Maurice Cole talks about BASE for the first time
Maurice Cole started BASE Surfboards in June 2003 along with shapers, Simon Anderson, Darren Handley, Murray Bourton and Nev Hyman, who left not long after the venture was formed. In late 2004 Maurice himself left BASE in an acrimonious split from his former business partners. Due to legal obligations he's been unable to tell his side of the story but with the recent demise of BASE he's now free to talk. Maurice agreed to give this interview to Swellnet.
"The only reason I'm saying this," said Maurice when we began the interview, "is to clear the air because a lot of shit was said about me."
Swellnet: What was the primary objective of BASE? Maurice Cole: I was watching how China was on the rise and I could see the writing on the wall. I had the vision that we'd create a completely vertical company. We'd develop our own technologies - blanks and machines and things like that. We'd bring in all the top shapers and we'd bring in a kick arse management team. We had five or six shapers, each with small management teams, and we'd combine them. We'd save money up the front in the office.
So the idea was to cut the costs right back, buy in bulk and have worldwide marketing. I figured it didn't matter whether Darren's brand was bigger than mine, mine was bigger than Murray's, or anything like that because we all owned it and had equal shares in each others brands. It was a bit like socialism really.
I also saw it as a chance to build a company where we'd be able to hand a legacy on from older shapers to younger shapers. To pass down the knowledge and to create sort of a family company. I guess in hindsight I might've been dreaming a bit big there.
How long did it stay true to that vision? (Long pause) I don't know whether that vision was ever adopted by the management. What happened was we ended up with a giant administration in the offices and we had very untrained, unqualified directors, being us shapers. An us and them situation developed between management and shapers - they were giving us info from their perspective, you know pie charts and graphs, all this amazing info. But most of us couldn't understand it.
When did you get a feeling something was wrong? After a year I could see that there was something wrong in the company. I was working my guts out at the time doing 100 hour weeks, while up in Queensland it was sort of like everyone was just cruising along figuring 'we've made it'. You know, there was money going here and there, there was grand plans, there was a lot of egos flying around.
After a year and a half I could see there were substantial losses. Something was really, really wrong. A whole bunch of stories came out which showed things were not well and I was having some pretty heavy run-ins with the administration people.
After 18 months we didn't even know how much a board cost us and at one of the meetings I said "What the fuck is this? We've got a million dollars worth of people working for us and we don't know how much a fucking board costs us?" So I did my own sums on the whiteboard, like, "Oh yeah, it costs us $527 and we sell 'em for $460. No wonder we're fucking losing money." I said it that way. That was my way of talking then, and in hindsight I should've been a lot more user friendly and not so abrasive. People might have listened.
Supposedly we were all helping each other but I was watching this money being spent and all this other stuff going on and I started losing confidence in the management, which was John Cross and David Cross and also some of the administration people.
What action did you take? What happened was we finally agreed to get an independent group of people in to write a strategic review of the company after 18 months. Simon paid $25,000 for it. This was September 2004.
One of the people was Mark Blanchard, another was Terry Jones, who runs Odyssey sunglasses now. I knew them so I think there was a perception that I was trying to take over the company, but these guys were serious heavy hitters. It was a level of expertise that you'd bring in to investigate QANTAS or something like that. Mark Blanchard put Alan Bond in jail and was hired to investigate Robert Maxwell who committed the biggest corporate fraud in England's history. Mark also got an accountant friend of his who took two weeks off. There was all these great people, the $25,000 would barely have covered their paperwork.
Their report was damning. It showed that the companies had been set up really badly, the management were really inefficient and the capital had been really badly used. They believed we were nearly insolvent then.
I read the report and just had to make a decision. I called up Darren and said "We've got to rid of John Cross and his administration." Darren said,"Yeah, no worries." I called Simon and he said, "This is shocking, this is bad." So I proceeded, thinking I had the support of those guys, in contacting Mark Blanchard and asking them what the next step was if we dismissed them.
Which was? Paul Hart, who was an investor in the company, was going to be general manager. Terry would've got the company ready for investment and Mark Blanchard had a group of venture capitalists in Perth who would've put two million into the company at the end of February. Greville [Mitchell - English businessman, philanthropist, and founder of Mitchell Surfing Foundation and World Professional Surfers] was going to help us in case we were insolvent. We would've had this squeaky clean company.
I went up to a board meeting where I thought we were going to be getting rid of John and David Cross. I went into the meeting and moved a motion that we dismiss our current board. Everyone was saying, 'well, what will we do we do then?' But the thing was, I had this agreement with Darren and Simon and if we would've voted them down we would've had a new administration in. So I moved the motion thinking I had their support but none of them backed me. Darren looked down. Simon looked down. No-one supported me.
So I said, based on the report I'm resigning as a director right now. I'm going to become an amiable competitor to you guys so let's negotiate a way out of this. I left and went to a hotel room where Terry Jones, Mark Blanchard, Greville Mitchell and Paul Hart were and told them the news. I was absolutely fucking devastated.
From there I had to get on a plane and go to Ross' [Clarke-Jones] Dad's funeral. I came home Sunday night and the papers had been issued that they said that I had stormed out and been aggressive. I promise you, Stu, I'd admit it if I did it. I admit any mistakes I make. But because they said I stormed out I forfeited my shares and I forfeited my name in the business. I got locked out for six months. Part of the agreement with BASE was that I wasn't allowed to talk about any of this deal. But as BASE doesn't exist anymore I can talk about it.
And here we are. What happened next? Greville Mitchell said go and get the best lawyers in the land. So I did, I got Mallesons Stephens Jaques and the price of me getting my name back was about $120,000 over six months. They sat me down and they said, "We've never seen a company in worse condition and we've never ever seen a director treated as badly as you have. We're gonna give you $30,000 off."
I'd had to borrow money. I was fucked. Basically for six months I couldn't shape, I couldn't do anything, I just had to sit there and deal with lawyers. And that's when I got cancer actually, I was very stressed out as you can imagine. Just shattered in a certain way.
What were the financial repercussions? I basically lost everything I owned by putting it into BASE. When I went into BASE I had a really strong asset base and when I got out I had nothing. Less than nothing, I had a couple of hundred grands in debts. I'm still trying to get on top of them now
What's your relationship with the guys at BASE now? I've never spoken to them again. I tried to call Simon when they brought this bullshit thing out about me. I said, "Simon you know that didn't happen at the meeting," and he just said, "Maurice, I'm sorry, I can't help you," and just sort of hung up.
I was really angry with them because they were supposed to be mates. I was really shocked with Simon. I understand it now, you look from the outside and he looked after himself and his family. Fuck, maybe I should've done the same? I'm just not that way though.
What's your understanding of BASE's situation now? I've had that many calls from people saying 'make sure they don't get away with it, tell your story'. I've contacted the administrators and I've seen all the paperwork. They're under serious criminal investigation. I just read in Australian Surf Business that they think the debt is $3 million. It's so much more, $6 million, $7 million even, and there's only half a million dollars worth of assets.
What do you think will happen to the directors? I think they'll be stripped of their assets. Worrells [the administrators] said they'd been trading insolvent since June 30th, 2005. Fuck mate, that's serious shit. So all debts they've incurred since then have to be paid by directors. They're being investigated for insolvency; insolvency trading by directors; preferential payments to creditors – which were family members; uncommerical transactions; unfair loans; and offences committed by all directors. They are in that much trouble and I don't think they understand.
What's your thoughts when you reflect upon it now? It's really disappointing. The way I see it we all went in there to make money for the investors. We had the purest of intentions but the management wasn't strong enough and the companies had been set up terribly. We had one of the weakest board of directors you could possibly imagine.
When we originally sent the investment papers to Greville Mitchell's accountant in England he apparently said, "None of this makes sense, Greville." And Greville said, "Look, I'm backing them mate, I'm putting $200,000 in."
When Greville told me that I said, "Why the fuck didn't you tell me that back then? I didn't know it was set up shitty." We didn't know anything like that. It really saddens me because that company had the best glassers, the best sanders, we had Simon Buttonshaw looking over the art. We had an incredible group of people but it never gelled.
Where do you stand now on Chinese imports? To me, we missed the whole point. We were worried about cheap and nasty boards from China. Our whole idea was that if we had superior design, and we had the best team riders we could get a good price for our boards.
We went through all this so us guys could take a step back from the gruelling physical stuff and use our brands and our personas and attach an infrastructure to them that would mass produce our designs. That was basically it.
If I had a choice I'd use Asia to mass produce my boards because then they'd come in a lot cheaper and you'd actually earn money off that which would pay for the R&D. I read the interview with Mark Kelly.
What's your thoughts on GSI? I think he's done a brilliant job. Some of the stuff I don't like. Some of his stuff is a total wank, but then so's the market (laughs). They just filled a vacuum and they offer really good services. You start looking at them going 'why are they a success?' In the interview Mark Kelly says he's got 15 people worldwide, well BASE had fucking 22 people just in the front office!
The BASE thing failed because of really poor management. Here's a thought: Imagine if Mark Kelly ran BASE from the start? How do you think BASE would've been run? I fucking wish he'd come to all of us and said, "Look I think you've got it wrong guys. How about if I take over as CEO and I'll organise you guys, pay you shitloads of royalties, and we'll put a heap back into R&D." I would've listened.
Visit Maurice's Website Check what Maurice has been doing with design - Tales From the Chookshed
Comments
Yet another example of socialism failing.
Or another example of the free market failing with few consequences for those who mis-manage investor's money
I know it cost you a shitload of money and stress but it sounds like you made the right decision to resign. The directors could be in deep shit.
Funny thing though, I heard they were making boards a week after the collapse.
Easiest way to loose a friend? Form a business partnership with them.
Is there a lesson in all of this? It's not clear to me - shapers put up with too much stress and too much shit for too little reward. Hopefully you've arrived at a better place Maurice.
Well seems the directors are not too concerned their back shaping and selling boards,beats me.
They ever give you that Aussie title trophy back Maurice?
regards,
Had this conversation with Geoff McCoy in the Broken head carpark. Bringing big business and money into surfboards tends to end poorly.
He went back to the "chookshed", another backyard designer making some of the finest surfboards on the Planet.
His conclusion: Keep it simple. Shape boards and go surfing.
Sure would be interesting to hear Simon and Darren's take on it.
seriously can you really fell sorry for the big egos that walked around that factory acting like they were gods of the surf or some shit come on ,, i sanded at the old factory in kirra and basically left because there was zero communication between the "workers" as a whole and the head shapers and admin,,,,
shapers are redundant anyway the glassers and sander of our era are the pure board makers ,, im teaching my wife how to finish boards that come of the machine pretty much ready to glass ,, if i see another hand shaped , hand crafted hand wanked sticker on 99% of boards you see today , fuck off ""
so there you are australia the people that Actually create the magic these days are the ones covered head to toe in resin and dust and love every minute of it.......
if you dont like what ive just said please forgive my ruthless honesty but you guys have got to pull your heads out of your ass and just go surfing like it was always meant to be , leave the million dollar jets to the rich thieves they need them to hide there evil ways ,, peace.... Joel JTR>>>
To joel, May be you could teach your wife how to use a planer ! or pick one up your self ! I feel your comments are out of line ,maybe you should check your own ego before slagging off at others,LOL,PEACE TO YOU. PS most good designs are proven ,tested ,come from hand cuts,then adapted to current tec/no computer shaped, for stock designed boards, to judge an comment to the negetive only breeds bad will !Your language is very curt,in my veiw.
incredible story, i would love a handshaped board from Maurice,Simon,Darren Murray or Nev. Just knowing it was hand produced by one of these pioneers of the surfboard industry would undoubtable ensure after years of bringing me joy in the surf, would end up on the poolroom wall to bring a lifetime of reflection of the waves i caught on it and places i took it to...its a shame how it all turned out for everyone involved...it was a good idea to combat the ever increasing need to manufacture overseas..good vision by Maurice. The passion and love of a shaper,glasser and finisher combined MAKE a surfboard...you can feel it under your feet,Yep.
I feel bad for M Cole, especially when no one could answer his question as to ' how much does a board cost to make '
but the question came too late - it should have been on the first weekly financial report you were given - that was the key number of the entire operation.
how many hours to build a board X overhead rate + material and consumables costs = cost of board
sale price of board less cost of board = profit
nobody has to be an overpaid einstein
Maurice,
As they say you listened to your gut and got out. Good move! Legally as well!
As for partnerships they are severely overated. Partners will fuck you over even if they are your mates. This is all about money and sharing which does not combine in a partnership.
These guys that traded on will burn if they were insolvent and paid preferentially. Liquidators have the last say. You play 6 months prior to a bust you pay back simple as that take it from someone who has had the wrath. This was a law brought out in 1966 to stop people doing the wrong thing and still sticks today. Even a barrister will struggle to get you out of this.
Your idea was great in its own merit but with one driver only! As they say trust no one but you own judgment as its your own destiny, not some other prick!
Push on!
how insightful of you,,, i wonder if you have ever worked in a board factory and sweated it out for a shaper just to keep your head above water,,,,,
buddy im just telling the truth and some times the truth hurts in life,, dont forget im in the buisness,, i have been making surfboards for 15 years and totally understand this situation at the grass roots level,,,
by the way there is no ego coming from me im just having a little roast for all the glasses and sanders out there that do the hard yards with fuck all appreciation from shapers / customers ,,,,
get over yourself...
by the way ive got nothing agains MC at all, he was probablly the only big name i that place that had the time of day for his Workers ,, my comments were mainly aimed at the 25 clowns in the office cranking each other off playing facebook for a wage and doing fuck all for the companies intrests,,,
Well man Ive been there and done that for 25 years and it doesn't matter what industry your in its the hard cold facts unfortunately. To be honest I feel for all as there was an obvious lack of business structure that all should have investigated in the first instance.
I myself put it down to the moment of a great idea that went horribly wrong in the long run.
Thats life!
And we move on. As we do! And we learn!
yes gromet ,try 42 years + industry surf ,started offshore surboards , also maximum surf boards ,can an still do everything,more experiance than you could dream of, grassroot thru an thru,my total life style,so it looks like I hit a raw nerve with you,lol, I sugest you look in the mirror,your comments are most likely reflecting a mirror image of your self,your comments about people you reguard as clowns most likley were miss directed, the surfing industry more than likely has no place for many corporate entities,surfboards I beieve are a labour of love ,and art form,the craft as a norm work outside the box an not to the normal buissnes practisess of corporate structures,money genraly is not the motivation of most just the vehical to allow progression if allocated wisely, as for appreciation,the thousands of customers that I have spoken to DO, appreciate the many facets of production,labour an skills of a team making there board,I sugest you do a few more hard yards before you critisise to the negetive, also reserch the facts, an people you make comment about,I could go on an on but ,you will learn in time,Aloha
Damn what a shitstorm!
Problem is shapers get put on a pedestal and start to believe the bullshit arse licking that comes their way. The higher the pedestal, the more unappreciative they get.
The ghost shapers thru to the wet-rubbers get no cred or acknowledgement. The day when I stopped ghost-shaping for fuckwads was the happiest day of my life. So here's to all the other workers out there!!!
Without you, we'd never get anything done!!!
Been surfing for 35 years, meet Maurice out the back at Bells last year, he was ripping, I didnt know him from a bar of soap but waiting in between sets I got the feeling this guy was a living legend with just the few words we spoke.
Anyway I've got a couple of Base boards ,6.1' and 6'6" , they are great , but, I brought an old Frank Latta 8.1' on ebay a couple of weeks ago for the " wall " Surfed it twice in the weekend...had the best surf...just the feeling of surfing on a real hand made board , flaws and all can't be beaten by the mass production machines...that's where they got it wrong, sold the soul for the dollar, and yeah, Mr Glasser, you can just about still smell the resin covering those classic stickers.
Oh yeah but I will add that the workers never get blamed when the board doesn't go or falls apart. Most of the shit that gets talked is exclusively directed at the shaper.
CRED IS ERNT ! NOT EXPECTED !IF YOU WANT TO SHAPE , MAKE SURE YOU CAN DOIT BY HAND AN FINISH THE JOB COMPLETE ALL FACETS,LISTEN WATCH ,DO,VSULISE,LIVE THE DREAM,RESPECT URE SELF AN PASS THIS ON TO OTHERS, iF URE IN PRODUCTION LAND, IT TAKES A TEAM TO GET THE NUMBERS RIGHT,FROM FINISH TO START,IF NOT DO IT ALL URE SELF AN DO IT RIGHT,LFE STYLE LIVE THE DREAM,BELEIVE IN YOUR SELF ,EGO IS NOT A DIRTY WORD, JUST USE IT WISELY, Wrecybuddy, ure last comment : not a truer word spoken , we are all here to learn ,
..."Yet another example of socialism failing..... "
Thanks top to bottom, that's just about as stupid a comment as I have ever read. What an imbecile.
It was classic capitalism, small business entrepreneurs with a good idea, but like so many small businesses, they couldn't pull it off.
Maurice, the concept was fine and could have worked. Overheads are always the killers of small businesses. It's so farking obvious and yet all these brainiac capitalists, like top to bottom, struggle to see it.
As freeride says in his quote of Geoff McCoy ..."He went back to the "chookshed", another backyard designer making some of the finest surfboards on the Planet.
His conclusion: Keep it simple. Shape boards and go surfing."
It actually is the best business model.
Been an admirer of yours Maurice since a long way back. Best wishes.
Didn't you hear the canned laughter when you read the line, Batfink? It was supposed to be a joke, in response to MC saying Base was 'a bit like socialism really.' Granted it's a shit joke but you're reaction is a bit extreme, wouldn't you say?
There's humorous irony in setting up Base 'like socialism' to counter Chinese-made boards, but I'll leave the jokes to others for now.
Sorry to hear about your problems Maurice. All the best for the future. Laurie McGinness
reading about that bloke surfing a real handmade board is a bit sad, as I realised there are kids out there that have been surfing for 10 years and have not surfed a handcrafted board in there lives, the only computer shape I have ever had was in the 90's reverse, V by Maurice,LOL
What does it matter shaun? I know a thousand guitarists who haven't played a '59 Les Paul or a '62 Jazzmaster, but that doesn't detract from their guitar playing experience.
Well it doesn't matter, I used to roll my eyes in the 70's when the old guys would tell me I was missing out cause I had never ridden a mal, then the next generation in the 80's rolled there eyes at single fins, I'm just a different generation mate, it is probably a good comparison surfboards and guitars, surfboards are so mass produced now that alot of kids would not know where to get a hand made board.
If you asked those thousand guitar players if they wanted to play the les paul or the one from china, which one would they choose?
Great interview.
A few other facts left out of this one though.
Always remember, there's 3 sides to every story: Their side, his side and the truth in the middle somewhere.
Hey Stu,
Enjoyed the read. Now I don't know the legalities of it, but are you or have you contacted NH, SA, MB and DH and asked for their versions of the events?
Cheers
No, I haven't Fitzy. Couple of reasons:
When I began doing these interviews I wasn't as concerned with why BASE failed as I was with the wider ramifications (i.e what it means for the board-making industry). MC's name came up a few times in conversation - and also in the comments sections on here - so I headed his direction. The other names you included weren't mentioned.
Also, MC has been gagged for 7 years so I'm more interested in his story. The intention wasn't to settle old scores but ask Maurice - the founder who got booted and muted - what he thought went wrong and why the reality strayed from the vision.
Of course, anyone is free to post their version of events in the comments.
Hey Ben, you know a thousand guitarists...wow..your place for the next party. ... I bet all of them would give their right nut to be playing one that Hendrix used at a concert or whatever...same..same. Hey when I met Maurice that day..he wasnt surfing no Base popout....he was on a 5'8" weird concave thing and it was 6ft plus Bells and he was a standout at 60 plus .
Don't get me wrong , it's great to be able to walk into a shop and just replace the lucky board you just snapped , but to try and take on the Chinese at their own game ??
Yeah, I know a thousand guitarists. Most of 'em probably wouldn't know what to do with Hendrix's guitar either - they'd probably lay down a stack of effects pedals, plug into a Peavey combo and play Metallica covers all night long.
how simon anderson, handley et al get covered in shit after both these articles (GSI then MC) is kinda awkward.
Mark Kelly, purveyor of mass-produced asian pop-outs comes out as some kind of innovator over legit 'backyard' shapers.
wtf
Strange how nobody has picked up on the whole selling them for $460 thing. Cost me $ 800 plus fins for my 6'1'' Simon ( great board ) but I had to travel from Gippsland to bloody Torquay to get it, no surfshops East of Melbourne could help me. Could of ordered it direct I quess and the outcome would of been the same, apart from the getting something in your hand for your money thing. Ben, I've heard of Metallica but whats a bloody Peavey combo ...sounds like something we ate or smoked in the 70's ??
great business story. Thanks for having the guts to show people how hard it is to get a great idea to win. Mates and business...toughest lesson....structures need expertise... people need to own it or they just bludge off it.
I wish you success because your story is just another part of the evolution of surfing and the economy as a whole.
We should pay 3 times to foster the industry.
Hey Bum acid, What's the old saying?
Don't bite the hand that feeds you.
Have a look at the ads below the surf reports.
Advertising pays for this site to keep us informed and entertained.
Only a foolish writer would bite the hand that funds it.
But who's posting the comments, Cuttlefish?
Let's ask Bum acid if he's referring to the GSI on Base interview making it sound as if GSI's Mark Kelly is ome kind of innovator?
Or is it the comments from those on Swellnet?
Try reading just the questions from Swellnet in the GSI interview.
Never mind the answers, just the questions.
Get the brand out there and let the punters see the GSI way is the future in surfboard building because it's so successful.
Never mind that it's basis is hinged on not even owning any stake in the actual construction of the surfboards it sells.
Unlike Base they have nothing to lose.
I wonder if GSI have made t-shirts for all the workers in the factories they use to produce their surfboards with their catch cry translated into the relevant Thai, Chinese and Taiwanese?
Life is better when you surf!
Cheewit bpen dee kun mu khun len gradan dor klun.
There's a phonetic Thai translation for you to get the ball rolling.
Hopefully plenty of readers can see that the interview is a well timed advertorial for GSI.
hey maurice it is called torquay law as you once said to me
steve inglis
What savvy venture capitalist takes on the lemonade market without the knowledge of the cost of producing it!?
Advertorial's aside, I still love my 7S over a $495 Australian made Christmas special. The little Asian kid who glassed/sanded it nailed it.
Cuttlefish raises some good points
communication is key.
it is has to be the 22 office workers fault .they must have been just using the company and not working .
...so, can someone explain, in simple terms just how people in this situation eg Simon Muzza and Darren actually pay off their debts ? like do they lose their homes , cars ,assets etc ? are they out on the street? homeless?....
Sam,
The directors will be stripped of their assets. So yeah, they will most likely lose their homes and cars etc. If it's bad enough - and to be brutally honest, it does sound bad enough - the directors go to jail. Trading insolvent for that long is seriously bad news. They must've been convincing investors to keep putting money in (for wages, super etc.) so there would've been a level of misrepresentation over the state of the company. They'll face a few different charges.
all directors names if possible.
@ sam & @ heals
Not quite that simple. The liquidator will do an investigation. Family members and other director-related parties who the company paid in the last 4 years in preference to other unsecured creditors will have to give it back.
If the liquidator proves that the company traded insolvently (viz. couldn't pay its debts as and when they were due) and its directors ought to have known (viz. a reasonable person in the same circumstances and position would have known) the company was insolvent, the liquidator can ask the Court to order the directors pay those debts the company incurred whilst it was insolvent.
If the directors (or any one of them) acted dishonestly, they may face criminal charges.
If the directors (or any one of them) was ill or for some other good reason did not take part in the company's management at the time of insolvency, or believed that the company was solvent because a competent person with knowledge of the company's accounts said so, or took all reasonable steps to prevent the insolvent trading, the director(s) have a defence.
If the Court orders against the directors, the liquidator then needs to chase them personally. Unless they have ready assets and are willing to pay up quickly, that may mean chasing them all the way to bankruptcy. (Companies are liquidated; individuals are bankrupted - similar effect, different names. Key difference: liquidated companies die; bankrupted individuals live to fight another day.)
If the directors put their assets in family trusts, or in their partners' names, or took other asset protection steps well prior to the company's liquidation, then, even if a Court orders against them, they may not lose everything.
Irrespective, it's a brutal and drawn-out process for the directors and their families.
And a shitful one if you're an unsecured creditor, particularly if the debt you've proved for is a significant chunk of your cashflow and/or your annual net profit.
What a story. Its amazing that Mallesons actually reduced their bill, Maurice must have really been hard done by as that is pretty rare! Its a shame so many innocent people in the industry will lose money because of this and it would be nice to believe it will be properly looked at. Trading insolvent is serious enough, but over that many years, and after a report in 2004 saying they were almost insolvent, whew, alarm bells should have been ringing for people other than Maurice.
ha ha fucking ha, corporate filth scum, u guys pumped your chests out and got burnt !
hahahahaha your "designs" your "projects" your website your label.
your ex- "consumer$" can now become individuals and return to the real craftsmen who can produce boards that deliver - not the status- not the image- not the label !
Hopefully shapers will get back to producing boards that represent quality not only in the shape, the design, the glass job or the price tag but also the joy and honesty that riding waves can bring !!
PS were is Nick Pope ??
Well MC, you won't die wondering. You had an idea, a good idea, that could have worked. You stuck your neck out and gave it a shot. Well done for that alone.
It's a shame it fell apart. But it looks like you'll be the least affected. The others are up to their eyeballs. You're probably only up to your shins.
Good luck in the future. I'm sure you'll bounce back. You always have.
BTW - good interview.
MC, for better or worse you and the others went into the deal to make money.
It failed just as thousands of other business ventures fail. The courts are clogged with the same old story and two lawyers have posted here telling you, in effect, just that.
You gambled, you lost. Why is this story any different to the others by average joe blow mum and dads any different? What because you are shapers of surfboards?? C'mon, just because all ya mates you grew up and surfed against went on to become either financially secure because the got a trade, job or ran a real business around the corner with not being heros. Some even became millionaires thru surfing the very boards you shaped them, but you shapers have been living in lulu land for too long. it is just a skill, just a trade. Be it artistic or pure function means little unless it is managed properly.
We are sorry it did not work out but,seriously, what was it that you guys possessed that gave you any idea that it was going to be some multi-million dollar retirement plan, flying all over the country to board meetings that you (confessed) you had no capabilities or abilities to run?
Were the staff and managers supposed to work for free and guess what they should do day to day while the 'shapers' mowed foam, surfed and pressed flesh at corporate surfing events?
Nice dream...but turns out it was a nightmare just waiting to happen.
A very interesting read.
Met MC a few times in toolkey. Nice man. Wasnt dropping in on anyone like most other toolkey 4ft heroes. Support your local shaper.
What was the outcome here...trading inslovent..under criminal investigation
6 million of debt..
Wingnut ?
Maybe MC should've asked Geoff McCoy for some advice. He's seen and been through it all. Now he's making high quality hand made customs but has his finger on the pulse of his business, cottage industry surfboard manufacturing, low turnover high quality.