Author Topic: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?  (Read 15002 times)

Offline B-random Fantom

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Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« on: August 21, 2011, 07:46:14 AM »
Forget that silhouette shirt of whoever in whatever trick position that some kid who no longer rides printed up a few years back.

It seems like the only company that makes flatland frames or components and also has a worthwhile t-shirt line is Quamen. I've got a couple of their shirts and they are nice and soft and comfortable (not like that damn Gildan brand heavy shirt that feels like sandpaper on your skin that so many companies use).

But why isn't any other company that is devoted to flatland making any quality shirts?
Enough! I grow weary of your foolishness ninjas.

byke

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2011, 08:14:43 AM »
I suspect the risk of loss over consumer request is too high or laborious.

Offline 2flat2furious

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2011, 11:47:05 AM »
Still think DEEP makes the nicest looking shirts, but I'm not sure what brand of blanks they use.

loque

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #3 on: August 21, 2011, 11:49:28 AM »
Why does anyone want a flatland t shirt anyway? just go with blanks cheaper same quality do the job.

Offline 2flat2furious

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2011, 12:11:53 PM »
Buying flat T shirts never made sense to me unless there was great design involved. So basically, they have never made sense.

Offline B-random Fantom

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2011, 03:20:45 PM »
Why does anyone want a flatland t shirt anyway? just go with blanks cheaper same quality do the job.

Why not? With how much people talk about the need to 'promote the sport' you'd think one of the easiest ways to do that would be to wear a shirt that has an interesting design on it that might encourage people to ask you about it and that could give you an opportunity to talk to them about flatland.

Also, it's just one easy way for people to support the companies that keep us with products that we can use to keep riding. Not to mention, many people may not have the money to buy some expensive part but I'm sure many can afford a shirt so it's just another way of being appreciative of something and showing support for it.

I just remember as a kid when I got into skateboarding the local shop had all sorts of really original looking shirts from pro skate companies and I loved the ones I bought. Wearing them made me feel like part of unique subculture and it reinforced my self-identity as a skater. 

Another good side effect could be that it may allow you to meet new riders. I remember being in an Ikea in Toronto and seeing some random guy I never saw before with a sick child shirt on. It turns out he was just friends with Ed and didn't ride but, having a flatland company on your shirt is one way of identifying yourself and others as flatlanders and it might lead to chance encounters with new people that could help to create stronger local scenes or just lead to new friendships.

I never used to wear band shirts because I thought it was sort of a way for people to try and bask in reflected glory but over the past few year I have bought several band shirts for a few reasons: 1- I liked the logos/designs; 2- to support the bands who's music I like; 3- to let people know that I like the band on my shirt and they should check out their music, etc... All of these reasons hold for flatland too. In fact, it makes even more sense to me because, though I love music, I'm not a musician--I do tricks on a bike so why not show it?
Enough! I grow weary of your foolishness ninjas.

Offline 2flat2furious

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #6 on: August 21, 2011, 03:41:57 PM »
Why does anyone want a flatland t shirt anyway? just go with blanks cheaper same quality do the job.


Why not? With how much people talk about the need to 'promote the sport' you'd think one of the easiest ways to do that would be to wear a shirt that has an interesting design on it that might encourage people to ask you about it and that could give you an opportunity to talk to them about flatland.




The problem is, flatland companies have no sense of design outside of their parts so most of the clothing that's put out looks awful. They have yet to take a page from the street companies who do things right ie Animal, Shadow Conspiracy, etc. They have a nicer sense of style and while not being anywhere near on par with the fashion sense of the average skate company, they're at least trying to appeal to someone other than the gilden wearing mouth breather that can't muster up a reason to buy a shirt other than "SUPPORT HURFDURF".

Not saying that's you of course, but if I'm going to plop down 15 bucks on a t shirt it better be something other than fruit of the loom/jerzees and not fit like sh*t, come in a decent selection of colors, and not have some bullsh*t silhouette of a rider on it and/or a center placed bland silkscreened copy of the decal that comes off their frames. Right now I don't see anything remotely close to that out of a flat company.

Like this for example:

http://flatlandfuel.com/innertwineverticalfontt-shirt.aspx

Really? MSRP for that is 19.99?

http://flatlandfuel.com/quamenfencet-shirt.aspx

I could find a better design for a T off the sales rack at Target and that's pretty much the norm for flatland centered clothing companies. It looks unprofessional and unpolished.


Offline tod miller

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #7 on: August 21, 2011, 04:20:29 PM »
All the skate companies already have the designs I want to wear...if I want to wear any at all.  I'm sorry, but skating has always been miles ahead of BMX in design and fashion. 
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loque

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #8 on: August 21, 2011, 05:48:29 PM »
Why does anyone want a flatland t shirt anyway? just go with blanks cheaper same quality do the job.

Why not? With how much people talk about the need to 'promote the sport' you'd think one of the easiest ways to do that would be to wear a shirt that has an interesting design on it that might encourage people to ask you about it and that could give you an opportunity to talk to them about flatland.


Well "people" is not representative of me and i dont care for promotion of the sport and even less care for want to be recognised for what i do and questioned about it but thats just me . This sport for me is my indulgence / my time / passion etc i really just dont feel obliged to any kind of duties in the name of flatland. From a strictly consumer point of view i agree with Tj and todd that even for those who would be interested in flatland clothing there is very little on the design front presenting itself as a worthwhilst purchase infact the only company i ever bought clothes from because they kicked ass was artzone sh*t LOVED those sport troo things although they were not exactly a flatland company.
« Last Edit: August 21, 2011, 10:22:07 PM by loque »

Offline manniedamaniac

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #9 on: August 21, 2011, 10:08:38 PM »
I suspect the risk of loss over consumer request is too high or laborious.

Yesss. I have two t-shirt designs for my small local brand-Diablo Gear- and im a flat rider but yet i dont have a flatland inspired t-shirt. i do have one with a tuck no-hander siloute because thats what all the local riders want and would buy, not a flatland shirt- but there is one in the making!

Offline B-random Fantom

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #10 on: August 21, 2011, 10:39:17 PM »
Why does anyone want a flatland t shirt anyway? just go with blanks cheaper same quality do the job.

Why not? With how much people talk about the need to 'promote the sport' you'd think one of the easiest ways to do that would be to wear a shirt that has an interesting design on it that might encourage people to ask you about it and that could give you an opportunity to talk to them about flatland.


Well "people" is not representative of me and i dont care for promotion of the sport and even less care for want to be recognised for what i do and questioned about it but thats just me . This sport for me is my indulgence / my time / passion etc i really just dont feel obliged to any kind of duties in the name of flatland.

Okay, good for you. Then don't buy any. I wasn't making the argument that flatlanders have a duty to promote. What I'm saying is that they have squat for options if they did want to wear a good quality flatland company t-shirt. I'm not very concerned with 'promoting the sport' either. On the other hand, I need some new shirts and why not buy/wear one that also supports a company I appreciate? I was asking a question in the hopes of getting an answer perhaps from a flatland company owner to find out what's the deal? I don't particularly care about your opinions or lack of desire wear a certain kind of shirt. If you don't want to than don't. But this part of what you said does nothing to answer the question I am asking.

From a strictly consumer point of view i agree with Tj and todd that even for those who would be interested in flatland clothing there is very little on the design front presenting itself and a worthwhilst purchase infact the only company i ever bought clothes from because they kicked ass was artzone sh*t LOVED those sport troo things and they were not exactly a flatland company.

That's exactly my point: there aren't many available and the few that exist are mostly quite lame or uncomfortable. Why doesn't anyone go the extra mile and put out something comfortable, that fits well and doesn't have a silly silhouette, a bland oval logo, or basic name on the front? 
Enough! I grow weary of your foolishness ninjas.

Offline B-random Fantom

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #11 on: August 21, 2011, 10:51:45 PM »
Why does anyone want a flatland t shirt anyway? just go with blanks cheaper same quality do the job.


Why not? With how much people talk about the need to 'promote the sport' you'd think one of the easiest ways to do that would be to wear a shirt that has an interesting design on it that might encourage people to ask you about it and that could give you an opportunity to talk to them about flatland.




The problem is, flatland companies have no sense of design outside of their parts so most of the clothing that's put out looks awful. They have yet to take a page from the street companies who do things right ie Animal, Shadow Conspiracy, etc. They have a nicer sense of style and while not being anywhere near on par with the fashion sense of the average skate company, they're at least trying to appeal to someone other than the gilden wearing mouth breather that can't muster up a reason to buy a shirt other than "SUPPORT HURFDURF".

Not saying that's you of course, but if I'm going to plop down 15 bucks on a t shirt it better be something other than fruit of the loom/jerzees and not fit like sh*t, come in a decent selection of colors, and not have some bullsh*t silhouette of a rider on it and/or a center placed bland silkscreened copy of the decal that comes off their frames. Right now I don't see anything remotely close to that out of a flat company.

Like this for example:

http://flatlandfuel.com/innertwineverticalfontt-shirt.aspx

Really? MSRP for that is 19.99?

http://flatlandfuel.com/quamenfencet-shirt.aspx

I could find a better design for a T off the sales rack at Target and that's pretty much the norm for flatland centered clothing companies. It looks unprofessional and unpolished.




I agree with pretty much everything you say above. That innertwine company might give a few free t-shirts to a few good riders but other than that they don't really have  anything to do flatland in particular do they? I don't know. In any event, I would like to hear from flatland frame or parts company owners. Why don't you make decent shirts?
Enough! I grow weary of your foolishness ninjas.

Offline ASC

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #12 on: August 21, 2011, 11:03:06 PM »
In fact, it makes even more sense to me because, though I love music, I'm not a musician--I do tricks on a bike so why not show it?

Exactly! One of biggest problem in BMX is the marketing overall. There is too much keep it underground mentality and not enough people getting stoked or excited to have their company or representing company known. Japan handles this differently but local in their approach. You don't need a gnarly shirt, just logo should be hardcore. Vans is a great example of this. Vans just needs to step up with repping BMX, this includes their pro BMX/Flatland riders doing the same. I am curious to know how many of their BMX riders attend or suggest a meet and greet with their marketing personal. Demo used to be a big part of all this.

Some i.e..
Joel Tudor(also known as Jititzu Joel by the surfing community) legendary surfer, is well known to wear VANS during his BJJ competitions, and most all the BJJ always salute HANG5 when around Joel. He has great respect from his BJJ competitors/peers for his sportsmanship, as well surfing community. His sponsors are part and parcel of his identity. Vans is his culture. (I should let him know I talked about him in flatland forum...lol...well he is great example of a rider standing by his roots).

Here is another, Kelly Slater on a recent trip.
"I'm in Vegas and I saw a guy rockin a Ks10 hat last nite.. I loved it"Nice. Haha.

I was hoping from all the BMX companies, Odyssey BMX, along with their pros do better job in branding/reachout...but

Anyway I recently brought a FOX Racing(only known BMX brand at large) purse, and the matching wallet. In my work environment I have to wear businesslike attire, and was wanting to purchase a T-shirt as reminder of action sports/my culture, I have not worn such in a long time, however these accessories  caught my eye. Both items at the back, have a small embroidery that says "RIDE ON!" Cool. I spent over $100.00 in less than 20min, and was only looking for a t-shirt(even though I can get all these things in my work place dirt cheap, still nice to support another business that is exclusive to rider brands only). BMX has no understanding of the power of women when it comes to supporting and getting the word out. Right now Hurley has a great clothing line just for babies so does VANS, and Adidas.

So until then all the under-grounders no need to sweat or worry...you will be where you are at for a long time. Maybe in my lifetime I'll get to see some well known/highly established BMX company and little kiddo walking or pulling a hang5 hailing a BMX tee, and some girls rockin BMX goods be they a rider or not...N
« Last Edit: August 21, 2011, 11:11:57 PM by ASC »
RIDE......RIDE......RIDE

loque

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #13 on: August 21, 2011, 11:39:12 PM »
Well i think this simply comes down to


"Why doesn't anyone go the extra mile and put out something comfortable, that fits well and doesn't have a silly silhouette, a bland oval logo, or basic name on the front? "

Because the majority dont care leaving the potential buyer figures as a one hand sum which will make profit making almost impossible and lead to a higher priced tee to begin with its basically a saturated market and the only thing as a company you could possibly offer that ANY other t shirt cant is the design whatever that might be. You said you hoped for a company to reply but this is a forum if you really want to know take your concerns to any of the following.
jimb@odysseybmx.com
info@quamenbikes.com
http://www.khebikes.com/2011/contact_us.php?osCsid=bfad1982ab10de12c5a2c56b405f234a
I hope you get the info you are looking for .
« Last Edit: August 21, 2011, 11:42:18 PM by loque »

Offline Deadwing

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Re: Why are there no good flatland company t-shirts?
« Reply #14 on: August 22, 2011, 03:22:50 AM »
Flatland has no interesting t-shirts because it has come to the point where anyone can grab a blank t-shirt, come up with a lame ass name, and say they have a "company" or ride for a "company" and put said name on shirt. And the whole "support the scene" thing is a cheap ploy to get people to buy lousy designs. If your telling me that buying a crappy t shirt is the only way to support the "Scene" by all means let it die.

BMX companies need to get away from lame ass names with overused typefaces. The reason why skateboarding has been sucessful in terms of fashon is because of design. Look at companies like Black Label,Element,DGK,Blind,World Industires ect. They have cool designs that arent just a lame typeface of said company name or some lame silhouette of someone on a bike. Design is a great way to promote anything, but nobody is going to give a damn if you just have a shirt that says "insert name here"clothing with a typeface on it. Or a silhouette of something like riding. That kind of design just comes out unimaginative and uninteresting.
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