I am really struggling with this post. I have a few strong opinions on this subject and I don’t know how they will be received by others. So let me first preface this by saying that I am still loyal to the sport of triathlon and to ironman. And I am not bashing anyone personally or professionally here, but I am raising my hand and making a little noise with the hope that the powers that be might bring it down a few notches and return to the basics that made this sport and ironman so great.
I, like many, was once practically enamored with the highly recognizable M-Dot ironman logo. There was a time when I thought that logo stood for something meaningful. There was a time when that logo stood hand-in-hand with words like strength, pride, and endurance. There was a time when that logo, and the organization behind it, was about the accomplishment itself, and not about the production of that accomplishment. And not about the corporate brand behind the accomplishment.
Something has happened that has turned the once respected logo into a veiled symbol for status and greed. M-Dot branding has reduced the logo to be nothing more than a status symbol that says “I can afford to do triathlons”. Walk through any WTC expo and you will see product branding that practically requires a co-signer to purchase. The logo can now be found on some of the most bizarre household and personal products that speak very little about strength, pride, endurance, and accomplishment. But speak loud and clear to the fact that someone; several people, are getting quite fat on our love of what was once a pure sport.
The inaugural New York City Ironman opened for registration a couple of weeks ago. The general registration entry sold for $895. At first I was furious at the thought that the World Triathlon Corp would gouge that deep. But here is the sick part – the race sold out in less than 20 minutes. So, while I know for a fact that I am not alone in my beliefs, how can we control anything if we continue to feed the machine and agree to fight tooth and nail for the “opportunity” to spend $895 to race? If we keep spending, the prices will continue to skyrocket. This is about business, right?
The other piece of this that irks me is that fact that so many first time ironmen and women rush out to get that beautiful M-Dot tattooed on their body. I see many displayed on the lower leg or shoulder blade to make sure that they are visible to more people while people are out racing and training. It’s their own little sign that says “Hey, look at me!! I am really an amazing athletic specimen…. I did an ironman …. And you didn’t”.
Folks can’t wait to emblazon that corporate logo on their bodies. Which is actually kind of comical since that logo is not public domain, it’s only a matter of time before WTC finds a way to tax or charge for its usage. But why not also get a tattoo of the Pepsi logo? Or Dominos Pizza? Or some of the other corporate monsters whose wealth you contribute to…. I do have to say this, I have MANY good friends with M-Dot tattoos who do “get it” and who do understand. I don’t want to lump everyone together in this rant. Only you know why you got that tattoo and what it means. I still wish you weren’t feeding the corporate monster with your advertising, but I mean no personal disrespect to many of you.
The fact of the matter is that you don’t need to hang a banner to tell everyone of your athletic accomplishments. Be proud, but for God’s sake, please be humble. I know my opinions are strong, and I know you are good people. But… come on…. At least try to create a tattoo that is personal and unique and can serve as a reminder to yourself without being a flashing neon sign.
In my mind, the solution(s) are simple. In a perfect world, the WTC would take a deep breath and attempt to get back to basics. But they will first have to realize that chasing the almighty dollar is not what this sport should be about. The WTC can still redeem themselves if they can find a way to reduce pricing and also find a way to de-saturate the brand and make it mean something again. They seem to be of the understanding that if M-Dot is good, then more M-Dot and higher priced M-Dot must be better; and that’s not true.
We can do our part as well by supporting our local race directors. The ones who pour their own dollars and sweat equity into events and do so for the athletes. There are plenty of independent ultra distance (a.k.a. “ironman”) races out there as well that are fantastic events, and cost a fraction of the price.
Thanks for reading. I’ll echo my thoughts that I opened with… I am still loyal to the sport of triathlon and to ironman. And I am not bashing anyone personally or professionally here, but I am raising my hand and making a little noise with the hope that the powers that be might bring it down a few notches and return to the basics that made this sport and ironman so great.
I also have to say that WTC DOES put on one hell of a race. Their productions are big and memorable. There is no question in my mind that hearing Mike Reilly call your name as you cross the finish line is among the greatest moments you may ever experience. And when people ask me how I feel the branded events compare to the indies, I tell them they should experience both because each carries their own set of pros and cons. But if we don’t control this runaway freight train now, there won’t be anything left to appreciate and the M-Dot and all that it could stand for will fade away into oblivion.
Maybe I shouldn’t care so much, and perhaps tomorrow I won’t. But today, I do.
9 Comments
I agree with you one million percent. I had the best time this year in Philly cheering others on during the race. I now look at price before entering.
I agree with you 1,000,000%, Big Toe, Remission Man. However, we all know that the WTC will, never — stress NEVER — become grounded, in-touch, down-to-Earth again. They are owned by a holding company. Period.
They have lost all sight of what it means to be a grass-roots sport, when we used to have transition areas in people’s back yards because that was the only access between a quiet, little lake and the street for the bike course. WTC is no longer the Sharon Ackles-era sport, and it has grown up in such a greedy way, since Lew Friedman’s last year or so and especially since Ben Fertic took over (and to be clear, and I can say this because I am Jewish, it’s not for the stereotypical comment some people might say “because their last names are Jewish” – I assume they are, but I’ve not wasted time looking into it.).
It is truly disgusting in the way they gouge the consumer, but, is the NFL any different when they charge $75 for the cheapest seat at a game and seven dollars for a beer, and the players hold out for another $2MM? Why does it happen? Because WE, THE PEOPLE, do not stage our own lock-out. Because WE, THE PEOPLE, do not refuse to go to just one game — nationwide — to show our disagreement with their greed and our ability to fight back.
Steve, as the old saying goes, “the masses are asses.” Many triathletes are self-absorbed and selfish, wanton and untrustworthy. Knowing quite a few people in the business of triathlon, I can say that there are a number of influential people who fit this description, too. WTC’s personality, starting with many in leadership roles, fit it. At the end of the day, you have those kinds of people leading, and the asses…or sheep…following.
So, if you want to change the face of triathlon, the people need to form power in numbers to make a difference. Or, we all need to just go back to our own roots, and star racing only HFP events, SommerSports, events, etc.
well written…
any ideas as to what i can have my m dot tat turned into?
I actually really liked your comments on the logos. It’s so funny because I thought so many similar thoughts this past weekend (first half was awesome btw!). I didn’t care that the race wasn’t an official Ironman sanctioned 70.3 – but that is such a big deal to many. Ridiculous. The branding is insanely expensive, and the people that buy into in a lot of ways are the ones I don’t particularly care for at races. You’d be proud of me, I cheered for all fellows athletes and had fun on race day. And I did it for me, because it was a goal and the feeling of accomplishment is all I ever wanted/needed. Setting my eyes on a full…for me and me only, for the love of the sport. Just wanted to tell you I enjoyed the post and can almost hear you saying that all out loud lol.
Fantastic article and could not agree with you more! That’s why I refuse to do Ironman races any more and have been having a lot more fun back to the roots of triathlon with ultra-tri’s. I plan on attempting a world record on Ironmans and am not looking forward to having to deal with the WTC races – that’s for sure.
Hope your well with your training and racing!
Best regards,
Wayne Kurtz
Steve:
In a post Cultural Turn world, identity is created in the moment of consumption. The IM is not an event as identity is not a “thing.” Each produce each other.
WTC is owned by a venture capital group. You know how that works better than I—value is created when a product is sold for more than it was purchased.
And fair market value is what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller.
How many commercial products do you know of that signify the same thing for a person or persons in perpetuity? The GM Buick was considered the best car on the road a few decades ago.
It’s a fair and useful rant but perhaps a hopeless one. The IM logo will have a life of its own dictated by the ever-changing relationship between production and consumption. If enough athletes felt as you do, they would not consume IM products and the corporation would either realize this and make appropriate changes in their image or ultimately lose the value of an unstable and dated image. To wit, GM could not respond to the defensible claim that the Japanese could build a better car.
The IM logo is in a “market cycle,” being popularized/massified in an effort by the Providence Group to own a property that is worth much more than they paid.
Interestingly, the IM lore—part of its inherent value—was constituted in the non-corporate environment of Valerie Silk’s tenure as owner/manager. That organic growth period gave way to increasing capitalization as subsequent owners saw the value.
In a market economy, stasis is not possible. The “shelf” life of a thing is always and already growing or shrinking. Brian Maxwell, Powerbar founder, resisted this fact at first but then realized the utilitarian element of growing/massifying his product. First, he maintained the integrity of the product itself (IM races are very well staged) , they were more widely available to those who chose to spend their discretionary income in that category (your IM NY $895 example), and then he sold to Nestle for $386m and began his philanthropic career spreaded his wealth and knowledge to the less fortunate.
Providence will likely sell its IM product (remember—they don’t own the trademark, only the events. Marvel Comics owns the “Ironman” name) which is increasingly the events themselves, when they feel they have increased the market value of its property. And any subsequent owner will then dictate the direction of that property.
The athlete/consumer necessarily might decide that, yes, as you suggest, an M-dot tattoo is akin to a Chevy or Ford logo on your calf. But if you haven’t been to the Midwest in recent years, there remains an ideological division made explicit by the kind of truck that you drive.
The IM logo and the events will not go away any time soon. And don’t expect WTC/IM to “redeem themselves” by reducing entry fees; not when they can sell out a $900 race in 20 minutes. Corporations are not people but an entity unto itself. But I suspect that your frustrations are reflective of many others who had an identity relationship with the IM logo when it signified something else. Herein lies the danger in a consumer-based society: when our identities are linked to the material production/consumption cycle, the Self becomes controlled by those who control the production. That may be the root of yours’ and other’s frustration—we are losing our sense of agency and are challenging those that we as consumers created.
In a way, we are teens creating our own identities by fighting with our parents.
In some ways it’s a Pogoian realization—“we have met the enemy and he is us.” And when we fall back to the resistance is voting with our pocketbook, essentially we are saying that we can longer see nor constitute our Selves in a moment of subject-creation that partners us with a particular product. We can find our selves in our activities and our human-to-human relationships or we can again define our Self in another moment of consumption by choosing another product.
There is also an element of classic Marxism here as well. If we become increasingly alienated from the product we produce (we can no longer afford to race an IM brand event), then our frustrations are ameliorated in some organization/revolution where the worker denies their place in the means of production and looks for new opportunities to sustain their livelihood.
Maybe you are that worker.
Keep on,
ST
Great seeing you last night at the screening of Running with Demons. Love your writing and liked our conversation on this topic last night. Peace to you mate.
Thanks for sharing. Your words are spot on! As I travel around for races I constantly hear athletes bitch about WTC events and swear they’ll never sign-up for another one. Those same athletes are the ones first in line to sign-up when registration opens. WTC has mastered the art of pre-race registration hype and often the ability to register becomes an event in itself.
I keep hoping the IM bubble will burst soon.
Speaking of IM tattoos, at the Gulf Coast tri this year I saw a guy that had the Ironman Florida logo tattooed all the way across his upper back. The tat was at least 12 inches across, insane!
I hope you are doing well.
Have a great summer!
I agree with you Steve and if I didn’t have events that have been targets of WTC in the past, I would forward this to everyone in my database. They have gone after any and all races that used the term “Iron” in their race names. I have friends who had Half Irons that used that term and were sent a letter threatening them with a lawsuit. Part of that was OK, they owned the term. But they did it right before the race forcing them to throw away plaques, t-shirts and other materials that had that term in the name.
They are now coming out with a new race series, called the Primal Challenge and I just noticed they have formed a partnership with the Marines http://primalchallenge.com/ is the website, they have a FB page as well. There are two courses so far, FL and the Whitewater Center in NC.
So they are going bigger toooooo.
Hope you are doing well, see you soon.