Maybe it's time to give others a chance to fuck it up too?
The surf industry has been in a dizzying fall for the past… what… ten years? At least ten years. An utter collapse. We’ve seen giant Quiksilver declare bankruptcy only to come out, shepherded by distressed asset management firm Oaktree Capital, and buy Billabong for pennies on the dollar. Rip Curl has floated the idea of a sale for years now with nothing materializing. Brands rolling over. Brands disappearing forever. Shrinking bottom lines. Vanishing jobs
It is bleak with no real end in sight and as I have pondered the whys and wherefores have come to the conclusion that the surf industry is dying because it has lost its center. I have, in fact, written a whole book on the subject called Cocaine + Surfing: A Love Story!
But maybe the failure to embrace the love story with cocaine is not the problem. Bobby Kim, co-founder of streetwear’s very successful The Hundreds gave a speech at the recent Surf Industry Manufacturers Association titled Can Surf Learn From Streetwear? The entire thing is worth a read but let’s read a passage together.
I had breakfast with Bob McKnight, founder of Quiksilver, a few years ago, and he told me to exit the industry because the kids didn’t care about clothing anymore. “They just want to buy apps.”
But Bob, with all due respect, was wrong. Since our breakfast together, my sector of men’s fashion-STREETWEAR-exploded. There’s Supreme, of course. The New York skate brand’s valuation topped a billion dollars, thanks to global line-ups for limited items and high-profile celebrity endorsements. Kanye’s adidas Yeezies are this generation’s Air Jordan. Off-White’s Virgil Abloh and his sneaker collaborations arguably put Nike back on the map. It’s not unusual for me to look down at one of our customer’s receipts and see that he’s spent hundreds of dollars on T-shirts and pants. Kids aren’t spending hundreds of dollars in an afternoon on apps, but they are tossing that kind of money on streetwear brands like Anti Social Social Club, Pleasures, and Vetements.
I can also give 10 speeches to outline why and how streetwear has gotten so popular.
– It’s the limited edition thing.
– It’s the collaborations and the high fashion crossover.
– It’s the meticulous attention to brand integrity.
Yet, today, I’m going to zero in on just one theory as to streetwear’s resounding success in 2018. And, this hypothesis also intersects with an obvious void that I see and feel in surf.
It’s the presence and power of racial diversity.
The case that Mr. Kim goes on to make is compelling because it is about the bottom line more than moral integrity though I think he should also speak to gender diversity. White men get blamed for lots and lots but they deserve every ounce of blame for fucking the surf industry up so badly. Maybe it’s time to give others a chance to fuck it up too?
What do you think about that?
Less white sharks in the water. Especially in South Africa.
“I’m going to zero in on just one theory as to streetwear’s resounding success in 2018… It’s the presence and power of racial diversity”
Corpo jargon for “streetwear makes money because it targets minorities through racially predetermined marketing”
Dont ya just love it when white people try to edumacate POC about race and racism.
Almost as much as I love white (or whitewashed) people rallying for diversity when the underlying matter is in regards to making more money. Artificial diversity for the sake of marketability is just a nuanced form of racism.
Everyone crying loud about diversity in surfing, tell me, what are WE supposed to do? Do I spend countless dollars and hours of personal time trying to bring some kid deemed a minority in the surf world to the beach every weekend to learn surfing for the sake of diversity in the sport? If you answered yes, I’d love to hear your thoughts on helping my 5’6″ caucasion son fulfill his dreams of playing NBA. Diversity in sport, remember?
The truth is, intentional inclusion for the sake of an ethical circle jerk is overtly racist. Let people find an interest on their own and build connections with established surfers to further include themselves in the sport. Surfing was never all-inclusive. Just like the act of catching/riding a wave, it takes a bit of drive. No one’s there to do it for you. Artificiality is not the seed of culture.
You’re right, intentional inclusion of ethnic folks for marketing’s sake could be considered it’s own kind of racism, except that, the surf world at large IS a place filled with brown folks. The larger, worldwide brands would have been keen to recognize that, and if they did so (via inclusion in adverts, sponsoring talented non-white surfers), they might have connected more strongly with their potential consumer base worldwide, and those of us who happen to be brown and live in the USA or AUS. I’m not particularly sorry to see those brands go; it really has no affect on me personally. I just think it’s an interesting conversation within surfing at large: the optics that we’re fed VS the reality of who is actually in the water.
White old out of touch men ruin everything. Street culture will always be the most progressive of movements. Started with Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection riffing on beatnik culture for fashion and continues to this day with companies like FA, Metroplitan, Supreme (although they are played out), etc. Can’t believe surfing still cant wrap it’s head around that. Oh yeah, out of touch white dudes again…
We need to get over the idea that brands need to have have any kind of meaning to us because we are surfers. All you need is a board, wax, boardshorts and possibly a wetsuit. The rest is simply fashion. I can remember when surf fashion broke in the mid 80s. When we saw Mellencamp wearing a Quiksilver cap in the paper and fire film clip, and Mel Gibson wearing a Quiksilver jacket in Lethal Weapon. Yeah it was cool, these local brands from Torquay* “taking over the world”.
Fast forward 30 years and hubris has killed the surf industry, chain shops closing down everywhere, bankruptcies, world tour in freefall, surf mags going bust and the only people wearing surf fashion are fat old guys who think it’s still the 90s. Barely anything the brands make is technical, and what is technical all comes out of the same factory in Thailand anyhow. These “surf labels” are no different to North Face or Abercrombie & Fitch. I tell you what, if 3D printing takes off with footwear and Nike or Adidas go belly up I wont be shedding a tear for them either.
By all means sell a “look” but don’t expect me believe that as a surfer I need to buy anything other than a pair of boardies or a wetsuit. Why should I care for those assholes in the industry who got rich by being in the right place at the right time who are up now the shit? So the fickle winds of fashion started blowing the wrong way and all the surf industry wannabes got laid off. Cry me a river.
The funny thing is the shapers and independent surf shops look like having the last laugh.
* For the benefit of Bob McKnight.
exactly, counter to Kim’s argument the money in surfing is not in diversity but in ever more exclusive appeals to rich whiteys.
wave pools are the ultimate tool for rich whiteys to exclude anyone else.
“We need diversity to spread the culture and activity around the world”
“OH SO IT’S THE WHITE GUYS FAULT”
Geez Chas, you missed the opportunity to link Rip Curl and North Korea in the same article! You’re slipping 🙂
EDIT: oops, you beat me to it.
Another ignorant yank who thinks Bob McKnight is the founder of Quiksilver.
I am white and have hemorrhoids (grapes). My understanding is that grapes are not exclusive to white persons.
My mom is a beautiful white lady, with blue eyes, and my dad is a feral indigenous mutt. Without the help of mother’s family, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today. My father never had the same help. He was screwed from the get go. The surf industry can’t solve hundreds of years of “we got the weapons, we’re taking your land and gold,” but maybe they could help along more indigenous surfers, because we know the world is full of them. That being said, we all know who has most of the money, so it makes sense to those people to keep that model going. It’s a giant network that isn’t exclusive, it’s just hard to break through, just as it’s hard to break into any club. Just ask women, or slaves, or indigenous persons, or the Irish, etc.
yeah you are certainly right that social class is really social caste, all neutral data basically pointing to the fact that upward social mobility is largely a myth. Not that people don’t move up but it’s way outside the norm, and way more people – all kinds of people – are moving down. World ain’t easy that’s for sure …
I’m gonna go listen to some blues now, ha.
Bob McKnight, founder of Quiksilver? Bob bought a licence to print money from John Law and Alan Green. He founded fuck all. Is this just Bobby Kim being inclusive of rich, white Americans?
History is written by the victors.
Quiksilver lost. Billions.
Yeah, I guess the guys who got out earlier were the real winners huh? Still, they’re laughing.
I guess I meant the person who came with lots of dosh could write his own name into the company ledgers.
It was a pretty shit metaphor.
Nah, I get it!
Actually Greeny started QS , Lawo bought in later , and I think Peter Wilson was one of the USA founders , with Hakman and Bob..
The predominant nature of the white media coming from California and Australia is a big part of this perception. Are there any Indonesian surf publications? Go look at Brasil; not too Anglo there.
Michael February is, I hope, just the tip of a growing African surf iceberg.
Sponsorship by big names is obviously aimed at performance, but I do get the feeling that there’s a lot more talent out there being wasted merely because the kids aren’t in an ‘Anglo Home-schooled surf-vicariously through one’s kids bubble’ who have a hotline to the industry.
Exactly.. every time I take a surf trip there’s some local absolutely dominating. I don’t get to go too many places but.. Mexico, El Salvador, Tahiti… all are holding immense talent. No doubt the rest of the world too.
A funny thing is that the Japanese surf publications I’ve seen all seem to feature blonde Californians — I think because that’s seen as authentic surf culture. I find this crazy fascinating, actually!
And hey! Talk about racism! Hello Japan!
i went to the founder’s cup in lemoore and if you took the wave and the music act away, it wouldn’t have looked much different from a white power rally.
I trip out on the hundreds of people that line up outside the supreme store on Fairfax when something new is released. I just can’t see Australians ever doing that, unless it was for free beer maybe.
Fucking idiots and their money eh?
Honestly, if I had a way into that industry I would set up so fast your head would spin.
I’m over my youthful ethics in that regard. If people want to buy stupid shit with logos on it, fine. Let me fleece’m.
Exactly. There is still time man. I’m ready to sell my soul again.
We just need access to
A: a sweatshop to churn out our shit (the really morally dubious part)
and B: some old pal who works for a hip fashion magazine / website to promote our aesthetically dubious shit.
Derek and Chas are pretty hip. Much hipper (is that a word) than me at least.
I doubt anyone under 30 reads this though.
I know, right? The dumb fuckers should just get the Supreme app.
Now I’ve gone and incriminated myself.
Brick+ Mortar still gotta pay the rent some how, right?
Glad they, whom~ever ya write of, can still getta line outside, in this modern age…
“Surfing, to me, wasn’t just cool because of a marquis pro, an air or a big wave. Surfing was cool because of the attitude.” This is what alarms me about the WSL – they’re completely wringing out the attitude from the sport.
Ironic really isn’t it, since surfing has completely non-European roots, and skateboarding began in the most white bread manner possible.
Not really surprising given how homosexual throwing on a wettie and splashing around in the ocean with mostly guys looks.
Basketball looks kinda sweaty-rubby too though huh?
Not to mention how hard it is to get females involved in surfing. It’s like being on Ashley Madison. One big sausage sizzle
Come to Byron
Yeah I have noticed there’s a lot more girls surfing over that way. Maybe they just don’t like WA? And if I come to Byron, can I crash at yours for free? Over that way end of next week but will be a few hundred clicks further north in Coolum
Well, they aren’t exactly “spending the money,” are they?