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Quality issues aside, the Corpo shoe brands are doing a lot more for skating than Core brands. Paying riders, sending them on trips, sponsoring events, providing contest purses, getting their rider’s coverage, and pumping out huge amounts of content. Look at some of the week-long events that surrounded Away Days and Cons Purple.
I'm really close to calling you a hoeboy but I'm not going to. all those events and all that content is all budgeted into their system by some numbers guy. and its all geared to promoting skateboarding and creating more skateboarders for them to sell shoes too my guy. you were this close buddy.
I hate to break it to you but all companies want to 'shift more product' in the end.
Even the 'core' ones... Also Lakai, Huf, Brixton etc.
all get funds from corporate companies. Read Transworld Business once in a while, although some are under transition again.
People forget a company in skateboarding always revolves around marketing. Even most decks are made in the same factories or woodshops. The only difference are the graphics and the way they are marketed. Quite insane actually right? But, marketing is
very important...
People saying on here saying that big companies are out of touch with skating are far from correct. I know for a fact that Kaspar of Nike has always been a GREAT skater, was involved with the inception of Nike Sb and that he had a reeeeeally big hand in their comeback to skating in the 00's. They're smart enough to hire the right people...
My issues with it are the following (directed to core
and corporate companies):
- Core brands these days aren't really up there quaity - and researchwise in my opnion. They used to push boundaries in the late 80's with highly teched out airwalks. Than carried out the progression in the 00's with shoes that had great protection, panelling airpockets etc (all influenced by nike, let's be honest). And those skateshoes were were worth the money in my opinion. Then everything went down qualitywise and we got thin generic uninspired vulcs that blew out instantly.
- At the same time skateboarding itself grew in popularity and that era was literally an open door for companies like adidas and Nike, because I'm sure they smelled money and thought they could 'offer' more...
- If money is to made somewhere bigger companies are going to come in and make a superior product for the same price (or
slightly cheaper) as the 'core brands'. They snuck in, and we ate it up. And they can do that since it's an open market. No one was at the door saying 'sorry, skaterowned only'.
- The only answer we could give was to not buy their products, but Nike, adidas etc have proven in the past that they just make great product. So the trust that new skateshoe companies always have to earn was already subconsciously there. Because who hasn't owned a pair of nike and adidas while growing up?
- Skaters will definitely be divided into two groups: superstars and regular skaters. When they skate for big companies they will earn a lot of money while 95% of the pro's will have to be happy with a 2000 dollar paycheck or a job on the side...
- The corporate companies have so much money they'll be slowly controling where we skate. Not for us real skaters, we skate wherever we want. But those companies are sponsoring parks/plaza's/events that will be televised/streamed and that's were the public will think skateboarding belongs. Even more so than in the past...
Also, you know what's going to be interesting?
The olympics, as much as I think it sucks, I'm pretty sure NO core brands will have the budget to pay for advertising there. I'm wondering how all that will pan out in the end...
The only good thing about corporate brands in this skateworld is that they're paying 'some' skaters good money and that their shoes are pretty great most of the time.
Other than that I think core companies layed out the groundwork and they just stole the plans...
When skateboarding isn't hot anymore we'll be dropped like a bag of shit. And I can't wait until that day comes.
It's actually VERY similar to the music industry. Small labels discover the great bands, and the bigger labels, steal them, offer them more money and drop them when they don't sell enough. It will happen with skating as well, mark my words.