Abstract
The aim of this study is to establish a subcultural power ranking of five lifestyle sports. Subcultural power is the name we have given to quantify the relative influence that lifestyle sport subcultures have on mainstream culture. The five lifestyle sports are surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, mountain biking and trail running. The study consists of an online survey followed by a series of semi-structured interviews. This Industry Report contains the preliminary findings of the online survey.
Out of 720 respondents to the online survey, 411 were active participants in one or more of the five lifestyle sports in the study. Of the 411 active participants, trail running and mountain biking were the most popular sports. Despite this, surfing ranked highest for perceptions of popularity, influence and personal appeal. On this data alone, it is evident that surfing has more subcultural power than the four other lifestyle sports.
From a list of five possible reasons why lifestyle sports are appealing, respondents ranked Fitness and Health, Thrill of the Ride and Sense of Adventure highly. When broken down by age, younger respondents’ favoured Thrill of the Ride while older respondents saw the benefits of Immersion in Nature.
When broken down by sport, Thrill of the Ride was the dominant attraction for all three board sports. For the benchmark sports of mountain biking and trail running Fitness and Health and Immersion in Nature take on greater importance.
Notably, the option of Subcultural Belonging did not rank highly on any of the investigations into the reasons why people find lifestyle sports appealing.
A sense of connection to a lifestyle sport is suggestive of the level of commitment one has to a subculture. This study found that active participants have a stronger sense of connection to the sport they practice than non-active participants who do not actively engage in the sport but still identify with the sport. By numbers, active participants are approximately twice as likely to feel a strong connection to the sport they participate in than non-active participants feel to a sport they relate to.
It was also found that surfing ranks highest out of all the five lifestyle sports for the sense of connection that surfers feel towards their subculture. This finding adds weight to the preliminary observation that surfing has more subcultural power than the other four sports in the study.
The results revealed that active participation is a strong predictor of brand and shopping choice. Approximately two thirds of respondents who are active participants declared that their active participation influences the choice of brands and specialist retailer. Approximately one third of non-active participants declared that they make brand and shopping decisions based on their sense of connection and identity to a lifestyle sport subculture.
The Final Report will blend quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) data to deliver a deeper understanding of the present findings and hopefully reveal new findings. The Final Report also aims to produce a subcultural power ranking that reveals a measure of the distance between each sport in the rank order.
Out of 720 respondents to the online survey, 411 were active participants in one or more of the five lifestyle sports in the study. Of the 411 active participants, trail running and mountain biking were the most popular sports. Despite this, surfing ranked highest for perceptions of popularity, influence and personal appeal. On this data alone, it is evident that surfing has more subcultural power than the four other lifestyle sports.
From a list of five possible reasons why lifestyle sports are appealing, respondents ranked Fitness and Health, Thrill of the Ride and Sense of Adventure highly. When broken down by age, younger respondents’ favoured Thrill of the Ride while older respondents saw the benefits of Immersion in Nature.
When broken down by sport, Thrill of the Ride was the dominant attraction for all three board sports. For the benchmark sports of mountain biking and trail running Fitness and Health and Immersion in Nature take on greater importance.
Notably, the option of Subcultural Belonging did not rank highly on any of the investigations into the reasons why people find lifestyle sports appealing.
A sense of connection to a lifestyle sport is suggestive of the level of commitment one has to a subculture. This study found that active participants have a stronger sense of connection to the sport they practice than non-active participants who do not actively engage in the sport but still identify with the sport. By numbers, active participants are approximately twice as likely to feel a strong connection to the sport they participate in than non-active participants feel to a sport they relate to.
It was also found that surfing ranks highest out of all the five lifestyle sports for the sense of connection that surfers feel towards their subculture. This finding adds weight to the preliminary observation that surfing has more subcultural power than the other four sports in the study.
The results revealed that active participation is a strong predictor of brand and shopping choice. Approximately two thirds of respondents who are active participants declared that their active participation influences the choice of brands and specialist retailer. Approximately one third of non-active participants declared that they make brand and shopping decisions based on their sense of connection and identity to a lifestyle sport subculture.
The Final Report will blend quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) data to deliver a deeper understanding of the present findings and hopefully reveal new findings. The Final Report also aims to produce a subcultural power ranking that reveals a measure of the distance between each sport in the rank order.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Publication status | Published - 22 Mar 2025 |