by The Editors on July 14, 2022
We’re all soft. We get easily triggered. So it’s nice to see that the Vermont resort formerly known as Suicide Six is changing its name to “Saskadena Six,” a name that celebrates the indigenous people of Vermont, and is more sensitive to mental health issues, according to a story on VT Digger.
“Much time, care and thought has been invested in the process to choose a name more representative of our values, one that celebrates its 86-year history, honors the Abenaki tradition, and will welcome future generations,” Courtney Lowe, president of the Woodstock Inn & Resort, which owns the ski area, said in a statement. “While the name might be changing, the experiences offered on this beloved mountain are not.”
The new name reportedly means “the standing mountain” in the Abenaki language. But how will the new name affect people who can’t stand? And is this simply another appropriation of Indigenous cultures for business gain? If these questions are in your lane, please weigh in.
[Link: VTDigger]
by The Editors on May 27, 2022
It’s only taken 28 long years, but the Federation International de Ski, the governing body of Olympic snowboarding since 1994, has finally added the word “snowboard” to the official name of their organization.
At the 53rd International Ski Congress, held May 26, 2022 in Milan, Italy, the delegates “approved changing the official name of FIS to include ‘Snowboard’.” The new official name of the organization is the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, however, they don’t want to confuse anyone by adding an “S” to the logo so the acronym will stay the same: FIS. Otherwise, it might look like the logo on the right.
For all the details and more amazing stories from the still inappropriately named 53rd International Ski Congress please click the link.
[Link: FIS]
by The Editors on May 16, 2022
By clicking the “continue” link at the bottom of this blurb, you will encounter a list of headlines that refer to our topics, namely, skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, fashion, and finally, business. Many of these stories have been read by “The Editors,” and many have not.
The list of headlines style is evidence of the slow evolution of this site and The Editors themselves. Snark has been annoying for nearly a decade (deja vu from last month), and The Editors realized there is no longer any reason to restate what other people have written to make it funnier. Few have time for witty nor funny when it slows the speed of information consumption.
Nothing is getting in the way here. Follow the jump and read the list. If there are brands, people, or topics that interest you, please use the search function in your browser and jump to it straight away. Enjoy.
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by The Editors on April 16, 2022
Chris “Gunny” Gunnarson, the guy who long ago built a business out of shaping snow at resorts around the world (Snow Park Technologies), has been named the new President of Woodward, the “action sports experiential” company owned by POWDR, who also own Snowbird, Park City, Mt. Bachelor, Copper Mountain, Killington, and six other mountains.
POWDR’s CEO, Justin Sibley, commented, “Woodward is an amazing brand with world class facilities and a focus on safe progression that are a critical ingredient to the future of action sports. I don’t know anyone with a better track record in the action sports, snow sports, and youth programming than Gunny. He is an invaluable advisor to our leadership team, and I look forward to his vision and counsel going forward as we continue to strive to grow, expand, and unify the Woodward brand.”
Yes, indeed. It looks like Gunny is doing well these days. Big job. Woodward now consists of Woodward Park City, Woodward PA, Woodward Copper in Colorado, Woodward Tahoe, and Woodward West in Stallion Springs, CA. (And yeah, Woodward PA still does dance, cheer, and gymnastics camps among other things.) For the official word from POWDR please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on March 24, 2022
This was going to be the Ides of March news listers. Then the Holi lister, now it’s just the late-in-March list of news stories that caught our eye and might be of interest to you. That’s all. No snide asides, no out-of-context comments, no misinformed snark, and no 200 word headlines. Just links to stories that are at the top of the news tonight.
Follow the jump for all the stories.
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by The Editors on March 22, 2022
We’ve got no backstory on this one. We left the controls for a few days to catch the tail end of the winter that wasn’t and celebrate Holi while avoiding the St. Pats day madness only to return to news that VF Corp chose March 17, 2022 to announce that the company had named long-time Vans (and former Vans president) Kevin Bailey as the new global brand president for Vans.
This appointment marks Bailey’s return to the Vans brand after holding several enterprise leadership roles at VF. Bailey was Vice President of Retail for Vans when the brand was acquired by VF in 2004. He was later appointed as President of Vans, a role he held from 2009 to 2016. Under Bailey’s leadership, revenue for the brand more than doubled to $2.2 billion.
As for Vans comment on former president Doug Palladini (pictured right)? Well, they thanked him for his dedication and passionate service for the past 18 years and wished him “all the best” in his next chapter. Wish we had more info. If you see something, say something. Please. For the official word from VF click the link.
[Link: Business Wire]
by The Editors on February 16, 2022
We all need some good sunnies, and who better to drive your style than Jamie Thomas. That’s why OTIS has signed him up with a “multi-year partnership.”
“My idea of a perfect collaboration is two forces coming together to create a delicate mixture of quality, style, purpose and passion,” continues Jamie. “I feel that we accomplished that with Overkill and I’m pleased to present the first of hopefully many collections to come.”
And yes, they look good, and will be available at retail March 1, 2022. Please follow the jump for the new collection and the official word from OTIS.
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by The Editors on February 14, 2022
It’s newsies time. Obviously, this list is overloaded with Olympic content since that’s what snowboarding is up to right now. And Shaun White is the biggest news from Chinaland. Shaun, and the terrible judging. But, oddly, few outlets wrote about that. Censorship? Probably not, but you know the journalists who are visiting China and hope to stay and/or return to the country don’t want to upset the PRC media watchers. Click the link for the list. And get going. This is enough to make it look like you’re working for the rest of the afternoon!
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by The Editors on February 9, 2022
Vans is not letting Walmart off the hook in their blatant copying of Vans shoes (see the images above), according to a story on The Fashion Law. Vans filed a suit last year against Walmart’s rather obvious design borrowing, however, Walmart apparently complained that Vans “waited too long” to file suit. Vans believes “a preliminary injunction to block Walmart from continuing to sell “copycat” versions of “virtually all of [its] bestselling shoes” is necessary.” Can’t really blame them.
Vans has since lodged its reply to Walmart’s memo in opposition, taking issue with Walmart’s arguments, including the retailer’s claims that Vans lacks robust trademark rights, primarily for its OLD SKOOL sneaker. Looking specifically to the OLD SKOOL mark, Vans states that “based on longstanding use dating back more than 40 years, substantial sales and advertising, unsolicited media references, popular culture usage, and intentional copying by Walmart, Vans is likely to succeed in demonstrating that the OLD SKOOL trade dress has acquired secondary meaning.” In terms of sales, Vans says that it has generated “$10 billion in lifetime sales and current revenue of over $1 billion each year in U.S. sales of shoes bearing the OLD SKOOL trade dress.”
This entire case is just another example of how suspect Walmart’s entire business model really is. And we’re stoked that Vans is taking it to them full press. Click the link for the rest of the story.
[Link: The Fashion Law]
by The Editors on February 9, 2022
Selema Masekela tells the story behind the Afrosurf book project and work on the afrocentric surf brand Mami Wata with Danny Agnew at Inside Hook.
It’s interesting to have a passion for a thing like surfing or snowboarding that affects you, and it’s your place to express yourself and to find peace, and also have to constantly be dealing with people looking at you strangely or wanting to comment that you’re even there in the room. Or dealing with the micro and less micro aggressions towards you even being there in the first place. And then nothing to back up your presence in any of the storytelling around the thing that you love the most. So I always dreamt of being able to build a brand that story told it from another perspective.
It’s a great look into the interface between action sports, culture, and following your heart. Click the link for the rest of the interview.
[Link: Inside Hook]
