Ballistyx Snowboard Shop in Australia is now the biggest individual dealer in the world for Mervin Manufacturing products. You know Lib Tech and Gnu snowboards, the ones with the wonky edges and that bend the wrong way have changed the face of snowboarding.
Steve Watts, owner of Ballistyx, recently spent three weeks in Washington State USA, the home of Mervin Manufacturing. He and the film crew were filming for the 6th Season of the Ballistyx Snowboard Show and got first hand an impression on why Mervin have been so successful. We sat down and talked Quiky, Mervin and all things Lib and Gnu. Here is some of the interview...
Hi Steve. Congratulations on a pretty good achievement for an Australian Snowboard store.
Cheers. But I must say it's a pretty easy product to sell. We have to remember these are the guys who were at the forefront of board design from the early days. Mike Olson from Mervin has been accredited with developing the metal edges on snowboards plus a host of other things including 'Magna Traction' four years ago. This alone tipped board design on its head and that ultimately allowed them to develop 'Bananna Technology'. You got to remember they have basically helped everybody throughout the world. Every board company has copied or been inspired by their designs. The general public have benefited greatly, as the reverse camber boards have helped retain more people in snowboarding, allowing people who are learning to have a much easier time. This helps folks to progress faster and basically the majority of riders worldwide to enjoy their snowboarding more. Whether you are riding a Nitro, Burton, Ride or whatever, there is a little bit of Lib and Gnu in them.
Photo: Natasha Ferre and the most famous Celica in the world
What do you think about Quiksilver owning them and now taking over distribution worldwide?
Well firstly without Quiky there most probably wouldn't be a Mervin Manufacturing. They bought them out in '97 when things were pretty tough. I think maybe Mike and the boys spent too much time down in the dungeon developing them and forgot about selling them. No but on a serious note, the one thing that impressed me the most in my time over there was the fact that Quiky don't interfere. In fact more development has happened since Quiky came on board. They can concentrate on what they do best, progressing board design, and leave most of the company stuff to Quiky. In regards to distribution, everybody was bummed for Dave at Sidelife losing the brand in Australia. However I think you will agree that Quiksilver is a pretty big company and Lib and Gnu are going to benefit from that infrastructure, marketing power and logistics that Quiksilver has in place. I think Lib and Gnu in Australia will benefit greatly and be able to do things that other brands can't. I can't comment on the rest of the world but Jeff Sweeney from Quiky in OZ is acutely aware of the power of the brand to retailers. The biggest problem we have is we can't get enough of them. At the factory they are working two ten hours shifts a day and still struggle to make enough boards.
There are plenty of brands that make great boards! Why is Lib and Gnu so popular at a retail level?
We have sold them for close to 20 years now and they used to be a boutique little brand with weird graphics. I remember back in the early 90's waiting in anticipation for the new Jamie Lynn,. There are people out there who collect the Jamie Lynn every year and never ride it. Same with the Travis Rice, you don't see too much of that elsewhere with other brands. A lot of dealers, who traditionally put all their eggs in one basket, are quickly realizing in today's market that the landscape is quickly changing. With our uncertain snow conditions, people want one board that will perform in Australia no matter what the conditions. And also as so many Aussies are now looking to travel to overseas destinations, they want a board that will perform in powder equally as well. I seriously cannot think of a board that performs as well in all conditions. Some are close, the new YES snowboards work great as does Nitro's Gullwing Technology.
Photo: Just a day at the office for the Lib and Gnu guys
Photo: You never know what lurks in the R & D department
What do you ride? Ballistyx are not connected to Mervin in some way by any chance?
What I ride doesn't matter one bit. I started riding in '88 and still haven't got any better! But I ride a Nitro Subzero for fun. For years I rode Ride snowboards and loved them. At the moment I'm riding the Gnu Danny Kass, I can't believe how good it is. It inspires confidence in all conditions, and when you get to my age having that no hook edge and forgiveness is a good thing! As far as being connected to Mervin, not at all. My shop has always taken pride in being completely independent and not aligning ourselves with brands. It takes the choice out of it for customers and you would find people selling boards for the wrong reasons and to the wrong people.
