This Is Why We Do It In The ATL

Pretty frequently we at Surf Expo hear, "Oh, so how's the surf in Atlanta?"

Oooh, so original ...

 It's such a trite, played out joke. Frustrating, even. In fact, many of us have sacrificed coastal and mountain living to work in the industry that we love. I guess it kinda rubs some sea salt in the wounds to be landlocked. But Atlanta is a pretty rad city. And as far as the show office being in ATL, what doesn't make sense about it?

I can't help but infer from many of those who ask this question that they've ultimately forgotten about the end user at Surf Expo. Remember them, the retailers?

Just because the majority of major manufacturers are based in Southern California, doesn't mean that the majority of consumers are. We think manufacturers should be stoked to travel east and put a face with the name and shake the hand of the retailers out of New Jersey and Michigan and Florida the two times a year that they meet, at our show. That's a good reason in and of itself. Most of us are East Coasters, just like them.

Atlanta is the perfect travel hub for our sales team and client relations team to reach out from. The show's original owners were based here. Atlanta is the fastest growing city for young professionals in the U.S. It's become a major hub for our parent company, dmg world media.

No, we don't surf here. We skate. We wakeboard. We absolutely save our vacation days for trips out West (and back home) to ride and surf! But while we're back home in the ATL we do our proverbial matchmaking of established and breakthrough brands with the retailers this side of the left coast. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Guess what a friend who will remain nameless heard the other day? That Billabong's Times Square store is its most successful. Imagine that, in the middle of the concrete jungle...