So put one more under the belt for trade show tours. After completing a brutal 10 days of shaka’s, high fives and brohugs…one thing is certain….NOW is the time of opportunity. Walking around ASR was inspiring as I saw young Brands going for it while older Dinosaurs tuck their tails and ran into obscurity scrambling to reorganize efforts. I have done 100′s of Action Sport tradeshows during my tenure, but this ASR was probably the best one ever for Skateboards.com and Surfboards.com . ASR has notably been the backbone of west coast shows in Action Sports, and when an entity “owns” the environment they write the rules. But much like the existing economic situation, rules get re-written, such is the case of San Diego ASR 2009. As we went from booth to booth doing business, the resounding response was a willingness to do business and the reception of new ideas. There we equal amounts of despair and optimism regarding the current economic situation enveloping our industry, however one one method of thought resonated throughout the show which was “WHEN IS IT GOING TO TURN AROUND?” Well, the answer to this is how we make it turn around. By getting back to the roots of our industry, taking care of the smaller more core store while still massaging the bigger buyers…the funny part is the bigger buyers are on their heels from the last two quarters and the brands that abandoned the smaller shops are no longer in demand…WHAT HAPPENED? People chased the almighty buck instead of staying true to the cause. ASR…you better figure it out or AGENDA and BLACKBOX are going to give you a run for your show. Overall San Diego and ASR was a huge success for us and we are stoked to have been there and get some business done.

SIA/Las Vegas…ahhhh Vegas. I love Las Vegas and let me tell you why. Everyone is there for one reason and that is to enjoy themselves. If you have a missing hand towel you can ring concierge and they whisk one right up….remote control for TV not working…BAM. Walk through the casino’s and eateries and everyone is doing a song and dance. Lets not forget the all hours buffet’s, oxygen induced atmosphere and a 24 hour schedule and you have all the makings of great debauchery. Onto the show, SIA was KICKING! and Snowboards.com was there to make it happen. You wouldn’t know there was a recession going on with the amount of people and brands at the Mandalay Bay convention center. Artec Snowboards, Capita, Oakley and more where there with their bells on and buyers were on point daily with their pens ready to write paper. No overbearing security guards, no random people trying to get free swag, just plain old fashion business going down. After 5 days of Vegas we wrapped it up and headed home only after contracting a combination of SARS/Bird Flu and some variation of the Oklahoma Hack. The highlight of the trip was The Expendables performance at the Rum Jungle with Slightly Stoopid where we were all VIP’d out and had the run of the place.  I played some craps with my boy Shylo from SPY and Zak Bagans from Ghost Adventures on The Travel Channel and made some mad loot.  Pics from SIA below…Video of Snoop Dogg at SIA and Slightly Stoopid singer getting roughed up and The Expendables doing their thing…