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You can view the review here.

http://www.unsponsored.co.uk/press/?p=2051

And the winner is…

May 25th, 2012 | Posted by John in Ambassador Contest - (0 Comments)
eu-2012

 

Nick Bennett!

Nick’s light hearted, entertaining video struck a chord with the judges, and they deemed his video the best of the lot. Evidently Nick lives within yards of last year’s winner Mark Mulrain- this may inspire some discussion of a conspiracy, but we’d like to attribute Nick and Mark’s success not only to IR’s brilliant “target” marketing, but also to some video-enhancing toxin found in the local drinking water. We look forward to years and years of winners from that same 2 mile square area.

As you all know, Nick now has earned his pick of $1500 worth of IR gear, as well as a sensual back massage from last year’s winner followed by a gentle kiss on the forehead. The kiss is the exact moment at which the crown is passed from one ambassador to the next.  For reference to future contestants, here is a link to Nick’s video.

We’d like to take a moment to also thank everyone who entered- and as a token of our gratification, we’d like to offer everyone who entered a pro deal on any in-stock IR gear.

All of the judges felt that this was a particularly difficult task to pick a winner- there were several entries that were very, very close. Just so some of you know how close you were, here are the top 5:

  1. Nick Bennet
  2. Jamie Conn (tied for 2nd)
  3. Callum Strong (tied for 2nd)
  4. Ieuan Belshaw
  5. Phil Mitchell

We look forward to seeing your entries next year,

-John, Mark, Kara and Andrew

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Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller is from Traverse City, Michigan. For those of you in Europe who don’t know where “Michigan” is, suffice to say it’s where a vast, vast majority of serious whitewater kayakers come from in the United States. Smack dab in the heart of this whitewater paradise is Traverse City.  The locals simply  call it “Shitrunner City”- a nod to the native American roots of the the word “Traverse”.  Andrew is currently employed at IR, where he has honed the art of dismissing customer concerns as a silly waste of his time. Current favorite response to customer: “Woah. Hold on. Maybe I didn’t make myself clear- I’m from Michigan“.

Kara Weld

Kara basically runs IR. If it weren’t for her, IR wouldn’t be a company with a 17 year year history of making great kayaking gear,  but rather four or five dudes standing around making dick jokes and trying to blow things up. Kara will tell you she doesn’t mind watching your entries, but deep down inside she thinks you are all a bunch of pussies for not paddling gates.

John Weld

John loves weightlifting so much. As you clearly can see, he also loves being super tan- everywhere but around the lips and eyes. Think you can squat thrust more than John? Well, John thinks you’re an idiot, and you’d better keep your mouth shut or he will punch you and your stupid kayak.

Mark Mulrain

Mark is from the UK, which to be honest, we know nothing about. Based on the contest entries though, we’re guessing he paddles a lot in “weirs” and goes to Norway every summer to get his ass beat. Mark was also last year’s Ambassador contest winner and the recipient of $1500 worth of IR “kit”. These two things make Mark undoubtably the most qualified judge. Mark is also the EU sales representative  for IR.

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My name is Callum Strong and I am an 18 year old kayaker from Scotland.
Hopefully my video tells you everything you need to know that I am the kayaker you are looking for.
Check out my other videos to see the sort of online promotion you can expect from me!
Thanks.
More edits:
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My name is Jamie Conn, I am 18 and I’m from Exeter in the South-West of England (currently studying at Durham University).
This is my video entry to the ambassador contest, hope you like it…   https://vimeo.com/42467424
You can also see the other videos I’ve made here…   https://vimeo.com/jamieconn/videos
Thanks for watching,
Jamie
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This year I am going to go to the Europina freestyle championships in Lienz.

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Hi Immersion research,

 I’m Chris Jackson, I’m 18 and from near Liverpool in the UK. I’m a kayak coach with Outdoor Network and a member of the North West Paddlers group. I’ve traveled all round the UK paddling and would be please to be Immersion Research’s UK ambassador bringing the excellent range of gear you produce to the UK market. I have been paddling since I was about 7 but in the last few years have had the opportunity to visit UK venues meeting a great bunch of equally keen paddlers in the process. Have to say I like to get into the mountains of England, Wales and Scotland and take my boat down those less visited places – just to make all the guys and gals at the busy venues jealous. Out in the wilds you need good kit, and your’re producing some of the best at Immersion – check out my video for product placement and thanks very much for watching.
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My name is Charles Blyth and I live on the edge of Birmingham which is in near the center of England. I have just turned 17 and I am currently studying Maths, Physics, Biology and History in A-levels. I have been kayaking since I was 11 and have dabbed my hand in most disciplines, before settling in freestyle and more importantly Creeking. I have excelled in both areas, attaining a place in the GBR freestyle squad and I hope to improve enough be able to compete at the World Championships in America next year, and I would love to have IR with me on this journey. Creek boating wise I have completed Youngest descents on many of the U.Ks most prestigious rivers such as the Fairy Glen on the Conwy. I also compete in Boater X races whenever I can, often giving good competition to the older competitors. At the Etive River Race I came 6th in the sponsored category, being the youngest competitor. Last year I also completed my first European trip to Norway for the Sjoa festival and to also complete a small expedition to the Northen regions of Norway, exploring beautiful rivers which had only seen a few previous descents before hand. I hope to return back to Norway and indeed alot of Europe next year. The reasons I would like to be an ambassador for IR is mainly because I love their gear. Last year I came runner up and as a result I purchased one of their highly acclaimed dry suits. It served hard use over the rest of the year and is in still perfect condition! I also attend most U.K paddling festivals in the U.K, allowing myself to get a clear eye on the U.K paddling scene. I am also part of Wide Eyed Kayaking which is a collective group of paddlers who are slowly getting a name through out the U.K paddling community. Members include the infamous Sam Ellis and Matty Nicholas. I am their youngest member out of 9. I would be able to offer IR great dedication through my enthusiasm, publicity through the many videos and other media I regularly feature in and also the face book and twitter pages I personally use as well as the WEK ones. I love IR, will IR love me?
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Immersion Research,

I have put together this video of the last few months for the IR Ambassador Competition, would be great to join the team and represent IR gear on my travels! Upcoming is the Norway raft season, following which I’m hoping to hit Scotland, Nepal and Sri Lanka again before the end of the year. 

Cheers,
Nathan Fletcher

Age: 24
Current Residence: Heidal, Norway.
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Hello, my name is Philip Mitchell; I’m eighteen years old, live in the UK and I’m studying Civil Engineering at Newcastle University. The reason I want to be the ambassador for IR is that it hasn’t lost sight of why it started in the first place; it is still run by kayakers for kayakers.

At the ripe young age of 18 I have already paddled abroad in Austria, France, Corsica, Slovenia and Switzerland. I’m constantly trying to improve my own paddling and with 6 weeks around France and Norway this summer it will be the perfect opportunity to push myself and hopefully make some new friends along the way.

I would like to think I’m a very enthusiastic paddler and I’m always keen to get on the water. Because of this spending my free time attending as many paddling festivals as possible to get the kit out there and writing regular blog updates would not be problem. If I were to win I would make it my aim to promote and advertise Immersion Research throughout the year and in the future.

http://philjmitchell.wordpress.com/

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Hi

I’m Nick Bennett and I’m a 21 year old kayaker from Sheffield in the UK. I am currently studying for my Masters in Chemistry at Edinburgh University and for the last year I have been on a work placement in Philadelphia. This has given me a unique opportunity to see and become part of the community in which IR is based. I have been so impressed with the community out here that I have teamed up with World Kayak to build a scottish region and bring the down river races and hometown throwdowns back with me to Scotland.

I would like to work with IR because, as well as making great gear I have seen how the company is truly involved in the sport from beginners to the most experienced experts. I am a keen blogger writing for adventure travel advisory magneticjunction.com as well as keeping my own blogtheperiodicpaddler.blogspot.com which has recently had articles published on the playak and kayak session websites. If you want a driven, enthusiastic kayaker with the skills to help build IR’s business in europe then I am your man!

Thanks

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A little more about myself… I’m Ieuan, a Welsh kayaking bum who is always super keen to go boating whenever with whoever. It’s a life style that I enjoy and it brings many small rewards. I love the sense of adventure, going out and hitting up new rivers and waterfalls, going on scouting missions to find such places. This next year I have plans to find more, I have a small personal tick list to get done for local rivers and waterfalls in North and South Wales. More into the future I would like to go abroad starting with Norway for some more exploratory action then heading off to different countries to carry on this passion. I enjoy going to events and seeing old friends and making new ones, recently competing in the Moriston River Race has encouraged me to go back for more races in the future, next up Tryweryn Fest! I would be honored to represent Immersion Research’s bomber gear on these adventures and events. 
Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoy the video.
Ieuan Belshaw