Welcome to the Board Retailers Association (BRA) website. Below you will find helpful and relevant articles that we carefully curate for the benefit of our BRA Retail Members several times per week. Be sure to scroll through the most recent articles or use the Search/Lookup feature in the Menu above to find topics and keywords related to recent and not-so-recent articles that may help you lower costs, increase margins, or create more remarkable customer experiences. We deliberately made this our site landing page to demonstrate our commitment to “Protecting Retailers and a Lifestyle” for over 20 years (since 2003).
Be sure to visit the About Us, Retail Member Benefits and Join pages on this site to learn more about and benefit from our resourceful nonprofit trade association committed to helping board specialty, outdoor specialty, and lifestyle specialty retailers to survive, thrive, and keep “the special in specialty” for free.
“Jon Comer, Pioneer of Adaptive Skateboarding, dies at age 43” via ESPN (X-Games.com)
ESPN Images Considered the godfather of adaptive skateboarding, Jon Comer's influence on skateboarding transcended boundaries and pushed the awareness of adaptive skating to the forefront. Jon Comer, the first pro skateboarder with a prosthetic leg, died on Thursday,...
“BRA Releases Recap Video of Retailer Roundtable” (SHACC Nov 2019 – Filmed and edited by Noah Schuler)
The Board Retailers Association (BRA), a non-profit organization representing independently owned surf, skate, snow, sup and wake retailers, announces the release of the Recap video that showcases the recent BRA Regional Retailer Roundtable Event which was held...
“Snowboarding visionary Jake Burton Carpenter dies at 65” by Eddie Pells (AP) and Dan D’Ambrosio (Burlington Free Press)
Eddie Pells, Associated Press and Dan D'Ambrosio, Burlington Free Press Whether you had a gold medal hanging from your neck, were just learning how to stand on a snowboard, or were one of those flustered skiers wondering where all the kids in the baggy pants were...
“Some ways to boost holiday sales (AND MARGINS)!” by Dave Seehafer of Global Wave Ventures (BRA Supporting Vendor Partner)
Some ways to boost holiday sales (AND MARGINS)! Importance of specialty store “experience”—think Apple, Nike, Starbucks! --this is your time to shine—share passion & stoke, offer product insight --give incredible customer service—i.e. free local delivery,...
“Will Inflatable Artificial Reefs Turn Lackluster Beaches Into Pumping Peaks? The “Airwave” will soon be making its debut in West Oz” by Ashtyn Douglas via SURFER
A little over a year ago, a Yallingup-based surfer named Troy Bottegal started a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund the creation and launch of a new artificial reef structure he’s been prototyping over the last decade. Similar to artificial reef projects of the...
“Meet the USA Skateboarding National Team That May (Or May Not) Go To The Olympics” by Dave Carnie in Transworld Skateboarding
October 28, 2019 By Dave Carnie You may have heard that the 2019-2020 USA National Skateboard Championships were held last weekend (10/18) at the California Skateparks Training Facility (CA|TF) in Vista, CA, and that USA Skateboarding (USAS, or “Us Ass” as I like to...
Exposure Skate Open 2019 (A Women’s Benefit Event) in Huntington Beach on Nov. 2nd via ExposureSkate.org
Each year, Exposure presents Exposure: A Women’s Benefit Event to bring opportunity and visibility to women who embody courage and strength. Over 170 female skaters from around the world come to Encinitas, California (near San Diego) for the opportunity to share their...
“HOW SHOULD BRANDS BE RELEASING THEIR VIDEOS?” by ALEXIS CASTRO via JENKEM MAG
Without a doubt, the biggest and most popular skate media partner today is Thrasher, which boasts the highest following of any skateboarding outlet at over 5 million Instagram followers and over 2 million YouTube subscribers. This wasn’t always the case, but...
“Board Retailers Association (BRA) Announces Regional Retailer Roundtable” via ShopEatSurf.com
The Board Retailers Association (BRA), a non-profit organization representing independently owned surf, skate, snow, sup and wake retailers, announces a Regional Retailer Roundtable to be held at the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center (www.shacc.org) in San Clemente,...
“Tony Hawk On Why The Olympics Snubbed Vert” by Mackenzie Eisenhour via Transworld Skateboarding
Traditional vert is dead, at least to the Olympics. As detailed in our Olympics: Fact From Fiction article last month, neither vert nor mega ramp will be represented in Tokyo next year. Instead, the two ‘disciplines’ will be “park” and “street.” The reasons behind the...
BREAKING: Outdoor Retailer cancels November show, The Winter Market is being united with the January Snow Show by Amelia Arvesen via SNEWS
The November show will not go on, Outdoor Retailer announced on its website on Wednesday. The Winter Market was scheduled for Nov. 5 to 7, but it is now being united with Snow Show slated for Jan. 29 to 31, 2020 in Denver. “We care deeply about our community, and...
“Board Retailers Association Votes In New Chairman and Hires Executive Director” via Shop Eat Surf Press Release
PRESS RELEASES | Published Aug 7, 2019 BRA Names New Chairman, Executive Director The Board Retailers Association (BRA), a non-profit organization representing thousands of independently owned surf, skate, snow and wake retailers, is pleased to announce that it...
“Cutting Through the Noise Around Skateboarding’s 2020 Olympic Debut: Qualifying? Judging criteria? Uniforms? Drug tests? What exactly is going on?” by Mackenzie Eisenhour via Transworld Skateboarding
The spectrum of responses to skateboarding’s debut at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo range from “I can’t wait to see Nyjah on a Wheaties box!” to “Focus my board, all hope is lost.” Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, it’s likely you’re still plenty confused...
“HOW CAN WE HELP KEEP SKATE SHOPS ALIVE?” by Larry Lanza via JENKEM MAG
HOW CAN WE KEEP SKATE SHOPS ALIVE? As other retail industries have struggled in recent years, skate shops seem more uncertain than ever, and this past weekend we lost a longstanding one:Sunday Skate Shop in Buffalo, NY. This got us thinking about what...
“New Wave Pool Set to Open in Palm Desert, CA in 2021” according to Surfer Magazine via ASN
New Wave Pool Set to Open in Palm Desert, CA in 2021 Catching up with CJ Hobgood about his new wave pool project, DSRT Surf. July 9, 2019 By SURFER This story. originally appeared on SURFER and has been republished in ASN with permission. Words by Zander Morton. For...
5 SEO Tips You Can Do Right Now
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, might seem like an impossible-to-crack code. Yet SEO is incredibly important if you want your business to be found online. If your website is optimized for search engines, Google, Yahoo, and Bing will view it as a good source and...