Why We Should Celebrate Every Fingerboard Company That Finds Success

Fingerboarding is a small community. That is part of what makes it special, but it also means every company, maker, shop, event, and rider who contributes something positive is helping build something bigger than themselves.

So when a fingerboard company finds success, we should celebrate it.

Not just because we like the company. Not because we own its products. And certainly not because its success somehow guarantees our own. We should celebrate because its success is another building block for the entire community.

One Company's Success Can Help All of Us

When a company gets noticed, sells out a drop, attracts new customers, or suddenly finds itself riding a hype train, it brings attention to fingerboarding.

People see the products. They discover the hobby. They start watching videos, find other companies, and explore different board shapes, wheels, trucks, obstacles, and accessories. Some eventually become customers of companies that had absolutely nothing to do with the original hype.

That is how communities grow. A rising tide does not necessarily lift only the company riding the wave. It can lift the entire industry.

Don't Hate the Hype Train

There will always be moments when one company suddenly becomes the brand everyone is talking about.

Maybe it has an incredible new shape, a unique manufacturing technique, or a limited release everyone wants. Maybe the company simply catches the right combination of timing, product, and attention.

Whatever the reason, if someone manages to catch that train, good for them.

Personally, until I am the one standing on that hype train, or I am stuck forever waiting at the station, I will cheer for whoever manages to catch it.

Someone has to go first. Someone has to create the excitement that gets people interested. Someone has to prove there is an audience willing to support a business built around fingerboarding.

Every time that happens, the case for fingerboarding as a legitimate hobby becomes a little stronger.

Small Successes Add Up

It is easy to look at a successful company and imagine success as something enormous: sold-out drops, thousands of followers, international recognition, and constant demand. But communities are not built entirely from huge successes. They are built from hundreds of small ones.

• A new maker sells their first ten boards.
• A local shop gets its first fingerboard customer.
• A rider posts a video that introduces someone new to the hobby.
• A company launches a product people genuinely love.
• A competition attracts a few more riders than the previous one.
• A small brand receives its first international order.

None of these things may seem revolutionary on its own. Put them together, however, and you have community growth. Every successful business, event, rider, and creator adds another piece to the structure.

Competition Is Healthy

Of course, companies compete. That is normal. We all want customers and attention. We all want our products to be the ones people choose.

But competition does not have to mean wanting everyone else to fail. In fact, having other strong companies around can make the entire scene better.

When companies push one another to improve, customers get better products. When makers experiment, other makers get inspired. When one company introduces an interesting idea, others may develop their own interpretations.

When the overall quality of the market improves, customers have more reasons to take fingerboarding seriously. When customers take the hobby seriously, everyone benefits.

A Bigger Community Means More Opportunities

This might be the most important part. We should not only think about how many customers exist today. We should think about how many potential fingerboarders do not even know the hobby exists yet.

Every person who discovers fingerboarding is a potential customer, rider, collector, content creator, event participant, or future maker. The bigger and healthier the community becomes, the more opportunities exist for everyone.

• More people create demand for more events.
• More events generate more exposure.
• More exposure brings more newcomers.
• More newcomers create more demand.
• More demand allows more companies to exist.
• More companies create more choice and innovation.

It is a cycle. Growth creates growth.

Celebrate the Wins

There will always be companies we prefer and companies whose products are not for us. There will always be drops we miss, hype we do not understand, and moments when we wonder why one company is suddenly getting all the attention.

That is okay.

You do not have to buy something to appreciate what its success means for the community. You do not have to be a fan of a particular brand to acknowledge that it is doing something right. And you do not have to lose your competitive edge simply because you are happy for somebody else's success.

At the end of the day, perhaps the best response to another fingerboard company's success is not jealousy or resentment. Perhaps it is simply:

Congratulations. You caught the train. Enjoy the ride.

One day, that train might stop at our station. When it does, we would probably hope the rest of the community cheers us on too.

Every success adds another building block. The stronger those blocks become, the stronger the community becomes. And the stronger the community becomes, the more people discover fingerboarding.

That is a win for everyone.