# Volcom - did you say Youth Against Establishment?



## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Do you mean it's secretly "corporate?" Brrrrrrr!


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## thetraveler (Feb 24, 2010)

Toecutter said:


> Do you mean it's secretly "corporate?" Brrrrrrr!


lol! clearly this forum does not lack older and cynical members who are wise to the ways of the world. this post is not intended for you. it is intended for the youths at large who believe that buying Volcom is a way of rebelling against the establishment. 

i appreciate the sarcasm, though. it is rare to find it on this forum.


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## Music Moves (Jan 23, 2009)

While I understand your approach to this, appreciate the sardonic tone and agree to some degree, maybe the motto is an abbreviated way of saying "youth against CONVENTIONAL establishment" as everything they do is aimed at "unconventional" sports.

I mean to damn the man, many times you have to beat him at his own game.

RATM!


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## Zee (Feb 21, 2008)

It's just clever Marketing on Volcom's part... I like it.

I like their snowbaord jackets/pants too...


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## mallrat (Oct 27, 2009)

When Volcom started out they did things the right way. Didn't sell stickers, only allowed select shops to carry product, rider, image driven company. Can't fault anyone for taking the almighty dollar. Look at SMP and Volcom, both came up at the same time and were about the same size. SMP sold to Ride and the image and product got destroyed when the original owner lost control. Wolcott kept Volcom and kept it within his vision. Good on him.


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

Volcom is for trendy fucks their marketing plan has been rehashed by numerous brands over the years, most recently Rome is following their lead. Kids are sheep and believe what they want and Volcom is doing a great job. I'll never fault a company for making money or expanding but I will call out their stupid bullshit marketing so kudos on you for pointing out that they are the establishment.


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## Zee (Feb 21, 2008)

There's no "Anti-Establishment" in the business world. Every successful business becomes the establishment. It's just marketing...


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## Snowfox (Dec 26, 2009)

I like how my Volcom jacket and pants fit, how they perform, and how they look. That's all that really matters to me. I really have no idea why you're so surprised. 

Seriously though, this should not be news to anyone. And most of the younger kids you're targeting get chewed out by BA and leave.


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## Willy36 (Dec 29, 2008)

It hardly takes age nor wisdom to figure out that a huge national company that douchey high-schoolers love is corporate. :dunno:


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## thetraveler (Feb 24, 2010)

my bad for pointing out the obvious.

in my defense, i come from a small country where there is absolutely no Volcom presence so you can say I live in a bubble. 

i go abroad and find that even there their merchandise is thinly represented - mainly in these little "hardcore" skate and snow shops. i start talking to the local shop guys about the brand and hear stories about how Volcom are really selective about who they let sell their merchandise, how they won't sponsor any events that have anything other than skating in them, etc. and this is not some selling spiel from these shop guys - they're being sincere.

i then take a look at their video and notice that they hired a somewhat "underground" music producer to make a soundtrack especially for their movie (9191) unlike most other snowboard movie makers who just use music that is already available, and also how their snowboards seem to be reserved for their riders alone, etc. 

also, the majority of their visual designs are based on punk imagery - the prime example of cultural counter-establishment and rebellion. basically EVERYTHING they do is to project and evoke feelings of "anti-establishment". and i think they do it well. they certainly fooled me for a while. that is until i did some actual research on the internet and found that they are actually a huge business, Nasdaq listed, are worth over $400mln, and that they run investor conferences with Goldman Sachs. talk about marketing bullshit. that is grade A marketing bullshit. 

but take away all that marketing bullshit about a small hardcore snow and skate family pitted against the establishment (personally i find that idea attractive because i know that for me being a part of the establishment way of life SUCKS and i want to help out the small guys who want to do that - i am also involved in my local skateboard shop trying to help out ) and what are you left with? some people are saying they like their stuff etc. and all i can say is fair enough. but personally if they are not who they say they are they have nothing on me. i see they charge a premium to Burton products and in my limited experience their product is inferior to Burton in terms of functionality and quality.

so fuck em  they ain't gonna see any dollars from me


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

thetraveler said:


> i want to help out the small guys who want to do that.
> 
> so fuck em  they ain't gonna see any dollars from me


These are the only two sentences that you need to live by if you want to be anti-establishment. Help the little guys where/when you can and let your money do the talking. I remember the first time I watched SLC Punk and got pissed at the ending of the movie when Mathew Lillard was talking about how punk was bullshit and we're all posers, then I started watching it more and it clicked. To be punk and anti establishment you just need to do what you want at all times regardless of what others tell you is and isn't punk. By Volcom telling you they're anti-establishment they are in fact the establishment as it would be that which dictates what is and isn't anti-establishment.


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## Music Moves (Jan 23, 2009)

I once thought I could be anti-establishment... had no bank account and only used cash... had no pad and couch surfed for over a year in various places in the States. There was no way I could be tracked at all as I also had left my car parked and rode with others (which was still giving way to establishment just by riding in a car).

I know that being on any computer and blogging and going to message boards is not anti-establishment.

Snowboarding is welllllll past any attempt to be anti-establishment unless one is making his or her own boards and making his or her own clothes and gear/accessories and using only those items.

As I became a bit less angry about how others acted and learned more rather than always spouting hostile condescension about the mainstream, I realized that outright anger and demeaning assertion is not anti-establishment. When rage is transformed into intelligent energy and channeled correctly, productive creativity can be achieved... 

I remember when I used to think that punk music was "not pop" until I realized that the guitar is essentially what ushered in the era of pop music. I was like "damn... I was an idiot for years." Still am an idiot about some things.

Anyway, I must be bored because this post is getting long.


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## mallrat (Oct 27, 2009)

"You're not punk and I'm telling everyone
Save your breath I never was one"

Lyrics from Jawbreaker's Boxcar...great lines


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

Something changed around when the x-games came to be and it became acceptable to go into any mall and buy into your new found subculture. I mean before you would have to find the skate shops or cool clothing stores in the seedy parts of downtown because lets face it we need clothes on our back. Unless your so punk you sew your own clothes, but according to the extreme crowd that would just be gay.


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

thetraveler said:


> Volcom, Inc.: NASDAQ:VLCM quotes & news - Google Finance
> 
> http://www.volcom.com/2009annualmeeting/48734_002_Print.pdf
> 
> ...


Woah I'm suprised Volcom stock is worth way more than Quiksilver...I should get me some QS stocks since I can auctually afford that!


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

freshy said:


> Woah I'm suprised Volcom stock is worth way more than Quiksilver...I should get me some QS stocks since I can auctually afford that!


QS stock tanked last year big time went from like 29 a share progressively down to less than a dollar. Quick has some infrastructure issues that it's slowly working out.


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## Qball (Jun 22, 2010)

To beat the man, you've gotta be the man


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## elstinky (Jan 24, 2010)

BurtonAvenger said:


> *their* marketing plan has been rehashed


you're kidding, right?


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

elstinky said:


> you're kidding, right?


 I do not kid.


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## ev13wt (Nov 22, 2010)

Qball said:


> To beat the man, you've gotta be the man


Nice!

You do have a point.

Kin of like: You need a million to make a million. :/


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## burritosandsnow (Nov 22, 2008)

Theres nothing wrong with being a large company and making money. The proof of your worth comes once you have the money and have to decide what to do with it. Will you put it in tax shelters and by a big house on the hill and say screw everyone else or will you take it and use it to further the things you love and make the world a better place. Look at companies like Google and how well they treat their employees and its hard to begrudge them their success. If you want some examples of Volcom in particular look at how they took riders like Seth Huot, Zac Marben, and even Gigi Ruf who got the shit end of the stick from their previous board sponsors when the economy went to shit in 08. Volcom responded by instituting a team only board for these guys so they could continue to do what they do. Theyve made 9191 a Gigi Ruf movie over the last two seasons and its pretty well known that snow vids do well to break even.They even allowed Gigi and Absinthe to continue to film together and paid Hostynek for his footage of Gigi.. hardly a cut-throat move. Volcom sponsors the jean recycling program that gives incentives for kids to turn in old pairs of jeans for charity. Thats just a few things off the top of my head. Every company is in business to make money the difference comes in what you do with it .. are you Halliburton or are you Toms?

Punk Rock is a myth. Its just another type of uniform and Im a guy that grew up in the 80s with a steady diet of Black Flag, DK, Minor Threat, Seven Seconds, and all the other socially conscious punk bands. Take a screaming hard core leftist band like G.B.H. Yeah ok youre punk rock but you know theres also a point in time every day where you have to make a decision about styling mousse so I mean c'mon how hard core are you really? Being totally anti corporate whether its as a stinky hippy or a screaming anti globalizationist is just a cop out, its just an excuse to be lazy. Its easy to hold a sign and say you are a victim but it takes hard work to actually get off your ass become part of the system and change it (which was the message of SLC punk and the true heart of D.I.Y.) I think of some of those anti establishment anarchist cafes in Portland. Yeah you talk the talk but I bet they all have a hand out when they turn 60 and want Social Security. Being part of the system isnt a bad thing. It doesnt mean you have to go work at some corporate giant and be a drone it just means you accept that there are some rules of society that you have to abide by to make a difference. Mikey Leblanc said it best .. being core is just staying true to your inner beliefs it doesnt matter if youre a bum or a millionaire. I was watching a documentary about food and this small local owned totally natural yogurt company signed a deal with Wal Mart. The guy who ran the company said lots of his hippy friends gave him shit about selling out but he was like "y'know we havent changed anything weve done but by putting our product in Wal Mart we will take 50 more tons (not the real number he used) of harmful pesticides out of the eco system. So whos to say putting his yogurt in Wal Mart is bad? Is Wal Mart bad .. yes in my opinion it is but its less so now because of this guys product.


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## xxfinnellxx (Aug 30, 2009)

Volcom targets the 13 year old kids with that motto in my opinion because their the naive little robots who all are clad with misfitting gear and shitty boards on the mountain and always claim to be sponsored. Their the kids who will stay loyal to a company who appears to be underground and what not. 

I personally would buy volcom products if they really attracted me to buy something. Im personally not a fan of their design style, but I know that someday i will pick up a pair of jeans or a shirt from them because it will look good to my eye. 

Sidenote: I dont care if a company is as large as microsoft or not. If there is a product that I really appreciate then hell, I wana feel free to go buy that without worrying about that. Ill buy a burton product If I know I will appreciate it, and I have done that in the past and will still consider to do so. Ill still buy Casual Industrees shirts because they can come out with some amazing designs. Their a very small local washington company...Highly consider checking them out.


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## Norman426 (Jul 16, 2010)

Do they still put the logo in the armpit area?


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