IMG Teams Up With Bear Grylls….

15 Aug IMG Teams Up With Bear Grylls….

… TO CREATE A SURVIVAL SPORT CHALLENGE SERIES

LOS ANGELES (August 15, 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.