Magic President on adding action sports

With ASR gone and the trade show landscape changing, I asked Magic President Chris DeMoulin if Magic wanted to work more with action sports and how he thought Slate turned out, particularly the skate push.

Are you happy with how the skate addition turned out?

Aldrin Garcia of San Diego set a new world record of 45 inches at the
Maloof High Ollie Challenge at Slate on Tuesday afternoon.

“The important thing is, our exhibitors, retailers and the Maloof Skateboarding folks are happy.

"We thought the High Ollie event, and the WORLD RECORD of 45 inches was awesome.

"Everyone who participated, including the skaters I spoke to, seemed very happy that it was an authentic, and worthwhile skate event.”

Do you think there's a place for more action sports brands at the show? Will you keep trying to expand in this area?

“Absolutely. We see MAGIC as a natural opportunity for action sports brands to access both core retail and crossover retail at the same time and place. We’re all very busy – travel to fewer shows, get more done – that’s our motto.”

Will Magic try to bring a show to Southern California now that ASR is gone?

“We think the key is an accessible, affordable West Coast show. Something that works with, and caters to the action sports crowd, and is a workable solution for the whole spectrum of time-stressed retailers.

"We think MAGIC is that solution. We’re working with all of the key players in the action sports arena to make that a reality. Anyone who was at s.l.a.t.e. today for the High Ollie Finals now knows that this can totally rock.”