So I’m at ISPO…

Trade shows are trade shows, no matter what language everyone is having the same conversation over and over in, but after years of attending SIA, this year I decided to dip into the massive Yobeat budget and head to Munich for ISPO. Germany, mother fuckers!

The show is massive, consisting of who knows how many halls, filled with miraculous new products from just about every sport, and one hall that’s entirely Chinese manufacturers with wacky shit that you wouldn’t believe exists. Not feeling that brave, I spent my first day at the show wandering around the “action sports” halls, peeking into booths hoping to see friendly American faces who could run me through the exiting new innovations in the line, but alas, most booths were staffed by actual Europeans. However, there were some memorable moments.

-I got the grand tour at Burton, where the big stories are the addition of BOA to the boots, and tons of apparel. Like actual fashionable stuff with multiple lines for every style.

-I located the Dinosaurs Will Die booth, where Geno was kind enough to let me set up shop. The new Dinos line looks sick, with the addition of the Wizard stick, a all-mountain twist on the Rat board, a collab with D.O.P.E. and a 160cm board for Andrew Geeves.

-Apparently media are offered free booth space in exchange for coverage. Method Mag took advantage with a movie theater-style booth showing the latest teasers, and more importantly, bean bags for hangover recovery.

-Unlike SIA, the beer flows all day and you don’t even need a coozie. Around 3pm, the few remaining people actually conducting business switch the party mode and then it’s on. Thomas from Method explained to me, “At SIA people go to write orders. At ISPO, they’re just here to get wasted.”

-While beer flows like wine here, weed is highly illegal. Which only made it that much more fun when my first in-person encounter with Smokin’ Jay involved the weed. We s
-Holden was at the show, sharing a booth with new parent company Pow. Mikey Leblanc was in attendance and is hyped on his new position as solely a marketing dude for the brand. Congrats dude!

-Perhaps my biggest learning experience was a visit to the booth housing Tailgate AK, Northwave, some Germany and Japanese brands with an array of fishtail shapes and more Pow Surf brands than you knew existed. I was encouraged to listen to a talk at “ISPO Academy” on pow surfing, which I determined to be the hot new thing in the 40-something market. Apparently when you get old, you need a new challenge, or something.

Once the real party started, it didn’t stop. We made our way from the convention center to the new GoPro Euro offices, where people donned all sorts of kooky outfits and took GoPro photos of you in the elevator. So that was fun. From there, it was off to the 686 Charity boxing event, where the Postland crew went down hard, and the system to get free drinks confused us all. Finally, Burton was hosting a big old shin dig, which I gather was a true ISPO party. Basically a shit ton of people packed into a huge bar with techno music blaring and lit cigs everywhere. Good times. And thus completed my first day at my first ISPO. It’s now 1 pm Euro time and I think it may be time to start drinking.