Rich Klein is president of W.E.ROCK, the World Extreme Rock Crawling Championship Series. Featuring the Eastern and Western series and the Grand Nationals in the US, and the World Championships in Sydney, Australia, W.E.ROCK is beginning what Klein calls a “banner year.” In a recent interview, he talked about the series’ success, his plans for expansion, and the popularity of rock crawling.
Q: The first two events of the western series have taken place. How did they go?
A: They went absolutely fantastic. We had good crowds, with truly record breaking attendance by competitors for each one of those events, and we had lots of media coverage, and everybody enjoyed themselves… We had lots of magazine and internet coverage.
Q: Overall, how are things looking this year?
A: We’re looking for a banner year. This is going to be one of those years that really increase the awareness of rock in the general motorsports arena.
Q: Are you seeing the growth you expected in this sport? Has it exceeded your expectations?
A: Over the last few years, we’ve experienced approximately 15% growth in spectator count at our events and somewhere around a 5-10% growth in competitors – so our growth has been continuous. We actually expect that to continue. Basically, in the next year or so we, within two years, we expect to create another series that will basically be a made-for-TV rock crawling series.
Q: What do you think explains that popularity?
A: I think it’s the affordability and the average Joe effect. Anybody can go out and by a jeep, but not everybody can go out and by a NASCAR race car, and not everybody can by a funny car. Competing in other types of racing takes a million dollar budget. You can compete in rock crawling while working a 9:00 to 5:00 job.
Q: Long-term, how do you see W.E.ROCK developing in coming years?
A: Here in the US, we see continued growth and the sport becoming more mainstream. And then internationally, we see the sport expanding in the next two years probably in another 10-15 countries. Internationally, we’ve already created the W.E.ROCK as an international sanctioning body. We already have associations in Canada, Australia, Mexico, South Africa, and we’ll be in the next two years expanding into South America, Asia, and Europe.
Q: Anything else you’d like to touch on”
A: Just that we’re real appreciative of the companies that have supported us for the past two years.
To find out more about W.E.ROCK, please visit we-rock.cc.
