Bit lame to quote my own comment but I just had another thought - Revive are successful because they’ve used YouTube to their advantage and gone after that audience, they’re playing the algorithm game, they’re getting the clicks, they’re making it work for them. And it’s where the money is at.
So why has no ‘legit’ skate company done the same? Thrasher have monopolised online footage streaming, maybe Berrics in second place on insta. Where Revive actually ahead of the curve for YouTube?
The closest legit comparison is probably nine club, but they’re not a skateboard company. Other companies could do the same, but they don’t. Why? Tory Pudwill (who’s companies are ideally kids focused) said he tried to do 1 unboxing video and it was a load of work and ended up being rubbish. Revive have put in the work and they’ve stolen an audience away from other brands
The level of skating is so gnarly now I feel people are watching people that are relatable more and more.
Personally when I was a kid I didnt care too much about UK skate vids because I could watch an American vid where the skill level was far higher.
But i can see how a kid would be more stoked on someone who is at a skill level that is probably attainable
Being stoked on that level is not the point, I’m stoked on those dad edits, and that edit that Spanky put out a while ago, one of the best things out there, but i’m not watching it thinking, oooh, I could be in that video, I can do those tricks. The content isn’t the problem, they can happily do their crazy board tests, show Arron Kyro do simple manual tricks, maybe learning a simple trick that’s out of his comfort zone, Show that Carlos guy get emotional about being part of the team, show their struggles, play games of skate where they show their real skill level, etc etc. That’s fine, but the people in the vids should not be regarded as professional level, they are content producers, they are pawns in an online pyramid scheme. Of course, this wasn’t the plan initially but they saw the opportunity and went for the money.
In essence then, and granted you have more or less said this yourself, it has nothing to do with skateboarding per se and everything to do with the changing landscape of mass media/social media that has occurred over the last 15 years. The structure of the rungs on the ladder you refer to, I would say they have changed as a result of YT and other platforms. Maybe it’s more helpful to think of it as a greasy pole now. The centre stage to which you prefer - which is essentially Thrasher and crucially online as well - has heft but as people have said the younger generations and Revive are building their own model of recognition/success. That’s what skateboarding has always done isn’t it? from the Z-Boys subverting freestyle comps to the birth of Bitch/Girl Skateboards through to now, it’s always been people rejecting the ideas of legitimacy that stood before and not necessarily consciously. It’s fine not to like it. I don’t either. But I think we all (on here) need to recognise that our ideas of legitimacy are rooted in the times we grew up in - bedroom companies, uk comp scene, print media, first lights - and those times are gone. I don’t think Revive and their ilk are beyond criticism or that it is futile to make judgements on them as a result of this. It’s interesting to me to think about how things have changed for maybe the worse, maybe the better, maybe both and maybe just different. But I think we all need to bear this in mind when discussing it.
To be fair, John Hill was on Birdhouse and Lakai, Jason Park has been on Thrasher/is part of the Happy Medium series of videos and their new kid Sam Vestal(?) is legit good.
Of course ability is subject to opinion but I think you’re confusing some guys that hang around Aaron Kyro’s warehouse with the Revive team.
No, I agree with that, change is good, breaking conventions in industries is healthy, stops stagnation. Revive is part of that, they are using social platforms to carve into an industry whether they are wanted or not. That’s fine, that does not bother me. There are many cunts in the industry as it is, it always needs a shake up.
Again, you are missing my point.
Forget skateboarding for a second, i’m talking levels of skill, progression, having that something that people aspire to. These are things that universally should be held up and maintained regardless of the state of the industries involved. the truest part of any activity is not necessarily the best but it’s the most aspired to, the pinnacle of whatever facet, style progression, being the first. Music, sport, art, whatever, The level should be high and a dream, not something easily obtainable.
Edit: sorry, this was answering Mr Magpie, I assumed it was Wally who replied.
Haha, sadly no, I was a THPS kid. I was already skating by the time that song came out. My point was that it was just everywhere in pop culture at that time.
Would have made for a funnier origin story though…
Average Joe starts youtube account filming his mates. Gets popular and so starts a small run of tees/boards (summat hundreds of kids have done).
As it grows he uses the opportunities afforded to him to hook up friends and skaters he likes.
Now obviously the content is cringe (even their “full lengths” have been naff) but he’s fallen on a model that kids love. I’m not gonna buy it but not am I gonna decide it isn’t legitimate just because it doesn’t subscribe to the “best of the best” like OG Plan B or push the supposedly core “skate and destroy” ethos.
At the point of making money and sorting out your mates, you are left with a decision. Do you try and make it proper and enter the industry and hook up people worthy of the sponsorship accolade, or do you carry on hooking up your mates and see how it goes?
They decided to carry on and do their own thing and undermine the industry. That’s fine, I have no problem with any of that, even if I still think their thing is shite.
The point where they decided to make friends pro’s and handing out sponsorship in the traditional meaning to people who do not deserve it is where they overstep the mark.
It’s a simple semantic I know, does it really matter or is there a difference between giving your mate free boards and giving them a pro board with their name on? Yes, a big difference and that’s my sole argument! There is a discrepancy in the quality of what these accolades mean on this big centre stage.
Who is anyone to decide who is “worthy” of sponsorship? The market decides. If kids wanna buy a Craig Questions board then Craig Questions is worthy of sponsorship.
Dan Cates went pro as a joke, he must have sold thousands upon thousands of decks for Death. Should Zorlac have pulled his board because we, the arbiters of skill sat behind a keyboard, deemed him not skillful enough?
The size of stage is important here. Death was niche, UK wide, they gained outside recognition and upped their game by hooking up higher level skaters from further afield. They are still unknown to many, they are at the level they should be, Nick seems very on it, modest, real, knows exactly what Death is.
Revive is on the centre stage in the fact that they are seen by everyone in the world, and granted, that’s not their fault, it’s just how it happened and how YT works. It’s shrunken the world. But it still does not change the fact that quality is quality and people deserve the right things for the special gifts they have. revive do not need to change their model, what they do, stop hooking up their people, they just need to respect quality and rightful prize. Know what they are, and use it to be the best they can in their field.
In other words, not sponsor your mate, employ him for what he will be doing which is providing content for the brand and working hard at promotion. Sponsorship within skateboarding is a traditional idea and should be maintained.
But that’s what they have done. Their team isn’t local Cincinnati lads, its quirky guys from around the world; Jason Park (Hawaii), John Hill (NYC?), Jonny Giger (Switzerland).
He’s sponsored skaters he likes and thinks are good. It’s his brand so his prerogative.
I’m fine with him hooking up who he is stoked on but like skate brand owners in the industry, he does not understand this concept of sponsorship quality and the levels needed to maintain that je ne sais quoi.
His skaters are good, they have their thing, and yes they deserve to be seen, nothing needs to change for them apart form a slight pegging down in their company status. Their title is reserved for more qualified people. That’s not to take anything away from their skating or personality, it’s just an unwritten rule that sets people apart from the norm to the exceptional.
In honesty, I think it’s a point that’s nigh on impossible to put across and I assume people think i’m being a dick about this.
I just care about the watering down of what is special about people and their gifts. The bar is constantly being lowered in every art because people need to feel good and have validation. People are getting rewarded for too little nowadays. I mean this on the whole, not with these skaters abilities in mind.
I’m just giving you example after example after example of other brands who haven’t followed your arbitrary interpretation of what it means to be worthy of sponsorship.
They’re kooky, they’re the oddballs, they’re the kids who got into freestyle tricks and didn’t have somebody older around to tell them “no.”
They’re also the ones riding for perhaps the biggest brand in the industry. Maybe kids today are more savvy than we give the credit for; seems to me there’s an argument to suggest group of friends hooking up like minded individuals is a tad more “legit” than using your legacy to poach a “super team” like the current incarnation of Plan B…
