Into the Maw:  Silverfish Infiltrates the Big Show, Once Again. 

A steady stream of trucks, UPS, DHL and various union stewards shuttled in and out of the backside of the San Diego Convention Center this week.  They were delivering  and building display and marketing materials, sometimes worth over $50,000.00 just for the display booth and involving a nearly equal fee for the privilege of displaying at the Action Sports Retailers tradeshow, to be held September 7-9th.  This is the "Big Show", the Fall version of skateboarding's largest running trade show and convention.  

Known to most simply as, "ASR", the show is a biannual presentation and celebration of all that's retailed and marketed in the skate, surf and lifestyle markets.  Retailers, buyers and shop managers will descend upon San Diego to sample the weather, ogle the scores of swimwear models, grope and grovel for stickers, shirts and beers handed out by the "big houses", such as Hurley International, Roxy or Birdhouse, and those with the largest accounts, largest checkbooks and favored markets will score appointments to enter the "invite only" sections of displays erected by big corporations like Oakley and a grouping of retailers known as the "Gold Box Mission".  The halls will be filled with skate pros of all ages and vintage, audacious entrepreneurs with new products tucked under their arms, shivering swimsuit models with trays of energy drinks and viagra for the taking, sinister types with an eye out for designs to be replicated in offshore factories next week, egomaniacal publishers looking over their shoulder for the IASC hit squad and the team of kooks known as "Silverfish".  Yep, that's right:  we'll be spying, reporting and pissin' in wheaties, just for you.

This round of ASR will be much larger than its little brother in January.  The Big Show is always bigger, but this one will feature the return of purveyors like Landyachtz, GFHurley, Dregs and more.  We expect to see new product from Fibreflex/G&S, wheels and boards from GFHurley, the new Bennett wheels and prototype items, Ladera Longboards' new line, Kahuna's new line of decks and a few things we can't even mention yet.  The Gucci-loafered wonks in one big booth shudder at the site of us, but we've been peppered with requests to come by and see what's new -- from skate companies that want readers of the 'Fish to know.  Well, to be fair, they want you to "buy", but it's not all tea and cookies:  we'll report on everything we see, then give you the unvarnished truth about what it is and what we think.  Look for updates and our (in)famous "Best & Worst of ASR" series to continue in the coming days.

So you want to know about the raging industry parties?  Hey, you take a bunch of retailers from all over the globe, bring them to a convention and then find something for them to do.  Maybe, if you spend a ton of cash, they'll really identify with your product...and those photos of the shop manager with the swimwear models draped around his neck might be just the ticket!  Big parties, small parties, parties... lots of them.  The biggest are glitzy, crowded affairs with loud music, papparazi trucked in for effect and loads of beautiful people strutting the latest in surf, skate and chic.  Black leather, tattoos, bikini tops and grunge, mixed with wrist bands for beer, plates of free food and plastic bags full of schwag to be snapped up by the eager throngs.   The midrange parties typically surround a product, like the Z-Flex line, the new GFHurley surf movie, the killer skateboard action being put on by Dale Smith or an art display.  These feature food, music and an opportunity for face time between industry wonks and retailers.  The smallest are more private affairs, including the deadly serious ping-pong tournaments that attract hot-hands from Powell and the TransWorld empire, or the outlaw skate session Silverfish puts on the first night of the show.  These tend to be BYOB and are focused upon small-group fun more than business.   Frankly, the 'Fish session is the best part of ASR, if only because we get to skate together with people from all over.

 What's in it for you?  Well, we're injecting ourselves back into the maw of commercialism for the 'Fish, this week.  Our editors and photogs will bring you coverage of the show, peeks at the innovations in product (or just in marketing) that will come our way in the next several months and our selections for the "Best and Worst of ASR".  There are bright points and stoked people to see, too...   Tell us in the forums what you'd like our crew to find and cover for you.  Watch the Front Page for our daily updates. 

Will we be swayed by poster-signing swimwear models, waylayed by bitter corporate lackeys, accosted by juiced-up security guards or pursued by the gnarly lady in the security cart in our favorite parking garage?  Only time will tell.