IMG Teams Up with Bear Grylls to Create a Survival Sport Challenge Series | Sports Destination Management

IMG Teams Up with Bear Grylls to Create a Survival Sport Challenge Series

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Sep 06, 2017

IMG, a global leader in sports, events, media and fashion, has teamed up with survival expert Chief Scout and international TV host Bear Grylls to create the first event series to focus on survival: the Bear Grylls Survival Challenge (BGSC).

The inaugural event will take place in April of 2018 in the Greater Los Angeles Area with additional stops in the United States and Europe. Participants will compete on a four mile, off-road journey that will take them through 18 unique survival scenario challenges. The course will run across five distinct environments: apocalyptic highway, cave complex, deserted village, mountain ascent/descent and snake infested swamp.

“I developed this course with one simple principle in mind: being fit is one thing; but the true test of strength is in survival,” says Bear Grylls. “This is a natural progression for endurance sport. Seeking to test not just our physical capabilities, but also our mental agility, resourcefulness and never-say-die spirit in real-life survival situations.”

To gamify the Bear Grylls Survival Challenge, the event will deploy RFID technology and a proprietary algorithm to provide a Bear Grylls Survival Score for each participant immediately upon completing the event. To help them successfully cross the finish line, each participant will also receive a custom Bear Grylls Survival Pack containing everyday items for application on the course.

BGSC will culminate in a festival featuring music, brand activations, food and beverages, and merchandise – the perfect place for participants to check their Bear Grylls Survival Score and re-live the greatest moments of their Bear Grylls Survival Challenge experience.

“Working with Bear and his team on the creation of this property has been exciting as it opens up a whole new category of sport in survival,” says James Leitz, Senior Vice President Action Sports & Mass Participation, IMG. “Together with Bear, we share a very specific vision that will evolve the endurance experience to appeal to everyone including the obstacle course racing fanatic, Weekend Warriors, Bear’s fans and adventure enthusiasts.”

The collaboration was facilitated by Mantis Media – an entertainment company that offers branding and licensing solutions for top tier clients around the world with offices in London and Los Angeles.

Registration for the Los Angeles event will open in September 2017. The event will be at the Blue Cloud Movie Ranch (bluecloud.com) in Santa Clarita, California on April 28 and 29, 2018. For additional information, visit beargryllssurvivalchallenge.com or follow @beargrylls on Instagram, @beargrylls on Twitter and RealBearGrylls on Facebook.

About BGV: Bear Grylls Ventures (BGV) is a management and production company based out of the UK. BGV manages all television, film, books, licensing and endorsement deals for Bear Grylls. The goal of the company is, as a team, to inspire and encourage men, women, boys & girls, to listen to their adventure selves – to get out there and go climb their mountains, to CHALLENGE some rules, to go the extra mile in all they do, to protect those who are struggling and to walk the path less trodden. BGV stands for the positive, the kind & the quietly courageous. We know that those that endure are those that win.

About Bear Grylls: Adventure TV host Bear Grylls is an ex 21 SAS soldier and No1 bestselling author who became one of the youngest-ever climbers of Mount Everest. He has hosted more extreme adventure TV shows across more global networks than anyone else in the world, including the BAFTA award-winning The Island with Bear Grylls, Man vs. Wild, Running Wild for NBC and Absolute Wild for Chinese TV. He is an honorary Colonel to the Royal Marine Commandos and the youngest-ever UK Chief Scout, an inspiration to forty million Scouts worldwide.

About IMG: IMG is a global leader in sports, events, media and fashion, operating in more than 30 countries. The company represents and manages some of the world’s greatest sports figures and fashion icons; stages hundreds of live events and branded entertainment experiences annually; and is one of the largest independent producers and distributors of sports media. IMG also specializes in sports training; league development; and marketing, media and licensing for brands, sports organizations and collegiate institutions.

About Mantis Media: Mantis Media is a diversified entertainment company with roots in talent management and brand licensing.  Innovators in the ‘Experience and Leisure’ industry, Mantis Media’s areas of expertise include live events, branded entertainment experiences, strategic partnerships, digital content production and location based entertainment solutions for clients around the world.  The company seeks to proactively identify strategic opportunities in these key areas and to harness untapped value in the marketplace by bringing together best-in-class players with unique synergies.  Mantis Media is an extension of Mantis Collection, a family run collection of award winning, privately owned, five star properties located around the World.  More on Mantis Media at www.MantisMedia.tv

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