We’re not in Denver, Colorado this week for the 2015 Snow Industries of America Show. In fact, we haven’t attended the Denver show since January 2013. Why? The most simple reason is that it’s easier not to go, but the truth may be that like many other companies who are skipping this year (Burton, Mervin, etc. . . ) our SIA cost-to-benefit ratio had been sliding for years.
Seeing as this is SIA Season (not to mention Throw-back-Thursday), join us as we look back on all the people, parties, products, and booths that we’ve covered over the past few years. Here’s the breakdown:
Aside from creating nearly everything to do with modern street skating (before it was called that) Rodney Mullen has also become a hot-ticket public speaker on the Silicon Valley lecture circuit speaking to groups about dedication and remaining true to your passions. But there’s more, as Wired Magazine writer Brendan I. Koerner found out in his profile on Mr. Mullen in the February issue of the tech culture magazine.
More than 30 years after he invented most of the gravity-defying maneuvers that still form skateboarding’s basic vocabulary, Mullen is enjoying a strange sort of second act. He has become a sought-after speaker on the Silicon Valley conference circuit, making the rounds at PopTech, Foo Camp, TEDx, and myriad of other events where technology bigwigs gather to feast on ideas. . . As his speaking career has flourished, Mullen also has landed an array of choice consulting gigs: advising the head of a USC research lab that develops virtual reality systems, shooting a short film about creativity for Adobe, collaborating with the Smithsonian to launch a project about skateboarding, history, and innovation.
For the rest of the profile, please click the link.
On February 12, 2015 the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association will honor a group of 20 legendary surf shops with the 2015 SIMA Surf Shop Gold Wave Award presented by Shaun Tomson at the annual SIMA Image Awards at the City National Grove in Anaheim, California. These shops have all been around for 50 years or more, which says a lot these days.
“To honor surfing’s rich heritage in this way is exciting and important to the industry,” said Doug Palladini, SIMA President and Vans’ VP/GM North America. “These surf shops are instrumental in building the beach culture we love so much, the foundation of surf lifestyle since the 1950s and 60s. A surf shop is very influential to its local surf community – the hub of the local surf community in most cases – and these shops are legendary.”
For the complete list of shops and more info on how you can attend the surf industry party of the winter season, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Eyewear giant Luxottica’s little action sports brand Oakley has apparently not taken kindly to the humor of Dang Shades line of Oakleyesque sunglasses (cleverly named the SH80) so they’ve sued Dang in the Southern District of California, according to a story on Association of Corporate Counsel.
In the Dang Shades complaint, Oakley asserts design patent infringement of U.S. D692,047, as noted above, in addition to trade dress infringement, federal and state unfair competition, and federal false designation of origin in association with its RAZOR BLADES Trade Dress. In particular, the complaint asserts that at least Dang Shades’ DANG SH80 and Sleeper sunglasses infringe Oakley’s patent and trade dress rights.
What does Oakley want? They want it all, of course.
Among other things, Oakley seeks a finding of willful infringement, a preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining Dang Shades from directly or indirectly infringing U.S. D692,047, payment by Dang Shades of all damages suffered by Oakley and/or Dang Shades’ total profit from infringement, an order for treble damages and/or exemplary damages, an order adjudging the case as an exceptional case, an award of attorney fees, expenses and costs, and an award of pre-judgment and post-judgment interest and costs, as well as remedies specific to trade dress and unfair competition and false designation of origin.
Dang may find this lawsuit rather disruptive by design. Maybe Dang can convince the judge that these sunnies are simply a “parody” of the original.
In April of 2014, snowboarders Josh Dirksen, Forrest Shearer, Adam Haynes and a small media crew from frequency TSJ rode fat bikes to the base of South Sister, Oregon. From there, they donned split boards and spent four days camping and riding on the mountain the locals call Charity.
All around big mountain snowboard ruler John Jackson has joined Dave Lee at Signal Snowboards and together they’ll be working on some new projects. We’re looking forward to seeing what they produce. Aren’t you?
We have nothing but good things to say about Snow Industries of America President David Ingemie. In the 39 years that he has been working with SIA he’s had to put up with hot dogging, mono-skiing, the dawn, domination, and decline of snowboarding, renaming the organization because not everyone liked the “ski” word, and hundreds of other seemingly pointless hassles that would have had most of us flipping the double birds and running in the opposite direction.
Yet, Dave somehow rolled through it all with a kind, warm, thoughtful smile on his face. We don’t know how he did it, but we’re glad he did, and it makes us all the more bummed to see that he has announced that he will be stepping down following the 2016 SIA Snow Show.
“I feel so fortunate to have been a part of an industry that represents one of my life’s greatest passions – snow sports. It has been a great run, working under twenty-one different Board chairmen/women and seeing so many changes within the industry; equipment, resorts, retailers, reps, and even ways to get down the hill,” said David Ingemie.
We’re not going to the Denver this year, but hopefully, Mr. Ingemie will stop by the SIA show when it returns to Las Vegas in 2020, otherwise, we may never get to see him on the show floor again. And that would be sad. For the official word from the SIA, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Amy Purdy has taken a lot of steps since losing her legs. Dancing With The Stars, an Olympic Medal, and now a commercial for Toyota with the words of Muhammad Ali. What will she come up with next?
Guess the cool kids aren’t down with the snowboards anymore. Seems the number of snowboarders fell off by 28 percent between 2003 and 2013, according to a report from the “often misled by their own survey results” National Sporting Goods Association and quoted by the Associated Press.
The decline in snowboarding continued last season, with snowboarders making up just under 28 percent of visitors to U.S. resorts, down from about 31 percent the year before, according to the Kottke National End of Season Survey for 2013-14.
Not to worry. As soon as all the fickle civilians stop cluttering up the snow we’ll head back out for a couple runs, we promise.
