With everything that’s going on in the snowboard retail world involving Sierra Snowboards it was going to be only a matter of time before someone got all the facts and put it together. While having people float me bits and pieces of information Esq a member of Easy Loungin who isn’t ready to out himself totally did an amazing write up for them over there and it summarizes everything as plain as day. Here it is in JPG form and water marked to give credit where credit is due. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 2% [?]

The weathers changing, leaves are falling off the trees, and it’s become movie premier season. Yep that means shred season is right around the corner, what that also means is that the buyers/gear guides have hit the news stands and probably your mail box as well. In years past these might have had some relevance in snowboarding but after the crap that landed in front of myself this past week I can’t help but believe that they don’t understand what a gear guide should do. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 4% [?]

Snowboarding is a commodity and that’s the gods honest truth. It can be bought and sold more times than you’ll get powder days with friends. Gone are the days of old when specialty shops ruled the scene and everyone was a friend because we shared that one common interest that is snowboarding. We didn’t sell out, we just let companies with money buy in and that’s where we sit right now with the current generation of retail. Any mall across the urban sprawl that is suburbia has some wanna be “core” shop. The biggest of these is Zumiez with its “organized chaos” theme and mass appeal to youth culture.

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Popularity: 6% [?]

Burton is one of those brands that causes a huge emotional response from both young and old. It doesn’t matter what generation of rider you’re from because at some point something from Burton has influenced you whether it was gear, a rider, or a shop. Over the last ten years what Burton has been doing has been highly questionable. Established pro riders getting the boot, direct sales replacing the core shops, higher minimum buys, and the list goes on and on. Now the original captain of their mighty vessel has reclaimed the wheel and is trying to set things right. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 7% [?]

Working in a shop for years you start to hear some of the funniest claims from customers. Stuff that is so next level you can’t help but laugh at their expense after they’ve left the building, or sometimes to their face. The biggest claim though that has always stood out for myself is the one where they believe that buying the newest gear or the best will make them the best rider in the world. Which poses the question of does the gear make the rider or does the rider make the gear? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 5% [?]

A few months ago I read an interview on Yobeat with the new CEO of Grenade Gloves Joseph Condorelli. Now the way I interpreted that interview was he’s just a really good salesmen who’s polished his turd so it’s super shiny, only problem is when you polish a turd it’s still a pile of shit at the end of the day. So what exactly is Grenade as a company right now? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 8% [?]

The snowboarding media has ultimately changed and no one can deny that. Web 2.0 or whatever version we’re in now has made publishing and web site building easier than ever, there’s a new crop of self proclaimed “journalists” (I use that term loosely). All one has to do is look at any of the big three here in the United States (snowboarder, snowboard, or transworld) they’ve all gotten thinner with their print form and most of their web content is crap or identical. But the real question is where does it go from here? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 5% [?]

The rumors have been confirmed that it is indeed true that Sierra Snowboards has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the city of San Jose. Someone who went to serious lengths to remain anonymous to me sent over a series of emails documenting a decent amount of information on their legal proceedings. Here’s what’s been presented to myself and should be part of the public records for all to see with this situation. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 16% [?]

On June fifth a question was posed to the Sierra Snowboard forum about why the Sacramento location was moving. On June ninth I had received a rumor from numerous sources that they had declared bankruptcy and promptly made a post about it. In that time people from Sierra Snowboard to Easy Loungin had been talking about this rumor. Some tried to discredit the rumors I heard and make personal attacks on me or say that Sierra was fine, others embraced the thought of the “Ski Patio” store going under. Now some new information has presented itself courtesy of another source. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 8% [?]

It’s so funny with all the advances we’ve had with alternate camber in the last 4 seasons that there’s still this contingent of people that are so Neolithic in their thinking that they believe it’s cheating. Looking at snowboarding and how far our gear has come in the last thirty years one has to ask how the hell could anything be cheating? After all aren’t we part of the counter culture revolution that tried to say we wouldn’t be limited by what was expected of us or constrained by what was given to us? For those that deem us as cheaters here is an open letter to you and your kind. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 8% [?]