Taj signs for firewire

I followed the link on the Sways home page to this article. Where Taj says how he is looking forward to trying new shapes, rockers etc.

I recently heard Greg Webber talking about Taj as his team rider and saying it was impossiblle to get him to try any new shapes.

Must be some magic in those Firewires!

good stuff , thanks Burnsie !

it would be interesting to know in more detail exactly what Taj felt different under his feet , and his take on it .

(and slater and curren and ? andy ? and rasta ? hopefully)

I would REALLY like to see joel parko , mick fanning , and occy on them , and hear what they have to say ,

hopefully Taj will ride his at the Pipe Masters and do well.

I think it will be interesting to see him at the upcoming ‘trestles’ contest in ? 4 or 5 days time? …hopefully there will be some good tubes , faces , and …maybe some good ‘ramp’ sections for him to ‘boost’ off ?!

…we shall see …

http://www.transworldsurf.com/surf/pressrelease/article/0,19929,1531639,00.html

cheers !

ben

I feel sorry for webber as I always thought he contibuted alot to design and paid his dues

But he pull all his eggs with taj

he used to have a cadre of riders during his banana board days but settled on one

now he has none after investing all that time trying to keep his rider happy and targeted to become #1

Makes you wonder if Taj dumped him or just added Firewire to his quiver.

It’s another gap in this “sports business” that I see soon to be closed up.

Exclusive rider/driver contracts and rider payrolls are next.

It won’t be free boards it’ll be you will ride this board or take a hike.

Shapers will become the new race car designers

and owners will rule the roost of drivers on their payroll.

There’s too much at stake now.

We’ve forgot that this is also a big part of pro sport we haven’t seen too much in surfing.

contract contracts contracts

agents agents agents

lawyers lawyers lawyers

renegos renegos renegos

lawsuits lawsuits lawsuits

and who will assume the role of Terrell Owens in this sport

We’ve had it somewhat good up to now

But pro-ho riders expect to become more of an Industry clown

than you ever that you’d become as a “surfer”

Also expect the IRS to be on your back more than you could ever imagine

Sunny’s sentence is just the begnning of the change.

Shapers will always have a hard time paying team riders. They don’t haave the kind of margins the “lifestyle” companies like QS and Billabong have. Al Merrick gives Kelly 85 boards a year. That’s a steep price to pay for most shapers. The best they can do is hope team guys will feel a connection and sense of loyalty, and stick with them for the long haul.

That gets harder all the time. As surfers get more noteriety, everyone tries to pull them into there camp. Al was supporting Kelly as a grom and has become a father figure to him. Al can cut Kelly a check for the K boards he sells, and stoke him with as many boards as he needs, but Kelly could cut and run any time he wants and get more somewhere else. It’s all about loyalty and wanting to help those who helped you.

Quiksilver and Billabong make surfboards with no shaper name on them. They can pay big bucks to their sponsored guys. The way things were going pre “black monday”, shaper names would have been forced off team rider boards. How hard would it be for QS to tell their rider, who getting wads of cash from them, to say “we want our logo to be the only one on your board”.

In my mind, Clark’s closure has saved the shapers. People were wondering who would save the industry. Guess what… it’s the same guys who created it in the first place. We all owe a lot to the shapers that spend their days covered in dust for love and not cash. That is our core and always will be regardless of where the money is.

Sure if you’re in the top 40 you need any advantage you can get, but I like it when the loyalty thing works both ways.

…well I shaped a lot of Billabong boards

and never was good money for me…

…by the way K Slater as a grom surfed under Kechelle surfboards

You’re right about Kechelle… sorry Matt - but Kelly’s been with Al for a long time.

One of the biggest problems for shapers trying to survive, is other shapers undercutting them in price. They cut their own necks. Then there’s the dealers cutting shaper’s necks by keeping prices low to compete. And… we as surfers tend to be cheapskates when buying boards - I’m as guilty as anyone here. We’re always looking for bro deals and free stuff.

I’m confused about the Webber - Firewire thing. I swear I just saw an advert with Taj hitting the lip on a Firewire with a Webber lam/sticker in clear view on the bottom.

So what’s up?

In a sport where “magic” is a commonly-used adjective, and the interdynamic of various shaped features is so critical (wuth an incompressible liquid medium and every wave is at least a little bit unique) I don’t think riders are ever gonna be locked down very hard by their own choice, and they’ll find ways to ride what works best for them. Tour cyclists have their magic guys make their bikes and then have their team paint job put on. Used to be you could actually tell who really made their bike by the tubing profile!

Up to Al to keep making magic or Kelly will be having someone else’s work under his feet with Al’s sticker on. Bro loyalty shouldn’t count for TOO much as far as the actual equipment goes in the pro ranks–those guys’ careers can be short, too short, or even shorter. If 35-39 is way past prime, a guy’s got a good argument to make that it’s his option to take a big check to sport the colors AND ride whatever really works best.

Bursnie’s post made me think Taj had found the best of Webber’s magic and locked in hard, but his result at JBay on Firewire and his signing seems to show he feels like they have a wider vein of gold to tap.

taj on overseas produced media hype machines? wow! the power of money corrupts absolutely… i’ve had too much coffee and will let my fingers run here over my musings…some good points are made by oneula as usual and others too. the biggest problem that threatens to drown us remaining hand shapers IS the advertising machine of Primedia and the big companies ability to exploit this power thru ad dollars and buying off the taj’s of the sport. they then influence the average surfboard buyer, who suffers from general ignorance, to identify with their brand, their iconic logo…so its ignorance, Not stupidity, but ignorance on the part of consumers

–they are unaware of the fact that their local surfshops’ hand shaper (there at least one good one in most surf towns) is capable and willing to make them their best board ever AND for cheaper than the homogenized cnc line that the big brands offer. as keepers of the flame, these shapers and glassers can keep a personalized registry of every board ever made for that person and continue moving forward in personalized design, making sure that the customer is progressing and more and more satisfied with their tool. but the problem is how do i/we get that information into peoples heads? how do you start a philosophical revolution where the customer feels pride in his surfing individuality and wants a custom product made by a friend and mentor? by staying true to this artistic way, those who follow it are being starved into submission by the middleman’s takeover of the industry and the retail owners for the most part are sucking right up to them.

wasn’t there a list of surfshops going around that refused to carry pop out boards? if there is , can i see the link ? and if not, lets start one.

now, switching to decaf. cheers

I guess what I’m saying is that when the real big money comes into play driven buy marketing dollars

the shapers/designers will become puppets working under “exclusive” contract

as will riders will become puppets

of some great financing machine protecting their investment and IP rights

it happens everywhere

look at Danica Patrick, Michelle Wie, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan

At some form they were under contract to the sports monolith that’s owned them and what they could do and what they could drive, hit with or wear.

It’s slowly happening as more money comes into play and sometimes its actually being brought by the riders themselves who are looking at getting more of the dollars in their pocket via contractual agreements, and forming unions to pressure contest venues. Professional Surfers are getting smarter and once big name talent agents start getting into their heads and their pockets they are going to want to tap into the big dollars of the industry owners.

Success breeds such problems thats all…

Articles of liability, up front signing bonuses and yearly guarrantees based on performance are what we should see from the legal crowd in this space soon.

You can’t push for big time sports legitimacy and ignore the other aspects that come along with it.

Good for Taj…hope he makes lots of money…and most of all …comes out of it with good vibes.

Thank you Herb…couldnt of said it better.

Geez guys…Taj, Tiger, Michelle etc etc are PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES. No one is forcing them to do anything they dont want to do. If the athlete’s like the terms, they simply sign on the dotted line. If they dont they walk away. Simple.

Let’s see…

a life of daily commuting, working for a wage, living paycheck to paycheck etc etc

OR

Pro Athlete goes to work, playing golf, or surfing waves…and getting paid millions (Tiger’s case) to do it…(in Tiger’s case, in your free time you give back…donating time/money to good charitable causes)…using company products hasn’t exactly hurt Tiger

…decisions, decisions

Good for Taj…seems like a good bloke to me…I wish him luck.