Today, as I was poking around on the internet, I stumbled upon this really, really awesome Element/Greg Noll collaboration:
http://catalog.elementskateboards.com/skateboards/view/3186//DaBunBoard-Complete
THIS, is exactly what I have been fighting for, for so long! This, my friends, is "industry perfection", pretty damned close to being realized.
I mean, you've gotta love it! A handy, informative online catalog. The Holy Grail [Almost], the oft-fought-for (but, long time coming) MSRP! The ONLY thing that would be better than an MSRP, is a MAP. But: We're close, people. Reaaaaaaallll close...
The ONLY thing that Element needs, is multi-views of the board, on their website... like, a side shot would be nice. Or, this is even better:
http://www.landyachtz.com/D25.cfm?PID=294
Now, the ONLY thing left to do, is use the web to let consumers know that these things exist (as I had NO IDEA that Element did a Noll collabo...). How, and where, is Element advertising these things...!? I'll tell you one thing: I'll be buying one, and reviewing it here. That is fer damn sure.
It's a happy, happy day. Everything that I have long fought for, and written about, is coming true. Leave it to Johnny Schillereff to do it. I actually met Johnny once, at ASR. It was at an IASC roundtable with various retailers. Steve Douglas, Bod Boyle, and others were there as well. But, Johnny stood out... even though he was obviously trying to stay off to the side, remain kinda quiet and reserved, and looked more than happy to merely listen to the conversation unfold. He didn't talk much, but the [very] few things that he did say were remarkably insightful, and incredibly wise. I had a hunch that he'd do some good shit in the future. Looks like, he did.
Johnny? Thank You.
With apparently very little left to do, I can now confidently say that: My essay writing days are over! The last things left to do, are to figure out how to get shops communicating with each other, and how to get skateboarding on a growth-path again. But, those things are long-term problems. As for the short-term, it's looking fucking killer.
Again: Thanks, Johnny. I'm now an Element Fan For Life. -B.
