Recovering from the Surf Expo
September came too quickly again this year and ended the most exciting time of year at the Jersey Shore. As usual all the “Shoobies” reluctantly packed up their boards and the kids left for school, the Kona Sports Team didn’t let the end of summer blues get them down. Recharged for the upcoming fall season, Kona packed up their bags and headed to the Orlando, Florida for the September 2012 SURF EXPO at the Orlando Convention Center.
Although the humidity was thick as usual in the Orlando air, the mood was light and fun for the Kona Crew who were all pumped for a few days of real SURF TALK and nights of SURF parties. We hit the ground running with a lot of new products and people to see.
Since only the surf industry can attend the SURF EXPO bi-annually, we are stoked to report some of the HOT styles and trends that we were privileged to see and what we are excited to bring back as new arrivals with us! As for the highlights of what and who we go to see, we are happy to sum it up for you!
Our Quiksilver appointment was both educational and eye opening. We discussed the direction in which the surf industry is heading, which surprisingly is gearing more towards the technological aspects, and less about keeping up with the current fashion trends.
Freestyle let us take a sneak peak at their spring 2013 line, combining cutting edge technology, and timeless durability with up to the minute bright colors and styles. Freestyle is taking the initiative here and putting a free custom tide watch on every surfer competing in the Hurley Pro which is underway in California right now!
What did Arnette have to say at the Expo? Arnette is trending back to the sunglass styles that were popular 20 years ago and re-releasing old styles for a new generation of groms that are stoked on surfing and its roots.
What new brands are we pursuing? You might see House of Marley, Lifeproof electronics cases and G-Shock just to name a few brands coming to KONAsports.com soon!
We ran into a lot of people at the EXPO, but some names you may know, such as Laird Hamilton, Corey Lopez, CJ Hobgood, and the RVCA V.P. of Sales, Eric Thomas!
Laird promoted his new Stand-up PaddleBoard line and YES…we loved it and one of the Kona team leaders was so impressed, he is buying his own to bring home to Wildwood soon too!
We also scoped out some cool moves too at the show. A great ping pong tournament, lots of Paddle Boards along with some girls showing off some insane Yoga moves on their boards, and some cool skateboarding tricks too!
Where did we go after the EXPO? Well most of the Surf Industry will tell you, “What happens in Orlando stays in Orlando.” We can leek a little of the behind the scenes fun though or else it just wouldn’t be fair! Friday night, September 7th, the Surf Expo sponsored the Industry Party with Sanuk at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon which was an awesome party with tons of surfers (which weren’t sore on the eyes in the water or out) and vendors that we all mingled with throughout the night.
Although not all good parties are worth playing hard at, this after party had a great cause and raised almost $13,000 for the Stokes Me Fundraiser, which campaign is the official fundraising event for the SIMA Humanitarian Fund which raises money for surf-related and non-profit organizations that improve quality of life, health and welfare of people. It was definitely a party worth joining the crowd to toast “Cheers” with and to cheer on all those who were surfing or sponsoring good will!
Overall, the trip, expo and after parties were all worth hitting and we will do it all again in January 2013! Overall we supported some great causes, made some new friends, and brought home some new knowledge and new products to share with our team and all of our loyal customers! We wish you all could have enjoyed our biannual Surf Expo trip, but we are happy to report all our highlights with you as usual! As for know, all the Kona Team members that went are still recovering from a great trip where we all worked hard and played hard!
