RHINELANDER, WIS.—Barstool Sports, one of the most influential sports, lifestyle, and entertainment media brands today, is known for its deep roster of edgy, entertaining personalities. So, what happens when you bring 25 of them into the Wisconsin woods together for three days? Camp Barstool is what happens.
This experiential event, which took place Aug. 20-22 in Rhinelander, Wis., was a fun-filled, end-of-summer way for some of Barstool's most popular shows to livestream out of office from the great outdoors—and for the talent to participate in livestreamed classic camp activities like softball, tug-of-war, and an egg toss. Barstool Sports partnered with Mountain Dew and Street Factory Media to produce Camp Barstool.
"We've been thinking about doing something like this for a while; it was just a matter of who was going to buy into it, and Mountain Dew did," says Lisa Litvack, vice president of live events and production ops for Barstool. The soft drink's branding and ethos are ultimately what brought about the camp idea. "We found this camp in Wisconsin that wanted to work with us, and it provided a great backdrop," she adds.
Barstool Sports partnered with Mountain Dew and Street Factory Media to produce Camp Barstool.Photo: Courtesy of Barstool Sports
Just as important as the lush backdrop was, of course, the livestream production. How do you do that in the middle of the woods? Barstool's team and its partners brought in 32 cameras, including seven drones and two GoPros, as well as 40 microphones.
With all that equipment, popular Barstool Sports shows like Mostly Sports, The Yak, The Rundown, and Jerry After Dark were able to air live from Wisconsin. But Litvack says the main draw for the Barstool audience was watching the livestreamed camp activities and challenges between the Barstool talent—like Steven Cheah and White Sox Dave—who drafted teams ahead of camp.
Mountain Dew created a 50-foot banner for the rock climbing wall.Photo: Courtesy of Barstool Sports
Many activities came with Barstool-style spins, of course. These included trampoline volleyball, a belly flop contest, and "king of the raft," where talent competed to see who could stay on a large raft the longest. Other activities included a rock climbing wall, a softball game, an egg toss challenge, tug-of-war, and a swimming race. There were also two full relays, including one on the water that comprised a water blob launch, swimming, kayaking, and chugging a Mountain Dew. Cabins were also decorated with green, Mountain Dew-branded sheets, blankets, and toiletry kits.
"The sky was really our limit, in terms of how we could bring this camp idea to life," Litvack says.
Challenges, of course, ensue when you're producing a multiday activation in the woods. Litvack says things like generators and cherrypickers for the camera crew were needed, and making sure internet bandwidth was sufficient was a priority. Battling mosquitoes, like many campgoers do, was also par for the course.
Litvack says Mountain Dew was happy with the activation, and there's already been talk of how to take Camp Barstool to the next level in 2025. Keep scrolling to see more details from inside this year's Camp Barstool...
"The sky was really our limit, in terms of how we could bring this camp idea to life," Litvack says.Photo: Courtesy of Barstool Sports
Field day activities included an egg toss, tug-of-war, and softball.Photo: Courtesy of Barstool Sports
Livestreamed water-based activities included launches from a branded water blob, kayaking, swimming, and "king of the raft."Photo: Courtesy of Barstool Sports
