又到了年底，又有很多事情值得去盘点了，突然之间我们想去了解了解昔日帅哥队伍赞助商Gravis现在在干嘛，回想以前，Gravis在滑板人心里绝对是响当当的牌子，不过它却在一夜之间宣布倒闭，没有任何征兆，没有任何警告，就这么没了。为了探究这一夜之间到底发生了什么，我们来到了Gravis网站，窥探窥探它最近在忙着和谁约会签约，有什么新的产品科技要面世….
As the year comes to an end, the news worthy articles cease to exist -to an extent. Deep in the burrows of our brain is the afterthought of what a brand like Gravis is doing right now. Much like thinking about an old lay, Gravis was a huge part of our lives and then all of a sudden left in the middle of the night. No spooning, no fair warning, no morning breakfast, nothing. In the spirit of thinking of our former one-night stands, we visited the Gravis website last night to find out what they’re doing, who they’re dating sponsoring and what new technologies they’re bringing to the table.For English scroll down...
1年前Burton宣布关闭准备退出其欧洲和美国运营，这一消息可以说让所有人大吃一惊。没有人预料到Gravis的表现为何如此糟糕，因为事实上Gravis的视频，广告经常出现在我们面前，它是高端市场的领军人物，从那“帅哥集中营”的队伍中就能看出…..
这个走在时尚前沿的滑板品牌让我们身边的型男们纷纷模仿，大家把头发往后梳，嘴上的根烟似乎成了种必备品而不是坏习惯，还纷纷穿着修身紧身裤。有些人依旧痴迷于Gravis给我们带来的影响，不过现在他们已经学会慢慢放手。不论它们生产的产品如何棒，他们的队伍如何潇洒，队员如何有范儿，这些都成为了浮云
Gravis队员庆祝摆脱Burton
虽然它们退出了滑板鞋的舞台，不过Gravis鞋子的性能已经深入人们心中，那种型男必备的风格让你与众不同，鞋子的打底是我们在测试里穿过的最好的。除了他们的队伍，他们的最高成就就是走在了潮流的最前沿。不论是鞋子，还是其中的科技，还是包，他们的设计都独具一格甚至可以说是设计得有点儿冒险。除了HUF，还有什么品牌，尤其是在现在，能有这种设计风格呢？它能让Dylan表现的比以往更为出色，Gravis的离开对Dylan来说也是个难题，因为他也很难在寻找一个如此能体现他个性的品牌了。
回到鞋子的设计上，鞋子的设计是那么的简单实用，不过某种程度上来说，Gravis的鞋子似乎都是一样的。一体化的鞋头，一样的大地以及神奇的PU内胆，如果它没有被滑破掉，千万别去补鞋子。它们的Cloud 9 PU内胆很快成为了非滑板用途中的第一选择，这也很好得解释了很多服务生都会穿Gravis，低调考究，而且让你站一天都舒舒服服得。
大家的问题很明显：为什么Gravis将重心转移到了日本
为什么Gravis不将重心放在美国和欧洲呢？这是因为它们在日本的滑板鞋产业还没有如此饱和，滑板在日本已经被广泛认可，就像在美国这里一样。对于一个新兴市场来说，首先，制造商和销售商都在亚洲，很最大程度减小运费的消耗，第二点，这个品牌在日本还保持这原汁原味，这也是美国本土品牌Selfish和Heroin在这里如此成功的原因。你可能会刨根问底，为什么我没有在滑板店里看到这些品牌，这是因为它们在亚洲已经普及得很充分了。这也许就是Gravis和éS将日本得市场保留得原因，那么最大得问题出现了：Gravis什么时候能回到我们身边。
既然品牌完全转向了日本，那么英文介绍留着有什么用呢？The Filter TTL
虽说Gravis已经撤出美国和欧洲得市场，不过看上去它并没有回归滑板的意愿。当然，没有任何一个品牌可以撼动Gravis现有的产品线，通过向市场提供最基本的鞋款如Filter以及其Filter系列的另一款Filter Duro，Gravis还可以拥有充足的资金去打造其滑板产品线。Gravis的两个新科技让它们今年的产品从极富吸引力变得无人问津，TTL科技看上去就像一般的磨砂材料（很可能就是），Cloud 9 鞋垫的再度出现并没有让我们为之疯狂，因为它变得更薄，更廉价，而且相比以前的Cloud 9鞋垫似乎减震性也变得更差，自打这些产品出来之后，也许对Gravis来说最好的选择就是退出。在我们看来，这些无力的试图复兴Gravis的举动都是失败的，Gravis在美国诞生，也在美国消亡。如果Gravis在亚洲可以凭借以前Dylan的照片一举成功，我们也并不会感到诧异，因为亚洲也有越来越多的Dylan模仿者参与其中。
Gravis，就如我们预料的一样，一团糟。跟在美国相同，Gravis想让自己看上去跟以前一样。你觉得Gravis会跟以前一样，依旧那么有型，如果不是那样，至少也得出点儿令人震惊的产品。但是Gravis并没有什么改变，它变得更为臃肿，更不耐用，反而失去了它曾有的优点。希望éS在回归时不会这样。Gravis的视频，你曾经印象深刻的型男们的视频，这些仅仅是一些回忆罢了...
It’s been about a year and a month since Burton announced they’d be closing down their operations in the US & Europe. The news hit most of us in a surprising fashion. No one expected Gravis to be doing poorly because of how often they were in our face. In fact, because of that same exposure, they successfully created a niche market that’s now struggling to find it’s new frontrunner. Yes, the “Crown for Team Handsome” article is already in the works for those who are wondering…
Skateboarding’s chicest brand brought out the inner-metrosexual in all of us. We slicked our hair back accordingly, took up smoking cigarettes as if we didn’t already have horrible habits and worn fitting tight pants. Some of us are still recovering from the effects of Gravis’ branding but are slowly learning how to let go, one un-cuff at a time. Regardless of how good of a team they had, how well their product actually worked and their amazing ability to make skateboarders beautiful, the ugliest thing that remains is the way they left the market.
Despite their departure, you can’t deny the quality footwear they had. It was stylish, skated incredibly well and made you look better in the process. Their outsole was one of the best we’ve ever had the pleasure of skating and reviewing. Probably their highest accolade, next to their team, was how Gravis constantly stayed ahead of trends – in a fashion that we have yet to see again. Whether it was footwear, technology or bags, they always had it figured out and were risky in every way. Aside from HUF, which could be debated, can you honestly see any other brand put this shoe out? Especially today…? It screams Gravis more than it ever embodied Dylan and it’ll be hard for him to find a pro model that’ll come as close to personifying him.
Going back to their footwear, it was surprisingly simple and supportive at the same time. Sure, to some degree, they all looked the same. Y’know – one piece toe, same outsole and their amazing PU insole, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Speaking of which, their Cloud 9 PU insole quickly became the #1 insole to use outside of skating when you were working, which explains why waiters wore Gravis so much. Discreet enough to pass as a dressy shoe and wouldn’t kill you from standing in them all day. Nice.
Everyone’s question is: Why Japan?
Why did Gravis gravitate to a market outside of the US and Europe? Well, it’s because it’s an unsaturated one- to an extent. Sure skateboarding is recognized in Japan, just as much as it is here in the US but there’s a couple of things to be held into consideration. For starters, many brands have their distribution/manufacturing facilities in Asia so naturally, their shipping costs will be lower than conventionally shipping to the US. Secondly, brands are going to Japan because it is somewhat untapped. It’s the same reason brands like Selfish and Heroin are doing incredibly well. They stick around and you ask yourself “But how are they still in business? I don’t see them at my local shop” and it’s because of their Asian-fused popularity. For these reasons and more, is why Gravis and éS are staying in Japan. The question for us is: Will Gravis ever come back?
Even after storming out of the US and Europe, it appears as though Gravis hasn’t taken any steps back from skating. Sure, it’s nothing compared to the collection that they formally had, but by running staple models like the Filter and it’s extension, the Filter Duro, they’ve recognized that there’s still plenty of money to be made within their skate-line. With two newly added technologies, Gravis footwear looks like it’s gone from attractive to awful in a year’s time. The TTL technology shown above looks like your average nubuck material (and it probably is). We’re not crazy about the Cloud 9 insole rendition either. It looks thinner, cheaper and is more than likely less shock absorbent than its predecessor. Maybe it was for the best for Gravis to vanish when they did. From what we can tell, this feeble attempt at keeping the brand alive is one huge mistake. It lived and died in the US. We wouldn’t be surprised if the brand itself is being kept alive by the visuals of old Dylan photos that are hung throughout all of Asia. Btw, just so you know, Asian Dylan does the arms thing too.
Bizarro Gravis is just what we thought it would be, a mess. Same as your ex. Sure, you thought she’d look the same and that promise left you with hopes of reuniting something special you had…if not that, at least another one night stand just to cure your curiosity but when reality hits, Gravis is no different than an Ex. She’s bloated, whored out and has lost any good qualities she once had. Hopefully we won’t be saying the same about éS anytime soon. Videos of Bizarro Gravis. Videos of what you remember, in case you wanna fap one more time…y’know, for memory sake.
From Ripped Laces
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