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The great Dave P had the quintessential response on this subject:
"Listen up. I took the time to type this out, so the last thing I want to hear is people bitching about it being too much reading. Harness your ADD for a few minutes and give it a go. Thanks.
What's all this... core this, core that, fuck core, fuck you, new jack bullshit? Stop your fragmented bickering for one fucking second. I want to know who claimed Joystick was so core in the first place. It sure wasn't Anthony. All this "we're so core" song and dance is definitely not something that has been paraded out from the Joystick camp. It's your assumptions talking ok? Next, I want to know why everyone assumes/claims/thinks the poles are so core and freeski specific. A freeski specific pole? Fuck outta here. There are only so many ways you can improve a pole, and a good pole is a good pole, no matter what kind of skiing you're doing. All this Joystick Poles are freeski specific is a truckload of horseshit, it's just another example of all you snotbags assuming something that Anthony has never claimed. Same goes for this alleged business of niche marketing ploys. Saying someone has fallen for a marketing scheme by buying a Joystick pole is completely garbage. What marketing has Anthony engaged in? Word of mouth? A link to his website? The closest he has come to a traditional marketing scheme is the commercial that's now on the site, and in the extras of some of the movies this year. Which coincidentally has sweet fuck all to do with ski poles. It's something that anyone, no matter how "core", can appreciate. Some of you might have thought, "American Beauty, Cool!" While others like myself might have thought, "Hemingway, Cool!" It's something that can appeal to many different of people. When you guys find this "buy my freeski specific core poles because they're so stylishly hot right now and you're gay" marketing scheme, fucking let me know. All this "marketing to a specific niche" crap you come up with is just ludicrous. Stop being so handicapped for one second and think... If you run a business, why would you limit your target market like that? In your self-centered little world, did it ever occur to you that he might want to sell poles to other people too? People just stoked on skiiing? That's what it all cooks down to after all. All this self importance in newschool skiing makes me shakemy head. Wake up and realize we're not nearly as important as we like to think we are. If we want to be relevant, independant, and self supporting we have some hard work ahead, and we need to support each other. More on that in a bit.
You bitch about the price, but are you ignorant, or do you just not care? If you don't give a shit about your poles and what they're made of that's fine. Chalk it up to personal preference. You never spend more than $20 dollars on poles because they always break? Fine. Did it ever occur to you that to an extent it might be a self perpetuating cycle? You buy shitty poles, they break easily, the shittier they are the more you break. Now that's not an entirely sound argument, but it's possibly a part of the problem, and something you could consider. You probably spend as much on food in two days at the mountain, as you claim to spend on poles in an entire year. Here's an idea, stop buying 8 dollar slices of pizza and pack a fucking lunch. Then take the money you save and help all the broke fuckers in this industry out. Saying there is no difference between your rental poles and a Joystick pole is foolish. Stronger and lighter materials in the shaft are just two of the things you could take into consideration. Bitch all you want about the price, but know that a similar quality set of poles from anyone else is going to cost you just as much, if not more.
This isn't even about fictional hyper core kids criticizing people for not supporting Joystick. This is slefish cuntrags criticizing others for supporting Joystick. If there is a unique company like Joystick , that supports skiing and our culture, you can't criticize people for supporting it. I work hard for my money, and if I'm going to spend it I like to support people I believe in, and companies I believe benefit us. When I buy a pair of Joysticks, the money goes to Anthony, who then puts the money back into Joystick, supports the athletes, the videos, the companies, the websties, and our part of skiing as a whole. The money goes back into our sector, and helps us. If I spend the same amount of money on a pair of Leki's, where does the money go? Nordic walking poles? Maybe into race and cross country sponsorship, supporting that section of skiing. The fact of the matter is that NOT ONE company would exist without your dollars. From Salomon, all the way down to Siver, it's your dollars. You put your money into them, and they put it into things they support. If you freeski, why would you pour your hard earned dollars into mogul comps and trendy soccer mom skis? Like the fuckign Metron. Don't even get me started there. Why not keep the money in our industry? Supporting the athletes, shops, videos, and companies that dedicate their existence to freeskiing truely benefits US. We need to support freeskiing, because the more dollars stay in this industry, the more it grows, the more it's able to evolve and operate independantly. Then we have even more power to support and grow each other. This once again raises the issue of self-perpetuating cycles, but in this context, the cycle promotes GROWTH. Then maybe your favorite pro will get payed what he really deserves, then he can afford to eat, travel, film a segment, etc... Then maybe you buy the video, support the filmmaker, buy the skis, supporting them. I can come up with examples all day, the point that I cannot emphasize enough is that YOUR MONEY DOES MATTER. It doesn't just go to Anthony if you buy a pole, or Johnny if you buy a movie, or Mike if you buy some Siver, it disperses itself throughout the industry supporting everyone. Even this website. Those ads on the right are your dollars. Without them you wouldn't be able to sit here and talk shit all day. Everyone benefits. Being selfish is going to get us anywhere. Acting like children, fighting over slices or the proverbial pie, rather than growing the pie hurts us all.
What set this whole discussion off was the topic of his new website. Now like it or not, you have to give Anthony credit for thinking differently. I beleive it's admirable that he cares enough to give a part of himself to this, taking things that inspire him and passing them along, possibly inspiring someone else out there. Would you rather have just another company website? We've seen them all before a million times. News, Team, Product, Contest, blah blah snore next. Anthony started making poles for many more reasons than I would care to assume. I guess nobody skis forever, so one day hopefully it will give him a steady source of income. It's a creative outlet for him, it's an opportunity to create change in an industry that at times badly needs it, it's a way to support his friends, inspire kids out there, and create something new that takes our industry in a positive direction. In conclusion I'm going to use an extremely fitting, yet still hackenyed point.
Joystick supports US, and if someone is going to support me, I feel I should support them, benefiting us all.
D"
