Spyder | Antidote

Last weekend we packed the Land Yacht with Spyder and Smith Optics promo items, a bunch of cases of Carlsberg, all-natural goodies from Justin’s Nut Butter, and Colby James West, and headed across the wind swept tundra of Wyoming’s I-80 corridor to Salt Lake City for the World Premiere of Warren Miller Entertainment’s latest release, ‘Flow State.’ During the two days and nights we were there, we had a chance to interact with a ton of enthusiastic skiers, Spyder fans, and partners like the U.S. Ski Team.

To help us spread the stoke, we had in attendance a sizable roster of Spyder Athletes, including Chris Davenport, Daron Rahlves, Julian Carr, Jess McMillan, Colby West, Tommy Moe, Tyler Ceccanti, and Steven Nyman. As stars of the movie, their excitement level was off the charts, which translated quite well to the multitudes of fans who converged on the Land Yacht for autographed athlete posters.

For several years now, Spyder has enjoyed an illustrious partnership with Warren Miller Entertainment – these WME films have become the canvas upon which our diverse group of athletes show their skills every fall, and this year’s film was no exception. From a last-minute, hammer-down ride to the heli pad in Nascar star Regan Smith’s stock car for Jess McMillan, to bottomless pow skiing in Japan by Tyler Ceccanti, to a hilarious lesson in Austrian language and culture by funny guy Colby West, the film shows just how talented and diverse our team is. The reach of these films is tremendous – by far the most popular ski film tour out there – and we’re stoked we can use them as a vehicle to showcase our athletes and the Spyder Brand.

The Warren Miller Tour rages on, and will be coming to a city near you, so be sure to check out their tour calendar so you don’t miss the spectacle. We’ll be in the mix for the Denver and Boulder shows, so look for the Land Yacht and come say hi.

Below you’ll find a video compilation of some of the action from the World Premiere, and after the jump you’ll find some photos.

We hope everyone’s as fired up for winter as we are – nothing like an action packed ski film to get you there!

-Your Spyder Marketing Team

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Olivia Westall in her new Lindsey Vonn custom race suit during her visit to Spyder.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), holds an annual charity walk in Denver to raise money and awareness for children with diabetes. Earlier this year, a nine year old girl with Type 1 diabetes, Olivia Westall, emailed J.J. Collier, the head of our design team, to inquire if the same people who designed her Spyder Race Suit would also agree to design her JDRF team’s T-shirts for the charity walk.

[We later found out this was an idea Olivia casually devised and resolutely presented to her parents at the dinner table, and her mom – although skeptical at first – agreed to go along with it.]
 
We happily accepted the job.
 
JDRF’s mission is an important one and Olivia’s team sets a high goal for donations and sponsors. Plus, she is an accomplished ski racer, having won most of the races she’s entered so far. We at Spyder like to get behind that sort of thing!
 
As a show of our support and appreciation for Olivia and the organization she represents, we decided to invite Olivia, her mom Bekah, sister Alex, and a few friends (skiers and speedfreaks the lot of them) to the office for a tour last Friday. It was one big smile-filled meet-and-greet, and a mutually awesome experience for everyone involved.

Olivia, her family, and her friends during the visit.
 
When all was said and done, the kids were tired, the adults were exhausted, and everyone left with with their arms full of Spyder swag. Olivia made out even more handsomely, as we presented her with her very own Lindsey Vonn custom race suit (signed by Lindsey, of course).

Presenting Olivia with her Lindsey Vonn custom race suit.
 
Those of us who have been given the opportunity to work at Spyder know what a special thing it is to walk through the office doors everyday and be a part of the legacy and evolution this brand. It is always cool to be able to share that energy with our fans, of any age, and, if by simply going to work we can help support a good cause, then we are happier than ever to do what we do.

-Matt Strackbein, Sr. Production Designer

More photos from Olivia’s visit after the jump…

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What do you get when you take the only Le Mans car of its kind in North America and Spyderize it? The Audi R8 LMS you see here. Our VP of Design and Merchandising, J.J. Collier, worked with its owner and driver, Alex Welch, to dial in its exterior design.

J.J. on the project:

“When I first saw the car it was raw carbon fiber. Some would argue it was perfect just like that. However, in the interest of protecting the surface and making the car more menacing and fast-at-a-glance, we wrapped it in Spyder DNA. The bold asymmetrical strokes and mixture of matte black, reflective red, and exposed carbon are all in keeping with Spyder’s seasonal design tenets for Fall 2012. It is simply the raddest canvas we could possibly have had to convey our core brand aesthetic.”

You know how much we love our Audis, and participating in this project was a dream come true.

AUDI R8 LMS SPECIFICATIONS:

OWNER: ALEX WELCH

DRIVER: ALEX WELCH

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS:

· Country of origin: Germany

· 1/1 in North America with 40 cars produced world wide

· 1^st in class and 3^rd overall in 2010 at 24 hours Nuremberg

· Successor: Audi R8 LMS Ultra

ENGINE:

· V10

· Naturally Aspirated

· Mid, longitudinally mounted

· 5.204 liter / 317.6 cu in displacement

· Valvetrain: 4 valves

· Power 500 bhp++

· Torque: 500 Nm / 369 ft lbs

BODY:

· Carbon fiber

· Exterior Graphic Design by: Spyder Active Sports (Boulder, CO)

Spyder’s VP of Sales and Global Marketing Russ Rowan and the R8 LMS together at ‘The Quail‘ (part of the Pebble Beach Concours) last week.

More photos after the jump…

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Our intrepid team has returned from Sturgis, and the tour was a resounding success by all accounts.

The experience was especially enjoyed by our European guests, who will likely return in the future for some repeat performances.

Stefan Herzog, CEO Sportscheck & Detlev Maass, Vice President, Sportscheck

Stefan and Detlev are aggressive and competent motorcyclists, and always push the pace on the mountain passes. A first trip to Sturgis for both riders, it probably won’t be their last.

They enthusiastically embraced the trip’s theme, “Today we Ride.”

These final two photos were taken on the second to last day in Steamboat – all of the guys got to attend the Rodeo that we were following for eight days.  They finally caught it!

Signing off for now from Motorcycle Land…