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TheItalianJobber
Joined: 09 Sep 2003 Posts: 121
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:24 am Post subject: Thought I'd bring this to your attention... |
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It may be a conversation for less windy days, but why don't we discuss it briefly when we feel strongest about it?
From another thread (but the same tune heard on any beach):
Quote: | Okay I know our sport is greatly diminishing in numbers (okay, dying)... |
Personally, I think we are at the top of a trend, or even slightly passed it, which will probably slow down, and eventually maybe even reverse.
I remember very clearly when , in the late 80s early 90s, skiing first and roadbiking second were supposed to be doomed by the explosive growth of snowboarding and MBKing. I don't know if you guys have seen the latest trends on those disciplines... (and I'm both a snow and dirt rider).
I came across this magazine ad (below). I would have to think back 15 years to remember a commercial that was (indirectly) displaying a sailboard to get a cool/positive/ trendy subliminal association with the product advertised (and unrelated to the quite catchy punch-line).
Is it maybe -just maybe- that while Kiteboarding is definitely easier to learn, and even train on ground, its limitations (lack of flotation, etc... you name it), are offsetting its clear advantages? Maybe being at the Olympics is not that cool after all (didn't do much for WSing, IMHO).
Wasn't the old paradigm difficult->radical conditions->limited access->greater "cool" and "wanna do it" factor? What I think WS lacks is a greater commitment to get "kids" (up to 25) on a sailboard; to hitting the water together, racing with each other (for fun!), try tricks together (the ones that do it, mainly couples, seem to have great fun at it), be and stay in the pack (on the beach also, but mainly on the water!). Kiters do that -maybe because of a higher safety concern- and they seem to enjoy the community feeling, we do it less (some folks will barely say hi, even if they've seen you parking in the same spot for the last 10 years)... but that's maybe for another thread.
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windward1
Joined: 18 Jun 2000 Posts: 1400
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tomg
Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 294
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry but i think what's going on is that the Mini's ad-folk wanted to project a certain vibe - clean, adrenline, action, outdoor, etc, and a kite board, with the exception of a few race boards, look like a wake board, or a snow board, which doesn't like much sitting on top of a car and doesn't have the mass nor the pointy nose, and color.
The VW ad was very cool because it tapped into the rivalry between these two sports that most of the public don't even know how they differ. VW ads are the only ads I stop the TiVo to watch.
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spanker_jeep
Joined: 15 Mar 2002 Posts: 404 Location: Outer Richmond District.
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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Very informative post. Provocative and enlightening.
Unlike my other pastime surfing; I live in Pacifica. Windsurfing means no crowds, high speed thrills and wide open spaces and endless reaches Coyote, Embassy etc...... Thanks for a great and unique perspective.
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TheItalianJobber
Joined: 09 Sep 2003 Posts: 121
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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windward1 wrote: | Check out some of the Philip Koster advertisements |
Awesome and fun!
But that's a German ad... WS is (was?) second only to soccer there! In the Summer months maybe even first.
"Robby" in the 80's/early 90's had Messiah-status there! For mainstream USA he was just another dude...
tomg wrote: | VW ads are the only ads I stop the TiVo to watch. |
...ok, ok, my bad: I don't watch TiVo or TV, hence I have to rely on magazines (for work) and the Internet (mainly YouTube) for my exposure to mainstream commercial promotion.
I get it that you could play the rivalry angle between the two disciplines, which do differ, even if both need (in relation to what I was saying above) the correspondent of wheels and snow: no board, wind and water and nothing goes.
Anyway, we agree that a board and a sail is ("still"?) synonym of clean, adrenaline fueled, outdoor action.
But, aside of the ad, which was mainly meant to be thought provoking, what would you say about the concept that fewer practitioners doesn't necessarily mean a discipline is dying? A discipline dies, IMHO, when the core practitioners, both amateurs and professionals, stop exuding a level of stoke strong enough to entice new practitioners.
This does not seem to be the case ("yet" or "at all") with WS; neither at regional (http://vimeo.com/68027574) nor at global (http://vimeo.com/45361052#) level.
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beallmd
Joined: 10 May 1998 Posts: 1154
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 10:43 pm Post subject: |
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I hope. See my post re; Sherman Sunday-a truly Epic day. But if I buy a Mini where do I put my 3 boards and 8 sails?
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MalibuGuru
Joined: 11 Nov 1993 Posts: 9300
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Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 12:38 am Post subject: Re: Windsurfing Cool in other advertisements |
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That used to happen to me in the 80's too....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf9ZEnTMnAg This kind of wave riding should inspire the youth. Notice the kiter.
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nw30
Joined: 21 Dec 2008 Posts: 6485 Location: The eye of the universe, Cen. Cal. coast
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Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:03 am Post subject: Re: Windsurfing Cool in other advertisements |
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Wow, great clip, thanks for sharing, Jason always inspires, my brother was his room mate back in the early 90's on Maui, super nice guy.
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TheItalianJobber
Joined: 09 Sep 2003 Posts: 121
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carl
Joined: 25 Feb 1997 Posts: 2674 Location: SF bay area
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Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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There's a guy in the bay area that puts everything INSIDE his Mini :
1 board and 2 sails, plus mast and boom.
and it's a standard Mini, not the big one pictured above.
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