A group of swaylockers have been working together online for some time now. After much debate, we have decided to form a web presence as an informal co-op. You’ll find us at www.compsand.com We’ll be updating with more photos and members in the near future.
The obvious advantages of this kind of coop is the collective knowledge and advancement that wouldn’t otherwise be possible as a solo endeavor. It also lends greater credibility to those of us who may not have built a whole lot of boards, but who have been able to assimilate the collective knowledge into a quality product. This is not an attempt on anyone’s part to get rich, or even quit the “day job”. We’re just saying, “this is who we are, this is what we’re doing”.
Our members who are listed on the webpage are as follows:
USA:
Myself, Jarrod Oldham; Shwuz
Ben Sparks- benny1;
AUS:
Doug Irwin; dougirwin13
NZ:
Paul Cannon; silly
Mike Sabin; sabs
UK:
Mark Venn- pure customs surfboards; markyv
More to follow soon.
Additionally, we have an unspecified number of other contributors who are not part of the public presence as of yet, either because they’re not interested in selling any boards, or for their own reasons. I’ll leave it up to them to decide if they’d like to acknowledge their valuable contributions here.
We sincerely hope we’ll be received in the same spirit in which we were conceived; one of stoke for the sport and love of the craft.
have you folks contacted the old timers like Bert, Charlie and or Gary Young to see if they would like to participate in your forum in some type of “ask the guru” role?
I noticed that CMP’s site’s been down for some time now not sure if he just threw in the towel, too busy remodeling his house or spending time with the new little one. Need to stop by one of these days to check in.
My brother’s been in contact with Gary and he’s still doing his thing behind the scenes on the big island probably 5-10 years ahead of the pack as probably is Bert and Josh…
Be nice to see an opportunity extended out to them directly as they don’t spend time here on swaylocks anymore for one reason or another but like you said they paved the way for the creation of the coop…
I’d be more interested in showing some of the basics and helping those interested and then referring them to Charlie to get set up to do it on their own than doing anything for money.
As long as this is just a personal play time hobby to distract me from the stress of my regualr job then I don’t feel bad making what I do with the crap we build them out of so I don’t think I could qualify as a coop contibuting artist or craftsman since we just view ourselves as a couple of front yard hackers.
Best wishes on the venture I like the low key nature
I’m sure it’ll all be big time offshore in the next year or two if there’s some dollars in it…
have you folks contacted the old timers like Bert, Charlie and or Gary Young to see if they would like to participate in your forum in some type of "ask the guru" role?
We’ve asked Bert, as we have since the beginning, but he still doesn’t let camels’ noses under the big tent. (He does check in with individuals from time to time, as do you, and we all understand why he wouldn’t necessarily want to share everything.) If you know how to get in touch with GY or CMP, by all means. I also talk to Bob Miller every now & then, but he’s busy with the Cobalt stuff…
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I'd be more interested in showing some of the basics and helping those interested and then referring them to Charlie to get set up to do it on their own than doing anything for money.
As long as this is just a personal play time hobby to distract me from the stress of my regualr job then I don’t feel bad making what I do with the crap we build them out of so I don’t think I could qualify as a coop contibuting artist or craftsman since we just view ourselves as a couple of front yard hackers.
Best wishes on the venture I like the low key nature
As you know, this is the stuff I’m in it for as well…Its nice to have people to bounce ideas off of, and also sometimes nice to cut through some of the static a fully-public dialogue can create. I think of my conversations with the compsand guys as my alpha-testing, and then when I post results - the beta - on Sways, its almost like comsumer-ready. Since I don’t sell anything, the public information is my work product, in a way. I get a lot of enjoyment out of sharing in both places.
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I'm sure it'll all be big time offshore in the next year or two if there's some dollars in it..
And that’s when I’m out. I’m a terrible employee, just like doing my own thing.
I'm sure it'll all be big time offshore in the next year or two if there's some dollars in it..
Interesting idea. One of the underlying vibes the guys have always had is supporting the backyarder in the new millenium’s technology (my own words, reword it however you want). Words like custom, backyard, etc are as common as high-perf, carbon, etc.
If that basic belief goes, then I’ll have already walked out.
I’d be more interested in showing some of the basics …
I agree!
The value added piece for this site would be to use your knowledge to distill all of the little bits of information floating around the internet regarding this topic, and just state the facts.
I would love to build a compsand some day, but haven’t invested the time to comb through the archives to figure everything out. I’m looking forward to seeing your site when all the content gets added.
BTW – You should check out Google Analytics for tracking you web traffic. It’s free, and is a nice product.
vibram five fingers kso shoes just an anecdotal takedown, a few cases of transitioning too fast to natural running, or something more? The Internet Monk puts his faith to the test by walking with Jesus in his new vibram five fingers kso shoes - a religious perspective on VFFs.vibram five fingers kso shoe are hot in Charlotte, N.C. - a nice local news story (And video) on Vibrams growing popularity.Sean Pelleteir reports on a recent lecture by Chris McDougall at Frederick Community College, on the wonders of barefoot running.
(He does check in with individuals from time to time, as do you, and we all understand why he wouldn’t necessarily want to share everything.) If you know how to get in touch with GY or CMP, by all means. I also talk to Bob Miller every now & then, but he’s busy with the Cobalt stuff…
You guys planning to bring in a forum?