I’m looking for examples of brands that have been heavily influential in promoting certain extreme sports. Such brands should have a strong influence in the culture of the sport, perhaps are active in preserving or creating spaces where this activity can take place, maybe do some political work that supports the sport, etc. Thanks for any help!
Mountain Dew and Monster energy drinks come to mind. Not sure if they do political work or not, but I’ve seen their banners in the background when I cruise by extreme sports shows on ESPN and whatnot.
On the media side, Discovery, ABC Sports and ESPN seem to be at the head of the pack.
Not sure about any political work, but money talks. I believe Taco Bell, the US Army and Jeep have been top-level sponsors of the X-Games for several years.
Harley Davidson sponsors UFC.
Look to the old skateboard companies, like Vision Streetwear for promoting mass commercialization of the sport, along with influencing the clothing style and (I’m sure) building skateparks and such. Burton snowboards and the (now defunct?) Sims had huge influence on early snowboarding. Nowadays, Redbull sponsors all sorts of extreme athletes and promotes “new” sports, but has less influence on the culture of those sports. I’m not sure about political support of extreme sports. Ski mountains caved to snowboarders after families with children who snowboarded stopped going to ski-only areas. Skateboarding has always clashed with the law, and I’m sure many skate companies helped sponsor public skateparks to get kids off the sidewalk. Environmental foundations, like Surfrider, get support from surf companies. Looking at your question, I think Vision Streetwear had the biggest influence of any one company on any single extreme sport. I’m not too sure about the political aspect, though.
Since this is a sports question, you’ll probably have more luck in Cafe Society.
Tag Heuer was into skydiving events (one of the family was a famous skydiver).
Under Armour just signed UFC champion George St. Pierre as a spokesman.
Mickey’s has been a UFC sponsor for a while.
Xyience has a line of products aimed at the fitness market, and used to sponsor some UFC events, but I havent seen their ads for a little while now.