Robert Brink - Writer

A Letter From Birdo...

January 11, 2006 | Skip To The Comments (0)

For the failed TWS Business old school skateboard ads article, Birdo from Consolidated preferred not to answer my questions traditionally, but rather to just write some of his thoughts. The result is an email that I think is pretty rad.

Hi Rob,

I can't really answer the questions you sent me just because Consolidated has never really followed any "marketing strategies or ideas." Though Consolidated is a "business" and we seem to have stuck around for the last ten years, it has never really been thought as one...at least not by the people involved. See, I never saw myself as a businessman. I was just a skateboarder who worked for NHS, who wanted to get away from the politics of business. Early on, we made a decision to focus on what we wanted to do and not just what would sell, to ensure
we would never dread coming to work, but in turn enjoy it.

As far as campaigns, our ads have always literally been done "last minute" (even to this day), and we have never had any planned campaigns. We just say what we feel at the time, based on what is going on in skateboarding and the industry. If we like something, or think something is lame, we say it. If we feel there are issues or things the public have a right to know about but don't necessarily see it, we let them know about it. We don't dislike or hate others, it's just our sarcastic way of shedding light on the truth. If people like Nike or K2 in the industry—that's fine, we want people to have what they want—we just don't want people to be tricked or unable to see the whole picture.

We often tell people who don't seem to understand what we're about that they're more than welcome to come and hang out for as long as it takes for them to understand—this invitation is extended to you.

Consolidated—it is what it is.

Thanks,

Birdo