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4 Months Later: Sochi 2014

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broto
Posts: 9039 - Karma: 25,662
In the wake of the first ever appearance of freeskiing in the olympics, there have been consequences, some for the worse, some for the better. More money has been pumped "into skiing" but most of the people who competed and the people who put skiing there in the first place aren't seeing any of it. The same crews that were scraping by paycheck to paycheck and hammering out the gnarliest urban segments aren't better off because of the olympics.

The only skiers I would say benefited from the Olympics were the ones on the podium and Henrik, due mainly to his ridiculous baggy pants and natty dreads (don't get me wrong I fucking love Henrik).

As I'm typing this, @NickGoepper has 84,219 followers on Instagram. Most of them are presumably teenage girls judging by the comments. Gus Kenworthy is past the limit of exact numbers with 6 digits and 131k followers. They may soon be akin to Ryan Sheckler and Shaun White in the eyes of feamel adolescents everywhere. This doesn't intrinsically mean to imply that Nick or Gus have "sold out" or aren't "core" anymore but I can tell you if all I did was ski to have fun and found myself at the top of the world's stage, the fame would bother me. I think that much fame from anything would bother me. It's not why we're all in skiing. We skiers generally do not do well in the limelight. All it takes is a couple minutes with Reed Speedman on the mic during war of rails or a red-eyed Torin Yater-Wallace interview to realize that. The average pro is not someone a parent wants their child to look up to. Granted, the names I chose in this paragraph were pretty vanilla as far as pros go, and maybe that's the key to a sustainable pro skiing career, but we don't owe it to anybody to shine ourselves up.

Was it a bad thing? Were the Olympics as a whole good or bad for skiing? Not the industry, the actual skiers. It feels to me like we've been exploited, and not enough of us (us as in the top level skier, not me personally) are seeing the benefits.

I'm honestly curious to see what people have to say. I'd love for one of the dudes on the podium to give their two cents if they see this.
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May 14 2014 9:44PM
194 13
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FigNewton
Posts: 2459 - Karma: 5,783
I don't really think the top pros(Nick, Gus, Joss) really care. They haven't gotten cocky or anything. I think they almost think it is funny. They aren't trying to capitalize on their fame or anything. I feel to them it was just another comp and a whole lot of fun. To us as the freeskiing society, it has no effect on us other than seeing the occasional commercial with one of them in it. Either way those will end soon and will only start again right before the next Olympics because non-skiers only care about the Olympics.
May 14 2014 10:02PM
19 0
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edai
Posts: 4988 - Karma: 4,654
Not really on topic but, anybody have any pictures of Sochi? I wanna see if the stadiums/courses are being used for anything.
May 14 2014 10:02PM
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nutz.
Posts: 3150 - Karma: 6,712
FigNewtonI don't really think the top pros(Nick, Gus, Joss) really care. They haven't gotten cocky or anything. I think they almost think it is funny. They aren't trying to capitalize on their fame or anything. I feel to them it was just another comp and a whole lot of fun. To us as the freeskiing society, it has no effect on us other than seeing the occasional commercial with one of them in it. Either way those will end soon and will only start again right before the next Olympics because non-skiers only care about the Olympics.


^^ look at sage and stale and all the other athletes, it's all fun and games to them as well. It's just skiing after all
May 14 2014 10:17PM
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Lemuel
Posts: 14488 - Karma: 10,641
TheTrapNot really on topic but, anybody have any pictures of Sochi? I wanna see if the stadiums/courses are being used for anything.


Was hoping this was the thread's topic.
May 14 2014 10:20PM
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fredyferl
Posts: 2943 - Karma: 14,828
I find it quite funny that all the summer camps are saying on their website: Come ski with Olympic athletes! I'm sure ski camps in general will have some good business in the years to come.
May 14 2014 10:40PM
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S.J.W
Posts: 7609 - Karma: 31,185
If you're not into freestyle skiing then you're not going to buy a ski movie. If you're not into the sport you won't support the industry. I follow alot of boarders on instagram but does that mean I will buy their movies? No. I like snowboarding but not enough to buy their movies. Exact same thing with the olympics and gus etc,the main audience who followed the athletes after the olympics aren't you and I who buy every movie, every year, no they're the general public who saw freestyle skiing and though "oh that's cool I might see if these people have twitter" etc.
May 14 2014 11:06PM
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broto
Posts: 9039 - Karma: 25,662
i think the insane thing is the contrast between what the Olympics were hyped up to be and what they actually were. everyone thought this was going to be it and skiing was going to be popular and huge. in reality people saw it the same way we see the bobsledders or the curlers - just some weirdos with their crazy sport that you're only watching because they're in the olympics.
May 14 2014 11:24PM
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Ribss.
Posts: 3442 - Karma: 3,344
SweetumsWas hoping this was the thread's topic.


Yeah I was looking for Sarajevo type pictures. I know its only been 4 moths but.... It's Russia.
May 15 2014 12:06AM
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John18_6
Posts: 7313 - Karma: 49,163
That vice documentary didn't really help anyone out either. It just made the sport look like structured coaching and competition which is what very few skiers do. They used a ton of urban clips in the trailer but I didn't see shit in the actual documentary.
May 15 2014 11:55AM
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montanan
Posts: 1787 - Karma: 1,346
Ribss.Yeah I was looking for Sarajevo type pictures. I know its only been 4 moths but.... It's Russia.


ya i can almost guarantee the place looks a ghost town,, and is back to looking like shit, same way it looked before they set up everything, actually probably alot worse now as i bet the structures and scaffolding etc. were just left there to rust, seems like thats how things go in russia. but i could be completely wrong, haven't seen any pics yet myself, and cant find any to post. but ya i thought that what this thread was going to be about too haha. if anyone finds any pics post em, be cool to see what it looks like only 4 months out.
May 15 2014 12:04PM
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nine50seven
Posts: 576 - Karma: 686
http://www.buzzfeed.com/austinhunt/27-photos-of-a-ghost-town-that-was-once-the-sochi-olympic-vi

This was just 6 weeks after the games were over. just think in ten years
May 15 2014 12:23PM
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coolflash8
Posts: 3171 - Karma: 2,048
its not going to be in it anymore right?
May 15 2014 12:33PM
0 3
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ANDR01D
Posts: 1181 - Karma: 3,319
OP, unless you're Joss Christensen and have spun into the future to tell us what impact the Sochi Olympics will have had a month from now, it's only been 3 months.
May 15 2014 12:49PM
4 0
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Dorf.
Posts: 765 - Karma: 1,631
john18061806That vice documentary didn't really help anyone out either. It just made the sport look like structured coaching and competition which is what very few skiers do. They used a ton of urban clips in the trailer but I didn't see shit in the actual documentary.


That really pissed me off when it came out.
May 15 2014 3:42PM
0 0
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elm.
Posts: 1492 - Karma: 13,497
I think we will see effects before next season starts. Mostly sale of freestyle skis will increase and more gapers.

It's hard to tell the effects at the end of the season.
May 15 2014 4:01PM
2 0
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nford
Posts: 227 - Karma: 1,686
I believe Joss Christensen had around 2k followers on instagram about a month before the olympics, gained around 10k when he qualified for olympics and all the stuff he did at the olympics before he competed, and after he won got about 35k more followers, with a total now of around 48k..
May 15 2014 4:42PM
1 0
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White_Goodman
Posts: 101 - Karma: 139
brotoThey may soon be akin to Ryan Sheckler and Shaun White in the eyes of feamel adolescents everywhere.

Its all for the feamels.
May 15 2014 4:43PM
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ricosuave
Posts: 73 - Karma: 621
The referenced post has been removed.


there my heroes
May 16 2014 2:40AM
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Elg
Posts: 2998 - Karma: 3,880
its funny how a persons fame is measured by his instagram account.
May 16 2014 6:58AM
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S.J.W
Posts: 7609 - Karma: 31,185
Elgits funny how a persons fame is measured by his instagram account.


Instagram, facebook, twitter etc are good indicators to how famous a person is in terms of the public liking their profile.
May 16 2014 8:08AM
3 0
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John18_6
Posts: 7313 - Karma: 49,163
Elgits funny how a persons fame is measured by his instagram account.


That is the only accurate measurement that we have.
May 16 2014 9:27AM
1 0
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Saga.
Posts: 3812 - Karma: 45,331
skeazlaurenInstagram, facebook, twitter etc are good indicators to how famous a person is in terms of the public liking their profile.


Relevant

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/generation-like/
May 16 2014 12:50PM
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milk_man
Posts: 5252 - Karma: 5,983
I had pretty much forgotten about Sochi until I saw this thread
May 16 2014 12:56PM
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John18_6
Posts: 7313 - Karma: 49,163
In 6 years, we will all be the generation who can say "yeah, I started skiing before Sochi."
May 16 2014 1:32PM
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razors-chaz
Posts: 2255 - Karma: 1,250
nine50sevenjust think in ten years

This is 30 and after a siege but could easily be 10. http://www.businessinsider.com/sarajevo-olympic-venues-2014-2?op=1
May 16 2014 1:50PM
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Rusticles
Posts: 2180 - Karma: 1,337
IMO, I was very impressed with the course, jumps were massive and almost everyone put on a good show.

Disappointed that there was only 1 Canadian slope skier, Really wish he could have stuck his run because I think it would have scored well, and if he would have placed there would have been some slopestyle hype instead they kind of just breezed over it. At least Riddle place in pipe and there was some exposure. Also the Canadian announcers for slope was fucking atrocious, LVV should be hired for all networks.

Also, We should have had an NS Gold, Silver, Bronze for most stylish throwaway run as voted on by NS and let the athletes know.
May 16 2014 1:53PM
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S.J.W
Posts: 7609 - Karma: 31,185
RusticlesAlso, We should have had an NS Gold, Silver, Bronze for most stylish throwaway run as voted on by NS and let the athletes know.


that's probably one of the best ideas for every big comp like dew tour, x games etc. Everyone on NS gives a skier a score for their run then the highest and lowest scores and any outliers are taken out then the scores are averaged and the winner is announced. I reckon that would be a pretty cool way just to see what the NS community gives certain skiers and their runs.
May 17 2014 3:22AM
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Rusticles
Posts: 2180 - Karma: 1,337
skeazlaurenthat's probably one of the best ideas for every big comp like dew tour, x games etc. Everyone on NS gives a skier a score for their run then the highest and lowest scores and any outliers are taken out then the scores are averaged and the winner is announced. I reckon that would be a pretty cool way just to see what the NS community gives certain skiers and their runs.


Yeah something like that, I was thinking once a run is a throw away ie. they botch a rail up top and that run won't then place. They then get a score per feature after out of a hundred, add up the scores and average it with the number of hits they got in after the scrub. Minimum 4 hits maybe. based solely on the views of NS.

Would have been sick to see this from joss on his victory lap
May 17 2014 10:38AM
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.nasty
Posts: 10581 - Karma: 11,150
I thought this thread was going to be about how sochi looks 4 months after the olympics (which I'm sure is pretty grim). who gives a fuck what it did for skiing, go fucking skiing.
May 17 2014 4:30PM
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broto
Posts: 9039 - Karma: 25,662
.nylesI thought this thread was going to be about how sochi looks 4 months after the olympics (which I'm sure is pretty grim). who gives a fuck what it did for skiing, go fucking skiing.


Thx I'll just go skiing in NY in may. God forbid we have a little discussion
May 17 2014 5:12PM
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Rachy
Posts: 4355 - Karma: 2,761
My friend Yulia is in the region right now and says it just sort of returned back to normal. Olympic park is being converted and buildings moved and what not. All of the buildings in Olympic park are either being repurposed for something else or moved to another location. So it wont end up like some of the other venues.

But Rosa Khutor is a different story. They built the area up a TON with virtually just hotels. There aren't really places to live up there. And they don't really have a summer tourism market, so it's sort of a locals region summer area. So she isn't sure whats going to happen there, but the hope is that it does well next winter. The mountains are incredible and the skiing AMAZING there. So hopefully they can pull a little bit of the european market. I can honestly say the region deserves to be skied. Although, I'd only ski it again with a beacon and friends because regardless of the control quality, the terrain is just so rugged.

In regards to the sport... Well, it was basically spring by the time the games were over. March is a bit late to notice any change in buyer behavior. The statistics that actually show what happened will be the ones that come out in August of next year. So here is hoping for a good winter next year.

As far as the athletes go... We'll probably see more sponsorships that make us think, "wtf?" but the attitudes will likely stay the same. We'll continue to have comp athletes, film athletes, and big mountain athletes. There will still be the jocks and there will still be the guys out there that are naturally talented and just trying to have fun.

Upside will be more people taking to the sport, better parks, more money, more events, more competition in the women's element.

Downside, more people taking to the sport and more people to worry about slamming into me when I fall jibbing or on a jump.
May 17 2014 6:14PM
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,029
john18061806That vice documentary didn't really help anyone out either. It just made the sport look like structured coaching and competition which is what very few skiers do. They used a ton of urban clips in the trailer but I didn't see shit in the actual documentary.


Worst part is they made an NS name and even said they would answer all of questions. Nope.

I say we all bombard them with emails. Then again that feels like a lot of work for little chance of response.
May 17 2014 7:09PM
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milk_man
Posts: 5252 - Karma: 5,983
louie.miragsI say we all bombard them with emails. Then again that feels like a lot of work for little chance of response.


Let's give it a shot anyway. Whats their email?
May 17 2014 8:36PM
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rememberscott
Posts: 1291 - Karma: 5,201
brotoor a red-eyed Torin Yater-Wallace interview to realize that.


at least it's reassuring that he's still able to hold down sponsors. Shits kind of nuts. Blaze the path Torin!!
May 17 2014 9:34PM
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John18_6
Posts: 7313 - Karma: 49,163
louie.miragsI say we all bombard them with emails.


I say we get a documentary made by people who can represent what skiing is about much more accurately than the people at vice. I mean, you can watch their documentaries and if you know anything about the topic you will see that most of them are just one-sided pieces of shit- I mean christ, they made Tanner Hall look like the biggest washed up loser on the face of the earth when he's just speaking his mind which has seen way more than anyone else interviewed.

Not to say that vice is bad, they make some documentaries about some raw topic that I have no idea how they could pull off. For example, the Harlem Globe Trotters in North Korea, that was one of the most interesting things I've seen. All I'm saying is that the vice documentary makers just have a hard time covering all angles of whatever their documentary is about.

BBC did an awesome job on their article on urban skiing. Vice is a group of amateur documentary film makers who are toddlers in the face of professionals.
May 17 2014 11:24PM
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broto
Posts: 9039 - Karma: 25,662
john18061806I say we get a documentary made by people who can represent what skiing is about much more accurately than the people at vice. I mean, you can watch their documentaries and if you know anything about the topic you will see that most of them are just one-sided pieces of shit- I mean christ, they made Tanner Hall look like the biggest washed up loser on the face of the earth when he's just speaking his mind which has seen way more than anyone else interviewed.

Not to say that vice is bad, they make some documentaries about some raw topic that I have no idea how they could pull off. For example, the Harlem Globe Trotters in North Korea, that was one of the most interesting things I've seen. All I'm saying is that the vice documentary makers just have a hard time covering all angles of whatever their documentary is about.

BBC did an awesome job on their article on urban skiing. Vice is a group of amateur documentary film makers who are toddlers in the face of professionals.


The thing is that vice has an established audience that any filmmaker on new schoolers can't reach. Maybe a lot of people will only watch it because its vice, not because its about skiing. Take vice out of the picture and the audience is scaled down immensely
May 18 2014 1:17AM
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