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Sean O’Brien
Marketing Content Manager - Surf Expo
Sean O’Brien
Marketing Content Manager
Surf Expo
group Y: How long have you been in the action sports industry and what’s your background?
Sean: Since neon was cool. Oh wait, that’s happened again, hasn’t it?
I grew up in the water at T-street in San Clemente. My brother dragged me around to Natural Designs surf shop back in the 1970s, my sister worked for Bobbie at the Jack’s store in Dana Point, and my sister-in-law worked for Gotcha back in the early days.
So it feels like I’ve been in the action sports industry my whole life. But I guess I got my start in August 1988. That’s when I started writing for BodyBoarding Magazine while I was in college. Yeah, I’m a kook sponger. I was on staff at Bodyboarding until 1992 and I’m still proud of some of the work we did back then.
I did stints editing Riptide Magazine and Outdoor Retailer magazine, before John Stouffer hired me as managing editor of TransWorld SNOWboarding Business back in 1996. I stayed at TransWorld for a long time—maybe too long—but it was a heck of a ride. I was launched and was the editor of TransWorld SURF Business and I was founder and Editor in Chief of TransWorld Business. It was a front row view of the surf, skate, and snow industries—and the inner workings of corporate media.
Now I’m using that experience at Surf Expo, the largest and longest running surf, skate, and beach lifestyle show in the world. It’s important to continue to develop different skills and face new challenges—and I have that in spades at Surf Expo. I’ve rebuilt the surfexpo.com web site from scratch, I produce the show newspaper and magazines, help in all corporate communication, and help out any way I can. Our marketing department is closely knit, so it’s easy to jump in and help on a variety of different projects.
What changes have you experienced in the last couple of years in the surf industry?
The whole boardsports business is in a period of significant and sustained change—as it had been long before the economy fell down the well.
What’s interesting is how the economy has affected the retail and brand landscape and the goals of many of the largest companies. The changes we’re seeing in media and media consumption patterns are also unprecedented. It’s been fascinating to watch.
At the same time, it’s been a crappy time as well, with many people losing their jobs and general uncertainty in the market. Our industry has never seen a time like this. I’ve heard some knowledgeable and well-placed people wonder if we’ll lose all the gains we’ve made in the last ten years.
I think that’s frightening—not because I agree with them—but because pessimism has become so rampant. I still believe they are dead wrong and that we work in the most exciting and amazing industry around. I’m a pie-eyed optimist I guess, but I think we all should be incredibly thankful—especially now.
How do you feel about bigger corporate companies like Red Bull, Nike and Gatorade entering our industry?
Ah, the old core/non-core question has been bandied about for ages. What’s incredible, and what makes our industry so great, is that there is this belief that the industry is something that needs protecting; that there is an “essence” that can be contaminated.
I don’t think the core diehards need to worry. If non-endemic companies don’t understand the market, they tend to flounder and fail. No amount of money can pave over that fact. Take a look at Nike. I was lucky enough to have a really good view of the first three times they tried to entered the boardsports market. They spent a lot of money, but really didn’t have a clue, and failed miserably. They were a bit of a joke.
One of the largest surprises was when they figured it out and how they figured it out. Now look at them. Has the skate market been hurt because of the Nike SB program? A few manufacturers would undoubtedly say yes. Think of Consolidated. But also think of how many of those brands have been able to distinguish themselves because there was this supposed “outsider” in the mix. Would those companies be nearly as interesting without that friction? I don’t know.
The broader question is whether the consolidation of sales/power/retail floor space among fewer players will ultimately be good for the industry or whether it will homogenize it. I think that’s a far more interesting question and one whose answer isn’t settled in my opinion. It’s also a question that includes the endemic and nonendemic markets, with both “core” and “non-core” companies involved.
We just read your blog on Valentine’s Day, very funny. Have you thought further about more ways to generate that flower stand mania in the surf shops?
That’s a hard question to answer, and in some ways it relates back to my comments above. Not to sound too crusty old timer, but surf shops used to be a tad dangerous—or they at least had an appeal that wasn’t so well scrubbed. That’s changing as the appeal of our lifestyle broadens.
Think of a shop like Frog House in Newport Beach. I still get a little nervous walking in there, and I think that’s marvelous. Will I get heckled? Will I be viewed as a kook? Can I be part of the “inner circle”? You just don’t get that in the age of company stores and these gleaming uber-shops that are 10,000 square feet. Or at least it’s far harder to obtain.
Surf and skate shops used to be the hub of their local surf and skate communities. Thankfully, many of them still are. At the heart of it, that’s the “flower stand” appeal we offer. That’s our industries competitive advantage—that we have shops and merchandise and brands that people identify with and want to be a part of. That at our heart we are centered around thrilling and beautiful sports that are hard to master.
I’m dancing around the answer because I really don’t know the solution, but I know the secret will definitely be found inside that mix.
Where did you go to college and what did you study?
I went to San Diego State University and graduated with degrees in Political Science and Journalism. But I learned the most during the summer of 1990 when I interned all summer at Surfing magazine. I think they gave me $700 at the end of three months work, and it was a time full of really long days. But it was worth its weight in gold. I went back to J-school with way more confidence. After that summer I felt I had already learned everything college could teach me. I was wrong and that was pretty arrogant, but it gave me a lot of confidence. I tell everyone who hopes to get into this industry that a good internship somewhere is absolutely critical.
What are you listening to most on your ipod/car/at your desk right now?
U2’s No Line On The Horizon. I think it’s pretty good, but I’m not blown away by it yet. Ask me after a few more listens.
What is the best advice you’ve ever heard?
The actions sports market is incredibly incestuous and very small. Never, ever burn a bridge. No matter how badly you are hosed. No matter how much someone stabs you in the back or turns out not to be the friend you thought they were, remember that there’s a very, very good change that you’ll be working with them again. It’s hard and frustrating, but you need to move past things. I’m not say that you forget. I’m only saying that creating true enemies in this business is a mistake.
If you could plan a Group Y event, and there were absolutely no limitations–not money, location, activities, speakers, etc.–what would you do?
I’m always bummed I missed out on the Bluetorch junket to Tahiti back when they were planning to be masters of the universe. So, yeah, how about a week-long meeting in Tahiti during the Teahupoo contest? All expenses paid?
If you could pack a bag and get on a plane right now, where would you go?
The best place on earth is the Lake District of Northern Italy on a sunny day. So, yeah, Lake Como. I know the cool answer would be Indo or some remote reef pass but, damn, hanging out in the Alps and then drinking great wine in some small Italian village is pretty great too.
What was the biggest life lesson you learned the hard way?
I view life as a progression, where perceived failures are gateways to new opportunities. Sheesh, pretty Stuart Smalley of me, I admit. I should write those motivational posters. My point is, I don’t really regret the “hard times” or the choices I’ve made. That being said, it’s important to be loyal to people, not companies or brands—especially if the leadership of those companies is on a revolving door. In those situations, having loyalty to a company is worthless—or at least is discounted pretty heavily.
Finish this sentence, if I could do it all over again I would____.
jump earlier.
What was one of the best things that ever happened to you?
It was my junior year in college and I was hip deep in the Political Science program. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but then I paddled out at Hogan’s and everything changed.
Hogan’s is a nondescript bit of reef, just a few hundred yards down from the famous lineup of Big Rock in La Jolla. It was my secret getaway during college, a place where I could get waves without having to hassle the crowds. I was there at least four times a week and had it completely wired. I knew which tides would be best, which swell directions. So I wasn’t really surprised when I pulled up on that one day and saw other people already in the lineup. The swell was just about right for Hogan’s that day.
I debated whether I should paddle out or keep driving, but then I saw Keith Sasaki, a pro bodyboarder from Hawaii who I had known since I was about 13 years old. So I parked the trusty Tercel, threw on my spring suit, and hopped off the rocks into the lineup.
Brian Stephan, aka Hank, was shooting from shore. Hank was a pretty well-known photographer, worked with BodyBoarding Magazine and Surfing Magazine, and was generally a pretty gnarly guy. After about an hour, I caught a wave in. “Hey,” Hank barked. “Who are you?”
I told him, a little intimidated. He nodded and said, “I got a few photos of you. Nothing great. But you should swing by the office and check them out. I’ll sell them to you for cheap. How about 30 bucks?”
The office. That was BodyBoarding Magazine. So I played it cool, and said something like, “Yeah, whatever. If I’m up there I’ll cruise by and check it out.” He gave me his card – a real Surfing Magazine card! – and I headed home.
Early the next week I called him up and said that I was going to be stopping by. I tried to be nonchalant. Fat chance. I was stoked just to be there. I think Hank sensed this because he offered to show me around the office and I leapt at the idea. He introduced me to Bill Dellefield, the editor of BodyBoarding Magazine. Bill looked at me and said, “You ever write anything?”
It was a question that changed my life. “Sure,” I stammered, stalling while I tried to think of something I wrote that I could tell an editor about. He looked at me for a second, then said, “Well, there’s this contest this weekend and we need someone to go write a story about it. You want it? I’ll pay you ten cents a word.”
Ten cents a word! He was going to PAY me to write! That one story became dozens and set the course of the next 20 years. The turn I did in that photo literally changed my life—but I also jumped all over opportunities when they presented themselves. That’s really the trick to the whole thing.
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