As I passed out flyers to promote our e-mail newsletter at the recent SnowSports Expo in Denver, I happened upon a gaggle of teens making their way to the show to most likely purchase a snowboard and later loiter throughout the halls of the convention center.
“Hey…uh…fellas…you guys snowshoe at all?” I asked hesitantly.
“Whoa, do I ever!” said one jilted youth as he pulled-up his jeans.
My first question (inner-monologue) was, “Is this guy serious?” But, he continued his answer with eloquence and fervor: “Totally love snowshoeing, backcountry access is so necessary dude.”
He called me “dude.” How wonderful!
I handed him a flyer and released him back into the wild to further his career as a slacker. In my mind, the words “dude,” “totally” and “backcountry access” floated around. As the day lumbered on and people swerved to avoid my flyers, I continued to think about my meeting with this kid. I was mezmorized with how enlightened I was, and it wasn’t because I was referred to as a “dude.”
I went home that night and tried desperately to recognize the brilliance of his statement. Once the Tonight Show found its rest and my eyes closed to sleep, I could still hear the murmuring of “dude”… “totally”…”so necessary”…
I could see those kids in my mind; it wasn’t a dream but an attempt to find a business opportunity for Snowshoemag.com. But why was it repeatedly going through my head?
The only thing I could surmise was the need to cater to these youngsters…I mean dudes…at all costs. Is it about the design of the snowshoe that makes the difference? Or, is it how snowshoeing’s marketed? Should snowshoeing be seen as an extreme sport to invite youthful followers?
All these questions are applicable, but I really feel that snowshoeing is a sport that requires a lot of work. There’s a laziness issue for kids. I believe that snowboarding, although a sport that takes talent, is much more stimulating for adolescents. The thrill for downhill skiing and boarding is what sells a youthful audience.
But, snowshoeing is easier to learn…as anybody would know after pursuing a day’s outing. It’s time for the snowshoe industry to partner up with the snowboarding industry and say “Yo, what’s up…maybe we should start working together.” Snowboarding has the youthful audience and snowshoeing has what it takes to get those tubby teens to put down the Xbox controller, turn off the TV and begin what many health pundits have been preaching about for so long.
Now I’m not opposed to throwing a few people off some steep cliffs in nothing but a pair of shorts and some snowshoes, but should the limits be pushed to promote the sport? Maybe. But, I think it’s time to take risks. This includes getting Warren Miller to pursue a snowshoeing film or ESPN’s X Games featuring a snowshoeing obstacle course – the sky’s the limit.
This also might include getting Karen Righthand, Marchelle Falcone, Alan Kettlehut, Jake Thamm, Russell Post, Buck Hulse, Erick Beaulieu, Jan Havlick, and many more of the industry’s finest out in some snowshoes…running from a pack of wild dogs. Or, maybe we can get them to B.A.S.E. jump off Yosemite’s El Capitan to later parachute into the start of a highly competitive snowshoe race. Or, maybe we can call out Tom Sobal to snowshoe Colorado’s fourteeners in one season to later set a world record.
My point is very simple: If the industry can begin to take some powerful risks to invite a youthful audience to the sport…the benefits would be tangible…and I’m referring to what’s tangible in a money sort of way.
Watch Snowshoemag.com throughout the coming months as we begin providing editorial that will be geared more for the “dudes” and kids out there. And this follows what their culture is all about: Music, cool products, celebrities and well-known personalities that snowshoe (we’ll try!), and much more.
Wish us luck! And we wish the snowshoe and winter sports industries all the best for a fun and profitable season.
