Getting free VIP passes at the Aspen Winter X Games is no easy task – luckily for me, making friends with someone on the inside can certainly increase your odds.

As I walked into the tent, I was mesmerized by all  the colorful globes hanging from cathedral ceiling – it was hard to believe I’ve made it to the VIP tent.  

Food was abundant, there was an open bar and big screen televisions were literally everywhere. . . and I do mean everywhere.  You couldn’t even turn around without the games being broadcasted in front of you!  This wasn’t a problem, however, but more of a solution.  Witnessing ESPN employees setup the X Games on day 1, as well as attending the first day of events on day 2 was quite the different experience.

Here, from inside the VIP tent, I was sitting beside the athletes and, quite frankly, people who had the money to blow $1,800 for VIP treatment.  But how did I get here?  Quite simple and coincidental really.

Free VIP Passes | Aspen Winter X Games

As I awoke to a late start this morning, I decided to sit down for breakfast at a local barbecue joint about a block away from my condo here in downtown Aspen.  Walking in the door, the place was slammed packed so I singled out a booth at the bar and quickly made my way over before it was snatched away from me by the overly abundant and greedy tourists.

As I sat down and ordered a screwdriver that was rather strong followed by my perfectly cooked eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast, I began conversing with the guy next to me and…long story short he ended up being the head DJ at the X Games.  Pretty tight right?  Totally!  We swapped numbers as he invited me into the VIP tent around 3 o’clock that afternoon.

As I arrived at the VIP entrance, I started to chat with the security guard while awaiting my “chariot”.  A seemingly cool and laid back dude, my new friend showed up, gave me a VIP pass and took me inside the tent.  

Not expecting much at first (after all it was just a large white tent built out of tarp and medal poles) I gathered myself, strolled through the entrance and into this circus of brightly lit colors ranging anywhere from blue, pink, orange, purple and red.  Needless to say, I was in total awe!

Arranged beneath this awe-inspiring collection of globes were a great deal of cloth covered sofa’s & chairs where the VIP members were chatting quite delicately with each other.  Overlooking the entire scene were the intricate but wild paintings of faces on the walls.

Noticing the look on my face (I was obviously new to this whole VIP treatment thing), a small smirk of delight came across my new friends face and he guided me over to the table where he sat down and offered for me to make a plate and get a drink.  Gladly accepting his offer, I began walking around to take a closer look at what this special VIP treatment had to offer and immediately took a look at the buffet.

Smack dab in the middle of the buffet table was a beautiful chandelier that shot straight up like the Eiffel Tower.  Surrounding this was a great variety of fruit and champagne bottles with a label stating “Winter X Games Aspen”.  Surrounding this small display furthermore was a table about 20 feet long full of a great variety of lunch food like ham, cheese, more fruit, a variety of crackers, sandwiches, rolls and many other things.

After making my plate I then proceeded to the open bar and decided to try some Apple Cider (which was delicious!).  Making my way back to the table, I sat down and was introduced by my new friend to a very interesting skateboarder & snowboarder by the name of Othello.

About 3 drinks later, it was time for all of us to make our way out and do what we came here to do; Dj’ing for my new friend, Othello had a concert to present and I had to get some video footage as the X Games were about to begin.  All I have to say is that getting this invite into the VIP tent was much appreciated as I built new connections, met new friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the special treatment!

If you were given a free VIP pass to the Aspen Winter X Games, would you take it?