Jeff Lenoce | The Nine Club With Chris Roberts - Episode 104

[popsiclesandskatin]

I get annoyed when Roberts says there's too many board brands. I'm buying what appeals to me, if those brands cease to exist I still wouldn't buy a Roberts board. If Pyramid Country started making boards, it wouldn't be taking money away from Girl/Chocolate. The cross over appeal isn't there. He's bitching about a market that would never buy his product because it simply doesn't appeal to them.

[nopes]

Another thing that gets me with this argument is the fact that the market is WAY too oversaturated. There are way too many mouths to feed, and when everybody has their own cool new skateboard company, nobody does. It bothers me when people who haven’t had to pay for a skateboard in over ten years try to lecture (and in some cases blame) the consumer for poor marketing on their end.

i think about this a lot too. i dont understand how this constant influx of companies can be good for the industry. i imagine it has to hurt the local shops too because its hard to carry everything already and the more companies that pop up the less they might have which pushes kids online since they cant get what they want locally.

personally i dont have a problem with deck prices going up but im also fortunate enough for it to not affect me that much. hearing people in the industry talk about it so poorly is terrible but most of these guys arent the smartest people around so its not shocking. its more amazing the industry stays afloat with them at the helm.

[GOKU]

I always thought it was shitty Lenoce got his board pulled right after putting out his Shake Junt part, which is clearly one of his best. Makes sense if it was 5yo Fully Flared throwaway.

His Shake Junt part took me by surprise, it was so good! Lenoce is sick, I love nollie back 180s and he's got one of the best of 'em all. Excited to listen to this episode at work tmrw

[zuma]

back in the day skate companies knew how to make something out of nothing with a few people behind the scenes.

there were no high paid marketing teams red cameras & filmers and tm s that are corp managers at the same time like a lot of team clements. these guys of course push their agenda and try to influence and manipulate to reach their goal which is all about making a shitload of cash and eliminating the problems to do so.

they don t care about a smaller company in the trenches regardless how good of a job they do. quite the opposite they re scared. they don t wanna get caught. so they try to push a different reality onto you and hope their pyramid will last.

but the small company s more powerful than they want to make us believe- especially in this day and age of online sales where it s more important to gain a following than to have your product in a shop. a company can go off without the help of the industry and it doesn t have to be in a corny revive manner.

there s all these positions getting paid lots that didn t exist in the glorydays and they re taking from the wrong cake. that s something they will never bring up.

[chipped tail]

if the woodshops raise the prices the Revive boards will go up too. Its fucked that an extra $5 steers you away from your favorite brand and sends you to the shredquarters to buy a Revive deck.

[micky682]

if the woodshops raise the prices the Revive boards will go up too. Its fucked that an extra $5 steers you away from your favorite brand and sends you to the shredquarters to buy a Revive deck.

Do you hear the rumors that woodshops are raising their price? No. It’s board brands that want to raise the price. Not even board brands, this shit is really only being discussed by kooks such as Mikey Alfred and Roger Bagley, not respected heads like Jim Theibuad or Reynolds.

[nopes]

back in the day skate companies knew how to make something out of nothing with a few people behind the scenes.

there were no high paid marketing teams red cameras & filmers and tm s that are corp managers at the same time like a lot of team clements. these guys of course push their agenda and try to influence and manipulate to reach their goal which is all about making a shitload of cash and eliminating the problems to do so.

they don t care about a smaller company in the trenches regardless how good of a job they do. quite the opposite they re scared. they don t wanna get caught. so they try to push a different reality onto you and hope their pyramid will last.

but the small company s more powerful than they want to make us believe- especially in this day and age of online sales where it s more important to gain a following than to have your product in a shop. a company can go off without the help of the industry and it doesn t have to be in a corny revive manner.

there s all these positions getting paid lots that didn t exist in the glorydays and they re taking from the wrong cake. that s something they will never bring up.

for some of these companies its almost better for them to make the stuff harder to get since it gives them an exclusivity feeling which seems to make them that much more desirable. look at fa/hockey and their crack down on local shops selling their stuff online.

[augustmoon]

"Skateboard companies" aren't actually skateboard companies.  They're marketing companies.  they put pictures and names on the surface of something that someone else makes.  its just a brand identity.  At the end of the day, none of this is essential to the act of skateboarding, just the manufacture of hardgoods is. 

Its nice to have a team and pros that you like to watch skate, but skateboarding wouldn't cease to exist if pros stopped being a thing.  Some of these 20+ year legacy pros should realize that and not feel so entitled to a living for the rest of their lives because they could do some skateboard tricks in the late 90s.  Also, if you couldn't save 20 or 30 grand for a community college or trade school education by the time your boards stop selling, you're really failing at life.  retiring off of skateboarding is a lucky anomaly, not the rule. 

[Beeda Weeda]

Expand Quote

if the woodshops raise the prices the Revive boards will go up too. Its fucked that an extra $5 steers you away from your favorite brand and sends you to the shredquarters to buy a Revive deck.

[close]

Do you hear the rumors that woodshops are raising their price? No. It’s board brands that want to raise the price. Not even board brands, this shit is really only being discussed by kooks such as Mikey Alfred and Roger Bagley, not respected heads like Jim Theibuad or Reynolds.

who is mike Alfred again? I remember him being the urkel looking black guy on the nine club, but I remember turning off the episode 1/8th in because he was so obnoxious.

[shark tits]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

if the woodshops raise the prices the Revive boards will go up too. Its fucked that an extra $5 steers you away from your favorite brand and sends you to the shredquarters to buy a Revive deck.

[close]

Do you hear the rumors that woodshops are raising their price? No. It’s board brands that want to raise the price. Not even board brands, this shit is really only being discussed by kooks such as Mikey Alfred and Roger Bagley, not respected heads like Jim Theibuad or Reynolds.

[close]

who is mike Alfred again? I remember him being the urkel looking black guy on the nine club, but I remember turning off the episode 1/8th in because he was so obnoxious.

pretty sure he's a culture vulture who profits of his connection to young skaters who use horrible slang.

[Paul Cicero]

Listening to Chris Roberts talk about having a job being “a whole thing” was fucking embarrassing. “You have this job, you have to get up in the morning.” No shit, Chris. Most grown ups have to do things like get out of bed in the morning.
Serious question, do you think Chris Roberts has ever done a days work in his life?

[Francis Xavier]

Listening to Chris Roberts talk about having a job being “a whole thing” was fucking embarrassing. “You have this job, you have to get up in the morning.” No shit, Chris. Most grown ups have to do things like get out of bed in the morning.
Serious question, do you think Chris Roberts has ever done a days work in his life?

Hell no

[offkilter]

You guys, give him some credit, he was a grocery store stocker once.

[Joust Ostrich]

Expand Quote

if the woodshops raise the prices the Revive boards will go up too. Its fucked that an extra $5 steers you away from your favorite brand and sends you to the shredquarters to buy a Revive deck.

[close]

Do you hear the rumors that woodshops are raising their price? No. It’s board brands that want to raise the price. Not even board brands, this shit is really only being discussed by kooks such as Mikey Alfred and Roger Bagley, not respected heads like Jim Theibuad or Reynolds.

Jim/DLX already raised prices, he didn't mention that to you?  Here Jeff, a direct agent of Reynolds, said they also raised prices for decks on their website.   

So maybe you're not in the correct woodshop circles, or they're just keeping those rumors from you. 

[straight]

good episode . haven’t watched one of these in a while . lenoce is a g

[Cuban_Lynx]

Lumber prices are at a record high, but most predict it’ll drop (up to 50%) within the coming years. I wonder how this will play out with board prices. Especially with the inevitable influx of outsiders around Olympics time.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/0BCAA4E2-552C-11E8-AF0C-DE1A18924019

[jacktharipper]

Based on the "How old are you and how often do you skate" thread, raising board prices would affect most people complaining about once per year.

[pistachio]

Expand Quote

if the woodshops raise the prices the Revive boards will go up too. Its fucked that an extra $5 steers you away from your favorite brand and sends you to the shredquarters to buy a Revive deck.

[close]

Do you hear the rumors that woodshops are raising their price? No. It’s board brands that want to raise the price. Not even board brands, this shit is really only being discussed by kooks such as Mikey Alfred and Roger Bagley, not respected heads like Jim Theibuad or Reynolds.

To be completely fair, I believe the wholesale cost for most decks is between $35-38. Shops usually mark that up to like $50-$55, and they often might give you a free sheet of grip. I can assure that few other industries operate with such a low margin. Sure, shops make some money off of decks, but when you account for daily overhead and other factors, they certainly aren't rolling in the dough solely thanks to skateboard sales. I do assume that shoes, clothing, accessories, etc. do have near a fifty percent margin, which is where cash is more likely to get made. While shops make money from skateboards, it's not a whole lot, comparatively speaking, and I look at having a nice selection of decks in a shop as customer convenience and we should be grateful for the options that we get and the prices that we currently pay for them.

Another thing, skateboarders are generally overly consumptive and plenty of good skateboards get thrown away for unnecessary reasons like not having enough pop or the sense of novelty of the deck wearing off to the owner--surely not the rule, but it happens, and I'd be stoked if a five dollar price inflation prevented that sort of thing a bit more. Just my two cents, which probably isn't worth too much.

[Owen]

If my local shop bumps deck prices up I won't buy them there. Flat out. No business has a right to exist and if times are getting tough they're getting tough for me last.

I really like this quote, sounds like it's straight from a Tarantino or Scorsese movie

[micky682]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

if the woodshops raise the prices the Revive boards will go up too. Its fucked that an extra $5 steers you away from your favorite brand and sends you to the shredquarters to buy a Revive deck.

[close]

Do you hear the rumors that woodshops are raising their price? No. It’s board brands that want to raise the price. Not even board brands, this shit is really only being discussed by kooks such as Mikey Alfred and Roger Bagley, not respected heads like Jim Theibuad or Reynolds.

[close]

Jim/DLX already raised prices, he didn't mention that to you?  Here Jeff, a direct agent of Reynolds, said they also raised prices for decks on their website.   

So maybe you're not in the correct woodshop circles, or they're just keeping those rumors from you.

I am more talking about the possibility of $100 decks, which is what the Illegal Civ guy was saying on the Nine Club.

[sharkin]

How many decks are on the wall at your local shops?
I would guess there's 250+ from 20 or so brands here.. More than half have been there more than a full year.

The shop gets tired of having the same shit laying out, they discount it down to wholesale and are losing money on the overhead. Then you have this cheap stack of boards sitting under identical boards on the shelf that are $20 more expensive.. Not to mention all the local brands that are doing $40 decks. It's as saturated as the tee shirt market, but tee shirts are like 400% profit from producer to consumer, so there's plenty of margin to go around there.

I dunno what the solution is, but raising board prices is only gonna accelerate the death of the local skateshop.

[Xen]

You guys, give him some credit, he was a grocery store stocker once.

Nope...his onscreen personality is irritating af (I didn't even know who he was when I caught on to the 9club, I had to google him...) [still] 'Pro' for dying brand for doing manuals and not even at the level of dudes who are known for that shit (Sewa, Song, Haslam, Johnson), claim to fame (framed, always in shot behind him) switch flip SM courthouse stage...meanwhile Kelly Hart with a pocketed fakie tre manny at the same spot is sitting right next to him...

Latest Prod episode...9 club would be better off with just Rog (maybe), Prod and Steezus + guest

Anyway, there are too many brands and the 49.99 priced boards will always outsell the ones over $50 unless there is a popular pro behind it (fading fast, everyone is pro now) or trending brand amongst the kids.

[cheetahsheets]

Expand Quote

You guys, give him some credit, he was a grocery store stocker once.

[close]

Nope...guy rubs me the wrong way (I didn't' even know who he was when I caught on to the 9club), I had to google him...'Pro' for dying/dead brand for doing manuals, claim to fame (framed, always in shot behind him) switch flip SM courthouse stage...meanwhile Kelly Hart with a fakie tre manny at the same spot is sitting right next to him...

Latest Prod episode...9 club would be better off with just Rog, Prod and Steezus + guest

Anyway, there are too many brands and the cheaper priced boards will always outsell the rest.

Crib might not know much about actually working because of whatever reasons, but knocking his skating? Seriously? I mean I get how nowadays you would be like why is this dude getting paid with Instagram and the likes, but dude rips. He has a good style, and in terms of low impact skating he was a beast. If you haven’t seen his full career edit go check it out. I have always enjoyed the dudes footage, and he had a lot of board control for his time period. He doesn’t even act like he’s by any means a great skateboarder either, that shit on the show is complete sarcasm. He’s as modest a pro as I’ve ever seen after his career because I don’t think the dude feels entitled to the least with having a pro board. In all honesty Crob boards are the only thing I’ve seen of crailtap on the streets for the past two years or so.

[thebacker]

How many decks are on the wall at your local shops?
I would guess there's 250+ from 20 or so brands here.. More than half have been there more than a full year.

The shop gets tired of having the same shit laying out, they discount it down to wholesale and are losing money on the overhead. Then you have this cheap stack of boards sitting under identical boards on the shelf that are $20 more expensive.. Not to mention all the local brands that are doing $40 decks. It's as saturated as the tee shirt market, but tee shirts are like 400% profit from producer to consumer, so there's plenty of margin to go around there.

I dunno what the solution is, but raising board prices is only gonna accelerate the death of the local skateshop.

It doesn’t help that deluxe keeps sending stacks and stacks of boards to a shop that has had a stockpile of them for over a year. I love deluxe but it’s pissible they are forcing shops into a Nike situation but with boards

[shit_for_brains]

You guys are missing the point that it's clearly all our fault

[nopes]

Based on the "How old are you and how often do you skate" thread, raising board prices would affect most people complaining about once per year.

you have it backwards. the less old guys skate the more skate shit we buy.

[Roisto]

Expand Quote

Based on the "How old are you and how often do you skate" thread, raising board prices would affect most people complaining about once per year.

[close]

you have it backwards. the less old guys skate the more skate shit we buy.

Exactly! I'm hurt and can't skate but I've spent hundreds on skate stuff in the past week. 

[smellsdead]

anyone notice this subtle bombshell in jenkem vol 2?



get the fuckin pitchforks and torches

fuckin raise prices? better show me the factory floor bub

you know ive been toying around with the idea of ordering a stack of blank decks at roughly 18 bucks a piece...but having 20-25 boards the same dimensions is a scary idea
at least i know i can trust chapman doesnt use children...or better yet prisoners in privatized prisons(looking at you south central)to make their boards


also that old dude in the july thrasher who skated for zorlac -"a lot of us started decorating our own boards, which in reality everybody should be doing"
thats a fair point

[heritage]

I'm with SFB on this one, 100%. Don't start pissing on the customer's shoes and telling us it's raining. It's the same discussion on here a year or so back about "skater owned" footwear. Somehow it was the consumer's fault when the skater owned stuff failed, but yet, all I would see were people bragging about getting their (insert skater owned footwear) for $25 on sale online.

And regarding the rise of the small board companies, oh well. There are a lot of guys without proper board hookups. The barrier to market entry is smaller and less challenging than it was 30 years ago so people are taking it into their own hands. Ironically enough if Chris Roberts wasn't bros with the guys at Crailtap, he too would be without a board sponsor. He has done nothing for a long time. He is delusional and the President of the Milkman Union. That episode was a total turnoff for me. Jeff Lenoce sounds like a spoiled kook.

I actually don't mind paying a few extra dollars for boards from companies that are doing it right and, you know, earning the business. The entitled behavior from some of these industry cats is astonishing. Skateboarding doesn't owe anyone anything right?

[nopes]

industry dudes are clueless and so are the riders. look at those dumb dumb flow riders for AH that attacked the consumer during the 10/10 debacle.  how dumb can you be to insult the buyers of your products?