How green is that wetsuit you wore
that car upholstery you sat on
that gas or diesel you pumped in
the car or truck you drove to the beach
the asphalt you drove over
the sidewalks you walked to the sand on
selling surfboards for their ‘green’ content is just pissin in the wind
the ‘greenest’ board is the one built to last
and rides so well, the rider wants to keep riding it
so when he sees the latest ad for the latest models
of …Lost and CI
he flicks the page without a pause
OH YEAH !!!
May be future will be better, hope…
Short answer … Both. The two rails are effectivly stringers themsevles either with or without a fibreglass cloth underlay. For the paronoid … a centrel stringer aint too hard to conjure.
About the board in the picture… I’d like to know it’s construction specs to understand how it failed so well.
Don’t look like noth’n I ever made.
;)
“every surfer , in every surfing nation , can go up the road to their
local surfboard builder , and get what they want…collectively ,
that is an industry , but what it is in reality , is an integral part
of your local surfing community and its culture”
yes
Where the “surfboard industry” shows its lack of integrity to me is when they collectively continue to sell surfboards that are so disposable they know the customer has to keep on coming back.
Then there’s the marketing of pro surfing and the sales of surfboard types to the masses wholly unsuitable for the level of surfing they can achieve.
Agree 100%.
But it works great!!
People can always get smarter and be educated by others and change their opinions
But sometimes there are folks who just plain refuse to change their opinion, they just keep on surfing needles… stuck to some mental image like epoxy
No matter what you say… they keep on doing it.
And i really wonder what it costs in CO2 to have the Firewires shipped [i guess not flown?] worldwide. Are all epoxies and fibreglass rolls produced in Australia or maybe imported?
Just to say the green is a very vague word. I remember a good point from one of the many posts that have been on sways about green: “Driving your bike everyday to go surfing i a lot greener than buying one Firewire!”
#fail.
yeah because the “industry” is forcing me to buy boards i don’t want. i always wondered why Al and Biolos followed me into surfshops and one-off shapers and kept me from ordering a board with a shape i want, built with durability in mind.
if people stopped buying disposable boards, the big, bad, scary “industry” would stop making them. so classic to blame others.
Nice bit of fantasy extrapolation from my post.
Using Al and Biolos as your examples show that their marketing is working well.
The one off shapers are good to use for an Al or Biolos copy so you tell everyone how you’re supporting your local shaper and get a great bro deal to boot (sic).
isn’t the fantasy that the “industry” is making boards people don’t want as they ring their hands and laugh as they know surfers will get 6 months out of the board before they have to come back for another board? if people didn’t want disposable boards, who would buy them more than once? i don’t buy them. i buy boards that are built to last. they’re heavy and some surfers hate that. i don’t. but you can’t fairly say that the “big” companies are making all these boards out of a lack of integrity with a goal of screwing people over.
Lots of long post, but ultimately, the hand shapers nor the mass producers get to decide what is going to end up in the market. The customers do. As it should be. I’m not one of those offended when someone paddles out with an Asian made surfboard. They bought what they could afford with the information they had and were possibly treated better by that shop than by other connections they attempted to make or etc. While I still dislike much of the dishonesty surrounding much of the advertisment and hate that all the Asians have to sell is slave labor… I’ll buy or sell what I wish and could really care less who likes it or not since it’s my money and my time. Others do the same. Life goes on. The only thing anyone can count on is change. Like the above post say…diversify or another suggestion is to figure out a better way to market what you have and do that. I enjoy what I do and don’t need a huge amount of sales because I love it and do it for that reason. I have another career for money. If something changes where I can make my living completely from the industry as I used to…then I will. I see boards of all types I like right here. I see few that get me going coming out of Asia and with all the great shapers here in the states…I see absolutely no reason to purchase from one of those companies whose shapers and tech are not new and can be reproduced in shapes I like rather than having to take the rack model. I have seen rack boards I fell in love with before though. My very first thruster was bought right off the rack.
I love my hefty longboard, the heft comes in handy sometimes, but I also like my super light and strong composite fish. I like em all heheh
I love my hefty longboard, the heft comes in handy sometimes, but I also like my super light and strong composite fish. I like em all heheh
I rode a light weight epoxy 6’6’’ on our last overhead swell. The offshores were so hard the light weight epoxy was being blown out the back. Went back in and got my heavy nugget and caught every set wave after that after embarassing myself on the 6’6’'. Love the smaller epoxy on beach breaks and points with no wind when the waves are under head high. I think epoxy is more lively and floaty but poly or heavier has more momentum and catches waves easier.
Companies spend millions for under a minute super bowl ad. The surf industry spends millions to convince those people who buy the status quo that they are status quo for some reason other than marketing. Many did used to be O.K, shapers, but once it’s gone production it’s about lowering the cost and keeping the price high. It’s about label. Which means it’s about promotion. No one forces people to buy, but those manufactures realize public social rules, the herd mentality and selling a false idea of a fairy tale surfer tribe world works. I don’t dislike them for it. I even admire some of the successful business models for what they are. Business models. On a personal note…as stated many times before, I don’t believe the industry side of things does much of anything good. In fact, I think the lifestyle they sell damages many young immature kids. I see some of what comes off the pro tour and shake my head. They had fun, but many can’t make a living at middle age. Others die of drug overdoses and etc trying to live up to the false image created for them.
FW’s spokesman mentions “brand” and refers to their business model on a regular basis. Al Merrick used to do the same thing from time to time. Lost Enterprises didn’t get to their current position in the market by staying underground, even if they’re smart enough to avoid getting caught on record talking about it.
None of the companies that advertise in the surf magazines are doing their thing from their garages. They’re all in business primarily to make money.
…it’s about jobs…little by little , they are being thieved , and taken away…our culture , independance and freedom goes with them…it’s time to stop the rot , and start repairing the damage done…there’s an old saying …"don’t bogart that joint ! "
its all about selling the brand once you give in to commoditization
mass marketing is what turns product into commodities
eventually its the brand not the product that becomes the differentiator
sooner or later the brands become superceded by bigger brands (Nike/Red Bull/Coke)
as everyone continues to sell out for a bigger cut of the 1%
a giant ponzi scheme in the end
when something has a natural, clear and undeniable value proposition
it doesn’t need to be sold
finding that with out any outside intervention
is modern man’s greatest challenge
we are all lemmings of this modern life
in one way or another.
…nothing becomes a “commodity” , just because mass marketing says so…
''In economics , a commodity is the generic term for any marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs . Economic commodities comprise goods and services.
The more specific meaning of the term commodity is applied to goods only. It is used to describe a class of goods for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market . A commodity has full or partial fungibility that is, the market treats its instances as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them.‘’
find this whole thread pretty humorous
early Firewire advertising was all about a board that would last longer then conventional construction
now a new Firewire that will last EVEN longer, and greener to boot
more hot air from an industry like all others, everything about increasing market share
the sales hook always shifting, MORE GREEN the new worm on the hook
bottom line, it’s always about the bottom line
lips flapping and ads running
trying to convince you that the new shit ya just bought a while ago
is now old, outdated shit
so ya buy the new, updated shit