Thread by @SahilBloom

Hey @espn, I’d like to buy and reimagine the X Games.

Here’s my plan (RT if you’re interested):

The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced, and distributed by ESPN.

The first X Games took place in 1995 in Rhode Island.

For many years—including most of my childhood—the X Games were an incredible spectacle.

But now is the time for a refresh…

The X Games is being held back from achieving its full potential as Disney and ESPN prioritize other areas of the business.

The athletes—and the passionate community of fans—have not been able to participate in the immense value that the X Games can create.

So how do we fix it?

Let’s form a DAO to buy the X Games.

Why a DAO?

The value of the X Games is in its community of loyal fans. Those fans should participate in the value creation and receive value for their contributions to that community.

The price is reported to be ~$50 million—very doable.

Next, we enhance the IP.

Drive to Survive created insane value for Formula 1. It put real faces and personalities behind the wheel, stoking new excitement and fan engagement.

We can do the same for X Games athletes.

Amazing athletes, amazing personalities. I’d watch.

Expand the reach of the games.

Make it an event series or tour (a la Formula 1) rather than an Olympics-style 2x per year event.

Increase IRL fan access and engagement, increase shareability and virality.

More ticket sales, more sponsor $$$.

The athletes would love it.

IP extensions into new categories.

Who doesn’t love a skateboarding video game? @tonyhawk Pro Skater was an absolute vibe.

License the IP for an X Games video game—with faces/personalities behind the characters, it would be a winner.

License the IP for international events.

Web3-ify the entire experience.

Athlete NFTs for special access, ownership of incredible moments.

X Games NFTs for unique access.

Imagine the ability to own an NFT and vote on special events pitting your favorite athletes head-to-head.

Reimagine the entire sports experience!

What do we need to make this happen?

• Community excitement
• Athlete excitement
• Savvy media/sports operating team
• $50 million (easy!)
• @tonyhawk to endorse it

So who’s with me?

For a detailed breakdown of the idea, check out the latest episode of Where It Happens, where I pitched Olympic legend @ApoloOhno and @gregisenberg on my concept. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/buy…

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6fRjiU…

YouTube:

Update: Lot of support and excitement for this idea.

Celebrities/Athletes/Influencers: @NdamukongSuh @alexisohanian @MatthewBerryTMR @selema

Investors: Bunch of big name brand funds investing in TMT have reached out expressing interest in participating.

Strong early signals…

Next Steps:

Get more key stakeholders and influencers onboard. @tonyhawk @shaunwhite @lindseyvonn @garyvee and more.

Discuss with institutional investors on potential participation.

Source and discuss operating team and leaders/executives.

Open dialogue with ESPN…

Oh and @robdyrdek you’ve gotta be involved in this!

Update: @lindseyvonn is in.

I think…we are buying the X Games?

Now we’ve got @DezBryant & @ZERTZ_86 onboard…

Athlete community understands ownership and community.

The @_trwih Discord community is popping on this. discord.gg/nyEUdQG4

My mom just texted me to “be careful” if I’m going to have to do any skateboarding or other stunts in my pursuit of buying the X Games.

Good looking out. Thanks, Mom! Love you.

Well…that was a hell of a day, folks. I’ll get back to all of the messages and emails tomorrow, I promise.

But first, time to get some sleep…

Updates coming over the weekend. Stay tuned.

❌,❌

Ok, back to buying the X Games in public.

Slowly working through email, DMs, LinkedIn messages, and the Discord chat—getting back to everyone today.

Lots of incredible potential partnerships, investors, and supporters.

This feels real…

Hey @espn @Disney, let’s do this thing!