Chaco and Boardworks Join Forces to Grow the Sport of Stand Up Paddling

[Boardworkssurf]

ROCKFORD, Mich. And CARLSBAD, Calif. (April 9, 2013) – Partnering to get more people on the water and learning the sport of Stand Up Paddling (SUP), Chaco and Boardworks introduce the 2013 Show Up and Blow Up SUP Demo Tour. The tour will visit over 30 sites across the nation, showcasing the latest, most innovative boards, paddles, and Chaco performance sandals and shoes through a series of national SUP events. For more information on the tour, visit http://www.boardworkssup.com/shubutour/
 
“As an outdoor brand born on the river, we want to continue to encourage and support on-water adventures,” said Colin Butts, marketing manager at Chaco. “Partnering with Boardworks on this tour is a natural fit and one where we can help people learn paddling skills, try new gear, and share their experiences with other enthusiasts. We’re dedicated to building a community of active Chaconians enjoying our nation’s rivers, lakes, and coasts.”

“We are thrilled to have Chaco join the Show Up and Blow Up Tour as the presenting sponsor,” said Gretchen Gamble, marketing manager for Boardworks.  “Our river SUP athletes train and compete in Chacos as well as wear them while on shore. It is a solid alliance of two brands with a similar goal of getting more people into the sport of SUP to nurture an active, on-water community while building the next generation of SUP athletes and ambassadors.” Boardworks elite team members and Chaco ambassadors, Mike Tavares and Haley Mills will be heading up to tour to share their expertise and passion for the sport across the country.

Working in conjunction with local retailers and shared brand ambassadors, the tour will encompass all areas of the sport from flat water and whitewater to coastal paddling and will consist of product demos, clinics, and races. The Tour began March 30 in Florida and continues on to North Carolina in April; Virginia and Colorado in May and June; Idaho, Utah and Montana in July; Oregon, Washington and California in August and California, Georgia and Tennessee in September and October. 

Born on the river in 1989, Chaco builds premium footwear and accessories for the outdoor-minded. What started as sandals for river guides has evolved into sandals, shoes, and boots that offer Chaco’s uncompromised support no matter where you roam. All Chaco footwear features the LUVSEAT™, a uniquely contoured platform that properly aligns and supports your foot and body to enable a lifetime of adventure. As a result, the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) has awarded the Seal of Acceptance to many Chaco footwear styles.  The APMA Seal is intended to raise awareness by identifying products of exceptional quality that are manufactured with comfort, health, and safety in mind. Simply put, Chaco is fit for adventure. Chaco is a part of Wolverine Worldwide’s Performance Group that also includes Merrell, Saucony, Patagonia Footwear, and Cushe. Chaco, 9341 Courtland Drive NE, Rockford, Mich. 49351. Phone: (888) 637-7001; Fax: (800) 862- 6230.  www.chacos.com, Facebook: Chacousa, Twitter: @Chacousa.

Based in Carlsbad California, Boardworks Surf, a leader in the standup paddle industry, designs and manufactures innovative and award winning standup paddle boards, paddles, surfboards and accessories. The focus of Boardworks is to build user-friendly performance products that make your time on the water more enjoyable.


There are many types of waterways in this world and many different ways to enjoy Stand Up Paddling. Boardworks’ design approach ensures that you have the perfect board for your next SUP adventure.  Along with the Boardworks branded products, Boardworks manufactures SUP boards, paddles and accessories for the worlds premier SUP brands including Infinity SUP, Badfish Standup Paddle, Morrelli & Melvin, Ohana, Rusty and Paddle Surf Hawaii, using our proprietary construction technologies.
Boardworks Surf, 5925 Priestly Drive, Suite 120 Carlsbad, CA 92008. Phone:  (760) 722-8536.
www.boardworkssurf.com, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/boardworkssurf , Twitter: @boardworkssurf

Chaco Media Contact: Kris Hathaway, HFS Communications, 802.249.9171, kris@hfscommunications.com
Boardworks Media Contact: Gretchen Gamble, 760-722-8536, gretchen@boardworkssurf.com

[PonoBill]

Nice, and a great idea. Though the stilted language of press releases never changes, I've written a zillion of them and they all sounded like that. Grumpy ex-flack and ad guy stuff aside though, it's a fine idea.

I won't make any comment on Colin Butts as a name (well, I guess I just did) other than to say wear it proudly. One of the finest people I ever knew was named Roxy Butts, which I always thought would be a great name for a rock band.

[XLR8]

This is cool and I think it will be a neat tour but I can't help but be a little grumpy about it.

The BlkBox Surf race team has been approaching Wolverine for two years on supporting our Michigan-based race team.  BlkBox is a MI company using boards and materials source here in MI.  Custom surfcraft, charging surf, winning races...none of it attracted their attention.  But you get a big distributor behind and then Boom!

I'm not normally a negative guy and this looks like a cool tour.  But it is amazing how difficult to near impossible it has been to get any backing for BlkBox.  The big companies just stifle the grassroots efforts.

[SlatchJim]

I had never heard of Chaco before about a month ago.  My sister in law has trouble finding comfortable sandals, and the retail guy at the store selling them said to her, "buy these, wear them all vacation long, and if they're not the most comfortable sandals you've ever owned, return them and I'll give you your money back." My very finicky sister in law raved about them at the end of her stay.  I just saw a rack of them in the local store, and now with this info and her testimony, I may have to give them a try.  I also wanted to order some Vere Sandals and give them a go.

[kneil]

Three pins in coastal North Carolina on the map, but none of the listed events are shown there.  They need a better map or a more updated List of Events!

[PonoBill]

This is cool and I think it will be a neat tour but I can't help but be a little grumpy about it.

The BlkBox Surf race team has been approaching Wolverine for two years on supporting our Michigan-based race team.  BlkBox is a MI company using boards and materials source here in MI.  Custom surfcraft, charging surf, winning races...none of it attracted their attention.  But you get a big distributor behind and then Boom!

I'm not normally a negative guy and this looks like a cool tour.  But it is amazing how difficult to near impossible it has been to get any backing for BlkBox.  The big companies just stifle the grassroots efforts.

What it really takes is persistent effort, and you can't assume you're going to get any particular company to join you, you simply need to cast the net as far as it takes. Worse yet, tours and promotions like this are generally one-shot. And I guarantee that if they are one-shot, they won't really help sales to any useful degree.  

I've been in the marketing business a long time. The number of deals I pitched that didn't fly is probably ten times the number that did. When you're pitching a business proposal you have to be talking to the person that makes the decisions, and you can't leave out the people that can kill the deal--the internal guru, the nub charged with doing the internal work, the decisionmaker's boss, etc.. You also have to know what kind of promotion will connect to the business model of your target. Looking for a sponsor for a race team is pretty low value. Co-sponsoring an awareness tour is a lot closer to brand-building, which is important to any consumer product. Even if you do all that perfectly, it doesn't work every time. So you get back on the horse and do it again.

If you're not willing to do all that then don't waste your time. It takes what it takes. Oh, and by the way, the name really sucks.

[JeanG]

Oh, and by the way, the name really sucks.

You don't like "Show up and blow up"?

[paddlestandingup]

I don't see a single SHUBU in that picture.  I see Ravens and MCITs. 

[XLR8]

Oh, and by the way, the name really sucks.

You don't like "Show up and blow up"?

I think Bill was referring to BlkBox and my post grousing about the only MI board company around being ignored by this huge MI sponsor.  I get it.  BlkBox is hard to spell, doesn't roll off the toungue and usually inspires a huh?  But, it was a name that developed about 10 years ago and reflects the early skate and snowboard roots and, as such, won't be changed to pander to marketing.  We'll let superfast, great riding boards rise above the name.  And so if I feel that way why did I complain in the first place?  Knee jerk.  Sorry to have tangented this thread.

[melonhead]

I had never heard of Chaco before about a month ago.  My sister in law has trouble finding comfortable sandals, and the retail guy at the store selling them said to her, "buy these, wear them all vacation long, and if they're not the most comfortable sandals you've ever owned, return them and I'll give you your money back." My very finicky sister in law raved about them at the end of her stay.  I just saw a rack of them in the local store, and now with this info and her testimony, I may have to give them a try.  I also wanted to order some Vere Sandals and give them a go.

I'll second the love for Chaco - without a doubt the best sandals out there. Beats Olukai and Rainbow and Teva and all the other high priced, non-performing sandals out there like a drum.
Try a pair and any other sandal will be ruined for you . . .

[PonoBill]

SHUBU is kind of lame, but yes, I was talking about BikBox. Lots of companies rise above their names, but it takes a lot of extra work and costs money. I think if people understood how much a bad name costs them there would be a lot fewer. SUP sucks as a name for our sport, but it's hopeless to try to change it. It was just an aside, but I can't help but think of how much explaining you'd have to do (money, money, money plus time that equals money) to get people excited about the Chaco and Bikbox Tour.

[XLR8]

SHUBU is kind of lame, but yes, I was talking about BikBox. Lots of companies rise above their names, but it takes a lot of extra work and costs money. I think if people understood how much a bad name costs them there would be a lot fewer. SUP sucks as a name for our sport, but it's hopeless to try to change it. It was just an aside, but I can't help but think of how much explaining you'd have to do (money, money, money plus time that equals money) to get people excited about the Chaco and Bikbox Tour.

I'm sensitive to subtleties so I wouldn't be surprised if you misspelled it on purpose just to underscore your point Bill.   

[PaddleAnything]

The whole press release seems pretty hyped like they are building up and advertising all the locations where the rep is going to be demoing at other events sponsored by other companies.  The whole building up SUP for the greater good....NO...selling boards and sandals.  Before looking at the dates and events, I had visions of Boardworks and Chaco sponsored events with lots of downriver races, carnage, killer new races....NO....just places where the RVs going to roll into pulling some demo boards. 

BTW, I thought Chaco was a small Colorado company.  Was it sold?  What's the history?  I"ve been wearing them since the early 90's.  The first pair had a nice narrow heal and a high arch.

[PonoBill]

Michigan, Wolverine bought them and immediately shipped all the manufacturing to china.  That's how it's done these days.

The tour will be as successful as the effort put into it. You can do a demo tour and really get people pumped up. there's no specific format one has to adhere to. Look at Red Bull, probably the most successful branding company on the planet. Well, maybe that's Nike, but still. Red Bull OWNs crazy.  The do the pflugtag thingy. Simply amazing. What does it have to do with energy drinks that taste like panther piss and are certainly addictive? Nada. Does it work? You betcha. Why--because they work their asses off to make it work.

[Cardiff Kook]

Michigan, Wolverine bought them and immediately shipped all the manufacturing to china.  That's how it's done these days.

The tour will be as successful as the effort put into it. You can do a demo tour and really get people pumped up. there's no specific format one has to adhere to. Look at Red Bull, probably the most successful branding company on the planet. Well, maybe that's Nike, but still. Red Bull OWNs crazy.  The do the pflugtag thingy. Simply amazing. What does it have to do with energy drinks that taste like panther piss and are certainly addictive? Nada. Does it work? You betcha. Why--because they work their asses off to make it work.

One small correction here. Wolverine did not ship the production to China. Chaco, had been making all of their sandals in China for 2 years prior to the sale. The good thing is, you can still get custom Chacos made in any color you want, and they are made in MI. They also run a RECHACO program, where you can get your sandals re-soled or repaired.