its good to see people offer their minor contributions for free, its whats Swaylocks is all about.
People are people in any industry. My industry, Construction is just as bad or worse. I could do ANYTHING if only people would do what they agree to, when they agree to do it.
I would think in hard times, poeple would get their act together, but human nature does not change. The reliable guy is reliable no matter what, and the slacker will always be a slacker.
Not that I have been able to do it completely, but the ones you surround yourself with will make or break you.
Tha
THats a real bummer surfoils. You can’t train work ethic, unfortunately. I had to check post when I saw DEATH OF SURFOILS out of my periphery. Glad to read it was only a business, but sorry for your loss.
Shouldve thought of that title a bit longer before I posted.
Thanks guys, Ive changed it.
sorry to hear that Brett
on a HAPPIER note .....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRETT !!! , ( "21 again today" , eh ?! ....ya spring chicken , you ! [or is that spring roll , or maybe even a 'battered sav ', I wonder ? [.....jokes] )
Well , Brett , I sure hope you got some GREAT waves today [or will tomorrow , perhaps??]
cheers mate !
ben
sorry also to hear about that..but it
seems to be "par for the course"
these days..i'm kinda runnimg into
the same thing...
I'm not sure I have got this correct, you are talking about surfboards? I hope not, less than $100 out of the factory including computerised art? I thought the guys importing containers of chinese boards were bad. I take it you have a trade or better to have some available cash to invest in what seemed like a good idea at the time. I hope you didn't lose too much, but fair dinkum, boards were $100 40 years ago and I'm sure you wouldn't like someone coming into your trade and undercutting by that much. It is a dog eat dog world but you usually get what you pay for. regards H.
Surfoils
There might be more to your story Then you realize. If this is such a great idea and a new production method then someone owns the rights to The whole process. Who retains The rights? Who would benefit from the closing of the business? If you had a lot of money in this project I would say you need to make a trip to Australia. do some investigating on just how your money was spent and by whom. Did they produce any boards? if so You might own a few cheap surfboards.
Now that being said what The World does not need right now is another cheep Surfboard. Even in my way out of the way outpost. Far far from the center of the Surf Industry have heard the rumors of warehouse over flowing with product.
I have to agree with Harris and Artz.
Foil- you’ve been a contributor on Sways since 2006 and you know full well you would get sentiment as such.
When we get into the cheap Asian production debates that have and continue to popup all too frequently, I finally learned to drop to my bottom line… which is to say that I’m not willing to give my job/career/livelihood to someone else halfway across the world or even down the block for that matter.
And guess what, neither are they.
Instead of railing on in those utterly useless threads, it’s better to just drop to the bottom line and ask anyone writing in defending one side or the other, "how many of YOU are willing to give up YOUR job (any job) to someone else and put yourself out on the street?
So I can’t really support your desire to come in with this newest brainchild of yours that further supports the demise of the surfboard as we know it, or at the very least, to continue to devalue it to a point where I can no longer make a living at what I have spent decades learning to excel at.
I don’t think there is any hidden agenda here. I want to keep my job making money at something I enjoy doing and am passionate about so I can support my family. You want to conceptualize and realize a product (surfboard in this case) that you can introduce to the world, and make money on. A successful design would ‘validate’ you and your contribution.
Neither of us created the system that requires money to pay for goods & services, but we are both slaves to it nonetheless.
It never ceases to amaze me how intoxicating it is to many of us to create surfboards. You are only one example of many other people that started surfing back in their childhood or at some other time, then became engineers, or successful business owners, surgeons, commercial pilots, contractors, coroporate whiz kids, or some captain of industry, recipient of some trust or vast fortune… and what have any number of them done? Decide they were going to go into the surfboard industry?
It seems to defy logic, really. But there they are, throwing their hat into the ring diluting an already taxed industry where attaining any appreciable market share is more a pipedream than a reality.
So at the end of the day, had your $99 special hit the market, it still would have been competing with corporate driven bargaining chips that are free to professional surfers gracing the magazines, branded labels that have succeeded in brainwashing young beginners to think those are the only surfboards to ride no matter what the price, surfboards made by backyarders and idle trustfunders, retired old timers that made money elsewhere and want to re live their childhood, and professionals that keep on keeping on, because it is what they love, what they have always done, and have enough stoked clientele that return for more boards that supports their passion, pays them a living and allows them to keep building fair priced, good quality custom equipment.
Mass production has its place and is valued as such; like utility.
Custom is personal and deserves to be valued as such.
If the market will bear it and you want to pursue your dream, then go for it. My opinion is only my opinion, but I am as entitled to mine as you are to yours.
One man’s fantasy is another man’s reality.
coming from somone who is prepaired to steal others designs
i say serves you f###king right
"
Re: [SURFFOILS] The Death of SURF-FOILS. ( the product )
coming from somone who is prepaired to steal others designs
i say serves you f###king right "
moderator alert ...
try to keep it civil , this is a surfboard design community .
That was uncalled-for abuse ...
one of the rules of posting on this website is ....no abuse
tone it down a notch there , 'huie' , [ you're not really doing your surfboard company any favours , behaving like that on a public forum , you realise ? ]
cheers !
ben
mybe this may shed a little more light on things
well i cant stop him
but to pass it around on a peice of paper fking joke
why would you not aproach me first i would do a an original in glass
for a small fee
dont care much for copying other peoples work
so i dont expect it done to me either.
cheers huie
Not sure what the deal is that Huie is adamant about, but on the other hand I have been quoted as saying
“this is a monkey see, monkey do business”.
…and people rely on that, now more than ever. Being creative carries a penalty these days.
Huie, that's not abuse, not even close. Go to when I came home from the surfclub one night and read someone sucking up Mickies arse for inventing the shaping machine, that was abuse and the moderaters let that flow, as they should. I think the thing here is you have a mixture of guys who , some make surfboards for their living and some who just have a go for the fun of it. It works pretty well, but there will never be any blood spilt, cyber blueing, big deal. The pros share their knowledge, as you have many times Huie and I do to. To try and sell boards for 100 bucks in this age, well lets just say, I really held back. The point I would really like to make is, with out a bit of biffo, telling your problems, trying to maybe sell your thing, this joint doesn't work, H. let it flow.
I like your point.
I get sick of all the political correctness people pander to.
Don’t mistake PC for social awareness or evolution.
We are all still APES WITH ROCKETS or the world wouldn’t be in a perpetual state of war, hunger and disease.
I say, take the parties here out to The Coliseum and release the lions, then we will see who the pussies really are.
As the spectators in the stands will quickly tell you:
“Playing nice is boring”.
<h3>Re: [surffoils] Turning surf knowledge into money.</h3>
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<span class="meta-item posted-on">Posted: November 23, 2009 - 6:39pm</span>
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Heres the final shape.
Some of the test riders didnt like the angles or the overly foiled
nose on the earlier prototypes so some things have been changed.
Overall its a lot more pleasing to look at with smoother lines and an almost ‘surfboard’ look from some angles.
I kept the square bottom edge to the rails, its just all release.
The outline has changed with the WP coming up 2 inches and the nose
width going out 1.5 because the riders said it was too sensitive to turn
and a bit twitchy on choppy waves.
I kept the deck scoop but its only a subtle concave now.
The board will go to the factory and I’ll get 6 finished boards to test before they go ahead with a full run.
One of the finished boards is going to Hawaii where a couple of guys
are happy to do some pics for me in exchange for the board. Thanks
guys.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________-
Surf-foil I did a quick search regarding this discussion:
I remember back in 2009 Surf Foils posting something about some business Ideal. I have seen all kinds of things people come up with. The problem with this business model is it’s not a very good Ideal period. The factory owner that you intended to produce them most likely thought it was not worth the effort. Surf factory owners can be a bit jaded at times however rightfully so. They have to do things that generate money. Do you really believe that they are going to try and make your pipe dream come to reality? I’m sure you may be a nice guy or whatever however maybe the factory owner did you a favor? You could of lost a lot more money. Keep your job that you know makes money for your family. Your ideal is pretty weak. OH Yeah where is the pics for the guys riding the finished boards going to Hawaii?
IT seems that this has become some kind of obsession kind of like a Crystal Meth addict?
I know you are a fairly straight arrow. Put your feet back on solid ground. Someone has already been to the moon.
I like the rest of the guys on here am sick and tired of being Politically Correct.
Truthfulness can be painful however it’s better to hear the truth than a bunch of BS.
Kind regards,
surfding
Great back and forth discussion guys, my internet has been down for a week so I couldnt respond but its interesting to see the different people open up and interact. The SURFFOILS board was a small bodyboard not a surfboard so thats why it was $100 out of factory, the setup fees were really high but the ' unit cost ' was low but thankfully they did the prototype setup for free so it dodnt cost a cent to get the first dozen boards made. Maybe thats why they went broke...
I thank you all for your straight shooting, its good to keep your feet on the ground but anyone who has a business had to start with a dream.
Surfding, thanks for your insight, I'll keep my wallet closed !!
The problem with this business model is it's not a very good Ideal period. The factory owner that you intended to produce them most likely thought it was not worth the effort. Surf factory owners can be a bit jaded at times however rightfully so. They have to do things that generate money
If I checked my calendar I'd probably find it's time for my bi-annual rant about communication, but WTH.
From my distant peanut gallery I have to wonder what might have been the feeling if the factory owner just met with the prospective client and laid his cards out on the table: whatever the reason, be it economy, shop load, finance, management problems. Nothing is more frustrating than no communication. Most people are much more resonable than they get credit for. No communication, or no effective communication, makes it seem like the one party just doesn't care - a totally infuriating situation for somebody who is counting on them. People don't like bad surprises, and especially not if it appears that indifference is endemic to the source of the bad surprise.
It's also amazing how many business owners or managers sit around in honest agony trying to avoid "facing the music" with a customer. Sometimes the customer can supply the solution or relief, but not if they don't know what's going on with their situation. If you are a business owner with a situation brewing, analyze your situation and develope a couple of courses of action to solve it or recover, and take it to the customer straight up.
Nels