Company Wake + Randall Harris

Well, both Company and Randall continue to make waves in the industry. Randall has signed with Company and will be the centerpiece of their team.

http://wakeworld.com/getarticle.asp?articleid=1795

You beat me to it Dave!!!

WOW

Big news indeed...congrats Randall!

amazing.

wow, so weird i thought randall was 100 % with gator boards as of his relationship with gator himself, personally i didnt think he would ever leave gatorboards.

On the other hand i think it is a big step in randalls carrier and will do him alot of good.

later

toby

i thought that too.

man, ALOT of people seemed to really be doggin' company wake a few months ago. this should earn them some instant respect.

(Message edited by owenitall on August 01, 2008)

Big ouch for GB.

I bet Tom works for Company Wake PR.

I think this proves the marketing genius behind Company Wake. I would think Randall has to be one of the most marketable riders as he is truly the riders rider. I am stoked to see this happen but would love to know gator boards stance as everyone else has said it seemed randall was with gator for good given their personal relationship.

AWESOME

Tino must be pissed, he thought he was the centerpiece.

Wow, I cant believe he left GB.

i doubt tino is pissed. i thought it started out watson and tino. watson backed out so now they picked up another big name. but yes...huge surprise.

what about humanoid? do they have a team yet?

So when are they going to start releasing products?

I now wonder how much talking Tino Santori and Randall were doing during the Ride for the Cure event last July 19th.

they must have deep pockets

I hope their flex boards allow for the fins to run a little more/longer to help it stick a little better on blind landings.

"Big ouch for GB." My initial thoughts too.

"Tino must be pissed, he thought he was the centerpiece."

Tino is still there contest machine and Tech rider. Pretty awesome that they have both.

Ya i agree i never thought he was gna leave GB either.. hmmm it'll probably be a good step for him tho for sure.

I want to see the Slingshot vs. Company war... Which board will be the better flexboard? The winner will earn my $400 in '09

Its amazing how many board companies have come out in the last few years, Ronix, Slingshot and now Company. I remember the days when Hyperlite and Liquid Force where the only boards that most people rode.

Shows how much this sport has grown.

But like other have said, surprised to see him leave GB.

It will be interesting to see someone like Randy riding a flex board. It will put an end to the "flex takes away from the pop" argument. I still haven't seen anyone go bigger from a flex board yet.

True that J-rod. Hope they make a board that can take the punishment that Vandall will dish out. Spoke with riders last night at the GB shoot, they were blown away by this. Kind of hush- hush, nobody really wants to say what happened with GB yet.

Interesting.....

Not to Hijack, but what happens to GB now? After watching Transgression, their only standout riders are Lidberg and Ricky G, who really don't get that much publicity.

Lidberg now rides for J Star

Awsome, I can't wait to see the product line.

(Message edited by wayz on August 01, 2008)

FLEX is in...!

Leo, Lidberg is gone also... He went back to J-Star this year. They are supposidly comming out with some new stuff....

I thought he was 110% loyal to GB, never saw that one coming!

Company Wake Continues to amaze me. Big props to the minds behind their marketing approach, and corporate development. Put out propoganda to get everyone talking, and then Drop the hammer of signing one of the biggest riders in Wakeboarding. Nicely played Company Wake, Nicely Played

Ronix did the same thing...I don't see how this is any different. I still like their ideas though.

Is Company wake backed by Oakley? Heard that this morning, if so, that accounts for the deep pockets.

I would be curious to know how much of the wakeboard buying market consists of core riders (those on these boards, people that ride a couple of times per week, etc.) as compared to the weekend warrior. In my mind I think the weekend warrior is a much greater population than the core so the ambuiguity of this company only seems to spark interest among the core people and doesn't spread the word about their product to the masses.

I'm not in marketing though so I have no idea what I'm talking about.

ooo this is getting so interesting now!

I agree Eubanks.

is company wake supposed to be all flex boards?

oh man... this is somethin huge.... not going to lie, i didn't see this coming. Just another chapter in the Company saga.... one way or another, the release of this company is going to be huge.

I wonder who is gonna be next to leave GB? First Lidberg Now Randall.. Both of which had pro models..

The next question, what caused Randall to leave GB?

I can't wait to see how the vandall rides on a flex board! Company's boards are going to have to be super strong!

Company wake just kicked everyone in the ball$, including me. They kept saying they had something big in the works and it kept everyone talking crap, and wondering what all the hype was. Nice marketing, even nicer pick up. Is Tom W part of Company Wake? Maybe he started the "Whats so great about Randall" thread on purpose...

could this finally be the actual end to GB? I hate to see a rider owned company go by the wayside, but this could be what finally does them in.
I wish them the best. Randall on a flex board is going to be pretty awesome to see.

I'd say the population of weekend warrior wakeboarders is definitely bigger, but they dont spend nearly as much on the sport. I'm a weekend warrior and still riding an '04 board with no intentions of getting a new one anytime soon. Contrast to people out a few times a who week who probably get a new board at least every 2 years.

Best of luck to Randall and to GB. Hate to see the seperation but ya gotta do what you gotta do. Hope Randall still shows for the Malibu Pro Challenge in Eatonville next weekend, I really wanted to see him ride. Also hope this isn't the downfall of Gator Boards, I have alot of respect for Erik "Gator" Lutgert. Best of luck to all involved.

"What the hell is going on around here!?" -Sucicidal Tendencies

>>could this finally be the actual end to GB?<< Seriously doubt that. Ricky G, Nunn, Doyle, Mark W., Gator, Savannah, Drew, Swink, etc... yeah I think GB still has a tough team!!

A good team does not a financially sound business make. Randall sold boards, his own pro model and by attracting people to the GB brand. With him gone,...?

damn thats the biggest news of the yr! Gator is def gonna feel it! I hope they make it though. They still have A.J. right??

Ive been riding slingshot all week there dope i think co wake will be a more advanced version of SS. I am hooked on the flex lots of fun to ride.
I can see Randal now just going big, then butter sliding around after the landing free riding

ditto what el doubleyou said about having a good team.
I am guessing he had the most popular pro model board for GB, even when he was on his "hiatus".

i think he brought people to the gb brand. ive been to a lot of events and cable parks etc...ive never seen anyone on his new pro model for gb. seen people on just about every other gator board though. in fact ive never even seen his new model in a shop that carries gb

Pretty sure the Ricky G was their biggest seller. What cable parks? TSR has a girl rider there that rides for GB, OWC the same. I don't know any shops that carry GB that wouldn't have the Harris. They must have all been sold out.

I heard from a insider that the Company Wakeboards are made by, and in the same factory as the Slingshot Boards....I guess its just more of the same rather then something new!

"I would be curious to know how much of the wakeboard buying market consists of core riders (those on these boards, people that ride a couple of times per week, etc.) as compared to the weekend warrior. In my mind I think the weekend warrior is a much greater population than the core so the ambuiguity of this company only seems to spark interest among the core people and doesn't spread the word about their product to the masses. "

I would say 80%-90% of the market is the non-core holiday weekend warrior. Maybe some shop owners could weigh in here and tell us what percentage of boards they sell in their shop are beginner/intermediate packages vs. the high end pro models?

I used to sell a little better than 2-1 package boards to pro boards, from 2002-2005.

Forrest, a tough Am team

offaxis ~ I heard the same as you.

CIRE ~ You are 100% correct. Most people that buy boards have no idea what they are looking for. We pretty much tell them what they should be riding. Most people that are "weekend warriors" as you call them, what a cheap package. So that's what sells the most.

From what I heard from Tino, it sounds more like the board is one piece with no fillers. If a chip or dent was to occur, you can sand it down.

But, that is what I hear. I also saw Tino flex this board and it flexs about 5-10 inches from the original state

If the board was one piece you could really sand it to your liking and make the board your own, haha almost like a "make your own wakeboard kit!"

that would be cool.

like integrity has been making their wakeskates for a few years now

the boards are abs in the core instead of that pvc stuff that slingshot uses they are completley different boards than slingshot don't doubt company there gonna be sick!

Mine is amazing...

Jr, no need to be a debbie downer. Integrity's wakeskates are surely unique, but they aren't one piece. However, they do use materials for the edges (this year urethane) that allows the rider to re-shape and customize the rail and or edge. However, damage can still occur. For instance, someone on another site chipped off some of his PBT while hitting a rail. Going off of what's been said, things don't sound enough alike to start pointing fingers...

Anyway, congratulations to randall. As always, I look forward to what company wake brings to the table, because I like that they're mixing things up.

i'm sorry i was only referring to the rails...my bad...i apologize

btw did you ever see the video of Schmalt running his integ over with his truck, the shooting it multiple times with his 9?? durable????

(Message edited by romes on August 01, 2008)

I am hoping that Randall worked some deal where he owns stock, a piece of the company or something along those lines. It would be nice to see more riders take ownership in the industry. Maybe that is how they pulled him away from GB. I think it would make for a better company if the riders are more involved in other aspects of the company and thus the direction of the industry in general. I think that this is a huge hit on GB though.

http://www.companywake.com/
Randall is already on the home page
Congrats Randall and Company Wake.

jr, that was christian the owner of Omen. the bullets still went through of course but he was trying to say it was still rideable.

if there was a wakeboard made like an integrity it would definitely be a pricey item, but well worth it.

Im stoked to see what is in store for company wake.

(Message edited by wakemitch on August 01, 2008)

One piece? http://www.companywake.com/letsbefriends/
what do ya mean by one piece?
the core "looks" kinda similar to the slingshot cores if you ask me.

Deffinately surprising BIG news. bigest news to hit wake for a long time.

I'm liking this news for the sake of flex tech for sure. Now no one can say anything about big name pros not riding them for sure. hehehehe. Maybe randal is tired of his knees and back and body in general taking a beating every single jump. The flex boards i think are gona really help dampen the dammage he inflicts to his bones.

I did think of his comments in the past about flex boards folding on him in his mind. and i thought i remembered him saying something about a '09 line for him with GB... well that aint happening anymore if i remembered right.

YEa i just saw this on his myspace and ran over here sooooooO fast lol




well i guess that is a sign of how legit their product is

I don't know how much time riders spend at their representive company head quarters, but the HQ for Co. Wake will be much closer to home for Randall . Utah is definitely closer to the west than Florida.(WSR)

... and maybe i am going out on a narrow limb of speculation here... but Utah will also be better for his changed lifestyle. There is a lot less drinking and all that kinds of going-ons in Utah than most any other state... not saying that he is having any trouble ignoring temptations either. again, i have no real idea how much time riders spend at HQ. just something i recently thought about

i remember reading an article in WBM about company. but is there anywhere i can get some more info on them?

congrats and good luck to randall

last time i checked murieta ca is in so cal not florida.

(Message edited by nsolis220 on August 02, 2008)

oops,
good call nick
i swore gator HQ was Florida for some reason.

was gator HQ ever in Florida?

i'm pretty sure eric/ gator himself is from florida... maybe thats where i am mixin things up?

sooo... i guess i could say that randall is moving a tiny bit further from the west (cali) scene ehh?

The question between core vs weekend riders is the exact reason why my local board shop won't carry slingshots. They had the chance to pick up the line but refused and when I was talking to the owners about it he said they could not justify having a flex board line when the marjority of his busness would not pay for it

GB's factory is in Fort Meyers, Their headquarters are in Murieta. Eric lives in Fort Meyers as well on the Caloosahatchee River.

Gators office is in Ft.Myers, as well as R&D. Warehouse, Wood Skates factory in Murieta, Boards, Boots, China.

alright, gotcha
thanx for the clarification guys
and sorry for the slight tangent

thanks for the clarification mitch. I haven't actually watched that video anyway, only heard of it, but I was going to say that running your board over seems to be a measurement of durability. Supposedly some dude drove over his zariel...I'm not really willing to run that test with any of my boards, regardless of what it is.

I don't doubt the Zariel made it through the truck, mine is an absolute trooper. It's made it through some of the sketchiest crap ever (nails in the rails, the occasional concrete bail, etc, etc).

But I think that Randall will do well with Company. Actually, I think Randall Harris would do well with plywood nailed to a pair of shoes.

yea yea i got 'em mixed up. thanks mitch. ESnow you're smart, i'm dumb...hahah

that vid was put out right before the revolt came out like what 2-3 years ago? that board was super sick.