Hey Doc
Of course I remember him, part of the Team Honda juggernaut, the biggest team with the most money, and the best riders.
Funny thing is…there are two other Jimmy Ellis’s in District 36 motocross, both Expert Pros at different times, neither the National caliber rider of the original.
Wow, if you told me you were from the East Coast, I’d tell you to sell clothes and trinkets to make money.
Good luck, be happy, and get some surf!
Hee- Jimmy Ellis - I met him, back when he was riding Bultaco Sherpas, when Hodakas were competitive and the hot ride was a CZ. And ya know, he was nuts - everybody else would back off in the whoop-de-doos, he’d hit the first one flat out and go over 'em.
Yeah…always wondered what became of him after he broke his back.
So - what’s the markup on surftechs?
Wow you’re all into motocross - any native plants left in USA or are they all gone yet?
Doc,
Wow, we really see many things the same. Not to be mean or anything but the business of surfing is designed around kuks. Who buys into hype but kuks? The same kid or adult child that buys $100.00 Jordans and claims they really are better is the same lame brain that buys a popout and pays $800.00 for it, but will not pay a master shaper $500.00 for the same shape. The surf business for the most part is based on nothing tangible. Because surfing is subjective anyone can go out and learn how to make a bottom turn and as long as he is not surfing around more experienced surfers he can in his mind be Joe Surf. Then there are those really insane ones that really believe they are the hottest guy at the beach and can barely surf. This is the type of person the business is geared to which is why the shaper must be put on the back burner and the over hyped popouts, chinese crap, and cheaply made so called surf clothing companies must be advertised to make you surf better, make you really fit in with the cool crowd and cure cancer. This business for the most part is the extension of the orignial snake oil salesman.
It does not mean there are not some really great interesting people in the industry nor that many have not made real contributions, but surfing could never become a billion dollar industry from real surfers who simply love going surfing for surfing’s sake nor from those master boardbuilders whose sweat and backs the industry was built. The industry had to be built around those who lived within their own little fantasy world of what surfing is and would buy into some packaged nostalgia or some identity created by a clever marketing. Even guys that know better and can really surf get caught up in it from time to time because ego drives the industry.
I loved running my shop but it was never about money, high rent and disgust with reps and so called surf companies helped me decide to go internet and sell what I want instead of what I had to so I could pay the bills.
Doc,
Your shop sounds like one I would really like and I appreciate your wisdom.
Doc,
What I want to know is what would you do different? Obviously the business end hasn’t ruined you on the whole thing or why would you be here on Swaylocks!
Man, you nailed it. The sales end of it is all about nitwits. They figure that something made in a factory is better than what’s made by hand, even if the factory is staffed with semi-literate third worlders who haven’t seen the sea in their lives. Or else they have to have what Kellybrad Gerslater has, even if they are 5’2" and weigh 314 lbs and possess the coordination of an obese orangutan on valium. Snake oil from the magazines, the vids, the surf companies and of course Mister Snake Oil himself, the guy like me who gets paid to peddle it in a surf shop. If he’s on commission, the sky is the limit. Consider Chuck Dent, who was at least honestly blatant.
That’s, in part, why I tend to rant about real testing for surf stuff, as right now I can claim that my FPW ( Flatulent Polar Waterfowl ) model will make you the best surfer in the world, make you irresistable to the sex of your choice and give all your enemies leprosy - and nobody can dispute it. It’s all fantasy.
Including my rather opinionated take on it all.
Ah well…come by the shop on Friday evenings in the summer - we have happy hour 'til after dark and solve all the other problems of the known universe.
doc…
You ask a good question…what would I do different?
On the level I am on, a guy who runs a surf shop, not a lot. Get kids into surfing 'cos it’s fun, teach them to be critical thinkers and to distrust the surf biz hype.
On a higher level, say as a manufacturer… tough call. It is, as you know, a cut-throat business. There are some good, straight arrow people in it, but at the same time there is enough profit to be made for not much investment ( give or take the mass-produced board factories) that there’s some mighty sleazy types around too, peddling hype. You gotta compete with them, so you have to sink down at least towards their level to stay alive.
It’s kinda like the old joke, “What would you do if you had ten million dollars? Buy a boatyard and work like hell until it all was gone”. If you wanted to set up to be a player in the industry and still do it right, you’d need some serious bank behind you. The best example I can think of is Yvon Chouinard and the Patagonia/Point Blanks company. I think he got into the business out of pretty much good intentions, not to make a fast buck.
I have to hand it to him, 'cos the money he’s seen go down the drain in that biz would have bought me a nice little Central American island with everything I’d need for the rest of my days. But I don’t have and never will have that kind of money to play with.
Why am I still in it? It can be fun, surfing or kicking back and talkin’ story or helping a kid who’s just learning. There are moments when I am about to walk away from it forever too… but so far, I’m still in there
Best regards
doc…
Hey Doc
Of course I remember him, part of the Team Honda juggernaut, the biggest team with the most money, and the best riders.
Funny thing is…there are two other Jimmy Ellis’s in District 36 motocross, both Expert Pros at different times, neither the National caliber rider of the original.
Wow, if you told me you were from the East Coast, I’d tell you to sell clothes and trinkets to make money.
Good luck, be happy, and get some surf!
Just wondering if you guys are still involved with motocross? I put on motocross races here in Hawaii. Got involved through my father in law who is a former national champion.
Doc,
I guess your right, if we are in the business we are at least to some degree part of the good old snake oil (I still kind of feel like a carpet bagger at times though). Don’t you love the cute Rep. talk in the industry. I will never forget Mike Leisher of Billibong telling me why he couldn’t sell to my shop because, “so and so up the street was giving him too much love.” I asked if that meant he and the shop owners were gay lovers and of course you know where the conversation went. I got a hoot out of that one. Then there was the year everything was Ricter. Dude the surfs going Ricter. What is it this year? I have heard many of the retro longboarders throwing around the term Tailrider for guys who rip on longboards instead of stand.Who knows. My little brother who does not surf says it best, “when COOL is a factor you got problems before you start.”
oooooo…im sure mass is tough!
when u mention surfing off the coast people stare at u. got multiple family members who live that way. basically everyone but my family.
Hey
John DeSoto?
No, I don’t race anymore, gave up in '82 due to closing of practice tracks, it was always my van, and saw the dead end wall at the end of the tunnel. I wasn’t going to be no Bob Hannah.
Saw windsurfing on the horizon.
Hey
John DeSoto?
No, I don’t race anymore, gave up in '82 due to closing of practice tracks, it was always my van, and saw the dead end wall at the end of the tunnel. I wasn’t going to be no Bob Hannah.
Saw windsurfing on the horizon.
Yeah, John Desoto. He still rides too.