by Board Retailers Association | Feb 26, 2021 | Associate Members, News, Resources, SUP, Surf
Editor’s Note: Just bought a new surfboard? Check out Surfcare, a new option for peace of mind. You just dropped an unforgiving grand(ish) on a creamy white hunk of fiberglass – straight off the rack from your local surf shop. It’s silky to the touch. Your eye skims its clean eyes with adoration. You’re beaming with pride. You’re also a little sheepish about the purchase. The expense to fragility ratio is merciless. The reef doesn’t care about your investment. Nor does the minefield of surfboards at crowded spots like Malibu. Nope. They’ll happily break your board for you and kill that joy at no cost. The fragility of expensive surfboards has long defied logic for addicted, cash-constrained surfers. But a sensible solution may have just hit the market. Enter Surfcare: insurance for your brand new surfboard. “I was on a six-month trip to Indonesia when I had my ‘aha’ moment,” says Surfcare Founder Nick Stolz. “I showed up to the tiny Island of Sipura in the Mentawais with a brand new quiver of boards. Within a couple weeks, however, I broke every single one of them surfing HT’s and waves on neighboring islands. That’s when I decided to make Surfcare a reality.” Surfcare cofounder Nick Stolz charging Nias prior to breaking all of his surfboards and deciding to do something capitalist about it. Photo: Courtesy Stolz According to Stolz, the brand launched last month after three years of development and hoop-jumping to abide by regulations in the understandably no-nonsense insurance industry. Insurance is not a bro-bro industry. Warranties must be vetted and maintained. “To get a little into the weeds, I didn’t know what I was...
by Board Retailers Association | Jan 29, 2021 | Associate Members, Resources, Skateboard, Statistics, Surf
Action Watch (BRA Supporting Vendor Partner) works with specialty retailers, brands and industry partners in the surf and skate industries to share in-depth insights and actionable data on buying patterns so that we can all make better, more informed decisions to create a stronger, more successful industry together. BRA Distinguished Retail Members are granted access to quarterly retail sales reports and other relevant Action Watch data so you will know exactly what is happening at point of sale in specialty retail. BRA Distinguished Retail Members can now access all four quarters of 2020 (password protected) Action Watch Reports via the following link: https://actionwatch.com/2020-board-retailers-association/ If you are a BRA Distinguished Retail Member but do not already have the password credentials (user name and password) needed to access these insightful reports, please email our Executive Director doug@boardretailers.org and he will reply with the appropriate credentials. We encourage you to reach out to patrik@actionwatch.com with any questions related to the data and to learn more about the Project United program for Core Retailers through Action Watch. As stated above, BRA Distinguished Retail Members can gain access to recent and historical Core Surf and Skate Shop sales reports by category as well as Action Watch Core Retailer survey results. If you are not yet a BRA Distinguished Retail Member, you can easily opt in via this super simple join form If you have already opted into Regular Retail Membership, but would like to upgrade to Distinguished Retail Membership and benefit from additional offerings including the Action Watch Reports referenced above, please email our Executive Director doug@boardretailers.org and he will reply with an invoice and...
by Board Retailers Association | Jan 8, 2021 | News, Surf
Photo: Audrey Lambidakis Earlier today, Peter Mel, who already snagged one of the best waves of the year at Maverick’s on December 8th — and was towed into a bomb and then rescued by his son last Saturday — just upped the ante. Again. See below for video and Mel’s take on the wave, and stay tuned here for our realtime updates on this series of swells. All photos: Audrey Lambidakis “That wave was by far my best in 29 years of surfing Maverick’s,” Pete said. “I mean, I’ve been seeing those types of waves my whole life. But I was never brave enough to do it. I always thought, ‘maybe I could get one from there.’ Then, the other day (Dec 8) kind of catalyzed that slightly.” “So today, I just went to my spot again and said to myself, ‘I need to be a little deeper so I can actually get behind it and then pull up into it.’ And that’s kinda what happened. I just visualized the outside part where you can get the chip-in. That’s the only way you’re going to get through one of those big ones. Because you can’t take off from the bowl. It’s too vertical.” “So I got the chip on the shoulder and it worked out. The wave stayed open. I’m actually depressed right now. It’s crazy. I don’t know. It’s the weirdest thing. I’ve never felt this kind of…it’s like, ‘Oh my God. I’m 50 years old. Did I just do that?’ But it’s like, ‘now what? What do I look forward to now?’ You know what I mean? Do I do it again? It’s pretty...
by Board Retailers Association | Jan 6, 2021 | Corona Virus, Distinguished Retail Members, Educational Opportunity, Kiteboard, Resources, Retail Strategy, Skateboard, Snowboard, SUP, Surf, Wakeboard
Board Retailers Association organizes and expresses the views and concerns of independent board specialty retailers to industry associations, major trade show organizations and others in an effort to help promote our industry, support the board sports specialty retailers and protect our Lifestyle. BRA Retailer Roundtable Panel Discussion (Surf Expo Connect – Sept. 2020) View board sport specialty retailers from around the United States speak about how they are managing these challenging times, the resources they have leaned on and new opportunities that lie ahead. This remarkable Retailer Roundtable Panel Discussion initially aired at the Surf Expo Connect virtual tradeshow on September 17, 2020 Host: George Leichtweis, BRA Chairman and Owner of Modern Skate & Surf (Royal Oak, MI) Panelists: Ferguson Herivaux, One Gig (Boston, MA) Coco Tihayni, Surf Diva (La Jolla, CA) D. Nachnani, Coastal Edge (Virginia Beach, VA) Paul Erickson, Management One Tune in with Doug Works from Board Retailers Association – PropagandaHQ.net interview by Vipe Desai This is a video of an interview conducted on September 28, 2020 by Vipe Desai of PropagandaHQ.net with Doug Works (Executive Director of the Board Retailers Association), who shared updates with Vipe on what the organization is doing to help its retail members as well as insights as to how retailers are managing during the pandemic. Be sure to visit PropagandaHQ.net to view valuable Industry News and Resourceful Articles regularly. BRA Webinar: Reopening Your Store – The Things That You Are Not Yet Thinking About (Dan Jablons,RSG) Special Educational Webinar hosted by Board Retailers Association and presented by Dan Jablons of Retail Smart Guys on May 21, 2020 and now available...
by Board Retailers Association | Dec 10, 2020 | Industry, News, Surf
The victim was a 56-year-old Lahaina resident. Photo: Cayla Moore/WSL Yesterday we reported that the surfer attacked by a shark Tuesday at Honolua Bay, which postponed the Maui Pro, was in stable condition in a local hospital following surgery. Since then, his condition worsened and sadly, the 56-year-old Lahaina resident died of his wounds last night according to the Maui Memorial Medical Center, which released information to local media. “The WSL has learned that Tuesday’s victim of the shark attack at Honolua Bay has tragically passed away,” wrote World Surf League CEO Erik Logan on social media. “Our thoughts and hearts are with the victim’s family and friends as well as the entire Maui surfing community.” The WSL also announced its decision not to run the rest of the Maui Pro at Honolua Bay this year and is currently looking at options of where to finish off the event which was on schedule to finish Tuesday before the attack. The bite mark. Photo: Department of Land and Natural Resources The man was reportedly paddling out from the old boat ramp when he was bitten and the water was murky due to swell and other factors, which may have led to the attack. According to experts, these shark bites (this particular shark left a 17-inch bite mark in the victim’s board) are usually exploratory as the predator is most often looking for turtles and other prey in Hawaiian waters. The attacks are rarely fatal, although a California man died after a shark attack on Maui near Kaanapali Shores resort in 2019, which is just down the Honoapiilani Highway from Honolua Bay on the island’s west side....
by Board Retailers Association | Nov 23, 2020 | Industry, Outdoor, Retail Strategy, SUP, Surf
Editor’s Note: The 2020 Wetsuit Guide is powered by our featured partners. The air is getting cold. So is the water. The difference between good and bad rubber is about to get real. It’s the difference between pain and comfort. The suits featured in The Inertia’s Wetsuit Guide 2020 are the best of the best – guaranteed to keep you in the water longer, more comfortably, to make the sometimes-unwelcoming task of winter surfing that much more palatable. Feel free to scroll through the selection of suits above, or, for your convenience, we’ve listed them out below as well. Keep warm this winter. Wear good rubber. The warranty “covers anything that appears to have failed under normal use, such as a blown seam, failed power seam seal or broken zipper. Warranty items are always repaired free of charge.” Photo: Amee Longpré Patagonia Men’s R2 Yulex Front Zip Wetsuit Patagonia’s Yulex® wetsuits have exclusive linings for increased stretch. The only Fair Trade Certified™ suits, they’re made with 85% Yulex® natural rubber/15% synthetic rubber by polymer content; natural rubber is FSC® certified by the Rainforest Alliance. The R2 gets the job done. Best for water 55°–60° F/13°–16° C. Read our review of the Patagonia Men’s R4 Front-Zip Hooded Wetsuit. Body Glove Men’s Red Cell Front Zip Wetsuit Body Glove’s top-of-the-line fullsuit features proprietary Red Cell infrared interior insulation, which converts your body heat into infrared waves that channels warmth back to your core. Ergonomic panel construction married with the stitch-free Micro-Bead exterior seam seal creates a true fit with minimal restriction to movement. Additionally, the Evo-Dry exterior jersey is hydrophobic to resist water absorption, minimizing weight, and keeping...
