Ninety-nine carats. Photo: X Games League
The X Games League is finally in full swing this summer and it’s brought an entirely new look to the iconic action sports brand. Turning the event into a team-based competition has been the highlight of its rebranding, but XGL managed to keep one aspect of individual achievements intact when it held the inaugural X Games Sacramento last month: some impressive medals for podium finishers.
The new gold, silver, and bronze X Games medals were designed by a company that specializes in custom jewelry, GLD Designs. The summer event actually marked the second time the custom jeweler crafted medals for X Games, having rolled out X Games jewelry in Aspen this year too.
“Aye, shoutout GLD, they got me right. We dancing with the diamonds, X Games style,” Zeb Powell said back in January when he showed off a one-of-a-kind custom belt and X Games-branded iced pendant.
The new GLD-X Games collab is a bonafide medal, though, like the kind athletes toss around their necks when they step onto a podium. Each has an images of a skateboarder and BMX rider mid-trick, weighing just under a pound and holding a total of 1,057 hand-set stones (just over 99 carats). The total value, according to GLD: $12,500 each.
Photo: XGL
After two events now, XC Tokyo and XC New York are tied for the lead in team standings. XC Sao Paolo is sitting in third place, with XC Los Angeles in the fourth and final spot in the standings. And as for the rebrand, it appears changing things up has given a boost to the popularity of the brand. Deadline reported this week that the Sacramento event drew more than 12 million linear viewers for ESPN and ABC. According to the networks, that represents a 21-percent boost compared with recent Summer X broadcasts, while digital engagement is up 88 percent on YouTube, according to the league.
