THE RIDE Going International? Aims for Four More U.S. Cities, Plus Hong Kong, Tokyo & Dubai

THE RIDE is on the move. As it prepares to launch its Fifth Spectacular Season with a new media-rich website (www.experiencetheride.com), THE RIDE's CEO/COO, Richard Humphrey proudly announces an important strategic addition to THE RIDE's executive suite.

After an exhaustive search by DHR INTERNATIONAL resulting in a rich applicant pool of distinguished industry professionals, THE RIDE is thrilled to announce the selection of DAN ROGOSKI as its Chief Revenue Officer.

Mr. Rogoski's arrival inaugurates THE RIDE's expansion in New York as well as igniting the Global Plan that will add additional RIDES in four new American cities and as many abroad both in Europe and the Far East. Advance teams are now scoping San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boston, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Dubai as the perspective winners.

In April 2014, the critically and virally acclaimed Times' Square juggernaut was acquired by a new owner which was funded by a number of investors, including Apple Core Holdings (a diversified owner/operator of hotels, attractions and events in New York City and Investment Fund) with Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate, Jeffrey McCormick, a Boston venture capitalist and Richard Humphrey, award winning producer/entrepreneur and current CEO/COO of THE RIDE. The new owner acquired the assets of the prior business and is doing business as "THE RIDE."

THE RIDE, in New York, is also preparing for its 275,000th RIDER. Please be assured both Mr. Humphrey and Mr. Rogogski will be on board to greet that iconic RIDER.

FROM DAN ROGOSKI: "The opportunity to join THE RIDE, specifically in a significant senior role, was really about leading the revenue generating efforts of a business that has a robust growth plan. I have always had the entrepreneurial spirit and I knew by becoming part of this team, I was on track to realizing my goals and ambitions of helping to build a business that eventually becomes an iconic, global brand. With the Global Plan ready to develop, the opportunity to work with partners/operators, who appreciate the production level of this type of business, and also working along side those same partners/operators who have decided to take this "ride" with us, initially in New York, but eventually into every city we expand to, are the reasons why THE RDE is destined to do great things. To me, THE RIDE is the ultimate New York City experience. There is no other attraction, tour or sightseeing option that totally immerses you in an interactive experience with the whole city as a backdrop, where YOU become part of the show! The first time I took THE RIDE, I had no idea what to expect, but as soon as we departed I knew this would be a very different and unique experience. Every person who was onboard with me had smiles on their faces the entire time, and it was at that point that I knew this was the perfect fit for me!"

FROM RICHARD HUMPHREY: "We are very excited to welcome Dan Rogoski to THE RIDE, as Chief Revenue Officer. Dan joins us from his most recent tenure as V.P., Sales and Marketing at New York Water Taxi / Circle Line Downtown and brings a breadth of expertise from different markets and segments of the travel and tourism industry. His main responsibilities with The Ride will be to cultivate new relationships, drive the bottom-line through strategic sales and marketing initiatives and set the stage for growth into global markets. Previous to New York Water Taxi / Circle Line Downtown, he was General Manager for Madame Tussauds in Washington DC, directly responsible for leading the efforts of a first class, family entertainment venue, as part of the second largest attraction company in the world, Merlin Entertainments Group. During his tenure at Merlin Entertainments, he also held Sales and Marketing leadership roles across various brands. Additionally, Dan also held senior management roles at Liberty Helicopters. He holds a BS degree from William Patterson University and a Post Graduate Diploma from Kingston University in London."

ABOUT THE RIDE - Los Angeles hosts The Universal Studios Hollywood Tour. Leavesden, England has recently opened Warner Brothers' The Making of Harry Potter Tour. New York City owns THE RIDE, which has become the singularly most requested ticket at Travel Agents' offices all over the country. The concept is a brainstorm of design that has resulted in a fleet of multi-million dollar motor coaches whose interiors are a state-of-the-art wonderland of electronic wizardry that guide 49 dazzled tourists around the most fascinating city in the world. THE RIDE'S original genius was its realization that the streets of Manhattan are a fifty-mile stage exhibiting the most riveting visuals on earth. Adding its own actors to the crowded mix on the street, the huge motor coaches deliver a show worthy of the standing ovations and group euphoria that results at the end of each RIDE. The motor coaches are events in their own right. They are specifically designed theatrical vehicles; the tallest allowed by federal law, fitted with stadium-style seating that orients the 49 fortunate participants sideways so as to look through the massive windows that deliver New York as the most successful Broadway show on earth. These unanimously acclaimed coaches are equipped with surround sound, 3,000 LED lights and 40 video screens. They are, in essence, rolling state-of-the-art theatres that introduce their travelling audiences to an interactive experience that only the most interactive city in the western hemisphere could deliver. Each motor coach's external speakers and lighting allow riders and on-board performers to interact with THE RIDE'S street performers as well as anyone else they pass on the street. THE RIDE is an EVENT whether you are on the bus or on the street. But it's better on the bus. A fact mightily agreed upon by both Broadway critics and audiences alike.

ABOUT RICHARD HUMPHREY - Richard Humphrey, currently the CEO and CCO of The Ride, LLC., has over thirty years experience bridging the performing arts, entertainment and business communities. He has an award winning and proven track record in content creation and as an entrepreneur in developing innovative business plans and sustainable business strategies for the arts and entertainment communities, creating partnerships between the for profit and not-for-profit worlds, lobbying on the federal and state level for the arts and arts education, and in realizing international business collaborations. He has nurtured and presented original work on Broadway and Off-Broadway including as co-producer of Sam Shepard's Pulitzer Prize winning play and as a 2013 Drama Desk nominee for Unique Theatrical Experience for producing and directing The Fazzino Ride.

He has, as executive producer, built a copyrighted library of over 125 titles including his interviews with some of the world's greatest artists, performances and art history documentaries. Many of these titles are currently being distributed through Discovery. Richard's unique vision for uniting the arts, arts education and technology communities has led to frequent requests to keynote at industry conferences including "Connecting All Americans for the 21St Century" hosted by Vice President Al Gore and the Department of Commerce.

Previous to The Ride, Richard co-founded Arts4All, Ltd./A4AMobile, an entrepreneurial digital company focusing on the intersection of content creation and its distribution via emerging digital technologies, with Hong Kong businessman/entrepreneur Daniel Ng. As CEO of Arts4All, Ltd./A4AMobile and, later, as CEO of Redcloud Mobile, Inc., a partnership with Telcordia Technologies, Richard utilized his fluency in digital media to develop a mobile marketing platform and to introduce innovative campaigns for the arts and national ad agencies with such clients as "Shrek: The Musical," Bacardi Brands, Grey Goose, Starbucks, U.S. Open and feature films with AlliedIM, to name a few. As a pioneer in mobile applications, he and his colleagues at Redcloud Mobile introduced Broadway to the potential of mobile marketing and became the national mobile media partner for the Tony Awards from 2007 - 2010.

Richard has created visionary strategic partnerships for the arts with companies including Telcordia Technologies, AT&T and Lucent Technologies and content provider partnerships with such renowned institutions as Manhattan School of Music, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Interlochen Center for the Arts, London Symphony Orchestra and a wide-variety of the nation's top performing artists. Via his mastery of videoconferencing, Richard has produced internationally over 100 real-time videoconference arts events and master classes with such notables as the New York City Ballet lead dancer Peter Boal, mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, Jose Limon Dance Company, actor Matthew Broderick, and violinist Pinchus Zuckerman, and the late Isaac Stern, to name a few.

Richard was the founder of Humphrey Fine Art, Ltd, a flagship gallery in New York's Soho and Midtown districts from 1986 - 1996. Representing emerging and mid-careers artists, his gallery exhibited in nine countries and at major art fairs in Paris, Madrid, Tokyo and Seoul. He curated the groundbreaking exhibition "Forces: Art for the End of the Century" which represented artists at the end of the twentieth century utilizing non-traditional materials such as light, time, planetary motion and technology. This critically acclaimed exhibition travelled nationally to museums and public venues for two years.

Since 1985, Richard's choice of public service and philanthropy has been his alma mater Bucknell University. He was the President of the Bucknell University Alumni Association and its Board of Directors for two terms (2006-2010) and served as a Board and Executive Committee member for three years prior. He was a two-term President and is now on the Emeritus Board of the Bucknell Association for the Arts and served on its Board for eight years. In 2010, Bucknell presented him with its highest honor for the arts, induction into Bucknell's prestigious Academy of Artistic Achievement.

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