by The Editors on March 10, 2011
Snowboarders are set to gather today (March 10, 2011) for a meeting at the US Open Snowboarding Championships to discuss forming a union to help snowboarders deal with event scheduling issues International Olympic Committee’s plans to add slopestyle to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, according to a Matt Higgins story in the New York Times.
Such a union would be unusual: X Games competitors’ efforts to create a union have fizzled out, and riders say this is the first attempt to create a union in snowboarding. . . “We have no time to train, no time to recover from injuries,” said Chas Guldemond, 23, of Reno, who during the past three weeks has won slopestyle competitions in Europe, Asia and North America. After the United States Open, Guldemond will fly to France for Winter X Games Europe next week.
While the idea of athletes organizing to protect their best interests is a great one (and we hope they are successful for once), this entire issue seems more related to the owners of established snowboarding events (the TTR series for example) hoping to be included in the Olympic qualification process even though they have never been big fans the FIS.
Apparently, event owners like Terje Haakonsen have finally figured out that being a little more involved with the Olympic process just might be good for business.
[Link: New York Times]
by The Editors on March 10, 2011
When snowboard site Yobeat.com embeded a couple Youtube.com versions of Transworld Snowboarding’s Mark McMorris‘ 1440 Triple Cork clip they thought it was pretty funny. They said:
The nice thing about “exclusive” Internet content is after a day, it usually turns into an ad. So if you missed Mark McMorris’s acrobatics on some other site, now you can watch it on them all! Feel the excitement!
Interestingly enough the clips were pulled from Youtube a day later due to a “copyright claim” by Transworld’s parent company Bonnier Corp. Guess they didn’t want that clip going viral with all their branding on it. The same clip, however, is available for embedding on Transworld’s Vimeo account.
[Link: Yobeat]
by The Editors on March 9, 2011
Abercrombie & Fitch, whose entirely derivative faux-surf brand Hollister Co. has built a business out of appropriating surf iconography, is reportedly suing Florida-based retailer Surf Style because the company uses the image of a flying gull on several of its products, according to a story in Columbus Business First.
Abercrombie (NYSE:ANF), which declined to comment on the lawsuit, is seeking monetary relief and undisclosed damages and asking that Surf Style be barred from using the gull. . . This isn’t the first run-in between the two businesses over the gull design. Abercrombie said in the lawsuit it sent a cease-and-desist letter to Surf Style last May and that the chain agreed to quit selling the allegedly offending merchandise by September – but didn’t.
From now on designers will have to think twice before they put a bird on it.
[Link: Columbus Business First]
by The Editors on March 8, 2011
After seeing some of the most recent sale deals coming out of HUF is was no real surprise to learn today that Keith Hufnagel is closing the HUF San Francisco store next week according to N-SB.org.
The store brought a lot of previously unavailable brands to San Francisco and became the platform of many collabo’s and eventually a full clothing and footwear brand. The Huf skateshop was already closed but now the store will completely disappear from the streets of San Francisco. The Huf brand and the Huf store in LA will continue business.
Guess this is what can happen when a successful retailer attempts to launch their own brand in direct competition with some of their strongest suppliers.
Click here for Hufnagel’s official word on the closure.
[Link: N-SB.org]
by The Editors on March 7, 2011
Hola. It’s SIMA Surf Summit time again. This year the dates are May 11-14, 2011 at the Hola Grand Faro Resort (formerly the Crowne Plaza Resort & Spa) in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico. All SIMA and BRA members are invited to the 14th running of this industry surf fest (hard to believe). If you don’t know what any of this means, just skip the rest. If you do, follow the jump for all the details. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on March 7, 2011
On Friday, March 11, 2011 Concrete Wave will be hosting what Publisher Michael Brooke calls the “world’s first longboard trade show” at NYC’s Longboard Loft.
Thirty-two national and international companies will showcase their products as part of this one-day only multimedia event. . . This exposition is designed to give longboard dealers and riders a chance to see what’s new in the industry, as well as an opportunity to connect with consumers in the exploding east coast market. “The longboard market is growing rapidly and this expo is long overdue”, says Brian Davenport, founder of Pushculture.com, a revered longboarding website.
The free event begins at 12 PM and runs until 8 PM (click here for a live webstream). The Longboard Loft is located at 132 Allen Street, NYC. Follow the jump for more information, or for Jeff Harbaugh’s Market Watch commentary on the event, click here. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on March 7, 2011
It appears that former Osiris “wizard” and Vans VP of Global Marketing Jay Wilson has a new gig working in the health and fitness industry promoting a product called the “War Machine“. Wilson will be working as the VP of Global Marketing for CrossCore, Inc. makers of the machinery:
“The War Machine and its Patent Pending pulley system is not only the most advanced bodyweight training system to date but it’s pulley adds tri-planar and rotational movement to most every exercise. Don’t be fooled by its simple design. It has been called the greatest sport performance and MMA training equipment on the planet by top athletes in MMA and pro sports.”
We’re seeing an series of infomercials in Mr. Wilson’s future. Follow the jump for all the official details. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on March 3, 2011
Bert Lamar was one of the first pro skateboarders to successfully cross over to snowboarding. First with Look Snowboards and then by launching his own company Lamar Snowboards (and later Elevation Snowboards). Though the brand (which he no longer owns) still takes up a big chunk of booth space at the SIA Show in Denver, Bert left snowboarding for golf years ago.
[Link: Buoloco]
by The Editors on March 3, 2011
After a winter of “technical issues” the 686 website is back up to full “on” status with their new 2011 Spring Collection. Here’s what they have to say about it:
We do apologize greatly for our internet absence the last few weeks. If we told you what happened, you wouldn’t believe us, so we’re just going to keep it quiet and tell you that the offending parties responsible for the collapse of the 686.com empire have been dealt with appropriately. We made them take a few runs nude during the last big storm and now all is right in the world.
Having experienced similar issues (June 2010) we feel for them and are glad the’re back.
[Link: 686]
by The Editors on March 1, 2011
Transworld Media today announced that their trade publication Transworld Business will now officially add coverage of motocross, BMX, and wakeboarding to its editorial mix.
“The addition of Moto, Wake, and BMX is a natural fit for Business. TransWorld has the leading consumer titles in those sports, and now we’ll have the top trade publication serving the respective industries,” says TransWorld Business Publisher Adam Cozens. . . As a result of the added sport coverage, an additional 5,000 BMX, motocross, and wakeboarding retailers will receive free subscriptions to TransWorld Business.
What, no mixed martial arts, rally driving, or NASCAR? Guess those will have to wait until things get really bad.
[Link: Transworld Business]
Snowboarders are set to gather today (March 10, 2011) for a meeting at the US Open Snowboarding Championships to discuss forming a union to help snowboarders deal with event scheduling issues International Olympic Committee’s plans to add slopestyle to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, according to a Matt Higgins story in the New York Times.
