ABSTRACT
This chapter defines an extreme work environment and links this definition to the rise of extreme sports. It examines the links between extreme sports, feelings of excitement, and the concept of the "sublime". The chapter describes the process of the fund's failure and the ensuing rupture between Bob and Jim. It examines Michael Apter's idea of "protective frames", which enable people to experience danger as exciting rather than as threatening. The chapter highlights three protective frames that Bob and Jim drew upon: the market as a game, process over results, and the magical pair. It describes the collapse of the fund in terms of the loss of these protective frames. The chapter suggests that with the frames lost, anxiety replaced excitement and, as a result, both Bob and Jim may have acted out. It proposes a new model for linking risk, excitement, and protective frames.
