Why I've become a Hater
- Thread starter loganimlach
- Start date
Rogge
Active member
Hey Logan. You get paid more than I do on the Arcade Team. What the fuck, man?
Great read. Glad to see another person putting out an opinion WITH THEIR REAL NAME ON IT. It's so easy to talk shit on the Internet when your username is LilBadAssskierDude13 or whatever. Good job, Logan.
Great read. Glad to see another person putting out an opinion WITH THEIR REAL NAME ON IT. It's so easy to talk shit on the Internet when your username is LilBadAssskierDude13 or whatever. Good job, Logan.
Huck_Norris
Active member
The answer is to get everyone you will ever meet to ski. There used to be community ski areas everywhere but the big guys, legality and commerce have pretty much closed them all and now skiing is super expensive to even try so it's making itself into a niche market more and more. We're also getting increasingly sedentary as a society and there's more to do inside.
Skiing used to be a way of life and a community mortar. Now it's a business in most cases and it shows.
Skiing used to be a way of life and a community mortar. Now it's a business in most cases and it shows.
Turns out Logan is good for more then engineering, ski building, and creeper slides. He can write too!
Logan, have you considered that its not just the Olympics that is killing ski filmmaking. But it could be the shrinking gap between AM s and Pros, and the ability to distribute awesome content for free on the internet. The brad bulzan superunknown edit had some heavy urban ass tricks in it, but didnt even make finals, let alone get him paid. The market is now over-saturated with A+ ski film content on iTunes, vimeo and youtube. Every year the amount of amazing free content on the web gets more and more ridiculous (especially in snowboarding).
When Warren Miller was making smash hits, he was pretty much the only one doing it, now there are 10+ legit companies, as well as hundreds of more small independent producers. I think if Level 1 was the only one making freeski movies, I think they could sell 20k seats no problem.
Logan, have you considered that its not just the Olympics that is killing ski filmmaking. But it could be the shrinking gap between AM s and Pros, and the ability to distribute awesome content for free on the internet. The brad bulzan superunknown edit had some heavy urban ass tricks in it, but didnt even make finals, let alone get him paid. The market is now over-saturated with A+ ski film content on iTunes, vimeo and youtube. Every year the amount of amazing free content on the web gets more and more ridiculous (especially in snowboarding).
When Warren Miller was making smash hits, he was pretty much the only one doing it, now there are 10+ legit companies, as well as hundreds of more small independent producers. I think if Level 1 was the only one making freeski movies, I think they could sell 20k seats no problem.
bakedpow
Active member
this.
when warren miller was doing his thing freeskiing was new and crazy for just about everyone out there. everyone was so set on ski racing and that being normal. so when some hooligans with mohawks and brightly colored ski gear started throwing daffys off cliffs into powder it opened the eyes of a LOT of people and it became the hip cool thing to do. that massive influx is what brought so much money.
it has continued to grow and grow over the past 20-30 years and like stated previously the amount of pros out there that can throw down is enourmous. i honestly dont see a way to switch the way things are now. it has become the way the industry works and i hate it. i am afraid it will turn many aspiring pros/ams away from the sport after a few years working their ass of all summer to ski all winter out of their car. seeing people burnt out on skiing is one of the worst things ever. i see them and fear that one day that could happen to me.
i completely agree the olympics are not where the sport should focus its attention but every country especially the US puts so much emphasis on being an olympic athelete that the industry may have a hard time reversing it self. there are already so many things wrong with the olympics in general that i dont understand how money will ever make it back to people like cam.
when warren miller was doing his thing freeskiing was new and crazy for just about everyone out there. everyone was so set on ski racing and that being normal. so when some hooligans with mohawks and brightly colored ski gear started throwing daffys off cliffs into powder it opened the eyes of a LOT of people and it became the hip cool thing to do. that massive influx is what brought so much money.
it has continued to grow and grow over the past 20-30 years and like stated previously the amount of pros out there that can throw down is enourmous. i honestly dont see a way to switch the way things are now. it has become the way the industry works and i hate it. i am afraid it will turn many aspiring pros/ams away from the sport after a few years working their ass of all summer to ski all winter out of their car. seeing people burnt out on skiing is one of the worst things ever. i see them and fear that one day that could happen to me.
i completely agree the olympics are not where the sport should focus its attention but every country especially the US puts so much emphasis on being an olympic athelete that the industry may have a hard time reversing it self. there are already so many things wrong with the olympics in general that i dont understand how money will ever make it back to people like cam.
TheHuggyBear
Active member
What was your point in posting this and not thinking it in your head.
Furthermore excellent points by atl skier and a couple people on the top of this page.
Furthermore excellent points by atl skier and a couple people on the top of this page.
t_rob
Active member
For the most part, the Olympics bring in companies to sponsor athletes which is very different from sponsoring in which they compete. I'm not a fan skier only, no added value to the industry sponsorships. Especially the new ones that I'm seeing in all of this pre-olympic buzz. Even with all of this, who cares, if a couple people want to have skiing in the olympics, they can do there own thing. That's fine. I don't tell people how to ski. I do my thing. I'm stoked to watch skiing in the olympics.
The money has always been there from sponsors if you want to play the game. You don't want to play but you still want to get paid. Think about that. Getting projects funded fucking sucks. I've been there plenty of times. I've been lied to, put on the back burner, ignored, and all of that shit. However, I keep striving on because that is what I want to do.
The money has always been there from sponsors if you want to play the game. You don't want to play but you still want to get paid. Think about that. Getting projects funded fucking sucks. I've been there plenty of times. I've been lied to, put on the back burner, ignored, and all of that shit. However, I keep striving on because that is what I want to do.
theblackrod
Active member
.
Tonetti.
Member
Reallocate where the money goes in the industry. I can pretty much guarantee you that Kieran McVeigh sells more skis than someone like Xavier Bertoni, even though Xavier gets more "exposure" in the X-Games and shit. Therefore, why wouldn't Kieran get paid more? Sponsorships are all about what you can do for the company. If Stept sells more product, because kids want to emulate what they do, then some competition jock then why wouldn't they get a larger budget?
pikupfulofsnow
Active member
I don't think anyone outside of Glen Plake and Scott Schmidt were making Bobby Brown, Simon Dumont, Tom Wallisch, Torin, Sammy Carlson, Jon Olson, and T-Hall type money back in the 70s, 80s.
Skiing dollars are shrinking in different avenues, but they are growing tremendously in others.
All the aforementioned current skiers make well over 6 figures, some close a to a million a year. I know one person named here that was making $900,000 a year. I'd like to see Wallisch's numbers to date.
Let's talk about Lindsey Vonn for a minute. There.
After the Olympics, skiing halfpipe and slopestyle will be more marketable and profitable.
The Olympics is deuche for many reasons, but its also the biggest platform Freestyle skiing will ever have. Double edge sword for sure, but those who don't get "cut" are going to be doing better with the Olympics then without. FACT!
Skiing dollars are shrinking in different avenues, but they are growing tremendously in others.
All the aforementioned current skiers make well over 6 figures, some close a to a million a year. I know one person named here that was making $900,000 a year. I'd like to see Wallisch's numbers to date.
Let's talk about Lindsey Vonn for a minute. There.
After the Olympics, skiing halfpipe and slopestyle will be more marketable and profitable.
The Olympics is deuche for many reasons, but its also the biggest platform Freestyle skiing will ever have. Double edge sword for sure, but those who don't get "cut" are going to be doing better with the Olympics then without. FACT!
ho_chi_minh
Member
The Problem is what the olympics do at a grass roots level. No one is talking about this and i dont know why. The USSA has already taken over nearly every event. From your local big air to the Dew tour. Freeskiing at the grass roots level is and will turn into what mogul skis is. A bunch of kids enrolled in a program skiing around two days a week with their coach. this is freeskiing and not FEEskiing. FUCK THE OLYMPICS.
Mr.Huck
Active member
Love your Original post and it's going to take me awhile to wrap my head around this.
I'm guessing that ski films were more successful in the 80's because there were fewer ski manufacturers, outerwear producers, Eye wear, etc. The biggest companies had less competition and had more to spend to have their name splashed on the big screen. There weren't any major comps that showcased freeskiing, and could give them the kind of exposure that a ski flick could so it made sense.
I'm wondering if sponsors have run the numbers and have determined that they get more bang for the buck with comps. It certainly seems like that's the case. Just going over the big name sponsors that were all over comps. Mountain Dew, all the armed forces, Paul Mitchell before that.
It seems like it's not the product that is the problem, but the delivery. I'm thinking that it may have more to do with the decline in the movie industry. People will watch stuff on TV that they probably won't head to a movie theater to see. I'm not sure what the solution is.
There is no question that it is way more visually spectacular to see ski film footage than it is to watch most comps. Again, the product is amazing, the trick is to find a better, cheaper way to get it to a wider audience, that will attract sponsors.
I don't know, maybe I am talking out of my ass, but this is something I have been considering for awhile for my own exploits.
I'm guessing that ski films were more successful in the 80's because there were fewer ski manufacturers, outerwear producers, Eye wear, etc. The biggest companies had less competition and had more to spend to have their name splashed on the big screen. There weren't any major comps that showcased freeskiing, and could give them the kind of exposure that a ski flick could so it made sense.
I'm wondering if sponsors have run the numbers and have determined that they get more bang for the buck with comps. It certainly seems like that's the case. Just going over the big name sponsors that were all over comps. Mountain Dew, all the armed forces, Paul Mitchell before that.
It seems like it's not the product that is the problem, but the delivery. I'm thinking that it may have more to do with the decline in the movie industry. People will watch stuff on TV that they probably won't head to a movie theater to see. I'm not sure what the solution is.
There is no question that it is way more visually spectacular to see ski film footage than it is to watch most comps. Again, the product is amazing, the trick is to find a better, cheaper way to get it to a wider audience, that will attract sponsors.
I don't know, maybe I am talking out of my ass, but this is something I have been considering for awhile for my own exploits.
I'm going to go ahead and say it. Using urban as an example is an issue. Urban is a sub-genre, within a sub-genre of a sub-genre of skiing. Not saying dudes killing urban aren't great. I like to watch an urban segment as much as anyone. Even though I would never do it myself.
But you have to wonder how much stock a company like K2 puts in the advertising value of urban. The vast majority of people who ski either have no exposure to it, or don't even consider it skiing. Much of the market it does have would rather spend hundreds of dollars on fucking Jiberish hoodies than buy a quality pair of ski's.
So what is the impetus to funnel that money to a guy like Cam Riley who will be in a small urban film when they have guys like Sean Pettit, and legends like Seth Morrison who will be everywhere?
That's just me thinking like "the man". But there is reality in advertising. Money makes the world go round, and the sponsored athlete is there to make the sponsors money.
But you have to wonder how much stock a company like K2 puts in the advertising value of urban. The vast majority of people who ski either have no exposure to it, or don't even consider it skiing. Much of the market it does have would rather spend hundreds of dollars on fucking Jiberish hoodies than buy a quality pair of ski's.
So what is the impetus to funnel that money to a guy like Cam Riley who will be in a small urban film when they have guys like Sean Pettit, and legends like Seth Morrison who will be everywhere?
That's just me thinking like "the man". But there is reality in advertising. Money makes the world go round, and the sponsored athlete is there to make the sponsors money.
Pmoore
Active member
Logan coming through with another great post. (I am biased because I share the same opinions)
My favorite part of that post was mentioning how movies used to get shown to huge audiences. I think we are the closest we have ever been to being able to do that again. Valhalla is the most marketable movie to a nonskiing/ casual skiing audience I have seen since the OG warren Miller movies. It would be incredible if Sweetgrass could keep making movies like this because in the next couple of years they would most likely be able to start marketing to a broader audience with a little marketing help from a major sponsor. I feel like Into the mind is in the same position.
To me the reason skiing is so frustrating right now is because we do have the most money we have ever had and there is the most talent there has ever been, but sponsors/the community have not figured out how to best support the industry with that money. As a glass half full guy I am stoked that soon it will become more fair to the skiers that are not in major comps. The biggest thing that leads me to believe this will happen is the recent team move from Nordica as well as ON3P's teams. They are making team moves that not only sell skis but support some smaller up and coming skiers.
My favorite part of that post was mentioning how movies used to get shown to huge audiences. I think we are the closest we have ever been to being able to do that again. Valhalla is the most marketable movie to a nonskiing/ casual skiing audience I have seen since the OG warren Miller movies. It would be incredible if Sweetgrass could keep making movies like this because in the next couple of years they would most likely be able to start marketing to a broader audience with a little marketing help from a major sponsor. I feel like Into the mind is in the same position.
To me the reason skiing is so frustrating right now is because we do have the most money we have ever had and there is the most talent there has ever been, but sponsors/the community have not figured out how to best support the industry with that money. As a glass half full guy I am stoked that soon it will become more fair to the skiers that are not in major comps. The biggest thing that leads me to believe this will happen is the recent team move from Nordica as well as ON3P's teams. They are making team moves that not only sell skis but support some smaller up and coming skiers.
thedawg
Member
wahhhhhh there is no money in film skiing lets all bitch about it...seriously? dale won 100k this year through a film part NOT doing slopestyle comps. you ask where the money in the sport is for film skiers?..its right fucking there!!! noone should be bitching when everyone had the opportunity to take home a 6 figure check by putting out a video part.
Oxburger
Member
Anyone thinking that the freestyle skiing in the Olympics is going to fill ski resort hotels and sell more gear has something wrong in their head. I've never really 'liked' the Olympics, Van 2010 had some good vibes just because it was in Canada and the home team was killing it but anyway... Let's take skeleton for example. It's pretty rad and I find it insane to watch. Does that mean I'm going to shell out a bunch of cash to go race skeleton? Hell no. To all the people in the world who don't ski, and those who do but not park or pipe it's not any different. Maybe the odd few will have their eyes opened and might want to get into it, but just like NASCAR and ever other sport in the world it will be watched and enjoyed from the comfort of people's couches with cold beer and pizza. Have the other skiing events in the Olympics caused an influx of skiers on the mountain? Nope. Everyone knows skiing exists, lots of people ski 2-3 times a year and they're cool with that. So there you have it, you've got people watching the sport, they think it's cool, then they watch it the next time its free on TV. Now bring back the warren miller model from back in the day and I genuinely think things could change. Prime example of this is my dad. His dad, his buddies, and himself all went to the warren miller films year after year to see what's new with top level skiing. They hardly skied at all but what were they doing? Paying 20 bucks (or whatever the equivalent was back in the day) to watch some extreme skiing. If our ski movies were marketed to the general public in the same way that the EXTREME Everest climbing movies and shit are I'm almost positive random non-skiers would pay to see the pinnacle of human athleticism and adventure if they new it existed to watch on the big screen.
And from personal buying experience I'd feel much more inclined to purchase gear that I see has to last for at least a week in these high consequence ski mountaineering scenarios of the ski movies rather than gear that can be thrown out after one pipe run. Average Joes care about durability, not seconds.
Long story short: Olympics > Exposure for sport > People more inclined to watch sport > People watch sport > 99% of the general skiing population continues to ski the odd weekend on rental skis > Big non-skiing companies pay the 'top' athletes decent cash for non-skiing related commercials > No money trickles down > skiing stays the same > The die hard skiers remain poor bums, some get free gear from sponsors, some don't > Life goes on...
Rant thing over.
And from personal buying experience I'd feel much more inclined to purchase gear that I see has to last for at least a week in these high consequence ski mountaineering scenarios of the ski movies rather than gear that can be thrown out after one pipe run. Average Joes care about durability, not seconds.
Long story short: Olympics > Exposure for sport > People more inclined to watch sport > People watch sport > 99% of the general skiing population continues to ski the odd weekend on rental skis > Big non-skiing companies pay the 'top' athletes decent cash for non-skiing related commercials > No money trickles down > skiing stays the same > The die hard skiers remain poor bums, some get free gear from sponsors, some don't > Life goes on...
Rant thing over.
gingersteeze270
Member
I enjoyed that and very much agree
Read:
First, great read, totally agree. I definitely miss Rage, Pretty Good is one of my favorite ski movies of all time.
Warren Miller was able to showcase his movies to an audience larger than our sport because of the stories his movies told alongside the skiing. They told stories of the season and adventures of the athletes to all of these cool places all over the world. That appealed to people even if they knew nothing about skiing, they could appreciate the story and the adventures of the people involved in the making of the film.
That being said, I think that the reason the ski film industry has lost some of its allure is because films shifted away from the story format. Films basically became big highlight reels of the athletes with no logical progression from segment to segment or place to place. With this new format, the only people who will really appreciate it are skiers.
It hasn't been until recently that there has been a shift back to the story format, stept especially. When they are running around Detroit in super sketchy areas filming urban, there is a story of survival there with the skiing. People that don't ski would be able to appreciate something like this much more than just a bunch of dudes hitting rails and walls. These types of movies can bring people that don't ski into watch them and can get guys like Martini the recognition, and funding (in due time), that they very much deserve.
First, great read, totally agree. I definitely miss Rage, Pretty Good is one of my favorite ski movies of all time.
Warren Miller was able to showcase his movies to an audience larger than our sport because of the stories his movies told alongside the skiing. They told stories of the season and adventures of the athletes to all of these cool places all over the world. That appealed to people even if they knew nothing about skiing, they could appreciate the story and the adventures of the people involved in the making of the film.
That being said, I think that the reason the ski film industry has lost some of its allure is because films shifted away from the story format. Films basically became big highlight reels of the athletes with no logical progression from segment to segment or place to place. With this new format, the only people who will really appreciate it are skiers.
It hasn't been until recently that there has been a shift back to the story format, stept especially. When they are running around Detroit in super sketchy areas filming urban, there is a story of survival there with the skiing. People that don't ski would be able to appreciate something like this much more than just a bunch of dudes hitting rails and walls. These types of movies can bring people that don't ski into watch them and can get guys like Martini the recognition, and funding (in due time), that they very much deserve.
Also this is why we as a community need to actually buy the movies that come out. If you like stept or MSP or PBP or whatever, buy the damn movie. Don't copy the disks that one of your buddies bought and act sorry for guys who make the movies when you hear they're broke. We need to do our part to support the film companies.
This combined with the above post on the proliferation of online content along with the shrinking gap between amateurs and pros is why the money is slim for companies like Stept.
If you want to focus on a niche aspect of any activity you will not have as much money as those appealing to the masses. Most people outside of our sport see a lot more beauty in what Petit and Morrison do and the locations in which they do it than they do in some guy sliding a rail in Detroit.
How is this any different than music? If you want to do something different that doesn't appeal to the Pop/Mainstream audience, you do so knowing that you are most likely not going to make as much money or have as much notoriety. While you may think you deserve as much or more than the next guy because you are 'different', it just doesn't work that way.
If you want to focus on a niche aspect of any activity you will not have as much money as those appealing to the masses. Most people outside of our sport see a lot more beauty in what Petit and Morrison do and the locations in which they do it than they do in some guy sliding a rail in Detroit.
How is this any different than music? If you want to do something different that doesn't appeal to the Pop/Mainstream audience, you do so knowing that you are most likely not going to make as much money or have as much notoriety. While you may think you deserve as much or more than the next guy because you are 'different', it just doesn't work that way.
Thank you Logan. Maybe it's just me getting older, or being twice the age of the "average NS'er, but I completely agree with everything.
I'm glad somebody brought up Dale winning Co-Lab. I was talking with one of the TGR interns over a beer and pizza the other night and this subject came up. The reason I think Dale won is because of the filming and the riding put together. I love a lot of the other dudes in the Colab finals, Mcnutt's a pretty good friend too, but honestly most of these were glorified season edits of already seen footage. Dale came out of nowhere and blew away my expectations.
I feel for the skiers out there who aren't getting shit from our sport getting bigger. Cam and the stept guys do have it rough some of the time, even though a lot of them are on some of the biggest companies in our industry. Last year, when Dream Factory came out, hardly anyone cheered when Cam and Claytons part came on, yet a simple pow turn has all these jabronies getting hard ons.
I hope Torin keeps doing what he does, Kid got sponsored by Kellogs and has still been putting out footage from all over of him skiing other things besides pipe. Same as David Wise buying into 4frnt and becoming a part-owner, he could probably be getting paid a lot more elsewhere but he's staying there. Good for him.
I agree that freeskiing as a whole is growing fairly rapidly, and hopefully some of this money being pumped into our sport will trickle down to the riders who deserve it.
I'm glad somebody brought up Dale winning Co-Lab. I was talking with one of the TGR interns over a beer and pizza the other night and this subject came up. The reason I think Dale won is because of the filming and the riding put together. I love a lot of the other dudes in the Colab finals, Mcnutt's a pretty good friend too, but honestly most of these were glorified season edits of already seen footage. Dale came out of nowhere and blew away my expectations.
I feel for the skiers out there who aren't getting shit from our sport getting bigger. Cam and the stept guys do have it rough some of the time, even though a lot of them are on some of the biggest companies in our industry. Last year, when Dream Factory came out, hardly anyone cheered when Cam and Claytons part came on, yet a simple pow turn has all these jabronies getting hard ons.
I hope Torin keeps doing what he does, Kid got sponsored by Kellogs and has still been putting out footage from all over of him skiing other things besides pipe. Same as David Wise buying into 4frnt and becoming a part-owner, he could probably be getting paid a lot more elsewhere but he's staying there. Good for him.
I agree that freeskiing as a whole is growing fairly rapidly, and hopefully some of this money being pumped into our sport will trickle down to the riders who deserve it.
Mathieu.fr
Member
I feel like the most obsessed people by the Olympics are the anti ones..
You guys hating on the Olympics : it's not that much of a big deal. It'll not bring 1000 new skiers to your home resort who will cut you in the parl. It'll not bring 10000 billions to the industry and will not change it forever.
Look at all the new type of contests now..all the invitational (Tanner, Sammy, B&E, Candide ?), the Orage Masters returning, possibly JOSS, the Vars Tournament...
I understand it's frustrating to see film companies not having the budget they would deserve to produce and promote their movies. But on the other hand, realize that most of the athletes in XGames, Dew, training for the Olympics, are not getting the budget they should deserve either...
Their is not as much money in the industry as you could think, it's just that simple.
You guys hating on the Olympics : it's not that much of a big deal. It'll not bring 1000 new skiers to your home resort who will cut you in the parl. It'll not bring 10000 billions to the industry and will not change it forever.
Look at all the new type of contests now..all the invitational (Tanner, Sammy, B&E, Candide ?), the Orage Masters returning, possibly JOSS, the Vars Tournament...
I understand it's frustrating to see film companies not having the budget they would deserve to produce and promote their movies. But on the other hand, realize that most of the athletes in XGames, Dew, training for the Olympics, are not getting the budget they should deserve either...
Their is not as much money in the industry as you could think, it's just that simple.
While I have to agree to a lot that has been said and wish that funds were allocated differently I do think the Olympics will benefit the industry. Just think about when you go to a ski movie premiere. How often do you hear kids in the crowd say 'man this sport looks cool, maybe ill talk to my parents and see if they'll get me my first pair of skis!' Almost never, that's how often. Sure you get a bunch of people that will go spend money on different new gear, but your boosting an existing population rather than growing into new niches. One person to look at in this sense for me is Roner. How many people do you think have been watching nitro circus and seen skiing as an extreme sports beside stuff like motocross, biking, skateboarding etc and it's something totally new and cool for them?
Now as much as I wish my sponsors would up my travel budget when I film, or pay for footage and not just comp results, I know that skiing is all about the feeling I get when I'm out there. As much as the Olympics don't appeal to me I do appreciate the fact that they will draw in new skiers and give more people a chance to get that feeling that we all love.
Now as much as I wish my sponsors would up my travel budget when I film, or pay for footage and not just comp results, I know that skiing is all about the feeling I get when I'm out there. As much as the Olympics don't appeal to me I do appreciate the fact that they will draw in new skiers and give more people a chance to get that feeling that we all love.
ho_chi_minh
Member
this is simple. The snowboard industry was build from the ground up. Nearly all snowboard brands have roots in Freestyle snowboarding. Marketing of these brands are on point and are typically not run by 55 year old dorks. The ski industry on the other hand has many backgrounds (race/recreation/touring/freeride/freestyle) and everyone is trying to get a slice of the freeski market. The companies that matter simply don't have the marketing budget to pay athletes. Support brands that support freeskiing. It is that simple.
JAHBRADOR
Active member
Having your own opinion =/= hating.
Also, as Bishop has said before, there are a lot of industry people that lurk NS. Just because they dont actively post doesn't mean that they dont read a lot of this stuff. Plus, why do you tell someone not to post their views on a forum? Even if they are completely wrong, isn't that whats forums are for? Discussion?
Also, as Bishop has said before, there are a lot of industry people that lurk NS. Just because they dont actively post doesn't mean that they dont read a lot of this stuff. Plus, why do you tell someone not to post their views on a forum? Even if they are completely wrong, isn't that whats forums are for? Discussion?
What if there's a sheet in the Kool-Aid?
jib_roni
Member
Truth. I get more pumped for that time when the new movies come out. That time when you and your friends talk about how sick sonso's new segment will be. I haven't talked to people about the Olympics at all. Reading about it is a whole other story, but even with that, its usually about what the teams will be wearing. I think the companies that are sponsoring the production company should be pumping more money into them. Helping them out a hell of a lot more. A kid watches a ski film, next thing you know, he wants that dude's skis, or that dude's jacket. Its bad that things are turning into some fashion show, but in the end, the riders are their billboards. They should make sure they are clean, healthy, and living comfortable. In the end, big companies should be trying to fill theaters. It obviously comes back to them in the long run.
heFF
Active member
one can only hope that the olympics will draw the attention of large corporations (like kellogs signing torin..if that's even relevant to the olympics) to throw money at the bigger athletes that way the the companies actually in the industry can allocate more money to the smaller guys...probably only a pipe dream
dilla_says_go
Active member
that's fucking retarded. where do you think sponsor money for athletes, films, and events comes from? the sponsorship tree? "core" skiers who only buy gear off newschoolers, ebay and craigslist? no it comes from brands who sell their product to the "general skiing population" aka the other 97% of skiers who you probably never see since you're too busy dicking around in warehouses in Buttfuck, AK.
if the olympics serves to remind the general population that skiing is still around (or that freeskiing even exists for that matter), then it will inspire more people to pick up a pair of skis and get to the mountains. hopefully a few of those skis are twintips.
i'm just as jaded with ski competitions as the next guy but bitching on newschoolers with a holier-than-thou attitude isn't going to do much for your situation. millions of americans who have never seen a skier in a superpipe are about to have their minds blown in 2014. this is good for everybody on this website whether you like the olympics or not.
if the olympics serves to remind the general population that skiing is still around (or that freeskiing even exists for that matter), then it will inspire more people to pick up a pair of skis and get to the mountains. hopefully a few of those skis are twintips.
i'm just as jaded with ski competitions as the next guy but bitching on newschoolers with a holier-than-thou attitude isn't going to do much for your situation. millions of americans who have never seen a skier in a superpipe are about to have their minds blown in 2014. this is good for everybody on this website whether you like the olympics or not.
Randy_Quench
Active member
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I enjoyed reading Logan's thoughts. Well written and explained in a way that showed his obvious passion for our sport and industry. Personally I think it boils down to what level of involvement in the industry someone wants to have. Any athlete who wants to make skiing their main avenue of financial income HAS to chose the corporate route to make ends meet. Athletes like some of those on Stept chose to take their career under their own direction which obviously has ups and downs associated with it. However you can't tell me that Cam Riley (albeit a PHENOMENAL skier, great person/ambassador for the sport) works as hard or puts as much into the industry as Tom Wallisch. Wallisch simply puts his entire being into growing the sport; whether we like the mediums to which he is given the opportunity to do so. Athletes like Wallisch and others at the forefront of the sport have to represent themselves and the industry more because they are in the industry's biggest events (X-Games, Olympics, WSI, etc).
Okay thats my.02 for anyone who cares enough to read. Once again thanks to Logan for putting his thoughts out there for discussion. Mad respect to ALL the athletes doing their thing in our industry.
Okay thats my.02 for anyone who cares enough to read. Once again thanks to Logan for putting his thoughts out there for discussion. Mad respect to ALL the athletes doing their thing in our industry.
blazeonyia
Member
Great read. This ties in well with the green screen theatrics and Tanner's opinion on that. It is beyond infuriating to see what FREEskiing has become.
Years back I had to follow a bunch of fashion models around the mountain (not a bad gig) so they could shoot different places in different outfits, etc., my job being to radio patrol if one of them got broke off. I asked one of these guys how long he had been a model. He was upset and said he wasn't a model he was a pro skier. We are talking about people jumping sideways into a pile of snow to get an angled shot for a magazine ad.
This to me seems to be the issue--there is no voice for freeskiers collectively, so the Olympics, FIS, and random sponsors are able to distort the message. When you have everyone from Olympic super-pros, to ams trying to be pro, to fucking fashion models thinking they are pro, there's a lack of unity there. NS is one of the few forums uniting the masses in our community, and there needs to be more of this.
Most would say NBA players are millionaires due to their talent. I would add it is also due to the player's union and their agents. When a pro skier blows out their knee I feel bad for them, but it has only been recently (seeing Ian McIntosh talk about his injury and his livelihood) that I have thought "I hope his sponsors don't drop him."
I think the solution is to take skiing back from (Olympics/FIS/sponsors) the groups who have bastardized it. For pros that may come in the form of representation. For us, I think supporting only grass roots ski/film/clothing companies is a good place to start..
/end rant
Years back I had to follow a bunch of fashion models around the mountain (not a bad gig) so they could shoot different places in different outfits, etc., my job being to radio patrol if one of them got broke off. I asked one of these guys how long he had been a model. He was upset and said he wasn't a model he was a pro skier. We are talking about people jumping sideways into a pile of snow to get an angled shot for a magazine ad.
This to me seems to be the issue--there is no voice for freeskiers collectively, so the Olympics, FIS, and random sponsors are able to distort the message. When you have everyone from Olympic super-pros, to ams trying to be pro, to fucking fashion models thinking they are pro, there's a lack of unity there. NS is one of the few forums uniting the masses in our community, and there needs to be more of this.
Most would say NBA players are millionaires due to their talent. I would add it is also due to the player's union and their agents. When a pro skier blows out their knee I feel bad for them, but it has only been recently (seeing Ian McIntosh talk about his injury and his livelihood) that I have thought "I hope his sponsors don't drop him."
I think the solution is to take skiing back from (Olympics/FIS/sponsors) the groups who have bastardized it. For pros that may come in the form of representation. For us, I think supporting only grass roots ski/film/clothing companies is a good place to start..
/end rant