Japanese Duo Crowned Champions of WRAPSCON Wrap Olympics
Team Samurai outdueled the competition during WRAPSCON in Long Beach, California. It was Team Samurai’s second consecutive year appearing at the event.
WRAPSCON was part of THE NBM SHOW Aug. 2-4. THE SHOP magazine is owned by National Business Media, the same company that organizes THE NBM SHOW.
Tadashi Kariya of Japan’s Design Lab Inc. and Keiichi Hasegawa of Toronto’s c17media once again paired up as Team Samurai and bested second-place finishers Team Remix from Remix Wraps in an exciting final round of competition near the close of THE NBM SHOW on Saturday afternoon.
Blake Madsen and Nash Kirchoff competed for Team Remix. Remix Wraps is located in Farmington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis/St. Paul.
The champions earned a prize package worth more than $7,500 and bragging rights in the wraps world. Team Remix took home a prize package worth more than $3,500 for its second place finish.
“We entered last year and we finished in fourth place,” said Hasegawa, who was smiling after the judges pronounced his team as victorious. “So that was our revenge for us.”
The Wrap Olympics pits two-person teams against each other in a series of competitions testing different aspects of their wrapping skills. Each stage of the competition poses unique challenges, whether it’s wrapping a tricky car door, a motorcycle helmet or a brick wall.
The WRAPSCON booth area was popular throughout the show but drew an even larger crowd for the final competition. The final consisted of two teams wrapping half of a Chevy Cruze in a limited amount of time, using a design of their own creation.
Team Samurai and Team Remix were still laying vinyl as emcee Kevin Kempf of PG Nola warned them of them of the final 30 seconds left on the clock.
The third place finisher was Wrap Dads, which featured Charlie Trujillo and Jamie Mullica. The pair-who represented LE Wraps, headquartered in Oklahoma City with a second location in Edmond, Oklahoma-earned a prize package worth more than $1,500.
WRAPSCON also featured WRAPSCONnect, a freewheeling panel discussion featuring some of the world’s top installers; and Meet the Masters, a happy-hour style event bringing attendees together with legends of the industry.
Judges for the Wrap Olympics included Starla Miller of Miller Decals; Jen Carney of Carbon Wraps; Keith Vu of Savage Wraps; Luis Tirado of WBC Graphics; and Adam Sumner of Wrapix.
WRAPSCON sponsors included Mutoh America, ORAFOL, The Wrap Institute, Roland DGA, DUB IR, Mimaki, 3M, KPMF, OKI/Color Painter, HEXIS, Montroy Sign & Graphic Products, General Formulations, Alltak, and Grimco.
