Strange business. Moving from the
snow sport industry to whitewater there is something that has always
puzzled me. This is not about any kayak manufacturer in particular,
just a common trend in the industry. Let's follow a path of logic.
Imagine owning a company. Your company makes ten different products.
You pay five people to promote those products. Now charge those people
for each product they want to promote. The breakdown in logic is
obvious, yet this model is prevalent in the whitewater world. Do kayak
companies really wonder why their team doesn't promote crossover boats?
Perhaps the number of dirtbag and trustafarian kayakers happy to get
anything at a discount and be on a "team" are part of why this method
still exists. Perhaps the furthering of this style is why most
whitewater media is the fast food of content; GoPro. There is a time
and place for everything. McDonalds on a hungover morning is destiny.
Just not every day.
It sure would make a lot more sense to switch from "We pay you to
promote our products, but the more of them you promote the less you
make." to "We pay you to promote our products, here are the ones we
want promoted.". It's so simple I can't believe I'm writing this.
In other news on October 15th I'm going back to where it all started
with a Nikon D50; Veracruz, Mexico. This time it's Yoshihiro Takahashi
and I with our terrible Spanish and thirst for adventure. Sony A7 or
Sony A6000? I'm still up in the air but leaning towards traveling
light, fast AF and the fast frame rate of the A6000, which makes a nice
compact kit with the 10-18mm f/4, 16-70mm f/4 and 55-210mm.
Nick Troutman, The Silence.
