December 13, 2005
"Industry Ticker" was a column for TransWorld Skateboarding Business that simply assembled info and facts in the skate industry. I did two of them and for some reason they never saw the light of day. I think it was about the time the three TransWorld Business mags (Skate, Surf, Snow) combined into one. Regardless, I thought this info was interesting.
December 11, 2005
Tampa Pro 2003
By Rob Brink
Skatebiz.com May 2003
This year's annual Skate Park of Tampa Pro Contest ran without a hitch as usual. Spectator turnout was about the same as previous years with 400 people on Friday and 600 people on both Saturday and Sunday. The addition of a new upstairs seating area made the crowd more comfortable and provided a better view. However, SPoT Owner Brian Schaefer and many others throughout the weekend noticed a dramatic decline in industry presence: "Skater, friend, and industry attendance was at an all-time low-related to the financial decline and tons of companies out of business, in my opinion."
December 11, 2005
Redline Entertainment
By Rob Brink
TransWorld Skateboarding Business September 2003
Redline Entertainment, a Best Buy-subsidiary and Minnesota-based youth-entertainment-label, is determined to push forward in the skateboard industry despite slowing economic times. The company hopes this commitment will keep future generations interested in skateboarding and patronizing 'core shops for years to come.
December 11, 2005
New Jersey Trade Shows
By Rob Brink
TransWorld Skateboarding Business Janurary 2003
What happens when an organization like ASR abandons the people they profited from for years by canceling their annual Atlantic City, New Jersey trade show?
December 11, 2005
Screwy
By Rob Brink
TransWorld Skateboarding Business June 2002
I seriously wrote a full feature on hardware back in 2002. Crazy.
Some people think its just nuts and bolts—any will do as long as it holds the trucks on the board. Others need and swear by certain brands or types: Shorty's one-inch Phillips, Diamond 7/8- inch Allen, Monkey blue-painted heads, Randoms "skull" heads, etc. Whatever the case, for such a simple purpose, skateboard hardware has undergone a lengthy evolution—from nails and wood screws used to fasten roller skate trucks to two-by-fours, and custom- designed and tempered fasteners that come packaged with their own tools (Allen keys). Some even require only one tool (wrench or socket). Many kinds have come and gone: U-bolts, Bridge bolts, T- bolts, and the old-school bolts with the raised rounded head.
November 23, 2005
DC Pro Team Bios 2
By Rob Brink
dcshoes.com June 2004
Here's the final batch of team bios I wrote for dcshoes.com in the summer of 2004.
Rob Dyrdek
If you mention the word “entrepreneur” in relation to skateboarding, Rob Dyrdek most likely comes to mind. He founded and operated his own hip hop record label, P-Jays. He started Orion trucks and founded Reflex bearings. He's the man behind the revolutionary Rob Dyrdek/DC Skate Plaza concept/operation; he has appeared in music videos, Rolling Stone and Playboy magazine and made cameos on multi-platinum records. He has starred in his own DC television commercial; he has action figures that bear his likeness. He is in video games and on trading cards.
November 21, 2005
Brian Wenning: Photo By Ryan Gee
DC Pro Team Bios 1
By Rob Brink
dcshoes.com June 2004
Here's the first batch of some dcshoes.com pro team bios I wrote. Danny, Colin and Dyrdek to follow...
Brian Wenning
In the mid ‘90s, there was an explosion of skateboarders from the East Coast coming onto the skate scene from Philly, New Jersey, Boston DC, and New York. A gander at Dan Wolfe's Sub Zero's Real Life video or Eastern Exposure 3 will attest to that. As time passed, so did the craze of hunting out East Coast riders to add to West Coast teams. New Jersey's own Brian Wenning (and friend Anthony Pappalardo) was at the forefront of the next batch of East Coasters to start taking skateboarding by storm. A pro for Habitat since its inception, Brian has also been on DC since 2001. Somewhat elusive and avoiding the spotlight, Wenning possesses board control that is nearly unmatched, innovation and trick variations that most people envy—and then copy, manual, ledge and flip trick precision and consistency that'll make you laugh because it's so insane. And don't forget he switch backside 180 ollied and nearly switch heelflipped it (everyone knows his bent axle-induced slam landing is near as good as making it) the LOVE fountain. Perhaps skating would like to see more of Brian Wenning, but quality, not quantity is what makes him shine.
November 21, 2005
DC Am Team Bios
By Rob Brink
dcshoes.com June 2004
Prior to my stint at DC Shoes as their copywriter, I was asked to write bios for the team pages on dcshoes.com. Here are the Am ones. As you can see by reading them, a lot has changed since June 2004 when they were written. To the best of my knowledge, most of them are still on the dcshoes.com website.
November 21, 2005
The Changing Role Of Contests
By Rob Brink
Skateboard Trade News October 2005
Despite mixed feelings from pros, media, and other industry folk who either embrace them or avoid them like the plague, contests have existed since skateboarding's early years and remain vital for a multitude of reasons. Contests bring skateboarders together while showcasing skateboarding so outsiders can watch, learn, and hopefully get stoked and start skating themselves.
November 18, 2005
Manufacturers And/Or Distributors
By Rob Brink
TransWorld Skateboarding Business June 2002
Hypothetical Scenario
Giant Distribution calls me one day to ask how my shop is doing on inventory, and to let me know that they have the new issue of 411VM and the new Element Tosh Townend Welcome board in stock. But I don't go direct with Giant because I can get all the Giant brands from AWH. I am a loyal customer there, and also get terms and free freight. AWH is also the only place that has Monkey Business, and they have Lib Tech. However, they don't carry enjoi, Blind, Deca, or Darkstar, so I get those products direct from Dwindle, who gives me a free deck for every twelve I buy, and some free wheels depending on how many sets I order. Sometimes the Dwindle orders take over a week to get to the store, but AWH does carry Tensor and Speed Demons, so I leave that out of my Dwindle order to get it here faster.