ASR Blog

Skateboarding in China

I posted a story in Industry News about the growth of skateboarding in China. The article states that skateboarding is becoming less underground and more mainstream--Chinese skate brands are popping up, making buying a board affordable, and companies such as Quiksilver and DC Shoes are now distributing their product in the country. There'€™s also an Asian X-Games, which, according to the article, was put in place in order to scout new Asian talent. China also boasts the largest skatepark in the world. The article reads, ". . . SMP International, an Australian-owned skateboarding company, finished construction on the world's largest skatepark, located in New Jiangwan City outside Shanghai. More than 12,000 square meters in size, the park features the world's biggest vert ramp, the world's largest concrete skate bowl, and a 5,000-seat stadium."

Obviously, China's potential as a contributor to action sports and consumerism is still largely untapped, and these signs show that it will explode one day soon. Raph Cooper, creator of She Hui (Society) Skateboards, the first domestic Chinese skateboarding company, hits the nail on the head when he says,€œ"If we can keep it hyped up in China, if we can keep the business going well enough to be able to feed the scene for competitions or for demos, then we could really see China putting a big impact on skating as whole."

What do you think of this? Does the company you work for sell it's product in China?

Go Skateboarding Day

You have a little over two days to figure out what you’re going to do for Go Skateboarding Day, which is this Saturday, June 21. Created by the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) in 2004, the event “originated as the day for skateboarders to have fun, to raise awareness about the issues we face, to show the world what skateboarding is really all about, to reclaim our culture and to define skateboarding as the rebellious, creative celebration of independence it continues to be.” Since that first day on June 21, 2004, thousands of people have responded and have either put on or participated in skate events, just rolled around with their friends, or even stopped by their local skate retailer to say hi. If you haven’t decided what you’re going to do to celebrate, check out the IASC site for some ideas. And, Go Skateboarding!

Helmets are good

There was a sad story in the OC Register today about a 19-year-old dying—he was skateboarding without a helmet, crashed, and died two days later from head trauma. It is such a tragic accident, made even more so by the fact that a helmet could’ve saved his life.

I was just thinking about this yesterday; the kid is really into skateboarding, and every time he pulls out the board, I have him wear his helmet. Sometimes it’s not a problem, other times it causes a toddler tantrum—not fun. Yesterday was one of those days, and me, being tired, almost let him get away with it. However, I stopped myself short, knowing that today (will hopefully) pave the way for future behavior, which will lead him to wear a helmet for the rest of his skateboarding life. I may be an optimist, but hey, what’s wrong with that?

This past winter, I wrote about how helmets are so popular with snowboarders and skiers—why aren’t they with skateboarders? This 19-year-old who passed away is most certainly not the first to skate without head protection—the majority of pros don’t wear them—what kind of role model is that? Why don’t more people invest the $30.00 in saving their lives?

My heartfelt condolences go out to this teen’s friends and family.

Photo above: Never too young to get into good habits

 

The State of the Tradeshow

Seems like the story about Sole Technologies, Circa and Podium pulling out of ASR is pretty big news for the Industry—there is a lot of talk on the message boards, and the commenter’s are all over the place on their opinions. Some think ASR is dead, while others say that there’s no way the buyers want it to go away. A lot of people are pointing to PacSun not selling closed toe shoes as part of the culprit, while others think it’s our changing climate and this wonderful recession the country is in. On Silverfish Longboarding, a commentator says that he will no longer support those companies who pulled out. On the other hand, “Mile_High_Mark” says, “Dealers will still buy those brands, and skaters will, too. Having hot-sh*t riders and models (shoes, not skaters) will do more for sales than a trade show”.

The most varied comments, however, are found on the Transworld Business site. “Jason Bergman” complains that ASR has turned into a regional show and its dead, while “Warren” says, “I think it is very arrogant of the companies to think that they can simply do more regional shows. It may work out for the shops form SoCal - but some of us travel a great distance to see all of the products in one place. That IS the idea of a trade show - right? The companies have done it to them selves - moving deadlines earlier and earlier every season.” Another user, “Big Picture”, agrees, stating that, “Tradeshows roll like the stock market and those that pull out when the going gets a little tough usually lose the most money. In a world of vertical retailers taking larger portions of the market I think these companies are better served standing united with the industry. An Island can be a lonely place.” However, the commentator goes on to say that, “ASR needs to change with the times and spice up the shows like the old days.”

So, what I want to know is what you think. If you’re on this site, I assume you attend ASR, or are looking to attend. What’s your opinion of tradeshows in general?