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Re: Len10 now riding Best!

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:38 am
by philmb
Yeh i agree.

I dont get that excited over len10 videos anymore. ill watch them and have big respect for the guy because he goes out in crazy condition and obviously has some big balls. But would much rather watch dre, ruben n youri videos.

Best have defo got a good team now with gisela pulido to.. 2 world champs and len10 doing his thing. Will defiantly help sales from a new person coming into the sport. i know why i ended up on slingshot kites.

Before doing lessons i was watching hadlow, len10 and youri zoon videos. flexifoil are not really available any where close to me and the only other thing i new about kite surfing at the time was slingshot, just from watching the vids... low and behold i ended up looking into slingshot kites....

been riding them ever since.

Re: Len10 now riding Best!

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 9:01 am
by sq225917
Team riders give your brand a face. They give you an association with a particular style of riding and get people talking about the product. As well as representing your brand team riders also give you feedback on product. At BEST we have a history of allowing team riders to develop the product they want to ride. We don't steam roller them into riding a particular kite because we think there's a fit that we can help to sell more kites. We work with them to develop the kites that they want to ride. it's easy for us to do that because we have a designer who can design a world class C-kite, or a best in class Delta kite or even a best in class SLE kite. Peter isn't a one trick pony that can only design one style of kite and has to keep remaking that same kite for ten years, so our riders can ride what they want to ride and when it doesn't yet exist Peter can work with them to design exactly what they need.

It suits Slingshot to imply that we 'bought' their riders, that they left for the money, but the truth of the matter is different. Of course their team manager is going to be pissed that he can't keep a hold of his talent. They came to BEST for the chance to have their own gear, to work with the R&D dept to make the perfect gear for them and to have their name on it. Their aspirations had simply out grown the brand they were attached to and we welcome them to ride with us.

The announcement from Ruben and BEST will be live at 10am CET today.

Re: Len10 now riding Best!

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:14 am
by zloilyoha
sq225917 wrote:to keep remaking that same kite for ten years
this is just ridiculous :rollgrin:

Re: Len10 now riding Best!

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:18 pm
by sq225917
Yeh, you're right, it's only 9 years.

Re: Len10 now riding Best!

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 8:33 pm
by Tone
sq225917 wrote:Team riders give your brand a face. They give you an association with a particular style of riding and get people talking about the product. As well as representing your brand team riders also give you feedback on product. At BEST we have a history of allowing team riders to develop the product they want to ride. We don't steam roller them into riding a particular kite because we think there's a fit that we can help to sell more kites. We work with them to develop the kites that they want to ride. it's easy for us to do that because we have a designer who can design a world class C-kite, or a best in class Delta kite or even a best in class SLE kite. Peter isn't a one trick pony that can only design one style of kite and has to keep remaking that same kite for ten years, so our riders can ride what they want to ride and when it doesn't yet exist Peter can work with them to design exactly what they need.

It suits Slingshot to imply that we 'bought' their riders, that they left for the money, but the truth of the matter is different. Of course their team manager is going to be pissed that he can't keep a hold of his talent. They came to BEST for the chance to have their own gear, to work with the R&D dept to make the perfect gear for them and to have their name on it. Their aspirations had simply out grown the brand they were attached to and we welcome them to ride with us.

The announcement from Ruben and BEST will be live at 10am CET today.
Oh f*** off SQ, Best bought them.

nothing wrong with that but don't try to pass the blame.

wave enough money in front of someone, they will dance for you.

that's all you did. nothing to be ashamed of, just dont bullshit about it.

Re: Len10 now riding Best!

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 8:48 pm
by Caesar
Tone wrote: Oh f*** off SQ, Best bought them.

nothing wrong with that but don't try to pass the blame.

wave enough money in front of someone, they will dance for you.

that's all you did. nothing to be ashamed of, just dont bullshit about it.
+1! :wink:

Re: Len10 now riding Best!

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 8:49 pm
by L0KI
Toby wrote:230k for 3 years rather sounds real.
Best has spent gobs of money this year buying half the big names in kiting.
I can't wait until the next "kite prices" thread comes along and a handful of posters still try to say that all the kite companies make little tiny profits. :thumb:

Re: Len10 now riding Best!

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:04 pm
by Anabatic_co_nz
The press release release both riders made about their reasons for leaving Slingshot, says it all.

And put yourself in their position. If you want to keep moving forward in the sport, want the budget and resources that can make it happen & Slingshot can't provide what you want any more.
The smart guys must do the right thing and move on.

I'd hazard a guess that there are some pretty big cracks in the foundation of Slingshot.
Their top two riders have walked and been welcomed elsewhere.

They have gone to a company that was built by boardriders.
I bet if it was just for money they would have gone to a different brand, North or Cab. (Windsurfing Chain Brands).

But as their press releases say, there was more to it than money.
Following their dreams and passions, design etc.

To say they were bought just means you deny anything is rotten at the core of Slingshot.
I beg to differ.

Re: Len10 now riding Best!

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:55 pm
by L0KI
I don't fly Slingshot kites and have never owned a Best kite, but Best did not attract the group of people they got on their roster this year by just promising a say in design. Any one of those kiters could go to one of the smaller companies and rule the roost and be the complete center of attention as far as input on design. This was about money and there is nothing wrong with that.
It does not say anything really about Slingshot, other than their relative pay scale to the current pay policy toward hired talent.
Are you suggesting that Slingshot was not built by boardriders?
And where do you get the idea that something is rotten at Slingshot?
Paid players for every team in every sport move to get a raise.

Re: Len10 now riding Best!

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:11 pm
by Anabatic_co_nz
No, I was suggesting they want to stay within the smaller sub set of brands that were grown from boardriders. Unlike the brands that are not.

I also think if you don't value your Staff/Team they will leave.
Money is secondary to that. If money is your goal, happiness does not follow, aye GRASSHOPPER.

The money these guys can make from endorsements etc for RED BULL and the like would I expect surpass that of the base salary the brands offer.

You have to admit the vibe coming from the Slingshot camp aint good.

Something quacks like a duck, chances are it's a duck.

I wonder if any team riders outside of brand name founders have shares? or options in brands?