Neff Headwear founder Shaun Neff has joined the X Games ownership group as an investor and advisor to boost the brand’s strategy, including rebuilding the brand under new owner MSP Sports Capital.
MSP acquired a majority interest in X Games from ESPN Productions in 2022.
In addition to its winter and summer games each year, X Games plans to grow its event and content footprint to include more, and more inclusive, event qualifiers, as well as new pop-up events that will bring together sports, music, and culture, according to a news release.
Future X Games competitions will have an increased focus on style and creativity. X Games already announced its return to Ventura, California, for Summer X Games June 28-30. Dates for additional new events will be announced in the coming months.
In a release, Neff said that while X Games is iconic, it has lost relevance and its connection to the culture.
“This isn’t about building a brand, the brand is already massive,” Neff said. “It is about rebuilding the brand really intentionally, reconnecting with its youth and counterculture roots, and ultimately transcending sports into broader pop culture.”
In addition to founding and ultimately selling his namesake brand, Neff advised large companies on tapping into youth culture, including Sony Electronics, Target, and Walmart.
He was also part owner of sunscreen brand Sun Bum, which was sold to SC Johnson in 2019, and recently joined the ownership group of the Los Angeles Football Club.
Neff founded Neff Headwear in 2002, which was designed specifically for extreme and action sports. The brand collaborated with celebrities and athletes including Scarlett Johansson, Snoop Dogg, DEADMAU5, Steve Aoki, Kevin Durant, Wiz Khalifa, and others.
“I’ve worked with Shaun at his other ventures and I’ve been blown away by the creativity and authenticity he brings to a team with his decades of marketing and branding expertise, as well as deep relationships in the entertainment and fashion industry,” said Jahm Najafi, founder and chairman of MSP Sports Capital, and founder and CEO of The Najafi Companies. “He has had incredible success standing up household names from nothing, and I can’t wait to see how he elevates the X Games brand that has already been a household name for nearly 30 years.”
