Extreme sports: PXP joins the FISE!
Summary
Nearly a year before the Olympic Games, from May 17 to 21, 2023, the 26th edition of FISE (International Festival of Extreme Sports) took place, one of the biggest events highlighting urban sports.
A major event for urban sports, the Montpellier FISE is the must-attend for all extreme sports lovers. The best pro and amateur athletes gathered on the banks of the Lez River to ignite the Montpellier crowd as well as a large audience from all over France. In total, nearly 500,000 spectators flocked to witness an impressive show given by 2,000 athletes performing tricks! The event was all the more anticipated as it hosted 2 qualifying events for the Olympics this year and featured 6 World Cup stages, including Breaking and BMX Freestyle Park, now part of the Olympic sports. Among other popular sports represented are street skateboarding, freestyle scooter, and freestyle rollerblading.
French Sensations
On the results side, we can be proud of our French athletes. During the BMX Freestyle World Cup final, the hometown hero Anthony Jeanjean thrilled the crowds. Highly anticipated, he took second place just behind Australian Olympic champion Logan Martin. For the women, a big sensation with Laury Perez reaching third place! The French also performed well in other disciplines. Notably Julien Cudot, winner of the Roller Freestyle Park event, and Estéban Clot, who made a splash in the freestyle scooter park event.
Project X Paris at the Heart of the Show
Away from the stands, the FISE experience is also very intense. Parties, activities, and an exhibitor village to find your favorite brands. Project X Paris wouldn’t miss the chance to show up there. We were present at the event thanks to Thomas, one of our Montpellier resellers (big shout out to them) who proudly represented PXP! Our teams were obviously on site to bring you the event live through our Instagram stories. To mark the occasion, we didn’t hesitate to offer exclusive products such as stickers to stick on your board, scooter, or BMX, but also boards! A first for our brand! Inspired by our latest SS23 collection, the 5 skateboard models feature different decks. Very sleek models like the black one with the PXP logo or the pale pink with the signature logo, and more graphic models featuring skate culture codes like those with smileys or the red and black with broken hearts, a nod to the heartbreaker collection.
Streetwear and Urban Sports Closely Linked
Project X Paris, the number one streetwear brand in France, has established itself at the heart of the skateboarding and bike life universe. Our collections have attracted an audience seeking stylish and comfortable clothes. Among the outfits from our collections that are most popular: full logo caps available in 10 different colors to always match your outfit, signature tank tops worn fitted or oversized, hoodies, a symbol of streetwear by itself, regular jeans accessorized with vintage-look sneakers.
BMX, Skate: Increasingly Popular Disciplines in France
Once stigmatized, these street sports are now widely democratized. The rise of social networks, which massively relay and promote these sports, is to blame. “I’ve been living off my sport for about twenty years, I’m lucky to be sponsored but I must admit social networks have changed everything,” said Alex Jumelin, four-time BMX Flat Land world champion, speaking on France Info. Once confidential disciplines have now managed to make a name and gain notoriety, bringing fresh attention. While urban sports are not new, they long suffered from a bad image. Born from counter-culture, they first appeared in the late 1950s. Due to lack of financial means or infrastructure, children and teens gathered in city streets to play together. Rules are more flexible than in stadiums and gyms, and this wind of freedom, increasingly appreciated in the late 1960s and early 1970s, led to new practices in formerly very regulated sports. This is when street skate and roller became sports in their own right.
Bike Life: A Way of Life
In the following years, these sports, lived as a way of life by their community, became the emblem of those who want to challenge the system. Once associated with a marginalized style, these extreme athletes were often seen as undesirable. Thanks to the power of social networks and companies like Red Bull, their reputation took a 180-degree turn to come back strong in the 2000s. New looks, new targets, the skateboarding world has rebuilt a smoother reputation and attracts new recruits. Highly Instagrammable, a new trend and new stars are emerging, attracting more and more people to grind in skateparks. In fact, attendance is such that urban facilities struggle to meet demand. Young and old alike seem passionate about these new sports that can be practiced anywhere and even become a new means of transportation. One thing is certain: urban sports will continue to inspire many generations!