What a bait and switch.
First of all, Ahmet calling Jon's outerwear gay and the FD fiasco really have nothing in common other than that some people were "offended".
The former was an INDIVIDUAL speaking his opinion, and as he wasn't speaking for any of the companies he represents, that was just a guy giving his opinion on something that really doesn't mean anything at the end of the day—not to mention that many people were thinking the same thing and/or use the word gay without necessarily intending it to mean homosexual. Those who made a big stink over Ahmet's comment are obviously people who already saw Ahmet in a negative light—just look at the comments. How many of them went on to bash his open jacket/doo rag? How many of them brought up where he's from? And what's all that shit really about? Insecurity. As in, "This person represents a style/lifestyle so vastly different than my own that, just by him standing there, he's rejecting MY chosen style/lifestyle thus causing a cognitive dissonance in my head forcing me to re-evaluate my choices, and I don't like that, so I'm going to lash out and condemn what he's got going on to reaffirm to myself and others like me that I'm/we're doing it right." It's the same reason why the tight pants vs. baggy threads turn out the way they do. In putting that issue to rest, kids who were "offended" by his comment, were almost certainly already Ahmet haters, and were just gleefully jumping at the opportunity to crucify the guy....which I guess brings us to another similarity with the FD thing.
FD has had a rocky launch, no doubt about it. Everyone has an opinion about their product, and not many of those opinions are indifferent and/or in the middle. Truly a love-hate dynamic at work there, and there's really nothing wrong with that, because as has been mentioned, it's not really a company's job to please everyone. It's their job to identify a target market and to successfully win that crowd over. In fact, attempting to please everyone is a pretty good way to fail, no? FD has obviously aligned itself with the baggy/hip-hop thing, whereas a company like Surface (more so initially) was obviously catering to a very different crowd. That's a truly great thing and speaks to freeskiing's growth that it's splintered and diversified the way it has. With that though comes the phenomenon I described above. Right out the gate, because they make huge pants in bright colors and the product bares a similarity to some other companies, you have a sizable—or at least vocal—opposition to what they're doing. The fact that that element exists doesn't at all reflect a "serious-ifying" of the freeski community, it speaks to the fucking internet and a bustling forum culture. You don't think ten years ago there would've been outspoken haters of FD? Bullfuckingshit. The truth is that this website gives a collective voice to those people and it amplifies it because it's in black and white. And, even if the comment was made quickly and carelessly, it literally hangs around for days and days, or weeks, and is repeated.
As far as this most recent shenanigan goes....well, wasn't FD asking for it? After all, aren't more and more people talking about FD....good or bad, their brand awareness has never been stronger. What was the alternative outcome in making that thread? Everyone would think it was funny? We'd all bro out over it? I really can't imagine whoever posted that sitting there thinking that everyone would get on board. The message that was sent was, "If you criticize us, we'll put you on blast." That's probably not a real great strategy in handling negative feedback...further, the wording, the tone, all of that shit sounded so goddamn butthurt. It really did. It sounded like Lesh, or whoever, was actually really bothered by it or hurt by it. Well, that's just bitch shit, isn't it? Wasn't FD starting the whole "seriousnes" by giving the time of day to some trolling ass bored kid? Then, the posts he made in the thread confirmed that he was a hurt, angry little boy and it was blood in the water from there..... And, in a way, wasn't the "community" protecting one of its own?After all, KIDS are always going to put pros/companies on a pedestal...especially when you give them a different color name. So, when you have a "high-ranking" member of the community engaging in some silliness, some people are gonna have some thoughts on it. But, the real point is this: THAT'S NOT A REFLECTION OF FREESKI CULTURE....IT'S A REFLECTION OF THE MOTHERFUCKING INTERNET!!
Seriously take a walk around the internet. Read the comments attached to any and all articles you find. How many are positive, and how many are negative? (I'm not talking about NS's affiliated company authored fluffy and warm press releases either whose comments amount to "sick" or "first").
It's just really funny to me that because a few dozen kids launched an anonymous assault against a company that has had a number of issues with quality and durability and judgment (who also pays to advertise here), that you wanna indict the freeski community for forgetting what it's about. It's just total bullshit, man. I skied.....I dunno, 85 days this year, and guess what? I didn't see but two serious kids all year. People TRULY devoted to the ski bum/skiing lifestyle are doing shit the exact same way....go to any dive bar in a ski town and you'll see what I mean. Just because the negativity has gotten louder, it doesn't mean it's gotten bigger, and frankly, NS is the bullhorn that's creating the illusion. I've been skiing since '89 and I've seen two entities have a profound effect on skiing and ski culture: Snowboarding, and NS. So, you might wanna take a look in the mirror if you're concerned about skiing's future, because the nature of this site fosters many of the "problems" your mentioning.
And LASTLY, remember: NS ISN'T THE SKI COMMUNITY! NS IS THE INTERNET SKI COMMUNITY...OR ONE OF THEM, RATHER. THE SHIT TYPED AND FORGOTTEN HERE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF HOW ALL SKIERS THINK. NOT EVERYONE WHO LOVES SKIING FEELS THE NEED TO BE AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT HERE.
P.S. Anyone "offended" by that FD video is a fucking tight wad twat who lives a sheltered existence. It's ok to think it wasn't all that cool or edgy or whatever, but to be bothered and offended, that's just absurd.
And, yes I know..... tl;dr
