Who is Core, What's Wrong with Snowboarding, and Why Not Make a Buck? A First Draft

Hang out in the snowboarding world long enough and you may encounter complaints about a particular snowboarder or snowboarding company "selling out." You will also hear talk about people who are "hard core" or simply "core," people who may be the salvation -- or curse -- of snowboarding.

I'm an amateur sociologist, and even took a couple of graduate-level courses. So please bear with me if it seems like I'm trying to overanalyze things. It's in my blood, and after all, it's not like this is the height of snowboarding season, so what else are we going to in snowboarding besides talk about it? At the risk of being the "crotchety old man" that one blogger feared becoming (I am a man and I am older than the two bloggers whose words I'm going to respond to), here's my first draft on the subject. (Note: I'll revise it in time to adjust for the mistakes I made when I wrote this, half-asleep.)

The impetus for this post is an essay by "The Angry Snowboarder," titled "Where snowboarding went wrong."

The key point seems to be that snowboarding is "inaccessible." Among the reasons or symptoms:

Snowboarding is costly
Analysis: Yes it is. I don't know what to do at it. Even Midwestern ski areas with 300 feet of vertical charge $40 or $50 a day (and sometimes more) for a lift ticket.

There are at least two reasons for this. One, it costs money to turn lifts, make snow (an essential in the Midwest), groom snow (also essential in the Midwest), buy liability insurance, and so forth. The second reason is that it's what the market will bear.

I don't know enough about the hardware side of snowboarding to comment. But again, manufacturing costs are only one factor in determining the price of a product; the other factor is what the end customer will willingly pay.

Solution: For lift tickets, buying a season pass can pay off. Use other strategies, too, such as coupons, buddy passes, Liftopia, and the like. For hardware, buy at the right time of the year, buy leftover stock, and go to second-hand sources.

"The industry is kidding themselves when it comes to the average rider."

I would like to look at survey results. But I think the younger crowd dominates, even though I don't like it.

"Snowboarding has sold out."
Analysis: I don't know what to make of this, as I'm not sure what it means.

"It has become a part of pop culture and mainstream media. It's not like it was even 10 years ago, everyones mother really is doing it."
Is this a good or a bad development? Put me down for "good." It promotes healthy living, personal development (setting and achieving goals, etc.), and family activities--all good.

"Still there's been a steady decline in participants from both returning and new."
This is not limited to snowboarding. Skiing has the same problem, or at least a similar one--its market is aging.

"The big business side of the industry has only seen the bottom line which is the almighty dollar. This is where the segregation between marketing and the average rider begins."
Analysis: It's easy to bash 'the almighty dollar," and sometimes that is appropriate. (Quick example: If someone offers to pay me to poison your water supply, there's only one moral response. Don't.) But generally, prices are incredibly powerful ways of telling us which goods or services people prefer, and in which quantities.

If a company makes a buck off of me, it's because it gives me something that I value--more than holding the money, and more than what I could spend with that dollar.

The snowboarding industry says that its core market is age 13-21. They're leaving a lot of money on the table by neglecting the 22 to 35 year old group.
Is this true? If you look at rider surveys, it probably makes sense to concentrate on the youth market. Yet it's also true that the 22 to 35-year old age group has more money to spend, though not necessarily more time. And as someone who belongs to an even older age group, I'd emphasize that yes indeed, people 36 and up buy snowboarding gear and lift tickets, too.

But here's the challenge: Are there enough of us to make raising the age limit on the target market worthwhile? If a company that turns from the youth market to the adult market make the same amount of money? If, instead of dropping the youth market, it simply adds an adult unit, will it suffer so much in the youth market (distracted focus, kids won't want to buy "you're father's snowboard," etc.) that it loses money?

I don't know. I do suspect that some adults would appreciate the chance to buy a board that isn't geared for the an adolescent market.

"The ultimate rise in prices besides inflation is the fact Ski Resorts are more or less Real Estate Companies now. So for them to afford making more condo's, hotels, and retail space they just raise prices."
If this is an argument that real estate development causes lift ticket prices to increase, I would probably disagree. As I said above, there are certain costs to running lifts, and that's regardless of whether the people who run the ski operations are selling condos on the side.

On the other hand, it's possible that for some people, expensive lift tickets are a good thing, since they perceive that high prices signal high-quality service. I suspect that's a minority segment of the population, however.

There are other points made in the post that I haven't covered here, by the way.

THE FOLLOW-UP
Courtney Wilson, who writes at The Lady in Shred. She describes her site as "just a blog to enrich the lives of female snowboarders," but I think it's great to see targeted sites.

She writes in response to the Angry Snowboarder post with one of her own, titled Is accessibility really where snowboarding went wrong?
I'm not sure what to make of the idea of snowboarding "going wrong," as the term suggests that snowboarding has a quasi-religious status, or is perhaps a grand social movement with principles that must be honored, or at the least, an organization that has drifted far from its vision statement.

None of those apply. Snowboarding is a sport, an activity, an interest that many people share. But that's all.

Still The Lady gets the discussion off to a helpful start by clearly identifying a problem she seeks to explain: Why has the number of people in snowboarding declined? (To be complete, I should pull out my participation surveys, but it's late and I need to get to bed.)

She says "I blame greed, egos, and unrealistic expectations."

Greed.
Courtney faults companies for having merely a short-term vision. That's certainly possible, and business history is littered with companies that took the short-term path and suffered--or went kaput.

She then mentions that Gene Simmons has entered the snowboarding industry. Is that a problem? I say bully for him for having an idea and running with it. That's business. Will it be a financial success? Will people respond? I don't know. SHOULD people respond? I wouldn't. But I'm not going to complain if you do. It's your choice.

"While there are a few companies who are trying to make it with their integrity in tact, there is absolutely no way they can compete with Burton, K2, and Quiksilver."

I have some idea what integrity means in general, and even what it means in business, but does it mean something unique in snowboarding?

"Even those companies you think are against the man are trying their hardest to be the man. Core means poor. Bottom line. Fortunately this economy might be our chance to ditch all the high-power execs who are ruling the industry. Let’s face it, snowboarding isn’t going to make you enough money to buy a yacht and cruise around the world when you retire. My hope is that the next couple of seasons will shake out everyone who isn’t doing this for the right reasons."

I'm more confused than I was before, after reading this. OK, I have an idea what "the man" is all about, but generally I'm not moved by rants against "the man." One reason is that, as the text suggests, people who claim to be against "the man" (now who is he anyway?) are simply "the man" trying to pull a fast one on you through false advertising.

And what does "core means poor" mean? Who is "core" and how do we identify them? The best I can figure is that "core" is some soul, obsessed by snowboarding, laboring away building boards by hand, who ends up losing everything when a company headed by a CEO who knows squat about snowboarding steals market share by flooding stores with mass-produced junk.

And?

Meh. So what. Stuff happens. Beer is the only industry I can think of off the top of my head that has seen a resurgence of the craft producer.

Why do my-heart-is-in-this producers get squashed soulless, impersonal corporations? Because they can't compete in the real world in which people have unlimited wants and limited means (not just money but also time to seek out producers). So little guy working in his garage turns out 100 boards a season while Behemoth Boards sells 100,000 a year. Who has done more to expand snowboarding?

EGO
The 100 Day-a-year-rider drives the lifestyle of this sport. And at the end of the day people want to buy into the lifestyle.

Of course we need these riders as the mascots of snowboarding. But we don't need them hating on people who are only riding 5 days a year. Chances are those recreational riders are funding their pay checks and allowing them to ride that much. Resort locals need to be a little more grateful and stop hating on people who can’t ride 100 days and be stoked that they’re having fun on the mountain.

And all you shop bros out there, check your ego at the door.

DO people want to buy into a lifestyle? Some do. Others don't. Oh, I do find the idea of moving to the mountains to be attractive--for a while. Then I think of the family, friends, familiar sites (and sights) I'd have to leave behind, and it becomes less attractive. I don't think I'm alone in this.

As for shop workers or 100-day people "hating on people who are only riding 5 days a year," it might help if recreational riders take this attitude: I don't care. Sure, I know that people who live in mountains can mock tourists (it's not just snowboarders, it's common to the resort industry generally), people who ski or snowboard in jeans or wear neon one-pieces, etc.

Even so, Soup Nazi aside, you're not going to grow your business by insulting your customers. So the diagnosis is largely on the mark, though I don't know how big a factor it is in the decline /stagnation in snowboarding participation.

UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
This isn't an explanation for "the downfall of snowboarding" as much as it is a caution.

Snowboarding is "always going to be expensive and it's always going to take a certain type of personality to embrace it .... Until it’s as easy as watching NASCAR, it’s just not going to be that popular."

True enough.

Making Snowboarding Safe for Out--of-Date People

It's a given of advertising that words shape our understanding of reality. Political advocacy groups and politicians, for example, spend a great deal of time and money trying to figure out how to describe their ideas in ways that will maximize their public appeal and minimize public objections. Euphemisms abound both in government and in the private sector.

When I read snowboarding publications, I sometimes feel like I have stepped into another planet--and remember, this is coming from someone who has spent several years writing about snowboarding.

Someone remarked to me that he couldn't see himself "rockin' an Obermeyer jacket." I happen to wear an Obermeyer jacket, but what struck me was the word "rockin." It's apparently an all-purpose verb within snowboarding. Another person I know, while looking at a rack of snowboards, said something like "I can't imagine someone rockin' a board with those graphics."

So "rockin" (or is it "rocking?") means (1) to wear a piece of clothing; and (2) to use a piece of snowboarding equipment, such as a snowboard.

Not exactly the language I would use, but then again, every activity has its jargon and slang.

Another time I was in a conversation with two other people in the snow sports industry. "A" was lamenting that the advertising revenue on his site was declining. "B" asked him what his rates were. After "A" gave his response, "B" said "Ouch! That's really droppin' trou."

Dropping trou? I understood what "B" (a white-collar professional, about 50 years old, eager to succeed in the snow sports industry) was saying. But as with "rockin," "droppin' trou" isn't language that would even come to my mind.

Here's my approach: I think that more mature adults would enjoy snowboarding if they gave it a try. The language used within the "snowboarding community" (there's another piece of jargon!) presents an extra layer that people have to get through. So in my writing, I try to write in a straightforward, white-bread style.

So if I get rockin' non-standard English, give me a shout out, won't ya?

Slightly out of Place

You can buy snowboards in a lot of places. There's online, of course. But there's a lot of variety in retail. Low-end stuff is in your generic sporting goods stores, but you can step up the quality (or at least reputation) by going to REI.

Then there's your small shops that focus on mountain stuff, with a summer set of gear that may include mountain bikes, small sailboats, patio equipment, or whatnot. Some of then will sell only snowboards, some will sell only skis, and some will sell both.

Put me in "both."

Once I went to a shop where I had bought some ski poles. I was looking for I-don't-remember-what when a thought hit me: There are lots of skis here, cross-country and downhill alike, but no snowboards. When I started talking with a clerk I realized why: I mentioned something about snowboarders and got the feeling that I had mentioned the worst kind of people who abuse children, or something even worse. I don't shop there anymore.

On the other hand, I bought my skis as well as my first set of Flow bindings and some protective gear at a ski/snowboard shop.

Last year I went to a snowboard-only shop, and bought a Salomon Special. The young staffers suggested I talk with one of the older guys, a manager of some sort, who spent quite a while talking with me about boards and my likes and type of riding.

I went back on Saturday, to meet up with a friend and to see the latest gear. It was an enjoyable experience of talking about local conditions, and my friend pointed out some garish and ghastly changes in some of the equipment and its design. He also pointed out some innovative, promising new developments in bindings, boots, and boards.

But from time to time I felt out of place. On one side of the wall is a screen that shows a snowboarding movie, nonstop. Now, I can fantasize about making turns in powder snow as much as the next person, but there's one thing I don't like about snowboarding movies: The music. It's ... well, I'm not sure what it is, but it's not my style. And in this case, it was playing all the time.

To be the out-of-step customer. At least there are ski and snowboard shops that don't give me a headache.

Women Golfers and Adult Snowboarders

Do companies that neglect market niches leave money on the table? It all depends on the niche, the market, and the company. But I suspect that when it comes to snowboarding, the answer is yes: Snowboarding-related companies aren't doing enough to talk to the adult market.

I see an analogy with the market for women golfers.

The Golf Blogger reports that the magazine Golf for Women is ceasing publication. He blames it on a lack of advertisers, and in turn, companies missing an opportunity to tap 40 million women baby boomers who could be golfers.

The golf company that takes these women as seriously as they take the men can really position itself. And that doesn’t mean taking a man’s club, making it a little lighter and coloring it powder blue or pink. It means starting from scratch, and putting the same effort into research and development as they do with the men. Then they need to market that equipment—clubs, balls, bags, pull carts, and so on—with the same aggressive stance that they do with the men.

To their credit, some snowsports companies are coming out with gear designed for women, gear that takes into account the fact that women are not small men, but have (for example) calf muscles that are differently shaped than those found on a man.

What alterations would be useful for adult riders? Flows, K2 Cinch bindings, and other bindings help, by reducing or eliminating the need to bend over or stand up, heelside, after having sat down to adjust bindings. Other than that, I'm not sure what other adjustments to gear are necessary. But there are plenty of adjustments that can be made to marketing materials. In brief, offer some grown-up graphics and text.

Boycott Burton?

Is Burton good for snowboarding? It's a matter for debate in any number of discussion forums, including one for ski and snowboard instructors. For the last several months I've been toying with the idea of writing a brief article explaining my dislike of the company. In short, it has done some good. But it also promotes an image of riding that is bad for the sport--or at least bad for mature riders.

To quote a member of the Grays on Trays discussion forum,

Snowboarding is a sport, and one to be enjoyed, not to see who can dress more "gangsta."

I try to avoid buying from brands promoting such crap. Burton is the biggest offender, go so far as to put a d*** "spinner" in one of last year's boards.

Yeah, that's one reason to avoid Burton. But friend, I'll see you and raise you one gangsta: Avoid Burton because it encourages people to violate property rights.

From the Associated Press (December 2007):

Burton lays down a $5,000 snowboard poaching challenge. ... BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Burton Snowboards is challenging snowboarders to go where they're not wanted, offering a $5,000 bounty for the best video of those who take to the slopes at "elitist, fascist" ski resorts that don't allow snowboarding.

"Poaching isn't simply a peaceful form of protest. It's truly your patriotic duty," the snowboard maker says on its Web site.

Complete and utter nonsense, even if it is great marketing. Patriotism? Patriotism means love of country, and especially the good that it stands for. In the case of the U.S., one of our best points is that we have a tradition of respecting private property. The "American Dream," after all, includes the possibility that you can work your way up to owning a house of your own--which isn't worth anything if you don't have rights to it against squatters, trespassers and the like.

Yet here's Burton, the biggest company in the snowboarding industry, calling for people to go where they're not wanted.

Here's another thing that frosts me about Burton: Ever hear of live and let live? Apparently not.

Jake Burton is lauded by some for taking a "pure" approach to snowboarding by not selling his company for the multimillions it would fetch. But his comments are off-base. For one thing, they're incredibly offensive to victims of real fascism, who have been denied life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

There's also a strange sense of justice in the "we're going to ride wherever we want to" campaign. Says Mr. Burton:

"For 25 years we've been working to open resorts and we couldn't have done it without the involvement of local riders. I don't think that our job is done, so you can snowboard everywhere. ... Mountains can be brutally cruel but they're not discriminatory. I don't think any resort is entitled to be discriminatory based on what's on your feet."

Of course "mountains" do not "discriminate," since they're not moral actors. But what of the people who spend millions of dollars to install lifts? Certainly they ought to be able to have some say over what people carry onto those lifts, which are their property.

Think of this: Is it wrong for a movie theater to "discriminate" against patrons who bring floodlights into screening rooms?

Let's continue with the news story.

Like Mad River, Deer Valley said its guests are looking for a ski-only experience.

Snowboarders have options at other resorts, said Coleen Reardon, director of marketing.

"They (skiers) feel that snowboarders ride the mountain differently than skiers ski it, and that they'd feel a little safer," she said.

The few times that snowboarders do poach: "We tell them snowboarders aren't allowed and help them off the mountain," she said.

Here's a business that is attentive to the wants of its customers. For various reasons, some skiers don't like to be around snowboards. You or I may think that's a foolishness, but then again, there's no accounting for taste.

Back to the story:

But that's discriminatory, says Burton.

"Just like you want to be able to walk into any restaurant and eat. You want to go to any resort and ride," he said.

Burton is no stranger to poaching. He and his wife were hele-boarding in Utah a few years ago when they were dropped off at the top of Alta.

"We were screamed at," he said of the ride down.

A few points. One, the restaurant analogy is absurd. A better analogy would be this: You walk into a restaurant with your own food and portable stove and demand a table. The restaurant refuses. Are they being "discriminatory?" Yes, and rightly so.

It's too bad that Mr. Burton and his wife were screamed at. People can be such idiots. But then again, should customers of a business who expect one service be happy when an outsider comes in to disrupt their experience? Say Mr. Burton and his wife are having dinner at a fancy restaurant. Would he be thrilled if a bunch of guys came in, set up a couple of kegs at the next table, and started throwing bones from chicken wings down at the floor?

Such silly thinking may not be unique to Burton, and any company that was the market leader in snowboarding goods would face incentives to spout nonsense about being unjustly discriminated against.

Even so, I try to avoid buying Burton goods whenever I can. Unfortunately, sometimes it's rather hard to find substitutes, especially if you're pressed for time and need to stop in a retail outlet rather than wait for a mail-order product to arrive. So at times I contribute to the fortunes to a company that makes riders look silly and morally confused. But thinking back on this last season has given me more reason to consider planning ahead and finding alternatives.

Are Adult Riders in Denial?

Are adult snowboarders psychologically underdeveloped? That's the suggestion of Geoff Olson, who writes at CommonGround.ca.

Drawing heavily on Neil Postman, Olson laments the conflation of the generations:

The author held that childhood, as it is commonly understood, is disappearing, in large part because parents have lost control of the information environment in which their children are raised. The flip-side is that adults are becoming increasingly juvenilized through mass media.

Adults, in this viewpoint, are in denial about the inevitable decline of their bodies: "older, amateur athletes ... blow their knees" out on sports because they are "playing something not designed for 40-plus bodies."

Writing in the Sacramento Bee (in an article widely distributed through other papers throughout the nation), Cynthia Hubert picks up on the theme of "boomeritis."

Yet read past the cautionary tales in Hubert's piece, and you find some encouragement as well:

"The benefits of fitness in middle age "far outweigh the risks" of suffering an injury, said Bean, who is 35 and enjoys mountain biking, skiing and running. "The good news is that anyone of any age who is planning on participating in athletic activities can do some conditioning to decrease their risks."

(Dr. Meredith Bean is director of sports medicine at Kaiser Permanente Sacramento.)

There are risks, and then there are risks. Driving to the grocery store carries a risk. So does going to the top of a mountain on a snowboard and plunging down a double-diamond run on your first day.

In other words, you can't eliminate risk. Taking it on can be stupid and ill-advised, or it can be commendable and worthwhile.

"Progression" is a word used a lot in snowboarding. It means always improving, always learning. That's a good word to keep in mind. Take it slowly, take it incrementally, and you'll be fine.

One Old Guy Who Won't Be Annoyed, Sorry

Image isn't everything, but it can help sell the goods.

I thought of that as I read through this profile of Danny Kass, a 24-year old snowboarding phenom turned businessman.

Kass started competing in skateboarding and then snowboarding events at a young age. By 17, he had a sponsor to pay some of his bills.

He started his own snowboard-themed company, and being a bother to adults was part of the plan:

Kass turned his love of a sport that annoys the grown-ups into two Olympic silver medals, a bunch of X-Games medals and his own company, Grenade Gloves, whose products, from outerwear to goggles to gloves, are sold in 25 countries, 600 retail outlets in the United States and online at www.grenadegloves.com.

Kass’ elder brother, Matt, is the company’s CEO, and Kass is the vice president. They do their own designs, with the object, he laughed, being to scare the adults.

This year, he said, it’s “loud, vibrant colors all mixed together like a paint spill.”

Actually, I'm not sure whether "annoying the grown-ups" is part of Kass's plan, or if it's simply the words of a reporter going back to a cliche.

To be truthful, I couldn't pick Kass's clothing from out of a pile of stuff at a sports shop if I had to. But if it is designed to annoy or scare the adults, I have this to say: so what?

I respect the enterprise of business, and everyone in business has to find some comparative advantage. If annoying the adults is the advantage that some business owners seek, well, that's the way it is. Just don't expect me to go along. The sport is too great, the mountains are too big, the rides are too sweet, to let anyone else's attitude, or business plan, get in my way of enjoying a ride.

(Source: "Mike Celizic," Danny Kass is living the good life, Straus Newspapers, February 22, 2007)

News: Social Snowboarding Site

Are you ready for yet another social networking site?

One development on the web in recent years has been the proliferation of social networking sites. Some, such as Facebook, are geared for high school students. Others such as MySpace, cast a wider net, and others, such as LinkedIn, are less social and more for professional networking.

In the age of niche marketing comes Go211.com, a new networking site for "action sports athletes and enthusiasts." It has the usual features, allowing users to upload and view each others photos and videos. You'll find the usual hip hop and clipped English that you might expect.

The site, which skews to a younger demographic, claims to be the place where you can "watch rad clips and listen to killer tracks. " Those killer tracks include genres that some grays on trays may not even be aware of, such as crunk, dub, and happy hardcore. Say what?

On the other hand, its portfolio does include some professional riders, including "old" riders Shaun Palmer and Seth Wescott. Whether any of the pros actually write, we can't say.

All in all there seems to be little to attract at least some older riders. But it is a sign that snowboarding continues to be an attractive business, as well as a recreation.