Getting Frank

Bringing sustainability to those who can really do something about it.

by Frank Scura

Mr. Scura gets frank at LOHAS.

Life has edge to it! Whether we like it or not, that’s a fact, and it isn't going away. Every person in this world doesn’t get off on hugging trees and eating granola. Yeah, I love those things, and I know lots of other people who love them too, but that doesn’t mean everybody does or ever will. The people we need to reach are the ones who are not tuned into our radio station. And if they’re not listening to the same music that we are, then we’re gonna have to put our sustainable message in the music that they want to hear. I don’t mean our interpretation of it; it’s going to have to be authentic. Kids can smell bullshit a mile away, especially when it’s coming from a natural source. Mainstream corporate juggernauts have spent decades and billions of dollars on conditioning our kids to believe that if something is good for you, it sucks. Doritos and Taco Bell can put all sorts of bullshit on their chips or in their tacos and in their ads, and kids will eat 'em up. They know how to program youth. So how do we level the playing field? We have to change the way we play the game. Let’s face it: it's not gonna happen to the Mary Poppins soundtrack. We need a strong deprogramming anthem with hip hop, punk rock and heavy metal.

Bob Burnquist preaching the message.

Our goal with ASEC is to utilize the strong images of action sports to help kids feel safe in making conscious decisions. That’s what it’s all about for kids: feeling safe, knowing that people aren’t going to tease you for following what you believe, or oppress you because you’re trying to discover who you are. We have allowed our youth to be so abused, molested and manipulated by media and marketing that we have completely screwed with their self-image and ability to think as individuals. Individuality is an unaffordable luxury when you are trying to bolster an economy. Our focus at ASEC is on reality; the real stuff that kids deal with every day. Before you can get someone to listen, you have to get his or her attention. We're doing it: Bob Burnquist and Jen O'Brien with their skateboards; Damon Way with his shoes, and Julia Butterfly Hill with her messages and passionate activism. Who would have thought that we'd be reaching out and teaching sustainability to youth with skateboarding at LOHAS? Once we get really ubiquitous marketing icons like P. Diddy and Britney Spears to start singing about and standing for something real, then we’ll be seeing young rappers in community gardens and kids lining up for veggie burgers.

Kids getting the message (and a t-shirt).

Something that I saw in that movie 'Bowling for Columbine' really resonated with me. The most intelligent comment I heard regarding the incident came from the man whose music many were trying to pin it all on. I’ll never forget it; Michael Moore was asking Marilyn Manson what he would tell those kids if he had the chance. He replied simply 'I wouldn’t have told them anything. I would have listened to what they had to say. Which obviously, nobody took the time to do.' I really didn’t care for Marilyn or his music before then, and I'm still not really into his music now. But at that moment, I became a fan! It's time we realized that everyone is not going to look, dress and act like us. It's time we accepted that and started dealing with the real issues that unite us, like air and water quality, and global warming. Those issues don’t discriminate. Cancer doesn’t care what color your skin is or how much money you make.

There are three basic ways to encourage, inspire, or force companies to make change:

1. Threaten their market share, which can only occur if you have a competitive product. We don't, but lots of people do; we need to help get the word out.
2. Threaten their public image in a way that creates big-time consumer backlash. No customers = no revenue, which is the ultimate corporate nightmare. For this you need a highly successful counter-marketing campaign. Go see the film ‘Super Size Me’ for a good example.
3. The Jerry McGuire Syndrome: an executive, with the power to change the whole company from within, has a change of heart or an epiphany. He'll usually still want someone to show him the money, but I never said any of this was easy. Change can be difficult, uncomfortable and unfamiliar.

So how do we foster these ideas for change? Blame these corporations for their positions on the issues and unwillingness to change, or the music artists, or the marketing agencies? NO! We don’t have time for blame. It takes too much energy, and we need all we can get to create resolutions. As a matter of fact, corporations make sense to us. We can no more blame the corporations than blame the kids trying to fit in. The two have more in common than you think. Just one example: kids care what their peers think of them, and corporations care what their shareholders think of them. If the by-product of corporate efficiency weren’t poor public health and an ailing planet, we wouldn’t have a problem. But unfortunately these decisions that hold short-term benefits for the few are having long-term negative effects on the many. It even stretches its hand beyond our immediate paradigm and into the unborn future. We are killing our grandchildren to feed our children.

So how do we propose to effect positive changes in our world? Our strategy is simple. We’ll make and endorse better products, educate consumers and inspire individuals to make responsible decisions. In the action sports industry there are large factions of athletes who are vegan, buy organic foods, and care about environmental issues; I'm directly involved with just a few. These athletes are placed between a rock and a hard place when it comes to corporate sponsorship. Their options are: a) sell out their image to corporate identities that don’t represent their personal beliefs and lifestyles or, b) let the big cash opportunities pass them by and struggle financially while others who are less talented cash in on the gravy train. At ASEC and Eco Resolutions, we envision a world where we can have it all; option c) we endorse companies we believe in and are rewarded for our success spiritually, morally and financially.

At first glance, this appears to be about as easy as inhaling a grand piano. Why should sustainable product companies take this seriously? What makes this a win, win situation for conscious companies trying to expand their market share? Let me put it to you this way: McDonalds is now putting Newman’s dressings on their salads, and they just signed pro-skater and uber-icon Tony Hawk to a multi-million dollar deal to help them sell Happy Meals. They’ve obviously surveyed the market and found that these are things people are interested in and believe that these associations will bolster their sales. And they are right. These are signs of the times, these are the times of signs. It’s up to us to interpret them correctly, and when we do, I know we'll be making a difference.

Frank L. Scura is CEO and founder of Eco Resolutions and principal founder of ASEC. Look for Frank and ASEC at ESPN's X Games X, coming to Los Angeles August 5-8.

the archives:

Visit the archives, including the premiere edition of
SASS Magazine, featuring Loyalty Clothing, Venture Snowboards, San Francisco's Greenfestival, and so much more.

a few of frank's favorites:

Skate pro Bob Burnquist has his very own organic farm, because, "we like to pick food in the garden and munch it right there." Makes sense to us. Check it out.

Co-founder and Executive Vice President Damon Way is a Board Member at ASEC; DC Shoes have been synonymous with tearing it up on the ramp and in the park ever since their inception over 10 years ago.