China made boards at surf shops

General Discussion
21
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Not sure where you are located

Ventura County, California, between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara (or Malibu/California Street/Rincon). Or perhaps I live in the future (my reality is others future ;-( )

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I guess it’s a question of how it’s perceived

Exactly right…with an eye on the notion that our common “reality” comes from how the greatest amount of participants perceive things…

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I relate to surfing as a lifestyle, not as a consumer. I’m sure most that partake in the ritual view it as such.

Certainly most of us here at Swaylock’s do that. The alarming thing I see where I am at is the massive influx of new surfers who get little more than the surf media rubber bone. Where there are more of “them” than “us”, it becomes “their world”. Certainly it is already so with the surf industry, as newcomers spend more than experienced surfers on accessories (common sense: complete outfit vs. replacing individual pieces). This is symptomatic of overpopulation at large, which we are also experiencing in Southern California. It’s good for business but bad for quality of life. It’s also a done deal here; fighting it isn’t an option - time to make peace with it or move on.

Things go through cycles to be sure, but there is never going to be a massive reduction in number of surfers. Surf spots are a limited resource, and surf conditions are so fickle that it defies reason why so many of us dedicate our lives to riding waves or the pursuit thereof. Right now surfing is undergoing an explosive change due to new interest. This can be either good or bad or both. Certainly there is still the opportunity to guide things in a decent, responsible direction, but it’s up to the experienced “us”, not them, to do it.

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It’s a cycle that’s for sure. we’ve all seen similar shifts like this before. Once the truth about the unfair advantage the imports have been known to the neophytes the change will shift. As of now the neophyte has no idea he or she is actually purchasing an import. As this not clearly disclosed to them at the time of purchase. I’m sure the majority would have made a different choice if the educated truth was told to them. The tide will shift, as it has now with the popularity with the imports gaining. Giving up and accepting it is one thing, but to let the neopyte make an educated choice is another.

The true surf lifstyle is not driven by consumerism, if anything surfers by nature travel light. Many of these consumer type surfers won’t be around in a few years. The true spirit of the surf lifestyle is not measured by consumerism but by the experience of maintaning the traditions that made this a great lifestyle.

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Daved,

Your first problem was going into that surf shop and thinking that is a real surfshop. Those guys have been on an ego trip for years.There have been and are way better alternatives in the Pensacola area and not the one that starts with W. You probably know that though. Whoever used the walmart analogy was right on. Keep shaping your own as well daved. The area could use another Steve Forstall.

One of the problems I see is the surfers themselves. They don’t support many local small shops because they want so called name brand hype wear. The department store shops (which are all about money, not supporting the sport) carry all the stupid brands like Quiksilver, Volcom, etc. They sqeal like stuck pigs when a smaller shop opens up and they keep the small shop from getting the goods. They do the same with the popouts. So what you have is smaller stores not able to get the popouts or the big name clothing, but many times they do get better quality local shapers or even imported shapers. Do the surfers support the small shops? Nope with a capital N. Why? They have been conditioned to believe everything magazines spew is truth. Even if it’s bought and paid for by the companies. What the magazines tell them is buy Blues, Sevens, Surftechs, boardworks and shop at Surfshops with all the brands and the biggest inventory. Your not riding a real peformance surfboard unless the nose is between 11 and 12 inches and the tail of your surfboard is not over 14 or if you don’t find it in the surfboard section of the latest surfboard issue. If it does not have Al Merrick, Rusty or Lost on it your simply riding something else until you can afford to spend the extra dollars to get one. Anything other than a pointed nose shortboard is a funboard and not for surfers serious about performance. Sound familar.

I don’t have a real problem with machine shaped boards as long as they use harder foam and glass the board to last. It’s still a copy of a shapers hand shaped board. I don’t care for popouts or chinese made boards because of the way they have been marketed and because they are mostly only about money. I prefer to deal with shapers who have made difference in the sport whether it be internationally or locally. These guys struggle for years to learn their craft. They put up with surfers who think they know more than the shaper and they put up with Shop owners stiffing them on payment. Yes some of them are serious jerks and hard to deal with and should be culled out, but the vast majority of guys who take personal interest in the product they turn out are still to me the backbone of surfing.

The magazines, clothing companies, and many surfshops have made loads of money at the expense of the shaper in many ways. American consumers for some reason don’t mind paying $800.00 for a surftech that allows some shop owner to put $300.00 in his pocket, but they harass the shaper himself on trying to get the same price for his boards that he puts his time, knowledge and sweat into. I frankly like that no two boards are the same. I cannot imagine saying to someone. Wow that last popout or chinese made board I had was Magic!

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well said solo , and others as well , many valid points …

observable trends , the current direction of the industry and current market demands have created a changing enviroment …

without a doubt the consumer is mislead , those doing the misleading are the ones reaping the rewards of an ignorant consumer base …

no retailer is going to educate consumers to the point that the customer buys a board the shop makes less money on or walks out completly and goes looking for the local manufacturer …

no surf mag is going to print accurate unbiased information on board design and construction with out jepardising the clients (namely the big surfshops , clothing and pop out board labels ) that bring them there income …

yet the surfshop and the surfing magazines are the first thing a new surfer comes in contact with , which shapes there surfing values and establishes there initial buying trends …

both the surfshop and the surfmags are designed to heard the masses …

so we realise thats the case …

how or why would we change it ???

consumer wants green board now …

if he was educated differently he may want a red board now …

how is it possible to educate or re-educate the surfing public via any other means ???

you will only ever get a small number who will stumble across information in here …

the masses remain at the mercy of those who influence them first …

i dont have any answers , but thats what your up against …

!!! propaganda leaflets at primary shools , maybe the surf industry fact sheet with every big mac sold , how ever its done you wont get any help from the established surf system which currently leads the masses …

then if you could turn them around to wanting local product , can they have that red or green board now???

and will it be as cheap as the foreign green board ?

the consumer leads the market , the market leads the consumer …

you just gota get in there and find your slice of the market and make that work for you …

if your in a market place , where everyone wants a part of your slice , maybe move to another section of the cake that doesnt have as many people demanding a portion of that consumer slice …

supply and demand , may the best man win , or try another game …

surftech have created one of the biggest opportunities ever …

custom epoxy sandwich boards ,is one seriously untapped slice …

randy has paid for the advertising already , slip a business card under the window wiper of every surftech rider you see and youll have repeat business …

customer is happy , board builder is happy …

win win for the industry …

either that or keep complaining , coz we cant compete with foreign imports …

regards

BERT

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Bingo Bert,

Great post. Having owned a surf shop myself, I think the answer as always is competition. If you do what others are doing or along the same lines, why should a customer want simply a smaller version of a big shop etc. Why not get creative. The problem is, the guys who are opening new surf shops or begining to shape are for the most part part of the herded masses. This is one of the things I like so much about Geoff Mccoy and others like him. They stick to their own vision instead of copying someone else’s.

Most of them go out of business because they offer nothing new. If your afraid to take a vision and go up against the status quo, nothing will change. I think the popouts and the chi com boards are simply a fad, that is already showing signs of slowing down. Opportunity is knocking. Who will answer the call?

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I’ve been a surfer for 33 years and the past 15 years I got into other things, Golf, bike racing, music, But I always managed to surf at least a dozen times a year. But as I got older I started using fun boards. Then one day a good friend of mine incredible surfer Steve Richardson lent me his 6’6 x 2 1/4 thin probably 11" nose board to try and I was hooked again on shorter boards. I didn’t know what I wanted yet as far a custom board. I know alot of people in the industry still . I worked for MCcoy surfboards USA for about 4 years. So I decided to buy a cheapo thruster at Costco. I know thats a sin, but for a $250.00 investment I could try out a more modern design again, till I knew what I wanted. I grew out of that board fast, I surfed epic days at lowers on that thing. But every time I hit a flat spot on the wave the board would just about stop. Then I went to a Newport Shaper Hann Surfboards. He made me a 6’6 x 20 x 3" board that flys in mush. Havent tryed it in any juice yet but I will make something else for better surf. Point is that China Board did the job for me, then I outgrew it fast. I am going to trade that thing in on another board soon. The bottom curve is designed for a barrel and here in So Cal. we surf alot of mushy days. All for now . DR

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Cheapie toys on the rack at the corner store are long gone i cant even remember what they were but I do remember that special Tonka dump truck and that First Yater. and that Olsen and so it goes… Madame China is seducing the wirld market in time Emperor China will again rule the world economy ,live with it …our grand children will …ambrose…they are working harder and cheapeer to d so

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Give me liberty or give me death…

There it was, right in my best friends father’s closet, up on the shelf next to old ties and Brooks Brothers shirts. How did he get it? Why does he still have it? “It was a souvenir from when he was an army psychiatrist,” my friend said. “It’s pure as stardust, not the same at all as what was floating around Height-Asbury and other trip stations.” It was to be given to soldiers to give them the courage to do battle by removing their minds from an intolerable situation. I’m tripping, brother, everything is beautiful! BUT the changes that occurred to a man’s mind put it more in the weapon category. Two teenage boys stood in awe at the power that could be unleashed from such a small package. His little wood box with the four glass vials contained the batch that drove primates to lunatic hallucinations - it was just another sick war souvenir that by itself looked innocent when taken out of context, but when dropped square in the center of another, and they were cleaning someone’s beautiful little baby girl off the pavement cause she did a swan dive from a 13th floor balcony - it’s full potential was painfully evident. “Do you think they stopped experimenting with mind altering drugs after that fiasco?” I asked my friend in a recent phone conversation. “No, they probably have way more powerful drugs that erase your memory, take over your will and make you focus on doing things that you know you shouldn’t do.” He laughed. I hung up my cell phone as I shook my head in disbelief, “Yeah right!” “So how will you be paying for your new Surftech, sir?” “Huh?” “Visa or Master-card?” “Oh, just put the charge on this card, it should go through, and could you carry it out to my Hummer?”

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http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=55356

Stephen Roach from Morgan Stanley just got done predicting a 90% chance of “economic armageddon” for the U.S. because of the debt, deficit, and sending our bucks to everywhere in the world but home for our goodies.

The bright side? When we have an Argentinia style economic meltdown, the dollar will be worth next to nothing, and boards made outside the U.S. will be prohibitively expensive. We’ll become net exporters of surfboards. Chinese surfers will begin to complain that American boards are flooding their market, Brazilians will be forced to buy American because of the new pocketbook reality…uh oh, forgot…OPEC will start to sell oil in Euros rather than dollars and it’ll cost us a fortune to make boards because our currency will be so weak. Better start thinking about making boards out of hemp, toilet paper rolls, and pitch. In fact, I think I’ll start researching Benny1’s posts about alternative building materials.

Bring it on! (The economic armageddon, I mean)