Pro skateboard and BMX riders team up with ASA Entertainment and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids to give TJ a show they’ll never forget.
Professional BMX rider shows off to promote a tobacco free lifestyle. Photo by Mia Nogueira
On Thursday, September 8th ASA Entertainment’s “Get Up Tour” and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids made its way to Thomas Jefferson High School, both promoting its message and motivating students with a full-on BMX and skateboarding show.
The exciting event began promptly at 1:45 p.m., when students flooded outside to the parking lot and quickly surrounded the huge half-pipe, excitedly awaiting the show. Since nothing like this has ever come to TJ before, students were curious as to see how the event would turn out. “I thought it was going to be lame, but I was surprised to find it was actually pretty cool, and I think it interested a lot of kids. It may have even persuaded some of them to rethink smoking cigarettes or chewing tobacco. I thought it was a great way to reach out to teens,” said Junior Alaon Maxwell.
The goal of the tour is to inform teens across America about the great dangers of smoking tobacco, mostly through the introduction of many startling facts and statistics. The tour was created in 2000, and has traveled all across America, teaming up with different corporations every year. This year, ASA partnered mainly with the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, and the U.S. Marine Corps, who paid for the entire event. This upcoming fall, the tour will travel to over 100 high schools in 21 different cities, visiting multiple schools while in each city.
Beginning right here in Denver, the tour kicked off the first of a twelve-week tour all around the country. As the entire student body was given information regarding tobacco, a fantastic BMX and skateboarding show was held.
Pro riders Jay Eggleston, Jimmy Walker, Trevor Meyer, and Dustin Griess entertained the crowd with impressive bike tricks, while pro skateboarder Jay Stevason pumped up the audience on his skateboard. The pro riders helped appeal to a good majority of the students, and kept them entertained and engaged for the full hour they had.
As the pros did their thing, interesting facts about smoking tobacco narrated the show. Students learned that tobacco use is the leading, however preventable, cause of disease and death in the United States. “A fact that definitely hit me hard was learning that 4.1 million deaths [in America] are just because of smoking tobacco. It was a real eye-opener; the whole event was just really interesting,” said Maxwell. The event seemed to be a success in the eyes of the students.
“It was a really nice opportunity for us. We were the only school in DPS who had the chance to have them [the Get Up Tour] come visit our school and talk to us about Tobacco and its dangers,” said Principal Sandra Just. The Get Up Tour presented by ASA and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids has only just begun across America, with TJ being but its first stop in informing kids everywhere the risks of smoking or using tobacco. For more information concerning tobacco, ASA Entertainment, or the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, please visit http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/index.php or http://beta.bfd.com/profile/ASAHighSchoolTour/.
