|
Come one, come all to the greatest surf show on earth...all right
maybe not the greatest, but there sure was some cool stuff on display
at the 2003 Long Beach ASR show. It's evident that modern technology
has taken a firm hand in the current development of surfing. From
trunks to five fin wonders it's all there for the taking, even wax is
getting technical. But don't think that all of this modernism has
stolen the soul from surfing. The styles out there are more retro than
ever. Not since ball-hugging corduroy shorts and feathered hair has the
70's and 80's been so alive. Top-name board makers are dusting foam off
old templates and proving that a little volume never hurt anybody. It's
a great time to be a surfer; according to the folks at Board-Trac 2.25
million people can't be wrong!
The state of the industry is healthy. With over 3.6 billion dollars
worth of business done annually the surf industry has turned itself
into quite the respectable industry. Probably the most telling insight
into the industry is that with the exception of several publicly owned
companies majority of the players out there are still owned by people
that surf. This brings important integrity and authenticity to the
business, which in the end is the best marketing tool out there.
Surfers are true to who they are and don't want a suit in some
high-rise LA office making decisions about what we should wear, or
heaven forbid, what type of board we should be riding. For the most
part that hasn't happened yet, and after listening to a few captains of
industry speak there's no plans on changing this approach.
Reef Brazil's Fernando Aguerre had a few interesting points that
should be mentioned because of their extreme relevance to the world's
current situation. With a flair for public speaking and the fire of a
Spanish tongue he delivered his points that all should consider. First,
he discussed how the surf industry is somewhat insulated from economic
down times and fiscal bumps in the road.
He stated, "When you are feeling down you want to go somewhere that
makes you feel good. The beach is that place, the mountains are that
place. People may not buy cars or spend as much money in their everyday
lives, but they still want to do those things that make them feel good."
He makes a good point with this, but the real kicker came when he
talked about the pending war, "War is not good for anybody. Nobody
wants violence and death and war. Think about this, if Mr. Bush puts
the draft back in place there's gonna be a lotta 18-22 year olds
missing from our industries demographic. This is not good! We don't
need war, we need to feel good and go to the beach."
With that being said it's time to move onto the product side of
things. There's so much innovation being done out there it's hard to
figure out where to start. Since surfboards are the key element in what
we do we'll start there. Channel Islands
has some great boards on the market. Their Flyer series and Sashimi
model all look like a lot of fun in the average, everyday surf. They
have a host of longboards, guns and other shortboards that probably
work pretty well too. Rusty
has a solid line of boards going as well. The C5 series, the five fin
gems, boast a lot of drive and enhanced thruster qualities. They're
also playing with fiberglass removable fin systems, which look to be a
good step into the future. The epoxy laminate boards that Surf Tech
is putting out are of the highest quality. They're offering a lot more
models these days. If you've ever dreamed of riding Tom Carroll's Pipe
Master's winning board Surf Tech has put a replica model out there,
it's available in several lengths so you can get the right fit. Never
before have there been so many options when if comes to what you ride.
In terms of boardshorts and wetsuits the revolution is on. O'Neill
introduced the Fluid Seam Weld on their entire high end suits and what
a difference it makes. The suits are practically water-tight (a bummer
for peein' in, but a blessing for those cold mornings). Quiksilver
has a series of three panel suits that cut down the number of seems and
stitches down pretty drastically. This helps the suit stay warm when
it's cold, and ultimately last longer. Rusty has picked up their boardshort line, and while 89% of their business comes from surfboards the trunks are pretty slick too.
In terms of gear there's something for everybody out there. From
spiffy camera bags to a bag for your boogie if you can't find it
chances are it doesn't exist. Da Kine
has a huge line of leashes, deck pads, back packs and board bags. All
of their stuff is built with the surfer in mind, so you know it's going
to work. They make some real functional stuff that looks pretty good
too. FCS has a bunch of new graphite and plastic fins on the market.
Changing your fins can make all the difference. Oh yeah, don't forget
all of the shoes that are out there. Reef's Dingo line was build with the surf in mind, nice and comfy after a long session in the water. Globe
also has a solid line-up. They've taken some of the bulk out of their
skate shoes and have a whole line of clean, everyday shoes as well.
There's way too much to talk about here, but that's a little flavor for
ya.
The show was fun, the Reef girls have nice butts, and now it's all
over. Deals were made and beers were drank. The world does in deed keep
turning so hang on and see where we all end up next time the show comes
to town.
|
