How would you make a lame brand cool again?

[Madam, I'm Adam]

I mean, putting out content on a regular basis helps. Using good music in videos is a huge plus, especially if it hasn't really been heard before. the way videos are edited is hugely important. Good wood and graphics (which aren't blatant ripoffs). A willingness not to sell out all the time goes a long way. Avoiding neon colours altogether is a smart move. Humble, down-to-earth riders with good senses of style. Good people working for them. Connects with stuff outside of skating that isn't wack. A renowned and trusted distribution, I guess - I don't know much about that.

Speaking of teams, sometimes I wonder what the pros and cons of having a superteam would be. Good for marketing, but bad for the long term if they don't get along (they rarely do).

[Wheelbyte]

I would make an off shoot brand as a rival and that brand attack like a pro wrestling villain. They might even steal some pros, make them evil, etc.

Why let an outsider attack your brand when you can reap the benefits from the dischord you create yourself?

Futures trading skate brands
Dr Evil is evil

[Baswell Cerry]

Take a deck company like Blind or Darkstar for example. They've been around for a while and seem to be able to stay afloat someway or another (usually by way of weird collabs & mall kids), but do they ever have a chance of being truly relevant again? Granted relevancy/popularity is somewhat hard to measure, especially for something as diverse as the skate industry, but you know what I mean. Could brands in popularity purgatory ever become "cool" again? Or are they stuck there forever?

What about truck brands like Theeve & Krux that have solid product and have been around for a while but never seem to get close to the likes of Indy, Thunder, & Venture?

Then you have the shoe game, which I think could be easier to turn around a brand than other categories because all it takes is that one flagship model that'll always keep you relevant (look at eS & the accel). How could a C1rca or etnies get back on top as one of the more popular brands?

I bought a Chet Thomas Armor Light for my second board because I wanted something that would last. Being a kid, I got a board once a year and paying for something that was built to last appealed to me and my dad. Even for jaded skaters, the word of a well built deck is a huge compliment. Everyone seems to know that girl decks are shit and for that reason don't buy them unless for wall art. Back in the really 10's Crailtap knew how to post and share moments and a continuously updated website got people stoked on you. Contrast them to--

Creature for example. The logo is sick and I love the colors but the images are gross as hell. I don't want to ride a board that looks like a 90's mall-rat's faded shirt. BUT with their spider-web reinforced boards I am super interested.
It also goes to show that Creature is killing it with their YouTube channel and team. Their videos get me pumped and they know how to showcase the personalities and make it worth the riders' time. I love their tour videos and the idea of a quality product.

Companies-- give content and make quality shit. We want to (feel like we) know the dudes and ride something of quality.

Don't get me started on Indy

[DA BIG BODY BENZ]

Originality

[DannyDee]

I mean, putting out content on a regular basis helps. Using good music in videos is a huge plus, especially if it hasn't really been heard before. the way videos are edited is hugely important. Good wood and graphics (which aren't blatant ripoffs). A willingness not to sell out all the time goes a long way. Avoiding neon colours altogether is a smart move. Humble, down-to-earth riders with good senses of style. Good people working for them. Connects with stuff outside of skating that isn't wack. A renowned and trusted distribution, I guess - I don't know much about that.

Speaking of teams, sometimes I wonder what the pros and cons of having a superteam would be. Good for marketing, but bad for the long term if they don't get along (they rarely do).

I think most of OG Plan B got along among the actual team (outside of dispute between Sheffey/Fabry_, but they had issues with Rocco (money-wise) and Mike T (some of his motivational tactics). Even after Plan B shut down the first time, Colin got on Girl almost immediately despite him being a vert-guy, and them never having one.

I'm not sure it is possible to make an uncool brand that at one point had huge popularity cool again. You'd need to be able to get sick young skaters who become popular to turn down other likely opportunities, and then if they blow-up you have to retain them. I mean, Flip and Chocolate are two of the more iconic brands of the last 25 years, yet Chocolate losses Elijah to FA, and Flip has the same happen to Louie. Element loses Mason and Evan to DLX, etc.

[Hyliannightmare]

being cool is so 2014.  what you gotta do is think 2004 and make yourself so uncool that when it comes back around and old becomes new you are king shit.  thats why i have six pairs of fila shoes to skate in 2024.

Got 2 pairs of the white high tops with the straps. They're holding up well

[TurdyBird]

This probably has been said already:

First and probably only step would to be to start sending me boxes of product.

[jorge]

Put "Underworld" in front of "Element" again.

[CorneliusCardew]

Add communist imagery and insurrection slogans

[givecigstosurfgroms]

  I dunno Pig did it with Vincent Nava or vice versa.  That was a nice one.

[hotstudios_on_youtube]

Blind shit the bed by not turning yuto pro

[AlexOlsonsDashiki]

Blind shit the bed by not turning yuto pro

They tried to at street league, Weiss had the boards and was going to bring them out during half time or whatever the fuck they do. Yutos manager or talent agent or something stopped Weiss and said something along the lines of "we know youre trying to turn him pro but dont."

He talks about it on his slap pals questions I am pretty sure

[Silky Johnson]

Add communist imagery and insurrection slogans

Cool shtick.

[KingSharkIsAShark]

Someone link this thread to Jaime Thomas

[GardenSkater77]

Put "Underworld" in front of "Element" again.

Along those lines, reboot Blind but force everyone on the team to wear Blind jeans and skate football shapes and 42mm wheels. Ronnie Creager could manage the team but his fit/kit would be as follows:

[Matthew_James]

You don’t, at least not in the skateboard industry. It’ll always come off as some has-been brand trying to relive its former glory days, and no one will think something is cool after it’s peaked. Any ideas that would make a lame brand okay would make a new brand awesome, so save the good ideas for a strong foundation on a different project. There’s a reason why old brands exclusively depend on re-issues and nostalgia, they’ll never recapture their youthful appeal.

[layzieyez]

Expand Quote

Put "Underworld" in front of "Element" again.

[close]

Along those lines, reboot Blind but force everyone on the team to wear Blind jeans and skate football shapes and 42mm wheels. Ronnie Creager could manage the team but his fit/kit would be as follows:

They could hold an annual throwback slides and grinds competition on a 8" high ledge with those outfits and setups as mandatory.

[Spacetravelisboring]

It's cool that Volkswagen removed the Nazi imagery from their original logo. Maybe a prominent skate brand should try doing that.

If such brand existed yeah.

[Spacetravelisboring]

Expand Quote

Blind shit the bed by not turning yuto pro

[close]

They tried to at street league, Weiss had the boards and was going to bring them out during half time or whatever the fuck they do. Yutos manager or talent agent or something stopped Weiss and said something along the lines of "we know youre trying to turn him pro but dont."

He talks about it on his slap pals questions I am pretty sure

What was the reason for that though?

[AlexOlsonsDashiki]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Blind shit the bed by not turning yuto pro

[close]

They tried to at street league, Weiss had the boards and was going to bring them out during half time or whatever the fuck they do. Yutos manager or talent agent or something stopped Weiss and said something along the lines of "we know youre trying to turn him pro but dont."

He talks about it on his slap pals questions I am pretty sure

[close]

What was the reason for that though?

I will have to listen to the interview again. I tried to skip through to try to find it and leave a timestamped video but I was in class and couldnt hear both the video and the teacher.

What I remember was the manager(agent?) told Weiss yuto wanted to put out another video part and that he wasnt ready to go pro. I have a feeling its because April was already in the works and Yuto was going to go pro for them.

[jums]

Expand Quote

Put "Underworld" in front of "Element" again.

[close]

Along those lines, reboot Blind but force everyone on the team to wear Blind jeans and skate football shapes and 42mm wheels. Ronnie Creager could manage the team but his fit/kit would be as follows:

Ronnie was on Foundation when that pic was taken.

[Francis Xavier]

A lame brand needs a Muska, B Turner/Alka Smolik duo, or Baker/Booleg beef in ads.

[KingSharkIsAShark]

A lame brand needs a Muska, B Turner/Alka Smolik duo, or Baker/Booleg beef in ads.

No! That’s exactly what these lame brands are doing wrong. They’re stuck in the past and don’t know how to adapt to the new culture. I’d say kick off all the old dudes. Add 3 young dudes 16-19 who don’t try too hard to be cool and don’t follow any kooky trends (e.g. bleached hair, high water pants, Fanny packs) and put them on a van and just watch them shred. Also no showing them getting stoned or drunk, that shits been overplayed with since the 2000s, it’s not even edgy anymore. If they want to be edgy have them shoot up heroin , something we haven’t seen before.

[GollyIamGully]

Expand Quote

A lame brand needs a Muska, B Turner/Alka Smolik duo, or Baker/Booleg beef in ads.

[close]

No! That’s exactly what these lame brands are doing wrong. They’re stuck in the past and don’t know how to adapt to the new culture. I’d say kick off all the old dudes. Add 3 young dudes 16-19 who don’t try too hard to be cool and don’t follow any kooky trends (e.g. bleached hair, high water pants, Fanny packs) and put them on a van and just watch them shred. Also no showing them getting stoned or drunk, that shits been overplayed with since the 2000s, it’s not even edgy anymore. If they want to be edgy have them shoot up heroin , something we haven’t seen before.

I feel like a collab of shooting H and Shorty's Steve Olson could be a good combo of new and old.

[ohhyess]

call it boner skateboards

[os89]

Has anyone suggested to just burn the company to the ground? If it is already lame...

You can't make blind or wold industries or whatever the hell cool again, so bury them and just put up a headstone.

"RIP. Here lies (insert lame brand). We used to be a cool brand, but we couldn't make it cool again, even though we made a thread on slap and tried everything."

Then the brand would be cool again. Since they would be put to rest and in the history books. Their proper place.

[Wheelbyte]

the word trend
contains the word
end

[ColossalRaccoon]

What constitutes a bad brand? I’d bring back Grind King and reissue the kre-per’s today with a modernized design. I’m just spit ballin.’

[Zark]

Grass roots, put out more content of good skating, doesn't have to be elite just make it fun, especially if you're lacking talent in your team, people get just as hyped on fun skating as they do super tech and gnar.

Get some people to overhaul your graphics and designs, just cause it was trendy in 98 doesn't mean it'll work today.

Put out good wood, move manufacturers, word of mouth from people riding solid decks helps.

Put some ads in Thrasher, have Thrasher put out your content, organize fun events.

[Francis Xavier]

I changed my mind, a lame brand could reinvent itself by making ankle bracelets