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It's clearly not worth the ROI to the sponsors or event organizers. If it were, they'd be paid big money already, and everyone would be bending over backwards to support the riders health and finances. They'd make even more money long term by supporting and building the future slopestyle competitors...if there was money to be made. Look at any other sport with big money, you'll see a huge fan base propping that all up. It's just not there in MTB. It's really that simple.

At the end of the day, all of us are working off assumptions.. Like I said previously, if I were one of the organizers, I'd open up the books for the riders to see. As for the rider's expenses, it's a bit easier to estimate with a bit of homework.. But, even if done on the cheap, it's still expensive. Especially if traveling from the US or Europe to New Zealand. As a former manager once told me, the perfect compromise is one that leaves nobody completely happy. The rider's could have had everything but the appearance fees.. I can't...

Last piece of the puzzle is that someone will find out what the venue/event organizer is making off the comp & if they're being greedy, unreasonable...or are just too lazy to bother properly funding the promotion in advance with sponsors/grants/contract distribution agreements/etc. In the end, if we find out the event promotor told riders in advance we have the name recognition, the course and the cameras...but we're on a shoestring budget and they show up THEN complain...it's a whole different story.

Again (big fan of irony here), if riders want the general public to back them here, they'd publish $$$ numbers for what they're getting paid to show, compete and/or bonuses for positions. They' publish the money that's being offered by the organizers. They'd publish the money the excluded or financially shorted riders are NOT getting. They'd publish the cost to compete, travel expenses, etc You got a bubble gum company tossing you free product? Let us know. We can't be for you and you can't have leverage/discussion/footholds in a dispute with a venue/organizer if you issue vague statements without giving...

Thinking about this whole situation dispassionately for a minute, and there's several key points seriously need exploring: • Is slopestyle a competition or an exhibition show? If it's a competition, the host event shouldn't be liable for appearance fees, travel & food etc. If it's a show, the riders need to create a "product", pitch it out as a product, with a booking fee. Just like Martyn Ashton used to do with the Animal tour, or Danny Mac with Drop & Roll. • Why are athlete/sponsor deals so bad? A frame or some wheels or whatever is not enough. An...

I'm liking this less and less from the riders the more I think about it and the more that comes out. Looks like Crankworx was willing to play ball and met them on most their issues, and for the money one, they even made some adjustments for that. If the riders boycotted simply for the fact the Crankworx isn't funding all their personal costs, I kinda agree with Crankworx. No one is forcing the riders to go and to travel to these events. If you can't afford to do it, then so be it, you can't go. Like they're essentially...

Probably nothing. It's all part of their massive marketing budget. If they don't sponsor crankworx it wouldn't change their sales either. Red Bull's profits in 2023: €1.56 billion They print money. Crankworx is a rounding error on a balance sheet.

Slopestyle Riders - Boycott for Better Pay Also Slopestyle Riders - Go home & double backflip in the desert with no health insurance & post to Tik Tok 8 hrs later.

sounds likely haha I've been on both sides in various roles - Most, atleast in NZ Unionized Companies struggle as Unions push push push, They dont care if the company survives which is actually worse. however, pay agreements are simpler as its just a wide sweep overal but there is always so much arguing from members who dont agree blah blah. currently in a management role At a unionized company and its Cut throat stuff trying to balance markets while all the workers want to strip us of any revenue/profits - Our main complaint is machinery thats broken down etc...

One could argue the riders need Crankworx more than Crankworx needs the riders. If there's no slopestyle contest, Crankworx is still a massive mountain bike festival that helps grow the sport, and all that changes is one event gone. If the riders lose the Crankworx slopestyle, that's a big media exposure gone for them and their sponsors now. It's a bit of a tightrope they have to walk. Would not be surprised if Crankworx plays a bit of hardball

A bunch of privileged kids on bikes demanding buffet lunches and 2k travel from Red Bull to spin off ramps doesn't exactly draw massive public support of the masses. Nor does their strike impact lives like say UPS or a dockworker. Let the kids have their temper tantrum. The adults will ride bikes and make fun of them on vital.

I can feel the teenage angst bleeding through here, so I know I'm not going to change your mind. For anyone who is intellectually curious around the subject and how wrong this person is, here is an easy example to follow. The TL;DR is supply and demand underpins how "markets work". Not name calling and employees banding together (ironically what you just described has more Marxist tones, which is fine). Anyway - my example for anyone who cares... At the pointy end of the spear in the live performance space, its pretty widely acknowledged the best in the world right...

Crankworx isn't their employer though. Their employer is their sponsors. Crankworx is the competition they enter, and the platform granted to them to show their skills, market themselves as athletes & ambassadors, and ultimately prove their dollar value to said sponsors.

Assume you'll let us all know how your negotiations go on Monday Daniel, when you give your employer a 2 day ultimatum for more compensation. See if you can get your colleagues onboard.

You might have "corporate apologist" and those who "understand how a market works" confused. Just an observation.

If one thing is clear its that we are all broadly speaking with very little data (myself included) . We don't know the structure of the event with respect to certain parties involvement (like Red Bull), what kind of revenue it produces from sponsorship, ticket sales, streaming, government subsidies (though great job on behalf of the other poster here) etc. This is one of those situations where transparency at least to the riders would go a long way. I don't think anyone is against the riders getting a fair cut, whatever that may be, if real money is changing hands...