Last weekend saw the third edition of the Oakley Air & Style Beijing presented by Shaun White take place in the city’s Iconic Bird’s Nest stadium. Despite its mouthful of a name, the event itself is actually fairly straightforward, with a knockout format that this year threw up a nice surprise winner in 16-year-old Japanese rider Yuki Kadano.
You can read our full report and watch the winning runs here, but this recap is well-worth watching too – if only for the cheesy voiceover at the start, and Shaun’s pseudo rock star appearance. We can only assume it’s designed to appeal to mainstream audiences the world over and in China in particular. But while we know the experts say you need to adapt your brand to suit Chinese audiences, does snowboarding really need to resort to this kind of sub-Sal Masekela style presentation?
