For our consumer culture class my partner Evan Husted and I were assigned to conduct a digital anthropology research project. This project was intended to identify key influencers and digital behavioral patterns in the community of triathletes in Austin, Texas. We entered the wormhole of forum research and presented our findings with additional suggestions for brands that might want to approach this community.

2. Triathletes in Austin

3. What We Did
Started broad- What is a triathlon
Looked at general triathlon websites and forums
Looked at location specific events
Did searches on general triathlon websites to see discussions around Austin
Found influencers and followed them around the internet

4. Triathlons
Triathlon races vary in distance. According to the International Triathlon Union, and USA Triathlon, the main international race
distances are Sprint distance (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run), Intermediate (or Standard) distance, commonly referred to
as "Olympic distance" (1.5 km swim, 40 km ride, 10 km run), the Long Course (1.9 km swim, 90 km ride, 21.1 km run, such as
the Half Ironman), and Ultra Distance (3.8 km swim, 180 km ride, and a marathon: 42.2 km run); the most recognized branded
Ultra Distance is the Ironman triathlon.
Racers are generally categorized into separate professional and amateur categories. Amateurs, who make up the large
majority of triathletes, are often referred to as "age groupers" since they are typically further classified by sex and age;
which offers the opportunity to compete against others of one's own gender and age group. The age groups are
defined in five or ten year intervals.

5. Triathlons- Austin
Event Based
Equipment Based
Group Training Based

6. Event Based

7. Event Based
Events as benchmarks
Ironman as a bragging right
Excuse to travel
Ironman as a national link-up

8. Equipment Based

9. Equipment Based
Heat intense Austin
Multiple sports with multiple demands
Personalized care about products

10. Group Based Training

11. Group Based Training

12. Group Based Training

13. Group Based Training

14. Group Based Training
Pre-event meet-ups
Gateway to the community
Advice, Tips and Guidance about nutrition and routes
Way to learn about new events

15. The 40+ community Over 40 is the fastest growing segment of the sport.
The over 40 crowd knows the race won’t be
handed to them on a silver platter, it’s going to
require a solid commitment and hard work.
They know the importance of finding one or
two others over 40 to take the triathlon
challenge with. They encourage each other,
hold one another accountable, and train
together. They set their sight on a specific They know how to use both wisdom and rebellion.
triathlon, and work towards it together. Wisdom allow them to factor their age into their
personal training plan. The rebellion part comes when
they “get to stand on the beach at the start of the
swim and glance over at a 20-something dude and
say to themselves, “Bring it on!”.”

16. Brad Askins- Our Rabbit
Lives in Austin, TX
Works for Google
Involved in Twitter, the
blogosphere, and forums

17. Brad &

18. Where Brad Took Us

19. A Family Affair

20. Brand suggestions
Family-centric approach
Creating brand community through group training
Respect for local shops Influencers like Brad