| Learn a little about the man that started it all, CEO of the Extreme Group and Founder of the Extreme Sports Channel, Al Gosling continues to take the brand to new heights. | |
Click on a section below to learn more | |
| all about al | on the road | board seats | podcast | contacting Al |
All About Al |
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Who is Al Gosling?
Al Gosling, developed a passion for
extreme sports during his early
teens and following a number of jobs
went on to set up a business that
would rapidly grow into the Extreme
Group. School work was never a big
focus for Al and being partially
dyslexic he never achieved anything
of note, but very early on he became
an entrepreneur, starting various
business ventures which included
managing two bands and selling board
shorts and surf wear from the back
of his Renault 5, whilst studying
for exams.
Following a two-year spell in the
Bahamas working for a marine
research company as their pilot,
dive master and yacht captain, Al
returned to the UK in 1995. Aged 24
and unable to find a job that
interested him, he set up Extreme
with the goal of mixing sports and
business, working with great people
and having fun while making it
happen. Running on a shoestring
budget, from an office in a
converted barn more akin to a
mountain hut or surf-shack than the
headquarters of a fast growing media
business, Al and the team rapidly
agreed a number of deals with
producers and broadcasters to sell
and distribute extreme and action
sports television programmes all
over the world. In April 1998, Al
had the vision to create and launch
the world's first TV channel
dedicated to extreme sports, The
Extreme Sports Channel. The goal was
to launch a 24/7 TV channel
broadcasting these sports worldwide
via satellite to an under-served
audience. And the rest as they say
is history.
Since then Al and the team have
taken the Brand and developed it
into drinks, shops, mobile phones,
theme parks and clothing. This year
the group employs 247 people and is
on target to reach $45m turnover.
Today Al is completely passionate
about The Extreme Group, Extreme
sports, helping promote
Entrepreneurship to the next
generation and when not in the
office or in meetings you will find
him either windsurfing, kite
surfing, flying, off-piste skiing,
ice climbing or sailing somewhere in
the world.
on the road
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Al developed a passion for extreme
sports during his early teens and
following a number of jobs went on
to set up a business that would
rapidly grow into the Extreme Group.
These days he is focused on building
Extreme, having fun, working with
great people and helping students
develop their entrepreneurial
skills. By visiting different
Universities, being involved with
Enterprise Week and taking part in
the Start Talking Ideas campaign -
Al aims to inspire and help a new
generation of entrepreneurs.
Al's philosophy is to never give up - keep going until it works or you
find an idea that works. That's what
being an entrepreneur is all about -
it's the ability to deliver or adapt
your ideas into something that
people want and then make it happen.
Next Events
Event: City University Business Plan Competition Launch
Location: City University London
Date: 8th October 2009 (1:30pm)
Website: www.city.ac.uk/business
Details: Al will be the featured speaker at this event
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board seats
Glasses Direct
Al met Jamie Murry Wells the 25 year old founder of Glassesdirect when judging a entrepreneurs competition which Jamie won and then came on board as a Non executive director and seed investor. Al then worked helping and advising Jamie across all areas and driving the company forward. It has been a great journey, with Al and Jamie becoming firm friends along the way and Glassesdirect becoming incredibly successful. For more information please visit Glassesdirect here.
Yukka
Al met Robby Sur the 26 year old MD and founder of the UK’s leading online urban fashion retailer Yukka.co.uk and was immediately impressed by Robby approach and the fact he had grown Yukka.co.uk to a £1m plus company withy no outside help at all. Al has recently joined as Non Executive Chairman and taken an equity stake in Yukka with a view to driving the biz and building a group of online retailers all using the same infrastructure and resources but leaving the founders firmly in place running and driving the businesses. For more info please click here.
Diffusion Media Group
Al is a share holder and a non-executive director at Diffusion Media Group, visit the website here.
Bunny Hug Boutique
Al has recently joined the board and taken a stake in bunnyhug.co.uk. More info to come, meanwhile, visit their site here.
podcast
Wanna hear Al? Listen to him talking about what he loves
contacting al
If you like what you see and want Al to come to one of your events send him an email at: Al@Extremeinternational.com