Eckō Unltd.

Expedition to the Top of Rhino Mountain
The Ecko Unlimited float as it appeared at Studio Day 2003. (Photo: NBC)
Years active	2003-2008
Sponsor	Ecko Unlimited (2003-2005, 2007-2008) Marc Ecko Enterprises (2006)
Designer	Jennifer Palmer
Type	Float

Eckō Unltd. is an urban apparel company founded by Marc Ecko in 1993. Headquartered in New York City, the company’s products were originally popular among the hip-hop and skate scenes, before moving into mainstream urban culture in the 2000s. Ecko’s products feature a rhinoceros as its logo, inspired by Marc Ecko’s father, who collected wooden rhino figures in his youth. The brand has collaborated with a number of celebrities including Spike Lee and Chuck D.

History with the Macy's Parade

Ecko Unlimited made its Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade debut in 2003 with a brand-new float, celebrating the brand’s tenth anniversary and becoming the first-ever urban apparel company to be featured in the Parade. The float, dubbed “Expedition to the Top of Rhino Mountain,” featured the head of a rhinoceros as it appeared to be breaking out of the mountainside. Guiding the 24 foot tall, 32 foot long, and 22 foot wide float to Herald Square were two life-sized inflatable rhinos.

The float carried a team of skilled rock climbers who ascended and descended the mountainside as the float glided down the Parade route. The role of the courageous adventurers were played by AntiGravity, a New-York based performance troupe, during the float’s first three appearances. The tri-state members of USA Climbing scaled the heights of the float in 2006 and 2007, and aerialist group Acroback repelled Rhino Mountain during the float's final appearance in 2008.

Guest Stars

Listed below are the guest stars that have appeared/performed on the Expedition to the Top of Rhino float, alongside the respective songs which they sang during the NBC Parade telecast.

• 2003 - Mya, sang "Falling"
• 2004 - Nina Sky, sang "Holla Back"
• 2005 - Natasha Bedingfield, sang "These Words"
• 2006 - Chris Brown, sang "Say Goodbye"
• 2007 - Ashley Tisdale, sang "Last Christmas"
• 2008 - Shontelle, sang "T-Shirt"

Trivia

• In a poll conducted on iVillage.com in 2007, the Expedition to the Top of Rhino Mountain float received 3% of the favorite float vote, tying it with Tom Turkey by Macy's and Snoopy's Doghouse by United Feature Syndicate.
• The Expedition to the Top of Rhino Mountain float moved ten times slower than a real-life black rhino.
• The two inflatable rhinos were absent during the float's final two appearances. They were last confirmed to exist on a balloon inventory chart in 2014.