Tough Mudder grows
Tough Mudder, Brooklyn NY based, anticipates more than US$100 million in revenue for 2014. Tough Mudder focuses on mental fitness and the most important element is its psychology of fear. Amidst questions about safety in the US, the 2015 version of Electroshock Therapy includes a version that has a slide and forces participants to hop over shock wires rather than dodge through them. Another obstacle, Arctic Enema, has participants jump into and swim through a dumpster of water, chilled with around 75,000 pounds of ice. Inside the ice bath, though, the barbed wire divider that forced participants to swim underwater to pass was swapped out for an island people would need to climb over instead.
Obstacle racing series Tough Mudder has added a lineup of mainstream brands to its list of corporate partners for 2015, highlighted by beer giant Anheuser-Busch and restaurant chain Chipotle. They’ll push Shock Top, a Belgian-style wheat beer, sitting in a very competitive beer segment. The two-year deal, for undisclosed terms, replaces a previous one with Heineken NV’s Dos Equis and covers more than 60 events in the U.S. and Canada. Other corporate sponsors include Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s Jeep vehicles, and Under Armour Inc.
In the UK and Australia, different beer sponsors are contracted. Toohey Extra Dry has a deal with Tough Mudder Australia. A major event is scheduled in Melbourne in October 2015. Others may be staged in Gold Coast and in Sydney.
Tough Mudder participants traditionally receive a free cup of beer and are encouraged to ‘down it’ after completing the event, a 10 to 12-mile obstacle course that sends contenders through challenges such as mud pits and fire.
