The known unknowns of Outerknown
So Kelly released his line of OuterKnown menswear this week and no-one quite knows what to make of it. I'll include myself in that assessment. I understand the expensive price tags (sustainability costs, people) but when it comes to fashion and business I'm floundering.
The guys at Beach Grit are much better versed in fashion and as such they're having a robust discussion on the merits of low cut tees over on their site. The general consensus is that, prices notwithstanding, Outerknown are making pretty classy duds.
But as for Outerknown's business strategy? I'm yet to see anyone offer a convincing explanation or vouch for the success of the operation. Predictions appear based on Kelly's, admittedly patchy, track record with companies such as Kommunity Project and VSTR. A sustainable clothing company was Slater's goal with VSTR, but it was famously euthanised by Quiksilver executives less than two years after launching.
Outerknown appear a more genuine realisation of Slater's lofty goal. In hindsight VSTR and Quiksilver were always destined for trouble. Quik's links with Monsanto were reportedly one of the reason's Slater left, while Kelly's vision and Quiksilver's range were increasingly at odds. "In the low bend of surf clothes, you get exaggerated lingo, overly bright colours, and too many logos,” Slater recently told GQ. “I wanted Outerknown to be the opposite.”
By trumpeting the virtues of Outerknown Slater must belittle the style of others - including that of his would-be paymaster. Much better for both parties to sever the ties.
So it'd be incorrect to call VSTR a failure, more a non-starter, and in any case it gives no hint to the future success or otherwise of Outerknown. More telling factors are the people Kelly's chosen to work with. There's the Kering clothing group with its established supply chain and distribution network, not to mention an environmental philosophy in lockstep with Kelly's own. At the company level, Kelly's first recruit was John Moore who famously started the infamous surf brand Hollister. Hollister were a fabricated surf brand, they sold 'authentic' surf wear to inlanders and in so doing becamse the largest surf company in the world. If anyone can manufacture authenticity, John Moore can.
More recently, John Moore re-ignited M.Nii trunks, first worn by Greg Noll and crew in the fifties. Moore blew fresh air on M.Nii's long dead coals till they won industry awards and sold for over $100 a pair. Moore is ostensibly a designer but his greatest skill is image making, something he's been very succesful at. Moore is the Malcom McLaren of surfing and will zealously control the Outerknown image. Everything you think about the brand has already been thought about. Moore is four steps ahead of you.
In the executive chairs are three fashion (not surf) industry veterans, all women, with experience at high end outlets such as Barney's New York, cutting edge labels such as Alexander Wang, and also Outerknown's direct competitor, Patagonia.
Patagonia are going to be the brand Outerknown are most compared to, and for obvious reasons. In recent years Patagonia's surf division has been slowly growing, they've shaken the 'Patagucci' tag and found a footing within the surf world. Patagonia held firm with their enviromental philosophy and the public pendulum is slowly swinging their way. Their doctrine of hard-wearing clothes with higher price tags has found a market. And it's a market that Outerknown believes is big enough for two players.
Comments
" If anyone can manufacture authenticity , John Moore can. "
Well I'm not saying he can't, it's just that selling surfing to people that have no idea of what it genuinely is , as this fella did with his Hollister, requires zero regard to authenticity.
Well "manufacturing authenticity" is an oxymoron and it was intended that way. Hollister was a surfing illusion.
"Everything you think about the brand has already been thought about. Moore is four steps ahead of you."
Very much doubt that. he's a fcuking clothes designer not Einstein.
What's Einstein got to do with image making? Going on his record, I think Moore would be fairly certain of his market, he'd know who would pay, and who would complain on social media. I reckon they'd have a good understanding of what the backlash will be and how they'd be perecived in the marketplace.
Thats pure speculation on your part Stu. One thing we do know for sure is companies rarely foresee social media backlashes of any kind. There's no evidence to believe any differently with Moore.
Of course it's speculation, I said as much in the article. But in the history of social media backlashes this is grievance-lite, it wont last till daybreak. It's barely registered rancor by people who would never have bought the clothes anyway and does nothing but create more fervour around the label - cheers from Outerknown - and satisfies the corollary viewpoint for people who will pay the bucks - more cheers from Outerknown.
Maybe. Wayne Lynch was telling me he thought it was the beginning of the end for the surf co's when they started treating their core customers so arrogantly. So not all news is good news when it comes to being spoken about.
Obviously Outerknown isn't being pitched at regular surfers but who knows what reaction is being registered amongst his potential customers, some of whom presumably surf.
Goodwill isn't an endless stream and history is rife with broke businesses who lost it.
"One thing we do know for sure is companies rarely foresee social media backlashes of any kind."
That's a kind of inverted survivor bias. Because you only hear of the scenarios where backlash was not foreseen and thus not avoided. A scenario where a company makes a plan, realises there could be backlash, changes course to avoid it, and then the potential backlash does not materialise..... is not a news story.
According to the pricing, sustainability is an indulgence for rich americans, the greatest environmental villains the world has ever known, and anyone else, say 99% of the surfing population can go suck an egg.
Does not pass the pub test.
$US 425 for a fucking hoodie- fucking hell
On the contrary Freeride, this ain't the 80's anymore whereby yuppies and their ilk were suitably demonised by pop culture and the general population.
Now everyone wants to be a yuppie.
It's the Bogans that we despise.
I reckon it will thrive.
It's actually quite amazing to watch a brand being built from the perspective of a cynical adult .
As a grommet, I knew Billabong et al were nothing but clothes , yet I still bought into the image born through their canny selection of a paid team of representative employees ( Go Occy !).
Now I'm stunned to see rag traders such as RVCA gain traction amongst the trendy set by such flimsy pretence.
The pubs will be full of this shit.
cheap polluting crap made by kids yeah FR76.....the pub test.....you aussie aussie oi bogan!
I suppose Patagonia is one of your , pricey sustainable only for rich americans environmental villains !
Hey Kelly needs money for his plane, he couldn't afford his own one for jbay this year. can you all do the right thing and by a sweater....please
$95 for a beanie but it is made from the bum fluff of a baby alpaca. Great value try and make your own one from an alpaca
OK mick I'm off to buy an Alpaca...how do you remove the bum fluff....?
Maurice you seem to have a problem with basic comprehension mate. I'm for a sustainable system and Patagonia seem to be doing a pretty good job of it far as I can tell, so put your panties back on and clean the sand out of your vagina.
But charging a hundred bucks for a T-shirt has nothing to do with sustainability and everything to do with fashion. The whole sustainability BS used to sell this is crap when only the rich can afford it.
Bottom line is though, we'll never be able to consume our way to anything like a sustainable future. We'll have to live more simply with less. Is that Bogan enough for you MC?
sorry FR76 but I think ya one of the biggest wankas on the forums.....so you don't like fashion...and prefer something that passes the pub test....thankfully Kelly's garments are really expensive....have a very similar ethic in being fair trade , eco sustainable as possible like Patagonia....but more fashion than Patagonia which costs more.....the Patagucci...dribble that I often encounter...haha.....maybe you are right stop consuming ....there is no sustainable future......now that's Bogan!!!
I'll ignore the un-christian insult and ask a simple question. Why are you thankful Kelly's garments are so expensive?
unchristian insult??? mate if ya pull it to hard it will come off......I thought I was just answering your comments on me in panties and a sandy vagina...so my answer was...
"actually as I am gay ...I do get a lot of sand up my arsehole...but its a choice......of course macho bogans like FR76........seem to dream of me with a sandy vagina in panties......ahhh...c'est la vie!!"
hey everyone has a fetish.......
as for happy they re so expensive......will stop those pubsters .....ruining his marque......and as he lives in a capitalist world to create a brand with ethics .......he doesn't risk surf bogans buying them...might even be a long term business....like Paragonia or Gucci , or hermes...or......??
Did you understand that when I said it fails the pub test I didn't mean that people wouldn't be wearing it to the pub?
I meant here's the greatest surfer of all-time Kelly Slater, tailing off in his pro career, now defining a legacy. Splitting with Quiksilver with what were ostensibly moral reasons of sustainability and then spending almost 2 years soft selling the brand through the surf media now coming out with a bunch of clothes than only rich wanna-be's can afford.
That does not pass the pub test.
Take note of the use of the word 'splitting' Brutus..........to leave ,depart ,split .......gone ......he's split....left.
SO I split my altar boy....still haven't explained what you meant!
so do you mean the "norms" of surfing culture , Aust culture, global culture..is that you pub test??
Please explain?
Free is right Brutus.
$165 for a flanno! I get mine for 8 bucks at Big W!
About what Bob? That the hypocrisy, marketing BS and stratospheric pricing is about as transparent as a brides nighty?
yes
Where are you guys getting these prices from?
Zen, click on the Outerknown link in the story.
"Maurice you seem to have a problem with basic comprehension mate. I'm for a sustainable system and Patagonia seem to be doing a pretty good job of it far as I can tell, so put your panties back on and clean the sand out of your vagina" - FR76
Probably best to clean the sand out of your vagina FIRST Maurice THEN put your panties back on. You'll develop a terrible rash I otherwise fear.....
actually as I am gay ...I do get a lot of sand up my arsehole...but its a choice......of course macho bogans like FR76........seem to dream of me with a sandy vagina in panties......ahhh...c'est la vie!!
I think ill stick to the op shop, just going to have to wait ten years to see this stuff hitting the racks there.
Reckon Kelly'll be cool if Outerknown just gets shortened to 'OK'?
It's a fuckload easier to type and takes about $100 off the jackets and pants.
Doahh- have a look at their labeling ;)))
hahaah, maybe not while the paint is still wet.
Hey Stu, know of any fashion forums beside beachgrit where this is being mentioned?
I'd love to see the reaction in the fashion world.
I'm getting asked for fashion advice? It's a first. Nah, I go to Beach Grit to keep breast of sartorial happenings. There was a brouhaha over at STAB and they pulled the comments (Outerknown are selling thru SurfStitch and SurfStitch own STAB), but then STAB readers have as much fashion chops as I do.
There'll be a story on Shop Eat Surf shortly.
oh no...don't tell me stab are having their editorial censored by the owner...ohhhhhhhhh
Funny, when Surfstitch first approached Hurley they got the big fuck off, then Hurley came back on all fours begging them to sell their products.....
After selling STAB McIntosh and Reilly can afford to wear Outerknown clothing.
Could someone explain the pub test to Maurice?
Whatever I say will be characterized as aussie aussie oi oi.
oh you mean the same pub test Joe Hockey mentioned this morning??
were you quoting him ? I haven't characterized you...you have!
$95 for an alpaca knit beanie, $78 TShirt, Organic Cotton Knit Sweater $225 hmmmm A little too boutique for surf wear.
Patagonia $49 for TShirt, $129 for a sweater, $50 beanie
Qualitops Vic Hoodie $45, TShirt $18 no beanies so will have to lash out at OK. But at least on the Hoodie and TShirt I will be supporting fair pay and conditions for Australian Textile workers. Don't Know where Outerknown or Patagonia produce their products but I would hope the factories aren't sweatshops.
I guess I will just have to stick to wearing E Zegna then, its about the same price, no surf logo's and dam skippy better quality
It's the same as the Winki carpark banter test, aint it FR?
yep.
so explain whats the pub test or even the Winki carpark test?
Darryl Kerrigan sums it up nicely.
Can I ask Free, what is it about the vagina insults you dish out?
I'm not disputing you are wrong on the topic just curious.
hey Bob....its about having a fetish....for what hmmmm???
one might even argue a touch of machomaness......
Shite looks preppy as fuk.... What, no bowties, Kelly?
Stu makes a very good point and really there is no point arguing on whether it will sell or not:
"Everything you think about the brand has already been thought about. Moore is four steps ahead of you."
It is this guy's profession (which looks to have been successful career to date) to anticipate the market response & set a pricing point & target market. If I had to bet on some random opinion on a forum or the opinion of leading fashionistas on the marketing of apparel, i'll back the person in the know.
I reckon Johnny Moore is more like 10 steps ahead of me... i'm in trakky daks at the beach in winter and double-plug dragons in the summer.
"If I had to bet on some random opinion on a forum or the opinion of leading fashionistas on the marketing of apparel, i'll back the person in the know."
That's a bingooooo!
And a method of making that can be made about a whole host of other topics that I often utilise.
I kinda dig the organic kalamata olive infused lentil coat, hand sewn by topless Italian virgins in the remote hills of Tuscany.
How my heart sings when someone mentions those remote hills of Tuscany and their virgins.
Soon we will see 70-80% off sales like every other clothing brand/store, atleast we'll know how much they've marked it up by!!
Whats wrong with sheeps wool? Estimated to be over 1 billion sheep in the world (According to google) and Alpacas? 2,827,867 in 2003.. Yeah sustainability or perhaps its finding a way to reinvent the wheel and justify the high price tag by making it sound exotic!!!
I like to think I can contribute to a sustainable future. Unfortunately I'm not earning enough to contribute to OK. Seriously $200 for a plain blue hoodie. I can go to Nimbin and buy a hemp hoodie for half the price or alternatively go to Target and get a Piping Hot Hoodie for $50. Remember when 'you're hot you're piping hot'
Well well well boys got a little aggressive din it, right now mostly all the surf wear is a blend of street true, its pretty much common everyone can wear it style ( if you could call it style ), Quiky used to be pretty expessive in the days, OK is ( sorry had to use it ), not that expensive really, take a look around at what other lables are selling for, if the garments are made from quality fabic and made well they should wear well, if KS is on the money and he aint dumb, its not about throw away rubbish like everything else we buy, lets see time will tell wont it !!!
The launch is short of no's of product I can see, thats my only gripe, wheres the rest of the product line, hasnt it been designed and made yet ?
Don't forget they're US$ prices too. By the time that $425 hoody makes it here to Oz, it will close enough to $700!
Hmm, new custom shape or a blue hoody?
I get the 'we are not the target market' idea, but who is? Kelly seems to be trying to leverage his fame (as a surfer) into a fashion label that no self-respecting surfer on the planet would touch.
Are people in the great fashion centres of the world, that can afford this stuff really gonna be getting round in blue hoodies and Alpaca bum-fluff beanies?
Its easy to say people/surfers won't buy this its too expensive.
But after seeing a very basic surf camp/resort in Indonesia without even a pool charge $500/$600 a per person per night and be booked out a year or so in advance and be very successful.
Now nothing would surprise me, seems these days there is a whole heap of guys who surf that are loaded from all kinds of walks of life.
Timely read! The New Yorker just published this article by Dave Eggers, 'The Actual Hollister', about visiting the Californian town of Hollister in light of the ridiculously succesful clothes brand. Here's an excerpt:
"Fifteen years ago, the word “Hollister” meant little to anyone. Now it’s hard to walk around any city, from Melbourne to Montreal to Mumbai, without seeing it stitched on someone’s shirt or hoodie. Abercrombie & Fitch, which launched Hollister in 2000, has done an extraordinary job with brand penetration: in 2013, there were five hundred and eighty-seven Hollister stores around the world, and the brand netted more than two billion dollars in sales.
The clothes themselves rarely depart from the realm of sweatshirts and sweatpants—they’re eerily similar to the comfort-wear you can buy at Target or Walmart. But a Hanes hoodie at Target is thirteen dollars, while a Hollister hoodie is $44.95. This implies that “Hollister” itself means something and is worth something.
For years, employees of Hollister stores, during orientation, were given the story, and it goes something like this: John M. Hollister was born at the end of the nineteenth century and spent his summers in Maine as a youth. He was an adventurous boy who loved to swim in the clear and cold waters there. He graduated from Yale in 1915 and, eschewing the cushy Manhattan life suggested for him, set sail for the Dutch East Indies, where he purchased a rubber plantation in 1917. He fell in love with a woman named Meta and bought a fifty-foot schooner. He and Meta sailed around the South Pacific, treasuring “the works of the artisans that lived there,” and eventually settled in Los Angeles, in 1919. They had a child, John, Jr., and opened a shop in Laguna Beach that sold goods from the South Pacific—furniture, jewelry, linens, and artifacts. When John, Jr., came of age and took over the business, he included surf clothing and gear. (He was an exceptional surfer himself.) His surf shop, which bore his name, grew in popularity until it became a globally recognized brand. The Hollister story is one of “passion, youth and love of the sea,” evoking “the harmony of romance, beauty, adventure.”
None of this is true. Most of Abercrombie & Fitch’s brands—including the now defunct Gilly Hicks and Ruehl No. 925—have had fictional backstories, conceived by Mike Jeffries, the company’s former C.E.O. Abercrombie & Fitch told the Los Angeles Times that the company pulled the name Hollister out of thin air, so any connection between the brand and the town is coincidental. Even so, the company’s relationship with Hollister, California, population thirty-six thousand, has not exactly been one of benevolent indifference.
In 2006, a Hollister merchant put “Rag City Blues: Hollister” on vintage bluejeans and decided to file a federal trademark application for her label. She subsequently received threats from attorneys representing Abercrombie & Fitch. She was baffled; the lawyers had told her, in essence, that putting her town’s name on the clothing would provoke a lawsuit—that the trademark attached to its brand superseded the rights of the town. (The company sees its legal opposition to the merchant as strictly a trademark issue, which has nothing to do with the merchant’s being from Hollister.) According to the L.A.Times, students at a local high school worried that their sports uniforms would engender more legal letters. In an effort to smooth things over, town leaders suggested to Abercrombie that the company open an outlet in Hollister. It seemed to make sense—a Hollister store in the town of Hollister—but they were told that the company’s aspirational brand would not find the right audience in Hollister."
Read the whole article here.
That's exactly what every one seems to be saying. The OK Hoody is $425!!! 10 x the price of the "aspirational" Hollister hoody and 40 x the Target version.
Bit of a stepup...
I also read that article in the New Yorker. I think the writer is off track with linking Hollister (the town) with the brand - I'm pretty sure they ripped it off from the Hollister Ranch a controversal gated community situated along the Pacific coast of California between Gaviota State Park and Point Conception.
"The Hollister family, previous owners of the property, allowed some recreational use of the area. In the late 1950s, they granted a pass to the regional Sportsman Hunting Club,[1] which later split into several smaller clubs, including the Santa Barbara Surf Club. During over a decade of regular use, the Santa Barbara Surf Club discovered and named many surfing spots off the coast of 8 miles (13 km) of beach, such as Razor Blades, Drake's, Little Drake's, Utah, Rights and Lefts, St. Augustine, Lefts and Rights, and on the adjacent Bixby Ranch land, Cojo Point, Perko's Point, and Government Point.
Today recreational use of the beach and surrounding area is restricted to both the owners of the Hollister and Bixby Ranches, and the public, who access the area by foot along the beach and by boat in the offshore waters. California law allows public access to all land below the mean high tide line, and many surfers, divers, and fisherman access the State waters by boating along the shoreline of the coast from Gaviota to Jalama Beach Parks, mainly from Gaviota State Park."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollister_Ranch
I think people are incorrectly aligning OuterKnown with surf clothing . . .
If I remember right, when KS first started talking about this stuff it was going to be apparel for the "global traveler". If that's the case, most surfers aren't going to get it, or even want the stuff for that matter.
Maybe true but it is Kelly Slaters brand and the promo pic have him modelling them down the beach even with a surfboard under his arm.
#Edit okay i just saw leckiep comment and link to website, you guys have got a point.
That's correct Indo-dreaming, but it's all just marketing imagery. You could say the opposite . . . . How many surfers would go down to the beach dressed like that?!
We have Rodd n Gunn if thats your go, Kelly.
While we all love exploring "the relationship between function, style and sustainability", and revel in the challenge of "build[ing] better, more sustainable products", my concern is that by "lift[ing] the lid on ... supply chain, bringing the consumer along on our journey to transparency", Kelly and Co could inadvertently put some of the world's most vulnerable out of a job.
No doubt, it is admirable to partner with the Fair Labour Association to ensure worker rights are protected. But what if there aren't any Fair Labour Association approved places of employment in your town/village? How will you earn your frogskins when OK and the rest send their work elsewhere?
Moral dilemmas of the highest order. It begs the question, how clean is the slate?
Well I go out of my way to NOT buy any overtly branded clothing products. Nor do I or will I purchase OK or Patagonia - simply because they want me to buy their expensive dream... whatever that may be.
I do buy sustainable clothing; it is available out there in the marketplace (eg $20 for 100% cotton T-shirts)
John Moore might be a smart guy, and so might KS, but if they were truly fair dinkum with their lofty goals, they'd be bringing their product to market and competing with Target for the the minds and hearts of the masses out there.
OK is just more self-interest with commercial gain as far as I'm concerned. Targeting the well-heeled who've got money to burn and who will easily offload hundreds of dollars for a hoodie betrays any alleged integrity OK is espousing.
Finally someone nails it. JM take a bow.
Clivus, also take a bow. Because... Clivus.
Where in here (http://www.outerknown.com/about-us) does it say anything about Outerknown being a 'surf' brand? Where is the rulebook that says it should be?
Whilst Kelly is a professional surfer it's his prerogative what to choose as his side project / post surfing life. This could be a mobile plumbing van, a store that sells a range of exotic rugs, a commentator, or even.... a fashion brand.
To argue that it doesn't pass the pub test or that you could get cheaper clothes elsewhere misses the point. It's his choice to price it where he wants, and market it to whoever he wants to. If this is not you, (spoiler alert: it's not me either), then who are you to complain about it?
If Outerknown offends you because it's more expensive than clothes you'd choose (note: you have a choice) maybe you should address your sense of entitlement that says as a 'surfer', whatever that means, Kelly should make sure that he addresses your needs in his post-surfing business decisions. What exactly does he owe you?
If it turns out that Outerknown have misled in regards to their sustainability credentials, or otherwise engaged in unethical or illegal practices then by all means raise the alarm. But if you just think the clothes are too expensive, you should probably get over yourself and go worry about something important.
Thanks leckiep! You've got it.
Astute comments, Leckiep.
Looks like you've already got a fanclub, LeckieP, but I'll add to the applause. Bang on, Brother.
I hate wearing clothes as they really soften the definition in my figure that I work so hard for.
Anything that helps highlight my moneymaker is worth a few extra clams.
And anything that highlights your clams I'm sure is worth the extra money too Gary.
+1 from me too leckiep.
As an aside, I reckon the gear looks pretty cool and I like the concept. Only suit the skinny fellas though, wouldn't look real flash on me.
Mmmm mmmm I think I like the sound of that one, watcha wearin now Mr GG giddy up xxx
Anyone know where OuterKnown gear is made
Peru, China, Slovenia ?
I'm not sure that Outerknown/Kelly has even said that this is a "Surf Brand"? I think we're all just assuming that it is, because it's Kelly's brand.
As a "surf brand" it's probably a heap of crap, but as a fashion brand it is, in my opinion, incredible.
Yep exactly.
I think he's found a niche. Good on him for giving it a go — I hope it goes well.
from their website
"a contemporary menswear brand that’s been imagined through a surfer’s lens"
so, not a surf brand but for surfers?
Yes Pointy, for surfers if they want to, but not specifically. I see the KS/surfing thing as aspirational marketing.
I suspect the buyers of these garments will be financially successful people with a background in adventure, outdoor, environmental, travel and even primary industries.
Exactly as suspected, JM, I have a complete outfit.
And Uplift, I bet you look great in it. ;—]
Ha!
i like that they don't have a logo on them but the prices....
I just bought 3 nice Ts from Roger David with no logos for $3 ea for two of them and the dear one was $5. Made in China but Chinese factory workers deserve to earn a living as well don't they?
I haven't looked at the garments but since when were flannos, hoodies and beanies considered fashionable?
Am I the only one who has never heard of Hollister clothing?
No I'm with you..never heard of them.
Me neither.
see it everywhere in the USA....airports especially......
My research from Google points to outerknown being made in Slovenia and it certainly doesn't mention that on the OK website, why is that?
At those crazy prices on outerknown (and they ARE crazy) I can get myself tailored clothes from Savile Row London, and I wear JAG and Country Road that cost a fraction of these prices and I sleep quite well at night too, I admit quicksilver is complete rubbish these days but Kelly had ample time to jump from there much earlier IMO knowing full well it was pushing awful crap made by underpaid peasants.
I don't buy this brand (excuse the pun) one bit!
Whats the word used in relation to a marketing/production theory which basically says that products these days are only made to last a couple of years? as opposed to back in the day when you bought something that would last a lifetime.. I wonder how Outerknown sits within that realm...
Planned Obsolescence.
Kind of like iPhones.
Thats it. Thanks mate!
That hoodie top Kellys wearing in the pic brought back memories of those old Kuta lines clothes in the late 80,s early 90,s, i liked those wonder if you can still get them they had a very organic feel to them.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/1a/ea/99/1aea99a2332e1e6948157...
Hehehe! . . . How about this? . . . You can get a bit of a hipster look at the same time! . . . http://dawod.loveitsomuch.com/stores/bearded-beanie-hand-knit-in-wool-or...
I got one of those at a Kuta Lines store in bali in 2005-2006, surely they're still around somewhere...?
Theres a Kuta Lines store in the Discovery Shopping Centre in South Kuta..was there just last week having a look.
At least if all the Kathmandu or NorthFace warriors that hoard up these pieces of clothing in their wardrobes, only wearing them when they are on holidays and miles away in Europe or the 'coffee is better in Melbourne' trip knowing that they won't know any one in person who will actually see them wearing their baby shit brown or sky blue puff puff jacket and the visual pollution that it causes, if these people switch to the no logo Outerknown brand it will be better for society in general
'And Uplift, I bet you look great in it. ;—]'
Yeh, you see I came across these really privy old guys sitting around a fire that own some. They told me what they really feel like to wear, and the real secrets all about them. So, even though I've never actually worn them, I have, and I wear them really well... well what I mean is, I am really good at wearing them actually, and they... well, see, I think that... well yeh, I guess I own heaps of them, and look deluxe in them. By the fire. Ta.
Free tip btw, as someone who owned two cashmere jumpers once I wouldn't recommend paying $500 dollars for any of these alpaca pieces of clothing if you own a cat!
Is Slater as gay as aids?
Lol can see the plebs doing surf checks in this gear. .....
The price point is perfect for mining and petroleum engineers.
Launching a clothing line is a difficult thing to do but Kelly has picked VERY experienced people to do it with. Any garment that is not a techinical item ie. it functions in a specific way to make it better than a regular one (think flash bomb wetties, Phantom boardies etc etc) is in the fashion game and the fashion game is driven by ever changing trends that are hard to keep on top of. I think this new brand is gonna have to really move fast and explain its sustainability/eco virtues to the consumer or it will risk being just another fashion start-up trying to cash in on surfing and celebrity (which can work) everyone is comparing it to the Patagonia brand but in reality it is light years away from that. I've had a little to do with Patagonia on a recent project and they go to incredible lengths to try and cause the least harm and are ultra transparent about it, it's the real deal the products are nearly ALL built for a specific activity or type of lifestyle by teams who are deep into it. Comparing there two products (OK and Pata) it's instantly clear the crew at OK are still in the very early stages, it's a tiny line that has all it's cues in fashion and from the little I have seen none are based in the actual activity of surfing. I hope the brand really kicks off and Kelly is in it for the good fight and guides it in a direction that can cause the most good. Kelly is no Yvon but if he's committed for 30 more years and grinds away as hard as he did for those titles he could be and as a surfers we should all support him with positive vibes I reckon … plus that grey knit jumper he's wearing with the sunnies EPIC!
How should we support it Shane? By standing on the sidelines and cheering Hooray, you just made some pretty clothes that are completely unaffordable unless you're a rich american. I think I'll skip the dentist for the kids so I can buy a 500 dollar hoodie".
People want to support him. There was and is a huge reservoir of goodwill for Slater but by pitching his clothes at the 1% it's a slap in the face with a cold fish for all the working stiff's who've supported him for the past twenty years. And make no mistake, while Slaters' achievements have been otherworldly it's the fans who give those achievements a value in the marketplace. No fans, no eyeballs, no consumers buying the branded surf gear, no value. Thats why most sportsmen slowly develop a consciousness over the years of trying to give something back to the sport, to the fans. They realise who's been paying the bills. Who's been putting all those zeros on the cheques.
We've seen that narrative been slowly emanating from Slater himself, along with this burgeoning environmental sensitivity and an expressed desire to try and do something to make the (surf) world a better place. So far after all that talk, the centre planks of the strategy, the known knowns are a desire to build wavepools and a clothing line pitched to the rich. It's a bad look. A clear case of talking the talk but not walking the walk. At the least it's just plain dumb PR. If they didn't foresee this response they're even dumber, or more likely just so out of touch with the reality of most normal people that they didn't even think of it.
With all these geniuses in the background you'd think they would have thrown a bone to the working man. A few reasonably priced basics that people could have got behind. As it is it looks very much like sustainability for the rich and a kick in the nuts and a door slammed in the face for everyone else. Kelly's legacy could be as the great unifier with all the goodwill he possesses. He could have bought everyone along with him if this idea of giving back and sustainability meant anything at all. Instead he's alienated 99% of his people at the first gate. At the moment he's squandering a precious opportunity and looking like just another opportunist in cahoots with spivs in thrall to their own propaganda.
Back him? For sure I'll hope like hell he smotes the Brazilian storm back to the stone age at Teahupoo but as far as all this sustainability and environmental stewardship talk goes it's just more commercial white noise.
Absolutely this ^^^.
Unfortunately, Kelly has taken the wrong path on this one. It's in the right idea realm, however, the almighty dollar and fame still sways Kelly. This is nothing more than a post-surfing, future investment that will continue to pamper Kelly's ego. It's a good way to make continual coin from the rich and for the rich to feel "somewhat" good about the choices they are making in their life.
There's no way Kelly would want lower prices. That's a slap in the face to his ego and his world identity. The brand itself is exactly everything Kelly is: wanting to stand out and wanting to bigger than the next person/brand.
Still, good on him for venturing down a different path. However, he really could have done something special with this whilst including the true environmentalists in the process.
OK's prices really aren't that out of line when compared to the brands they are selling alongside. On their website they list Mr. Porter as their international online retailer. Mr Porter sell many PLAIN TSHIRTS for over £200 from brands such as Saint Laurent and Valentino. By partnering with Kering, Kelly is playing with the big boys... You won't find OK at your local City Beach. It's like comparing a budget sedan to a Jaguar, with Patagonia being a Volvo at best.
this post is hilarious- can someone send me some photo's of the tuscan virgins dressed by AuNature
I must admit I did google it after I read your post and they don't seem to be virgins in the pics.
who would have thought a small select group of Aussies would kick an entrepreneurial venture by Slater?
Are people so stupid that they can't choose for themselves if they wish to buy?
And ohhhh - the clothing is not surf wear??WTF - surf clothing is maybe bathers, board shorts, speedos and wetsuit - everything else is clothing that anyone can choose to wear - but I guess that doesn't fit Stu's Special Club theory?
Should Slater just retire and not take on business ventures - maybe take social benefits and take the free ride??? My vagina has thrush Free - is that good news ?
What's my special club theory?
I dunno, in some other topic I think you referenced the special club -- being average people surfing, which to me is no more special than anyone else. I can't be fucked looking back and anyway it might be edited out for all I know. Surfers are people, clothing is clothing, business is business< Free enterprise is choice
Solid facts Bob.
I researched it well hey!
"Kelly is no Yvon but if he's committed for 30 more years and grinds away as hard as he did for those titles he could be and as a surfers we should all support him with positive vibes I reckon … plus that grey knit jumper he's wearing with the sunnies EPIC!"
How should we support it Shane? By standing on the sidelines and cheering Hooray, you just made some pretty clothes that are completely unaffordable unless you're a rich american. I think I'll skip the dentist for the kids so I can buy a 500 dollar hoodie".
People want to support him. There was and is a huge reservoir of goodwill for Slater but by pitching his clothes at the 1% it's a slap in the face with a cold fish for all the working stiff's who've supported him for the past twenty years. And make no mistake, while Slaters' achievements have been otherworldly it's the fans who give those achievements a value in the marketplace. No fans, no eyeballs, no consumers buying the branded surf gear, no value. Thats why most sportsmen slowly develop a consciousness over the years of trying to give something back to the sport, to the fans. They realise who's been paying the bills. Who's been putting all those zeros on the cheques.
We've seen that narrative been slowly emanating from Slater himself, along with this burgeoning environmental sensitivity and an expressed desire to try and do something to make the (surf) world a better place. So far after all that talk, the centre planks of the strategy, the known knowns are a desire to build wavepools and a clothing line pitched to the rich. It's a bad look. A clear case of talking the talk but not walking the walk. At the least it's just plain dumb PR. If they didn't foresee this response they're even dumber, or more likely just so out of touch with the reality of most normal people that they didn't even think of it.
With all these geniuses in the background you'd think they would have thrown a bone to the working man. A few reasonably priced basics that people could have got behind. As it is it looks very much like sustainability for the rich and a kick in the nuts and a door slammed in the face for everyone else. Kelly's legacy could be as the great unifier with all the goodwill he possesses. He could have bought everyone along with him if this idea of giving back and sustainability meant anything at all. Instead he's alienated 99% of his people at the first gate. At the moment he's squandering a precious opportunity and looking like just another opportunist in cahoots with spivs in thrall to their own propaganda.
Gezuss SS I guess it comes down to a philosophical standpoint like all the great arguments and debates … war, religion, poverty. You are taking the moral high ground here with that old chestnut of utilitarianism's poster boy Jeremy Bentham's theory "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong" but I have to disagree with you.
KS and the whole OK trip are not bound to your rules and your wants and your desires. While it may be a slap in the face with a cold fish for some, for others it may be a warm breeze on a bleak day.
What are you basing your 99% off ? The crew in the car park at Lennox? Don't get me wrong there is a lot of logic and truth in what you say and I have to agree with most of your points re sports people and fans and KS is certainly not an exception to the rule.
How Kelly reacts and performs in all the various things he does post pro surfing seems to be the way his legacy will be formed unfortunately and maybe the spectre of being judged as a human and all the rules fair and not fair and not as a performer is why he has lingered so long on tour.
So Steve why don't you reach out with a solution instead of flinging barbs from the sideline? You seem to have the answers, reach out and offer to fix the mistake that is so obvious to all who look on as you say. Kelly's backers are not stupid, the champ digs ya, you're well read and educated, have a lifetime of cultural understanding within surfing, seems like a lay-up to me and a great chance for OK. Imagine not having to sweat the next dentist bill and rolling into a nice cool 9-5 gig
… oh hang on you would have to give up the self-indulgent, self-centred life riding as many waves as you can for you, seems to me your squandering an incredible opportunity and are looking like just another opportunist who's talking the talk but is not willing to walk the walk.
Two sides to every debate ey!
so FR76 you think Kelly owes surfing......and your opinion that Kelly should be the great unifirer...huh......you are the epitome of tall poppy syndrome....get over the fact you can't afford OK....
what have you ever done or given to society?
For chrissakes Maurice, could you possibly come up with something less ignorant, cliched, boring and just dead plain wrong as that old Tall poppy syndrome call?
I've written thousands of words about KS and most of them are fulsome praise of his incredible talent and what he's achieved with it.
Those surf bogans you are so fond of putting shit on , the blokes on average wages, the ones you share the lineup with and who buy your boards are the ones who KS has slammed the door on.
I know you are mates with Kelly and want to defend him and thats fair enough, but at least be honest about that and stop trying to concoct all these weak little defences for him.
Average Aussie wage is $1128 a week. The hoodie- the one that looks like surf gear , smells like surf gear but supposedly isn't surf gear- retails for $AUD 576. About half the weekly wage.
Does Kelly owe surfing? Thats a question for his conscience but at the least he would acknowledge that it is surfing and surf fans, not fashion and rich golfer wanna be surfers that have put him in the position he is today.
that's my opinion that you just love bleating about people who owe something ....when they have already given so much..
so yeah I am ignorant,cliched , boring , and dead wrong...what an opinionated tall poppy crucifier you are .....
and no I don't make bds for the average bloke..its people like you with your silly Pub tests and belief we all owe you a cheaper product...because....??
Should I make a cheaper bds for guys like you...I mean what do you do for an income.....write arty farty crap......for money.
slammed the door on who are you to judge Kelly...I ask the question what have you evre done for society ...FREE.....benevolence......
So hows your conscience.......Kelly has done so much out side of surfing.....for kids sick people...blokes that need a hand......I have a 100 stories about him....that show he owes you bogans nothing.....
the average wage in the USA is $320 pw.....so......
get off your high horse and come back to reality...weak defences.....so what is the pub test...as per Joe Hockey...I can only imagine what a fan you are of his.....
and don't worry I am wearing my panties and have a vagina full of sand...does that turn you own?
e
Hey FW76 - just don't buy the stuff!! Kelly doesn't really care (or anybody else) what you think. FFS let it go
thanks OHV I think I won't.
And I can assure you Kelly cares very much what people think. It's probably the crucial ingredient in a start-up.
The Brand cares what their target audience thinks - you are obviously not there target audience
You have no idea how the target audience is being influenced by the ideas that are being put out in every surfing forum in the world on this.
Ideas go global now very quickly.
Thats how the internet works.
Ummm as my job is in design and marketing I think I do :))
then you'd be very aware of how ideas are now promulgated over the internet and target audiences can be influenced by ideas from a wide range of sources.
Also, seeing as Kelly is the brand and is a keen reader of surfing forums he's highly likely to be aware of these discussions and hence being influenced by them in some way.
And I just made the point that you are obviously not in their target audience!
Understand all the points you made OHV, you don't have to buy it. I class myself as totally the demographic for Kelly's target audience and Kelly can go shove it.
I'll be telling him too when I see him next in Fiji. He's missing a massive opportunity.
Hey MF - is your beef just price point or what the brand is trying to do (what they say they are anyway - note: grain of salt :) as far as environment, recycling and wages etc ?
Yeah my beef is the mission statement and the link to the target market.
Quote from Kelly.
you can actually produce great looking menswear in a sustainable way…the last two years have been a huge eye-opener for me. It’s clear now just how challenging it is for any brand to put sustainability at the forefront of their business
So he has identified sustainable practices at the front of their business model. There is opportunity for Kelly to produce sustainable clothes. Everyone needs to buy clothes. The price point for OK means only the rich to buy into this model of living a sustainable existence. (Customer identifying with the brand) Hey they may choose not to buy anyway. There's no guarantee that he can get to this market either. He's catering to the 0.0001% and if he can make a profitable business in sustainable clothing for the few people that live massively unsustainable lives then go for it. At the end of the day its just another overpriced brand. Personally I'm looking for something more from him. Maybe as Southy says strategic wise they start high and come down to the masses, but guess only time will tell
Hi Mick: At last some-one with a little bit of calm on this forum, thankyou. I agree huge opportunity to make sustainable clothes. Not sure if the price point is that high ? Sure its more than the surf brands but look at their business models lately :)) I think some people will buy brand kelly (maybe). Not sure if Kelly has more to give in the area of clothing design etc. Lets face it he's a surfer - a bloody good one, but a designer/ business man ?? - I don't know him personally. The guys he's partnered with in the execution of the clothing certainly do. Maybe there is room in their profit margin to cut prices but with the little experience I have had using recycled and sustainable practices it costs a heap more than the norm. I just hope the brand succeeds, as clothing with sustainability and a recycled content (although only small) in their mission statement, has got to be better than what we are feed from the other brands.
PS: thanks again for a decent discussion.
Yeah unlike you and me Kelly can actually change the world if he sets it up properly. He's shown by getting on board he can make a difference ie Surf Aid ambassador, cleanup Bali. He's even signed Craig's petition on Dolphins. Hopefully that is his long term goal and he has to start somewhere.
Good write.....to true ...Fuck id love to read Ol baldys reply to that !
Awesome write up Free
Yes Shane --- and you should clean the sand from your vagina too
The Firewire thing as well with Slater, it's all corrupt -
Clothing - we want another Surf Brand for the tribe and special club - another quiksilver/Billabong/RipCurl mark 2 - does not matter if not viable, thats what kelly should do so he can lose on it - money well spent - trust us Kelly, we know the market.
All claims to ethical behaviour in the clothing industry need to be treated with great scepticism.
http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/the-myth-of-the-ethical-s...
'With all these geniuses in the background'
'Fuck id love to read Ol baldys reply to that !'
I was just minding my own business, and I came across this fire. First I thought they were juz sewing stuff, then I realised it was a couple of really, really, really old, really, really, really privy guys. They wuz old, privy sowa's, and they started telling me that they owned everyone and other secret stuff. Sounds all weird, but next thing I'm up there, I've stitched it up, and... well sort of... well no need to really... just fill in the dots... ... ... ...
Shit... am I in the right thread... I think I juz faded poor slattsey... again...
Threaded the thread... so to speak... let me take a selfie... ta...
oh comeback on. No justification needed. This is plainly absurd. Absolute fuckery. Sustainability is not and can never be achieved through more consumption. You make IT for the masses and have it last, not make it for the already high consuming 1%, IF you want to make a 'difference'. Ain't capitalism grand? People actually believe the ideology and this marketing bs. Fuck me.
Fair call ss for calling out this utter bollocks. Slater has proven himself an idiot. Oh, but he surfs good.
By 'idiot' i mean he himself believes this shit and evangilises it.
Sustainable. One of the new marketing buzzwords. Lucky for Kelly (who's never been known for his style out of the water) and his trendy mates there's lots of suckers with money out there. Ya know what's real sustainable? Not making anything at all.
Eggsactly!
well writen free ride.your other posts where terrible but what you have just posted rings very true.unfortunatly for kelly he dose owe somthing to surfing he has sold all that china product for decades to the masses as the most recognisable surfer on the planet.he knew where his gear was made and how and by who.he could have walked away from all that money but he took it all.
now he ignores the mass consumer the market that supports the problem to focus on the rich.where do you think the rich get large dispossable incomes to buy 500$ clothes?organic farming or some recycling buisness i dont think so.
he needs a line for the surfer and if he wants to be zoolander a line for the gq set.
wheres ya enviro wetsuits?what wetsuit is he now whering?same petrochemical one ? he could do a fuckload more for the enviroment than sell high fasion clothes.
but he wont because he would not make as much money.
Freeride sums that side up now would be good to hear the other side............Kelly...?snoring.
Anyway i thought the big 3 were getting too expensive......targets looking good at the moment,specials are on.
Looks like one punter took it too far and bought Kelly's Mum into it and he's responded in kind. I am pretty sure that Kelly doesn't get it.
http://beachgrit.com/2015/07/just-in-kelly-slater-swings-at-next-level-d...
Bob as you pointed out you have been suffering from thrush (its uncommon for men) so your vagina keeps on discharging the same bullshit. The vaginal cleansing insults are code for people who keep on banging up the same argument on the threads, same crap like your 'research argument' Get it treated Bob so we can move on.
Mick thanks for clearing up that anatomical issue as I couldn't penetrate (bad pun) that arcane turn of phrase.
One thing's for certain - Outerknown has received infinitely more exposure as a result of their pricing strategy: $20 beanies and $35 t-shirts aren't a talking point. And I doubt many surfers care to debate the finer points of the fashion either.
So assuming there's a willing demographic (to pay for these clothes at these price points), I reckon they're probably now well aware of the brand and its inventory - which is impressive for under a week in the marketplace. Which otherwise, may have taken months if not years to achieve (for example, Vissla and Depactus have yet to create any major noise).
So if that's the case, then I reckon Outerknown will be pleased with the results so far.
Good point! But is that their target market? Seems their demographics in the surfing world would be the same 0.001 % that can afford to go to Tavarua each year.
Kelly can do whatever he wants but as a consumer looking to purchase responsibility, guess I wss looking for something groundbreaking. Be a simple model for him to develop. Eg Bunnings Masters now sell timber from 100% renewable forests. I can still go and buy wood from old growth Indo forests but choose not too. I think he's missed massive opportunity like fair trade coffee as another example.
Anyway wait to he has warehouses full of the shit and then see what the prices do.
Bit of a difference now in the age of social media between exposure and benefit. If people are talking and saying bad things about your brand then that is damaging exposure not the positive peer to peer feedback that translates into sales, especially for a start-up.
If someone else did the same thing, it wouldn't have registered on the surf sites. I buy relatively expensive clothes for my day job which is both choice and enjoyment. Not a tradey and not a suit but certainly quite a few steps up from Targét, however I wait for the sales. I think we are all expecting him to be the Messiah when he is only another surfer, a great one at that. Perhaps Peter Garret can start a clothing range? Oh hang on he sold out as well.
Well I'm glad it makes you and free happy.
Note it's also uncommon for male vagina's but one person here keeps identifying men with vagina's which I find strange.
On a different note, I wanted to praise you on your selections to bet earlier this event, particularly the pick up on over odds for Melling v Smith and then the great odds and follow up win on Asing - I was impressed!
Bob you would have loved this one then buddy
Agh... The decadence of rarefied air! Next thing you know, an internet shaman will be using their people to milk the working man of 50 clams for acceptance of artistic temperance...
Other's have summed up my own thoughts on this pretty well: OK is not specifically a surfwear brand, it's an "outdoors lifestyle" brand. And it's certainly not targeted at the average pleb, the hint is in the pricing. So cool ya jets about it not passing any sort of pub test.
What does blow me away (but not surprising) was claims by some here that they can get affordable "sustainable" clothing for a tenth of the OK cost just by going down to their local Target and getting 100% cotton tees.....Right....excluding those fabrics manufactured from petro-chemicals, cotton (or at least the vast majority of it) is probably the next worst environmentally-damaging fabric you can purchase. To get a quick insight into it, read this short article http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/mar/20/cost-cotton-...
As someone who works in the sustainability discipline, I've concluded a couple of things by watching what people and companies do, rather than what they say:
- most people are totally clueless about how destructive their way of life is, due to naivety or conscious ignorance (i.e. lack of effort to do some basic investigation)
- those aren't clueless fall into two camps, those who change their ways and reduce their consumption levels or pony up the doe for the more sustainable but often higher-cost products; and those who say "I care about the environment! The government/companies should do more! I cannot afford those prices! All these other people are fucking the planet up!" whilst not actually bothering to look at how they can change personally... (e.g. forgo new phone/tv/stereo/setofmags/cappuccino/pairofkicks/nightoutclubbing or doing something as simple as spending the extra $$$ on something made very well (e.g. pants) that, whilst maybe produced no more sustainably, will last a 10 years rather than 1).
- SMEs (e.g. Patagonia is medium sized) by their very nature tend to be more nimble, and so can incorporate more sustainable practices. The larger ones tend to be less agile but have a much larger impact once they go in the right direction.
- Lots of companies aren't as sustainable as they think they are or hope to be. In many cases this is a lack of serious effort (i.e. always the dollars before the environment when push comes to shove). In some it's not for want of effort but simply that our entire society has been built over decades to not take into account the environmental side of the ledger, and thus ways of doing things built over decades will, unfortunately, take decades to change.
Pssst Kelly, got any pure, A Grade, Bolivian, 100% brown velour tops, extra small?
Bargarse , or anything from the Late show ( shitscared - inspired by more comic genius ken carter ) ...
Champagne Comedy . Love it !
funny shit...amazing whats out there...they should make a comeback
Did you see the " Ken Carter " documentary . Classic .
YouTube , " the devil at your heels " Ken Carter Canadian stuntman .
Ammonia ( WA band ) even wrote a song about him .
I've tried to live my life as a mix between Ken & Russel Coight .
Right on! The doco, the man, the freek :
http://www.onf.ca/film/devil_at_your_heels
From Leo Wanker to the Shit-scared boys, hell, remember Super Dave Osborne, anyone (he was a Canadian like Ken Carter)? There's comedy gold in them thar thrills.
Oh yeah, howzabout our very own 'danger freak' for real, Grant Page?
http://www.abc.net.au/arts/stories/s3306721.htm
Not sure about all this blah blah - but as a designer I like the brand, like the graphics, like what it stands for, like how the brand is trying to be sustainable and recycling as much as possible to a price point. (better than most) Hey if you don't like the prices don't buy it - that simple - and go to your local surf shop for some cheap - made whereever ?? imports, that disregard people, the environment and are out for the $$$. It's a good brand and with a little support will get better :)
Fr76.......get over ya self
that's my opinion that you just love bleating about people who owe something ....when they have already given so much..
so yeah I am ignorant,cliched , boring , and dead wrong...what an opinionated tall poppy crucifier you are .....
and no I don't make bds for the average bloke..its people like you with your silly Pub tests and belief we all owe you a cheaper product...because....??
Should I make a cheaper bds for guys like you...I mean what do you do for an income.....write arty farty crap......for money.
slammed the door on who are you to judge Kelly...I ask the question what have you evre done for society ...FREE.....benevolence......
So hows your conscience.......Kelly has done so much out side of surfing.....for kids sick people...blokes that need a hand......I have a 100 stories about him....that show he owes you bogans nothing.....
the average wage in the USA is $320 pw.....so......
get off your high horse and come back to reality...weak defences.....so what is the pub test...as per Joe Hockey...I can only imagine what a fan you are of his.....
and don't worry I am wearing my panties and have a vagina full of sand...does that turn you own?
You don't make boards for the average bloke?
How can you tell though? Do you have some sort of quiz to tell if they are good enough or do you ask for a tax return?
What do you do if you see some poor Jonny on the average wage riding one of your boards, repossess it?
I pay retail on my boards. Get the best I can afford. No chinese made shit. Local customs. Maybe a Bonzer off Malcolm C once a blue moon.
Ever heard of income inequality? Smarter blokes than you and me have posited it as a big problem and Slater is playing right into that debate by pitching his stuff at the wealthy.
btw, I'm at the other end of the political spectrum to Hockey.
the average bloke you seem so concerned about,you know the pub test...or as I say Bogan ...would not pay $990 for a bd....is that what you pay a board?
ya still haven't answered have you ever done anything than take.....what have you ever given back to ya fellow man??
heard of Elon Musk /Pay pal /Tesla.......he pitches his stuff at the wealthy......income equality , gender equality.....religious equality........blah blah.....
sorry I thought as you had quoted Joe Hockey......you might be a fan......being in the Pub test brigade!
Cmon Maurice, I'm your biggest fan. But Kelly has chosen this path and I think your wrong. It's about Kelly re-inventing the wheel for making significant change. If he is genuine and I think he is then he needs to look Macro not micro. This only gives and avenue for rich people to buy sustainability.
ps Do you think Kelly needs to add a couple of inches to his board. Noticeable at Bells this year and Jbay. Seems to catch the slightest of rails every so often.
Mick ,
Forget clothes for a Minute .
The closest parallel I can see here to what Kelly is trying to do.
Is Elon Musk & Tesla .
Market to the rich & idealistic to start your infrastructure build . Then reuse that capital to get the logistics rolling to bring it to the masses .
Mind you Elon is a Rocket scientist of the highest engineering type .
Kelly is a wizard on a sled , who will dabble . But I worry that alienating " his disciples " might be his kryptonite , real surfers are quite cynical .
Brute , tell me the last time you payed full price for anything within the surf industry ?!
Doing a bit of research on Elon and this came up. Rather poignant given the shark reference and Kelly's OK launch Written April 21.2015
Read more at http://www.businessinsider.my/elon-musks-first-wife-explains-what-it-tak...
Justine Musk, first wife of billionaire Elon Musk, knows a thing or two about wealth and hard work — her ex-husband is a founder of PayPal, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and has an estimated net worth of $12.1 billion.
She recently posted a response to a Quora thread asking the question “Will I become a billionaire if I am determined to be one and put in all the necessary work required?”
Her answer is “no,” though she says that the Quora reader is asking the wrong question altogether.
“You’re determined. So what? You haven’t been racing naked through shark-infested waters yet,” she writes. “Will you be just as determined when you wash up on some deserted island, disoriented and bloody and ragged and beaten and staring into the horizon with no sign of rescue?”
She then offers some advice:
“Shift your focus away from what you want (a billion dollars) and get deeply, intensely curious about what the world wants and needs. Ask yourself what you have the potential to offer that is so unique and compelling and helpful that no computer could replace you, no one could outsource you, no one could steal your product and make it better and then club you into oblivion (not literally). Then develop that potential. Choose one thing and become a master of it. Choose a second thing and become a master of that. When you become a master of two worlds (say, engineering and business), you can bring them together in a way that will a) introduce hot ideas to each other, so they can have idea sex and make idea babies that no one has seen before and b) create a competitive advantage because you can move between worlds, speak both languages, connect the tribes, mash the elements to spark fresh creative insight until you wake up with the epiphany that changes your life.
The world doesn’t throw a billion dollars at a person because the person wants it or works so hard they feel they deserve it. (The world does not care what you want or deserve.) The world gives you money in exchange for something it perceives to be of equal or greater value: something that transforms an aspect of the culture, reworks a familiar story or introduces a new one, alters the way people think about the category and make use of it in daily life. There is no roadmap, no blueprint for this; a lot of people will give you a lot of advice, and most of it will be bad, and a lot of it will be good and sound but you’ll have to figure out how it doesn’t apply to you because you’re coming from an unexpected angle. And you’ll be doing it alone, until you develop the charisma and credibility to attract the talent you need to come with you.
Have courage. (You will need it.)
And good luck. (You’ll need that too.)”
Patagonia started off supa expensive relative to the Surf Industry.....as southey says..Elon Musk who owns Tesla made his money from Paypal.....has very pricey products ....but is on the cusp of revolutionizing the battery industry...which in essence will destroy the power Co's as we know them....and shut down the Coal industry....which will negatively affect Australia in the short term...as we have a short sighted idiot for a PM who keeps opening coal mines
know one knows what Kelly intends to do in the future.......but having bought Firewire on its eco credentials....FFS he's trying...
and I think Kelly bds are the right length but...he uses too small a back fin....
Ah, love your work MC.
Tell you what, next time you're up here I'll show you some of the bush regen work I've been involved in. There's a vine, coastal fontainea, thought to be extinct, which has been planted on the top of Lennox Point, it's a nice spot. It's nothing to do with being a surf hero, just trying to leave the place in a better state for our kids. Case has my number.
Now, I saw some of your boards on the Zak site for a lot less than $990. Are they just standard pu/pe construction?
yeah FR76...sorry but don't love your work......sorry won't be coming up your way soon and I don't think I would waste my time dribbling on with you....
The only reason for me to go your way would be these George , so we might chat about .....future deisgns...
the bds at Zaks are PU/PE 18 mths old and now the only stock bds left in Australia as I don't do bds for shops anymore....I have a small sold out production , and prefer to work O/S ...so I don't have to deal with weirdos like you who take pride in living the Tall poppy syndrome ideals....of the great Aussie Bogan......
I make this as an observation of what you put up here on these forums , maybe you are just taking the piss like UDO...
have you vere done anything for humans ...you know like spent large amounts of yor income helping people ..and not just a few plants....??
You just keep barking up wrong tree after wrong tree mate.
You probably don't even realise how similar you sound to the Captains of the surf industry who showed so much casual contempt for the surfers they all made so much money off.
I've done nothing but praise aussie surfboard designers as well as George who is the Godfather of 'em all so if in your weird world of comprehension that makes me a tall poppy chopper, then so be it. To be frank that says more about you and your sensitivity than it does about me.
All the best to you. Probably no point having any further interaction over the internet.
yeah FR76......sound like one of the Capts' of the surf industry.....yeah am rich and retired....but contempt for the surfers they made money off.......I now understand you are bitter about how they made money and maybe you didn't........they profited in a capitalist world...the real worl we live in , but you choose not to....and I am certainly no mate of yours......
as for your praise of designers...you have showed you are not qualified to...as I now believe/observe because Kelly has decided to try a different avenue of making better clothing than the surf industry...
yeah I am just a sensitive ignorant tree barker......and when I see you pandering your negativity here on the internet....I'll be there......your choice with the interaction.......you could just leave...?
I'm not qualified to praise surfboard designers because I criticised Kellys pricing of his new label?
That's wonderfully clear logic.
btw, you might want to take a look at your own negativity on the internet.
Good day to you Sir.
yeah you are right....I meant to say praising surfboard designers that don't design.......and are just shapers using what already exists......as far as internet forums go...they are negative.......how much positivity ...people taking the piss at other peoples expense....
how much is real and /or just venting ..morris/shaun??? hehe...
how much baiting trolling.......Uplift......
Had a look in patagonia on the weekend i was happy with the prices and quality but i wouldn't pay anymore. What is OK offering over the other high end brands? It's unproven and has no prestige compared to the competition at that price point.
The only people who can actually afford this gear have no allegiance to slater as the only time they would have heard his name is in the 5 secs sport report they catch at the airport lounge. Surfing doesn't rate much more then a novelty to your average non surfer joe believe it or not there is still strong stigma.
I wish Kelly luck but i won't be buying till the prices reflect the product.
Brutus ,Reading thru your posts ...I find it very very hard to believe you are a Christian
Born again Christian or whatever you call yourself...From way back with your posts on Jeff Rowley character assinination now Freeride and your tall poppy aussie bogan rubbish .....this reflects badly on the true Christians.....like Blob .
Do unto to others ..............Hmm.
udo I make observations like I did with you and your altar boy splitting joke.......still get no real explanation....but that's your way of dealing with things...as far as FR 76 goes.....I just observe the tall poppy rubbish he put up...that's my observations.......that's what forums are.....you judge me to be a bad Christian...so be it.....better to be a bad Christian than not at all....
You've not to be kidding Brutus, better to be bad Christian than not at all, you are one strange individual, so by just being a Christian makes all the bad things people do acceptable, glad I don't live in your dream world, a bad person is a bad person
oops.....what I meant was we are all sinners.....I am a grommet christinan and have a lot to make up for......and a bad person can become a good person.....
5 hrs later............ ooooops backpedal time.
Wow…these 4 pages of comment posts are quite the laugh…some for good reason, others not so good, but a laugh none-the-less!
Anyhow, my 5 cents on it: Surf fashion? Meh.
Who cares? It’s hot before or after the surf, you wear something light-weight. It’s cold before or after the surf, you wear something heavier/warmer.
Are you seriously trying to make a fashion statement at the beach?
Are you trying to make a fashion statement when you go out, so as to appear ‘like a real surfer’?
Maybe when you were a grom trying to prove your ‘surf credentials’ / fall in with the ‘surfie look’, but in this day and age?
I assume, and get the impression, that most posters on these sites are at least 20 -25+ years old…do any of you really care about making sure you look like a surfer???
Seriously, how many of you made more than split decisions about what shirt/pants you were going to wear down to the beach? Does it mean anything to you at all?
Maybe it does…perhaps I’m in the minority but I couldn’t give a flying f88k whether I look like a surfer or not. ‘Surf fashion’ is a meaningless concept to me – and to be brutally honest, I figured it all died in the ass when Billagone and Quickbuck lost mega dollars along with their shareprice and closed a bunch of stores…
Surf fashion? Meh.
Well clothes are clothes and you need them anyway. If you've got the coin and are prepared to part with it and feel good about what you're wearing who's to have any bearing on that? OK doesn't look exactly surfee to me, I think it's quite stylish. Like most I'll probably wait for the specials though:)
Further to that, maybe Kelly is just trying to further enrich himself? Growing up he had his arse out of his pants, maybe his approach to making money is the same aproach he takes with surfing?
I like Southeys rationalisation above in that with more resources he can make a bigger impact in the future, you can't accuse Kelly of looking backwards.
Finally, as to owing something to us- Pffffffft! What does he owe us? He's given plenty. I think primarily he's been an Entertainer and haven't we been entertained over the years. He's just one of those lucky ones who has been given a gift, worked hard and managed to build an eviable life from it. Really, name one benevolent sportsman off the top of your head? One who's really made a difference?
I said a while back that Kelly might be surfings first Billionaire. Wouldn't that be something.
Wearing your Kanagawa wave tee today, Zen. Second day in a row. Don't think I fall into KS's target market.
Nice.
Lovingly hand printed by nubile Japanese nymphets with the graceful curve of their porcelain neck beckoning from their kimono's as they toil away on a windswept verge of Fuji san.
"Made in China"
Fuji san has a looooooong verge.
For a minute there it was almost as credible as the Hollister back story:)
Had me, ha!
I like Gray and Zen's 2 posts - especially clothes are clothes - which stunet might again highlight as a solid fact...but seriously, keep it a little simple and see it for what it is - it's outter wears choice to tackle the free enterprise market how they wish to as much as it's every consumers choice to purchase the product if they choose to - there's no guarantee they'll succeed as highlighted that other business ventures by Slater have at times failed in the past -
Maybe some of the critics should apply for a job - specifically become the brand manager for outterwear because they know the successful business model combined with what Kelly Slater owes us all can dovetail to a successful business .....I agree Pffffffft
Finally to Brutus - I disagree with much of your thoughts, but on this topic I agree with ya- No doubt I'm in for some Vagina abuse as a follow-up!
Bob I am trying grow one...!!
Zen hows the surf .......looks like you guys have been pounded by swell??
We've had a great run of waves up to double and windless days. New sled is delivering everything and more;)
Swell has bottomed out today and the pea-soup sea fog has rolled in. Had a cruisy little waist high beachie sesh yesterday. Can't see if there's waves today anyway but can hear them. But we're on the up again from tomorrow so has been a good start to typhoon season.
Seems celebrity fashion companies are the go, even Taylor Swift is getting in on the action
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3169471/Taylor-Swift-launch-fa...
Far out, more comments and discussion on here about 'fashion', Kelly's obligation to "us", and the marketing than a handful of recent articles on surfboard design. WTF?
Isn't it about going surfing? Doing your 'own' thing, rather than trying to keep up with someone else? Surely, that's why you live the lifestyle you do FR76, and you too Brutus, heck, applies to all of us - I hope.
The 'surf industry' went and marketed the 'freedom lifestyle' of surfing to the masses, and profited from it for a while. Then when they got greedy, made inferior quality products at higher prices, then struggled and are now still trying to recover.
The thing is, do YOU identify yourself as a 'surfer' due to the clothes you wear? Or, is it due to the participation in the 'lifestyle' of surfing?
If Kelly's OK company is trying to leverage his fame into the mass, higher income and wealth demographic, well, then so be it. He owes us nothing. He's a paid entertainer - he's entertained, we've watched, we've enjoyed it or hated it, but it was up to us to buy the products he was endorsing. OK is no different.
Take all of ^^^ THAT in context with the FACT that I'm still wearing a Billabong Jacket from the mid 90's ;) ... actually, I had on yesterday a Quicksilver heavy flannelette shirt from the same era.
Some insights with Kelly on the radio about shark attacks
Ah, just listened to that interview, shark attack stuff, yep ... OK, nope.
Did I miss it?
no I should have posted it in the shark thread instead. sorry wingnut
Gave the website to a friend who's personal demographic fits the target market for Ok. Yes he has heard of Kelly Slater. He is a professional internet marketer, entrepreneur diver and hunter, 40 years approx self made doesn't surf. Thought some analysis from someone outside normal group that we come from, would be worthwhile. Here's his feedback.
"Really well put together and the story is good and authentic Mick. The clothes themselves are differentiated by the way they're made and what they're made from rather than styling or originality. Nothing wrong with them - they look like good quality basics made in a sustainable way. But I found the whole thing a bit sterile and lifeless though at first. It's kind of anti-fashion in a way - and that could be a strength for many who hate the whole seething fashion industry with all it's vacuous BS. My main criticism is that it lacks the amazing energy of its founder Kelly Slater. Second criticism is that the website is incredibly mainstream, but that may be deliberate - an attempt to reach middle America with a solid, sustainable product. Still, I think it could have been art directed with a little more excitement. Personally, there wasn't a single item I was moved to buy and I went through the whole site. If I'm going to spend serious money on casual/outdoor clothes, I prefer wool and synthetics from brands like Icebreaker, Stone Island, CP Company, Brax and for hunting Sitka and Kuiu. Cotton is a summer fabric for me and I go generic/no name."
That's good insight Mick.
well done mick - nice insight
nice article, but once again you get down to the comments and feel like you've gate-crashed the clicky poker-night of the usual bitchy old men
So how is Outer known going
Who buys this stuff.....?
Doesn't seem there's any more hurrah over the prices, though I noticed they're selling grey sweatshorts almost identical to what I wear to bed for $165. They are limited edition though...
Not sure when they plan to sell to Oz though the Outerknown Australia Facebook page is priming the market with a hearty 28 followers.
Reports this morning that Kelly has done a deal for Outerknown to be made available exclusively via David Jones for the Australian market.
That's a pretty good signal as to which demographic he's aiming towards.
......or it was the only deal they could get for an over priced surf brand.
Always have a chuckle when those who have spent a lifetime swilling from the "toxic corporate" trough run to the eco / enviro high ground as a de facto confession like purge.
Recovering corporate-holics Inc., but they sculled the free juice with zeal .
Yeah , you know who you all are , and so do we . So fuck off fraudsters with your Holy rollin' bullshit .
In this case Slater hasn't done the 'lifetime swilling the toxic corporate'. More the opposite. It's pretty simple you don't have to buy this stuff. I have not seen any of this gear yet but I'm guessing from the prices mentioned they might be good quality. Remember the original surf Ts we used to get.
OK's not a surfbrand period,get over it , as you seem to be relating it to the so called toxic corporate surf wear!
What's with the increasing use of the word "period"?
It's an American term, why start to use it in Australia?
You guys serious ? Slater made shitloads from royalties & sponos from the so called "surf industrial complex" (lol, others term not mine) some say he is a greedy pig. Now I couldn't give a fuck but spare me the ..."buy an overpriced hoody to save your soul, save my soul, save the world". Same with that other mob.
Reminds me of SouthPark when Susan Sarandon turned up and started a Prius driving fad and all the smog got replaced with smug.
That was an epic episode.
Remember how they were smelling their own farts ? Classic.
Good luck to him if he makes a dollar selling rags to muppets.
I've done worse things for money that's for certain.
PS - Sidthefish , did you make that shark ?
Blowie, no not my creation , was an exhibit at an seaside arty farty sculpture expo , you know the type. It's made out of Tin cans , tops, bottoms & sides . She's about 8' long.
I've met the fella that made it.
Q. This is the same KS - "McKnights gunna pay me 10 mil for my 10th world title."... same guy right ? Yes piggy piggy snout in corporate trough.
That said , I wholeheartedly encourage KS and you all to go out and buy yesefs a brand new electric vehicle , cos sid has shit loads of shares in an East Africa miner that has the world's purest grade Super Jumbo spherical graphite that Elon Musk Tesla / LG / Panasonic etc desperately need for their Li-Ion batteries.
I'll buy the electric car if it has a slick chic in a slick dress, telling me its a bargain.
Landing a major retailer is pretty important step for a start-up.
But I think David Jones still stocking Quiksilver or is it MYER??? I get confused which one is which when I'm in the department store.
I'd say they will run it like Burton does. One manufacturing run for the upcoming season Summer Winter etc. etc.. Manufacturing 5% over budget to allow for some extra supply stock. Sell exclusively to the retailers bar a bit of online. Even if they are selling half price to DJ's they still making a killing.
Be on the half price rack end of season so be a bargain soon, much like tsubi jeans. Satarted off $250, you can get them for $40 now.
.....and here I was thinking it was death to any brand that ended up in a department store! Exclusive to David Jones? Sounds like mutual delusion to me, each thinking the other is bringing some credibility to the deal.
Cant believe this thread is up to five pages.
Pretty crazy its been over 20 years since "Kelly slater in black and White" and we are all still taking about him crazy airs, business ventures, wave pools and he is still in the top ten…who would have ever thought.
People often neglect to mention his greatest achievement, running a length through Old Pammy in her prime...
What about hooking up with Bar Refaeli only a few years ago? Top notch.
Giselle!!
I've thought more about Slaters debt to surfing as exposed here. I couldn't understand it initially but then the not real wave and gidget got me thinking more - Imagine if you can't afford to buy Outerknown gear AND soon you can't afford to buy a ticket to surf the not real wave -- are you getting the drift and the biggest sellout since evil bitch Gidget??
So Bob you think that Kelly has a debt to the lower socio-economic demographic of surfers, and he should only doing product and projects for them?
So would there be a means test to prove that your poverty , like no more than one board , one pair of shorts , never taken a boat trip or travelled for surf trips to a first world country?
What's the debt ? Can't be money, I have not paid a cent to watch him surf. Maybe the vibe ? Can't be that, he has got the vibe and passes it on to others. Maybe we owe the debt ?
Ol baldy's prices have come down....the Bula collection are quite reasonable .
Outerknown has a sale on.
Even at 50% off, these boardshorts are still five times more expensive than the last pair I bought.
Not sure what version of the site this is, but i'm seeing the Apex Trunks at $233 full retail price (still a lot, I agree). Most of the shorts in the sale section are $60-70.
I know some international stores do weird mark-ups for Australia.....
For the most part, what i've seen of Outerknown clothes over the past few years have been fairly reasonably priced once they hit the sales. Presumably better quality than your average Rip Curl/Billabong rubbish too.
This is on the Outerknown website.
https://www.outerknown.com/collections/sale-trunks
(Apex Trunks are still there with RRP of AUD$519.28, though it's now "sold out")
Gotta say, it's not much of a business model if products are "fairly reasonably priced once they hit the sales".
The whole idea of retail is to sell as much as you can, if not everything, at full price. Once you're in discount territory, it often means you've done something wrong (sure, there are exceptions to this rule i.e. loss-leaders at supermarkets).
Haha. Maybe, by high RRP most of the year, staff only have to work few times a year when 'sales' are on....haha. The rest of the time who knows what you could be doing.
Am I correct in saying that they were $519.28!!!!
Hahaha wtf!
B..b..b..b..but it's now HALF PRICE!
I've bought a new board cheaper than that...
They couldn't have sold a pair at that price, surely?
Who fucking buys that shit?!
cheap as....
Those Hiring the Surf Ranch for the day...
Groups can also hire the whole facility out for the day, but it will cost them just under AU$75,000/US$50,000 during the high season and a bit over AU$50,000/US$35,000 in the off-season.
OK spruke sustainability!!!
Yet they provide 20 different colours of the same style at $519ea!!! That's the same business model that got Billabong in the shit!
Reading back through some pretty spicy comments in this thread, it seems Maurice was right when he said that Kelly wouldn't risk "surf bogans" buying Outerknown gear.
I'd go so far as to say that Slats hasn't taken the risk of pretty much anyone buying his threads.
Tyler Durden : We're consumers. We are by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty, these things don't concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy's name on my underwear.
Why would the GOAT narrowcast his productline to the relatively small surf market when there is a world out there wanting to explore the world while 'needing' to consume? His image transcends surfing for multiple reasons. Not sure how far, but, you'd have to go into the back woods to find a hilly billy or a poor person in a sweatshop in some 3rd world country who had never heard his name. Maybe a slight exaggeration but those people probably wont be buying his product line anyway.
There's an ever-increasing demand for social and environmental responsibility and a glutony of shite to choose from already..so the responsible and sustainability angle is understandable because like someone mentioned his likely competition will be Patagonia (with few others). If the clothes are made to last and they look Ok (mind the pun) then good on him. If I bought a $250 sweater and it lasted twice or three times as long as some of the crap we've been served, then maybe from an economist's view it makes sense. It would hurt in the short term. Maybe the kids skip dinner this month? Only problem is somehow the gravity of fashion warps time and the life of our sweater is somehow shortened. Buying his product for me would be like taking a leap of (good) faith that it will last longer (and given cash-flow probably depriving more important people of something. What about those hilly billies and those in poverty?).
Consumers already buy over-priced clothing and image drives the irrational decision to purchase stylish clothes. Not sure what the world traveller image really is (in Covid times too). I always thought it was minimalistic and function based. But anyway, maybe it got lost somewhere or travelling is more about sitting in a hotel room for two weeks alone. Perhaps the over-paid sydney-sider or Hollywood A-lister, holdaying in their Byron Bay beachouse at Christmas may buy it because, hey, the Norse god of thunder wore it.
As for some of the price tags, dependent on consumer response, it is either going to bury the company or force it into submission (see the 50% off). Or, by the GOAT modelling it down the beach with a surfboard underarm, he may just drag some of the 'surfwear' market with him and hence raise the bar in terms of prices we pay for boardies. Either that or he really is narrowcasting his product to Byron Bay beachouse owner squillionaire.
Because buying an image is not always about what you as the walking billboard are saying, but also what you are not. Everyone wants to be underground or high-flying. Sometimes they are one and the same? Which way is up again?
He's just trying to make money out there like everyone else by either catering to the masses or a niche market. If people can afford it and buy it, I dont care so much. They must be doing well (financially). I am not jealous, but I do have a problem with paying overs for something that gets worn by and supports an ambassador's priveliged lifestyle of countless waves in all locations who behaves like a self-entitled prick in the water. Not saying Slater does (I havent, to my knowledge, been graced in the water by the presence of his highness), but there are those out there who do. We all no at least one.
so who buys oknown .....never seen it ...anywhere....................
with byron property going for north of $20m boardies @ $500+ are cheap at the price especially with colours that match your avocado mid length.
I've got a splendid 7'4" twin fin with a colour scheme of Oatmeal Flax Linen complemented by Burnt Sienna rails.
Looks soooo good on Insta.
Best fun I've had in ages!
Kelly is the gift that keeps giving.
Kelly is definitely the full case study, will get better with age too.
May one day be mentioned in the same breath as Howard Hughes and
Michael Jackson.
In the water I’m still working the same pair of Quiksilver boardies I got from the bargain bin in Bali for $15 about 6 years ago. Less than $3 per year for actual board shorts worn exclusively to surf in wherever the water is warm. Must’ve warn them surfing at least 1000 times. Not a bad deal.
On land it’s Stay surf boardies. Super comfy with that straight from the cat walk look that defines my lifestyle. Exactly what you need if you’re frequenting the Mecca’s drive thru and a sandy back beach car park in low socioeconomic environs.
Stay Surf... great little brand with the know how of a lifetime in the industry. Good quality boardies & tshirts. No fluff, riders etc etc just core stuff.
Full gonzo
(That was in reply to AndyM)
Seriously though, must be a curse to be the GOAT and not have the tools to deal with it.
Being an American GOAT would be the worst.
True. Not easy.
You ask for it and want it badly, and then you're saddled with it - and stuffed.
In the meantime there's only one thing to do - mock him mercilessly.
Kelly is rich and shreds . He’s got access to perfect, uncrowded waves and is feted by man, woman and child.
We’ve all got head noise but at least he doesn’t have the drudgery and peripheral economic shit bringing him down. He’s done real well in life I reckon.
It’s a shame he’s not big enough to rise above the temptation of MOAR!!!!!!!!!!!
Seppos are gonna Seppo I suppose.
Americans virtually invented ego.
Any issues with my own ego that I have, I blame on cultural imperialism, Dr Benjamin Spock and a Hollywood diet.
Ego and Super-ego walk into a bar.
Bartender says I'm gonna need to see your Id.
Ohmyfuggingawd.
For those interested, Kelly talking to Semi Permanent director Murray Bell about the reasoning behind his brand, pricing, and also his stay in Sydney among other tid bits.
Thought not sure about this comment from the linked article.. https://www.semipermanent.com/stories/outerknown-kelly-slater-john-moore-video
"In response to this increasingly urgent understanding of his own impact on the earth, he spent a significant portion of time (and money) into solving it—starting with a revolutionary wave pool that cuts the need to travel to the ocean."
Hahahahaha!
Slatard - the gift that keeps giving.
Ohmyfugginawd.
You fellas have gotta understand, sustainability doesn't happen overnight, it takes time.
It's evolution.
Meh. I really like the style and the sustainability credentials. But I can't afford that. Patagonia is more affordable. I'm guessing OK is aiming for wealthy yuppies in LA, NYC and London. You know, the kind of world the owners of Pegasus resorts come from..
Which is a real shame, because there's the total market volume, there's the proportion of that the plebs buy, and then there's the tiny proportion that those who can afford OK buy. If the goal is to have a positive impact, then the pricing needs to come down. That is, they need to price it in a way that they take away market share from those brands that are not as sustainable as OK. More sales will bring cost of production down. Know what I mean?
With all the brains around this brand I can only think of two reasons they're not doing this... they're trying an Apple approach, fancy looking/higher cost positioning to tap into human sex appeal signalling (see: Scott Galloway's blog). Or more cynically, Kering felt that doing so (my approach) would be stepping on the toes of their other brands.