It's a traction pad blood feud!
Do you follow Julian Wilson on
Instagram? It’s a very good account with
six-hundred-and-sixty-thousand followers and features giveaways,
surfing clips and personal moments with his fianceé, the model
Ashley Osborne. Controversy is something the impeccable Mr Wilson
never seeks.
Recently, however, a post that featured three surfboards
equipped with FCS fins and traction drew the wrath of the
Astrodeck matriarch, the wonderful Dibi
Fletcher.
Glad @fcs_surf knocked
off my pads good enough that you’re satisfied, noticed your results
seemed a bit better on Astrodeck, but what do I know???
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOBZ-pkgZLB/?taken-by=julian_wilson&hl=en
It reminded me of the conversation I had with Dibi one month ago
when I called to talk about Kolohe Andino and John John Florence
paying ten-dollars apiece for their signature pads. Dibi, who is
almost seventy years old, wouldn’t comment about the arrangement
except to say she’d known ’em “since they were kids.”
Making money, of course, isn’t exactly what the pioneering deck
grip company is famous for. Good grips, sure. Profitability?
“If I was making money do you think I’d be sitting at
this fucking desk?” said Dibi. “You think at my age I’d be out
the back shipping pads? The reality is, it’s a very small, niche
market. But I still feel that I make the best pads. I have the best
surfers in the most critical positions. That’s what I’m interested
in doing. Making the best pads. Everyone in my family surfs. Unlike
most of the other pad companies, do you understand, they’ve got
people in cubicles making different coloured pads. They knock me
off. I don’t care about. I don’t give a shit!”
Dibi added, “That’s my story, honey, here I am! I make the
best pads in the world, we’re the original pad maker (since 1976),
we’ll always have market share as long as I stay authentic.
Companies went too big, they have to make their quarterly earnings.
If you want big, you have to go and push your brand all over the
place. Pretty soon you have no story left because you whitewashed
it to death to get your corporate earnings.”
The Astrodeck office, which is the best place to find Dibi, was
shut when I saw the Julian Wilson post. Instead, I got on Instagram
(@dibifletcher) and asked her to
comment.
“Hahaha, pretty old news. Julian rode my pads and obviously
loved them,” wrote Dibi. “His Brother Bart called to see if he
could get some pads for the ‘last time’? And said while picking
them up ‘got to get these because FCS hasn’t knocked you off
completely yet.’ Really??? Gotta love intended honesty.”
I also asked for her comment now that John John had been
officially signed to Dakine to develop “a signature series of surf
leashes, traction pads and a travel board bag.” Would the Astrodeck
John John pad be pulped? Dramatically reduced in price? And Kolohe,
will he still be buying your pads?
“I don’t know anything about JJ and Dakine, what do you know?
Kolohe loves his pad and I adore seeing Dino when he comes to pick
them up. Astrodeck will always be the best traction and we’ll
survive/thrive, whatever surfers decide, for their best interest,
to go to other companies. I wish them all the well.”
May I ask, does it thrill you when your pads are copied or does
it make you sad?
“What do you think?”
Thrilled?
