best flatland riders in North America, but the sad truth is he doesn’t make much money from sponsors. But if flatland is a part of Dew Tour and Justin truly is one of the best, he will be placing well at contests and getting TV and media exposure in the process. And you can bet if someone is getting TV time, they will have sponsorship opportunities not far behind.
Continuing with the cycle…if flatland is on TV and captures an audience, there will no doubt be kids who think it looks fun and want to pick up a bike themselves. Riders they can relate to and look up to help speed up this process. So thanks to the fact that Matthias has caught his attention, a kid puts down the video game controller and gets a bike, some bike videos, and so on. Hopefully he sticks with it and becomes one of the hardcore guys, but even if he doesn’t, at least he’s putting money into the industry, and maybe he has exposed his friends to flatland in the process. So if he buys a KHE bike, KHE is making money and continue to pay Justin Miller. And if he buys a Diversion video, Bobby Carter can continue to travel the world and document hardcore flatland riders. And the cycle keeps on churning…
Again, I love that people have been talking and thinking about this so much and I’d love to hear what you guys think. I wish I could talk to each one of you in person about it… Feel free to email me or call me with any other questions or comments. I’m never hard to reach!
- Fat
