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zero boards with better wood now? �sounds good, good luck man
I feel we are all forgetting Zero was one of the first companies to leave America and start producing in Mexico. Zero has produced sub-par boards for over a decade (not just since 2014 when Thomas moved Zero over to Dwindle). While Powell was the first skate company to really try to start producing outside of the States (1980s - China), Thomas and Mangum--along with the guys at Dwindle--help set the trend of non-American/Canadian made boards when it came to "new-school" skateboarding. (Note: According to Transworld Business, in 2004, the guys working at Thomas's factory in Mexico were making 45-55 dollars a week.)
My impression is that Thomas has sought out lower cost rather than quality for quite some time now and that along with skateboarding's continued decline in popularity, and the coming of new trends make it difficult for Zero to be the same company it was in 2002. We could also argue about brand image, marketing strategy, and various rumors but that would take us no where.
However, the key issue isn't just Thomas's pursuit of lower-costs (nor is he alone in this business model), we also need to look at our desire for cheap consumer goods, and the shop's need to produce some profit to stay in business. It is amazing how little those of us in the US are willing to pay for a our skate goods. Moreover, it is good to remember that the board wars of 2001-2006 weren't just blanks vs pro boards, it was shop boards vs blanks vs pro boards. What is more important supporting the local shop or supporting the pro company? If we didn't expect pro-boards with grip to cost $45 maybe we could do both at the same time.
http://www.grindtv.com/transworld-business/products/offshore-manufacturing-alternative-black-box-has-found-a-way-to-lower-costs-without-going/
http://skateboarding.transworld.net/news/offshore-manufacturing-alternative-black-box-has-found-a-way-to-lower-costs-without-going/
deluxe had been at Bareback in mexico for years before we moved to our production down there and everyones swears by deluxe. we have never compromised quality for price, so you're spouting some bullshit. personally, i think the dwindle wood is the best wood i've ever ridden. otherwise, we are what we are and if you don't like it, cool
I had the same conversation with Mirko when he was still with Zoo York. He defended Zero's made in Mexico boards as well and if you think Dwindle wood is the best, cool, I strongly disagree but we don't need to agree. I can only tell you the same thing that I told Mirko, the riders and employees of the shop I was at noticed the change and they weren't stoked. This wasn't good, because for our shop the best sales pitch was always "this is the board that I ride" or "this is the board our team rides."
As for BBS being there "years before we moved." I'm unsure what you mean. In a semi-recent interview with CNN, Grant Burns of BBS explains he moved the production line in 2004 as well. "In 2004 Burns moved his production line from San Marcos, Calif., across the border to Tijuana, Mexico, to better compete with China" (source:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/03/smallbusiness/us_manufacturing/ ). Moreover, in 2003 Grant Burns is quoted in Transworld discussing issues related to running BBS manufacturing in California. "Grant Burns is the president of Vista, California-based Bareback skateboard manufacturing that cuts an estimated 30,000 boards a month. This leaves fouur three-yard bins of wood waste a day. �Quite a bit of wood,� says Burns. �It�s kind of unfortunate-it doesn�t work for this area (Vista, California) because there are certain guys who don�t want to take the wood because of the glue. They make it real tough in California. Even if we were freezing cold-anything that�s a potential fire risk makes it hard to get permitted. Our pressroom is heated, and we need to have a heat pump that runs it. I would love to go with a pot-belly stove or a heater that runs off of our waste, but it could never get permitted because to get it through the city it would be considered a fire hazard (source:
http://skateboarding.transworld.net/news/wood-recycling/#gDMFrGjRm1IyXDWq.99 ).
While, you have a point that Zero wasn't the only one switching to Mexico as this trend of leaving the US started picking up steam, it certainly doesn't seem that BBS moved their production "years before" Blackbox did. Not to mention, it appears that Burns kept production in both the US and Mexico at least until 2010 as he installed a screen press at the Vista location in 2010 (source
http://whattheythink.com/news/42472-sakurai-maestro-prints-heat-transfers-skateboards-bbs/).
Skateboarding isn't what it was in the early 2000's. It isn't nearly as big and the big skate companies of the time aren't enjoying the same amount of interest today. I feel that quality is certainly one factor that often gets ignored. Mirko didn't like this when I told him years ago as the crash began and that is fine by me. The guys at Dwindle didn't want to hear it either, and that's fine as well. However, I never expected our customers to pay for something that I wouldn't ride myself.