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Discussing Possible Return of Live Skateboard Events with Fine Lines Marketing
As Europe enters a second wave of pandemic-related lockdowns, the future of live skateboarding events and competitions hangs in the balance. SOURCE Skateboarding Editor Dirk Vogel speaks to seasoned skateboard agency Fine Lines Marketing about when and how real-life events will return, and the difficulties of replicating the impact of live happenings in virtual formats. SOURCE Skateboard Editor, Dirk Vogel reports.
Initially, 2020 was going to be the biggest year for skateboard events, like, ever. With skateboarding’s Olympics debut slated for the 2020 Tokyo games, the calendar was chock-full of national and international qualifiers, plus the usual stack of high-profile events like X Games and Dew Tour. But right when riders returned home from Tampa Pro in early March, murmurs of a global pandemic turned into full-blown alarm sirens.
Just like that, Covid-19 wiped the schedule clean. Skateboard events went into lockdown. And they have yet to come back at the time of writing this. In a year when skateboarding is suddenly experiencing an unexpected boom period, this means no income for pro athletes and contest organisers, and no marketing exposure for brands from events; especially big events.
The Olympics? Postponed until summer 2021. Summer X Games? Cancelled! Street League Skateboarding, Vans Park Tour, Dew Tour, World Skate National Championships? See you in 2021(hopefully). As the pandemic continues, only a handful of skate competitions saw winners crowned this year. Including the Dutch championship at the Dutch Olympic trainings facility in The Hague with mandatory facemasks, social distancing and without spectators. Also the invite-only Red Bull Bowl Rippers outdoor event at the skatepark of Marseilles, France, as another exception.
LESSONS FROM OTHER SPORTS
The lapse in skate events is not for lack of trying on behalf of organisers. It’s due to strict rules and social restrictions. Just how exceptional the return into live competitions really is under coronavirus guidelines becomes clear when looking at other sports.
The NFL is currently desperate to finish the 2020/21 season after major games had to be cancelled due to Covid-19 outbreaks among athletes. Officials are now considering a 16-team playoff just to hand someone that trophy. The NBA did much better and finished the season with a winner (go Lakers!), but getting there required setting up a $200 million ‘NBA Bubble’ at Walt Disney World Orlando to quarantine players and staff for months on end. At the same time, let’s keep in mind that these are two examples of national championships that happened within US borders.
Contesting international championships has proven extremely difficult, if not impossible, due to border closures and travel restrictions. That’s why the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) went to lengths to host title fights on a private ‘Fight Island’ in the Middle East. The venue is located within a six square mile ‘safe zone’ on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, where 2,000 people – including fighters, media, and staff – quarantine for the duration of events, with several thousand Covid tests administered daily(!). It’s a worthy investment: Marquee fights like UFC 251 Masvidal VS. Usman have garnered pay-per-view buys from over 1.3 million households in the U.S. at about $60 a pop, not to mention millions in online sports books betting.
THE STATE OF SKATE EVENTS AFTER COVID-19?
Realistically, nobody in skateboarding has a private island in Abu Dhabi or a $200 million quarantine bubble (and good luck trying to get pay-per-view money for skate events). So it was to no surprise when, at the virtual ASC summit (Action Sports and Culture) in October, representatives of X Games, SLS Skateboarding and Nitro Circus revealed what plans they had for bringing back skate events: None. Zero. Although Nitro Circus did announce plans of staging BMX demos in Walmart parking lots – enjoyed from the safety of spectators’ cars – across the United States.
Other franchises and brands are resorting to virtual events to keep the stoke alive. In September, X Games crowned Nyjah Huston as the gold medal winner of the inaugural Real Trick Best Trick contest, an all-video competition judged by a panel of industry insiders. Meanwhile, House of Vans London returned from lockdown with online programming such as video nights and virtual tours of skate culture exhibits. Ryan Sheckler’s Red Bull Solus competition also provided an interesting look at contesting in the ‘new normal’.
But as Europe grudgingly enters into a second stage of lockdowns, are virtual events the only way forward? Will the future of skate shindigs happen on Fortnite, Facebook Live and TikTok?
In search of answers, we spoke to Cologne-based agency Fine Lines Marketing. Since 2005, the skater-owned and operated full-service agency has been breathing life into brand activations and events that add value to the skate community.
Over the past two years, Fine Lines has built a heavy core following around the multi-faceted, week-long live spectacle known as SKTWK: Hosted in the town of Dusseldorf, the 2019 edition of SKTWK attracted over 8000 visitors(!) participating in a total of nine events over the course of five days. Alongside the official German Skateboarding Championships (and Olympics qualifiers), the spectacle also showcased cultural aspects such as skate video nights, exhibits and parties, as well as participatory elements like a DIY spot quest and open Best Trick contest.
For 2020, Fine Lines Marketing had plans to move SKTWK to the town of Cologne on an even bigger scale – only to be shut down by corona. Since then, the team at Fine Lines has been watching closely. For a realistic estimate on how and when skateboarding events can return in the real world, SOURCE Magazine’s Dirk Vogel speaks to Fine Lines Marketing co-founders Veith Kilberth and Jonathan Wronn, and Creative Director Norbert Szombati.
Fine Lines Marketing co-founders Veith Kilberth and Jonathan Wronn, and Creative Director Norbert Szombati.
So, it looks like Nitro Circus is coming back with demos in supermarket parking lots. Is that the way forward after Covid, going back the roots?
Norbert Szombati: Well, you can start out in the parking lot at first. But, at some point, you can’t really go back to the parking lot anymore (laughs).
You had big plans for 2020 to expand on the success of SKTWK in a new location. How did the decision to cancel unfold?
Jonathan Wronn: After two years of getting a great response in Dusseldorf and growing the event for our partners, this year we had to cancel completely. We were set to host nine events at eleven locations, including the concrete skatepark, in Cologne. The biggest skate event of the year in Germany. But we kept speaking to the City of Cologne throughout March into May as the situation unfolded, and it just became clearer and clearer that it was not feasible under corona guidelines this year.
What about a switching to a virtual version of the event?
Veith Kilberth: We definitely explored options of implementing SKTWK in a digital format. But we concluded that it’s not worth the effort. Because ultimately from the skaters’ perspective, it’s not about who wins or gets second place in the German Championships. The most important aspect is bringing the scene together and building community.
Why is that community aspect not possible on social media?
JW: The entire concept of SKTWK is literally about bringing everyone together in one place, in a real physical sense, which is just in stark contradiction to current coronavirus restrictions. When you’re trying to replicate the experience of being part of a skateboard happening digitally, you’re really moving further and further away from creating that feeling.
It seems like other sports have found ways to crown their champions despite corona, right?
VK: Sure, when you look at football in the Bundesliga for instance, where results really dominate, they found ways to have matches without spectators. The atmosphere is different, but they still get their results. But here lies the specific cultural differentiation to skateboarding when it comes to replicating experiences in other event formats such as digital.
In how far?
VK: In skateboard culture, anytime you’re producing digital content, whether it’s contest runs or features from an event, it always competes with real street footage. When you know what kind of a relevance footage filmed in the streets or backyard pools holds within the skate scene, you really have to do something pretty damn special in a contest format in order to garner enough attention and make an impact. Now, hosting a live web broadcast of a few runs in a small indoor skate park with no spectators at 3:00 PM on a Sunday really doesn’t hold up to real street skating. So, we just decided not to go for it.
THE CULTURAL ASPECT
Perhaps it’s also the unique character of SKTWK that makes the transfer into a virtual event so difficult?
JW: Absolutely. Right from the start, we conceptualised SKTWK to not be like a typical result-driven championship event that would appeal just to contest skaters. At the same time, we also didn’t want to turn it into an invite-only pro show. It was more about creating a platform for the community, bringing the scene together in a special atmosphere by having the official championships at the skate park equally alongside events that create a stage for diverse cultural aspects of skate culture all over the city.
SKTWK 2019, Pocket Launch. Photo Cred Dennis Scholz
It really became one of the biggest skate events in history for the German scene. Were you also protective of what you created?
NS: With SKTWK, really, we had built a brand over the past two years. A skateboard festival on its very own level. People constantly compare it to the Munster Monster Mastership events from the ’80s and ’90s, just in a new setting and bigger than just a contest. The schedule would start on Wednesdays with an art opening or exhibition, so people arriving in town would all get together. The skate action began on Thursdays, with groups of skaters moving all over the city. Skateboarding was definitely part of the city’s vibe for the duration of the event.
With 8000 people in attendance, the event must have had a massive draw across the country?
NS: Yes, from all over. Crews of five to ten skaters from some small villages came all the way here, because they’d heard it’s really going down at SKTWK and they were into the whole event schedule. So, they didn’t make the trip for a big crowd spectacle with all the big pros and stars, but to be part of something that emerged from the core of the scene. That’s why we implemented all kinds of different aspects, like photo and art exhibits or skateable art, a Slappy Hunt, a DIY quest and Real Street session. Also, SKTWK has a skateboard video night with the premieres of seven to eight short videos at a length of 5 to 15 minutes; filmed and produced by different skate crews, and never seen before anywhere but that night of the premiere.
So with side events and nightlife like that, skateboarding really made an impact on the city for that entire week, right?
NS: With so many skateboarders and different crews from all over Germany involved, you’re really creating a festival for skateboard culture. And by attracting crowds of this size, you’re also reaching a critical mass that magnetically attracts even more people from outside. All without banking on the big stars like other events, like Munster back in the day.
JW: Another big difference to Munster was that everyone could participate in the events at SKTWK, not just see their favourite pros. Of course, the official German Championship was only for registered riders, but we made sure that all the fun stuff was open to everyone, like Slappy Hunt or Best Trick at the customised Stefan Marx wall. All the other side events also encouraged participation. So if you try to do anything of that sort digitally, you’re just bound to water it down.
SKTWK 2019, Slappy Hunt. Photo Cred Jan Werner
It also sounds like you would lose that element of surprise when you announce a digital schedule in advance.
VK: We think an important aspect of the excitement in skateboarding in general is the unexpected. Like the new, the never seen before, the NBDs. We feel the beginning of the end of a skateboard event series is if you know exactly what’s going to happen. What the terrain will look like, the contest format, who will do what tricks and who might win. Also, the idea of making an event for only contest skaters isn’t a good thing as we value the quality of the community experience above the quantity of the contest results. With SKTWK we try to play to this idea and bring in as many surprises and unforeseen formats and places as possible. Except for the contest aspects, no one knows what’s going to happen until they are on site in the city.
THE VALUE OF CULTURE
If we look at the example of holding video competitions in online formats, it’s always about who gets the most votes. The internet just encourages quantification like that, right?
VK: The real impact of hosting video party nights like we did for SKTWK is just not measurable. There are other criteria in play, cultural criteria. It’s not about who uploads the best single trick that gets voted and evaluated. Creating such a forced competitive aspect around it would take away the unique cultural USP of SKTWK. Keep in mind that we also provided a physical platform for the video creators to show their work.
What was the setting?
JW: In the first year we were at a cinema but that soon proved too small. We had 700 people – and not just any 700 people – but the core of the core skaters in Germany that really celebrated the videos. So last year we rented an outdoor cinema with a huge screen and amazing sound system and really upped the presentation. Every crew was asked to introduce themselves on stage before showing their video and we were able to do it free of charge with enough space for everybody. We didn’t have to turn anyone away because of space limitations, there were people stage diving and just an amazing atmosphere.
NS: There really was a dramatic arc to planning the entire event. We didn’t want it to end with the awards ceremony for the championships but rather put the experience in the middle.
SKTWK 2019, VideoNight. Cred Dennis Scholz
This is also reflected in the way prize money is awarded, with ‘real street’ events boasting an equal purse to the official championships, correct?
VW: With SKTWK we pay, not just equal prize money for women and men, but also for real street skaters and the contest competitors. Our guideline in creating the SKTWK are the values of the skateboard culture as a bottom-up approach not something external forced from the top-down.
Well, people at the ground level sure seem to be having an amazing time, looking at the photos and videos from the event.
JW: One indicator of how much people were into the experience last year, was when we set up tattoo station where people could get the icons associated with all the side events of SKTWK tattooed for free. And the tattoo guy was booked out the entire time. I think you’re only really getting a tattoo from an event if it’s really moved you.
VK: With the logos and icons in mind, it’s important to point out that we really created a registered brand around SKTWK. We really applied our entire knowledge from the past 16 years of operating Fine Lines Marketing. Which is also why we were not ready to make any compromises on a brand that we own ourselves. Every time we develop event concepts for brands, we put skateboarding in the middle, the way we see it. Everything else has to take a backseat to that.
THE ROAD AHEAD FOR SKATE HAPPENINGS
Now that 2020 has come and gone, what are your plans and expectations for 2021?
VK: It’s really going to boil down to what’s officially allowed in a public space. Because our event concepts need to live and breathe in a public space. But then you don’t have the level of control that you would have in a closed environment. And you also can’t control if somebody in the last row is keeping a safe distance. Whenever you can’t vouch for these kind of safety measures things get problematic. Brands, of course, are naturally cautious to commit and put their name on the line. Everyone’s afraid of hosting the next super spreader event. So, while the kinds of concepts we like to bring to life weren’t allowed in 2020 anyhow, now it’s just a matter of waiting to see what happens.
NS: Right now, everyone is being super careful. But as soon as someone manages to get something going, I could see the trust coming back. In the meantime, it’s super hard to find brands and the level of uncertainty is also high in terms of rules and guidelines. You can also lose some of the spark and spontaneity by conforming to hygiene guidelines. Because everything needs to be planned and secured in advance. But our events thrive on surprises and unscripted moments. The kind of experiences that happen live when you just don’t know what’s going to happen. With that said, we have some new concepts in the works and cannot wait to bring them to life.
What would it take for you to reconsider your stance on digital formats?
JW: Another bummer year like this is what it would take! Then there would be no other way but to think in a digital direction. As an agency that creates events where people skate together, perhaps there are concepts around smaller groups that are realistically possible. You just need to find someone willing to finance them.
So it’s up to brands to make a move now?
NS: Brands have all hit the brakes hard this year. Everyone’s like, ‘We would rather pass!’ Even if you present them a concept fully in line with corona guidelines. But as long as nobody makes the move, everyone will remain in hibernation together. Meanwhile, skateboarding goes on. Actually, it’s going on like never before right now, with the current skate boom! So, I think that brands could really make an impact by becoming first movers to get things started again. If you’re interested, get in touch. We have some ideas!
Thanks for the interview and best of luck, guys.
To learn more about Fine Lines Marketing and their portfolio of skater-designed events, visit the Fine Lines Marketing website.