Looks like a fun team..

"team naish".....seems to be a boys only thing ?? Surely they have room for one or two females on the "team"?

The problem the manufacturers have is that youngsters like in this video this can't generally afford the gear. So it's not clear to me who they are selling to. An old fart like me who can afford this stuff doesn't identify with these kids in the way I would with Chuck or Dave Kalama or Robby etc. So I'm afraid this marketing vid leaves me totally cold despite me currently owning three Naish boards. Meh. The kids will win the comps (both surf and race) but how effective a marketing tool they will be in shifting units remains to be seen. I don't aspire to be Kai Lenny, and no-one my age is stupid enough to think that they would ever be able to do what the teenagers do except in very certain situations. And Kai Lenny et al are too old for my kids to identify with. So there's this no-mans land demographically that the marketing guys have to deal with. I don't envy them. Is there any other participation sport where it is so much the case that the guys who are best placed to be best at it are not going to be able to afford the gear? Obviously the marketing guys want to move the image of the sport away from people my age and DJs etc. Nobody aspires to be middle-aged. But if few people who are younger can buy the stuff, this creates an issue.

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Area10 said...
The problem the manufacturers have is that youngsters like in this video this can't generally afford the gear. So it's not clear to me who they are selling to. An old fart like me who can afford this stuff doesn't identify with these kids in the way I would with Chuck or Dave Kalama or Robby etc. So I'm afraid this marketing vid leaves me totally cold despite me currently owning three Naish boards. Meh. The kids will win the comps (both surf and race) but how effective a marketing tool they will be in shifting units remains to be seen. I don't aspire to be Kai Lenny, and no-one my age is stupid enough to think that they would ever be able to do what the teenagers do except in very certain situations. And Kai Lenny et al are too old for my kids to identify with. So there's this no-mans land demographically that the marketing guys have to deal with. I don't envy them. Is there any other participation sport where it is so much the case that the guys who are best placed to be best at it are not going to be able to afford the gear? Obviously the marketing guys want to move the image of the sport away from people my age and DJs etc. Nobody aspires to be middle-aged. But if few people who are younger can buy the stuff, this creates an issue.

Hey lay off on thinking the kids are going to win everything!! I know I sure as hell will be giving it a good go to beat as many of them as possible this year. Plenty of older guys are still pretty competitive which is what makes this sport so cool!! I would say my age group would be the biggest market for SUP at the moment.
Remember you are only as young as you feel!!

The old guys are only competitive at the moment because there are so few young guys doing it - because they can't afford or transport the gear.

I was shocked at how fast my 10-year old went when I stuck him on a board for his first distance paddle. If he paddled as much as I have done over the last 7 years there's no way in hell that anyone my age is ever gonna get close to him, even if they were Chuck Pattterson himself. Within 5 years we will have kids racing who have grown up with SUP and then anyone over 35 won't stand a chance. You just can't beat the power-to-weight ratio of a youngster. Plus, most of the old guard are at the front because they have crossed over from another paddle sport (like Danny). But as SUP technique develops to be more specific to the sport (as indeed the Connor Baxter style is the first sign of) then the older guys will lose that advantage. So sorry, but your days are numbered mate. Enjoy it while you can because next year or so everyone in front of you will be half your age and training half as hard.

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Area10 said..

The old guys are only competitive at the moment because there are so few young guys doing it - because they can't afford or transport the gear.

I was shocked at how fast my 10-year old went when I stuck him on a board for his first distance paddle. If he paddled as much as I have done over the last 7 years there's no way in hell that anyone my age is ever gonna get close to him, even if they were Chuck Pattterson himself. Within 5 years we will have kids racing who have grown up with SUP and then anyone over 35 won't stand a chance. You just can't beat the power-to-weight ratio of a youngster. Plus, most of the old guard are at the front because they have crossed over from another paddle sport (like Danny). But as SUP technique develops to be more specific to the sport (as indeed the Connor Baxter style is the first sign of) then the older guys will lose that advantage. So sorry, but your days are numbered mate. Enjoy it while you can because next year or so everyone in front of you will be half your age and training half as hard.

Absolutley no reason why a guy or girl in their mid to late thirties or even mid forties cant be more than competetive with say a 20 year old.Expecially if they have looked after themselves and are injury free. Facts are most middle age people dont look after themselves and are not even close to being as active as they where in their youth , mainly as priorities change , Family , work ect ect. So keep on rocking you old farts and show the youth that experience beats youth and ethusiasm , occassionally

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teatrea said...

Absolutley no reason why a guy or girl in their mid to late thirties or even mid forties cant be more than competetive with say a 20 year old

But by the time they get to DJ's age they might as well forget it, right? I was talking about 40s and up - the ones who probably buy most SUP gear at the moment. Biggest disposable incomes. Chuck Patterson won the first BOP, didn't he? I'd bet that since then the average age of the top 10 guys has fallen year after year. And now there are probably no middle-aged guys amongst the top 10 competitive SUP surfers in the world either. Excepting possibly certain marathon endurance events (like Molokai) it doesn't seem likely that SUP will be any different from any other sport. How many people remain truly competive in swimming (except maybe endurance or ocean events) into middle-age? So yeah, the old geezers can train like crazy and maybe beat a few newbie teenagers but within a couple of years it will be a very odd competition where an oldster is actually finishing top three, rather than top three of the other old geezers having a mid-life crisis. As my kids say to me as they thrash me at some activity: "dream on, grandad".

So it is especially important to me that the brands keep their old fart ambassadors, even if they aren't troubling the podium any more. I don't care what the kids are doing, I want to know what the girls and guys my age are doing. Rock on, Chuck!

Isn't Kelly Slater 42?

I think Naish has done a great job in selecting and signing some great kids for their team. I imagine Chuck Patterson is a very good pick for coach. Good luck to all of them.

I like these kids a lot. I am always impressed with Kai Lenny as a person. He is true waterman in EVERY sense of the word. He excels at every aspect of board sport. His family strength shows first and foremost. He seems to be really well grounded for someone that has achieved so much, at such a young age. It seems like the other kids on the team share his healthy, well adjusted outlook on life. I am sure the team bond and guidance will help these kids as they tour the world circuit.

Now? paul.j? go out and show these kids your wake.
I believe that, in endurance sports, desire and guts count as much as youth and raw talent. There is a certain necessary toughness needed, to push past ?the wall?.

Teams are generally product development arenas. You always need the best athletes, to develop and test new design. For a short period, it seemed as if surf SUP designs were being developed, that the average human could never even stand on. Big/older guy performance boards, were getting stale.

The R & D from many companies, is now being applied to models the rest of us can ride!

So many amazing boards in the latest batch. Maybe?.. if you Aussies don?t buy them all?. they will send some to us this spring.

Now my biggest problem is?.. which one? Or can I just buy them all?

Nice vid. I've noticed Naish seems to be moving away from the 'team riders only ever ride stock boards' philosophy though.... shame!

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rager said..

Isn't Kelly Slater 42?

There is only one Kelly Slater !!!!

The only time age gets in the way is when you let it!!

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rodriguez said..

rager said..

Isn't Kelly Slater 42?

There is only one Kelly Slater !!!!

There's also only one Kelly Margetts.

Clearly the inability to win the big events has nothing to do with our age. We just have the wrong name.

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paul.j said..

The only time age gets in the way is when you let it!!

Props to you Jacko totally agree... I'll ride it , paddle into anything or die trying

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paul.j said...
The only time age gets in the way is when you let it!!

Well one way to ensure that oldsters still end up somewhere near the podium is to ensure the gear is so expensive that few youngsters can do it. We've got a clever thing going on here.

thanks for posting the link DJ

I think they need some girls in the team, because it seemed that there was a bit of a homo-erotic vibe at times during that video.

Jus' sayin'

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Chris_M said..

I think they need some girls in the team, because it seemed that there was a bit of a homo-erotic vibe at times during that video.

Jus' sayin'

I'd like to see Angie Jackson on the team..

Karla Gilbert's on the Team, just not in the video.

And also Jenny Kalmbach

So there are actually two female members of "team naish"......but not enough room for them on the video? Ha Ha Ha.......

Thought I should give NAISH a plug & some comments on this post. Naish Australia & Wind Surf & Snow help me with boards, paddles etc and I am in the over 40 category. Whilst the young guys are ripping and are supported by Naish and the other leading brands, Naish also have some older team guys and gals as they realise the people who buy SUP gear are from all age groups, and probably more from the 30 -50 age group.

Interesting - the over 40's & over 50's categories at the recent State titles were completely full with a wait list for both categories. The open age group had a few spare spots - so does this indicate there is growing interest for comps in the older age group.

And 3 out of the top 8 riders in the NSW Open riding Naish

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rodriguez said...

rager said..

Isn't Kelly Slater 42?

There is only one Kelly Slater !!!!

Well then, Dustin Fletcher is 39 and still going strong. Sure there's that whole Essendon performance enhancing drugs thing, but I digress. Every sport seems to have an outlying freak or two who can compete well despite being twice the age of team mates and opponents. Obviously you don't lose ability and if you maintain fitness and conditioning, you will not be disadvantaged by strength or speed. Plus, you should have picked up some tactical nous by that age. The major reason why professional athletes pull up stumps is their body takes longer and longer to recover from an event. That makes it very challenging for a weekly sport like football. But for SUP racing or surfing, there is plenty of recovery time between events. Of course, recovery also impacts your ability to train hard and then back it up daily to maintain or build upon stamina, but if you can overcome, or at least ward off that physical and mental barrier, there's no reason you couldn't remain competitive like Kelly Slater.

KS and alike are used to winning,I believe most athletes retire once they are no longer winning,you see too many playing one year too long.
This is KS year to give it up,he is still in the pointy end but the younger guys are about to take over,if they haven't already.Surfing is totally
different to footy,20 min heat verses 80 mins of running hard hitting contact sports.

With ocean paddling, the older guys do better than hold their own.
In the surf ski world, guys like Clint Robinson, Oscar Chalupsky, and Clint Robinson are always at the pointy end of the field. Perhaps at times a wise head is better than a young body?

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Area10 said...

teatrea said...

Absolutley no reason why a guy or girl in their mid to late thirties or even mid forties cant be more than competetive with say a 20 year old

But by the time they get to DJ's age they might as well forget it, right? I was talking about 40s and up - the ones who probably buy most SUP gear at the moment. Biggest disposable incomes. Chuck Patterson won the first BOP, didn't he? I'd bet that since then the average age of the top 10 guys has fallen year after year. And now there are probably no middle-aged guys amongst the top 10 competitive SUP surfers in the world either. Excepting possibly certain marathon endurance events (like Molokai) it doesn't seem likely that SUP will be any different from any other sport. How many people remain truly competive in swimming (except maybe endurance or ocean events) into middle-age? So yeah, the old geezers can train like crazy and maybe beat a few newbie teenagers but within a couple of years it will be a very odd competition where an oldster is actually finishing top three, rather than top three of the other old geezers having a mid-life crisis. As my kids say to me as they thrash me at some activity: "dream on, grandad".

So it is especially important to me that the brands keep their old fart ambassadors, even if they aren't troubling the podium any more. I don't care what the kids are doing, I want to know what the girls and guys my age are doing. Rock on, Chuck!

Firstly, it's plainly obvious, especially in Australia, that Naish don't need to target the 30-50 or even 60 plus market. They sell so much gear to those guys myself included, that we buy their boards straight from a catalogue or demo day that Naish is doing just fine in that area. So why not target the younger generation? After all, like poor old Whitney Housten said "children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way." I know that when my son is old enough to want to go SUP with me I'll be encouraging him all the way. That includes buying him the boards that suit his size, skill and his desire on whatever direction he may want to go with it. Whether he wants to compete or just paddle for fun. Additionally I feel that the whole Naish team thing is a brilliant idea whether its actually a marketing tool or not. Look at what it's promoting. A healthy clean living lifestyle in a team, supportive environment. And every one of those guys, not just Kai, appear to be well grounded people that tuly appreciate their spot on the team and recognise how lucky and blessed they are to be living that dream. When I was that age I would've loved to have been part of something like that! So marketing angle or not, team Naish is a great thing that more sports gear companies could look at and learn from in my opinion. And like Jacko said. Ain't no reason why an over 30 could beat a 20 year old on any given day. The better man(with a bit of like mind you) will win on the day!