ASR Blog

To sell or not to sell

I posted two different stories on Industry News today about selling your business—one was Tiffany Montgomery’s article on how Ocean Minded has been doing since its sale to Crocs, and the other was on Billabong Australia’s acquisition of Tigerlily, a female swim brand. Next to the Ocean Minded article, on OC Metro’s site, was a question—would you sell your business to gain growth? Which made me think, would you? It’s a tough question, because as founder and owner of your business, you want to take it to the next level and have it grow as much as you can, but on the other hand, the business is your baby, do you want someone else to raise it? Sure, you can be president and operation manager for X number of years, but what happens when that time is up? Would it be hard to let go? What do you think?

What is Selling Out?

By now, you’ve heard about Ryan Sheckler and all of the bashing that he’s been getting for doing his reality television show on MTV, Life of Ryan. (Which by the way, has drawn a huge audience. According to the San Clemente Times, September 27 issue, the show is the highest rated new MTV series amongst persons ages 12 to 34. It is also the most watched program in its Monday 10:30 pm ET/PT time period among 12-34 year olds across all of television, including broadcast.) So, yes, Ryan is getting a lot of flack for doing the show, and is being called a sell out.

Continuing on: I recently posted an article on Six Flags Over Texas. What would this have to do with the Industry? Well, they are building a Tony Hawk ride. I was shocked, and then read on to find out that this is will be the THIRD ride. There’s already one in St. Louis and Fiesta,Texas. I guess the ride gives one “the sensation of freestyle skateboarding.”

And, if you didn’t already know, Tony also launched two bikes lines at Interbike this month. As the press release on Fat BMX says, “Dynacraft is planning two different series of "Tony Hawk" products designed for its many clients.”The Tony Hawk HuckJam Series" will be created for Dynacraft's mass merchandise customers. "The Tony Hawk Signature Series", being developed by Dynacraft's recently launched Specialty Retail Group, is for sporting goods chains and other specialty retail customers.”  Tony is launching bikes, when he’s a skater. His only tie to bikes is that it’s an event in his event, Tony Hawk’s Boom Boom HuckJam. (This coincidentally, in 2006, was at various Six Flags theme parks.)

So, where am I going with all of this? I want to ask what the real meaning of selling out is. Why does Ryan get so trashed, when he’s just acting like a teen, while Tony can have a roller coaster, and no one blinks an eye? Ryan can’t have a film crew following him around, but Tony can have bikes in Target. Is it because Tony is Tony? He’s so big that selling out doesn’t pertain to him? Maybe Ryan should’ve just held on, skated a few more years, won some more contests, and then done the show. Would he have been bashed then? Interesting to think about.

GUEST BLOG: Blake MyCoskie from TOMS Shoes - ASR Review

Only 15 months in business, ASR was a first for TOMS Shoes and for me. I was blown away by the industry's innovative energy, but most of all, how warmly TOMS was received.  We felt like we were treated like natives and made huge strides in spreading word about our cause, and breaking into some really credible doors.  Throughout the weekend, I met incredible people who offered to support TOMS. We had an arsenal of TOMS ambassadors including artists and friends from the local Boys & Girls Club customizing shoes in-booth and helping educate the masses on TOMS simple giving program...for every pair of shoes we sell, we give a pair to a child without. It's simple, but it's working!

I left the weekend feeling really excited about TOMS and the chance to make an impact in the action sports world.  Just a year-and-a-half ago I was bumming around South America learning to sail, playing polo, and attempting to practice my horrendous Spanish. Just about the last thing on my mind was starting a company or exhibiting at industry trade shows.

To me, surfing, skating and riding is all about community. It is about chilling with your friends and the awe of your surroundings. It is about enjoying the simple things in life. Giving is one of those things.  While being 'green' has become popular of late, actions sports companies have long since been looking for ways to help the environment and make life comfortable, which is our mantra.

There's no doubt this is a conscientious industry that embraces cause action and has fun in the process.  Huge global brands that I greatly admire are creating altruistic programs that are creative and engaging. We're all seeing how willing people are to make a difference! I was stoked that TOMS seemed to fit naturally into that dynamic and we will learn a lot about how we can keep growing to help give more shoes to children without.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the Liquid Nation Ball. The event was originally created to help island nations fight Malaria, but has since expanded to include 13 different humanitarian groups with their roots in surfing. Living in LA I don't often get star struck, but it was definitely an impressive crowd. I ran into incredible industry pioneers and athletes that provided me with great insight and encouragement. We also met some amazing athletes who may join us on a future shoe drop.

I would like to thank everyone that stopped by the TOMS booth and contributed to the craziness. Because of you, our booth was ROCKING with artists and volunteers from the local Boys and Girls Club. You guys are awesome. We're looking forward to our second Shoe Drop in South Africa in November 2007 when TOMS will give 50,000 pair of shoes to children in need! The journey promises to be unbelievable...

Carpe Diem,
Blake

Best Trick of X-Games 13

It’s that time again---tomorrow brings us the start of X-Games 13. A few years back we had Tony Hawk do his 900° and last year brought Travis Pastrana and his double back flip.

I read in today’s LA Times that Bob Burnquist has a mega-ramp in his backyard so he’s been practicing up a storm. Will he bring a legendary trick to the games?

Best trick for Street Skate has been reintroduced for X-Games 13, maybe something crazy will be done in that arena.

What most talked about maneuver do you think this year's games will bring?