Looks like the kids in Paris got a pretty good show at the Grand Palais this weekend with The Tony Hawk Show. Kind of a crazy huge over-the-top kind of event that can only happen in Europe. Might even have been worth the 9-hour flight. But then Paris always is. Oh, and Bastien Salabanzi won the street contest.
[Link: Tony Hawk Show]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The Burton Corp’s artsy, woodsy skateboard company Habitat is celebrating its 10th year in business by launching a line of skate footwear that is reportedly “designed by skateboarders for skateboarding.”
Consisting of six models, the line also infuses Habitat’s signature design principles — branded colorways, visual balance, and attention to detail. “After 10 years of building a solid presence in the hardgoods market, developing a footwear line was a new creative outlet for Habitat and a natural next step in the progression of the brand,” stated Joe Castrucci. “Footwear is a great platform for the evolution of Habitat. Pre-season sales have exceeded our goals and we are excited for the full product launch early next year,” added Chris Carter.
Guess there wouldn’t really be a worse time to launch a new shoe line. So at least they’ve got that going for them.
[Link: The Skateboard Mag]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
What kind of weird voodoo economics are going on at The Buckle? While most other mall stores’ sales are chomping down on gobs of sun-blanched feces, The Buckle is reporting that their Q3 profits rose 15 percent “on higher online sales and sales at stores open more than a year, according to BusinessWeek.
For the quarter ended Oct. 31, The Buckle earned $33.3 million, or 71 cents per share, compared with $29.1 million, or 62 cents per share, for the same quarter last year. . . Revenue rose 10 percent to $231.2 million from $210.6 million a year ago.
Having visited a few of Buckle stores we can honestly say we’re at a loss to understand what they are doing differently from PacSun and Zumiez, especially since they are in the same malls, with similar product, often directly across the room from each other. . . weird. Maybe Affliction and Aqua VI are pulling them through.
[Link: BusinessWeek]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
You Will Soon‘s Dan Watson lays down some of the realities behind Berrics United and does it well in a post titled Unified Theory. . . Of Bullshit.
But what are the qualifications for a shop to be saved by the Unified Berrics? Is it the amount of work they’ve put into grassroots events? Is it proof that the owners actually skate? Is it a lifelong dedication to the culture of skateboarding? No it’s anywhere from 1440 to 5280 dollars. . . . Yes, as Exit Skateshop has pointed out via Twitter, what Berra forgot to mention was that the completely altruistic system that is the Unified Berrics is actually just a 12 month contract to have your skateshop advertised on The Berrics.
And as a commenter on Boardistan pointed out this morning that while Steve Berra says “there may be a war being waged” against small businesses by mall stores with “deep pockets and empty histories” The Berrics still sells product in the Canadian mall retailer West 49.
[Link: You Will Soon]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Obviously inside by Tony “Ride” Hawk, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert recently went skateboarding with Congress woman Jackie Speier, Representatives Jim McGovern and Patrick Kennedy. He even nearly tried dropping in on the staircase.
He rolls quite well it should be no surprise: Colbert pushes mongo. Skateboarding starts at 5:20 into the clip.
[Link: Huffington Post]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
This skateboarding dog on Tony Hawk: Ride smells just a little too “viral”? A couple kids on the couch cranking out a Youtube.com video with four angles, 14 cuts, and posted from an account that was opened today. So it’s an ad and yet, we still posted it because we’re suckas when it comes to Tony Hawk.
[Link: Kotaku]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Witness Steve Berra’s tear-jerkingly earnest discussion of the Berrics Unified skateboard shop seal of approval program. Which is not to say we disagree with anything Steve has to say. As one PR executive mentioned to us: “Passion is a great weapon.”
If that’s true, this little video is a “firing AK-47.”
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
It seems like somewhere along the line skateboard media kind of forgot what their purpose was. Luckily, Steve Berra and Eric Koston were there to blend their knowledge of skateboarding and Hollywood pop culture connections with a little technology to turn the entire skateboard media game upside down with The Berrics.
What began as coverage for their skate warehouse in downtown LA turned into the largest skateboarding media site in the world with a reported 6 million visitors viewing 20 million pages of content each month, according to an interview on Malakye.
Berra explains:
The consumer is not the jaded skateboarder who hates everything and everyone and tries his hardest to get everyone else to feel the same way he does. This person is a slight, slight minority, but wreaks the most havoc for brands and skaters because these brands and skaters tend to think it’s a majority opinion when it’s not. The majority of the skaters out there are excited about skateboarding and professional skateboarders. They don’t hate everything and everyone. I know because I get thousands and thousands of emails and I read every single one and I know what they’re like and I know what they’re saying, probably more than anyone in skateboarding, just because I’ve taken the time out to really listen. I think as a result of this, we’ve seen fantastic growth. I also try not to use the word kid because they are skaters, just like I am, and I think sometimes people use the word kid as a derogatory term. I remember being 13 and not appreciating being called a kid, despite being one.
Follow the link for the rest of the interview.
[Link: Malakye and The Berrics]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Tony Hawk has been out on the road for the past couple days rolling out his newest video game Tony Hawk: Ride and its wireless skate deck controller. One of the places he stopped as at the Wall Street Journal in NYC where he ran into our favorite WSJ writer Conor Dougherty for an interview.
How does Tony think core skateboarders are going to respond to the game (which arrived in stores today)?
I think that if skaters just take an approach that this is a fun way to experience something else, then they’ll enjoy it. If they get on it and expect to do skateboard tricks, that’s not the approach. The movements that set your character into play are very subtle. Like an ollie [the basic skateboard jump] just takes a little kick up. A kickflip [where the board flips over] takes just a little kick up and twist to one side. In that sense, you can do more because it doesn’t take as much effort. But if skaters approach it like they really are skating, it won’t be as fun.
Click the link for the rest of the interview.
[Link: Wall Street Journal]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
It was with sadness that several hundred members of the skateboarding world gathered today (Saturday, November 14, 2009) in the parking lot behind Transworld Media’s Carlsbad, California offices to remember the life of Transworld Skateboarding editor Eric Stricker.
The crowd, made up of ams, pros, co-workers and industry titans, hung out, skated, and drank Coors Light. It seemed everyone was there. While talking with friends we kept thinking we saw Eric in the crowd. We’d catch a glimpse of a jersey, some crisp 501s, and a New Era and think it was Eric. And then it hit us all over again. Eric is gone. He should have been there and would have if he was still here. But he’s not.
In a short statement Eric’s widow Arnette said that she would have enjoyed seeing Eric’s smile on the way home from today’s gathering because it was exactly the kind of thing that he loved: a huge group of friends getting together to hangout and skateboard.
In his memory the crowd raised Coors Lights and sang along to Eric’s favorite song, Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’. Eric was 31 years old. He left too early and took way too much with him.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
