EXCERPT FROM THE LATEST FOAM E-Z BLOG FEATURING EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH CLARK FOAM FORMER EMPLOYEES:
In 2005 Robert Kelly Slater won his seventh ASP World Title, famously to the ire of runner-up and long-term adversary, Andy Irons. In 2005 Ben Stiller made an unexpected cameo appearance in the Taj Burrow classic Fair Bits!, alongside the likes of super-talents such as the Malloy brothers and Rob Machado. In 2005 the ever-fickle Mundaka event was cancelled when the waves, in a less than shocking manner, failed to arrive. On December 5th, 2005, Clark Foam unexpectedly closed its factory doors forever.
It’s been just over a decade since the surfing industry was thrown for a loop when it’s largest supplier of surfboard blanks called it quits, leaving thousands of board builders, industry insiders, and surfers scrambling for emergency solutions. Speculation over the cause of this sudden closure and what it would mean for surfing in general flew rampant (with varying degrees of truth and accuracy), and people were justifiably scared and confused. In the time since, much has been said and written about this incident, and of course the sport and industry has recovered, and in fact even grown, as a result.
Yes, by now almost everything that could be said about this occurrence has been. Our intention is not to provide you a play-by-play history of the final days of Clark Foam. Even the most cursory Internet search will provide you with that information. The fact of the matter is that Clark Foam was both directly and indirectly a part of many peoples lives and livelihoods, and often time the true nature of any event lies in those more personal experiences. For the former employees and distributors of Clark Foam, this is truer than for most. Though Clark is no longer around, it’s legacy and standard for quality have shaped what the surfboard industry has become.
READ THE FULL BLOG HERE:
http://foamez.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-end-of-everything-looking-back-on...
