No Surprises
Since Apple started doing their keynote speeches for their product launch people have come to expect big things. They want something new and revolutionary every time. For the Sayshun 2012 product release we kept trying to think about how we can make it new and exciting but to be honest there aren’t a lot of surprises. Sayshun is a company that has used innovation not to change the face of longboarding but build boards for the riders who are the ones changing the sport. Our greatest accomplishment in the 2012 lineup is with out a doubt the release of the 2012 Epiphany! The idea for this board didn’t come like a strike of lightening or anything. The board was developed in response to what longboarders are asking for and then tweaked and developed again and again with our local riders until we had something we were proud to put on the shelves. The real “epiphany” was realizing that you can’t get the things you want in life without a little hard work. Each and every season you guys develop your skills so you know exactly what we are talking about. It’s the love of longboarding that get’s you out on the pavement everyday but it’s looking back and seeing how far you’ve come that stokes you for the next season ahead.

Our second biggest accomplishment in the 2012 line-up is the creation of Series One. There has been lengthy discussions about this in the Sayshun office about how we wanted to create a family of boards designed specifically for the first time rider. We have seen the sport of longboarding grow and develop so much in the past ten years but how many of you would agree with us that 90% of people’s first board purchase is a bamboo pintail. No hard feelings against the pintail but when a when that first time rider wants to get into slides or learn to bomb a hill properly they end up having to get a whole new deck! Series One is designed to be the very best introduction to the sport of longboarding and to what downhill and freeride is all about. These boards are stable and low to the ground. They come in a Junior and Senior size. But most importantly we’ve streamlined our manufacturing process to give your our very best price without having to move to overseas manufacturing. These boards are easy to learn on an have no limitations when the rider is ready to throw down.

Other developments for the 2012 line-up came primarily from talking to riders. We asked them what they loved and hated about our boards and we made them better. We cut a brand new mould for every board this year. In most cases only minor changes where made to either mellow out the concave or just tweak the dimensions but we did it in response to real feedback. Another thing is we didn’t change out the graphics for every board. Our graphics are produced both in house and through our Artist Collaboration Program. The reason why we didn’t change every graphic is it takes time to develop graphics and seek out artists who really want to work with Sayshun. We’re passionate about every graphic and we want to give recognition to the artists we work with like Russ Mills and Adrian Knopik. When you’re flipping through the new board models just take a second to appreciate the time it took for each artist to create what we are lucky enough to put on a longboard.

As development of the Sayshun line-up continues we set the bar at “bad ass”. If we are not making bad ass boards then we might as well throw in the towel. When you’re out there shredding this 2012 season remember that sometimes big improvements happen a little bit at a time. Keep pushing your limits and value your accomplishments.

Live Before You Die,
Jacob @ Sayshun