Keir Dillion

Keir Dillion
Professional Snowboarder, TV Announcer

Raised skiing the vertical runs of Camel Back Mountain, Pennsylvania with his siblings, Keir first pursued
snowboarding as a means to challenge himself. For several years, Keir dusted the competition at professional invitational Halfpipe and Quarterpipe events around the globe with a fluid style and hardcore competitive drive, and earned vast amounts of media coverage and notoriety for his accomplishments. Today, Keir holds the respect of both his snowboarding peers and industry leaders thanks to his superior level of professionalism and magnetic personality and has parlayed his pro ranking into a career as an action sports television host and correspondent. Combining an entrepreneurial drive, quick-witted humor, and a familiarity with the gamut of board sports, Keir has established himself as a natural and sought-after talent in front of the camera. Comfortable hosting major action sports television events from the US Open of Surfing to X Games, Keir’s charisma and credible perspective enable him to find common ground with WCT surf powerhouses, pro snowboarders, and iconic skateboarders alike. Keir continually asks the questions the core audience at home wants to know while still educating the newest action sports viewer with relevancy, welcoming verbiage, and comprehensive coverage. When Keir is not on the road
snowboarding or hosting television programs for various networks he’s hanging with his family and friends,
surfing, playing chess, or winning money at poker.

Nick Sargent

NICK SARGENT
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
BURTON SNOWBOARDS

Nick Sargent is the Director of Strategic Alliance for Burton Snowboards. In this position, Sargent is responsible for the global sales, event and marketing strategy for Burton Snowboards.

With more than 15 years of experience in sports, Sargent joined the Burton family after working as Manager of Corporate Alliances for the adidas-Salomon organization. In the 5 years at adidas-Salomon, he created the brands connection too many of the worlds largest companies & brands while maintaining the adidas-Salomon integrity and connecting the corporate community to winter sports.

In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter founded Burton Snowboards out of his Vermont barn. Since then, Burton has fueled the growth of snowboarding worldwide through its groundbreaking product lines, its team of top snowboarders and its grassroots efforts to get the sport accepted at resorts. In 1996, Burton began growing its family of brands to include boardsports and apparel brands. Privately held and owned by Jake, Burton’s headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont with offices in California, Austria, Japan and Australia.

In 2006, Burton launched the Burton Global Open Series, now heading into its 5th successful year. Volvo, AMP, Nature Valley, Paul Mitchell, Corona and Kodak are core sponsors of Burton events.

Sargent and his family live in Stowe, VT

James Leitz

James Leitz
Senior Vice President – IMG
Director of Action Sports

James Leitz, Senior Vice President of International Management Group (IMG), directs IMG’s Action Sports Division based in Los Angeles. The division is charged with the development of action sports and entertainment properties for IMG, it’s offices and clients worldwide. Marshaling IMG’s resources and expertise in athlete management, television, events and consulting, IMG Action Sports has established a formidable position in action sports and youth entertainment.

Leitz began his career with Group Dynamics in 1987 in the early days of pro beach volleyball. In 1989, Leitz joined CE Sports and helped grow the business into a multi- million dollar lifestyle sports firm. Leitz was a pioneer in action and lifestyle sports marketing, creating campaigns, events and tours in snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, bmx, jet ski, volleyball and adventure sports. In 1996 Leitz created EventSource – a company designed to create, produce and manage in-house events and strategies for sanctioning bodies, agencies and corporate clients like Anheuser-Busch, NIKE, Vans, Op and many others. In 1998 EventSource was acquired by IMG.

IMG Action Sports has been active for twelve years. With a growing stable of events and television properties like the US Open of Surfing franchise, Formula Drift, Red Bull Drifting World Championships, Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, the San Diego Triathlon and the Escape to… Triathlon Series, and more. IMG represents an expanding roster of action sports athletes including Gold Medalist Lyndsy Vonn, up-and-coming surf superstar Kolohe Andino and FMX phenom Robbie Maddison, as well as action sports training centers Camp Woodward. Current management clients include Boost Mobile, Anheuser-Busch and Vans, as well as event creation and implementation services for major action sports, music and lifestyle properties like the Hurley Pro of Surfing, Vans Downtown Showdown, and many more.

As the Director of IMG Action Sports, Leitz has created the road map for the global expansion of IMG’s endeavors in action sports and youth marketing, and is an integral part of several internal business units including IMG Business Development, IMG Media, IMG Consulting and IMG North American Operations.

Leitz graduated with a BA from University California at Santa Barbara in 1987. Leitz, wife Rosy and sons David and Joaquin reside in Pacific Palisades, California.

Tim McFerran

Tim McFerran
President - Maloof Money Cup

At 6’8”, Tim McFerran may be hard to miss, but he steers clear of the spotlight as he manages the top skateboarding event in the world: The Maloof Money Cup. A consumer products executive who was tapped by the Maloofs to run basketball camps in his spare time, Joe Maloof approached him with the idea of hosting a skateboarding camp in Southern California. In that initial meeting, even Tim couldn’t have foreseen that a simple idea would grow into a skateboarding contest unlike any before seen. Quickly immersed knee deep in the world of skateboarding, Tim profusely admitted to knowing nothing about skateboarding. But what he did know was how to listen, how to take criticism (most of the time) and how to bring together a talented group of individuals and turn them into a winning team.

Just four years after Tim and Joe Maloof envisioned a skate contest that would shake-up the industry, the Maloof Money Cup has grown to become “the world’s greatest skateboarding event.” From offering the largest prize purse in the history of skateboarding and building brand-new concrete skate plazas designed by pro skaters, to working closely with skaters and the industry to drive all aspects of the contest, the Maloof Money Cup has forever changed the face of skateboarding. In year three, the Maloof Money Cup expanded to New York, leaving behind a permanent skate park for the community. Next year, MMC will expand outside the US as it travels to Kimberley, South Africa for the first-ever world skateboarding championships. And there in the midst of it all, directing the many moving parts, is the tall guy who can no longer say he knows nothing about skateboarding.

Bryan Johnston

BRYAN JOHNSTON
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER - UFC®

Bryan Johnston is Chief Marketing Officer for the Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization. In this executive position, Johnston oversees the global marketing strategies and merchandise initiatives for UFC® and World Extreme Cagefighting® brands.

With more than 20 years of experience in sports, Johnston joined UFC after working as Vice President of Marketing for Burton Snowboards, the world’s leading manufacturer of snowboarding equipment and apparel. In his six years at Burton, he cultivated the company brand image and coordinated its message and vision through group initiatives including marketing, new media, corporate alliances and media relations.

Prior to working at Burton, Johnston was Vice President of North American brand management for the Adidas-Salomon organization, where he developed marketing strategies and managed athlete contract negotiations.

UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, is the fastest growing sports organization in history. The company was acquired for $2 million in 2001 by Dana White and his business partners, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. In 2009, UFC received a qualified offer exceeding $1 billion.

UFC has led the regulatory effort for the sport of mixed martial arts, and UFC events are now sanctioned by the most prestigious regulatory bodies in the world, including the California, Nevada, New Jersey, Illinois and Pennsylvania State Athletic Commissions.

Over the last nine years, UFC has grown into the world’s largest live pay-per-view event content provider, holding more than 12 pay-per-view events annually. With offices in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, UFC has expanded its television programming distribution to more than 130 countries, territories and jurisdictions, which is seen in 430 million homes worldwide in 20 different languages.

In 2005, the company launched the hit reality television series The Ultimate Fighter®, now heading into its 12th successful season on Spike TV. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Bacardi USA and Harley-Davidson Motor Company are core sponsors of UFC events.

Originally from Atlanta, with time spent in Chicago, Johnston and his family now reside in Las Vegas, Nevada, the headquarters of the UFC

Ashley Fiolek

Ashley Fiolek
Professional Motocross Racer

Born profoundly deaf, Ashley began racing motorcycles at age seven and ascended the amateur motocross ranks. In 2004, at the age of 13, she won her first national title at the AMA Amateur Motocross Championships. Between 2005 and 2007 she won 12 more national championships and more than 100 races.

2008 marked Ashley’s first full season as a professional. She competed in select world championship rounds in Europe and won the AMA/WMA Women’s Professional Motocross Championship. In 2009, Fiolek won the X-Games Women’s Moto-X Gold Medal and a second AMA Women’s Motocross Championship.

Ashley is proudly supported by: American Honda, Red Bull, Able Planet, Alpinestars, Purple Communications, Vans, Rockwell Watches, AGV, Moto Endurance and Smith.

For more information about Ashley, see www.ashleyfiolek.com

Dayan Henson

Dayan Henson
Co-Chairman - V.A.S. Entertainment

Dayan currently serves as Co-Chairman of VAS Entertainment and Managing Director of Deesons Investments Ltd.

Dayan has spent the last 13 years directing Deesons activity over a broad spectrum of investments including ownership stakes in consumer packaged goods, internet technology, sports entertainment, mining and oil & gas companies. While being directly responsible for all Deesons investment activity, Dayan has taken on management responsibility in many of Deesons companies.

Since early in 2009 Dayan has focused on VAS Entertainment activities for film acquisitions, brand and media partnerships as well as actively assembling and overseeing the current senior management team. As part of his responsibilities, Dayan is part of the team working on the launch of a new name and consumer brand for VAS. This new brand will change the ability to service brands and producers by giving consumers a clearer understanding of premium action sports content through all physical and digital distribution points including DVD, Blu-Ray, Television, Mobile, Digital/Web, Theatrical and Video-On-Demand.

Grete Eliassen

Grete Eliassen
Professional Freeskier

Grete was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Having a mother from the Midwest and Norwegian father, Grete grew up speaking both English and Norwegian. Looking for more excitement at the tender age of 2, Grete quickly found it in skiing.

For the first 5 years of her life, Grete lived in Minnesota, skiing some of North America’s finest mountains. With a brief 1-year stint living in a small town in Norway, Grete and her family moved back to the lakeshores of Lake Superior. Upon her return, Grete became involved in several different sports: hockey, soccer, basketball, tennis, waterskiing, little-league as well as cross-country skiing and alpine skiing.

At the age of 13, Grete’s family, moved back to Norway – this time, to Lillehammer. Having already begun her skiing career back in Minnesota, she decided to continue on in Norway. After only a year, Grete was named the Norwegian SL National Champion.

Soon thereafter, Grete was selected to join the Norwegian Ski Team, where she stayed for 2 two seasons. At the age of 16, Grete won the Super-G at Junior Worlds in France and placed third in Slalom at the European Junior Olympics in Slovenia. After a few more years of competition, Grete realized that racing was not the type of skiing she ultimately was satisfied with. Even though her career in racing was rather strong - positioning herself at the top of her agegroup in nearly every event - she had a longing to be free.

Grete soon found her love of freeskiing. Her first year of freestyle competition went very well, taking first place in both the Rip Curl Freeski and the US Open. Since her debut as a freeskier, Grete has won the U.S. Open four times, as well as capturing two gold and silver medals at the Winter X Games. She is the only female skier to have medaled in both the first Halfpipe and Slopestyle X Games events. Additionally, Grete championed of all openevents in the very same year: US Open, European Open and the Nippon Open.

In April 2010, Grete achieved the Hip Jump World Record. She reached speeds of 60 miles an hour downhill, hit the custom 30 foot “hip” feature and soared more than 31 feet in the air. No woman has ever come close to reaching this height on skis.

Grete now resides in Salt Lake City, Utah where she attends the University of Utah. Grete is currently working towards obtaining her B.S. in Business Management. Grete is always looking for ways to make her mark and change the world of skiing, as women know it.

Grete’s official website is greteeliassen.com

CORPORATE SPONSORS
Oakley, Red Bull, Tyrolia, Dakine, Tecnica, Kicker Audio, Swix, Nike 6.0, Snowbird/Alta

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• 2010, Winter X Games, Slopestyle, 3rd Place
• 2009, Winter X Games, Slopestyle, 2nd Place
• 2009 Dew Tour (Mount. Snow), Slopestyle, 2nd Place
• 2009, Homecoming “Kristi Leskinen Invitational”, Slopestyle, 2nd Place
• 2009, Dew Tour, Slopestyle, 4th Place
• 2009, Dew Tour, Slopestyle, 4th Overall
• 2007, European Open, Halfpipe, 1st Place
• 2007, Nippon Freeskiing Open, Halfpipe, 1st Place
• 2007, US Freeskiing Open, Halfpipe, 1st Place
• 2007, Winter X Games, Halfpipe, 2nd Place
• 2007, Crowned Ullr Girl, Whistler, B.C.
• 2006, Winter X Games, Halfpipe, 1st Place
• 2006, US Open, Halfpipe, 1st Place
• 2005, Winter X Games, Halfpipe, 1st Place
• 2005, US Open, Halfpipe, 1st Place
• 2005, Gravity Games Rail Jam, 1st Place
• 2005 Jibbasic Pro Invite Rail Jam, 1st Place
• 2005, World F.I.S Halfpipe Championships, 3rd Place
• 2005, Gravity Games, Halfpipe, 3rd Place
• 2005, Jon Olsson Invitational, 1st Place
• 2004, US Open, Halfpipe, 1st Place
• 2004 Jaba Rail Jam, 1st Place
• 2004, Snowjam International Competition, 1st Place
• 2003, Overall Rip Curl Freeski Event, 1st Place
• 2003, FIS Junior World Championships, Super G, 1st Place
• 2003, European Junior Olympics, Slalom, 3rd Place

DJ Greyboy

DJ Greyboy (a.k.a Andreas Stevens) is a DJ/Producer from San Diego, California now Residing in Long Beach, California. After winning the DMC regional mixing/scratching championships in 1988, he decided to buy a drum machine and start teaching himself how to produce music in the studio. His style includes hip hop, soul, funk, jazz and experimental grooves. Greyboy has produced numerous albums for Ubiquity recordings, as well as his own label Greyboy records, home to the The Greyboy Allstars, a live funk/jazz band he started in 1993. His music has also been featured in motion pictures such as “Get Shorty” and ‘Spawn”, for which he did a collaboration with the rock group Incubus. In 2009 Greyboy founded his own record label “Soundlock Recordings” as well as a band called “Warchurch Turntable Crew” members include Delmos Wade & DJ Truly Odd . In 2010 he released a new solo album called ‘Era Correct” and co-produced album with Delmos Wade titled “From The Ground Up”, both on Soundlock recordings.

Shon Tomlin

Shon Tomlin
Senior Vice President of Programming and Marketing - FUEL TV

Shon Tomlin is Senior Vice President of Programming and Marketing for FUEL TV. In his role, he’s responsible for establishing the channel’s programming and marketing strategies as it pursues both domestic and international growth across all media platforms. He also manages the development and production of commissioned original series. Additionally, Tomlin oversees multiple groups including music, scheduling, licensing, research, integrated marketing, and on-air promotions.

Prior to his current role at FUEL TV, Shon was VP of Programming & Development where he developed and supervised series including Built to Shred, The Captain & Casey Show, American Misfits, Thrillbillies, The Moto, The Adventures of Danny & The Dingo, and many others. In 2003, Shon joined FUEL TV during its start-up phase as Executive Producer where he co-developed and executive produced its first original series and co-supervised its production team.

Previously, Shon was founder and President of Groove Inc., an Emmy Award winning production and marketing company that provided consultation and services across television, print, live events, music supervision, and media distribution. Groove Inc. forged strong relationships with media companies such as ESPN, MTV Networks, Warner Bros., FOX Family, and AOL. Established as an authentic connection to youth culture, Groove bridged the gap between mainstream media and core music, sports, and youth properties.

By 1995 Groove had established itself as a first mover in new media by partnering with then internet leader AOL and its pioneering youth web portal, Surflink. Shortly after, Groove partnered with BMX legend and X Games star Mat Hoffman to produce ESPN’s first action sports comedy and lifestyle series, Kids in the Way. The series broke new ground creatively and established a new model in cost-effective production through the cutting edge employment of digital editing, state-of-the-art camera rigs, and digital video. In the late 90s, Groove was also credited with developing and producing the world’s first fully produced live webcasts with major record labels, Capitol and Warner Bros.

After shifting the focus of the company to television development and producing, Tomlin pursued a rumor about Fox Cable Network’s launch of an action sports network, beginning his tenure at FUEL TV.

Shon currently resides in Manhattan Beach, California and is an avid snowboarder, casual surfer, and resident DJ at one of Manhattan Beach’s popular night spots.

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