so guess which longboarding company has a DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD in Transworld Skateboard

[Down & Dirty]

No offense to them, but are they the right guys to design this kind of board?

[atomicturtle462]

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!1!1!1!!!!!!ONE!!!!!!!! I will be SOOOOO cool at school once this takes off. SOOOOOO many CHICKKKKKSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!


Seriously though, this could turn bad for the longboarding community. I doubt many fad riders would give a sh!t about courteous behavior and the like. Hopefully longboarders in the future will not have the same skateboarder attitude.

[Cardan]

its funny how you guys say shortboarders bash longboarding, when pretty much every comment about shortboarding ive read on this site has been negative.

Personally ive been shortboarding on and off for the last 11 years and longboarding for about 3 of those. If anything, element making longboards is going to create a new breed of skaters. Youre going to have all those people who are already really good at shortboarding taking those skills to longboards. Once people realize that with a simple change of bushings and some softer wheels you can create a whole new ride while still being able to skate street, the industry will take off even more than it already is. Also, who gives a #### about the fad skaters? Like all fads they will die out and be forgotten about and the true riders will still be there like they always have.

[smallss]

I hope their decks are better than their shoes -- ####### clown shoes.

[atomicturtle462]

I hope their decks are better than their shoes -- ####### clown shoes.

They are not. My friend has the Cutter. I hate it. It just feels so dead to me.

[Guts]

Those boards look cool.

NEWS FLASH- street skaters already know what longboards are. They're probably not going to care that much....

[WillJ]

I've actually ridden and sold these boards, and fitting them with wheels larger than, say, 60mm was a challenge.

not every skateboarder that rides a longer board wants to ride 60+mm wheels

[Cardan]

not every skateboarder that rides a longer board wants to ride 60+mm wheels

QFT, so very true.

[BigDaddy@TactisSkates]

Chuckles makes the Racer x and chicken deck doesn't he? they are both full on bad ass!8) we run Big zigs on both... use those wedgy looking things in the Khiro section... works great! make sure you point them both in the right direction...

[prettynoiselab]

Everyone has great posts on this thread. From the corpo 'Bong side you can imagine the suits in a room eyeing the potential of the LB market. "Hmm, they don't have to do that huge gap and they can look cool with the girl they picked up in their first year at college, let's grab this market. The shareholders will be stoked "

I previously worked for Billabong and Gordon Merchant is a methodical and shrewd businessman. Don't feel that the LB game is being taken over. So what if they dive in full force. Their first line of attack is the middle of the pack buyer, not leading edge such as the skaters here on the fish. My focus is to keep enjoying skating and do what we love to do, ride unique boards and love it. This is the core essence of any endeavor of life. Once you worry about the big guys you are wasting your energy, time and money on them when you could be drawing your own path and being the creative individuals you want to be.

Just to keep it fair and be the devils advocate, which one of us would not want to have the wealth of a Gordon Merchant, Bob Hurley, etc? The goal is not to be poor but to grow, expand, educate and help others, of course while showing a profit. This keeps the banks and investors happy

If anyone wants to meetup for a alternative LB/ not the mainstream think tank conference let me know. I have been in the circus for quite a few years and would love to stir up the pot.

Adios,
Doug Owens

[Cardan]

Everyone has great posts on this thread. From the corpo 'Bong side you can imagine the suits in a room eyeing the potential of the LB market. "Hmm, they don't have to do that huge gap and they can look cool with the girl they picked up in their first year at college, let's grab this market. The shareholders will be stoked "

I previously worked for Billabong and Gordon Merchant is a methodical and shrewd businessman. Don't feel that the LB game is being taken over. So what if they dive in full force. Their first line of attack is the middle of the pack buyer, not leading edge such as the skaters here on the fish. My focus is to keep enjoying skating and do what we love to do, ride unique boards and love it. This is the core essence of any endeavor of life. Once you worry about the big guys you are wasting your energy, time and money on them when you could be drawing your own path and being the creative individuals you want to be.

Just to keep it fair and be the devils advocate, which one of us would not want to have the wealth of a Gordon Merchant, Bob Hurley, etc? The goal is not to be poor but to grow, expand, educate and help others, of course while showing a profit. This keeps the banks and investors happy

If anyone wants to meetup for a alternative LB/ not the mainstream think tank conference let me know. I have been in the circus for quite a few years and would love to stir up the pot.

Adios,
Doug Owens

10charthisguyistheman

[Mile_High_Mark]

They need to hire me as a technical consultant.

Then I can help them capture that elusive segment of the market that's occupied by internet-fueled 13-15 year-olds who can't decide which CNC'd trucks will make them the next K-Rimes.

[BigDaddy@TactisSkates]

Corporately I see this as a major loss of core market juice for S9... but they will have to show up on race day and beat the serious players at their own game... budgets won't matter8)

You cant buy stoke or loyalty!

[skategeezer]

As Sector 9 moves towards more revenue from softgoods, it would appear that Element is moving to increase their revenue from hardgoods.

This strategy makes sense.

I will blog further about this.

I see this as bringing things up to another level. The guys at Transworld have a MILLION readers and a huge amount of influence. All bets are off!

[speshlspeclsteak]

we had a longboard game...from the biggest skater in the world...
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam

maybe a Wii version?

you know what will set this off?

the Pope....bombing down St. Peter's Square

that was a fun game

[skategeezer]

stolen from my blog...

So, there it sits - a massive double pager. It's cost? Not really sure. $8,000 or $10,000 or $15,000? Who knows but one thing is for sure, it won't be the last longboard ad in there. This is a massive statement from Billabong/Element. Things like a longboard ad in what is traditionally seen as a "traditional" (aka - only SHORTboard) skate mag are indeed huge statments. There are some who will probably discount this blog and feel I am over exaggerating. I don't see this as being the case at all. Here are some brief thoughts about this ad and the future of longboarding advertising/editorial within Transworld.

1. notice that no one is actually RIDING the boards? the ad is actually taken from a famous Hobie ad - I'll try and find the 1975 or 76 copy of SkateBoarder Mag that the ad appeared in. The caption from the Hobie ad was clever: Step on it - it's alive! (or something of that nature!)

2. The text of the ad is NOT about the boards...it's about an alternative transportation device. I think this is a reasonably cool angle for Element to take. They are not going after the hard core longboard market - they want the huge number of skaters who perceive longboarding as not worthy. What better way to spin this than to say hey, "these boards are great for transportation."

3. Color plays a significant role in the ad. You'll note there is a feeling of warmth, almost nostalgia. Again, this is all done to cultivate an earthy feel. This plays nicely into what Element stands for.

4. The others will soon follow. Santa Cruz has made quite a good deal of headway into the market with their point of purchase racks featuring a number of low-cost (entry level) cruisers. Look for their print ads to begin shortly. Habitat, Real, World, Speed Demons and pretty well every other mainstream street skating brand will start directing funds into print/online advertising. As the fortunes of the street companies have dwindled over these past few years, many now view this as an opportunity to take market share from Sector 9.

5. what does this mean for companies who aren't part of the skate oligarchy? You know, companies like Gravity, Randal, Earthwing, Landyatchz, Abec 11, Loaded, Original, Seismic and Neversummer. I could name a ton more, but you get the idea. What happens when a huge multinational like Element puts the hammer down and starts to market longboards to an audience that has never been marketed to before? Well, here's what I think will happen:

a. some skaters will dismiss longboard ads..it will be like water off a ducks back.
b. some skaters will be intrigued
c. some skaters will actually go out and purchase one of these decks. They will enjoy it and tell their friends...who will also go out and purchase one. This process will repeat and repeat.

Eventually, skaters will begin to learn more about what else is out there and realize that performance skate equipment truly makes the experience that much more enjoyable.

Will Transworld start to cover longboarding? In the short term...my gut says no...they might throw an occasional shot here and there...but it will probably 2 years before we see a 6 page story...maybe even longer.

Despite this, I see a new era...and I ain't talking about those overpriced hats. I think that the opportunity for folks to truly enjoy all types of skateboarding without restrictions or contempt from other skaters is approaching. The market is absolutely enormous for cruising...probably 5 times the market for shortboards. Now that Element has thrown down the gauntlet, it will be intriguing to see what happens.

As for Concrete Wave. Our motto remains the same: 100% skateboarding and stoking the hell out of skaters everywhere. We will support the companies who supported us. I will do everything in my power to make sure the world knows about how truly great their products are.


2010 is going to be a helluva year!

[SteveC]

"We will support the companies who supported us"

Amen

[Wells]

I know the whole "shortboarderz are going to catch on to longboarding" thing is a popular idea 'round here; but people have been bombing on street decks for a while. There's a super-tech street contingent that's really into itself and gets media coverage; but skating hills is definitely respected. Watch some street skaters from San Francisco.

Let's face it: skating hills badly on boards that can't really get air is kind of dumb. I think that's where the disrespect comes from.

[stringtheory]

I've seen these decks myself, and my big question is who are they marketed at?

-The already pre-converted older longboarder/former 80s street/vert God (as in some one who actually knows who Chuck Hults is and cares to skate a deck shaped by him)?

-Or, the short board market, who by and large could care less about long boards, but may have some extra funds to spend on a novelty shaped deck (can you say Zip Zinger folks).

So in essence, who's pie are they trying to get at, or both?

[AJ]

I agree with WELLS.