For the action sports industry in 2009, it’s all about keeping your head above water.
Already struggling with a glut of inventory, the $14.4 billion industry is forecasting sales to fall as much as 25 percent this year. Some surfboard makers say their business is down 30 percent to 40 percent as consumers put off larger purchases.
With numbers like that, industry insiders say some brands will disappear and the economic undertow will pull down a number of mom-and-pop shops, considered the backbone of the business because of their connection to the core action sports customer…. More info
At first sight, Jake Ryan Munoz looks like the average 1-year-old.
He just picked up the act of walking a week before his first birthday on Jan. 16., but at 9 months the tot was skateboarding.
Now, at the age of 1, he is somewhat of a professional.
“We bought him a small skateboard because he liked to play with his cousins,” his mother Kasie Gano said. “The rest is history.”…. More info
MasterCraft Boat Company announces that it has recently signed rider Nicola Butler to its world-class wakeboarding team. Butler, 16 years old, is a podium tour-de-force in only her 2nd year as a professional and is easily considered not only the best female rider, but also the future of women’s wakeboarding.
Known for her aggressive, yet smooth, style, the native of Cape Town, South Africa is stoked to have the support of MasterCraft and the pull of the award-winning X-Star to add more tricks to an already full bag. .. More info
Money is an emotional issue, especially during economic hard times. Social scientists have always warned that once a person’s basic needs are met money doesn’t buy happiness. But if you’re wondering, or maybe even arguing over, what to do with any precious discretionary income these days, a new study suggests how to get the biggest emotional bang for your buck.
Ryan Howell, an assistant professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, found that buying experiences — such as vacations, going to the theater or renting a sailboat — gave people more happiness than buying material things. The study, of 154 people ages 19 to 50, showed that experiences increase happiness …Â More info