We’ve teamed up with one of our favorite local companies, Soul Poles, to bring you:

Phase 1 of our #SustainableStoke Challenge

We all share a passion for the outdoors, we conquer our fears, quiet our minds, and express infinite enjoy when we emerge ourselves in it. The outdoors is our playground, with unlimited possibilities, yet fragile barriers.  The playgrounds we love: our oceans, mountains, lakes and deserts must be protected. We are all one with our surroundings and environment; so let’s make every little choice with that in consideration.

Let’s all take an effort to spread sustainable stoke

During the next 2 weeks, we are holding an Instagram challenge in dedication to spreading the word about protecting our playgrounds and to share how we protect our Earth. Our hope is that we continue to inspire both friends and strangers to step in and make a difference, so we can pass down this beautiful world for generations to come.

We are asking YOU, the Spread Stoke community, to help pass the notion of #sustainablestoke forward.  In exchange, we are giving away a pair of customized “Spread Stoke” bamboo Soul Poles so that you can continue doing what you love with gear that makes you feel good about it. On Christmas morning, we’ll announce the winner (selected at random) on Instagram and send them out their new quality shafts.

To Enter the #SustainableStoke Instagram Challenge:

1. Follow both @spreadstoke and @soulpoles on Instagram
2. Share a photo on your Instagram that sums up how you reduce your impact on the environment or how you directly partake in a sustainable activity
3. Use the hashtag #sustainablestoke so we can see your post

Here’s to the playgrounds we love and to making continuous steps towards a sustainable future!

• Learn More: Read our interview with Soul Pole’s Co-founder, Bryon Friedman.
• Special Gear Offer:

EDITORS NOTE: This contest has officially ended. To see the results and read about the stories who won, please click here: “Overcoming Obstacles: Contest Winners!”

The desire to be outside, to be free, to laugh till our stomachs hurt, to cry with joy and to have fun is at the core of being stoked. But sometimes life, injuries, mental boundaries, and unforeseen obstacles leap in our way and bring the stoke-factor to a unexpected halt. Overcoming fear, injuries, self-doubt and other life-changing barriers is often a difficult road to go down. It takes both mental and physical perseverance, incredible courage, and often the support of friends and family who can help pick you up when pick-up duty is needed. It also takes doses of inspiration, and that’s why we are here. To get and keep you motivated to take that step forward, no matter how difficult.

That’s why we are throwing a Share Your Story Contest:  ”Overcoming Obstacles” is the theme this month: August 2014!*

We want YOU to share your story, photos, and/or videos of how you’ve overcome an obstacle. Whether you’ve had to push aside the daunting fear of failure, mental illness, chronic disease, physical pain, life-changing injuries, gnarly crashes, financial hardships, or simply decided to skip a “normal” career path to pursue your dream…sharing your story can offer a catalyst for friends, strangers, and other adventure seekers to do the same. Go ahead and pass the stoke forward.

CONTEST PRIZES:

We want to thank you for sharing your story and helping us encourage others to keep pushing themselves. So we are giving away 10 pairs of Skullcandy Navigator Headphones this month! To enter the contest, simply share your story with us between August 1st – August 31st by midnight (mountain time).

Here’s how it works…

In each category, 1 winner will be selected by “Most Liked” post and the 2nd winner will be an “Editors Pick”.  Share your post on spreadstoke.com with friends, family, and fellow athletes to have them like your post on our site. On Sept. 14th, our deadline hits and we will tally up which posts have the most “likes” & which posts will be considered for the “Editor’s Pick”. We will announce the winners via our social channels (@spreadstoke), on our email newsletter, and on our site. We will also contact the winners directly via email to get their information so we can ship them their brand spankin’ new Skullcandy Navigator Headphones. 

HOW TO ENTER:

We have 5 categories on our site: Bike, Climb, Snow, Air & Water, and Lifestyle. You’re content will need to fall into one of these subjects. Don’t forget that there are 2 ways to win in each category, so you can share different stories for different categories if you like.

STEP 1: Sign up for a Spread Stoke Account (or simply sign in if you already have one).

STEP 2: Create a new post! Give it a catchy title and tell us your story. Pictures & videos are worth a 1000 words and can often add to the depth of your tale.

STEP Hit submit & let our editors do the rest. You’ll receive an email once your post as been pushed live. You’re now entered!

SHARE: Once your post is live, you can share your story on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, & via email to your family and friends to get the word out. Readers can “Like” your story by clicking the “thumps up” icon on the post.

We can’t wait to read and share everyone’s amazing stories and adventures this month! If you know someone who would love to participate or would like to contact us directly, please share this with them. We are always looking to cover inspiring stories to share with our community! A massive shout-out to Skullcandy for helping us hook-up our contributors. You guys rock & your headphones kick-ass!!

Don’t forget to follow @spreadstoke on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay in the loop for future contests and daily inspiration. Use hashtag #spreadstoke to be pulled into our feeds. 

If you have specific questions about the contest, submitting content, or just want to say “Yo, What’s up!?”, please reach out using our CONTACT FORM HERE. Cheers!

*Official Contest Rules & Regulations (aka legal stuff) can be found here.