Bail | LRH

Chapter 3: Sponsors

Adrian Casey

Dad and I had been getting in good runs, and some killer jumps and flips at the trick park before we decided to call it for lunch. We finished our last run and were making our way over to the restaurant in the ski lodge to refuel ourselves before private training lessons which meant focusing on perfecting skills and tricks, and working on landing said tricks.

We unclipped our boots from the bindings on our boards, and held our boards in our hands as we made our way over to the restaurant. We made some small talk discussing how our runs went and what we liked about how the fresh powder felt today when my dad remembered something.

"Oh, hey wait kiddo" my dad stopped walking, pulling me to the side so we were out of the way of other people around us. "I forgot to tell you earlier. You know my friend Henry, the one you just met earlier."

"Yeah that was like four hours ago dad, of course I remember" I chuckled, wondering what was so important about this Henry guy that we needed to stop walking. "But what about him?"

"Well, he saw you at the X Games!"

"Is that all you had to say, because that was very anticlimactic, dad" I said, putting my board down and crossing my arms waiting for my dad to either continue, or tell me he had made this conversation more suspenseful than was needed.

"No, no, no, that's not all" he said shaking his head at me, "he works for Red Bull." My lips parted, and my eyes grew wide, because if this went where I thought it was going, I might just faint on the spot. "He said they want to sponsor you!"

And with this, my jaw was on the floor, and I could not find it anywhere within myself to form words. I had been wanting a Red Bull sponsorship for so long. Sure I have other sponsors, but so many of the greats were Red Bull sponsors, and it was just sort of iconic and a staple to have a company like that sponsor you when you're an athlete. I knew they had taken interest in me when I won my first medal, but they didn't want to take the chance that I would burn out within the next year because I was so young, and after that I thought they had just forgotten about me.

"What did you say to him?" I asked my dad, hoping that he took the offer right away, because my dad knew more than anyone else how bad I wanted that sponsorship.

"I told him that you would be thrilled and that we could finalize everything over the upcoming weekend!" My dad said with a huge smile on his face.

I didn't hesitate to bring my dad into a bear hug. I was so happy I could literally run ten miles right now, which said a lot because I hated running.

"And here's the best part" my dad continued as my arms were still around him.

"What is it?" My words came out very muffled because I was speaking directly into his snow jacket at this point.

"They want to sponsor you, and the boys!" and with this, my arms fell from my father's figure and I stepped back immediately with the smile now gone from my face. He didn't have to tell me who "the boys" were because there was only one group of boys on the mountain that competed at the same level as I did. And it was the same group of boys that caught me at the top of the mountain earlier.

"They want to sponsor the boys?" I asked him. I knew that they were definitely good enough athletes for this sponsorship, but man oh man I wish I could just have this win for myself.

"Yeah, the boys! You know, Calum, Irwin, Clifford, and–"

"Please don't say it."

"And Luke" he finished chuckling at the groan I let out when he mentioned Luke's name.