Toby wrote:
Had this topic in mind for a while...it would be interesting what consumers, industry and pro riders think.
- is a team rider worth the money
- should they get more support from companies (barely anyone makes some extra money)
- do they help to sell more kites
- is their feedback for gear important
- do consumers buy gear because of team riders
- which team rider has the most value
- what should team riders do and what not
- how important is their coolness factor (down to earth, open for everyone, arrogant/cool etc)
-i guess yes and no. i've seen the dudes riding same equipment and even wearing the same clothes as some of their idols. for me and lot of others it looks pathetic. but some are spending money for it
-not to us to decide, but some brands seams over-equipped with teamriders
-at some extension, again for the 95% of the kiters they have no influence at all
-my guess is apr. 20% are important for brand, because average kiters are different by weight and skills
-my guess is only 5% of consumers are influenced by the pro's
-for me none
-les unaccountable spins in the air and more generally achievable for simple people tricks
-more you are arrogant - less i care! buy your sponsor's gear yourself!!!
sq225917 wrote:
Good team riders are hard to find, the sport is still relatively young and there's not a great deal of professionalism in it. A good rider needs management, a solid agent, they need their own PR as well as what their brand's marketing dept provides them with. There's only a handful of riders like this, who can bring the entire package and they are highly sought after.
I'm biased, because I think she's brilliant, but honestly there's no one better than Kristin Boese at this. She's multiple x world champion, she's a huge part of the KSP Tour, she works with the governing body for racing and the Olympic committee. She uses her own PR & management company. She runs KB4Girls which has huge reach and on top of this she's the nicest person you'll ever meet on the beach. I can't think of anyone I'd trade her for.
Team riders bring a lot of different things to a brand. There's no denying the benefit of having world class pro-tour riders representing your brand, if you've got good product it's a lot easier to attract them to your brand. Hopefully we'll pick up some good PKRA riders this year, there's a lot of interest because of the GP. It'll be interesting to see who comes to Ride With Us.
well, you are not in the 80-s with all those professionalism, agents and PR and management s**t anymore. who cares?
there are lot more kiters searching MOST SEXY KITE PICTURE in the kiteforum.com then the best female kiteboarder.
FredBGG wrote:
While many are very skilled, the vast majority just set a bad example as far as
even basic safety goes.
99.9% of them never wear a helmet....
...More attention has to be given to safety and it can be done in a cool way. Many other extreme sports have adopted a safety oriented image and way of doing business....
....Do team riders effect what I buy. Not in the slightest.
I base my purchases on trying kites and gear.
I do watch kiting video online. many of the best videos are not from the team riders.
many times team riders travelling through the area are a pain in the water.
Some team riders are an exception....
i agree, not all of them are the good example for the rest.
and i dont judge them just by the quantity of the spins they make in the air during the trick.