Nicola on LF?

just flipped through the new photo gallery of Nicola and Shota on iWake, looks like shes on the Jett.... still rocking the Company bindings

It is interesting how long Randy, Nicolas, and o Shea have continued riding Company's gear. Company definitely made quality stuff, but it just is interesting that those three haven t found new homes yet.

For real. They're all such great riders!

makes you think that they may have something in the works. You never know.

i think some of the company riders that switched to Humanoid i.e. Valdez and Christensen are using their Co. bindings still.
but it is also a brand that has no bindings.

I'd like to see Randall end up with Slingshot. He's probably the only rider who could replace Keith Lyman's big air wake riding credentials.

Randall on Slingshot is an interesting idea. Phalanx would probably make the most sense considering his history with Ricky G...or, of course, Byerly.

I thought Phalanx would be a great fit too. RG and RH are boys. And now Phalanx has product. It's perfect.

I'm guessing that Randall expects a paycheck from his board company (as he should). My guess is that he reaches for a company that has the financial backing to make him paydays this time.

Money does rule all, but I don't see company riders going to LF;and if they do it's because they are getting insane money. Phalanx will go under in a few years.

it is a tough market out there and I dont believe the board companies have the money to spend on these riders at the moment, lets hope that some company picks these riders up at some stage, chris oshea was with Hyperlite, not sure if they would put him back on.

Has anyone here actually ridden a Phalanx? Are they any good? Randall would certainly be a good fit for them.

Originally Posted by fowl

Money does rule all, but I don't see company riders going to LF;and if they do it's because they are getting insane money. Phalanx will go under in a few years.

What if they went with Obrien instead...

Originally Posted by durty_curt

What if they went with Obrien instead...

I don't see that happening. O'brien's marketing is a joke. They don't seem serious about building a bigger team and I doubt great riders like Nicola, Randall, and Chris would want to be with a company that wouldn't promote them.

Andy, your up

^^ hahaha.

To start the ball rollin in Andy's court: I think someone is forgetting Randy used to ride for O'brien. and it was pretty successful, (even though it ended very sour) so they do have the pulling power.

Umm Cobe and Dallas Friday also ride for O'brien

I know LF and O'Brien are still brands of the same company. Does one parent company still own CWB, Hyperlite and Motion Water Sports (LF and O'Brien)?

Www.kentwatersports.com

I remember the old Obrien pro mo video with Nelson and Harris ripping....I believe they were riding the double ender!

I agree about O'Briens Marketing. They are extremely weak. I wonder how the brand even survives. Not only that, but you'd be hard pressed to even find an O'Brien board in California. There are no dealers. I have never seen or met an O'Brien rep, and I know the reps from every other brand.

Even when they had Shapiro, Sanders, Watkins, Nadolski, and Dallas all killing it, their product was nowhere to be found.

I doubt you will ever see Randall on Slingshot...

Obrien not only survives but they thrive off of their inflatables. They could not sell one wakeboard and still do better than most brands.

Oh boy. I dont want to sound like a tool here! Yikes, her goes.

I would definetly not say that marketing is weak. Just a different focus. The last couple of years I would say the focus has been on new product. The team is being built up of new young riders. Take Jeff Langley http://wakeboardingmag.com/features/...oll-to-revert/ the kid is sick! There will be big things coming his way from O'brien in the next year or so. THIS JUST MY OPINION, but its like building a sports team from the ground up. You could go out and spend major coin and try and get some big huge names on the team pull a Yaknees. Or you can have a different focus on bringing your young guns up from the ground up, make them household names and the next set of superstars. I feel like that is the direction O'brien is going with the team. If you really think about it, most of the HUGE names is this sport have been with the same team since they started out. Soven, Watson, Shane, have all been LF riders forever. Same goes for Hyperlite and CWB. Ronix is it's own animal due to being rider owned. But I dont think Addam Errington is a owner and he has been there since he started to pop. A lot of the big names in Wake are really their own brand. The brands can use that in there marketing. They dont really even need to market sometimes, if your flipping through and Alliance and come across a pic of Watson you immediatly think LF even if its an add for a different company.

I guess my whole point is sit back and wait, good things are in the mix for O'brien. Jarrod, I will see about this no west coast rep or O'brien presence. I have heard this complaint before, I have had enough, I am going to get to the bottom of it!

obrien does have an odd strategy lately. josh sanders and daniel watkins used to do very well on the pro tour/king of wake, but i have not seen much if anything from them lately in mags or on tour. i've personally never cared for their stuff, but im sure it's fine. they did steal shapiro from hyperlite years and years ago with a big pay check. to me it's funny that there are more girls riding today and getting alot more competitive, but it seems brands aren't supporting them as much.

As long as Chris Johnson is shaping O'Brien's boards I will never stop riding them regardless of publicity or team riders. He understand boards more than any other designer, imo. I'm riding the Decade right now and have made one convert from Hyperlite already. I tried Slingshot for a few weeks before my Decade came and was worried about whether I'd like the Decade. It wasn't even close. I was instantly in love.

Chris is amazing!

Dont be surprised if randall ends up with phalanx, with some ownership incentives. Thats the only true fit i see for him out there right now.

We have a huge wakeboarding community in the DFW area but O'brien has never really had a presence here. The only O'brien boards you see around here are the cheap ones they sell at Wal-mart.

Nicola on obrien would actually be pretty sweet! obriens marketing i would say is decent but not the greatest. i feel like obrien is making a comeback for sure especially with langley and sean obrien!... watkins and sanders are cool i suppose, but i definitely think there needs to be some fresh new faces with pro models. i really think obrien has the best product out of all the companies for 2011 and 2012, their boots are amazing and every single board shape is awesome and strong. everyone should for sure look into trying an obrien board this year before spending their money on something they might regret.

Originally Posted by gnarslayer

Nicola on obrien would actually be pretty sweet! obriens marketing i would say is decent but not the greatest. i feel like obrien is making a comeback for sure especially with langley and sean obrien!... watkins and sanders are cool i suppose, but i definitely think there needs to be some fresh new faces with pro models. i really think obrien has the best product out of all the companies for 2011 and 2012, their boots are amazing and every single board shape is awesome and strong. everyone should for sure look into trying an obrien board this year before spending their money on something they might regret.

The is exactly what I was thinking! Obrien possibly using this as an opportunity to pick up a well known rider and expand there marketing. They make great boards and now the make awesome boots, but like jarrod said, I have yet to see an Obrien rep or dealer over here.

Randy has already been on the Obrien team before! I do not see him going back...

2010 obrien ad on ww home page

Im not "in the know", but it sure would seem like a slap in the face of Co. riders went to LF, and maybe even Obrien. The whole crew and team at Co seemed like a very tight bunch. Maybe I have my brands mixed up.

Either way, I'd put my money on harris going to Phalanx.

thread hi-jack, but pro's need more representation than their parents. there are SO MANY other brands out there for these kids to endorse and get paid. i'm not saying sell out, but there are tons of good companies who would support riders, but ...