Seen It On #SkateTwitter: “Adidas Skateboarding Chopped Their Entire Sales Team”

[SHIREFLIP]

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That has nothing to do with this, other than there isn’t a single adidas rider that makes me want to be more like them by wearing their shoe. The whole team looks like Olympic euro-trash poster children (can’t remember which user was so offended by someone calling Aurelien Giraud the Euro Nyjah but, if you’re reading this, I am specifically calling tracksuits euro trash to offend you and you alone) and is indistinguishable. I think Nike does a decent job of giving their riders, as individuals, an identity and it helps each pro model sell to a specific demographic of skateboarder, whether it be a model designed by someone or a select color way.

Whether adidas bows down or attempts to make their skate division more successful, I think they need to at least attempt making their skate division have an identity that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than skateboarding.... not just slap 3 stripes and a toe cap on a flat-soled shoe and expect the kids to go crazy.

EDITS I’m stuck at Newark waiting for my flight home and am too drunk to write coherently

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it's kinda the other way around

So in Europe, Nigel is the seppo Aurelien Giraud?

[Esmith5488]

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Also since this deals with skate shops. Go to Embark in Frederick Maryland. Brent is seriously one of the nicest people out there in skateboarding.

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Sorry if I’m years behind the curve, Frederick wise, but... is there no more Pitcrew? Tim & Malc were always so great to deal with. Hope they’re still slangin’ sticks/sneaks.

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Closed up shop 2/3 years ago but did a 25th anniversary pop up this past year.

Embark is carrying the torch for those guys. Randomly ran into Tim in downtown dc randomly a few months ago and he said what’s up because I was setting up a new board and he commented on my no comply shirt.

[hip bruise]

Love how exploitive labor practices are a non issue until they effect sales/marketing/white-collar workers.

[silhouette]

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That has nothing to do with this, other than there isn’t a single adidas rider that makes me want to be more like them by wearing their shoe. The whole team looks like Olympic euro-trash poster children (can’t remember which user was so offended by someone calling Aurelien Giraud the Euro Nyjah but, if you’re reading this, I am specifically calling tracksuits euro trash to offend you and you alone) and is indistinguishable. I think Nike does a decent job of giving their riders, as individuals, an identity and it helps each pro model sell to a specific demographic of skateboarder, whether it be a model designed by someone or a select color way.

Whether adidas bows down or attempts to make their skate division more successful, I think they need to at least attempt making their skate division have an identity that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than skateboarding.... not just slap 3 stripes and a toe cap on a flat-soled shoe and expect the kids to go crazy.

EDITS I’m stuck at Newark waiting for my flight home and am too drunk to write coherently

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it's kinda the other way around

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So in Europe, Nigel is the seppo Aurelien Giraud?

From my experience, in Europe, the Nigel is some kind of abstract entity everyone but naive kids collectively hates, but it's not a real-life skater or person, most people haven't even actually watched his parts and the name most commonly gets used as a caricature, a representation of some extreme where one's personality gets diluted in exchange for turning into a living billboard.

In turn, the Aurélien Giraud is perceived as our continent's most credible effort yet at stealing the aforementioned billboard technology.

[GAY]

The only Adidas I've ever liked came from the skate division of the company. Otherwise that company is for clone queers.

[Dwyck]

the myopism of #skatetwitter is baffling. "Why do people care what Ryan Lay and some of the most prominent young writers in skating have to say enough to post it somewhere else?" Oh man I dunno

[fakie nollie]

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In June of 2019 I was in Berlin and met Jon Wexler, VP of Global entertainment and Influencer marketing at adidas. He did a presentation for my company about how getting the right celebrities can revive/rejuvenate a brand.

He was the person who came up with and pushed for The Yeezy (Kanye’s shoe/brand). Prior to that launch, adidas was getting pummeled by Nike and Under Armor in sales and was on the verge of total collapse. He essentially said “you need to find someone who makes adidas a lifestyle, not just a shoe, and makes people want to wear them to live that lifestyle”. The launch of that shoe saved the adidas brand, as a whole, from completely dying and now people identify yeezys with wealth and urban lifestyle.

That has nothing to do with this, other than there isn’t a single adidas rider that makes me want to be more like them by wearing their shoe. The whole team looks like Olympic euro-trash poster children (can’t remember which user was so offended by someone calling Aurelien Giraud the Euro Nyjah but, if you’re reading this, I am specifically calling tracksuits euro trash to offend you and you alone) and is indistinguishable. I think Nike does a decent job of giving their riders, as individuals, an identity and it helps each pro model sell to a specific demographic of skateboarder, whether it be a model designed by someone or a select color way.

Whether adidas bows down or attempts to make their skate division more successful, I think they need to at least attempt making their skate division have an identity that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than skateboarding.... not just slap 3 stripes and a toe cap on a flat-soled shoe and expect the kids to go crazy.

EDITS I’m stuck at Newark waiting for my flight home and am too drunk to write coherently

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i mean, that's just not true. they were up 18% in 2015, the year before yeezys came out. adidas-group.com/en/media/news-archive/press-releases/2016/full-year-2015-results/

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Net income to increase between 10% and 12% to around € 800 million

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Just going off of what I heard.

[Chavo]

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Is anyone actually surprised that a company founded on Nazi money isn't 'keeping it real'? Business 101 - infiltrate the industry, gain legitimacy through hiring insiders, stomp the competition out, then fire everyone besides the execs and child laborers.

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I love when I read dumb ass shit on SLAP. adidassler was founded years prior to the NAZI party and after the war split into PUMA and Adidas. It was founded by two brothers that became a part of the NAZI party, but to say it was “funded” by Nazi money is laughable. Everyone in Germany then that wasn’t a Jew was a NAZI and adhered to the NAZI doctrine or else it was death. Shit is laughable trying to discredit them like that. This is not fucking VW by any means. Also y’all realize information was so fucking compartmentalized back then because all you heard were a few prominent voices on the radio. There was no television or internet or phones or anything that allowed mass communication. People in America didn’t even know that fucking FDR was paralyzed. Even Judging these people by your standards is silly. Information was so compartmentalized and no one had any clue what was going on. Go read Mandela’s thoughts on apartheid(which modeled themselves as the NAZI party with even more compartmentalization). Y’all with modern age thinking I swear. I could write a fucking essay to this, but fucking hell.

Is this the shoe industry's "It's ok to listen to 'All Skrewed Up' since it was before Skrewdriver turned racist"?

[GoneWithTheSchwinn]

Pretty much.

[Xen]

State, Etnies, Emerica, Fallen, Lakai, DC, éS, anmly

Vans...

Still plenty out there to choose from...

[cheetahsheets]

The only Adidas I've ever liked came from the skate division of the company. Otherwise that company is for clone queers.

Superstars and Stan Smiths are fucking classics, and they definitely have had some sick fucking colorways of those throughout the years compared to the basic bitch ones you traditionally see.

Some of their basketball shoes are also fresh as fuck, specifically the Harden and the Drose lines. The first black panther Dame 4 was also legit as hell, but every other Lillard has been ugly as shit. Some of their non signature BB shoes are fresh but it’s for sure rare.

That being said, their skate shoes are by far their most appealing shoes on average and it’s not even fucking close.

[Carrolls Chesthairs]

Post your favorite adidas shoe.
this but with white and red stripes.

I'll skate the busenitz every 2 years or so but FUCK that tongue and how much it slouches to the side.
Sorry to those who lost a job.

[cheetahsheets]

[shannamal]

cheetah, every one of those shoes you posted is worse than the time i saw that picture of your dick when i wasn't expecting it

[daewonbong3000]

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I keep laughing at how fucking dumb this is. "Why tf is someone reading the wild speculation I'm writing on my public social media account and then talking about it with people"

If it’s just posted on here how’s he supposed to get the retweet an followers? Fuck you lpq FUCK YOU

[cheetahsheets]

cheetah, every one of those shoes you posted is worse than the time i saw that picture of your dick when i wasn't expecting it

Cheetah has exotic tastes, and sorry for a 4 post spam. Shit was not showing that it loaded or whatever and I tried a few times. Those are some of my favorite superstars, and just some random basketball shoes I fucks with. Shoe taste is definitely something that is different from person to person. I also find that judging shoes online doesn’t let you see the dopeness of them in person and is kind of silly because shoes that I thought I hated, Ive had girls/men I lend up seeing and being dope In. Cheetah is exotic and shit like that fits him and looks good.

[Jacob Gary]

This makes me greatly dislike adidas, along with them cutting their snow program minus Jake Blauvelt. Too bad because I love the businetz, plus suciu, Silas, and Lucas are amazing. I'm having a moral dilemma.

Do you have more details about the snow program cuts? Jed literally just got on...

I saw on instagram that @m3th guy was like "yo switch me to your skate team" and I know he was getting flowed snow so obviously shit did get cut.

[I_Respect_Wood]

Those fucking AdiNazis fled with all the gold. Thank fuck I never bought a pair.

I hear they went to hide in Argentina.

[duniwayRobber]

Do you have more details about the snow program cuts? Jed literally just got on...

The snow program was cut because the boots did not sell, at all. Why didn't the boots sell? Because they were atrocious, here are the shell-toe versions for a reminder.

[dooley]

Those are absolutely hideous. elcarlSD, they're down there with Tupac's hologram doing lines.

[artskool]

I liked those ridiculous boots. I think Blauvelt is riding out the end of a contract, and bet Jed takes a payout and just goes head to toe Ride. Sorry for the snowboard talk, fellas.

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Do you have more details about the snow program cuts? Jed literally just got on...

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The snow program was cut because the boots did not sell, at all. Why didn't the boots sell? Because they were atrocious, here are the shell-toe versions for a reminder.

[chipped tail]

sucks for anyone who lost their job. High def digital catalogs have kinda made the physical traveling sales rep obsolete. why would a brand need some guy spending money on fuel to show up and show a shop what they can see very clearly on a computer? in regard to shoes if its a new color of an old style then they've seen the shoe already. if its a new style the shop should get some no matter what it looks like. if it sells well get more, if it doesnt, dont.

[theotherguy]

This move seems more like an adjustment to the brick and mortar retail climate than an attack on skateboarding. The model has changed to online/web. Yes, there is still a need for physical retail locations but probably just on a smaller scale. No big retail chain (remember Active) is going to work for skateboarding (and probably other action sports too). Only small independent shops that foster and support their skate community will succeed. Even then, there are challenges but if you got into skateboarding to make money, you are going to have a bad time...

[Lowcalcium]

State, Etnies, Emerica, Fallen, Lakai, DC, éS, anmly

Vans...

Still plenty out there to choose from...

I back this wholeheartedly...but also why are people pissed at LPQ for posting the obvious?

A What What What..... giant corporations care about money and not supporting the skate industry, especially if it will hurt they're market share any way possible... I'm perplexed at this news, just how could this be???

The next thing you'll tell me is that most CEO's are legitimate sociopath's that don't kill, but who will do anything necessary to balance the budget..morals are out the window. That can't be...that's not how global capitalism works, right?

[Mike Oxwelling]

Vans...

This guy totally cares about your "core" shop

[43]

Skateboarding programs are lame. Wish they cut the whole thing so I can go back to rocking the regular shelltoes on some Drake Jones shit.