Giant's Head Freeride is an iconic longboarding event that takes place annually in British Columbia, Canada. Gravity sport enthusiasts from around the world come to conquer a steep and winding 2.1 kilometer course that drops 250 meters through a beautiful ecological reserve.
After a four year hiatus due to Covid-19, the organizers of the world renowned event were ready to make a comeback. Dozens of downhill skateboard events take place around the world every year, and in order for Giant's Head Freeride to reclaim the throne, 2023 needed to go above and beyond the imagination of sponsors and attendees, and deliver an unforgettable experience.
The goal of Giant's Head Freeride is to give riders an experience that far exceeds the cost of registration. With people traveling from all over the world, it was imperative that we set the stage for making memories that would last a lifetime. This was accomplished first and foremost by giving them what they came for -- laps. Fluid and efficient operations management ensured that we kept the shuttles running regardless of the myriad challenges that occurred. Tired skaters are happy skaters.
The rider experience was further enhanced by leveraging local amenities, organizing extra-curricular activities, and facilitating thoughtful collaborations. We listened to the goals of our sponsors and the feedback from our attendees in order to maximize the impact of our partnerships. In 2023, Giant's Head Freeride worked with 30 companies, organizations, and crews, each bringing something unique to the event.
The most critical aspect of the event is the organizational and volunteer staff. Without these dedicated individuals there would be no event. We put considerable effort into organizing tasks and removing barriers for our people, so that they were able to contribute their best efforts and ideas.
Giant's Head Freeride honors the memory of downhill skateboarder Glenna Evans, who created artwork for the first event in 2008. Her work will always be an important part of the Giant's Head brand. Our ongoing branding and design reflects the evolution of the event. The GHF5 logo is inspired by the urethane marks left by skaters as they drift around corners. The 2014 tank top logo shared our not-so-subtle feelings about pinecones. The GHF11 logo was a reminder to riders of the super scary split-cedar fencing that was added to the course that year.
For 2023, we generated dozens of machine learning images based on the core iconography of our brand -- a giant named Andre, pinecones, and the Okanagan region. We used them on our website, social posts, and event posters.
Our Instagram stories are fun way to have conversations with our audience. We share and promote lots of user created content about Giant's Head Freeride. Products like t-shirts and artwork are featured in our online shop, with 100% of proceeds going to the artist.
Giant's Head Freeride used to end with a race. On the third day of the event, riders would battle in head-to-head heats through the bottom 5 turns of the course, known as The Showtime Five. As more and more racers were eliminated, a large congregation would form around a corner called Dead Man's, where numerous pinecones littered the pavement. With several hundred spectators and disqualified racers gathering to watch, it wasn't long before more pinecones were being placed on the course to deliberately obstruct racers. Over the years this good humored tradition escalated significantly.
By 2018 the race at the end of Giant's Head Freeride was completely out of control. Riders feared for their safety and the District of Summerland was increasingly concerned about what we were doing to their pinecones. We were forced to cancel the race and needed to ensure that nobody would throw a pinecone ever again.
Despite being necessary, the loss of the race was a blow to the event. We still wanted to give riders a chance to creatively compete with each other and have fun. So, we gave them poker chips.
Beginning in 2019, riders were given three GHF branded poker chips and one rule: Whoever had the most chips at the end wins. In the following days of the event, chips became the currency of fun, mischief, and mayhem. On and off the course people used the GHF chips to compete in or bet on activities, to purchase goods or services, and eventually to back their choice for winner of the prestigious title, Chip Lord.
Recognizing that cash flow was a serious issue for most companies that year, we knew landing a single title sponsor to brand our chips would be nearly impossible. Instead, we improved the game by making sponsors an offer they couldn't refuse. We had them cover the cost of putting their logo on 250 poker chips and we gave one to every rider. Instead of having one chip sponsor, we ended up with 16.
We encouraged these companies to provide a prize for whoever ended the event with the most chips from their brand. This resulted in attendees seeking out chips from specific brands, speculating on the prizes, and expressing their brand loyalty.
In 2023, a more dynamic version of the game was born, this time with 16 types of chips and 17 available prizes. Each attendee was given a Pabst Blue Ribbon fanny pack that contained one of every branded chip and a free set of wheels. Brands became currencies with unique values and exchange rates. And people had a lot of fun without throwing pinecones at each other. However, there was still one major resourcing issue that had not been addressed.
Giant's Head Freeride obliterates wheels. Riders can toast a set in half a day. We designed a program to get sponsors involved helping every rider at the event, despite the challenging low-cash-flow-high-inventory position of the industry -- give the riders free wheels.
Giant's Head Freeride is a highly concentrated environment of talented and influential riders, which provides an ideal opportunity for companies to get their products in the hands of potential new customers, benefit from the social media clout of attendees, and challenge brand allegiances. Between the chip game and free wheels, Giant's Head Freeride 2023 was on track to become our best year yet. But, we didn't stop there.
This new program dramatically offset the cost of entry for riders. They got to try out products that they might otherwise have never taken a chance on. In three days we distributed over 700 sets of free wheels from 9 different companies -- a first in the 20-year history of downhill skateboard events.
We love fun fashion! Cereal Thrifter, an iconic Vancouver based thrift store, had a rack set up at the top of the hill for riders who crave that extra drip.
In the spirit of DIY and environmental sustainability, Park Tek makes modern race skateboard decks by chopping up old ones. The Park Tek Chop Clinic modified 40 boards donated by Landyachtz, providing riders with free, upcycled race decks, based on shapes of their own design.
Summerland's best winery Lightning Rock teamed up with legendary skate crew Team Pizza for an epic mini ramp competition. Held at the Summerland Rodeo Grounds, the contest featured skaters competing for a custom Lightning Rock branded skateboard, donated by Landyachtz.
Giant's Head Freeride 2023 was a massive success. In three days, over 250 riders from around the world skated 35+ laps, competed for 4000 chips, and burned through over 700 sets of wheels. We handed out prizes from 16 companies as well as our own awards for Drip God, Chip Lord, and MVP. We had an overwhelmingly positive response from everyone involved and we laid the groundwork for success in the years to come.