I don't understand what compels scooter companies to include the word scooter in their name. Personally I think it makes the sport look immature in the eyes of other veteran action sports. Emerica isn't called Emerica skateboards, but it is recognized as a company that makes shoes specific to skateboarding. I understand scootering is too young of a sport to be immediately recognized simply by it's name or logo, but can we take some steps in that direction?
Company and retailer names are not helping this at all. Names like "scooterzone" and "no limit scooters" are a step in the wrong direction. Another example, TSI seems like a good recognizable name but it stands for trick scooters international. Its almost embarrassing to tell skaters or adults that you but your parts from a site called luckyscooters or phoenixproscooters.
A perfect example of a step in the right direction that was made years ago is Proto. Everyone that knows anything about scooters can recognize the symbol immediately and proto needs no "scooters," just proto and it's immediately understood.
I wrote this on a bit of a whim but I'm wondering how you all feel about this. Agree, disagree, I would love all kinds of feedback from the community. As a reminder, the companies I used were just examples, I have nothing against any of the companies listed above
First off, it seems like everything you post on here any more is about how embarrassed you are about something that somebody in scootering is doing "wrong" in your eyes. If that's how you feel, quit.
Now that we have that out of the way, let me address what is in bold. First off, TSI is a great name. It's an abbreviation, sure, but who cares. Nobody actually says Trick Scooters International but even if they did, are you so ashamed of the fact that you scooter that you need to try to hide it? I do agree that some names are stupid, like random words followed by the word "Scooters", but simply having the word in the name doesn't make it a terrible name. Scooterzone is a store that sells scooters. It's a perfect name. They have moved away from Scooterzone being in the name of their parts by forming Epic, which (in my opinion) is a pretty awful name, but I guess you love that because it isn't "Epic Scooters".
Second, Proto isn't Proto, it's Proto Scooters. You even admitted that. You suck Proto's dick because they're Proto and try to defend them, but the truth is that anybody inside the sport will know what you mean when you say Lucky, Phoenix, TSI, Proto, etc. The "Scooters" isn't really part of the name, it's just more to distinguish that they make scooter parts. I have never in my life heard anybody say "Phoenix Pro Scooters deck", and I'm pretty sure you haven't either. It's a moot point. On the other hand, anybody outside the sport will have absolutely no clue what you're saying when you say Addict, District, or any of the other names that you think are awesome because they don't include "Scooters".
The thing that makes a name bad is when the title is unoriginal and childish, not if it says "Scooters" afterwards. Proto is one of the best examples. Sure it's Proto Scooters, but it's such a nice, concise, original name that I don't think anyone would argue it's a bad name simply because it has "Scooters" afterwards. And most of the "bad" names I know you're referring to with this post, like "Suicidal Scooters", "Sky High Scooters", "Inward Scooters", etc, are mainly retailers that dabble in and out of making their own parts, not actual manufacturers. In that case, it would be stupid not to include "Scooters" in the title, because it's a damn shop that sells scooters. I would expect a place that sells scooters to have the name of the sport somewhere in the title.
Also, you think skateboard and bmx manufacturers DON'T have the name of the sport in their names? You're fucking delusional. "Enjoi Skateboarding" "Element Skateboards" "Zero Skateboards" "Think Skateboards" "Fit Bike Co" "Haro Bikes" "Kona Bikes" "We The People Bike Co" "Verde BMX" "Colony BMX Co"...I could go on for almost any company in any sport. The "Bikes" "Skateboards" "Scooters" on the end is simply a distinction. It's almost necessary. And ironically, the companies being hailed for their exemption to the "_____ Scooters" names aren't quite so. District is "District Scooters", their site is "districtscoot.com". Addict is "Addict Scootering", it says it right in their logo. I'm sure I could go on for any company, but the point is that you're going to have to accept the fact that you're riding a god damn scooter, or just quit already.
I could go on and on and on about this because it's a fucking stupid argument and it pisses me off whenever it comes up. It isn't about the maturity of the sport, or the people in it, it's about ------s like you that want to bitch and moan about how it's the sport's fault that they're afraid to tell people they scooter. It's not the sport's maturity, it's yours. Grow the fuck up and have some pride in yourself. If you're so paranoid about how people will accept the fact that you just mentioned the word "scooter" while talking to them in a sentence, you need to realize that you're just being insecure, and man up instead of pussyfooting around the subject. You think you're being some sort of help to the sport? It's completely the opposite. All of this stupid "Oh, but bikers don't do this!" "Oh, skateboarders think this is lame :'(" and all of this constant whining about how people are making us look bad, THAT is what actually makes us look bad. So the skater on the ramp next to you thinks your shoes are stupid. Who the fuck cares? Oh, your deck says SCOOTERS on it. Even though it's a scooter deck, and the BMXer next to you has a frame that clearly says BMX on it, the word "scooters" somehow makes it lame. "Oh, something that we do looks stupid to bikers/skaters, let's try to shape the development of our entire sport around what is acceptable to people outside of the sport". Why can nobody see how fucking stupid that is?
Yeah, I just wrote a fucking essay. Read it, and realize how delusional the people in this sport are and how overly obsessed we are about our image.
