BIG NEWS: Gigi Ruf Joins VOLCOM Snowboards
crust
- October 21 2008
- 12,138 views
- 65 comments
Snowboarding’s Big News Of The Week
Austrian super-pro Gigi Rüf has been busy. This kid pumped out an amazing amount of cutting-edge film footage last winter—making three (almost four) full video parts. With standout appearances in Absinthe Films’ Ready, and Pirate Productions’ OverSeas, among others, few riders hit it as hard in 2008. Gigi also just signed on with Volcom—he has been on the team and in the Volcom family since he was youngster, running their streetwear, but this week he joined on to front the VOLCOM SNOWBOARDS team. Gigi is one of the most influential and widely respected riders in snowboarding—not to mention, he’s one of the most versatile. Check this clip of some heavy action filmed this past season by Absinthe Films for their new release READY.
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Check out the more from Absinthe Films right HERE.
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October 22nd, 2008 at 10:53 am
5 inches in vail….
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:10 am
Volcom, Burton, Volcom, Burton. Thats all I hear coming out of everybodys mouth these days. IM AM SO BURNT ON BOTH!! I give Jake tons of cred for what he’s done for the sport. But we have to remember Sims and Barfoot as well. And Volcom, it is the new Fox street wear. So there I am now done with this subject. I have just wasted 5 min of my life. And Im going to go do somthing more constructive. Like burning one! Yea……first!!
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:12 am
Damit Tony! I thought I was first.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:24 am
and breck
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:27 am
omg he flies so faar at the end
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:43 am
Okay - youtube flash player plays in Safari but other player (first one) does not. Note that *both* players work in Firefox. An encoding issue?
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:47 am
safari can get lit.
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Gigi is sick….I think I’m in love.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
volcom is gonna throw a pretty stellar team together, im sure of it.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
dude he went flying on that video
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:12 pm
i am sad to see him leave burton. volcom is a bad choice….. burton is big but always stayed true and never sold of bits of the company.
volcom is selling boards for the wrong reasons…. same as how they have sold their soul to the devil w/ pacsun etc. hopefully they make it through the recession.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:42 pm
umm dude i think you got burton and volcom mixed up cuz burton did not stay true, their discontuing the Un…inc line because of money thats why Gigi left he said so in the vid and volcom doesnt even sell boards you dumbass. and your not in Gigi’s shoes so i bet theres a lot more to the story than you think. Burton is selling everything for the wrong reasons. but there so damn good
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Romain, Solberg, and DCP are also off Burton this year. So long to the vets.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Volcom is making boards because dudes like Seth Huot, Zac Marben, Gigi, Elena…all could go ride for someone that makes outerwear and boards and everything, but because Volcom has the best team in the world and make the best stuff they want to help their athletes out and be like “we’ll offer you $___ if you ride for us head to toe, what do you say” They care about their riders, end of story.
I’m backing Volcom 100%.
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:00 pm
volcom does not have the best team.
if i had to choose, id say ashboury does, they have everyone that seriously kills it on their team.
i would ride a volcom board over a burton anyday.
not only is burton selling like zero boards, more or less their entire team just left. which leaves mason aguirrie to kill it. and hey, they have shaun white for ten more years.
woo
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:04 pm
wonder what bindings he will ride???wether it still be burton
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Definitely the right move, good shiznitz
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Burton is just doing a terrible job serving their core market. There main market (like base in political terms) is no longer the die-hard snowboarder, it’s the weekend warrior. Un-Inc didn’t do well because they made it overpriced and too exclusive to shops. I always loved the graphics and the team and everything but it was just too expensive and rare.
Volcom does a great job of staying true to their roots, while also serving the lame-o teeny boppers and skate-dads. Those lame POS customers are the ones making Veeco money, and allowing them to pay great surfers, skateboarders, and snowboarders. Not to mention cinematographers. They make the best ‘action sports’ films on a consistent basis.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:24 pm
The comment at the top saying “Volcom does a great job of staying true to their roots, while also serving the lame-o teeny boppers and skate-dads. Those lame POS customers are the ones making Veeco money, and allowing them to pay great surfers, skateboarders, and snowboarders. Not to mention cinematographers. They make the best ‘action sports’ films on a consistent basis.”
Isn’t that selling out? By the way, “the best action sports films on a consistent basis….? Please! Yeah they’ve made some classics, but have you watched Ra Ra Avis? WTF was that all about? Luminous Lama? BS! Footbal Shmootball….Fuck dude wake up!
And Volcom is making boards cause their riders can have one sponsor from head to toe? Right. It probably doesn’t have anything to do with finding a new area to turn a buck. If you know anything about snowboard retail, hardgoods are the toughest part of the biz. You have to take the most risk with the lowest margins. They (Share holders who could be your grandma and grandpa who saw what you were wearing and saw they can buy stocks for it) saw stagnant profit’s with their current product offering, can’t squeeze more profit out of just selling outerwear and casual wear so they have to expand their line up with hardgoods……”They” saw DC do it so, hey, from one publicly traded company to another, why not? Gigi left one company, who he claims made moves because of money and profits to another company who thinks of the same things, but controlled by your parents friends, your grade 9 teacher, some dude that rollerblades, ski’s, and anyone else who may own a Volcom T shirt that they bought at the store in the mall.
Get a grip. They sold out. And if you support them, you’re a sell out too.
Gigi is an amazing rider, don’t get me wrong.
See you all at the mall!!!!
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:19 am
don’t forget that burton tried to patton the snowboard a couple years ago.
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:29 am
hahaaha “you´re a sell out too”!! give me a break dude! this whole planet is a sell out if you think that way. you are probaply some hippie who lives down by the river without any clothing what so ever…´cause you are no a sell out! hahahahahahahahahaha pause….nooooooooooot!
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:43 am
Sellout or not, Volcom is getting their boards from LibTech…
That’s a GOOD thing!!!
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:05 am
Volcom is not getting their boards from Lib Tech!!! That would mean that Volcom would be getting their boards from Quiksilver, and thats not gonna happen!!
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:09 am
they are??? where did you hear that??? thats sick. Lib tech is one of the few companys that still cares about the sport
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:12 am
quicksilver and lib tech are not the same brand why would that mean that volcom is getting their boards from quicksilver if their getting em’ from Lib. that makes no sense. And by the way all these other bens on here are not the same person
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:12 am
you guys need to do some more research. look at the snowboard mag premium buyers guide and peep the volcom deck. GST makes the decks for Volcom (and Santa Cruz, Sapient, F2, Step Child, Arbor et cetera - really good Austrian construction) and the only logos on the decks are the silver tech logos on the top sheet (comply, structurn et cetera). The shape is super similar to Seth’s pro model directional freestyle/freeride sticks from last year (see Zac’s ender in Down With People and check the sticks he is riding in his whole part. Seth’s older graphic and the Volcom boards are the same shape). Mervin is strapped with production of their own boards. Volcom is not getting boards made form them (especially since DC, a brand owned by Quik too, isn’t even getting Mervin love. They are Rossi boards too)
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
okay, little puzzle here. Quik owns DC and Mervin and used to own Rossi. When Quik sold Rossi, that left DC without a manufaturer for their boards moving forward. Now Quik is probably pushing to have Marvin make DC, but that probably wouldn’t work. As you can see, with all that going on over at the Quik camp, the probability of them making room for Volcom is highly unlikely.
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:13 pm
What else is funny is that this song has been used before. and not just used by anybody. VOLCOM used it in a team video from like 2003 or something. idiots. its not even a good song.
GIGI is SICK though.
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:45 pm
assbury with the best team? go ride your fixed bike of a cliff
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Be honest, they went public thats why they have the ability to pay for all these dudes. They aren’t as good as The Garden days. No company will ever get there again.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:17 pm
ashbury’s team is allright, but in general the company is lame as hell
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:49 pm
man. i wanna float too
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:28 pm
all the bullshit aside, Gigi is a sick rider…i havent seen someone tear a big mountain line like that a new one in a long time…gigi kills it
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:09 pm
just because dc did it doesn’t mean every other outerwear company should do it to. this just all seems like a bad idea to me
October 24th, 2008 at 7:54 am
2 feet in big sky
October 24th, 2008 at 9:01 am
I see TWS took down the actual interview with Gigi.. you guys get regulated by the big B on that one?
October 24th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Signal is making the volcom boards.
DCP, GIGI, Romain, JP sol, Elena height, Anne Flor, Keir dillon… all gone in one year thats quite the sweep.
October 24th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Men i HATE that commercial!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUck that.
Great rider
October 24th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Could someone name that artist and song?
October 24th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
First off, Volcom is not selling boards. I know cause Gigi told me, yeah I know him. They are making boards for him, and the other Volcom team guys that don’t have board sponsors and don’t want to ride ButtFuck Burton head to toe. So you can’t buy them. So Volcom makes no money off them, they are actually paying a shit load of money to get good quality boards from Austria so the guys (and girls) they support can have good boards to ride. Oh course they are going to put a stone on them, why not? Gigi rips and is doing what he loves to do, for a company that has backed him since day 1, and are doing that more than ever now. Props for them for stepping up to the plate, Im stoked that someone has the guts to take on the squares at Burton.
October 25th, 2008 at 5:41 am
so what bindings is he using now then? still cartels or something?
October 25th, 2008 at 5:52 am
as much as i enjoy snowboarding, companies are going to continue to sell out more and more its what business is about, and its not going to affect how i feel about actually riding. I understand about staying core to your roots and all that crap, but the MAJORITY of snowboard companies are there to make a profit and a successful business and so called ’selling out’ is one of the main ways to help grow a business. so the sooner everyone stops being god damm hippies and excepts that snowboard companies are going to sell out and sell products to the mainstream and not only to core riders, the sooner this crap about selling out will end. It has happened and is going to continue to happened. get over it.
October 25th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Ok for all you people saying all these companies are “selling-out” you go run a buisness. The whole point of owning a buisness is to make PROFIT. It is not to make people happy by staying “true to your roots” or some other bs people make up because they aren’t happy that someone else has more money than them. Seriously if you owned a buisness, don’t even try to tell me that you wouldn’t do everything in your power to make more money. That is exactly what snowboard companies are doing, it’s what every company does. If they didn’t do that then they probably wouldn’t be here today. So get off them about “selling-out” because they are just doing what they need to to make more profit, which is what owning a buisness is about, maximizing profit.
October 25th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Anyone have the band’s name? Lib Tech is the way to go. TRice is sick! Burton is for the lame.
October 25th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Actually, Only the boards with the orange base are made at GST with Seths old shape. The boards with the stone are made at a different factory all together.
October 25th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
personally, i dont really follow all this snowboard company drama. i couldnt care less who “sells out” or doesnt. if i like a product, i’ll buy it. lets cut all this mtv soap opera shit people lol
peace..
October 26th, 2008 at 12:22 am
pretty sure the first song is by the band ASG, not sure of the song name though
October 26th, 2008 at 9:43 am
everybody has heard about this already, but get the story behind the story…
staletail.blogspot.com
October 26th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Ok
after reading all these drama. I agree with CA. Burton sucks big time. I used to love them, now i just ignore that brand. It is a shame, because they are provably one of the cmopanies that supports more the sport with contests videos and so on… but we also have to remember that it is a private company ( not just for being legit but for MAKING mooooney) making money and more money.
Read their catalogue or the website. It is PURE MARKETING BS. Seriously, Im sick of how they sell your their amazing stuff. It is true actually that their bindings are quite good now ( not like before with the super heavy P1 )
Volcom it is going to make their OWN BOARDS. On dont come with the “oh but there is a company behind them making them, so its not really VOLCOM” … eeeerm… and do you think its the only company doing that? I bet you that maybe 75% of the brands in the market are doing this. Well, if we start like that, then look at where they produce their soft good… oh yeah, u might be reding a SHING HAO co.Ltd. based in china.
Just one last thing, Quick silver owns DC as well as LIB TECH but it sold ROSSIGNOL few months ago.
Burton aswell is acquiring other companies as well.
These to big coportation do this stuff in a very sneaky way so most of the main stream rider does not notice that because they know the real riders wont like it.
Happy Riding
October 26th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
He’d look good on a pair of Unions Bindings and some 32 Boots.
October 26th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
What happened to the interview? TWS? Come on. Burton didn’t want it on there to show how lame their own riders think they are becoming?
October 27th, 2008 at 2:51 am
Volcom does not sell snowboards you bunch of idiots…
October 27th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
look around Volcom Music Artist…
October 27th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
the garden days?
October 27th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
word dude i totally agree.
r.i.p. un inc =[
October 27th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
volcom will sell snowboards just like dc did it will just take a few years before they start selling them
October 28th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I heard Gigi blew the fuck up at the Burton TM, Rene…… Because he’s a MEGA Douche. What’s a “sell out”? I don’t quite understand that term especially since snowboarding isn’t all that lucrative. I don’t believe any riders, or companies for that matter really fall in to that category
October 29th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
actualy forum and DC are probley the top two teams at this very moment in time
December 6th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Lib Tech? too bad their boards are junk. they might ride nice, but they fall apart.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
man iam so glad to see a good snowboarder leve burton. Burton is like the wal mart of snowboarding. they just swallow everything up. Forum special blend and all those others are not even good companys any more. It sad. Go Ruf
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Gigi is on Union for 2010!
March 21st, 2009 at 3:24 pm
He’s on Union’s now dawg, and rockin Nike boots too
(also to the haters on nike making snowboard boots… i ride them, and they are comfy as f*ck)
March 25th, 2009 at 11:42 am
hell you make so many claims, but none are true!!
Volcom got theyr boards made at the lodge in cali (Signal).
DC boards are made at GST, since they sold Rossi long ago, plus rossi is crap
April 17th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Dc is not making their boards at mervin, we all know that they own mervin, but merving runs it self as a separate entity plus mervin can not make boards the way DC wanted, quoting someone at dc “they are way too hippie boards for us…..” the rest i am not to tell…
Also there is no way you can but a Volcom board (at a retailer) maybe you can get one if you are a pro ho or a thieve, they are not for sale…. for a while at least…