Another contest another riot

I didn't go down to the circus this year.

(I wasn't planning on doing a post about it either)

I did watch a bit of the live footage

The usual mid summer surf in HB.

I have watched considerably more of the youtube footage of the "riot" afterwards.

A couple of thoughts...

Before the Action Sports Retailers and general surf media come out and condemn the crowd,

take a good look at the kids in the videos.

This is your prime audience.

Young, board shorts wearing, sporting sic 40 dollar t-shirts, this week's trendy 150 dollar sun glasses, bitchin tats, 50 dollar flip flops, with a Red Bull action drink (it gives you wings) in one hand and a smart phone in the other to catch all the action.

This is the image you sell and what today's youths buy.

So as you surf executives sit around and discuss yesterdays events, probably about what the increase in next years insurance premiums and the sky rocketing fees the City of Huntington Beach will change is going to do to the third quarter profits next year.

Remember these are your customers.

They don't live here, they certainly don't surf here but you create this honey pot of what you think is youth culture (it's not) so you can sell them your products.

They aren't the most discerning group are they?

Remember the hullabaloo over the softcore porn video last week?

I know it was last week, but try to remember, you know the video (and some very funny parodies) got thousands of hits, you remember it was very good for business.

Well it seems that the image you sell, the SoCal surfer brand (no matter that few of your customers actually surf) is still really stuck on the surfer dude spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High



Well dudes that was the 80's and while it does serve to sell TShirts and board shorts every summer it has become a parody of itself.

You could take some of the profits from the 40 dollar tshirts and 50 dollar board shorts and  reinvest it in a reshaping of the image.

A little more substance a little less flash.

More Duke and less dude if you will.

There have been numerous water men and water women who would make outstanding role models.

I know this has a snowballs chance in hell of coming about but I have to say it.