The (binding) future is NOW! - Now Bindings
So please, enlighten me on where you have found travis rice’s opinion on bindings.
He said it himself. I can’t remember specifically where or when, but it was before he signed with Union. Once Travis signed with Union, steps would have been taken to remove recent endorsements for competing products. Clearly I’ve been following the progress of this project a lot longer than you have.
Soooooooooooo you have a go at him about checking on his sources more carefully yet you cant provide your source saying TRice loved them?
Meh. I just couldn’t be arsed putting in the effort of going back to find it after all this time - especially over such a trivial point that’s basically a combination of splitting hairs and grasping at straws. Seriously, who gives a crap if maybe Travis said “liked” instead of “LOVED” or whatever? Big deal, it doesn’t change the fact that he was into these bindings enough to want to endorse them instead of the Burton Cartels he’d been using for ages. Besides, as I said, once Travis signed with Union, steps would have been taken to remove any conflicting endorsements for competing products, so it’s probably not there anymore.
Due to the lengthy lead times (pre-press/printing/distribution etc.) however, one thing that couldn’t be altered after he’d already signed with Union, was Travis’ endorsement of NOW Bindings on page 162 (the “Up For Grabs” page) of the February issue of Snowboarder Magazine. Even though the issue is dated after Travis signed with Union, it still lists Travis’ binding brand as “Now Snowboarding”.
Meh. I just couldn’t be arsed putting in the effort of going back to find it after all this time - especially over such a trivial point that’s basically a combination of splitting hairs and grasping at straws. Seriously, who gives a crap if maybe Travis said “liked” instead of “LOVED” or whatever?.
Yet you are the one who started having a go at Alex about, as you say, a trivial point…
Face, meet palm. (rolls eyes) That particular point is “trivial” because it’s largely irrelevant to the ACTUAL point.
Geez I wish people could think a bit more around here, it’s really irritating. Seriously, does anyone REALLY think that if Travis Rice had actually bought in for 50% of NOW, he’d have signed with Union a short time later??? Does anyone REALLY think that if Travis Rice was only supporting NOW “just for the money”, he’d be talking them up BEFORE signing this mythical 50% deal (especially considering he hadn’t said a word of endorsement for Union Bindings prior to signing)??? Does anyone REALLY think that JF Pelchat has the “shitloads of money” required to pay the kind of sponsorship dollars Travis Rice commands???
Dont hit your self too hard there…
I dont think it would be too far fetched to think TRice would buy into NOW bindings then sign with UNION.
Put your Business thinking cap on and take a lil ride with me…
He buys out 50% of NOW, with the intention of riding NOW officially.
Then Union come along and offer him ridiculous money, So he takes the Union contract and will ride them until said contract runs out WHILST owning 50% of NOW. The money from the Union contract will pay for his investment in NOW in the long run. So he gets to help his mates and their apparently innovative* technology get off the ground whilst still getting paid sh!tloads by Union. Sure he cant come out and officially say NOW are awesome, but he has funded their start up so to all involved, they know he has their back.
TRice comes out well on top in that scenario.
DISCLAIMER - I am not saying it is the actual scenario, it could be completely wrong but i have seen first hand stranger deals in business…
* I’m an not sold on the technology in these bindings. But will reserve my judgement till i get a look at them and get to use them
Nope.
I’ve got my PR/marketing “thinking cap on”, and what you’re proposing would be seriously counterproductive, and damaging to the NOW brand. What do you think the public reaction would be if Steve Ballmer was seen to be using an Apple iPhone as his regular phone (or Tim Cook with a Windows phone)? Well, it’d be the same thing if a major shareholder in a binding company was publicly seen to prefer a competitor’s bindings instead.
Sorry I didn’t actually mean that Travis got 50% of NOW only that it was offered to him. It makes sense that a brand new company cannot afford to pay Travis to be on their team so offering him 50% of the company is the only way to make it worth it.
The website I quoted earlier made this retraction after Travis announced being on Union:
http://sevenyearswinter.com/writings/travis-rice-joins-union
Also before Travis was on Now he belonged to the quiksilver owned bent metal bindings. As recently as November of 2011 Travis is still listed on the bent metal bindings website as a team rider. The fact that he choose to ride Cartels anyway actually says a lot about Burton’s Bindings.
http://stage2-www.bentmetal.com/blog/
Also I looked up the snowboarder magazine up4grabs article from february giving away travis’s kit. No where does it mention anything about Travis “endorsing” Now bindings even though those are the bindings that are given away with his kit.
Chucky, I don’t mean to drag this out because this really has no relevance to whether or not Now Bindings are good or bad. And its true that until I try them I can’t have an honest opinion, I just have a problem with the concept of the bindings. I am actually much more interested in what bindings professional riders choose when they don’t have a binding sponsor. Like Travis choosing Burton, or I believe I have seen Jeremy Jones (mtn) on unions before NOW came around. If you have found an article with Travis endorsing Now I would be interested in reading it.
. . . before Travis was on Now he belonged to the quiksilver owned bent metal bindings. As recently as November of 2011 Travis is still listed on the bent metal bindings website as a team rider. The fact that he choose to ride Cartels anyway actually says a lot about Burton’s Bindings.
Yep, it’s damaging to the Bent Metal brand - but huge multinational companies like Quiksilver can afford to take the hit in one area, because the payoff elsewhere compensates. Not so with small startups like NOW.
If you have found an article with Travis endorsing Now I would be interested in reading it.
It wasn’t an article, at least I don’t recall anything mentioned in an article. Way before any official announcements were made about NOW, there was personal social media chatter (Facebook, Instagram etc.) between quite a few of the major players - not really public stuff. I’m fairly sure that’s where I saw Travis’ comments. I reckon it’s safe to assume that the guys at 7YW have access to similar info and sources that I do - and my guess is that someone’s misinterpreted one of those comments, and a rumor has started from there. If I come across anything, I’m happy to post it.
. . . I looked up the snowboarder magazine up4grabs article from february giving away travis’s kit. No where does it mention anything about Travis “endorsing” Now bindings even though those are the bindings that are given away with his kit.
The listing of NOW Bindings (as Travis’ binding brand) on Travis’ “Up For Grabs” page in the February issue of Snowboarder Magazine is the definition of an “endorsement”.
“Jeremy Jones (mtn)”
Kudos for that, BTW.
To avoid confusion, I just usually to the other one as “Jibber Jones”.
Nope.
I’ve got my PR/marketing “thinking cap on”, and what you’re proposing would be seriously counterproductive, and damaging to the NOW brand. What do you think the public reaction would be if Steve Ballmer was seen to be using an Apple iPhone as his regular phone (or Tim Cook with a Windows phone)? Well, it’d be the same thing if a major shareholder in a binding company was publicly seen to prefer a competitor’s bindings instead.
So you dont think there are people/companies out there that have a stake/shares in a direct competitors product? I.E. when a “parent” company owns two companies that are in direct competition and arent absorbed into the one conglomerate.
^ That’s a completely different scanario and, once again, irrelevant to the central point.
yeh i originally didnt have it in there but put it in later.
So take that last sentence out,
“So you dont think there are people/companies out there that have a stake/shares in a direct competitors product?”
^ Like ultra-conservative evangelical preachers owning shares in whorehouses? Yep, there sure are - and look how that works out for them when the public finds out.
Sometimes it makes good business sense to invest in competitors’ products - but NOT when you’re a spokesperson for the product.