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IS IT A NUMBERS THING?
According to SIA’s 2014 Consumer Intelli-
gence Report, Generation Z is attributed with
almost two hundred million in spending power
and accounted for 26 percent of snowboarders
in 2014. They are riding on the shirttails of the
Millennial generation, the largest generation to
date, and are adopting their mindset of frugality,
social savviness, and valued connection.
“Truly this population will save the indus-
try, ” claims Hannah Deene Wood, President of
Talent Skatepark and Shop in Burlington, VT,
“Talent would be out of business without the
youth market,” She explains that 15 years ago
they based their business plan on a 20-and-old-
er clientele. Today, the majority of their park
users are 12 and under and many of the older
Talent skaters have moved West to pursue pro
status.
Clint Graham, Pacific Northwest Sales Rep
for Volcom concurs, “Its a no brainer. If we get
kids participating in these sports when they’re
young, there’s going to be a percentage that
continue to pursue them as passions into their
teenage and adult lives.”
The survival of the action sports industry
relies on cultivating this demographic that can
propel participation and influence purchasing.
But how do we increase numbers and create the
stoke?
IS IT A PRIORITIES THING?
“Our customers want it when they want
it and where they want it,” explains industry
consultant and Market Watch author Jeff Har-
baugh.
John Ennis of Surf Ride in Solana Beach and
Oceanside, CA provides just that by going deep
on product specific to kids. “I’m offering [board
sizes] all the way down to 4’6” for groms so that
they feel they have somewhere to go to get their
equipment. Most shops stop at 4’10”.”
Surf Ride also speaks to the parents’ priori-
ties by offering an unmatched trade-in program.
When kids bring in their used, ding-free, and
water-worthy boards, they automatically get
70 percent off a new board right on the spot.
Surf Ride’s pawnbroker license sets their trade-
in program apart by allowing their customers
to buy a new board without waiting for their
old board to sell. And kids can choose from
grom-series boards with special pricing from
Lost and Firewire, making the purchase more
palatable for parents forking out the cash.
Action sports participants define themselves
by the companies they like and the products
they buy—youth are no different. They’ve grown
bored with big box brands and mass marketing
techniques. Harbaugh notes, “If it’s available all
over the place, then it’s not attractive to them.”
He explains that retailers have to take chances
with new brands, adding that the best retail-
ers make the brands credible, not the other way
around.
Daron Horwitz, President of Daddies Board
Shop in Portland, OR agrees, noting that brand
credibility is also a partnership. Daddies claims
success with small brands like Caliber Truck
Co. and Omen Longboards. He says that these
brands put in the legwork; Daddies then pro-
vides the marketing exposure to their young
audience. “For brands that hustle, we can help
them grow faster,” he explains, “We have a very
specific interest in small brands wanting to do
just that.”
IS IT AN EXPERIENCE THING?
“Experience is social currency,” explains
Sawabini, “It’s more fun for them to go out and
actively do something, rather than buy some-
thing.”
Talent Skatepark creates a unique experi-
ence that helps form deep connections. Their
Skatepark Lock-ins, where kids ages five to thir-
teen are locked inside the park all night, provide
the space for skaters to share their passion. Par-
ents love Talent’s lock-ins and plan date nights
around them, and the kids like the fact that
the general public is actually locked out. They
spend their evening skating, socializing, mak-
ing sundaes, and watching skate videos in an
extremely safe haven. Lock-in events help form
new friendships and establish shop loyalty. “The
kids feel like they are part of the Talent family,”
explains Deene.
In the spring, Surfing and Surf Ride host a
community event, Camp Shred, at San Elijo
State Beach in Cardiff, CA. Vendors show up to
demo their new gear and kids sign up in droves,
earning three “library cards” for the day: one
for boards, one for wetsuits, and one for acces-
sories. They go in and out of the water swapping
gear and trying out the latest products. “The
kids froth all day on that thing,” explains Ennis,
making it a weekend must-do for surf-centric
families.
And Volcom offers groms a no-frills and no-
cost alternative to the big surf, skate, and snow
competitions. Their “Let the Kids Ride Free”
grassroots gatherings held across the U.S. in-
clude the Totally Crustaceous Tour, the Wild In
the Parks event, and the Peanut Butter and Rail
Jam. Graham develops a list of shops in his ter-
ritory to promote the event, and Volcom then
provides the shop with photos, video clips, and
in-store displays to use on various digital plat-
forms. Guido Silvestri of Civil in Greenwich,
RI says these efforts bring people in his shop to
learn more about the gathering.
IS IT AN AUTHENTICITY THING?
Kids aspire to belong to a community and are
willing to put in the effort to do so. For exam-
ple, Darkside’s grom crew maintains their shop’s
snowboard park. It gives the afterschool pos-
se a place to hang out, as well as a rewarding job
that serves a purpose. In return, Darkside offers
them shop discounts, handles their board main-
tenance, and recruits brand sponsors for certain
riders. By being part of the park crew, kids are
taught the value of hard work and team building.
And many of them mature into shop employ-
ees or future customers with their own families.
“They thank us and appreciate where they came
from. That’s so rewarding for us,” explains Lang-
lands.
Quiksilver’s Dark Rituals and Surf Tripp’n
collections also exemplify a collective effort
that resonates with a younger demographic.
Josh Rush, head of global design for Quiksilver,
explains, “At the time, we had lost touch with
the youth and needed a massive shift to, once
again, be relevant to the under 20’s market.”
After creating the collection, Quiksilver held a
focus group with kids ages 16 to 20 to gather a
response to their new direction, which icluded
pro surfers Dane Reynolds and Craig Anderson.
“There was a real need to humanize the brand
and connect again with youth culture in an hon-
est and believable way,” Rush explains. Both
Dark Rituals and the Surf Tripp’n represent an
attitude defined by its own demographic. By
engaging young influencers in their brand re-
direction, Quicksilver poises themselves for
growth through dedication to the youth market.
IS IT A DIGITAL THING?
As for the preferred platform—well, Snapchat
just “gets it.” Comparably the baby on the social
media scene, Snapchat has become to Genera-
tion Z what Facebook once was to Generation
X. Snapchat checks off all the factors important
to this demographic: it helps display their per-
sonal brand, it’s purposeful, and it’s private.
Daron Horwitz of Daddies Board
Shop in Portland, OR says his customers hang
out in the usual online locales: Instagram, Face-
book, YouTube. “We go where they go, and we
make sure that the people who do our social me-
dia not only speak their language, but also live
their lifestyle,” he explains. Daddies devotes two
dedicated and passionate skateboarders and to
their social tactics. They also take advantage
of co-promoting their employees who are pro
skaters, like Carla Javier who rides for Bustin
Boards. By featuring her on their platforms and
tagging Bustin, they reach a wider audience than
they otherwise would without the cross-promo-
tion.
Horwitz explains Snapchat allows them to
ad lib more in their approaches. And Snapchat’s
mobile-only platform levels the playing field be-
tween brands and shops. “The quality of, say, a
Nike snap is going to be the same quality that a
shop can put out. We can be just as effective as
the big guys,” he notes.
Quiksilver’s new version of their King of the
Groms surfing event takes community engage-
ment to the next level. The contest, conducted
solely on Instagram, requires 13 to 18-year-olds
to post a qualification photo on Instagram. Pro
surfers Reynolds, Anderson, and Jeremy Flores
judge the first round. Second round compet-
itors then post a video that is voted on by the
audience. The whole event is hosted online,
creating an experience that revolves around in-
teractive posts. It keeps both competitors and
“spectators” checking back in for a real time ex-
perience.
Whatever the product, tactic, or medi-
um-du-jour is that resonates with this group,
I’ve learned it’s important to remain simple
and to stay true to what drives the industry.
With a little time spent on cultivation, to-
day’s youth will ultimately grow into brand
and shop advocates, further shaping the ev-
er-evolving boardsports culture. “In short—all
of the things that make action sports fun and ex-
citing are the same things that drive the identity
and behavior of young people,” explains Sawabi-
ni. “It’s a perfect match.”
“EXPERIENCEISSOCIAL
CURRENCY. IT’SMOREFUNFOR
THEMTOGOOUTANDACTIVELY
DOSOMETHING,RATHERTHAN
BUYSOMETHING.”
TOP & LEFT: Volcom’s Peanut
Butter and Rail Jam champion-
ships at Mammoth Mountain.
RIGHT: Talent Skatepark’s
youth following hyped on a
recent all-night skate jam.
026
CULTIVaTING THE YOUTH:HOW BRaNDS aND RETaILERS aRE SPEaKING TO GEN Z
By Christina Shepherd McGuire
AUTHENTIC YOUTH CULTURE AND THE BOARDSPORTS INDUSTRY HAVE A
MUTUAL NEED. After all, groms just want to be groms and, well, the aging
enthusiasts still wish they were. So with kids of my own and admittedly
a little bit of youth envy myself, I set out to unveil the secret sauce of
captivating the youth market. On the way, I expected to encounter a
complex priorities shift combined with newfangled marketing tactics, but
what I found instead—even with the altered landscape—is that the old-
school values of a real experience and a sense of community still reign true
with the groms. And there are a few shops and brands that have nailed it.
Darkside Snowboard Shop in Killington, Stowe, and Ludlow, Vermont
created a 25-year legacy of loyal retail customers by specifically nurturing
the younger generation.“We encourage a very respectful attitude
towards young people,” explains co-owner Teeta Langlands. They foster
this attitude by encouraging the grom population to hangout and watch
videos, session their store-side snowboard park, and co-mingle with the
20-something mentors that are part of the Darkside team. Managers are
coached on their philosophy of community and respect, one that parents
and kids witness from the start, hence developing their trust in and
dedication to the shop.
“Action sports delivers the experiences that become social currency
… the entire industry is based on the values that form the identity of this
generation,“ says Issa Sawabini, partner at Fuse.