Street League Skateboarding (SLS) and Jones Soda Co. have announced a multi-year partnership to champion current and future generations of action sports. Jones Soda., a longtime supporter of skateboarding and other action sports, will now join forces with the world’s largest competitive skateboarding league to amplify the SLS community and innovative spirit of SLS events. The partnership will feature an integration of the Jones Soda Co. product and the brand’s own action sports heritage into SLS venues, SLS athlete activations, content, and branding throughout the 2024 and 2025 SLS seasons. Through the partnership, Jones will also serve as the official sponsor of SLS Futures, the league’s all-new youth development program.
“At Thrill One, we’re excited to partner with Jones Soda, a brand with a deep, historical commitment to action sports and consumers,” said Matt Cohn, CEO of Thrill One Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of SLS. “Their innovative approach to fan engagement, capturing the spirit of early social media through their iconic labels, showcases their status as pioneers in connecting with audiences. Together, we look forward to building on this existing loyalty, celebrating and developing the next generation of skateboarders, and enhancing our shared experience with fans worldwide.”
Jones Soda has blazed trails in the beverage industry for more than two decades with its pure cane sugar formulation, cult fan following, and ultra creative labels. The brand is available at top retail outlets across the United States and Canada as well as via the Jones online store. In 2022, Jones became the first non-alcoholic carbonated beverage brand to crossover to cannabis and HD9 with Mary Jones. Mary Jones features the same formulation as mainline Jones, adapted for cannabis and HD9, along with edibles and more products to come. Mary Jones HD9 is carried across the country at retail stores as well as Mary Jones’ online store, while its cannabis-infused products are carried in hundreds of dispensaries in California and Washington, including its award-winning Berry Lemonade, Root Beer and more.
Jones’ beverages will be featured across the calendar of SLS events in 2024 and 2025 beginning with the league’s upcoming SLS Apex on May 25, providing fans the opportunity to enjoy an exciting array of craft sodas as the world’s best skateboarders compete at the highest levels in search of the SLS Super Crown title. SLS athletes and brand influencers will also be given the opportunity to engage with Jones Soda Co. as the league’s latest brand partner, further building on the shared community-first spirit of SLS and Jones.
“The innovative spirit of the action sports community has always resonated with Jones and our values and brand, a shared passion and lifestyle that has been a driving foundation for our work together” said David Knight, CEO of Jones Soda. “Thrill One captures this with its top-tier events and talent. We’re thrilled to be involved with the new Youth program to inspire and support the next generation of skaters. We look forward to fans enjoying our brands all season long.”
The partnership comes on the heels of SLS’s highly successful 2023 season, in which the series finals, the 2023 SLS Super Crown World Championship in São Paulo Brazil, garnered over 15 million views over the course of its weekend event. The accomplishment not only underscored SLS’s global influence but also showcased the league’s widespread popularity and prominence within the world of competitive skateboarding. Now, well into the 2024 season, SLS has established itself among the fastest-growing sports properties in the world, garnering a 128% increase in impressions, 153% growth in interactions and 349% growth in followers across its social media platforms year-over-year to date. Similarly, broadcast viewership on the league’s latest SLS San Diego Finals in April 2024 achieved 75% higher viewership than the SLS Chicago Finals in April 2023, representing just under one year of growth for the company and its viral, loyal following.
As part of its commitment to growing community and engagement in skateboarding, Jones Soda Co. will also take a leading sponsorship role this summer in SLS Futures, Street League Skateboarding’s youth program aimed at developing the next generation of SLS Champions. SLS Futures will be a ten-week program at famed action sports camp Woodward, where the top 20 skateboarders each week–up to 10 men and 10 women–will compete to win a free week at camp. The youth program will culminate with the SLS Futures Camper Final from August 11-17, with both the men’s and women’s youth winners receiving an all-expenses-paid trip to a US SLS event and a VIP experience in 2025, showcasing the best of skateboarding talent.
