A lot of us remember the eighties with fond memories of the dodgy electronic music and the birth of a lot of extreme sports into the main stream like skate boarding and BMX. Many of these brands associated with skateboarding and BMX had a really good run and dominated the sports scene but then died off. Some are now making a come back and over the last 10 years have built up a large brand following re introducing the retro styles.
Lot of brands have held onto their status as a major brand over the years, adapting to the changes in the market and staying up their through the various fashions.
For many people who are now hitting there forties and fifties disposable income is getting bigger and the ability to revisit some of the things we loved in the 80’s is now a possibility. Some of the very modern styles just wouldn’t look right so trying to stay fashionable is a mix of buying some retro stuff and balancing it with modern clothes that are not too out there.
Brands That Have Stood The Test Of Time
Here are some of the brands that have lasted the course to beat out the competition and have stayed strong within some of their sporting arenas. Some of them have become icons of the sports over the years and look like they will continue well into the future.
Independent Truck Company
This skateboard company is legendary in sport. It is the most popular producer of trucks now and has been since the eighties. They still look very similar as they did and just a well engineered component that works so well nobody wants to change it. Not only have the trucks themselves stayed popular the clothing and logo have become synonymous with skateboarding. You would be hard pushed to find a skater that has never owned an Independent product.
Bones Skate Products
The Bones Brigade were the biggest thing in the eighties skateboarding scene with so many of the best skaters in the world on the brand. There videos including Animal Chin helped to build a brand that was so popular that they sold decks, wheels and clothing by the bucket load. Nowadays they are still producing some of the best skateboard wheels on the market that are ridden by thousands of skateboarders. Even the Bones logo on the skateboard wheels is the same as it was back then and is instantly recognisable.
Vans Shoes
The classic design of Vans shoes are a really main stream style of shoe these days with the retro look and tight jeans. They are worn by all ages and even by people that have never been involved with surfing, skateboarding or BMX. They also make very popular modern styles of skate shoes. Vans is a big brand that now has a lot of clothing available as well as shoes and even has some of its own skate parks like the Vans Pool.
Haro BMX
These were the bikes to have in the eighties with the Haro team gracing the cover of so many magazines with amazing tricks that were really pushing the sport to the edge. The bike are still very popular and Haro BMX’s can be found at many parks and tracks all over the world. With so much experience in building tough bikes that can withstand an absolute battering they have a great name in the market that continues to stay with them.
What Makes These Brands Last?
These brands have become such a big part of the sports that they are involved in that they sell their products by reputation as the most reliable and effective in the market that they are in. As these extreme sports become more popular with the mainstream the brands get seen by many people and they grow and grow. Having been around for so long the brands have time to evolve and grow. Being able to sponsor some of the biggest events in the extreme sports world they have an audience that covers the whole spectrum from young teenagers just getting into the sport to the veterans that have relied on the brand for many years.
Will They Last?
Well this is the big question with all brands. It can be a very fickle market with trends changing quickly and new brands popping up all of the time. The brands need to be able to move with the times and create a product that appeals to the market at the current time. For some of the old brands that lead the way their product is at the top of the market but they cannot get complacent. Innovation is important and making sure they stay close to all of the movements in the trends will be the only way that they can survive. With so many of them out there jostling for position only time will tell.