ACON Thrills Around the World

Finland. Sweden. England. Germany. Spain. The U.S. Japan. Australia. Sounds like the destination list for an awesome around the world trip for a band or globe-trotting traveler, right?

For the last three years, starting well before all our worlds got turned upside down, we started ACON Around the World. It was a global contest meant to inspire and unite our community. The premise was simple: send a single ACON Air 1.8 Trampoline on a whirlwind trip to eight countries, where its shared history and DNA could be an inspiration to many.

One talented person in each country was chosen through a contest with the task to set up the trampoline in an awesome location in their community and showcase their country on our Instagram @aconofficial.

Every participant signed their name on the trampoline padding and sent it off towards its next destination. Here is the whole story behind ACON Around the World!

No matter the location, no matter differences in customs or scenery, Thrill-seeking is a common language. From this travelogue you can see why we call any ACON trampoline a launchpad – as it’s the starting point for fresh, imaginative ideas and jaw-dropping tricks.

We’re humbled and stunned by the videos that the ACON Around the World winners sent back. If you haven’t seen them, check out the links below.

Most inspirational of all from the ACON Around the World experience is the passion and care of the community members. Here are some highlights from the tour:

1St Stop - Bålsta, Sweden

Oscar Sundbom (@oscar.sundbom) and his friends Viktor (@viktorgtramp) and Sigge (@siggepettersson_) took the Baby Acon to a seaside cliff for an awesome sunset photoshoot! Oscar told us he started flipping in 2012 and found the passion to keep progressing early on. He now regularly shares ideas and flips with the Instagram community he loves.

2nd Stop - Gillingham, UK

Roberto Grigore (@rob.flipzzz) was ready to take on the challenge. Even if Roberto doesn’t describe himself as a “big flipper” he thinks this sport is something that should be more recognized than what it is now. The project caught his eye as something fun for him and his friends Tyeler (@tyelerford1440), Bailey (@pk.Bailey) and Daniel (@danieltourle) to do, and it turned out to be exactly that!

“Trying to figure out a way on how to get to Blue Bell hill, was something that took quite a bit to figure out. When we got there, we had some filming ideas which we wanted to take on. I wanna thank my friends for helping me carry this project around as well as Daniel for helping with the edit.“

As I final farewell Roberto has a message to the flipping community, “To all of you out there, that are the main heart of this sport and the ones that are training their hardest to improve, I want to say good luck with the process of it and have fun!”

3rd Stop – Rennertshofen, Germany

Michael Hermann (@mihi_hermann) was waiting with his brother Tobias (@tobi_flipz) for ACON to arrive. The brothers tried multiple locations over several days before finally setting up in a lovely fall colored riverbank to take awesome sunset photos!

“One of our locations was on top of a big hill. It was pretty exhausting to get there but definitely worth it in the end! It was a lot of fun filming this project. I would love to see some more events like this!”

4th Stop – Barcelona, Spain

As the ACON continued around the world, a freerunner named Sergio Castillo (@sergio_turn) was waiting to take the Baby Acon for a sandy beach session with his friends Jan (@janramirezlopez), Marc (@marc_goma), Pau (@pawdrift), Javier (@polarized_boy4), Bogdan (@w_dragomir) and Sete (@setee_garciaa).

When asked if he’d like to share something to the flipping community, Sergio had some beautiful insight on movement as an art form. “Every person forges their own style and way of doing the same things. Flipping is an art and depends on the meaning that the person gives it. Art wouldn't be that funny if it didn't depend on the interpretation. So, it's not that important to have an incredible level, even repeat the same moves every time, the point is express yourself by doing what you love, improving your understanding.”

5th Stop – Indiana, USA

After crossing the North Atlantic Sea, the next stop for the Baby Acon was with Jake Williams (@jakawill). After receiving the trampoline Jake together with his friend Nathan(@nathan.altman) decided to take the trampoline downtown in a small city to film in front of their courthouse. Since the sun was already setting when they got there, they had to assemble the trampoline and film as soon as possible. The video is amazing, and you can see how much fun they had filming and doing flips in the crisp spring evening!

“This community has been amazing from the moment I started doing flips; everybody is so supportive, creating an environment where it’s easy to make friends you know you’ll have for a long time. I couldn’t thank you all enough for being a part of this community and shaping its culture in a way where everyone feels welcomed and encouraged right from the beginning.”

6th Stop – Nagoya, Japan

Across the Pacific Ocean Takafumi Kimoto (@midorichannn) was waiting for the Baby Acon. On a nice sunny spring day, Takafumi and his friends took the trampoline to a beach for an awesome day of filming! The videos they filmed as extremely entertaining and unique, definitely worth watching! During the day of filming, they ended up finding someone's lip balm in the special shipping box made for the ACON Around the World campaign. There are surprises in every turn.

7th Stop – Brisbane, Australia

As the final destination for ACON Around the World, before returning to Finland Andrew Carter (@parkourayce) was waiting. In the warm Aussie sun, Andrew took the Baby Acon to Bribie Island for some awesome flips! Placing a trampoline to a pier or otherwise by the edge of water and flipping into it is one of our favorite summertime activities.

8th Stop – Helsinki, Finland

Once the Acon Around the World arrived back in Finland, it had a quick check rendezvous with ACON Team Leader Markku Keski-Oja (@marqflips). Together with his friends Lauri (@laurisuuriniemi), Aleksi (@sainioaleksi) and Felix (@felix.flips), the boys set out for an awesome day at filming! According to Markku it was fun to get together and do something they wouldn't otherwise have done.

“I looked at possible locations from Google earth, and went to see what would be the best fit one day in advance. On the filming day we got lucky with the weather and the clips turned out good.“

For anyone looking to get better at flips Markku has some concreate advice: practice makes perfect. Just keep training, and eventually you'll see the results. The more repetitions you do for a trick, the better it's going to get. Slowly but surely.

Bringing it back home

After traveling thousands of miles and getting to be the launchpad for eight talented trickers and filmmakers around the world, the trampoline has now finally arrived home, back to our main office in Oulu, in Northern Finland. If you are curious about the final fate of ACON Around the World, head over to our Instagram @aconofficial since one lucky person will get the world record trampoline for their very own!

At the center of the journey

When the ACON Around the World challenge was issued, there was only one choice for the trampoline at the heart of it all: our best-selling ACON Air 1.8, better known as Baby Acon. Don’t let its little footprint fool you, as this powerful, precision frame boasts the premium ACON bounce, plus it is portable to all the locations your imagination can take it. It’s a trampoline that’s made to move, ready for anything and certainly the launchpad for your next inspiration. If you’re new to trampolining, it’s the perfect starter model for any family looking to experiment.

Check out Baby Acon