Virgin Mobile hosts National Fearless Day Championships!

    
    -   Richard Branson and Cory Monteith select Canada's Most Fearless
        Person
    -   Canadians put their fears to the test against snakes, maggots and
        heights!
    

TORONTO , Nov. 19 /CNW/ - To celebrate the first ever National Fearless Day the world's most fearless entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson , crowned Ontario's Jesse Dunphy as Canada's Most Fearless Person at the eagerly awaited National Fearless Day Championships, held at Circa Nightclub in downtown Toronto .

Joined by one of Canada's hottest rising stars - "Glee"'s Cory Monteith - and a packed house of fans and thrill seekers, Richard challenged six contestants to prove their stuff in three crazy challenges. Fearless Challenge No. 1 pushed the contestants to plunge their bare hands into a tub of maggots to spell out "FEARLESS" with Scrabble(TM) letters. Fearless Challenge No. 2 dared contestants to try and escape from a box filled with snakes and Fearless Challenge No. 3 pushed contestants to walk across a tightrope high in the air. The champion, Dunphy, walked away with $5,000 in cash and the title of Canada's Most Fearless Person.

The championships were all part of today's National Fearless Day. Last month, Virgin Mobile proclaimed November 19th National Fearless Day: the day when Canadians can officially say "Screw it, let's do it." Ski naked, ask that secret crush out, bungee jump or ask for a massive raise - November 19th is the day to beat your fear and live out your dreams.

According to a recent national survey conducted by Angus Reid Strategies on behalf of Virgin Mobile Canada , only 49% of Canadians said they consider themselves fearless. What's most surprising was that Canadians voted "riding a rollercoaster" the most fearless thing they've ever done, followed by "quitting their job"...which sounds sort of lame. National Fearless Day and the Be Fearless championships aimed to kick things up a notch and inspire Canadians to really take charge.

"At Virgin we know what it takes to be fearless, whether it's racing across the Atlantic in record time or launching the first passenger space ship," says Sir Richard Branson , Virgin Mobile's fearless founder. "Sometimes you have to stand up and face what scares you head on. That's why we made November 19 National Fearless Day and launched the search to find Canada's most fearless person!"

As part of the first National Fearless Day celebrations, Virgin Mobile launched www.nationalfearlessday.ca, a website packed with fearless stuff including polls, quizzes, videos, The Fear Meter, a Twitter feed and e-cards. Canadians were also able to submit a video online at www.nationalfearlessday.ca explaining why they think they're the most fearless. Fans then voted for the most fearless video and the top entries went on to compete in the National Be Fearless Championships, created and judged by the world's most fearless entrepreneur - Richard Branson .

About Virgin Mobile

The Virgin Mobile group of companies has attracted more than 12 million customers worldwide. As the No. 1 mobile youth network, Virgin Mobile Canada's mission is to be Canada's most loved mobile company. Its simpler, better deals offer customers control, flexibility and choice to design mobile packages that truly works for them. J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Canadian Wireless Customer Satisfaction Study has awarded Virgin Mobile "Highest in Customer Satisfaction With Prepaid Wireless Service, Five Years in a Row"(1) and it has ranked Virgin Mobile "Highest in Customer Satisfaction With Postpaid Wireless Service"(2). 91% of customers would also recommend Virgin Mobile to a friend.

Virgin Mobile phones are available at more than 4,000 locations with top-up cards available at more than 10,000 locations nationally. Virgin Mobile products can also be purchased online at www.virginmobile.ca or by calling 1-888-999-2321.

    
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    (1) J.D. Power and Associates 2005-2009 Canadian Wireless Customer
        Satisfaction Studies(SM). Study based on 15,207 total responses from
        consumers with prepaid wireless service, measuring 5 wireless service
        providers. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and
        perceptions of consumers surveyed in October 2009. www.jdpower.com
    (2) J.D. Power and Associates 2005-2009 Canadian Wireless Customer
        Satisfaction Studies(SM). Study based on 15,207 total responses from
        consumers with postpaid wireless service, measuring 9 wireless
        service providers. Proprietary study results are based on experiences
        and perceptions of consumers surveyed in October 2009.
        www.jdpower.com
    

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For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact: Erica Faltous, Hill & Knowlton Canada, [phone], [email protected]; Kayla Rochkin, Hill & Knowlton Canada, [phone], [email protected]