Idea

[DoubleDown05]

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hahahahah shhhwakeskating

[Slapdown]

haha nice

-(-<]

[Nekkie]

DoubleDown05, on number one:

if the co that is loved and doesnt pay much gets you enough to keep doing what matters the most, ride, then it could be the right options for some people. I know I wouldn't want to ride for hype even if they rolled out the red carpet... not that they would anyway lol. . I'd rather pay for my own skates then have free hypes and have to ride those, for example.

And many people care for wakeskating because it is not that much about it dieing out, but more taking the right direction.. It's like snowboarding, you have the olympic games and you have riders that could be the best ones in the world that would not go to such an event for various reasons... (who wants to be judged by artictic skating judges huh? ) I say that because I think of Terje not going to the first olympic games that had snowboarding.

[urinal mint]

lemons is a drama queen.


/gasoline

[revolutionconcepts]

Slapdown, wakeskating has a solid foundation??

I don't think so at all...

[Slapdown]

revolutionconcepts, to each his own

[Frye]

[DoubleDown05]

Frye, exactly.

[Slapdown]

Frye, thats pretty much what i have been trying to say

[revolutionconcepts]

im just curious to why slapdown thinks wakeskating has a solid foundation....and slapdown by no means am i disrespecting your opionion...im only asking for your thoughts...so i can better gather my own.

[itch]

Ok first things first Molina, your too young to remember when water ski mentality ruled the WATERSKI TOUR ( That's right there was NO wake board tour) and wake boarding was just a side show. In the early days of strapping you could not fall you had to predetermine your trick line and hand in a "attack list" This severely hinder the growth of wake boarding and the direction it took. I personally feel it was on purpose and meant to keep a new sport in check.
Now if you want to let wake skating just go IT will take a direction and IT will be controlled by the major players I.E. water ski companies. With water ski's having shown a 7% growth in sales last year where do you think the corporate heads are going to spend the majority of their money? This sport is an art form and to make it grow and give it longevity WE need to voice our opinion and help in anyway we can. Weather it being you making your riding legit or me throwing a contest that best reflects both the artistic talent and the natural progression of our sport.
The last thing we want to do is let our sport be controlled and shaped by someone who does not ride. Look at skateboarding it almost died because they let the corporate guys drive it into the ground and it didn't make it back until the riders started their own companies.

DoubleDown
If you don't have enough heart and integrity to follow what you know is right then you shouldn't be riding. Plain and simple!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[electricsnow]

I like what you said itch, and I'm not trying to start an argument here, but how many "waterski" companies make wakeskates that people actually want to buy? I'd say one (hyperlite, the company that sponsors brandon thomas, scott byerly and grubb). I know people hate liquid, and people like to say it's because of kent and the "monopoly" (even though that out of that monopoly, only two of those companies have teams (legitimate teams, I might add, vs waterskiiers trying to make a buck off of something else ie wakeboarding) to represent and support wakeskating, and every other board made by the other co's is a joke). But when you think about it, wakeskating had a MUCH healthier start than wakeboarding, and had some really great people behind it to help it grow, and wanted that healthy growth. And in the end, look at all of the new, independent companies that are popping up every year in wakeskating...Seriously, Oak's been around for a year and they've really managed to make a reputation for themselves, and sattelyte seems to be on the same path. And of course I want cassette to make some boards. So I'm actually really proud of those companies, and it is proof that they can at least challenge the market, vs. come out with a piece of shizzle that makes people not want to ride.

And you're right, there is spill-over to the wakeboard and wakeskating lines when the waterskis (or tubes or what have you) pull in that money. The bottom line is that people start to ride from finding out about wakeskating through promotions, events and advertisments, and in some cases, through buying an affordable board. After that, you never know. That "kooky "insert hated brand x here" kid" from 2005 may end up with an omen in 2006.

And I could imagine some people then going on to say that the tour is sucking the life out of wakeskating because of its format (which, I'm making a wakeboarding association that's similar to your waterski to wakeboard association). But you know, it's one comp out of an assload of cool ones, it was a "start" (and is by no means the definite end) and not only allowed the wakeskaters to be a part of something and promote, but it's also giving new young kids a chance to make a name for themselves, and maybe earn some cash so they can ride, instead of having to work a crappy jahb for 8 or 10 hours a day.

Anyway, i'm just going to stop there. I just wanted to bring that up, it's way longer than I wanted and I apologize for that.

[Slapdown]

Like i said before, i could be wrong. I mean it's just the way i see it. Wakeskating isn't skateboarding, and it isn't wakeboarding. And when i say it will push itself in the right direction, what i really mean is.. good guys like Erich, Thomas, the guys at Omen, Oak, Sattelyte... i think they kind of have it under a little bit more control than some people may think.

[itch]

Snow you and I both know that Kent Sports is about making money, and if a division of one of their companies is growing they will pour more money into it, leaving less money for the wakeskate/wakeboard companies. We both know that Kent puts a majority of the money into the TOUR,MAGAZINES,GRASSROOTS.
If that is cut then the direction of wakeskating is effected. As well as if Kent does not like something they usually will voice their opinion and get something done about it.
Yes the newer companies are great the spark ideas and move the sport into a rider owned and controlled direction but we are both smart enough to know the amount of volume they can push is a grain of salt compared to KENT. When Kent produces 3,000 wakeskates in a year the smaller companies like OMEN can move 300. And yes you might get 2% of the first time buyers crossover to a rider owned company but it is ONLY 2% at that rate of growth ROC would never catch the corporate machine.
We need to project a level of professionalism and legitimize every aspect of our sport to bring outside sponsors much like Monster is crossbranding with Malibu and Liquid Force.
Place's like Coke and McDonalds need to recognize they have a buying public tied up into the ranks and if we do things right they will sponsor events and teams.
Much like BMX has done by getting auto,clothing,food,retail interested in their following.

ITCH

P.S. I Love you more when we fight so bring it on

[Slapdown]

McDonalds? The day i show up at a skate competition and see Ronald McDonald is the day i huddle up in the corner of my room and cry for the remainder of my life

[electricsnow]

I'm not fighting, I was just wondering what you were talking about with waterskiing companies making wakeskates, when there's really only one, and the dudes who are riding for that company aren't half bad. And with byerly especially, he's really coming into his own when it comes to doing some really great things for wakeskating. Anyway, It's not wakeboarding ca. 1993 (or whenever).

Yes, I understand that LF and hyperlite operate in a different financial paradigm than someone like Omen. But on the flip side, how do you expect or even consider "competing" with a number like 3000 boards a year when you insist on hand making each board yourself? Now, I'm not knocking it because I understand a lot of care is being put into those boards, and I appreciate the art and hand making a board does make it super unique. But again, how can you even consider a number like 3000, given the circumstances one is subscribing to? How do you expect to fulfill the needs of the industry when there are only ~300 boards? Furthermore, not every rider is going to want to spend 280.00 on a deck. It's just a reality.

In the end, you can't continue without money. Yeah, some other companies want more of it than others--that's business, you'll find it in just about any industry. But remember, it is not just "the company" that is in control of wakeskating. The riders are there to promote and make sure it's going in the right direction, which is where aaron's article makes perfect sense. If the riders take a stand and make sure their coverage is responsible and things of that nature, then it's not just the company that's responsible for wakeskating's direction anymore.

Truthfully though, it's almost baffling to encourage coke and mcdonalds into wakeskating, especially at this stage (when they ARE interested in the money and not just the future of wakeskating, and I would bet they couldn't give two shits about how it's portrayed, so long as "the shot is rad." "here, do that thing again, but smile and shakka!!!") But let's say this, endorsements or what have you help the riders--does a paycheck from LF not help a rider? In all honesty, is LF going to do a worse job of promoting wakeskating than Mc Donalds? Is shane bonifay doing it right by riding for monster, but doing it wrong by riding for LF? I have a lot of faith in people like aaron, danny, Silas Thurman, etc--Lf riders--that they would not promote wakeskating in some kooky way. Arete, the hippodrome, having the biggest smile while riding (that literally warms my heart and makes ME want to go out and ride)...they ride for a "money hungry" corporation like kent, yet they're leading by example and pushing wakeskating in a direction that they see fit. I personally can't hate on that.

In the end, I can fully agree to disagree. We all have our experiences that shape our opinions, and we're going to do what we feel is appropriate.

You know what? We're through. I had pappa john's pizza last night, and I shared it with someone else (electronically). I cheated on you... (you know, I'm lightening the mood to make sure you don't start throwing eggs at me.)

[itch]

Alright you win let's makeout errrrrrrrrrrrrrr I mean let's make-up.
All very good points and I find solace in your opinions I know that with out money things are not achievable and I know that with money comes outside pressures.
It is funny how circular everything is I witnessed this in skateboarding in the 70's and in BMX in the 80's to the same things and trends happening in snowboarding in the 80's and 90's then now in wakeboarding/wakeskating every sport seeks for acceptance and profit then some how finds it's niche and stabilizes. Everything surfing went through skateboarding,bmx,and snowboarding did also. We are just merely follow the trend.
ITCH

ITCH

[DoubleDown05]

u guys write way to dam much.

[Slapdown]

DoubleDown05, **douchebag

[itch]

WOW you resorted to name calling I would have thought you would used a logical coherent retort to voice your opinion
itch