It’s sad that the fundraising has already started to cover his medical and repatriation costs. presumably the event organisers, sponsors, his personal sponsors and anyone else who makes money from the event are stepping up as they should. Disgraceful of them if they don’t
I hope all the websites that promote and cover the event at least donate the advertising and click revenue they earn from those articles
If they are commercial entities that are 'for profit', then I strongly suspect that their lawyers will have ensured that is not the case.
Sadly I totally agree with that sentiment. Best wishes to Adolf Silva, here’s hoping Red Bull step up to support him, but not holding my breath
I completely echo these words. It's everything I've been saying since the event.
Things need to change
I'm confused about that fundraising link... Is it a joke?
Surely Red Bull coughs for all the medical etc....
Surely that's not even up for debate.?
Good article. Totally agree, I personally could never watch it after Paul Bas got paralysed. It just seemed too risky.
I'm confused about that fundraising link... Is it a joke?
Surely Red Bull coughs for all the medical etc....
Surely that's not even up for debate.?
Only if they're a Red Bull sponsored athlete.....
Sad news indeed.
The problem with Rampage is that it's become a slope style contest. It's no longer about the gnarliest line top to bottom (see several 'Brendog was robbed' threads from the last few years) it's who can throw the sickest tricks.
I thought the least Redbull could do is cover the medical bills.
Almost all the runs I was waiting for never materialised mainly due to 1st run crashes
Which were the most experienced people
Yeti has had some pretty good exposure from all the footage. Presumably they will be involved too.
Whether it's tricks or gnarliness, there are always going to be potentially horrific consequences to riding in that environment. My wife was watching and openly wondered how such an event is allowed to happen, given the unmanageable risks involved. Here's hoping for the best possible outcome for everyone who ended up in hospital through practice to finals.
Something changed last week.
Only last week? It's an event concept that has always made me deeply uncomfortable.
The risk/reward ratio divvied up between big business and young athlete just seemed massively stacked on the side of the corporate machine(s).
Personally, I was quite surprised when STW increased their coverage of it with the visit, the online updates and big section of the mag focused on it last year. The moral compass should have suggested you looked elsewhere for newsworthy material.
Only last week? It's an event concept that has always made me deeply uncomfortable.
This. Is anyone genuinely surprised at the outcome?
Personally, I was quite surprised when STW increased their coverage of it with the visit, the online updates and big section of the mag focused on it last year. The moral compass should have suggested you looked elsewhere for newsworthy material.
I'm sure STW will be digging deep into their coffers to support the injured participants.
When Lewis Buchanan nearly met his maker dropping the cliff up the Golfie, my 13 year old said, if you lot didn't watch this stuff, he wouldn't do it...
I'm not sure that's quite true but he has a point.
I've just been reading the comments on Pinkbike and lots of them are about insurance. Surely this kind of thing is uninsurable?
I'm in the Red Bull should pay camp, poor fella.
If there's a fundraiser - Red Bull don't insure these riders? Can the riders get insurance themselves? Can't say I ever paid much attention to the whole thing so I hadn't realised, but if they don't and riders can't for some reason.. the whole thing seems exploitative. The promise of exposure or a career from a good result is gladiatorial isn't it. Good article title.
Yeti ..
.. threw in $10k apparently
That doesn't even buy one of their top end bikes.
This could really affect Redbull's future with public opion just switching off as its such a terrible outcome.
We had talked about something like this happening in the lead up and i refused to watch it.
I'm not a massive fan of Rampage, but suggesting that there's something immoral about it is a bit OTT.
I read the comment as saying maybe there's better things in MTB to focus on. I mean, STW isn't where I expect to see 50ft drops and cliff fall crashes, 'this' (singletrack) area of MTB isn't so much about 'progression' and features etc. There's so many other aspects to it than that, other things to talk about? Maybe I'm out of touch. I wouldn't say it's immoral either but it looks exploitative. Show me a big business that isn't to some extent, there's not many. If you/we don't like it, don't give them the attention or business.
I’m pretty sure last time I expressed similar concerns to Ben’s article I was shouted down on here (I could be misremembering).
But yeah, in order to generate some clickable content a fizzy piss-water company (and their co-sponsors) basically encourages young, fit people to attempt increasingly high risk moves.
There’s something very libertarian about it I suppose, the individual chooses the risk, but there are inducements.
The thing is, can anyone remember (without googling) who “won” any of the last 5 rampages?
Just reading pinkbike comments, an interesting point made that NFL etc US pro sports are unionised but there's no rider's union. Maybe there should be, certainly the balance of $ and power is way over there on the corporate side.
The moral compass should have suggested you looked elsewhere for newsworthy material.
I'm not a massive fan of Rampage, but suggesting that there's something immoral about it is a bit OTT.
Yeah, I'm not entertained any more by it. And it's the weird mix of not wanting someone hurt to entertain me, the way I cannot predict voting / winners because at times it seems unfathomable, and the whole RedBull/Extreme gnar/fake Brett Tippie 'YE-HAAAWWW approach.
If you/we don't like it, don't give them the attention or business.
Thing is, Redbull exists within the “attention economy”.
Case in point, I go on that there YouTube and the Al Gore-Rhythm, having correctly identified me as a middle-aged, middle-class British bloke with an interest in MTBing serves up suggestions which include shorts from rampage and some longer form videos.
YT, IG, Tik Tok etc will do the same across the globe and will target the “content” to adjacent groups, people with a general interest in extreme sports or who love the general spectacle of people taking huge risks with their health…
The “just ignore it” argument used to work when we had 3 TV channels, no internet and the decision tree ended with ‘go outside’ or ‘play with meccano’. But we’re not that society anymore…
what I do note is that the Al Gore-Rhythm hadn’t pushed me any content on Adolf’s incident or status before I saw this article…
To steal a line from from that infamous sage, Agent Angelo Pappas - these riders are young, dumb and full of cum. They'll do stupid high risk shit in their own time because they are wired that way. But for me at least that's very different to putting them in a cauldron of testosterone, encouraging them to do their thing turned up to 11 for crumbs off your table whilst you watch the real money flow in.
This is how I see it. It's the highly cynical way the organisers and sponsors deal with risk, reward and responsibility that I find highly uncomfortable.
You can't purposefully create an environment that invites, endorses and mutually rewards high risk activity, but then turn around and say "it was your choice" when it goes wrong. That's just immoral.
Many if the comments on Pinkbike make me roll my eyes. Purposefully or naively missing the point. "It's their choice". Yes it is, but that also doesn't tell the whole story and doesn't mean that improvements can't be made to the format of the event that would improve things, and that Red Bull et al shouldn't be sharing some responsibility.
The lack of nuance is depressing, albeit not surprising for modern discourse
If you/we don't like it, don't give them the attention or business.
Thing is, Redbull exists within the “attention economy”.
Case in point, I go on that there YouTube and the Al Gore-Rhythm, having correctly identified me as a middle-aged, middle-class British bloke with an interest in MTBing serves up suggestions which include shorts from rampage and some longer form videos.
YT, IG, Tik Tok etc will do the same across the globe and will target the “content” to adjacent groups, people with a general interest in extreme sports or who love the general spectacle of people taking huge risks with their health…
The “just ignore it” argument used to work when we had 3 TV channels, no internet and the decision tree ended with ‘go outside’ or ‘play with meccano’. But we’re not that society anymore…
what I do note is that the Al Gore-Rhythm hadn’t pushed me any content on Adolf’s incident or status before I saw this article…
Ignoring it also seems the nuclear approach as well. I'd rather push for a more responsible event so there is still opportunity for riders than hear that someone died/the event shut down at a later date.
I'd rather push for a more responsible event so there is still opportunity for riders than hear that someone died/the event shut down at a later date.
It’s like F1 in the 70s then? Redbull events need a Jackie Stewart figure.
At the same time, there’s a whole second tier benefitting from these events.
Just out of interest I thought I’d search for “redbull” on the STW homepage.
In typical STW fashion the hits aren’t sorted in any discernible order, but there were articles dated as far back as 2014 at least, related to Redbull associated events including Rampage. The first page appeared to have returned about 40 results and there were 3 pages of returns.
So I would estimate Redbull have provided enough source information for about 100 Single Track articles over the last decade or so, Pinkbike have probably done even better from them.
Those second and Third tier organisations adding to the ‘stoke’ and sticking to a “positive vibes only” policy when miserable gits like me gob off probably need to at least review their position on these sorts of events.
I was very aware the ST push of fluff was especially strong for Hardline this year, which is in a similar realm to Rampage (IMO); an invitational event with elevated Risk/Reward elements generating content for the Social Media machine…
I’m not saying it’s all bad, but the exploitation of the most extreme flavours of various sports primarily for the promotional benefit of fizzy piss-water corporations, could do with some more balanced examination by the media associated with those sports… A reasonable start here I guess Ben.
This could really affect Redbull's future with public opion just switching off as its such a terrible outcome.
We are interested because it's (sort of) our sport. The vast majority won't question who's paying the medical bills, the repatriation, the physio and rehab and any longer term consequences.
Red Bull has so much coverage in so many sports (mainstream and niche) that the coverage and brand will ultimately prevail.
If I watch a clip now I wince at the potential consequences more than I'm entertained. The penalities for errors in some spots are off the charts. Mind you there's plenty of amateur/ bike park stuff that's capable of delivering life changing injuries.
I've only been watching this since before COVID.
I was watching it on the livestream.
Godziak went down ..and got up like a warrior ..which set me up thinking that yes there is risk but these guys are 100% on it and my riding is probably more risky to me...Silva went down and I swore and covered my mouth ..even then I was naieve enough to think, he's ok...probably a few cracked ribs ..he'll be fine ..what a champ....
And then that news yesterday...I said to the girlfriend that I feel bad for even watching it now, for helping fund it...
If rampage is to continue there must be some cap put on the "reward" for the riskiest choices...to make it not even an consideration for the competitors ..
I'm also shocked by the go fund me...what?
Surely there is a whole line of insurers coughing up on this...red bulls own.....silvas own....
I wish the guy the absolute best ..he was putting on a show for me and you and then this happens ...
And likewise emils accident ..both super shocking
Back to the event itself ..I know it's not slopestyle...but surely isted should've been on the podium...everyone loved the hip spin thing he did.... Maybe that's the way rampage should head..higher scoring for slopestyle tricks and less scoring for risk
and you
Not for me. Definitely not for me.
But yes, given there would be no commercial gain without this stuff not having a viewing audience, culpability probably needs to be spread to those that 'need' more and more risk to satiate their desire to watch too. Using Benji's headline analogy - does the audience crave more and more gore in their gladiatorial battles? Does the emperor take all the blame for giving it to them?
I didn’t extract Rampage because it didn’t sit well with me.
Insurance? How much would the premiums be? Would anyone me prepared to under right an event like that?
Insurance works for low risk, high consequence things. This is high risk. Uninsurable IMO.
I have to search hard to find cover for going touring without a helmet.
At least if you crash and injure yourself at Redbull you can win an award for it.
"Aiden Parish, a Rampage rookie from the USA, crashed during Saturday morning practice on October 18 while attempting a massive 67-foot diagonal step-down — a feature he had successfully sent to 92 feet just two days earlier. Coming up short on the landing, he was pitched over the bars and impacted hard down the slope, suffering a broken femur and cracking his helmet. Alert and giving a thumbs-up while being stretchered out, Parish was airlifted to a nearby hospital and later received the “McGazza Spirit Award” for his determination."
Case in point, I go on that there YouTube and the Al Gore-Rhythm, having correctly identified me as a middle-aged, middle-class British bloke with an interest in MTBing serves up suggestions which include shorts from rampage and some longer form videos.
Same, but I CBA watching it like I CBA watching other things that don't interest me. Plus I don't like feeding the algorithms so it's a kind of algorithm-antithesis - you keep serving me this shit so I'm avoiding clicking any of it bc you'll just keep serving up the wrong stuff if I do.
Insurance works for low risk, high consequence things. This is high risk. Uninsurable IMO.
If that's the case (idk) then Rampage isn't sustainable. It's like accepting that Deliveroo isn't sustainable if they're forced to pay riders properly and not exploit them. So.. Red Bull and Deliveroo .. different bikes, different demand, exploitation in common?
All in all, the player and the game and the audience are all in this together, can't really lay fault with one aspect alone. Bc of that I think it just has to be fair on all involved. I get to watch if I want to, free - they get ad exposure. Red Bull and all other sponsors need to cover the rider risks.
I read that RB do support their own riders well - maybe they could insist all other rider sponsors do the same as an entry term (maybe they do?)
I was thinking about people who take risks w/o the big publicity and thought of what some climbers do, real life and death serious stuff away from the cameras. The instinct or need is innate.
Then I thought of Climbing For Dollars in the Running Man which is more how Rampage looks at times : )
