Brutal capitalism or good business?
There has, for years upon years, been a sort of decorum in the surfboard industry. Domestic shapers, aware of the high production cost, necessity for specialized labor, etc. have decided not to ruthlessly undercut each other on price in the marketplace. You will never walk into a surf shop and see a Channel Islands board going for $700, say, then see a similar model from Mayhem going for $400. Nor will you see such behavior online. Sales on surfboards, directly from the companies, are rare to non-existent and everyone lives in peace and happiness.
Enter Firewire.
The disruptive technology which allowed boards to be built in Thailand and shipped to Australia, America, Brazil (where the sun is currently shining through gathering clouds). Labor costs and materials are very much cheaper. The whole shooting match, in fact, one of premium margin enhancement.
Mister Business.
Surf great Kelly Slater, as you know, is majority owner of the company, having purchased a 70% stake some eight years ago and has recently decided to smash a fist into the face of competitors. Eight months ago, Firewire announced a “once in a lifetime sale” ahead of the holidays, slashing prices by 30% on popular models, which was magically extended.
Another 30% sale was offered and now, Thunderbolt surfboards, which utilize a similar construction as Firewire and is distributed by, is hacking prices by 30% as summer reaches its apex.
Why the sale?
Being produced, en masse and overseas, the pop-out board manufacturers are less able to calculate for variances in demand. When overproduction results, the excess inventory is liquidated in the same way as patio furniture or mattresses.
Everything must go.
“The market is so flooded with highly discounted product for, basically, the entire year,” a hard-toiling surfboard maker told me. “You can’t compete against that. In short, their greed and poor planning is ruining the lives of domestic board builders. Anybody that supports those companies are not worthy surfers.”
Do you agree?
Are you willing to pay the price necessary in order to assure that shapers, glassers, sanders, etc. can feed their families or are you a Darwinian capitalist through and through? Cut-throat to the core.
Believing, like the recently departed Pat Robertson, that “Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”
Oh sorry, wrong quote.
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Hmmm, buy shitty Kelly boards or deal with toxic shapers….? I think I’d rather just make my own, I’ll figure it out eventually and have fun along the way.
Nathan Florence said it best ,…kooks
Fuck you negatron ….. you fucking wEak dog
Lopez would put a logo on anything for a buck. Uber cool Zen money machine.
Based on Slater’s perfomances in contests, Firewires don’t go.
They’re ugly.
Made in Third World countries (huge carbon footprint).
Eric Toppenburg phone home.
Firewire is the new Wavestorm
As long as it’s 3 to 6 months for a custom, FireWire will always have a place.
Boards work well and are strong.
Firewire know that their brand has no credibility. Somehow I got on a marketing thing from them a few months ago where they asked about branding. Soon you won’t see the word firewire nor the triangle/chevron logo (0r maybe in tiny size between the fins). They will brand it all as “Rob Machado Surfboards” or “Dan Mann designs” (or whoever). That’s probably why they are flogging off the old stock because there’s a whole bunch of new boards about to arrive with new branding.
I don’t really care what kind of board I ride. I actually just rode a seaside this morning and it was fun. I mean I can go to the Album store and buy a twinsman for twice the price as a HIC. So there is more to it than Thai pop outs wrecking the market.
Is a twinsman twice as good a board as any other in a store? Even if you take the funky paint job off it.
Most shapers are terrible businessmen. That’s it in a nutshell.
In any case, go into a snowboard shop and they will all be churned out of a factory somewhere.
Just more stupid logos for the Asian children in the factory to deal with while huffing pvc fumes all day.
Here’s to hoping the Slater designs boards are rebranded as “K11ly”
I will say though that my twinsman either works twice as good as anything else in my quiver, or that Album has mastered the art of building boards that make average surfers think they are surfing better.
Yes, in Mexico or Brasil
Whoa there, do we have a certifiable firewire apologist in our midst?
As it happens though, I’m the guy with the American truck, but I will say that Honda (a Japanese company, not a Chinese company) has had multiple manufacturing plants across the United States for decades where they employ American auto workers. So if I run a Honda off the road, it was almost certainly manufactured in the USA by American workers.
Honda is made in… Thailand.
How many lightning bolt licences did good old GL flog , you can find old bolts in just about every surfing country on the chart , things are fucken everywhere a true master the old GL possibly KS,s guru.
Mr. CostcoLine.
Kelly Slater only cares about Kelly Salter
I think obvious route is straight from Brazil to Thailand to investigate or at least start picket line! Be a disservice to us all if can’t pillage 10 plus stories from this too!!
Have some extra Eye of newt if you’re in the market
Chas you need to do better investigating. In Australia last year the Surfboard Empire did a sale. 2 for the price of 1. They have the licence for Pyzel, Lost and MR. JS have also done sales in the past 6 months online. It is not new in a slowing economy. The boards of Firewire cost around $325 USD and sell from $875 – $1400. Lots of margin to play with on the direct to consumer model.
People hate the truth I guess. This article does kinda stink. Just make it a hit piece it ritcheoualy deserves don’t make it about this vs that, it’s not the same thing. It’s a Chinese popout
Stop telling me where to spend my money.
Support your local shaper—if you see a firewire in the lineup, make sure to burn that surfer. This will help your local shaper way more than actually spending your money on his boards.
You gotta let the kook know why you burned him too..
It’s the courteous thing to do
may inspire anyone else out to stick up for the cause too.
Man, I went from revering Ke11y to disgust.
Had he retired after the Pipe win and focused on Real Estate or Micro Beer, he’d still be the GOAT in my eye for his lifestyle alone.
What happened??
self delusion
The house of mirrors called a phone.
I was a Slater Hater back in the day. Love him more every day that passes now. he’s in Boss mode.
I think you are just saying that Negs
Pop outs suck as do models, order a custom, support your locals.
If the best boards currently made are “models”, why not buy them? The guys shaping at CI are local yet you are saying to not support them because they shape boards with model names. That’s fucked up Hip.
In theory, you’re right, but I don’t consider CI to be the shapers we should worry about.
The model thing is predicated on the computer. While I believe magic boards are most often magic rockers, I like tinkering with my own models and living with the results. Sure, old school, but once you accept models how do you complain about mass production? One bread crumb leads to another.
I used to LOVE the M4. You familiar? Round tail, pretty neutral single concave, did everything well. Ordered “customs” only because I could get them to glass the fins. Of course, it wasn’t sexy enough or Dane didn’t ride them so the lost the file. Chatted a bar keep at IBC who works at the factory and he said that they could make the M4, but I’d be better off with this or that. That was my only foray into models.
Took an Al hand shape to NZ with me… 6’6″ mini gun, magic magic board shaped for the queen on Indicators. Had a prominent shaper in Whanga drool over it, wouldn’t take his hands off of it. Begged me to lend it to him to trace on the computer. The bar got outstanding for two days and he hunted me down at our friends house. I gave it up, go ahead, copy. Always felt dirty about that.
Like photographing a girlfriend sleeping naked.
Thing was, that board was a one off. Was told, one of Al’s last. I like custom.
You may be right and I am old.
They are ALL computer shapes and far more perfect than any hand cut shape from a rockerless chunk of foam, which nobody does anymore.
Perfect appearance doesn’t equate to a perfect board. The difference between cut rack boards and hand shapes from what I’ve seen are pretty obvious.
What if your locals suck?
I get my surfboards from Greg Webber…and so does Kelly! I buy mine though…
Do you get Kelly’s carbon air spray that Brutus talks about?
buddy just bought a suburu with a rack for boards. another friend later advised him that only lesbians drive ’em. my buddy’s reply: “Lesbians and Obama’s chef can’t surf, or swim!” He’s currently parked at Zippers, Cabo. And a huge chubasco is brewing and will likey hit Chopes for two straight weeks…after the waiting period.
You do realize that a hurricane off Mexico does not affect surf in the South Pacific?
You know what, forget it.
Ha! Not to mention the fact that there are no hurricanes currently formed or forecast anywhere in the Pacific. I don’t think DSS conveys the current.
Prolly doesn’t grasp that Chopes doesn’t face towards Mexico either.
On the bright side, Mondo’s is at his front door!
have either of you’s ever surfed Whistles?
I don’t speak DSS so no idea. Did you get an Instagram account yet?
Oh that will be fun.
Good fodder for his therapist too.
So your buddy surfs better than Tyler Wright?
he came by. i reminded him he beat M.Ho in a ’68 La Jolla Menehune Contest…”I don’t remember…”
So probably not