Amped : how big air, big dollars, and a new generation took sports to the extreme / David Browne.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Browne, David, 1960-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Extreme sports--Economic aspects--United States.

Extreme sports.

United States.

Physical Description:

xv, 300 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Bloomsbury : Distributed to the trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers, 2004.

Summary:

Once a Fringe Underground culture, skateboarding, snowboarding, BMX biking, and freestyle motocross are now the stuff of car commercials and Olympic competitions. How did these so-called extreme sports get there -- and how does it feel to be in the midst of it all? The first comprehensive account of the history, culture, and business of action sports, Amped is a journey into a world where deft athleticism, potential pain, and the ultimate rush commingle. In journalist David Browne's eyeopening account of a truly alternate sports universe, readers will find themselves aboard a raucous skateboarding bus tour with the iconic Tony Hawk, behind the scenes at the X Games and snowboarding contests, dropping into a summer camp devoted to these sports, on the sidelines witnessing the first-ever double backflip on a motorcycle, and in the offices of the multinational corporations that have tapped into the vast amounts of money to be made from these new American pastimes. Along the way, readers will also hear firsthand from such stars as Hawk, skaters Bob Burnquist and Mike Vallely, BMX riders Ryan Nyquist and Rick Thorne, and motocross riders Mike Metzger and Clifford Adoptante.

Based on interviews with more than one hundred athletes, pioneers, industry executives, manufacturers, and, of course, the adolescent amateurs who are the heart of this movement, Amped is not merely the story of an alternative community now four decades old. It is the tale of a flourishing culture that continues to reject old-fashioned stick-and-ball sports in favor of individualistic forms of expression -- and that culture's struggle to hold on to its integrity despite the demands of corporate sponsors. The story of action sports speaks volumes about Generations X and Y and their divergent views on life, creativity, gratification, and identity.

Contents:

1. Prologue: The Awards Show 1

2. Pump It Up Until You Can Feel It: Riding High and Low with BMX 23

3. The Boys on the Skate Bus: Going Big with Tony Hawk's Gigantic Skatepark Tour 57

4. Core-Mart: Scenes from the World of Shoes, Videos, Gear, and the Industry Within 97

5. Skatetown and Cabin B-Boys: Going Extreme at Summer Camp 123

6. Eat Dirt to the Beat: The Music-Sports Connection 154

7. Lights, Camera, Grind: Madison Avenue's Extreme Makeover 171

8. Contest as Metaphor: Braving the Pipe, the Rail, and the Mainstreaming of Snowboarding at the U.S. Open 200

9. They Got Game: ESPN, the X Games, and the Quest for the Gold 232

10. Moto Rising: Freestyle Motocross and the Two-Wheeled Sky Kiss 253

11. Epilogue: The Awards Show, the Day After 284.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [293]-298).

ISBN:

1582343179

OCLC:

54544147