Glen Plake Photo: Julbo
Skiing is a multi-generational pastime. There’s a wide variety of segments that participants can identify themselves with that have remained relevant and marketable to skiers of all ages and abilities today. However, a developing concern in freeskiing specifically (which is my background), is watching how snowboarding’s professional ranks are aging, and if today’s park skiers will fall victim to the same devaluation of heroes that snowboarding has seen?
The heroes of winter action sports—specifically snowboarding—are struggling to earn what’s theirs. The sport is dealing with its first cycle of legends—or over-the-hill participants—and the industry is struggling to find a channel to market their influence.
From my point of view as a skier, skiing’s legends are quite possibly the most valued asset we have. Icons like Tanner, Candide, Pep and Hoji are still riding, stacking clips and logging parts with some of the best production companies in the industry and that’s not all: They’re guiding the future, discovering new talents for their respective brands and developing new products that are making the ride more fun. They’re laying down a sick example of what being “A Pro,” is all about. And we’re celebrating them, but what will we do when they turn 40?
It seems to me, on the snowboarding side, the athletes who sculpted snowboarding’s iconic foundation have become complacent in the eyes of their very own industry – once a place to honor the progressive, has now become known for fashion and “who did it better.” I’m not here to bag on the trajectory of snowboarding, its awesome, I’m just saying where are all the homies that got it here? Where did they go and do their once perceived beneficiaries (sponsors) give a damn?
Think about Mr. Late Thirty’s Rad Dad for a sec. Back when he cut loose from school and got a job at the hill, who’d he look up to? The guy oozing with style, the shredder bleeding out in the backcountry? Those are the snowboarders that influenced his riding. The countless replays of his favorite segment that became his life’s soundtrack.
But he’s got a job now, started a family and some of that snow industry gold is starting to roll in, AKA “Disposable Income.”
He’s got a bit more freedom now and shares his time shredding with the Ms.’s and the kids. Just like that, he’s back being himself, at least every weekend.
But here’s the difference between skiing and snowboarding and an opportunity snowboarding is missing: those new dads that are now able to buy product at full price have a whole new appreciation for those who designed the products they chose to buy when they were young. They discover the same shredders in the game when they were bumming at their local hill in their early 20’s are still in the industry. Whatever they saw in them then, they appreciate more today. And not least because they’re the same age. They still choose to ride what they ride but now the purchasing is even more directly correlated because old man ripper has cash. The miss in snowboarding is the brands that raised those icons have lost sight of their legends. Instead of marketing them as a seasoned professional who can talk and walk the line, potential snowboard buyers are marketed a team of young gun “anti-pros”. But maybe that’s how it has always been?
Mark Carter
This isn’t some skier vs snowboarder thing. We’re all in this together. But I truly admire the way skiing media and marketing outlets from brands to magazines, reference icons like Wayne Wong and his Hot Dog-era style with respect. The fact Glen Plake and Scot Schmidt still hold down the badge of “Extreme” and how our Olympians are honored as lifetime team riders for the companies they were sponsored by when they brought home the gold.
It’s funny, but some of these heroes of winter action sports are likely the oldest dudes still killing it on local mountains, because it’s more than progression or even style now, it’s the influence and understanding of a pastime we all hold dear. While there will always be a home for that fresh young gun, the undeniable truth is that our legends are the ones most capable in motivating spending and cementing participation.
So snowboarders, especially those engaged in a career and raising a family, the next time you see a post on social media from someone that inspired you in your youth, give them a like, comment on their feed and tell them what they meant to you and while you’re at it, tell whatever remaining sponsors they have what that athlete means to you. Because without your encouragement and influence, I’m not really convinced these “witty marketing managers” actually have a clue who’s selling their product.
