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Glad that you can admit that you looked for the worst colorways you could find and that you're also a fan of skater owned brands. We've had a lot of cupsoles drop recently and have even more coming out. Even though you're already aware of the pour-in G6 midsole maybe you would be into the Gamma G6 as that shoe has a little bit more of a "sportier" look to it than the rest of our other models. It's funny to hear you say Emerica is some motorcycle brand and that our identity is shitty beer and stoner rock. The team is more diverse than you realize as I'm sure you're basing the entire identity off of a couple team riders versus us being a brand that is 100% neutral as you're wanting. From Spanky to Winkowski to Julian to Jpow, we have an entire team that aren't stoner rockin', motor cyclin' and beer drinking guys (75% of the team is sober by the way). Just a group of guys that fucking love to skate and are great at it.
Would you say that the Emerica team is diverse in terms of race, gender, or sexuality?
Funny that in trying to show how "diverse" the team is dude actually demonstrated that it is anything but. The videos are going for some nostalgia feel down to the green tint, but come off as kinda meh and played out. There are good riders obviously, but they're all hesh white dudes that dress the same. One skates a shaped board and does older pool tricks and there is now one POC. Even if they're sober that's the archetype they played extensively and still sticks.
As for the shoes I wanted to like my Winos and will try the cups, but they fell apart so much faster than a basic Vans slip on and were the same price that I can't recommend them to anyone. Most of the rest of the lineup is iterations on a few of the same basic vulcs.
Ill add in to this because I know this is a sensitive topic for some, and the times we live in are that of saying anything "controversial" means youre canceled without a second thought, but think of this:
This is the idea of participation vs representation, and youre arguing for simply filling spots in the van based on the criteria compared to talent, as well the ability to mesh well with the team. Also consider the idea of "equal opportunity, not equal outcome", and thats where the idea EmericaTM has talked about comes in and what I already mentioned: fitting in with the team and getting along, and having the talent needed to represent the brand to the best of their ability. Also these companies are looking for people who are wanting on for the long haul, not trying to get someone in the van for a year, and next year need to fill their spot because a possible larger check was offered, they want people that represent what their brand stands for. And that isnt a characteristic that is unique to any one race, religion, or sexual orientation. You could have all the talent in the world, be the best "enter race/religion/sexual orientation" skater in the world, but if your personality is intolerable with the team and its managers, odds are you arent getting on.
I have no doubt the guys at Emerica, or any other company out there, are getting skaters who all look different on the outside coming around to get on the team or to even just get noticed, but that alone isnt enough to "fit in the van". Want proof? look at the "influencer" bracket in BATB12, how many different backgrounds are being represented? and how many of them have the talent (just based on the games they played) to represent companies and be sponsored aside from considering their followings on social media?
If you go back in time and look at their team line up over the decades Emerica has been around, they have had several guys, all unique characters in many different ways, all riding for them and some getting their own pro model shoes.
To ignore that a company has a particular type of image that they represent strongest is ridiculous (ZERO was huge handrail/gap/stair skaters; ALMOST was super tech manual/flip in flip out; PLAN B was "elite" at least in the central valley it was considered that...im certain you can think of others for yourselves), and Emerica has become more "hesh" over the years, and thats awesome, but that doesnt limit the people interested in that type of skating to being "white". Not everyone grows up to skate the same types of obstacles, yes nowadays we all have greater access to watching countless different types of skating, but the ability to find ideal spots can be difficult, and a lot resort to what is around them, and if they're happy with that, again thats awesome.
Your argument for who is on Emerica atm is like hating Magenta or Sour for not having a ton of Americans on their teams. Some people dont want to move to LA to be closer to sponsors, some people are ok with being in flow purgatory, some have career ending injuries we never know about, but with all that said, saying Emerica isnt "diverse" enough, or any company isnt, is stupid. We all have access to getting ourselves out into the world for companies to see us, some have more will, some unfortunately get their journeys ended early, and every other reasoning in between.
Thank you to everyone for hopefully understanding my point. All I ask from EmericaTM is keep the good cupsoles in the lineup as long as possible so my feet hurt less as I continue to age.
Topic: Post UPCOMING/RECENT shoe releases thread (Read 8714977 times)