I've seen this a lot lately, especially on instagram. kids asking for trades but only want catfish bbq, bawse, cowply , woobs etc. now, I have tried and own most of these companies decks. I really enjoy them, but people have a mindset where these companies are a "must have" I personally think it is ridiculous , there are so many great small companies that no one will give a try. I can honestly say the highest quality board I have ever had is g.14, so nice. but because it is flatface no one will trade for it. I really don't understand why flatface and smaller companies get the short end of the stick. if anyone else has seen this or can explain this, lets talk !



https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ5s-SYIe71lOgUJsOlUCWA

Flatface decks, from what i've heard, are widely inconsistent. Sometimes they'll be good, other times they'll be eh. Now i've never owned one so i don't know how true that may be. But for the sake of the matter let's say it is. I think that the companies you mentioned are much more consistent with the overall quality of their decks. Also, it has a lot to do with trends. Cowply's for example are a huge trend right now. It's all about what's big at the time mixed with the consistency of a deck.

Well for the most part, the kids on Instagram just go for what is "cool" to have. It's "cool" to post a photo of a popular deck and get a bunch of likes.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the companies you mentioned - they're all great decks and deserve every bit of the hype they get (like Catfish BBQ, Woob, ect).
As Jess said, its a mix of the trends as well as what is known to be consistent.

And regarding smaller companies... I don't think many people are willing to try newer/smaller companies decks since it's a bit of a gamble at what the quality will be like since you're one of the first or few to try one. Every other kid on Instagram has a 'company' now so it's a bit of a challenge to weed out the good ones from the infestation of bad ones.

And about your FlatFace comment... well, who wasn't tried a FlatFace deck? I'm sure there are some but for the most part, Flatface is one of those companies that a lot of people have tried at some point in time. So why trade for something you've already ridden and tried?
And another random thing that always turned me away from FlatFace is that you don't know what you're getting a lot of the time. I personally wouldn't want to spend $35 on a deck when I don't even know if I'll like to color of the bottom ply Not hating on FlatFace at all, I'm just pointing out that could be a contributing factor to what you are talking about.

Todd made the best decks ever. Sucks that noco shut down. I wish everyone could have tried one before he left, they would have been amazed

I've never really been one for trading so I don't know the ordeal there, but honestly it doesn't really matter what companies everyone else likes. Just support the companies you like. Trends come and go, but preference is forever!

all it is is hype. without a doubt catfish, bawse, cowply, woobs ( <3 ) are all great decks, but the hype is the reason kids freak over shit for seemingly no reason. also due in part to the fact that a lot of these companies products are seemingly hard to get a hold of.

I got a message from a kid on instagram the other day saying that they might CONSIDER trying one of my decks if I put the price down.I post a lot of photos on instagram and actually have a nice little following here in Australia but have noticed big time that just because my company isn't a trending company and I don't go for hype I am definitely one of the guys that the kids on instagram are not interested in.My decks are not popular to the point that this kid thought he could dictate what he would CONSIDER paying.My decks are consistent and very functionally friendly and I just said that I put too much time into each deck to consider putting the price down for the possible chance that a couple of kids might buy them.Essentially I don't make decks to be popular or sell more than anyone else,I am all about loving the craft and hopefully seeing a real FB scene get established in Australia.
Good luck to the companies who have hype surrounding their products and I wish them all the best,it is always good to see guys who start small get recognition,the kids on instagram are not like the guys in here,like Geraldine said all they really want is to look cool and get heaps of likes.Skeep is onto it too,these decks are hard to get a hold of therefore they become desirable.
I think that most people are fickle and trends will come and go but that is kind of what happens with everything.Long Live Fingerboarding and that is what the trends perpetuate.

I am relatively new to fnigerboarding but I always thought Flatface was one of the most well known companies? I have actually never heard of the brands listed in the OP. Either way, I own a G14 and I absolutely love it

Blind follow the blind. Majority of kids are to lazy to be original and just copy everybody else

How do catfish bbq, bawse, cowply, and woobs compare to Berlinwood? Are they all of similar quality?

I know from my experience that I feel safe buying from FlatFace. They have the shape I like and I know it will be nice. I have tried a few other company's and they turned out to be what seemed like a waist of money. Now I am a little gun shy on trying some of the other company's.

Geraldine described it pretty well.
Kids get hyped so ridiculous fast. And there are new 'companies' popping up every day, but to be honest, many of them aren't worth trying (yet). They don't feel the need to improve their products before presenting them to the public.
That's bad for those smaller companies, who put effort in something but don't get recognized.

But there isn't only so much hype because of being trendy. Most (not all...) of those companies simply make mad good products and honestly deserve it.

The whole deal with companies is that there is a certain trust inherent within the company name. By saying the name of the company you can at least in theory get an idea of the caliber of product you should expect.

In trades and such people usually want to go with name brands that have established themselves to ensure that the product they are trading for is worth it. Sometimes people don't want to trade with a company that isn't well established yet simply because they might be taking a risk on that product.

Since financial means are sometimes limited to younger fingerboarders its not surprising to see people only wanting to trade for certain name brand products.

There can also be certain fingerboarding trends which are considered "hot" at the moment and thus are more desirable.

kThumb wrote:

Geraldine described it pretty well.
Kids get hyped so ridiculous fast. And there are new 'companies' popping up every day, but to be honest, many of them aren't worth trying (yet). They don't feel the need to improve their products before presenting them to the public.
That's bad for those smaller companies, who put effort in something but don't get recognized.

But there isn't only so much hype because of being trendy. Most (not all...) of those companies simply make mad good products and honestly deserve it.

I agree to a certain extent, but i don't think you're spot on on the last bit. there are plenty of companies of equal quality that get no hype at all, and suffer from it. and on the flip side, no disrespect to John, but I've heard so many horror stories about cowplies being horrendously made its like they're surviving off hype alone. when it comes down to it, hype overrides quality in a lot of kids' minds.

Same reason you only buy certain brand clothes or shoes

only tech deck is worthy

Seriously Instagram is way too "hyped"!!! Get on what's trendy to be a part of the flock!
What's really been bugging me is the "hype" over Welcome replicas.

Now if a company does/puts out amazing things, why not rep the shit out of them!!! I personally love Volcom and only try to buy their stuff. Not cause of the "hype" but because I had alot of friends growing up that were/is sponsored by them. "Show support to support the homies" is what I always say!!!!

I support CatfishBBQ cause I met Vlad twice now and he's a super chill guy, decks always came out perfect. Also support Woob cause I feel like if we were to meet up in real life, it would be like I was seeing a long lost homie! Also boards always came out perfect. And definitely rep the shit out of Brutal/Witchcraft cause of the whole vibe/nostalgia Trent's company brings!!!

So anyways if those companys mentioned in previous posts are doing just that, than fuck what the crowd does and BE YOURSELF!!!!

while i agree with a few of everyone remakes , Alot of these companies are just treads and in a year from now everyone will say "whos are they" . Also note alot of people loose interest . or go off to college and then the company dies out. i cant personally vouch for most of these decks but a few of the "trending" decks are lacking a few things that i wont say because im not going to help them on obvious things.

Once uppon a time I was trying to sell an OG, but everybody wanted my Catfishbbq rip

Praibis wrote:

Once uppon a time I was trying to sell an OG, but everybody wanted my Catfishbbq rip

R.I.P

Maybe because most of the times kids dont have proof that certain brand is reliable also cuz they see some fingerboarders with hundred likes on a photo of a certain deck so they justo go for what they think it's "cool"lol

thanks for all these replies. I agree with most of you. I just received my cowply and I had to force my screws in the mounting holes, got multiple splinters, the graphic was put on improperly and it seemed very.... blah I guess like someone didn't even care about it like, drill cut and ship. where it should be a much longer and caring process if you care about reputation and quality. thanks again guys!

Haha, yes nocomplyy, I was on the chat once and we talked about considering using the idea of shaping a deck with a chainsaw and selling it for 30+ dollars.(cowply)

BUMPYknuckles wrote:

Blind follow the blind. Majority of kids are to lazy to be original and just copy everybody else

This plus all da hipster cowply kids follow the main hipster cowply fags