ESPN's X Games drew 55 million TV viewers last summer,
and while the "rough sports are getting plenty of media play
these days," the athletes "are about as recognizable as
champion Ping-Pong players," according to Lea Goldman of
FORBES. Two years ago, former Lamar Snowboards Marketing
Dir Steven Astephen founded CA-based sports management firm
Familie, after he realized that most extreme athletes "were
neglected or getting hosed by traditional sports firms that
couldn't tell a skateboard from a wakeboard." Astephen:
"Who are those guys to say what's good for a snowboarder?
They were doing more harm than good." Familie, which began
with just one client, snowboarder Kevin Jones, currently has
a roster of 24 athletes and two commentators. The company
took in $1.2M last year from its 10% cut of all deals, up
from $350,000 in '98, and with "several of his athletes
Olympic contenders in the next Winter Games, Astephen could
do much better this year." Astephen is "bulking up the top
line by consulting on licensing agreements, Web site
development and cross promotions." Major clients include
Nestle, Butterfinger, AT&T and NBC (FORBES, 4/3 issue).
IS SHAUN PALMER READY TO CASH IN? USA TODAY's Sal
Ruibal profiles "multisport" extreme sports athlete Shaun
Palmer, who is "negotiating several big contracts, riding
the same alternative sports boom that got" skateboarder Tony
Hawk an "estimated" $1M deal with ESPN earlier this year
(see THE DAILY, 3/8). Palmer "recently signed" a deal with
Fusion.com to join the Web site (USA TODAY, 3/24).
