Extreme Sports Tackle New Terrain

Fans of extreme sports are not satisfied to relegate their fun to only one season; products exist for all weather, and many are using other products to practice during the off-season.

Many an extreme sport enthusiast was born during the recent winter Olympics, inspired by halfpipe snowboarding teenagers turning inverted backside spins and corked cab 720s. And as summer approaches, adrenalin junkies now have even more sports to look forward to in this expanding market, taking kite-surfing, mountain boarding and pogo-sticking to the next level.

Kite-surfing is exactly what it sounds like — a combination of wakeboarding and flying kites. Mountain boards look like giant skateboards with huge tires and allow the user to skate on rough terrain. Although most of these sports are reserved for more experienced, athletic adults, more products are being marketed to younger people.

Brian Vicks, owner of Superdairyboy.com, sees the future of extreme sports in mountain boards and wind sports. He believes that "traction kites and kite-surfing have definitely gained in popularity, and mountain boards are adding to the world of extreme sports."

Powerisers are best described as stilts that allow an adult user to leap up to six feet, up to speeds of 20 miles per hour and perform tricks similar to those in skateboarding. Recently, a child version of Poweriser was released; it allows a kid as young as 5 to jump up to three feet in the air. Chris Marsh, of Extremetoysforboys.com, acknowledged that "both kids and adults were literally leaping on this upcoming extreme sport!"

Leaping is a common theme in sports, and retailers such as Bossbi.com are all over the S-Board, an import direct from the United Kingdom. Edward Tsang, owner of Bossbi.com, is very enthusiastic about this new addition — the "Ultimate Street Shredder" — to the world of extreme sports, which allows the user to relive the best aspects of snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding all on one product: "It twists in ways that conventional boards can't. The new model, called the Ultimate, twists on one additional plane!"

Jamie Bryan, of S-Board, promises even more excitement to come. "We are developing a new wood board that should be in production in April. This is going to be aimed mainly at "purest" snowboarders. There is also a range of decks soon to be available [flames, skulls, etc.] for the kids."

Fans of extreme sports are not satisfied to relegate their fun to only one season; products exist for all weather, and many are using other products to practice during the off-season. For example, Extremetoysforboys.com will be offering a new line of all-terrain in-line skates (TrailSkate) in spring, of which Marsh remarked, "They have obviously been very popular amongst the in-liners but also very hot amongst the ski bums, allowing them to tackle the hills during the summer months."

The world of extreme sports continues to expand, in both audience and genre. Although most fans are older teenagers, with the advent of products such as Poweriser and the rising interest in cross-sport products such as the S-Board, younger kids can follow in their older siblings' footsteps. As fans push the boundaries of extremity to new highs, new sports and new products will follow.

Melissa Gullotti, director of media services for ESPN X Games, believes that "the core action sports have infiltrated mainstream culture: From snowboarding in the Olympics to surfing in feature films, the mainstream market is embracing this culture and lifestyle."

What follows is more information on extreme sporting goods.