QRILL PAWS 2020. 4 races. 2442 volunteers. 280 mushers. 2766 dogs. 13M YouTube views. Numbers we are deeply proud of. Behind the numbers, what was the first ever QRILL PAWS season really like? Aker Biomarine CEO Matts Johansen gives us the insight.

The Vision 

Aker Biomarine is a Norwegian fishery and biotech company. Mushing is originally a method of transportation dating more than 4000 years back, and currently also a competitive sport. But where is the link between the two? And what was the vision when taking on the project?

“First and foremost, we saw that mushing had a huge potential and value in terms of communicating the sport to a broader audience. The fascinating bond between dog and human, the spectacular nature, the mind-boggling performances in extreme conditions, and the unique characters of the sport – all aspects that have experienced undeservedly little exposure to the world. The sport of mushing is also very well suited for television broadcast, providing all the aforementioned interesting features. As the sport itself hadn’t really been able lift it to the next step, we in Aker Biomarine wanted to make our contribution by taking the lead in this revolution of the sport. As we are also producing products associated with the sport, we saw a great opportunity for a win-win situation for both Aker Biomarine and the sport of mushing.”

The last required pieces of the puzzle for actually realising this huge project were finalised by Aker Biomarine and the project team in the late stages of 2019, barely in time for the first races of the 2020-season. Taking into account the limited time for preparation, the pilot season of 2020 has been a great success. The product was established efficiently, the live shows in and out of studio turned out successful, and hundreds of hours of high quality TV were suddenly broadcasted to mushing fans all over the world. The Youtube livestream hit 13 million views throughout the season, four one-hour recap episodes were televised by CBS Sports Network in prime-time in April 2020, and all races were held and completed safely despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, the pilot season of QRILL PAWS was an immediate success. 

Excitement in the Community

The general feedback from the mushing community on QRILL PAWS has also been overwhelming. Mushers, organizers and fans highly value the fact that their beloved sport finally is shared with a significantly larger audience than before. Finally the excitement, action and scenery on the trail is accessible from the comfort of your own home.

Sponsorship interest has also been significantly strengthened with the boost in marketing and promotion of the sport. Increased cash flow within the sport is also a major upgrade. Mushers have enormous expenses related to equipment, travel, pet food and racing fees, and are highly dependent on loyal and supporting sponsors. The increased attention through QRILL PAWS is a massive contributor to all mushers on the hunt for sponsors.  

Matts The Musher

It is not a coincidence that the Aker Biomarine CEO got excited about the QRILL PAWS idea. Through the partnership with the Qrill Pet Mushing Team and Thomas Wærner, Matts Johansen has become quite the musher himself.

“I have actually done three races in my “mushing career”. Mush Synnfjell 250k in 2018 and 2019, and the Femund Race 450k in 2019. I have had both the amazing and the awful experiences. My first race in Mush Synnfjell was a truly terrible one. The level of exhaustion, tiredness, hunger, thirst and powerlessness was something a had never experienced before. I got through it, finished 11th, and told myself I would never do anything similar again. However, after a week, all I could remember was the beautiful sunrise, the starlit night sky, and the amazing feeling of crossing the finish line together with the dogs. Mesmerized by the gold-plates memories, I signed up for Femundløpet 450k 2019. I had great support in Thomas Waerner and his team of dogs, teaching me everything I needed to know about the sport. I became more and more connected with the dogs, found my way of maneuvering the sled, and picked up the tricks of the trade. Unfortunately, having an Iditarod Champion as a mentor doesn’t guarantee a successful student. During a training camp in the Norwegian mountains, I lost one of Thomas’ dogs, and I was terrified he was gone. After hours of searching, I found some dog tracks going straight out of the groomed tracks into the wild. I took my skis, brought another dog, and followed the tracks for 50k in deep snow on the mountain plateau before I found the missing one. Phuuw! I also fell off the sled and lost the whole team on the last training session before Femundløpet. Not really flawless preparations, but I learned the hard way! And the Femund Race turned out to be a fantastic experience, finishing 6th, and really getting out the full potential in myself and the dogs.”“

In addition to some unforgettable experiences, both personally and on behalf of the mushing community, Johansen has also noticed some positive effects of QRILL PAWS internally in his company. 

“It feels like our employees are excited and inspired by seeing what we are actually able to achieve when we think outside the box and grind through. We are originally a company operating in the fishery business, and now we are suddenly producing TV broadcasts. Who could see that coming? That is a message I would like to promote within the company – if you set your mind to it, nothing is impossible.” 

Thank You!

We want to take the opportunity to send out our greatest appreciation to everyone involved in QRILL PAWS 2020. Mushers, dogs, handlers, veterinarians, organisers, volunteers, fans, spectators, sponsors, producers - THANK YOU! We are deeply proud of what we have accomplished together over the past year, and can’t wait to see what the future brings for the sport of dog mushing.