INSIDELine 2010 vol1

INSIDELine Line

supbusiness.com

DANA POINT BATTLE OF THE PADDLE

A BUSINESS Publication

photo: Servais

www.rivierapaddlesurf.com

info@rivierapaddlesurf.com

949 388 6999

TABLE Features FROM THE EDITOR

7 State of the SUP Industry

PERSPECTIVES

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The Battle of the Paddle: A Microcosm of Our Industry Jennifer Holcomb

BATTLE OF THE PADDLE CALIFORNIA October 2-3rd Portrait of the Industry’s 12 AMarquee Event

THE EVOLUTION OF A BRAND Re-establishes its 28 Hobie Watermen Roots

INTERNATIONAL

Quick Look at Standup Paddling 32 AAround the World

BEYOND THE BATTLE BREAKING NEW GROUND

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the Future of the Event 34 Addressing as it Adapts to the Ever-growing Industry Jay Longley, Rainbow Sandals

The Industry’s First Roundtable Discussion Mike Muir

CONTENTS Digital Subscriptions Avaliable at http://www.supbusiness.com/home/subscribe.php

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INSIDELine Line

supbusiness.com

BUSINESS Publisher

John Reardon, johnr@rtcgroup.com

Editorial

DANA POINT BATTLE OF THE PADDLE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jennifer Holcomb, jen@supbusiness.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Mike Muir MANAGING EDITOR Marina Tringali, marinat@rtcgroup.com

A BUSINESS Publication

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here is no race like the Battle. Strength, endurance, strategy and talent are the discriminators. It’s not just about how fast you can go, but how fast you respond to the forces that surround you. The Battle draws the line between athlete and waterman.

COPY EDITOR Rochelle Cohn

Design/Production CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jason Van Dorn, jasonv@rtcgroup.com

Billing

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nside Line is about capturing the moments that tell the story. Our photographers work the industry from the inside out, bringing us the experience framed in a moment.

Cindy Muir, cmuir@rtcgroup.com (949) 226-2021

GREGG HOESTEREY Paddler, freediver, surfer and captain, Hoesterey’s observations above and below the waterline have been featured in Billfishing Bluewater Adventure Magazine, Standup Paddle Magazine, and the Institute for Wildlife Studies’ Bald Eagles of California Calendar; he is also the principal photographer behind Destination 3 . xiphias@aol.com 714.920.2573

CHRIS BISHOW From national campaigns to athlete portraits, Bishow’s attention to detail brings his subjects to life in compelling ways for the likes of Canoe and Kayak, Surfing, and Surfaid. A paddler and racer on the rise, Bishow lives what he shoots. www.photobishow.com

JASON VAN DORN The Creative Director for the RTC Group. Van Dorn brings his award-winning carreer in graphic design, photography and publishing to INSIDELine and SUP Business.

Starting his carreer at SURFER, Bike and Powder magazines, Van Dorn takes his knowledge of the industry, passion of the sport and integrates them into great images. jasonv@rtcgroup.com 949.226.2016

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

To Contact SUP Business: HOME OFFICE The RTC Group, 905 Calle Amanecer, Suite 250, San Clemente, CA 92673 Phone: (949) 226-2000 Fax: (949) 226-2050, www.rtcgroup.com EDITORIAL OFFICE Jennifer Holcomb, Editor-in-Chief 905 Calle Amanecer, Suite 250, San Clemente, CA 92673 Phone: (949) 226-2033 Mobile: (310) 226-0053, www.supbusiness.com SUP Business facebook Published by The RTC Group Copyright 2010, The RTC Group. Printed in the United States.

All rights reserved. All related graphics are trademarks of The RTC Group. All other brand and product names are the property of their holders.

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ainbow Sandals hosted the first Battle of the Paddle in 2008. It was a gathering of the tribe, the few who knew enough not to care about what anyone thought of this new sport they’d found. For them, it was about having fun.

They agreed that paddling—standing up—through the surf and out around a course in blistering winds on boards only a few degrees past “longboard” on the evolutionary scale sounded fun. And it was.

The next year, they came back for more.

They brought friends. They developed new boards, new paddles, and trained for endurance. Companies were established to support the habit. That year the wind died down, but the surf jacked up under their new 12’6 race boards. That was fun too.

Over the next couple years, the Battle developed into a series, and standup into a lifestyle. Now almost inextricable, together they’ve influenced the ethos of the industry rising up in support.

No more surf than it is flatwater, than it is endurance or recreation, than it is fresh water or salt, young or old, male or female, the standup paddle industry is uncharted. But the ethos is strong: standup paddling values adventure, expression, innovation, craftsmanship, and above all else, community.

And so lines were drawn, to chart the course, and protect what’s already been established.

This year’s Battle gave the industry the opportunity to step back and evaluate the progress. We developed INSIDELine to do just that. The first publication of SUP Business, INSIDELine, is a B2B magazine focused on events, and our first edition captures the state of the standup paddle industry by analyzing the major trends through the experiences of the Battle of the Paddle.

At no other point can we see as clearly the influences shaping the industry as we can at this event. We talked to sponsors, vendors, and athletes to understand their motivations and hesitations.

We looked at who is racing, where they come from, and what equipment they choose. We wanted to know who was watching, and where they came from.

We held the industry’s first conference, bringing together key people who recognized the potential of the industry early, but who, more importantly, are bringing original ideas and expertise to standup paddling, helping to develop it from the inside rather than simply profit from it from the outside.

From all of this we drew our conclusions and present them here to you, the retailers and manufacturers. Your ideas and participation are influencing the marketplace, and INSIDELine is meant to be a reflection of the industry at this particular moment in time.

Photo: Morgan Hoesterey

State of the SUP Industry

Jennifer Holcomb Editor-in-Chief

INSIDELine

Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point

7

Perspectives

The Battle of the Paddle: A microcosm of our industry

Tracking the growth of the standup paddle industry has always been an exercise in conjecture. Without solid numbers just yet, we rely on observations and metaphors—it’s like snowboarding to skiing, or surfing, or NASCAR. Even now as we collect the numbers, perhaps our most valuable barometer is the Battle itself.

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

Photo: BryanElkus

Photo: Jason Van Dorn

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or the past three years, the Battle has grown exponentially in size, participation, diversity, equipment design, spectators, and on and on. Battle numbers clearly show strong and steady growth in racers, spectators, and vendors.

In surf, not to belabor the comparison, the very first trade shows displayed virtually no other products besides surfboards; SUP shops today carry boards and paddles, primarily. Over time as the surf market began to grow and people began to look at it as a legitimate business, other products began to emerge. Within a few years, hundreds of products attached themselves to surf, all trying to ride that wave of growth. This is very similar to what we are witnessing today with the rapid growth of the SUP market.

And the Battle has become our industry’s de facto trade show.

Just a few years ago, standup boards were long, thick, and wide, including the race boards, and there was one paddle selection. Now there are SUP surfboards for all levels and surf conditions; custom boards, molded, handmade, hollow and even blowup SUP boards. There are boards for rivers, boards for touring, camping, and fishing. There are even boards with windows. Paddles now come in all different weights, sizes, lengths, colors, and price points to accommodate every paddler.

We are also starting to see the crossover products: waterproof earphones, GPS devices, waterproof bags for cell phones and iPods, hydration systems, compression clothing, rack systems designed to accommodate more and

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SPONSORING A BRAND STRATEGY For Riviera Paddlesurf, being a board sponsor at the Battle wasn’t as much of a decision as an extension of a grassroots marketing campaign and business philosophy.

“Sponsorship of any event, but the Battle in particular, is important to us for two reasons,” says Mike Muir, president of Riviera Paddlesurf. “To lend support, for one, because it’s important to see our community grow; and frankly I think it’s important for the brand as a whole. By being at these events, we have our brand and our people in front of everyone. I look at it like print advertising: paddlers are continuously exposed to our brands.”

“Though the impact to sales will be measured over time, sponsorship did bring immediate results as well. We got tons of publicity from the Webcast,” says Brad Rambo, owner of Riviera. “Our location on the sand was great. Danny did well, Ron House was happy, Gerry Lopez was happy and it’s important to us that all of those guys are on board and excited about everything. It also translated into Helga Goebel coming to work for us, and a lot of video sales because that’s just an easy thing someone can come along and buy quickly. Sponsorship, for us, is definitely working, and we’re very happy.”

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

Photo: Chris Bishow

larger boards, portable weather stations, etc.

The next wave will be specialty clothing for men and women, wetsuits designed especially for the standup paddler, shoes and protective gear for river SUPing. The list goes on and the innovations will keep coming as long as the market continues to expand in fitness, touring, destination vacations, clinics, lessons, certification courses, paddle centers and the other cottage industries springing up through the holes of the current depressed economy.

The outside perspective on standup is just as diverse as the options within. Roxy, Quiksilver’s women’s apparel brand, in their first appearance at a SUP event was drawn to what they see as their “core” market: board sports. Lauren Tanzer, event manager for Roxy, explains, “We encompass all the board sports, and [standup] is pretty much an extension of surfing to us. It’s where our heart is for sure, and standup is taking off and we’d love to be a part of it.”

REI, on the other hand, though not at the Battle but having sponsored the Round the Rock race in Seattle in September, sees standup differently. Nathan Grothe, product manager in charge of water sports for REI explains their approach: “We are approaching it as a flatwater activity. Our water sports customer is a multisport customer who is interested in fitness, and kayaking, and everything else that plays into standup paddling.”

It’s important, then, to use the Battle as an opportunity to look inside the industry, beyond the numbers, perception, and outward trends, to discover what’s driving this economy and the forces at work inside this unique ecosystem of ideas and actions.

On the horizon, decisions about alliances, businesses practices, and associations loom. But on the sand at Doheny, clear themes emerged: manufacturers and paddlers alike are drawn in by the sense of community inherent to the standup movement. They look forward excitedly to what is next and how they will get there.

NAVIGATING NEW TERRAIN Looking out across the village of booths, the question becomes whether the tried and true “show” model will work across all SUP brands. Standup paddlers are connected electronically— Facebook, forums, or blogs—and socially: they travel, they race, and they share. To the casual observer booths, it seems, were social hubs, more than mobile sales offices. Given the communal nature of SUP, perhaps just setting up booths is not necessarily the best way to reach beyond the usual suspects, the educated paddlers. Maybe there are different ways to do it. The challenge becomes being clear on expectations, evaluating your brand’s returns, and ultimately reaching these paddlers in new ways.

Dave Chun, founder of Kialoa Paddles, is asking the questions and reimagining his role as a vendor: “I started to see the same people at all the races. I’ve not seen a lot of sales or traffic in the booths, or people asking questions.

But that may be because we are marketing well in other ways.

Maybe we are doing a good job with our websites, our Facebook pages, our blogs...or the grassroots involvement at the smaller events. [Racers here] have their gear, and they are very savvy about it. And they are probably subscribing to the magazines.

And they are probably searching pretty hard online to find the information they need. Because if you are a guy willing to drive 13 hours to an event, and I’ve talked to these guys, then you are certainly going to enter “standup paddle” on your computer.

And that’s where I started to think that maybe [the booth] isn’t the most effective means to get my message across.”

“One of the things I’ve learned,” Chun continued, “is that the craziest person gets to make the rules. The way through this is to create whatever buzz you want, but to know where you are going to get the most bang. For me, it looks like it’s going to be in providing information, for being the source for people who weren’t there. And that’s why I am shooting a lot of pictures.

I’m really revamping why and how I take these pictures too.

Before I was looking for things to use in catalogs, and that’s not really the true value. We noticed since I posted the Battle photos to Facebook that we’ve seen a huge spike in us being “friended;” it just skyrocketed.

“I really do want to participate in every Battle because it is such a cool event, but I want to recreate how I ‘am’ at these events.”

Photo: Chris Bishow

A RACER’S VIEW In many ways, the typical Battle of the Paddle competitor isn’t necessarily the typical American paddler: they are educated about the different products, and not necessarily in the market for entry-level equipment. In fact, most are sponsored, or supported in some way with boards and paddles.

But not all of them.

Chris Boland, 50, from Dana Point, California, is a lifelong surfer turned paddler whose uncommon commitment to SUP is helping to define this new breed of paddler. His first race was last year at the Battle of the Paddle. He’d ordered a race board, but hadn’t received it in time for the race. He paddled the distance

race—10 miles—as his first.

“I got first in my age group for my first race,” he laughs, “so that kind of gave me the bug. I thought, “Wow, I can do this.”

What he didn’t say was that during that first race, he tore all the cartilage from his ribs on one side.

“I paddled hard,” Boland offers by way of explanation, laughing. “I actually didn’t have a proper paddle technique, so I just went balls out for that first race. And I was on a beater board too, like the board was ready to sink! But I just wanted to do it.

I saw everyone else doing it, so I went out there and blew it up.

I was pretty surprised. I surprised myself.”

Boland was down for four months after that race, but came back more committed than ever. He raced in about 10 events this year, including both the open and distance races at the Battle.

“I was kind of burnt on the surf scene,” Boland says when asked why he paddles. “I’ve been in the surf industry since 1986 and it’s always been my passion to be a surfer. So this was the next transition in my lifestyle. I’m in the age demographic now where there are more people my age paddling, especially racing. A lot of the really good guys are in their 40s, so it was more of a camaraderie thing. I was watching how the sport was growing, but that camaraderie is what pulled me in.”

by Jennifer

Holcomb

Our Community: A global perspective The 2010 Battle of the Paddle was streamed on-line across the world with great success. Here is a glimpse at the world-wide audience and the countries it represents.

UNITED STATES FRANCE AUSTRALIA CANADA UNITED KINGDOM JAPAN PUERTO RICO SPAIN MEXICO BRAZIL NETHERLANDS FRENCH POLYNESIA NEW ZEALAND GERMANY ISRAEL VIRGIN ISLANDS, U.S. TAIWAN SOUTH AFRICA SWITZERLAND INDIA SWEDEN ITALY COLOMBIA SINGAPORE PHILIPPINES THAILAND COSTA RICA KOREA, REPUBLIC OF HONG KONG CHILE ECUADOR

AUSTRIA GUADELOUPE BAHRAIN NEW CALEDONIA NORWAY ARGENTINA FIJI IRELAND PORTUGAL CAMBODIA CYPRUS HONDURAS GREECE SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS MALTA NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TURKEY CZECH REPUBLIC IRAQ RUSSIAN FEDERATION POLAND BAHAMAS HAITI CHINA ALGERIA BELGIUM IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES NIGERIA

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point

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Photo: Gregg Hoesterey

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

Photo: Gregg Hoesterey

Women in SUP:

The women’s market is currently the fastest growing segment in the SUP industry.

Paddlers: Candice Appleby, Jennifer Kalmbach, Andrea Moller

Photo: Gregg Hoesterey

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

Photo: Jason Van Dorn

SUP firmly establishes its place:

Many considered the sport to be a passing fad, but in three short years it has become the largest growth market in the water sports industry.

159 Elite paddlers line up for the start.

Yolo

INSIDELine

Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point

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Photo: Gregg Hoesterey

Photo: Gregg Hoesterey

Photo: Mike Muir

Rounding the mark: Surf, sprint, and agility are mandatory funadmentals for these well-rounded elite paddlers.

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

Photo: Gregg Hoesterey

Battle Elite Race Breakdown—Registered: 159 Paddlers MENS Top 10

BIB#

1 7 2 100 8 128 982 9 10

Competitor Name

Ching, Danny Trout, Slater Grant, Travis Logreco, Andrew Baxter, Connor Cronsteadt, Georges Ginella, Noa Becker, Matthew Napoleon, Sepa

Hometown

Gender

Hometown

Redondo Beach, Ca Lahaina, Hi Palm Beach, Na Honolulu, Ca Makawao, Hi Mataiea, Tahiti Kahuku, Hi Santa Barbara, Ca Kapolei, Hi

Finishers: 123 Men, 28 Women

M M M M M M M M M

Age

27 15 27 26 15 30 16 16 22

Class Rank

Overall Time

1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

00:57:45 01:00:39 01:00:39 01:00:43 01:01:52 01:01:55 01:02:54 01:03:08 01:03:08

Gender

Age

Class Rank

Overall Time

WOMENS Top 10 11 13 44 14 20 31 17 25 23 43

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Competitor Name

Appleby, Candice Baksic, Brandi Bruntsch, Rachel Kalmbach, Jennifer Gibree, Gillian Moller, Andrea Baus, Heather Wrenn, Karen Anderson, Annabel Merrill, Emmy

Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

Honolulu, Hi San Clemente, Ca Honolulu, Hi Kailua Kona, Hi San Diego, Ca Haiku, Hi Mtn. Grove, Mo Portland, Ca Wanaka, Ca San Clemente, Ca

F F F F F F F F F F

24 38 26 27 24 31 38 38 29 16

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

01:10:31 01:11:03 01:12:59 01:13:20 01:14:35 01:15:58 01:16:41 01:17:19 01:18:01 01:18:31

Camera: Pentax Optio W90

Photo: Jennifer Holcomb

BIB#

Open Race -Registered: 341 Paddlers Finishers: 262 Men, 51 Women TOP 10 Men BIB# Competitor Name

TOP 10 Women BIB# Competitor Name

318 De Zwart, Bart 293 Risner, Betsy 319 Pease, Tony 184 Thomas, Kristin 300 York, Spencer 67 Deuter, Dayna 334 Scott Rogers, Brenda 353 Shoemaker, Scott 216 Kaiahua, Dan 317 Takabayashi, Marj 123 Bashor, Chad 52 Freeman, Kym 310 Carter, Rand 339 Gibson, Cindy 78 Boland, Chris 256 Clark, Manya 187 Kaplan, Shana 275 Schweitzer, Zane 282 Cameron, Tara 135 Vitale, James Special: Youngest Finisher-Joshua Brackett, Age 8 @ 1:26:22 Oldest Finisher-Mickey Munoz, Age 73 @ 1:14:04

Distance Race -Registered: 181 Paddlers Finishers: 156 Men, 25 Women TOP 10 Men BIB# Competitor Name

TOP 10 Women BIB# Competitor Name

525 Ching, Danny 518 Baksic, Brandi 687 Rojas, Rob 720 Brunton, Rachel Moller, Andrea 517 Patterson, Charles 607 622 Grant, Travis 531 Appleby, Candice 666 Vargas, Jared 519 Wrenn, Karen 500 Shahinian, Thomas 5005 Wild, Anik 659 Jackson, Angela 569 Bess, Jerry 683 Stockdale, Brian 527 Anderson, Annabel 705 Ndiaye, Daily 612 Baus, Heather 573 Mitchell, Jamie 689 Honscheid, Sonja Special: Oldest Finisher-Frank Perna, Age 72

Youth Short Course TOP 10 Boys BIB# Competitor Name

593 599 580 735 586 736 583 723 592 776

Nelson, Chase Mcphillips, Kai Valois, Cameron Douglas, Tyler Crayton, Garrett Richards, Zachary Vorzimer, Nico Drake, Joshua Springer, Matix Serpa, Noa

TOP 10 Girls BIB# Competitor Name

587 727 577 584 778 772 770 738 737 771

Crayton, Heather Hazelrigg, Riley Clark, Juliette Willis, Tiki Kurt, Bryn Dapena, Abi Bill, Macy Higginson, Alex Higginson, Tori Bill, Mackenzie

of the

Paddle The only place to be: two days of ultimate paddle action on the sand at Doheny draws record crowd of competitors, industry, and spectators.

by Jennifer Holcomb

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acing matters. Ask any of the 863 competitors who took to the water. Nearly 10,000 crowded the sand to watch and the action streamed to homes in 93 countries via a live Web broadcast.

Danny Ching followed up his total annihilation of June’s Battle of the Paddle Hawaii by taking out 159 – men and women – of the world’s best paddlers, putting nearly two minutes between him and second place, Australia’s Jamie Mitchell, nine-time world paddleboard champion.

The notorious five-mile, four-lap course roiled with consistent two-to three-foot surf under relatively calm winds.

In the women’s division, Candice Appleby of Honolulu and San Clemente took the title once again, followed by Brandi Baksic of San Clemente in a field of 29 women. In 2008, six women competed in the Elite division.

The Open Age-Group race showcased SUP’s wide-ranging appeal and the directors catered to racers of all abilities.

Classes ranged from surfboard to unlimited and 340 competitors battled 4.5 miles of neck-and-neck racing, while 181 racers competed in the 10-mile distance race.

Perhaps the biggest testament to the sport’s appeal is the age range: in the Open race, the youngest competitor, Joshua Brackett was 8 and the oldest was the legendary Mickey Munoz, 73 (who beat young Brackett by 12 minutes).

INSIDELine

Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point

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In the mix:

Surf and SUP legend Gerry Lopez proves that he still has what it takes.

Photo: Tosca Sleigh

INTRODUCING THE FIRST RANGE OF SUP SPECIFIC LEASHES 1/4 COIL SUP-PERIOR SURF LEASH • Expanding shock absorbing 1/4 coil section: reduces drag of leash behind board • Will not tangle like a phone cord • Dramatically reduces leash tug force on your leg • Reduces wear and tear on body and leash • Available Available in ankle and calf, regular regular and big wave

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

Above the rest: The ability to break through the madness is a good indication of success.

Danny Ching takes the leap.

Camera: Pentax Optio W90

Photo: Jennifer Holcomb

Photo: Chris Bishow

Photo: Chris Bishow

OUR INTEGRATED COIL SYSTEM OFFERS SUPERIOR RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE FOR WAVE RIDING, OPEN OCEAN & FLAT WATER PADDLING. ADJUSTABLE SUP-PERIOR RACING LEASH • Adjustable rail saver keeps leash on the board deck and eliminates drag while offering freedom of movement • Designed to boards 12’6” to 14’+ • Designed in conjunction with Sam Pae • Available in ankle and calf, regular and Comp.

surffcs.com INSIDELine

Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point

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The top five:

Left to Right: Jared Vargas, Travis Grant, Danny Ching, Chuck Patterson, Rob Rojas

On the road to recovery.

F 22

Tom Gallagher

inishing his longest race since his operation, top contending paddler Tom Gallagher is making steady progress as he continues to recover from a severe complication during neck surgery that nearly left him paralyzed. All of this within the space of seven months.

Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

Photos: Jason Van Dorn

DISTANCE

THE NEXT

GENERATION The growth of standup paddling will be found in the kids.

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Photos: Jason Van Dorn

o far SUP has failed to capture the imaginations of the 20-something crowd, but three manufacturers are building specialized “grom boards” in the 9’6” range. The target age is the pre-teens: the kids who still want to paddle with their parents.

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

Breaking New Ground The first SUP Business industry roundtable dinner was held at Cannon’s restaurant on the eve of the Battle of the Paddle in Dana Point, California.

A

cross-section of the SUP industry gathered to discuss the state of our industry. Participants were invited for their unique perspectives or because of the business challenges they face with the rapid growth of the SUP marketplace.

The intent was to start a spirited dialogue in which everyone could discuss each individual’s unique perspective. We didn’t think we were going to solve any problems at this first meeting, but rather give everyone in the room a chance to learn something from another, and walk away with an insight that might help their business or the SUP community in general.

These meetings are important to continue so that we can grow a coalition of concerned members and build an organization that will help us distance ourselves from the groups that are now trying to claim SUP as their own. SUP is an industry apart from the surf or kayak industries. We need to move quickly and make this dis-

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

tinction clear before it is too late and SUP is absorbed by others with agendas much different from our own.

Present at the meeting were business owners, athletes, sales reps, race directors, designers, presidents, marketing directors, sales managers, and retailers representing companies and interests from across the country. They each shared specific situations they’ve encountered and voiced their concerns and possible solutions to the group.

Tom Losee and Jeff Archer from YOLO shared how they built a marketing strategy around community building through SUP. They pioneered their brand in untapped markets, targeting the “unusual suspects,” and in the process created a new name for SUPing in their region of the country.

Tyler Callaway, director of business development for FCS, advised the group to learn from the mistakes made in surfing: Don’t elevate our athletes to “rock star” status like they did, and continue to do, in the surfing community. Currently our athletes are good, wellbehaved, clean-living individuals that new paddlers can look up to.

Karen and John Wrenn discussed the importance of having clinics to teach technique and basic education. John also brought up the critical need to help educate consumers with board and equipment selection so that they can make informed purchasing decisions, reinforcing their commitment and inclusion in the sport.

Travis Grant, an Australian athlete who placed fourth in the Elite division, shared

with the group how Australia and the rest of the world looks to us (the U.S.) for direction on where the sport is headed in everything from board design and race divisions to fitness options and community efforts. He estimated that they are about one year behind us in terms of the sport’s growth and are only now developing a racing community.

Byron Kurt, WPA, and Dez Blanchfield, Blast Paddlers, touched on the need to start a lobby group to liaise with the various local authorities and governing bodies to educate them on the value of SUP events in their areas.

Mike Roberts and Dave Macbeth of Paddle Surf Warehouse talked about their success with retail, managing multiple stores and expanding into new markets. They also touched on the changing landscape at the retail level. Price is becoming increasingly important for the entry-level consumer.

Board lengths have also become an issue and the trend still seems to be leaning toward longer boards, with boards under 10’ becoming much harder to sell.

These are just a few highlights from the roundtable, and the overall consensus was that every person walked away with new information they could implement immediately.

At the meeting’s close, the question became, “When are we meeting again?”

We’ve chosen Surf Expo in January, and have already begun planning our panel.

Meeting here is both strategic in that companies from across the country will be attending, and symbolic in that SUP needs to gather as an industry distinct but complementary to surf. We do hope that you will be able to attend.

by Mike Muir

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Evolution of a Brand

1954

BEACH CULTURE ICON RE-ESTABLISHES ITS WATERMEN ROOTS

by Jennifer

Holcomb

T

he story of Hobie, as a brand and as an icon, is one of innovation.

It’s the story of how a kid building surfboards changed the way the consumer world approached the water. But more than anything, it’s the story of creating something from nothing and playing with possibility in the open space of new markets. Hobie is a story of doing business in a new industry. And like any good story, it repeats.

In 1950 Hobie Alter built his first balsa wood surfboard. He was 15 and working out of the front yard of his family’s summer home in Laguna Beach. By the following summer, word was out, and Hobie was in business, selling boards to his

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

friends. By ’53, his father had set him up with a small piece of land in Dana Point, and by early ’54 Hobie Surfboards opened its doors. He’d designed and built the structure making Hobie Surfboards the first custom-built surf shop ever. The building has since been restructured to accommodate the Taco Surf there now, but it stands just across the street from Hobie’s new flagship retail store.

The key to Hobie’s early success was his commitment to quality. When you bought a Hobie surfboard, you knew Hobie shaped it and brought his experience as a surfer and paddler to every design. As business grew, Hobie’s process changed, but the commitment did not. In another

first, Hobie hired skilled craftsmen to help produce his boards, creating an assembly line production model that maintained both the volume and the quality Hobie Surfboards demanded, and quickly became an industry standard.

As the industry grew, balsa wood supplies dwindled. Difficult to work with anyway, and adding significant weight just when surfers were starting to see the benefits of lighter boards, balsa wood gave way to foam, with Hobie leading the way.

Shapers came next, and inventory.

Again and again, Alter saw possibilities in nothingness, or maybe just practical solutions. With an inventory of boards, he needed ways to sell them. Traveling

2010

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up and down the East Coast, he set up exclusive dealer networks where the focus was mutual and the successes many.

He teamed up with Bruce Brown and set up showings of the “Endless Summer” at shops across the country, introducing surfing through demos to some, and skateboarding—another new sport he and his friends had discovered—to others. He began licensing his skateboard design in 1962, allowing him to focus on surf, and opening a successful if misunderstood facet of the burgeoning Hobie empire.

Throughout the 60s, Hobie Surfboards pioneered the concept of team riders to help sell the brand, supporting a team of the world’s most talented surfers. The Hobie INSIDELine Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point

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Phil Edwards board was the first signature model and again launched an industry standard. By ’66 he’d added apparel, but the surfing tide had begun to turn.

By the 70s, the shortboard revolution had crushed the longboard industry, but Hobie had already developed the Hobie Cat and had moved on in that direction.

Much has been whispered about Hobie missing that latest surf revolution, but the successes of the Hobie Cat—the 16’ being one of the most popular racing classes in the world—seem to far outweigh the prospect of following the surf industry down.

Switch out surf, or skate, or cat sailing, and the story repeats with SUP. The pitfalls, pratfalls, and successes play out the same.

Call it tradition, grooming, or a winning formula, but under the direction of Alter’s two sons, Hobie stays its course into yet another sport.

Hobie, the brand, is enjoying a unique position once again, poised early and out in front in an industry primed to eclipse surf in trajectory alone. Hobie came to standup paddling early, with their first race boards on the water in 2006, as a natural extension of their brand rooted in the culture of water sports and the athletes who live there.

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

In 2006, just before standup really started to take off, Hobie assembled a team of lifeguard athletes to recapture the company’s classic waterman heritage. In quick succession they met Chuck Patterson and the idea of a standup racing team began to take shape.

“I think it’s less about business,” says Jeff Alter, president of Hobie Designs and who also oversees the company’s licensing agreements. “There are people out there looking at SUP all about business. And that’s fine. But that’s not how we look at it. For us it’s more about the love of the sport. We’ve developed our brand around people more than a specific sport and SUP has brought that full circle.”

Full circle as in a small, committed company making quality products for a core group of enthusiasts. Hobie is not the nautical juggernaut the cat empire might lead one to believe. The family sold Hobie Cat in 1976 to Coleman, and aside from trademark agreements, they operate as completely separate entities.

“We do a few joint things together, like share booth space at Outdoor Retailer, but as far as everything else, they are

run totally separately and managed totally separately,” explains Alter.

“We are still a surfboard company, basically, when it comes to SUP. We do have the other products that certainly help to pay the bills, but they are still licensed and it’s still different. Licenses can be great when sales are huge, but if your sales are not so huge, it’s a very small percentage of the pie and doesn’t necessarily give you significant marketing dollars.”

It’s a dangerous proposition, though, to be a surf company in the standup market. The Hobie team recognized this early as a company and through their team. “We realized that this whole thing could go inland and somewhere else besides the waves,” says Alter. “I grew up sailing and racing all over the world and with a fun group of people, just good people, and that’s what standup has become. It’s a great group of fun people that are traveling the world and have a common interest. The racing part largely mirrors Hobie Cat racing. Even rules and things that make them better races are all things that are good for the sport. We all want to go and play on the same field.”

Lead shaper Mark Johnson concurs: “I think surfing is going to progress, but the market still is going to be the lakes, flatwater, and distance. We first started thinking there would be a touring board and a race board, but really they are the same. We aren’t doing anything different for a guy that just wants to do a long distance paddle in the Great Lakes. More accessorizing is going to happen, but you’ll still be able to race it. Chuck’s new 14fter will be a touring/race/trainer board. It will have hold-down points, you could race it, train on it, fish off of it. As a market, we’re figuring out all these fun things to go do on it.

Racing will be just one of them.”

If history is any indicator, the future of Hobie may well mirror the future of SUP. The challenge becomes how not to let SUP become the surfboard industry. To the average SUP buyer, $1500 is a lot to pay for what in their minds amounts to a surfboard. The temptation seems to be using the dollar as the measure of success. Whether it’s bypassing the retailers and selling direct to market, or bypassing research and development with creative imitations, the bottom of the industry will always be there.

“Anyone in the surfboard industry will understand that it’s a tough road if you fight for the bottom,” says Alter.

PRO·gres·sion

a passing successively from one member of a series to the next Start with an unmatched 60 years of revolutionary board building experience, Add the racing and surfing dna of team riders Chuck Patterson, Colin Mcphillips, Byron Kurt, Tj and Bryce Saeman. The final result is a desire to push development boundaries, and the results are unequaled.

Hobie’s simple goal of making things better has never changed, and remains at the core of our team of professional riders and board designers.

aN INNOVATIVE PROGRESSION OF QUAILTY AND pERFORMANCE

Australia & S. pacific Hobie Cat Australasia sales@hobiesup.com.au www.hobiesup.com.au

USA & global sUP@hobie.com www.hobie.com

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eXPLORER & exp STRETCH - 7.5

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International:

A Quick Look at Standup Paddling Around the World

by Dez Blanchfield

Micro businesses are created daily around the SUP industry, in fitness training squads, paddle clinics, holidays, and racing.

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hen I look at standup paddling as a sport around the world, I see SUP growing rapidly. Consumers and suppliers are constantly finding new and exciting ways to leverage SUP. Traditional surfboard manufacturers are discovering that they can extend their existing markets beyond the short and longboard surfing consumers, into the standup paddling market, by taking up the challenge of adding the SUP market to their product lines.

New lightweight board design, materials such as Kevlar and carbon fiber, ever decreasing “sticker shock” as prices come down, increasingly diverse range of consumers looking for something new, and inventive health and well-being activities such as SUP Yoga and SUP Tai Chi, have all contributed to the growing popularity of SUP. Standup paddling also offers a new outlet for weekend warriors looking to participate in races. These are just some of the many new factors driving SUP market growth.

Social media such as Meetup.com, Facebook, and Twitter have made it easier for suppliers of products and services to connect with their market.

Standup paddling is a great alternative, low-impact sport for those of us who find road running and gym routines causing injuries.

Standup paddling is also attracting female athletes who found outrigger canoeing, kayaking, or surfski paddling too expensive, with craft that were bulky and heavy.

For female athletes, loading a modern, low-cost, lightweight standup paddleboard and paddle onto the roof racks is a breeze in comparison to bulky kayaks and canoes.

Holiday resorts are throwing out their aging fleets of plastic kayaks and those hideous paddleboats, and replacing them with fleets of standup paddleboards.

SUP holidays and tours are popping up all over the world. Micro businesses are created daily around the SUP industry, in fitness training squads, paddle clinics, holidays, and racing. Standup paddling has even left its original domain of the ocean— we now have lakes and rivers being paddled on standup boards.

There are also many exciting new developments worldwide outside of the traditional SUP sport consumer space, with the likes of traditional surf life rescue boards being replaced with SUP boards; flood rescue and emergency response groups adding SUP boards to their kit; and I’m sure we will see many more inventive uses for SUP boards in the future.

As manufacturers come to grips with so many exciting avenues for new business, and as consumers continue to push the boundaries with new and inventive uses for SUP, the future looks bright for the sport and industry as a whole.

Dez Blanchfield lives and paddles in Sydney, Australia. In 2008 he launched Blast Paddlers, a repeatable, scalable event model for clubs and event operators, offering paddlers of all varieties and from all levels access to consistent, safe fun events, and a community to be part of.

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

GOT PADDLEBOARDS? (877) SUPS 4 YOU

www.standupconnection.com

Beyond the Battle In just three years, the Battle has gone from a backyard race to being streamed into households around the world.

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e’ve just finished our fourth Battle of the Paddle, our third in Dana Point, and I couldn’t be more proud. We—Gerry, Barrett, Pat, and my team at Rainbow Sandals—started this as a way to have fun out there on the ocean. We were having so much fun with standup, we wanted to get our families and the rest of our friends out there too, and the Battle let us do that.

All of us, all paddlers, had something of our own.

Rainbow Sandals was the sole sponsor for our first two Battles. When we started, we didn’t have any idea of what the growth or the costs would be. The Battle is growing like the industry itself, and I think we all see that. Every year we’ve wanted to push to keep this event first class and offer something for everyone, so we added kids races, expanded the Expo, and added the Webcast. In three years, the Battle has gone from a handful of racers to being broadcast around the world—93 countries and all across the U.S. Now that’s incredible!

This year we offered sponsorship positions; the event has grown so much that we realized we needed help from the industry to keep going. Companies from across the SUP spectrum stepped up—

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Battle of the Paddle: Dana Point INSIDELine

we’ve got people from all over. I couldn’t do this without them, and to keep up with all this growth, we’re going to need your help too.

The Battle of the Paddle is everybody’s event now, and it’s a success because of everyone involved. The competitors are riding your boards, using your paddles, shopping your stores, and wearing your clothing, so it makes sense that other companies would want to be a part of it all too.

It started out as our event, but now it’s yours too. Rainbow Sandals has not opened any new doors with this; in fact, if we had a business plan for the series, it would say that we shouldn’t be doing this! But I do it because it is just good for the community, your community.

It’s very important to have everybody involved and I’m the guy that does try to get everybody involved. I’m asking you, now, the industry, to get involved and support races, be a sponsor.

Racing brings in new paddlers and keeps the community alive for the rest of us, and we can’t do it without you. It’s good for the guys, the girls, the kids, the wives, husbands, the girlfriends, boyfriends, whoever; and because we can do it all together, a that’s the most important thing.

Photos: Jason Van Dorn

by Jay “Sparky” Longley

I designed and tested this paddle myself. The dihedral shape, based on my 2010 Outrigger World Championship paddle, adds stability throughout the entire stroke, from entry to exit. We use either carbon fiber or fiberglass to make it lightweight and durable, and the slightly smaller blade (8 7/8” across) allows for greater paddle speed...

The Proof is in the Paddle…

www.rivierapaddlesurf.com

info@rivierapaddlesurf.com

949 388 6999