Author: Nicolas Rottier

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Blog 9-22-10 Beaker takes Santa Cruz!




Bill Bryan is our Kelly Slater.  And Kelly is currently being called the best athlete on the planet.  Go Bill!    Major congrats to Bill “The Beaker” Bryan, he has unbelievable stamina, wave knowledge, and competition savvy.  We have had a long and productive relationship with Mr. Bryan and we wish him many years of success in the future.  
And, another team Vic rider, Teddy Vlasis, pulled into second place in the pros. That is a huge move up in the standings for Teddy.  He has been steadily improving this last couple of years and that bodes well for his future. It does take time for talent to be recognized.  Competition is becoming significantly more gnarly.  It takes so much more than just wave riding skill,  it takes a lot of intelligence, and heart,  and coolness under fire.
It begs the question, why would you ride anything else? 

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Santa Cruz Skimbash 2010

The weekend of September 18th – 19th brought waves to the southland and to Santa Cruz.  It was a good thing as the Santa Cruz Skimbash was held at 26th Street in Santa Cruz on those days and the waves “were a pumping.”

After a grueling weekend of riding from all parties, the final results from the professionals were:

1) Bill Bryan
2) Teddy Vlasis
3) Tim Fulton
4) Sammy Stinnett
5) Jaime Lovett
6) Jake Stinnett

Congratulations to Vic team riders for a successful event on the Professional and Amateur side.

Bill Bryan doing what he does best – win!

Teddy Vlasis driving down the line.

Trevor Stanaland floating for the homies.

Derek Marolf relaxing and taking in the sights.

Patent Koty spray!

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Spotlight on Antonio Martin

Spotlight on Antonio Martin on the right.   He does all the jobs,  and manages all the guys doing all the jobs.  He can run a computer cutting machine,  and shape,  vacuum bag,  glass Woody’s, mix any kind of resins,  run a press, and lay a new patio for you or build a wall.  And you can add to that another 99 specialty jobs he as mastered.  He is the manager for our plant in San Clemente and without him we would all be working elsewhere.   He has given one digit of his left index finger,  for the company,  because of a nasty skill saw accident.  Not to mention the ulcers he has suffered from being the center of employee disputes over the years.  “Hard working” barely describes this guy.  He will bear hug a drum of resin at 500 lbs and move it around the floor like a dancer.   He is constantly guilty of trying to too much at once,  leading by example,  constantly showing the others how to get it done by not wasting any time.  Longevity is one key to Victoria Skimboards’ success and our relationship with Antonio is one of the many benefits that our customers probably don’t appreciate.  Your valuable dollars are not wasted on a Vic skimboard when you have someone like Antonio working for you.  Thank you Antonio, from all of us.  
Tex 
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Spotlight on Rodolfo Lagunas.   This is the man. These are the hands. 
Rodolfo is our chief glasser at Victoria and has been so for 14 years straight.   He can feel the resin content of a board in his hands and pull exactly the right amount out to make the strongest possible board, with the minimum amount of resin.  The perfect blend of strength and weight.   This is the artists touch, literally.  If this was Japan,  he would be a national treasure,  sponsored and supported by the nation,  and highly valued by his customers.  He is one big reason Victoria has maintained it’s reputation as the maker of the best boards on the planet.  Like the finest of culinary chefs,  he can handle multiple different resin systems,  a dozen different pigment effects,  and balance these against 20 degree fluxuations in temperature that can drastically effect the curing rates.  We here at Victoria salute you Rodolfo.  Thank you so much for all the pleasure you have brought all our customers all these long years. Tex and the Vic Crew
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Skim Your Library?

Vic team rider Scooter Hayes loves to have fun and apparently so does his local library. The New Hanover County Public Library served as the grounds for Scooter and his friend Tyler Simmons to “skim” the literature, videos, and information in search of what they desired most – knowledge and fun. Check out the video by clicking here.

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Show me the money.

8-18-10
Today I attended a Surf Industry Manufacturers Association  symposium on the subject of managing team riders.  Apparently the world of surf team management is changing very rapidly due to the explosive growth of sports agents who represent athletes in negotiations with their sponsors.  Contracts, clauses, questionable products like alcohol and tobacco, personal behavior restrictions, age minimums for contacted riders,  endemic (surf industry)vs. non endemic sponsors  (like Redbull and Target) and are they good for the industry were just a few of the many subjects tackled this morning.  
Bottom lines:  A sports agent will help you. (See Jerry Mcquire movie again)  Money isn’t everything, some sponsors like alcohol and tobacco companies, will not be good for your future.  Energy drink sponsors are questionable.  Sponsored riders should really like their sponsors products or it won’t work out over time.  You should like and pre-approve of their advertisements that feature you. In the case of Bob Bernquist, getting on the cover of High Times was not good for his contract with Verizon.  
In short, we have a long, long way to go.  Even the industry of surfing is still way, way behind the likes of motocross,  or skateboarding, or snowboarding.  Again, money isn’t everything, but is certainly is driving a lot of the decisions in sports these days.  
20 billion dollar companies are now competing with the 20 million dollar core surf industry companies.    It’s a whole new world. 
Tex 
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Victoria Skimboards WCS 2011

The dates for the Victoria Skimboards World Championship of Skimboarding 2011 have been set.  Mark your calendar, get your flight, and practice as next year will be here before you know it.

Victoria Skimboards WCS 2011
July 16 – 17, 2011

We will see you there!