The X Games hired new CEO Jeremy Bloom in December 2024

The X Games is an annual extreme sports competition

The official X Games site offers event schedules, athlete profiles, competition results, and news for both summer and winter editions—along with videos and highlights from skateboarding, BMX, motocross, and other action sports.

X Games League to debut team-based format in 2026

Beginning in 2026, the X Games League will feature four city-based franchises with male and female athletes competing in skateboarding, BMX, and motocross—introducing season-long team competition to the event’s structure.

Extreme Games rebranded as X Games for global appeal

In 1996, ESPN shortened “Extreme Games” to “X Games” to make the name easier to translate for international broadcasts and to strengthen branding as the competition expanded to global markets.

Interest in the X Games is growing fast among younger teens

The 2025 X Games Salt Lake City delivered double-digit viewership growth—up 12% across ESPN platforms from 2024—with a 328% surge among 12- to 17-year-olds.

The Salt Lake City event marked the X Games’ 30th anniversary

At the 2025 Salt Lake City X Games, Ryan Williams landed his first BMX Dirt gold medal with a triple backflip; 14-year-old Heili Sirvio and 15-year-old Arisa Trew made groundbreaking wins in women's Park and Vert Best Trick; and Justin Dowell took BMX Park gold.

X Games emerged during “extreme” marketing boom in the 1990s

Launched as the “Extreme Games” in 1995, the event tapped into a trend from the '90s of brands labeling products and events “extreme” to appeal to youth culture—mirroring marketing in soft drinks, snacks, and video games.

The X Games pioneered broadcast innovation with live drone coverage

In 2015, ESPN used untethered drones for the first time in US live sports—deploying them at the X Games to capture aerial footage from angles previously impossible.

ESPN launched X Games in 1995 with a $10M investment

ESPN invested a reported $10 million in the original 1995 “Extreme Games”—the production cost that launched action sports into mainstream culture and drew nearly 200,000 spectators to its debut in Rhode Island.

The first Winter X Games launched in 1997 at Big Bear Lake

The inaugural Winter X Games in 1997 introduced snowboarding, skiing, and snowmobile events—helping boost winter action sports’ popularity and paving the way for snowboarding’s inclusion in the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Read about why Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd stepped down as CEO in 2024 only to return in 2025

When Wolfe Herd stepped down as CEO in 2024, assuming an executive chair role, she said she was eager to return to her "founder roots" and do more big-picture thinking. However, when her replacement as CEO, the former Slack CEO Lidiane Jones, left the company "for personal reasons," Wolfe Herd once again assumed the CEO role. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Shaun White is among the most decorated X Games athletes

Competing in both snowboarding and skateboarding, Shaun White has won 15 X Games gold medals—10 in snowboard superpipe—making him one of the most successful and versatile athletes in the event’s history.

X's brand health has sharply declined since Elon Musk's takeover

Since Musk acquired the platform, impression, quality, and satisfaction scores have all turned negative—reflecting widespread disapproval among former and current users. As of fall 2024, despite the reputational damage, X remains the sixth-most-visited website globally.

See how the Winter X Games course is built

Winter X Games courses are custom-built over weeks, with crews moving thousands of tons of snow to create features like halfpipes and jumps—incorporating athlete input to ensure challenging designs that push progression and safety.

Tony Hawk's rise from outsider to skateboarding legend

In this podcast, Tony Hawk discusses his path from being an outsider in a niche sport to becoming skateboarding's most recognizable figure—reflecting on competition dominance, business ventures, and lessons learned throughout his career.

Bumble went public with an IPO in 2021

That year, Bumble Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd became the youngest female CEO to ever take a company public. The company pivoted during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, focusing its marketing strategy on promoting social-distanced dating and its video chat features.

Airbnb's Brian Chesky explains 'Founder Mode' and how he took back control

The short-term rental CEO learned hard lessons through the pandemic, specifically around a culture focused on management and not building products. In the fall of 2024, Chesky gave a well-received speech at a startup conference that prompted debate in the startup world. He summarizes the talk here.

Inside entrepreneur Bryan Johnson's race to live forever

Created by entrepreneur Bryan Johnson in 2022, the Rejuvenation Olympics asks participants to find ways, including exercise and dietary supplements, to slow their biological aging. But some of these tactics are extreme in cost or nature—such as Johnson's regular injections of blood from his teenage son.

Elon Musk claims cutting costs fast was the only way to stop X from dying

Laying off 80% of X's workforce, says Musk, was required to avoid a financial collapse within months of him purchasing the platform. In 2023, he claimed X would be cash-flow positive within the year as advertisers returned to the platform.

X's quirky culture clashed hard with Elon Musk's extreme leadership style

Investigative journalists have written that social platform X's open, sometimes chaotic workplace stopped when control shifted irreversibly from Jack Dorsey to Elon Musk. They claim the stark contrast in personalities left little protection for existing employees, culture, or users.

Inside the first year as a CEO

The CEO role is a complicated one, especially for those who haven't held it before. A recent study found that among CEOs who left their jobs in the first quarter of 2024, 15% held the job for less than 24 months. That's up almost 10% from 2019. This article highlights the challenges CEOs face in their first year on the job, and describes how they can overcome them. Read more here.

The company's success is often credited to cofounder Reed Hastings

Hastings advocates management philosophies like radical candor, agility, and a hands-off approach to high-performing employees. He stepped down as CEO in 2023 but remains Netflix's chairman.

Bob Burnquist delivered a near-perfect vert run at the 2001 X Games

Bob Burnquist scored 98.00 in skateboard vert at the 2001 X Games, executing tricks never before attempted in competition—widely regarded as one of the greatest vert runs in history.

Whitney Wolfe Herd's return as CEO boosted Bumble's declining stock price

While the uptick didn't last, when Bumble announced Founder Wolfe Herd's return in 2025, shares rose in premarket trading and later that day. Investors likely hoped that her strategy could restabilize the business.

Bumble was originally created under the MagicLab parent company

When Blackstone acquired MagicLab in 2019, Bumble Founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd was elevated to CEO of the entire parent company (which also owned Indian dating app Badoo). The parent company was rebranded as Bumble Inc.

Silicon Valley’s reign over tech, money, and politics

Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and others are getting into politics. From Musk’s role in President Trump’s second term to Hoffman’s spending on former Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign, more tech CEOs are expanding into politics. This podcast episode by WBUR and American Public Media discusses what the impact could be with so many tech figures engaging in American politics. Listen here.

The evolution of X, from startup to Musk-owned giant, reflects rapid tech shifts

Twitter began in 2006 as a side project and grew into a major global platform, widely used for news, activism, and political discourse. Despite mainstream success, it faced ongoing management turmoil, business struggles, and rising concerns over misinformation and user safety.

See the schedule and headline keynote speakers for CES 2026

CES 2026 features keynote speakers including entrepreneur and "All-In" podcast cohost Jason Calacanis, and Lenovo Chairman & CEO Yuanqing Yang—part of a lineup spotlighting voices shaping the future of tech and business.

Apple CEO Tim Cook on what it takes to run the world's largest company

Apple CEO Tim Cook is a tough interview subject. He doesn't give many of them, and when he does it's often difficult to move him off of his talking points. In this interview for Dua Lipa's podcast, however, he opens up for a wide-ranging discussion about everything from artificial intelligence to the impact of technology on climate change—in addition to his own personal journey and his philanthropic endeavors.

Klaus Schwab resigned from the World Economic Forum in 2025

Schwab stepped down as chair of the World Economic Forum in 2025 amid reports and internal scrutiny over alleged improper use of Forum resources and workplace culture issues, ending more than five decades at the organization’s helm. The board later reshaped its leadership structure to a more institutional model rather than a founder-centric model.

A chat with YouTube CEO Neal Mohan

In a conversation with Bloomberg, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan maps out how the company is taking what it’s learned thus far and embedding itself into the “lean-back” TV viewing experience.

Steve Bannon was made CEO of the company in charge of Biosphere 2 in 1994

After providing $200M to launch and upgrade B2 before its second mission, billionaire philanthropist Ed Bass appointed the future political strategist and then financial consultant to help find new investments and bring costs under control. Fearing interference from non-science experts, Biospherians from the first mission vandalized the project.

Listen to a 2026 interview where Bumble's CEO said its stock is down 96% since its IPO 'for no reason'

CEO and Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd said the company is still performing very well. She added that the business makes $1B per year and referred to it as profitable. She went on to say "who knows what people trade stock on?" and that she believes the stock market has written Bumble off as if it were debt

Ryan Sheckler won X Games gold at only 13 years old

In 2003, Ryan Sheckler won the skateboard park event at the X Games, becoming the youngest gold medalist in the competition’s history at just 13 years old.

A short-lived dance festival gave a promoter the idea for Coachella

In 1996, Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett helped organize the Organic festival, an all-night electronic music festival held at a ski resort east of Los Angeles. Tollett said he was inspired by the way Organic's lineup brought the United Kingdom's burgeoning rave culture to a distinctly picturesque and American venue and environment.

CEO Gary Tan explains Y Combinators guiding philosophy

Hear YC President and CEO Garry Tan talk about why he values earnesty and excellent communication skills in YC founders, his thoughts on AI, and more in this unexpectedly deep and in-depth interview.

Contestants in an annual extreme sports competition are encouraged to use steroids and growth hormone, using athletes as guinea pigs.

Travis Pastrana landed the first Moto X double backflip in 2006

At the X Games in 2006, Travis Pastrana became the first to land a double backflip in Moto X competition, earning a perfect score and setting a new benchmark for aerial difficulty.

The rebrand to X was to make Twitter an all-in-one social media app

Elon Musk renamed the platform as part of his plan to create an app that goes beyond posts and tweets. The rebrand included a new name, logo, and vision for a platform that offers messaging, video, banking, shopping, and more.

Bumble's origin story includes a Russian billionaire, a Tinder cofounder, and a private jet.

How to make a billion dollars, with Brad Jacobs

Brad Jacobs is a serial entrepreneur who has launched eight billion-dollar enterprises during his storied financial career. With companies focused in energy, waste, and more, Jacobs has stuck to a roll-up playbook of consolidating small players into one conglomerate within an industry, a common tactic of similar private equity firms. This podcast from Founders summarizes Jacobs' book detailing his approach.

Meet Klaus Schwab, the founder and driving force behind Davos

Klaus Schwab founded the World Economic Forum in 1971 and spent five decades promoting stakeholder capitalism and cross-sector cooperation among elites. Under his leadership, Davos became a hub for global power brokers. Schwab stepped down from the role in April 2025 amid accusations of misconduct.

View a timeline of Sam Altman's firing and reinstatement as Open AI CEO

Besides saying that Altman hadn't been "consistently candid" in his discussions with them, OpenAI's board did not detail any wrongdoing that led to the firing on November 17, 2023. Four days later, Altman was reinstated, and a new board was assembled.

Listen to a podcast episode where Y Combinator CEO Gary Tan explains why YC tends to outperform many other Silicon Valley startup accelerators.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s keynotes have become a main event at CES

Watch Jensen Huang’s 2025 CES keynote, where he unveiled major advances in AI and GPU technology. His presentations now draw global attention, blending product reveals with sweeping visions of the future of computing.

Bluesky is gaining momentum by offering users full control over their experience

Controversial changes made by Elon Musk to X have inspired an exodus from that platform and growth in Bluesky. The latter's open-source model gives users customizable feeds, portability between services, and a "billionaire-proof" design that prevents corporate takeover.

Learn about the Black Bear Sports Group—a hockey conglomerate changing the ice rink industry

Ice rinks are notoriously difficult to operate, due to the complex cooling systems required to maintain the ice itself, and have an average operating lifespan of 25 years. However, Black Bear Sports Group has made millions by buying up failing ice rinks and running robust youth sports programming.

Many of the 2010s girlboss-era founders experienced a public fall from grace in 2020

In the 2010s, dozens of female founders were celebrated on the covers of business magazines like Inc. for their recent startup success, from Emily Weiss’s Glossier makeup brand to Steph Korey’s Away luggage company. But many of these companies were also the subject of large takedown articles around the year 2020.

Tony Hawk landed the first-ever 900 at the 1999 X Games

Tony Hawk made history by landing the first 900-degree spin in competition in 1999 after 11 attempts—creating one of the most iconic moments in action sports.

Blackstone acquired a majority stake in Bumble's former parent company in 2019 ahead of the dating app's IPO

The New York City-based investment management company paid about $3B for its stake in female-focused dating app Bumble. The app's 2021 IPO that made Bumble Founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd a billionaire at age 31 proved lucrative for Blackstone as well.

How Guinness World Records has pivoted to a publicity business

Now that Guinness World Records gets paid to host record-breaking events, is there a conflict of interest? Here's a look at the worldwide record keeping business's pivot toward publicity.