Funny what a tiny echo chamber these boards are. Zero sells out of decks almost every time they drop a new series... they sell out of apparel, they sell out of accessories, and I see them at the parks, ridden by pros, I see a zero board in the top 3 of SLS finishes almost every event, They do collabs almost monthly and sell out. So if thats "irrelevant", I can tell you SOMEONE or SOMEBODY is irrelevant, but its clearly not zero. But hey, everyone is entitled to their dillusions... my .02
That is not entirely accurate
There is 1 series on the website of decks that sold out. Tons of boards that have been sitting on there for ages though like those misfits decks.
If you think about it, there is no point for the company to leave a sold out item on the website, other than as a marketing tool to communicate to the user that people actually do buy their items. In the past, most skate shops would just remove the item once it was out of the system, only recently you will notice companies have started to do this.
My local did have some zero boards, and they are all gone, except a Bam one (actually kinda surprised that one wasnt the first one to go). there are a decent amount of those guys who skated 20 years ago getting back into it now. No one is buying the $120 Shorty's decks though.
As far as a "Zero rider being in top 3 of every SLS":
Who besides Kairi Netsuke has ever even been in SLS? And he isnt even pro for Zero... had 1 video part when he got on in 2022 and then nothing ever since. When is the last time he was even in the top 5? Not saying he is not an incredible skater and definitely worth mentioning, but quite a long way off from "A Zero Rider being in top 3 of every SLS".