Levi Lavallee gave a whole new meaning to the mantra “Bold North” this weekend with a historic jump over Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis.
LaVallee, who is a Winter X Games gold medalist and holds the record for the longest snowmobile jump, drew thousands of spectators to downtown Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon to watch a snowmobile stunt show which included high-flying tricks across the Nicollet Mall. The thrilling Polaris UpsideDowntown brand activation event aimed to create an experience that would engage both locals and guests from outside of Minnesota alike to show them some of the unique aspects of the Bold North.
As snow fell in downtown Minneapolis and temperatures hovered in the single digits, the crowd counted down the moment to LaVallee’s leap and watched in delight as he gunned it down the ramp and went soaring. For a few surreal seconds, LaVallee hung suspended upside down in mid-air, before sticking a perfect landing on the ramp across the mall, clearing a nearly 100-foot gap.
SixSpeed teamed up with their longtime partner Polaris to make the event happen as part of the Super Bowl 52 Live show on Nicollet Mall. The Polaris brand activation event involved not only LaVallee but, Fred “Fuzzy” Rasmussen, Justin Hoyer, and Josh Penner who are some of the world’s most skilled freestyle snowmobile athletes.
The production presented a huge logistical challenge as the launch and landing ramps needed to be built, barricades put up and several dump trucks full of snow delivered and laid down, all in a confined area and with other Super Bowl Live events going on around it. All told, the SixSpeed team, with the help of Hangman Productions, executed this massive overnight build in just 12 hours. The massive ramps then had to be torn down and the snow cleared away so the street could be reopened the next morning.
Not only was the event high profile because of its involvement with the Super Bowl Live show, but it also garnered major attention from news outlets around the country. The brand activation event was a huge success for both Polaris and SixSpeed.
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