Gone Postal: Meet the Crankworx Work Horses
A day in the life of Crankworx announcers’ isn’t all hype, hanging out with top athletes, and downing wobbly pops with 20-year-olds ‘till 2am. No, these guys are professionals and they’re workhorses. Meet Crankworx host Brad Jay who is the OG Crankworx announcer and whose iconic voice is also heard live at X-Games events, his running mate and veteran announcer Brad Ewan who had no problem dipping into his own wallet to pay out in the Teva Best Trick, and Ryan Meyer, newcomer to the game of announcing.
A typical day during Crankworx for these guys begins bright and early with a few cups of ambition from Garbo Bike Bean and then it’s game on. From production meetings to studying athlete bios, writing sponsor pieces, listening to their ear-buds, ignoring trash-talking 12-year old kids on PinkBike.com forums, and taking care of simple things like looking good for their on-camera presence, these guys are legit and constantly on the move. It’d be far too simple if all these guys did was talk for a living.
Rookie in comparison to the veteran host and announcing experience of Brad and Brad, Ryan Meyer says, “You gotta be really on it. There’s a ton of research that goes into it, you really have to get your points written down in your head, and keeping the show flowing smooth is a really hard gig.”
But without the hard work of the announcers, events like Crankworx would definitely have a different vibe. The announcers are like a program guide: they take us behind-the-scenes, explain tricks and event format, provide background story on the athletes, and – probably they’re biggest role – they draw the crowd into the event making it a shared experience.
Crowd interaction. Photos by Patrick Hui
And that’s what so cool about Crankworx; it really is a shared and interactive experience between the crowd, athletes, and sponsors – much of it mediated by Brad, Brad, and Ryan. Unlike some events where the athletes never interact with the crowd, at Crankworx it’s just the opposite. Athletes announcers are just as dusty, dirty, and as thirsty as the crowd – all stoked and impressed by what the riders are throwing down and all within high-fiving distance. This also makes for some great heckling, which, if all goes according to Crankworx tradition, should hit its stride later this afternoon at Heckle Rock.
Crankworx Announcer Brad Jay – Photo by Michael Overbeck
With Crankworx rolling through its’ final day Brad, Brad, and Ryan are looking dreary-eyed and haggard, yet, no doubt they could outlast any of us in any festival anywhere. Even after ten hard days and ten hard nights, Brad Jay still loves what he’s doing, he’s all smiles, and he’s stoked to be back in Whistler. “I love my job,” he says, and you can tell. Just like us and just like the riders; they’re out there having fun and making it fun for everyone else.
Great work guys!
-Jer
Article source: http://www.whistlerisawesome.com/2012/08/19/gone-postal-meet-the-crankworx-work-horses/
