Hydromann said..
You guys have all missed the point of what SBWH brings to the market.

Choice and opportunity.

And here is what I find interesting.

You all bang on about kooks in the lineup on their SBWH boards, you all get pissy about them being out their having a crack at it on sub standard, environmentally unfriendly, race to the bottom POS boards stealing waves.

And you all bang on about them and other similar marketing models and brands killing the local industry.

You want all the waves to yourselves and whinge about the influx of new kooks but then whine about them not buying Aussie made.

When you should embrace them in the lineup, encourage them to progress and improve, to discern what they need to improve and to steer them towards opportunity for local shapers.

These boards are an untapped gold mine for local shapers, they are entry level priced with reasonable performance or bang for their buck. They engage people who otherwise might not enter the sport to do so by being so cost effective, it provides that opportunity to them.

This expands the upcoming market of surfers who once they have defined their style and taste will then demand better boards, and guess what? If pop out boards are as bad as you all claim and not up to the demands of the users then they will shop for something that will specifically meet their needs.

You can't have it all, you can't whine about all the kooks but then demand all the business, you can't demand all the waves and have a ****e attitude in the lineup because that will reflect on the "brands" that you ride.

People are gonna see a a bunch of crusty old grumpy turds on their shiny locally made bling boards hogging all the waves, and they are gonna see packs of kooks on their pop outs in the lineups having a blast.

Who do you think they will look at? Who's branding will they see most?

Embrace the kook, ask him or her questions about their ride, share your knowledge and wisdom and educate them in the lineup, inspire and encourage them to look to the amazing benefits of a custom board or one that is Aussie made.

I do that every surf, I make sure I strike up a convo about someones ride, what they are riding, size guessing, hows it ride? Where did they get it? Why that style or brand? How does it ride for them? etc... Never once has anyone told me to shut the hell up and F off when it comes to talking about their ride, everyone who know anything loves to talk rides. And if you hit a kook who basically says "dunno it was cheap", bam gold mine. Give them some tips, show them your ride, compare it to theirs etc.

Do that and it will have a greater effect on the Oz board making scene than any whining, word of mouth and genuine references will beat any slick marketing campaign by any board maker. Otherwise why would so much emphasis be placed on testimonials?

Because surfing and board performance is subjective, and if so and so is riding one and says they are great then it must be true.

Opportunities guys, opportunities.

laceys lane said..
Amercian boards suck and are worse for the austalian industry then pop outs.

F ### the Americans taking over our aussie surfboard industry.

asea said..
A ripper

Macaha said..








Because of price point

laceys lane said..
Ok. Seeing as we are at it. Here are 3 boards i paid $2000 each. 2 /17.11 and a 14 fter. Very technical layups . Full carbon. Vaccum sealed etc etc. Something Rod the typical aussie glasser wouldnt even know were start.

If you thing im paying $2000 plus for red black and white painted long board youve got rocks in your head