Jim Gerson Joins VF Action Sports as President of Reef - Americas
Carlsbad, CA – May 26th, 2009 -
Reef is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Gerson, currently Vice President of Apparel at The North Face, as President of Reef-Americas. In his new role, Jim will be responsible for developing the product line and brand strategy for the Reef brand worldwide and for the profitability of Reef-Americas beginning June 1st, 2009.
Gerson joined VF in 1986 as part of the Jantzen business and held progressive sales and merchandising roles leading their swimwear division. In 2000, he became Vice President of Swimwear for VF’s Tommy Hilfiger Licensee business. Gerson joined the The North Face as Vice President, Research, Design and Development and Brand Management in April 2001.
As The North Face grew, Jim transitioned to Vice President RD&D Soft Goods in 2005, overseeing all of the apparel business.
"Jim has spearheaded The North Face's dedication to product innovation and has been a key contributor to the tremendous success of The North Face throughout his tenure with the brand," said Stephen Murray, President of VF Action Sports Americas. "His successful background in managing key accounts in sales and leading merchandising initiatives brings to Reef a wide range of knowledge and experience from all angles of the business. I am confident that his expertise will prove to be a great asset to Reef."
Gerson adds, "Reef is a strong brand with a rich heritage and a history for creating outstanding products. I look forward to sharing my product and brand experience to help Reef reach its full potential."
Gerson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Idaho, with a Marketing emphasis in Management. He will transition to his new position at Reef effective June 1.
Reef is surf. We’re inspired by water, the ocean, by perfect waves and the journey along the way to find them. We are a genuine global surf brand that harvests the best of our lifestyle and shares it through authentic, innovative and fashionable product. At the core of Reef are our exotic roots and the inherent sensuality of the beach. The Reef team supports the freedom to have fun in and out of the water and gives back to the world that inspires us.
About VF
VF Corporation is a global leader in lifestyle apparel with a diverse portfolio of jeanswear, outdoor, action sports, imagewear, sportswear and contemporary apparel brands. Its principal brands include Wrangler
â, Leeâ, Ridersâ, The North Faceâ, Vansâ, Reefâ, Eagle Creekâ, Eastpakâ, JanSportâ, Napapijriâ, Nauticaâ, Kiplingâ, John Varvatosâ, 7 For All MankindÆ, lucyÆ, Ella MossÆ, SplendidÆ, MajesticÆ and Red Kapâ.
VF Corporation's press releases, annual report and other information can be accessed through the Company's home page,
If you've been reading the 'Fish long, you know all about Brian Petrie, the skater in New York City concocting and building boards the way he likes them or, lately, the way stoked skaters he respects and supports tell him they'd like one. Out of all this, great decks, wheels and urban warfare has been the result. Now, our man on the move, big MarkGrimace has a report from his latest interplay with the tat-rat from Gotham...
Mystery Revealed
Catching up with Earthwing's Brian Petrie
Brian Petrie's expanded line of decks, so far...
So Brian, It’s been a while since we talked shop. What's been happening in the world of Earthwing?
First of all, I quit my Job, and just play in the world of Skateboarding now. I have been working on all of the new shapes, testing prototypes, revising prototypes, and now I am detailing the graphics. Most of the last year I have been obsessed with solving problems in Downhill. We produced the 76mm wheel that has gone over well, and have finished testing all of the Mystery Model prototypes and production is under way on that little fella. We could have had it ready long ago, but we pushed to meet goals, and it will be worth the wait. It's really represents the best from Earthwing. A lotta love went into that, and I am proud of everyone that helped out. Special thanks to Conner, and B-Peck. Those dudes are faster than I am, and I trust what they say.
The Slalom forum on Silverfish has long been a lawless land, a veritable oubliette, swallowing novices in the torrential weight of knowledge, smack talk and gear savvy accusations of superiority of the color of one bushing versus another. Long has the ruling class needed a strong, stoked and talented slalom rider to take the reigns and bring them from this dark tunnel and into the light. Many have tried, all have failed and we had no hope. That is until we got word of Zak "TVAR" Maytum: he's stoked to madness, knowledgeable yet humble and very much a strong member of the 'fish. We were luck enough to get an interview to him between races and here is what the slalom savant and new Slalom Forum Mod had to say...
The Zak Maytum Interview
[Silverfish]Introduce yourself why don’t ya?
[ZAK] Well, I’m Zak Maytum. I live in BoulderColorado and I ride slalom 6 days a week. I’m 16 and I just love skateboarding more than anything.
[SF] What got you started in skateboarding?
[ZM] When I was in 5th grade I saw some guys doing it at the skatepark and I though it looked like the coolest thing in the world. I knew I had to do it. Later that week I bought an Airwalk Skateboard from my neighbor for $1. It was awesome.
[After viewing the World Premiere of Livin' Free, we had quite a few questions to ask. Some of them were in regard to the technical elements and scenery used in the movie. Others were just the typical curiosities of the 'fish . Read through to find out about the past, present and future of the bright minds behind Livin Free: the Heart of Longboarding]
The Livin' Free Interview
[SF] Want to take a second and introduce yourself and the cast/crew of Livin’ Free?
[MM] My name is Marc McCrudden and I am the director of Livin Free: the Heart of Longboarding.Myself along with Thom Mayer, Bryan Heffron, and Jason Clayton are the main culprits behind Livin Free: the heart of Longboarding.
[SF] Okay, so set the scene for us: what were you doing and where were you when the lens slipped from their reality to your reality?
[MM]We were on a show that had us starting in Boston MA, and driving across the US stopping in 6 different cities along the way.We were on the road for about 6 weeks; we saw an opportunity and decided to seize it.
[On a recent trip to Germany, Malakai Kingston was almost beaten to within an inch of his life because he was caught smuggling his longboard onto a plane. His verbal accusation was not smiled upon and his self preservation kicked in but that is another story all together. Way before he managed to infuriate the local authorities, he met Yogi and Martin at Longboard Shop . These two are the team behind the Pogo Baseplate as well as one of the most established European online skate shops and maker of fine quality longboards and snowboards. With the 'fish in touch with Pogo, we 've got an interview for you.]
[SF]When and how did you all become active in the sport!
[PG] To be able to start skateboarding, we had to build our first skateboards ourselves. That was in the mid seventies. At that time, it was almost impossible to purchase boards in Europe. Our journeyman pieces of work were quite ugly. We had to cut these old rollerskates in two and mount them on a piece of wood. They had tiny little black wheels with worn out bearings and riding them faster was quite a threat. Concerning the snowboards, we had the same problem. We built our first snowboards in 83.
[SF]What is the history behind Longboardshop.de, why did you start a webshop?
[PG]From the late 80s to the late 90s, the longboard-onlineshop was part of the Pogo website. Then, with more and more people starting to longboard, the independent webshop became a burning necessity. There was barely any sportshop selling longboard material in Europe at that time and when you found one, it didn't have a big choice to offer. Longboardshop.de in Germany besides Sk8shop.ch in Swizzerland,were the only address for many years, before other shops came settling in.
Interviews 
