Producing Transnational Networks: Action Sport Companies, Media and Events

Abstract

In this book, transnationalism is understood broadly as the ‘growing connectivity of individuals, groups and institutions across multiple national contexts’ (Giulianotti & Brownell, 2012, p. 199). In the previous chapter we examined the transnational imaginary that exists within contemporary action sport cultures. Many action sport enthusiasts around the world participate predominantly at the local level, yet due to their access and consumption of global sporting events, media, action sport celebrities and products from transnational companies, many feel connected to a broader action sport community. As will be discussed in Chapters 4, 5 and 6, the travel practices of action sport participants further contribute to this transnational imaginary. In this chapter, however, I adopt a macro focus on the broader structural and economic forces that have played a major role in the production of these transnational networks. More specifically, I examine transnational action sport-related companies (Burton, Red Bull) and action sport mega-events (the X Games, Felix Baumgartner’s space jump) to illustrate how ‘social links, networks and communities are [produced] and maintained across national and transnational layers’ (Giulianotti & Brownell, 2012, p. 200).