Make me a famous soap salesman WTF!! T-WALL!!

shragler

shragler

Member
So as some of you may be aware tom wallisch was graciously dubbed "famous" by Coast Body Wash.

there are several problems i see with this.

Now i know there is a lot of wallisch groupies on this site, and i dont wanna hate on the guy but there is overall a bigger problem facing skiing!

here are my arguments:

1. Tom Wallisch is ALREADY FAMOUS!!!!!

2. Selling out to a corporate product that has no involvement of our sport of freeskiing, will not bring more coverage, better public opinion or progression in any way. It will not bring the MTV watching youth of today to be actively involved in or support our industry. Nor should we want it to!

3. Is every skier now supposed to go buy this shit because one of our beloved pros won (ie. was paid as a marketing scheme) to endorse this product.

4. We face a horrible future if we market or endorse products that do not directly support, have a stake or believe in the vision of what we do and only see it as a money making oppurtunity. This will only lead to the destruction of what has thus been built.

5. Now some may argue that any money brought forward to support our sport should be welcomed. But it is ridiculous to think that this is relevant to our needs. "Target" is another example of outsiders infiltrating to make a buck! Do any of you actually shop there for your on mountain needs? Or is it just to plant a seed so when you need to buy some product of modern living you will see them favourably over the local mom and pop store coz one of your idols rocks their logo?

6.Quote:- It’s sort of ironic that Tom skis away as the grand prize winner, because he was already a pretty famous athlete,” says Danny Spyra, BNQT Marketing / Project Manager. It is more sort of moronic that you would use a competition of this nature and not award the young aspiring athlete looking to make a name for themselves rather than line the pockets of an existing pro with $20,000. Also BNQT purely exists as a middleman for the corporations to sell us shit! They are only involved with action sports that are currently "cool" or mainstream.

7. T_WALL hates central american kids!! Lastly if you think I am over reacting there is an article you can find about Henkel corporation. Manufacturer of Coast body wash and partner of H.B Fuller co. that shows they resist tighter controls or changes to their adhesives as street children in Guatemala city sniff there glue for the hallucinogenic properties. It is psycollogically addictive and causes great harm amongst their communities.

Now if you have read thus far you will notice that I am extremely critical on this issue. I only feel so strongly because I forsee our own downfall if this continues. As soon as the hype dies down in a year or two as we are on the end of this CYCLE of attention, we will be left to fend for ourselves. So I am a purist and see the need to create our own Empire of legit and Skier owned companies. This will ensure the longevity and growth of what we all love to do which is ski. Which as far as im concerned can and will NOT be bought.

begin comments.
 
i didn't read most of your post, but i think i agree with you about wallisch. however, if tom didn't win, a snowboarder probably would have, although i didn't look at the rankings at the end if they had any. i would rather a skier have won it, but i agree it would have been a lot sweeter if a skier had actually been made famous out of the "Make Me Famous" competition
 
Tell me this,

do you think more people outside the skiing world know simon dumont, or tom wallisch

do you think more people outside the skiing world know Jon Olsson or Tom wallisch

do you think more people outside the skiing world know Sammy Carson, or Tom Wallisch

my point being Tom might be famous to us but he is still unknown to most of the world, i think most if not all of you would agree Tom is much better than the 3 names that were mentioned.

Tv makes people famous those 3 names were all at the xgames what event has been publicly televised besides the dew tour that wallisch was in?

 
Who gives a fuck son dumont got hooked up with target and them gloves are dirty son, tom just be stackin that paper up shit
 
yeah, my bad, i didn't mean to say famous really. what i was trying to say was a skier who needs the money; someone who kills it, isn't too well known, and could use the money and recognition to travel, compete, etc.
 
Let me rebutt by saying this: although I agree with you to a certain point that a sport such as this has nothing to gain by being flooded to the saturation point with mainstream corporations and sellouts- but there are still very few opportunities like this one to make $20,000 simply by submitting a video showcasing your talent. The peak of skiing prime and marketability is a relatively small window, and you've gotta get it when you can get it.
 
"T_WALL hates central american kids!! Lastly if you think I am over reacting there is an article you can find about Henkel corporation. Manufacturer of Coast body wash and partner of H.B Fuller co. that shows they resist tighter controls or changes to their adhesives as street children in Guatemala city sniff there glue for the hallucinogenic properties. It is psycollogically addictive and causes great harm amongst their communities."

If you even BUY a product, you are voting YES for every step of the process that resulted in it being concieved. Unless we know all the facts about the products we use, let alone take a 20,000 check from, we should not be buying or endorsing them. Simple as that. It's up to people like TWALL to do this kind of homework and be educated enough as an influence to the people who look up to him within the ski industry first and the people who are fucking weekend warrior domesticated animal people with no good sense in there heads but to swim with the current can go watch fucking TIDE nascars zoom around in circles. seems so much more fitting for an audience of hamsters all stir crazy in their cages. skiers are educated in the ways of the world, lets act like it!

b
 
I can't argue that, but my point is: Would YOU turn down a check for $20,000 just because of some questionable production ethics by a company?? I mean is it really any worse than the ethics and poisonous dyeing procedures that go into making skis and ski clothing in China, or the energy waste that goes into making snow and running lifts at a resort? Personally I would have a hard time turning that down...
 
you think most if not all would agree that tom is much better then the 3 names mentioned?
I would have to say that Jon Olsson is more talented. No he does not have the rail skills of tom, but that is not all there is to skiing. A better all around skier would have to be Jon.
 
fail. id have to say best all around skier out of those 3 is sammy or simon. jon does 1 thing and that is jumps. sammy slays jumps, bc, rails, pipe ect. simon kills it in the pipe great jump skier and got alot better this year at rails plus he goes to the bc where i havent seen jon in well forever
 
jon's just been around longer wait till jon's washed up and retired and tom's still going he will surpass jon and keep progressing the game
 
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Alright here we go, even though I smell troll:1. Tom Wallisch is ALREADY FAMOUS!!!!! Not really, he is treated as a demigod on this website, and only really by the main set of users. While there may be 100,000+ accounts, I would estimate the actual number of members to be in the 20,000-40,000 range, maybe less. Even in the skiing world that is relatively unknown. Outside of this population he remains relatively unknown. 2. Selling out to a corporate product that has no involvement of our sport of freeskiing, will not bring more coverage, better public opinion or progression in any way. It will not bring the MTV watching youth of today to be actively involved in or support our industry. Nor should we want it to! If the company choses to spend money promoting their product with skiers on MTV, it will help bring the 'MTV watching youth of today' into skiing. This is also a good thing that we should indorse and encourage. The market you speak of is quite large and also tends to have very poor financial sense, resulting in them spending a lot of money. If skiing can get some of this money that is great. The ski industry is in a pretty tough situation right now and could use all the money it can get. With out an influx of money into the Industry you will start to see brands disappear faster. Sales overall were down a ton this last year. 3. Is every skier now supposed to go buy this shit because one of our beloved pros won (ie. was paid as a marketing scheme) to endorse this product. Yes, I am sure that is what the company is hoping will happen, you can chose to if you want to, or don't if you don't want to. You nor anyone else is supposed to do anything other then pay your taxes, reproduce, and die. Those are the only things people are 'supposed' to do, everything else is optional. 4. We face a horrible future if we market or endorse products that do not directly support, have a stake or believe in the vision of what we do and only see it as a money making oppurtunity. This will only lead to the destruction of what has thus been built. First off, nice use of the word thus, really makes it sounds like the future distraction has built it. Oh wait. Anyway, I am not sure how money flowing from other industries into the ski industry will lead to its distraction. They also decidedly do have a stake in the ski industry, each penny they spend on a skier, or sponsoring an event is a stake they have in the ski industry. For the most part the only future that endorsing products leads to is one involving a fatter wallet. The reason I say most part is that there is a Saudi man who may be facing the death penalty for endorsing sex toys. And while we are on the subject of companies who see skiing as a money making opportunity, I hope you are aware that that is exactly what every company involved in skiing sees it as. Everyone from the small guys like PMgear, bluehouse and ON3P to the big guys like Salomon, K2, and Rossignol. They support skiing because in turn the ski industry then supports them, hopefully with an over all cash flow in their favor. 5. Now some may argue that any money brought forward to support our sport should be welcomed. But it is ridiculous to think that this is relevant to our needs. "Target" is another example of outsiders infiltrating to make a buck! Do any of you actually shop there for your on mountain needs? Or is it just to plant a seed so when you need to buy some product of modern living you will see them favourably over the local mom and pop store coz one of your idols rocks their logo? What the fuck are we gonna do without money? Were you listening to Mr. Lennon's music when you wrote this you hippie communist? What exactly are 'our needs?' Mine include a roof, food and clothing. All of which cost me money. If you want to define 'our needs' to be what is necessary to keep skiing, I will then argue again that all of it, other then snow, costs money, and an argument can be made that snow does indeed cost money. No, I don't shop at Target for my 'on mountain needs' because they don't sell much involving my 'on mountain needs.' I do however, shop there for clothing, electronics, and food. I do it because it is inexpensive and I don't give a rats ass about the living conditions of kids in South East Asia. And again, yes, I think it is safe to assume that Target is 'infiltrating' the ski industry (by putting money into it?) with the goal that skiers will chose target over other options like Fred Meyer, Walmart, or Costco. Its not just big bad corporations against mom an' pop, its big bad corporation against other big bad corporation too, if not more so. Generally the crowd that shops @ mom an' pop's is unlikely to be persuaded to shop at one of the above mentioned stores. 6.Quote:- It’s sort of ironic that Tom skis away as the grand prize winner, because he was already a pretty famous athlete,” says Danny Spyra, BNQT Marketing / Project Manager. It is more sort of moronic that you would use a competition of this nature and not award the young aspiring athlete looking to make a name for themselves rather than line the pockets of an existing pro with $20,000. Also BNQT purely exists as a middleman for the corporations to sell us shit! They are only involved with action sports that are currently "cool" or mainstream.Not sure what you point with this is. But I will bite anyway. It makes a ton of sense for them to chose someone who already has a supportive audience. In the world outside of your fantasy land the point of sponsorships is not so much to support the sponsored as the sponsor. The goal is that the sponsorship will result in more money going to the sponsor then the sponsor spends on the sponsored. The whole point of this competition was to help sell product, even if they said it was to "promote an unknown athlete."There are plenty of companies that are 'middle men' and while they do exist to make money, (just like every other for-profit company) they also serve a purpose that is helpful for society. That purpose is actually to make small business profitable. The middle man, by supplying a set of smaller stores is able to buy in bulk quantities from the manufacture, that the stores on their own would not, and secure a lower price, which then works out saving the 'mom an' pop' stores money in the long run, even after the middle man takes a cut. 7. T_WALL hates central american kids!! Lastly if you think I am over reacting there is an article you can find about Henkel corporation. Manufacturer of Coast body wash and partner of H.B Fuller co. that shows they resist tighter controls or changes to their adhesives as street children in Guatemala city sniff there glue for the hallucinogenic properties. It is psycollogically addictive and causes great harm amongst their communities. Aside from the fact that Mr. Wallisch's personal beliefs have little to do with skiing as a whole, I would say it is unfair to make that assumption. Also when you say there is an article about something it is best to post a link to said article. And I am sure that the company Henkel resists controls and regulation on their product because it keeps costs down, not so that it can be stolen and then sniffed. If they were forced to change their ingredients chances are the product would drop in quality, and they would have to spend more on R&D as well as changing the manufacturing set up. I also fail to see the connection between body wash and glue, but that may just be my lack of knowledge of body wash. The idea of rubbing glue over my body does not appeal to me personally.
Now if you have read thus far you will notice that I am extremely critical on this issue. I only feel so strongly because I forsee our own downfall if this continues. As soon as the hype dies down in a year or two as we are on the end of this CYCLE of attention, we will be left to fend for ourselves. So I am a purist and see the need to create our own Empire of legit and Skier owned companies. This will ensure the longevity and growth of what we all love to do which is ski. Which as far as im concerned can and will NOT be bought.begin comments. Why yes, I did happen to notice that you are extremely critical on this issue, I also noticed that you are extremely dimwitted and ignorant on this issue. If the hype dies down in a year or two we should try and get all we can out of that year or two shouldn't we? Its not like skiing loses anything when Target or Coast sponsors a skier or event, other then black instead of red ink. Yes you do appear to be a purist, other purists that come to mind are members of the Taliban. But I don't look to them for my moral guidance either. So after all this bitching about corporations and all their evil you want to go and create an empire?Also neither Target nor Coast are competing with any skier owned companies I can think of, they are in different industries. The longevity and growth of skiing can and is being bought. It always has been bought. Every time you buy a pair of skis or a season pass you are buying it. The more money that is placed into the ski industry the longer it will exist and the more it will grow. It will stop growing when money stops flowing into it, and will no longer exist when it runs out of money. By nature skiing is very dependent on the ski industry. all of the things that make skiing safe and fun are dependent on the ski industry (other then hw avalanche control, and transportation to the snow, although the ski industry affects them too).
 
The question is not who is the better skier, but rather who is more well know. I would say all three are more well known then Mr. Wallisch.
 
You mean aside from the ambition to make the olympic race team in GS / Super G? Being at a competitive level in both freestyle and race skiing? At the same time..
 
And also, you gotta realize, although you may not agree with who won, 2 things are kinda important:People should be stoked that a company is actually giving skiers/boarders a chance to win 20kThey clearly thought about the choice, hell they mentioned they were gonna have him endorsing the product and what not (or riding with stickers at the very least). Tom Wallish gets some incredible exposure throughout the skiing industry and has alot of potential to be a mega-star, and why wouldnt they want him on podium at say an X-Games with their sticker on his helmet?
 
Aside from calling the OP a dimwitted ignoramus, Cobra_Commander's reply was very close to my own opinions and nicely written.

As for the OP, being critical is one thing, but look at any sport out there getting recognition, or up-and-coming young athletes looking for sponsors that help them manage over the winter and ski as much as possible: there aren't that many takers. It takes a while for some big guns to grasp the marketable aspects (or guys and gals) in sports. You can be overly selective of your sponsors if you really are a big name or want to "support the core" if you wish, but first soap, then shampoo, then Pantene Pro Big Air to help our sport gain recognition. In the end, we could see shops that start out small, like D-Structure, host international big airs and slopestyles Ticket To Ride -style. If it's REALLY about ethical and ecological issues, think about your carbon foorprint for using all aspects of our very richy sport etc.

Finally, you ended the post with "let us build an Empire of blah blah.." I don't know, I automatically thought this was a quasi-secret diss from Dumont to Wallisch so he could look better for trotting the big market way before many others. Just a joke, though.
 
You make a good point except for the part that tom is much better than Jon,Sammy and Simon. Well he's better at rails than them for the most part.
 
I don't think you can say he's "better". All 3 names listed are incredible athletes. Get off Tom's nuts. Why pick one skier to be the "best"

 
i do shop at target for skiing related stuff, ie i go there to buy snacks i eat on the hill like swedish fish. its cheaper than dishing out $8 for a hamburger, and i dont have to stop skiing to eat them, just reach into my pocket on the lift.
 
i think people are making way too big of a fuss just because it was called "Make Me Famous". The goal of this whole ordeal is not to just give some jibber kid 20 K's, but for Coast to actually make some money off it too, and that is the whole purpose they did it in the first place. Now who do you think is gonna make Coast more money: Tom or some other up-and-comer? The reason he won is because of his visibililty and ability to make Coast some dolla bills as well
 
Here's a little story about a sponsor we recently picked up at Meatheads.
They're called Madhouse Munchies. They produce damn fine potato chips. They are "corporate" and the last time I checked, potato chips are not an essential part of skiing. However, when we first met with Madhouse, they said very clearly, "We like what you do and we see value you in it." This statement is the foundation of every employer-employee relationship in a capitalistic society. It's also very rewarding to know that your hard work is appreciated and valued because as far as I know, no one likes to work for free (I do not consider charity work as "work") and things cost money. Madhouse and Meatheads signed a deal and they're one of the sponsors of Wild Stallions.
What does this do for skiing? I'm not sure but I do know that money goes towards paying for cinematographers, DVD replication, and putting food in our bellies so we can continue to make films for years to come. Who knows what Tom will do with the money? I say, "Who cares!" He's a hard working individual and if the $20,000 helps him live the life he wants to live, that's a great thing. The words "sell out" are stupid words used by idealistic morons and people with clearly no ambition in life.
In closing, Thanks Madhouse. You're awesome. I'm about to make a sandwich and eat your chips.
And congrats Tom. You deserve it.
 
ummm. fail.
He can do jumps quite well. Could do rails if he felt like it, he has had a couple sick rail shots.
Jon won a freeride comp or twoand can race.

Whatever doesn't really matter. I love them all, probably prefer twall over jon anyway.
but yeah they are probably all more famous then twall.
 
oh shut the fuck up already, hes a kid who just made 20,000 i dunno about you, but just because a company isnt 100% ethical wouldnt make me turn down that kind of money, of course you probably dont know the value of a dollar because mommy and daddy pay for all your shit. everything in this world is unethical, once you get into business you'll understand that. stop acting all ethically sound when the clothes you wear are probably made in a sweatshop.
 
Thankyou for your well thought out rebuttal cobra.

QUOTE

The longevity and growth of skiing can and is being bought. It always has been bought. Every time you buy a pair of skis or a season pass you are buying it. The more money that is placed into the ski industry the longer it will exist and the more it will grow. It will stop growing when money stops flowing into it, and will no longer exist when it runs out of money. By nature skiing is very dependent on the ski industry. all of the things that make skiing safe and fun are dependent on the ski industry (other then hw avalanche control, and transportation to the snow, although the ski industry affects them too)

You argued against my points the whole time then reiterated exactly what my point is. Which is supporting our industry not outsiders.

You seem to be arguing that any and all money coming into the sport is a good thing and we should have a grab all you can get attitude.This is a very temporary mindset. Sure it willl be of benefit for a while but it is not sustainable.

I like to think of skiers as free thinkers. Thankyou to libertybdub for backing me up on this. This is the reason we want to take on issues as a whole such as combatting global warming etc. We should look to make a positive influence. The real question is how far are you willing to go to get your external sponsorships? Would you promote oil or pharmaceutical companies if they simply offer you cash? Do you think its ok to sport a EXXON MOBIL sticker on your helmet whilst your chairlift is being offset by windpower? Would you like to see hannah montana plastered all over your local park? Where do you draw the line?

Also it is the overall image that can influence opinion and shape the direction this sport will take. If you flood our sport with advertising of products that do not relate to us it distorts the image of what we want to present as a whole. Do you want kids to participate because they find skiing fun and respect the athletic ability or like other sports simply because they see it as cool at the time. You argue that we should promote to the MTV crowd as they are stupid sheep with lots of extra money to spend in our industry. This would result in a temporary surge in sales whilst we have their attention, then a big drop.

QUOTE

What the fuck are we gonna do without money? Were you listening to Mr. Lennon's music when you wrote this you hippie communist?

WTF is this comment? Are you somehow implying that i think we should all be volunteers and have no money involved. This is a hugely ignorant statement.

I am not a commy,nor hippie and i support capitalism. Thanks Rogge for your comment. I do see potential for a two way street type deal with outsiders that do see value, but it must be understood that is simply not the motivation for the majority trying to market to us.

We should view ourselves as a community. Not a demographic. If we choose to endorse companies that are owned by skiers that will continue the financial prosperity and support/ sponsorships for our athletes.

Also i need to ask. You seem to be very passionate about following corporate agendas and fuck everyone else. Do you really think their massive profits will filter down to you in some way? Do you not see the problems with the plundering of resources and wanton pollution simply for profit? Are you a fan of the Federal Reserve? There is solutions within a capitalism to not let these attrocities continue and that comes from small business and corporations WITH ethics. Not massive takeovers and monopolies.
 
tom entered a contest, won, congrats! glad he got some bank out of it, he deserves it. hope theres more contests like this so we can get some more money flwoing into the hands of skiers
 
dangit, the closest place that sells madhouse munchies is a local airport 30 miles away, odd. I want me some madhouse munchies now
 
mo' money mo' problems

the further the sport progresses the more corporate it becomes. I wish there was still the grassroots feel to freestyle skiing from 2001to about 2005 combined with the tricks of today.
 
Am I the only one that thinks this thread creator is retarded? Seriously, WHO GIVES A SHIT!?!? Tom Wallisch got 20G's to go travel the world. Worry about your own income and shut up.

As for the glue sniffing comments; no one is putting a gun to those

kids' heads to make them become addicted to that shit. THATS WHAT FREE

WILL IS FOR. Its their fault for sniffing glue. Maybe you should blame the real responsible party, the parents. God Damnit!!!! You're fucking stupid too!!!!!

 
You are obviously too moronic to understand that this thread is not entirely about T.W.! The statement you refer to is a demonstration on how Henkells corporate responsibility is not being carried out. It is not a personal attack, but highlights that maybe people should research what they want to represent. As for the "STREET" children if you cant understand that they do not have a family structure like yours, there is no parents to be blamed!

Go travel yourself dude you might discover that not everywhere is like america! Dont start throwing insults because you are too uneducated to bring a solid argument to the table!
 
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