observing change, researching freeskiing

Change is at the core of our consumer society. Ever new fashions create never-waning demand by consumers, continuous emergence of new trends keep markets in unrest. But how exactly does change happen? This research project aims to develop an answer through close observation of a dynamic subculture: Freeskiing.

 

Since approximately ten years, a revolution is changing the face of the skiing world: The freeski revolution. Freeskiing is more than just a sport: It is a lifestyle. A dream. A family. This research project is about understanding freeskiing: What drives the athletes? What fascinates the on-lookers? Why do people watch freeski movies – again and again?

 

But freeskiing is not only a lifestyle sport scene. At the same time it’s an industry. A market segment. A consumption trend. In order to really grasp the nature and dynamic of freeskiing, one has to look at both sides: producer and consumer. Where do trends originate?? How do they develop? What makes brands authentic? Does marketing destroy the spirit of freeskiing?

 

Freeskiresearch.com introduces an ongoing, in-depth research project on the freeskiing culture and industry. The project explores this duality, combining marketing sciences and its consumer culture studies with contemporary developments in sociological theory, especially with regard to practices of consumption. The research is a PhD-project at the SfS-HSG, the Seminar for Sociology at the University of St. Gallen in cooperation with the Department of Sociology at Lancaster University and the Unit of Knowledge, Finance and Society of the Department of Sociology at the University of Constance.