Nike

Do you think that now that Nike has gotten into the sport will they have there own board line?

Brad-What has Nike done in conjunction with Wakeboarding?

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By Brad (brad63) on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 11:31 am:

Do you think that now that Nike has gotten into the sport will they have there own board line?

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probably not. they'll focus on clothing and shoes.

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By 8tens (Ben Kerran) (rukie) on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 11:34 am:

Brad-What has Nike done in conjunction with Wakeboarding?

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they sponsor athletes which helps to pay for their bills, puts food on the table, puts a roof over their heads, etc.

An ex exec from Nike now runs Hyperlite. I don't think there is any real ownership in the industry although some riders like Emily are sponsored by them.

If nike wanted into action sports I would look for a skateboard, or bmx bike before wakeboard gear.

I think the Nike 6.0 teams are targeting up and coming young athletes. I know of 2 young men in Central OR who are on their snowboard team and I think the Valdaz bro's are on their wake team.

i think your right. i haven't seen any big names except emily.

well, they couldn't have asked for a better representative. not only is emily an awesome rider, she's also an awesome person! i got to meet a different side of emily while filming for the chick flick. she's super nice and really down to earth!

They sponsor some of the wakeskaters don't they, like Silas Thurman and a few others? I know I have seen some wakeskaters wearing Nike's and I have read where they were sponsored by Nike 6.0.

Silas is the team manager, Colin Wright is also involved.

correction- I just went to their website and Emily isn't on the team. Pretty much young kids in all of the sports. No big names except one wakeskater. I don't know skate and snow that well but they looked like kids too.

Interesting marketing approach. I wonder why they stay away from known names. It isn't like they get that much money for being sponsored. Nike knows what they are doing when it comes to marketing but it does seem to be very low key. I haven't seen much on it yet.

as far as i know, she's still on the team.

Eddie rides for Nike and they have taken very good care of him. They have big plans for their team of riders and we are looking forward to what they have planned this year. They flew us up to Portland for a tour of the Nike campus and treated the team like visiting royalty. When they do things they do them in such a great way. Also on their wake team is Steele Lafferty and John Jeffries. Wakeskate team is Silas, and Matt Menzari and they have just signed a new wakeskater.

There was an article in Wakeboarding (might ave been a gear review...)with Silas a couple of months ago. I really doubt they would ever get into anything besides accessories and soft goods.

actually emilly copeland, silas thurman and colin wright are all on the team. as far as the valdezs being on the team, that is only half true. only eddie is on the team. as far as nike as a whole, if they are going to do to wakeboarding what they have done to every other sport they are apart of, you can expect some pretty amazing things in the future.

Kyle Walton

Silas is the Team Manager....

they have Steele Lafferty, John Jeffries, Jacob Valdez, Nick Taylor and Matt Manzari on there main wake program...

they also has Emily Copeland, Colin Wright, Tim Kovacich, Kyle Walton, Mike/Nick Ennen on the team ... I've seen Shane wearing alot of there stuff....

Maybe Im wrong but I dont think Emily is on the Nike 6.0 team. I think she is sponsored by Nike. Im not sure what the difference is but that is what Ive heard.

I bought some of their shoes. I showed my support for 6.0.

Before Nike bought Hurley they did some interesting research on skateboarding. They sent employees to the umderground, backlot, garage skate shops to check out the sport. As they do with all sports they throughly check it out.

It also took them like three tries before they were fully accepted into the skating industry.

what do you mean E-snow

pretty much exactly what I said. It took two to three separate attempts before they ended up with a solid hold on the skate industry. before nike SB (and 6.0) there were other shoes like the "choad" and other team riders like choppy omega and bam margera.

I don't know what finally allowed them to end up with a reasonable amount of "acceptance" (you can see the "don't do it" banners around on the internet, which is a lingering sentiment from said success). But I'd say that them actually giving out a pro model shoe and the fact that all of the sneaker heads will flock to any skate shop that carries the limited edition shoes probably had something to do with it.

Just to expand a little, Nike has been trying to get into the skate industry for years(10+). Skating was a very self contained industry for a long, long time. When the industry got very big in the mid to late 90's the companies (especially shoes) were capable of paying the skaters millions of dollars. Since most people are greedy it was just a matter of time before nike was able to "buy" their way into the industry.
I'm not so sure they are really "accepted" in the skate industry.
History always repeats itself, and the bottom will drop out on the industry once again. when this happens I'd put money on it that companies like nike will be the first to pull the plug......

hey chris.... why have you stopped answering posts about epic? (unless you are a differnt chris anthony?)
i think it is cool to see nike in the industry. from what i see just entering into the market on the wakeskate side. plenty of room for them...

(Message edited by tyler97217 on January 07, 2007)

I'm pretty sure this is the "other" chris anthony" (aka russian).

I think Nick Taylor a wakeskater is on the team.

Yes the "other" Chris Anthony