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| Q&A: Michael Brooke - Publisher, Concrete Wave Magazine (7141 Posts)
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Skateshops
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On 5/16/2003
Brian "TheBrain" Morris
wrote in from
(68.193.nnn.nnn)
I have 2 shops within 10 minutes of my house, and one shop is the total opposite of the other. The first shop, Eastern Board and Skate is your typical flipper/snowboard shop. The people behind the counter had this tunnel vision of skateboarding. I asked for an Indy 101 and the guy told me there was no such thing. I asked for any Abec11 wheels he could have, he said there are no such thing as abec 11 bearings. I asked him if he had angled risers, he said whats that for. I think if your gonna own a skate shop you should at least have a bloody clue what skateboarding is. Now the other shop, Skatewerks is the greatest shop i've ever been in. Herb carries longboards, flipper boards, 80's pigs, downhill boards, slalom boards, and what he doesn't have he can either make for you or get for you in no time. Besides from being a cool guy who really knows his stuff, he is a mechanical genius. His custum trucks are amazing, I got a chance to ride his own made strokers, he's layed down some carbon on my slalom board. I can find any type of wheel, bearing, deck, truck, anything I need. I'll never drop a dime in that other shop, and I spend all of my skate budget in Skatewerks. I think you should support your local shops, but only if your local skate shop supports you.
Brian
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THe answer
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On 5/16/2003 Glen D.
wrote in from
(216.102.nnn.nnn)
The answer to my question a couple of posts back is.
CCS catalog is the #1 place to get a cover shot. It will be seen by the most skaters and turns into the most board sales.
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Got it!!
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On 5/16/2003
Lenny
wrote in from
(156.63.nnn.nnn)
Got issue # 5 yesterday (two copies, as a matter of fact) and want to say I'm stoked like a madman on it. I brought it with me today to read in study hall (in case y'all are wondering, I'm the TEACHER). Keep up the good work. I'll be sending new stuff ASAP.
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Internet sales +Mom and Pop shops
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On 5/16/2003 John Gilmour
wrote in from
(209.6.nnn.nnn)
Skateshops vanishing.
Internet sales and mail order are "virtually" the same thing.
Industry models of mail order and sports in the long run aren't very good.
Always a percentage of sales SHOULD be mail order- some people have no access to shops in less populated areas or in areas with few participants.
But when the percentage of mail order goes too high the sport is removed from the public eye.
Out of sight out of mind.
Look at windsurfing- there was a time in the 80's when mom and pop windsurfing shops were everywhere. Gear started getting expensive- people turned to mail order for discounts. Mail order got too large and offered discounts that were way too deep. Mom and pop "Showrooms" closed. The sport shrank dramatically and everyone- including mail order outfits made less money. Mail order needs mom and pop showrooms to survive.
Support your local shop whenever you can. Ask for products that you want there first- if they don't have it try to special order it- if they won't ask them why. If they refuse to carry it- okay. Buy it mail order and then next week go in with the product. Have your friends do exactly the same thing.
After a few guys go in like this- the store might think about carrying what you want.
Having more gear available to touch and hold and contemplate over buying makes the industry go round.
Turn a someone onto longboarding and slalom?... Give them a list of both internet sites and stores- encourage them to go to shops and stand on the gear and in the case of some places that allow it- actually try the gear. Send them to mom and pop shops instead of big box stores, unless that is all there is.
Then they can broaden their quiver of deck through the internet- which helps smaller manufacturers as they try to ramp up with new products. Eventually these internet based companies will be available in stores- but they have to get to that stage first.
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waves of change
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On 5/16/2003 John Gilmour
wrote in from
(209.6.nnn.nnn)
"When I look back on what happened at SkateBoarder, I realize that they tried to milk the golden cow too much...the magazine was very profitable - they thought they could make it more profitable by moving from 6 times a year to 12...that just wasn't economically feasible. Many of their advertisers couldn't afford that jump. Also, by narrowing their market to just vert, they lost a number of folks...but the economics of 6 to 12 issues per year was the key thing that screwed things up financially.
In much the same way, the current skate industry has let one thing become a HUGE problem....
What is this one thing? Well, if you look at the numbers (and believe me, I love looking at numbers) you will find that skateboarding has an 85% attrition rate. This means that for every 100 people who begin skateboarding, only 15 will stick with it pas the age of 18.
By making skateboarding so intense, so over the top, so focused on ollies they have really only appealed to one type of riding and pretty well one type of individual.
(males 10-18)"
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I talk to friends and people who stop to watch me slalom and they all have a similar comment.
The older skaters told me they went away one summer and when they came back- they couldn't find a deck they liked anymore. Most were refering to wide pool decks and that skateboarding seemed to immediately abandon its "street" roots and focus purely on vert. For those with difficult access to vert- they exited the sport.
Access is important to me- the closer I am to good skating the more I skate. For the summer I'm moving to a house with a great slalom hill (Troy skated it, it's killer)- I'll skate a lot more- because great skating will be directly at the end of my driveway. If I lived next door to a great oldschool concrete skatepark with pools- I'd ride vert everyday.
Inline skaters would for instance find it very strange if one summer they went away and after they came back they couldn't find a set of recreational skates or race skates anywhere and everything sold was for vert with tiny hard wheels- and then the by next summer 95% of the vert parks closed. Likely the Inline would implode.
It had to be the strangest industry model ever seen.
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wrong place
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On 5/15/2003 Glen D.
wrote in from
(216.102.nnn.nnn)
Every time I go by Val Surf they are selling completes. Fastlane sells mainly decks, shop boards are probably 80% or their sales. Rat City before the new ownership sold a bunch of Afroman stuff and Consolidated decks.
The sales are down, but just like longboarding and slalom, a bunch has moved to mailorder and internet.
So saying that, what is the #1 mag for a skater to get a cover shot on. The one that will get them the most coverage and hype the most kids into buying their deck?
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Relative cost
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On 5/15/2003
Geezer-X
wrote in from
(67.27.nnn.nnn)
My first complete was a G&S pultruded fiberglass 27" with Chicago trucks and Stokers on the back. I didn't have enough for 2 sets of stokers, so I got Rollersports MKIVs on the front. It cost $47.25, which was a *lot* of wedge to drop on a skateboard in 1975. Fast forward 28 years. I own a pair of trucks that cost more than a weekend of roadracing motorcycles. I have completes for tight, hybrid, giant, and longboard slalom, parks, pools, cruising to the store, and some cool vintage stuff. Pads, cones, a big race tool box full of wheels, wedges, bushings...I have a business that does custom trucks and decks, and a whole community of friends to skate with.
And it only took an initial investment of $47.25. How cool is that. When some post doc scientist at work asks "how'd you get that road rash?" and I get to say "testing a new carbon fiber racing skateboard I made. R&D's a bitch, huh?" it's completely priceless. This is like the most fun I think I've ever had.
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skate shops vanishing
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On 5/15/2003
Brady
wrote in from
(66.21.nnn.nnn)
Reading the dope here on what`s up with the manus of nu-skool, I had to go by and see how a local skate shop was doing.
Let me set this up.....typical shop with `tude when asked about "our" gear (angled risers, decent wheels, trucks decks) with the usual retort.."nobody rides that stuff". And they can be so non cavalier as there was always a crowd waiting to get thier thier goods.
Well, the shop`s gone. Gee, I wonder why,,, "cause nobody is ridin that stuff, anymore"
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Wheel costs
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On 5/15/2003
Nick
wrote in from
(66.87.nnn.nnn)
Michael, perhaps you forget how quickly inflation hit skateboard wheels in the 70's.
1973-75: Cadillac Tuit (a round Tuit, get it?), Roller Sports Mk. IV, Metaflex Regular, etc., were all about US$1.25 - $1.50 each retail. Stobys (Stobies?), Stokers, etc., were all about US$2-3 each.
1975: Road Rider 2's hit the market, and sell for $4-$5 each, including IKS bearings.
1976: Sims Pure Juice Comps, Road Rider 4's, etc., come in at $6-7 each, including bearings.
1977: PowerFlex 5's come in at $7 each; bearings are extra.
The largest-selling brand of wheels in North America is currently selling at a dealer price of $1.50 per wheel. Of course, they are the same size as the Cadillac Tuit and Roller Sports Mk. IV of 1975...
And consumers regularly pay, just for bearings, a price comparable to what a top-quality complete sold for in 1975. Of course, nowadays you don't have to skate with a pocketful of loose ball bearings, extra axle nuts, D-washers, and cone nuts, either.
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What were we thinking back then?
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On 5/15/2003 Chuck
wrote in from
(192.249.nnn.nnn)
"Man, these urethane wheels sure beat clay wheels! These precision bearings sure beat loose balls!"
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The old days...
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On 5/15/2003 Michael (Octane)
wrote in from
(195.92.nnn.nnn)
My first board was made from a rubber wheeled roller skate, a lump of wood, and roofing felt for grip.
Having prooved to my parents that I really liked skating I got a set of OJ's and Tracker Mids for Christmas. I had made a deck in woodwork at school. Had to wait till the next April for a proper deck. And I was certainly not from a poor household, just asking for a complete set up would have been way out of the question...just too much to spend on a present.
These days I see kids get completes really easily. I did some calcualtions and in real terms skate stuff is way way way cheaper than 25 years ago. Wheels in 1977, £7 each, in 2003, £8 each. Amazing. What were we thinking back then?
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Another subscriber
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On 5/15/2003
Stubbs
wrote in from
(209.117.nnn.nnn)
Add another one. I'm subscribing today. I usually get a copy from that Grumpy one in Belton but that's not really helping the cause.
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issues
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On 5/15/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
hi folks
let's keep this discussion rolling...
fascinating stuff....
as for the mags...SELECT Barnes and Noble have the mag...there will be more next issue
yes, they were mailed....3rd class mail is brutal, but it is very expensive to send lst class....keep me posted if yours doesn't arrive - we will send out back up copy...promise.
we are closing in on 2000 subscribers..
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kids in skateboarding
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On 5/15/2003
Brad
wrote in from
(20.137.nnn.nnn)
Back in the 70's I bought all my boards with my own paper route cash....my dad hated skating...it wasn't a "team sport" or a sport at all, for that matter...and he wouldn't have anything to do with it....Kids today have the advantage of skating being more accepted, (and getting their boards bought for them more often)but with that acceptance comes mainstream....something we did'nt have (and didn't miss)back then...it made skating more fun...it's really gone forever, that underground part of skating, and it's kind of a bummer for today's kids...and they don't even know it...
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Kids in Skateboarding
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On 5/15/2003
Brian "TheBrain" Morris
wrote in from
(68.193.nnn.nnn)
Here in Jersey, alot of parents usher their kids into the skate shop and buy their kids whatever they want. Its really cool, but it seems like these kids are treated like executives and their moms and dads are their assistants. Its kind of disapointing to see kids with these huge attitudes, but hey they are getting into skating. And its always funny to see these kids facinated by the Visions, longboards, and slalom stuff. These kids are amazed that people actually ride boards that long, or that wide, or without a tail.
Brian
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5
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On 5/15/2003 66
wrote in from
(68.117.nnn.nnn)
my local b&n doesn't have it
i went ahead and subscribed
i got an email saying i was 2000
i replied
no
no, i'm 66
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Issue #5
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On 5/15/2003
Dusty
wrote in from
(64.12.nnn.nnn)
Hi Mike I see issue five is out,,and some people have recieved it, I still havent got mine yet,,just shipping delay because of the new orders? Thanks for your time
Dusty
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Kids in Skateboarding
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On 5/15/2003
Nick
wrote in from
(66.87.nnn.nnn)
Where are there 5 kids at a time buying completes anymore?
Here in the Bay Area, things are so bad, shops are lucky to sell one complete per day. I'm hoping things aren't so dismal in the rest of North America...
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Kids in Skateboarding
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On 5/15/2003
Brian "TheBrain" Morris
wrote in from
(68.193.nnn.nnn)
It is pretty amazing to walk into my local skateshop and there is 4 or 5 kids in there picking out completes with their moms and dads. I remember when I started, I had to fight my parents to get me a new skateboard, deck, wheels, trucks or whatever. Its really cool that parents are so much more supportive of their kids skating. Hopefully these kids will stick with skating longer than the usual 6 months to a year. Kids these days don't seem to stick with anything anymore, skateboarding, piano lessons, boy scouts, ect.
Brian
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Interesting
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On 5/15/2003
Mike Moore
wrote in from
(66.196.nnn.nnn)
hmmmmmm.....
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production costs
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On 5/15/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
put it this way....you know the shoestring budget?
well, we're on the little plastic tip that fits on the shoestring...
we tightening the mag up with each issue. I guarantee you by the time you see Vol 2 No 1 (issue 6) it will not be recognizable from Vol 1 No1 (which came out in June 02)
want more mag? more hot photos? more intense stories?
SIMPLE...call the advertisers, tell you saw their ad in the mag...then tell other manufacturers who aren't advertise to contact us.
by the way, MAXIMUM 35% ad space....
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cw issue #5 for trade
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On 5/15/2003
vaitus
wrote in from
(216.166.nnn.nnn)
I've got an extra cw #5 new issue, will trade for #1 or #2 or #3.
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Skateboarder...etc.
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On 5/15/2003
PaulW
wrote in from
(217.33.nnn.nnn)
I got issues 2-5 this week and enjoyed every bit of them (but you need to have a stern word with your Production Ed...). I liked the piece on Skateboarder.
From a perspective of 20+ years, you have to wonder [with digital workflows, desktop publishing and the driven-down costs of printing etc.] if Skateboarder couldn't be published today with a good chance of surviving on reduced ad yields.
I think it could, possibly.
What was the "per page" cost of producing Skateboarder (taking all the repro costs in)?
What's the equivalent cost per page of Concrete Wave?
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pants
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On 5/14/2003 todd stong
wrote in from
(172.141.nnn.nnn)
mr Rrooke..
does my but look big in these pants?????
cheers
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the mag
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On 5/14/2003 robc
wrote in from
(64.231.nnn.nnn)
>Yes, skateboarding is still young...relative to other >pursuits...however, it has been controlled by a cartel who >didn't really want much change...they kind of like the >status quo....it meant control.
Iain Borden talks a bit about the cartel in his book on skateboarding and architecture- I doubt that all those kids realize that the same comapanies that run the magazines make the boards and stuff that they get the kids to buy. Perhaps it's all run by handrail and park bench manufacturers! Thanks for not being a part of that- the magazine is obviously a labour of love. (as was ILB) It looks amazing, too, the person who compared it to Surfer's Journal was right on. And it doesn't cost 20 bucks! Only problem now is, it's too nice for the bathroom...
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