Slash Snowboards Alive & Kicking In New Partnership With Spacecraft Collective

Austrian freeride snowboard behemoth Gigi Ruf started Slash Snowboards in 2012 under the Nidecker umbrella but last winter word spread that Slash was to cease production. Fast forward 12 months and Slash has entered a partnership with Spacecraft Collective and is alive and healthier than ever with Gigi showing he’s still top of the pops with an emphatic Freeride World Tour victory at Fieberbrunn in March. Spacecraft are an art collective based in the Pacific North West and Chad Perrin (Spacecraft Brand Director and Slash Brand Director) talks us through the new partnership, explains Gigi’s involvement and the manufacturing setup with Meditec in Tunisia.

Chad Perrin. Photo – SOURCE

Please explain the relationship/ deal between Slash and Spacecraft, how this came about and when.
It all happened last year. I was attending one of the USA’s regional tradeshows and ran into Dustin Anderson, the Slash rep. He had the current season’s boards on display and I simply asked him how Gigi was doing and how Slash was doing. He mentioned that Slash no longer had a home and was not sure if it was going to have a future. I asked a few more questions, and later that day I called Gigi. We (Spacecraft) had been toying with the idea of adding a winter hard goods brand, but I knew Slash and Slash has a lot of recognition with consumers, retailers and distributors. It was an established brand with a grip of loyal followers. Back to the phone call with Gigi, we spoke, brain stormed and tried to come up with a plan that could keep Slash moving forward. So we came up with a carry forward plan in which we would update the graphics from the previous year ever so slightly, create a catalog based on the existing shapes, and then go to market. We started calling on retailers and distributors, letting them know Slash is still here and what our plans were. We sold Slash back into many of the existing distributors and retailers. We delivered product this past fall and the brand “carried forward” with the plan we set out with. Now fast forward to today, we just got off the trade show tour and are ready to deliver Slash again this fall. We are rebuilding our distribution network and giving our marketing more aim than it has ever had, all the while focusing on the future of product innovation and where the brand needs to go under Gigi’s unique creative vision. I can honestly say we pulled off a miracle, it took a lot of guts for our sales reps, distributors and retailers to support the brand, but at the end of the day it was worth the risk. It’s a small and unique snowboard brand, which brings a lot to the market and makes it fun and interesting and breathes life into. We are very proud that we were able to keep Slash in the mix of brands in snowboarding. It’s an important brand and Slash means a lot to its followers and those followers mean the world to Slash and to Gigi and the team!

Photo courtesy of Pirate Movie Productions

Where is Slash manufacturing and will this change in the future?
Slash is being manufactured at the same factory (Meditec, Tunisia) it has been since its inception. Right now we have no plans to change, as our partner (Meditec) is really great to work. They have invested a lot of time and energy into the Slash brand over the years and they have a solid management team that is easy to work with. Plus they really allow us to push our innovation and are open to some of our bigger picture ideas when it comes to improvements.

How involved is Gigi?
Gigi is 100% involved. He is our creative spirit and is the brains behind all the products and story. Gigi is a very articulate and creative person, it really shows in his approach to his riding but even more in his approach to Slash – every element of the brand has his creative touch on it and it resonates outside the brand, through our products, marketing and Tribe.

Photo courtesy of Pirate Movie Productions

Who else is on the Slash management team?Gigi, Josh Clements, Matthew Garbauskas, Dustin Anderson, and myself
Gigi is the creative mind behind the entire brand.
Josh Clements is our sales manager and worked with/alongside me during our Nidecker US days.
Matthew Garbauskas is our president and came from the action sports movie distribution business and long board skate business with Omen Board Co
Chad Perrin, I am the Brand/Sales Director and have an extensive background in the snow industry, with Option Snowboards, Flow, Jones Snowboards, Karakoram, and Spacecraft – mainly focusing on sales and marketing roles
Dustin Anderson is one of Slash’s longest standing sales reps and helps us manage the brand. He is our eyes and ears on the outside giving us live from the field updates and feedback.

Photo courtesy of Pirate Movie Productions

Please explain the synergies between the two brands.
If you really compare the two they have a platform of art and creativity as the main driving forces behind them. We are not brands that are the household names, but both brands are more curated, making them more sought out. Premium product offerings are offered by both brands. Spacecraft and Slash’s roots are planted in the mountains. It’s where we call our home for both of our brands. Additionally, Slash and Spacecraft share a lot of the same distribution channels and retailers as well, so it makes a perfect marriage in terms of brand and category harmony.

Which are the best performing territories for Slash and why?

North America and Europe are both strong territories. In the U.S Gigi has been a strong presence. In terms of a rider, he is very respected and has a huge fan base here and he has spent a lot of time filming here throughout his career.
Slash is also strong in Europe as it’s Gigi’s backyard and like North America, Gigi has been a major influential figure in snowboarding throughout the world, which means that the brand resonates really well with his fan base and EU retailers as well.

Photo courtesy of Pirate Movie Productions

What has been the key marketing tools for the brand?
The key component is Gigi himself, people love seeing him ride. He has a signature style that has built a large following over the years; that combined with his character has been a big part of the marketing. The Tribe (The Slash Team) is a big one for us, we are a roots snowboard brand, so our riders, whether they are on our global or regional teams, are a huge piece of our marketing.
Product story is another piece of our marketing tool chest. We strive to have the product market itself through people riding and sharing their experiences with their friends as well as with us.
On snow demos are another big one for us, this year we have hosted many demos over here in our backyard (the Pacific Northwest) and will continue to build upon a boarder demo calendar globally over the next few years. We are a product brand first and the best marketing is getting people on your product.
Social and content is going to be a big one moving into Fall 2018, we know people want to see what Gigi and the Slash brand are doing so it is our plan to be very consumer facing.

Photo courtesy of Pirate Movie Productions

Which boards have been good sellers in 1819 pre-books?
Our top performers in order are the Happy Place, Brainstorm and ATV, which are some of the brand’s most historic models and have been in the line since the brand’s start. We have our Narwal quiver series where the Straight and Floater live and these are more freeride – directional driven boards. Then there is our “Ferarri”, the Aurora, which is a carbon fuelled lightweight dual camber direction twin. New for 2018 is the Brainstorm Linehiker split that brings an all mountain freestyle split to our fans. The board handles and rides like a dream, and we are very excited about this new direction for the brand.