There’s a lot a cheap rubbish out there and,
with people responding to price in these
times of austerity, we’d be foolish not to
proceed with caution. Sure, if you live in a
shoe box and don’t have a car or want to fly
with a board with complete peace of mind,
they make sense.
brands, but quantifiable performance and
good value for money always shines
through. Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t all
been plane sailing but I’ve run several
businesses to date so this is all just part of
the game. I’m just a normal lad from the
North East following his passion, have grown
up in the water and have served my
apprenticeship over 30 years, which you
can see and feel in every Loco board.
Tell us about how you plan on
developing the Loco brand. We’ve
seen significant changes in 2016 –
what about further plans to evolve,
technologically or otherwise.
In terms of change, how’s the sport
moved on in the UK? Is it easier to
sell SUP gear nowadays?
Don’t want to give too much of the game
away… but we’re branching out into other
markets, recruiting more foreign riders and
will continue to develop product. The
branding aesthetic will also evolve. We’ve
tentatively moved into surfboards and
directional kiteboards, which seem to be
getting some positive feedback so we’ll be
looking to recruit more talent there.
The sport is almost unrecognisable since
the early days. The UK scene still seems to
be largely focussed around the south. In
terms of selling kit outside the retail
network, this has certainly become a lot
easier. We tend to get a lot of second
purchase customers or crossover watermen
looking for something different.
We tend to get a
lot of second
purchase
customers or
crossover
watermen
looking for
something
different
We’re also looking into UK-based production
for specific markets and will be rolling out a
premium custom service so if customers
want a production model tweaking to their
exact requirements, we’ll be able to cater for
that moving into 2017.
Why do you think inflatables are
more popular than hard boards in
the UK?
I know iSUPs give riders a false impression
of ability, so when they bite the hard board
bullet it’s almost like starting from scratch
from what I’ve seen. I still maintain, as a
SUP coach, there’s no reason for anyone to
buy a board any bigger than twice their
bodyweight in volume unless they’re racing
or want to do Yoga.
People seem to like them, so you’ll see a
range of key sizes from Loco in 2017. I think
the 12’6’’ and 14’ iSUPs make sense; anything
shorter has me baffled, but we’ll have a 10’
all-round windSUP and a 7’7’ WW iSUP that
will double up as a kids’ board.
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