IASC Executive Director on new role

We caught up with Josh Friedberg, the new Executive Director of the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC), to ask him about his new roles and some of his plans.

A long-time skateboarder, Josh was the co-founder of 411 Video Productions. As President of 411, Josh led the company through its eventual acquisition by Wasserman Media Group in 2004.

What attracted you to the IASC job?

I've been thinking about skateboarding every day of my life since I was 13 years old. The opportunity to work with people that drive the industry forward in a collaborative environment dedicated to promoting and growing skateboarding is a dream come true.

How do you think IASC's role in the skate industry can evolve?

More than ever the skateboard industry needs a neutral platform to discuss the challenges and opportunities we are facing. I think the natural evolution of IASC is to make sure all the key players in skateboarding have a voice at the table and are able to engage in meaningful dialog for the greater good of the industry.

How do you feel about trade shows? Should skate have its own show? Should it partner with SIMA?

I think one of the primary objectives of any trade association should be to run its own show. With the void left by ASR it's a great time to explore the options, including a potential partnership with SIMA, and figure out what best serves the needs of our member companies and skateboard retailers.

At the end of the day, the event that best addresses those needs and overcomes the problems of trade shows past is the one IASC will support.

Some skate companies are involved in IASC, and some are not. Do you plan to attract more companies to the trade group? If so, how?

We are always working on attracting more members to IASC. Our first new initiative is going to be redefining our member benefit packages to address the needs of all the different sized skateboard companies.

In the current economic climate we want to make sure an IASC membership is a value proposition with tangible effects on a company's bottom line.

Do you have certain areas that are your top priority to focus on?

Starting the job two months before our Skateboarding Summit on April 26th and 27th has dictated a lot of my initial focus. We've moved the Summit to the Doubletree in Anaheim to make it significantly more accessible this year and worked hard to create a program that will be educational and fun. For more info and to register for the summit go to:

http://skateboardiasc.org/summit

My overarching goal is to streamline IASC's focus and make sure we're applying our resources to the areas that will have the most impact for our members and skateboarding in general.