On the whole, the news about Forum, Special Blend and Foursquare’s untimely demise has been met with sadness across the snowboard community. Many of us have drawn some influence from the brands in one way or another at some point in our snowboarding lives, whether that be looking up to particular riders, watching team movies or using the products, and we can only hope that these memories won’t be tarnished by the way that the brands have been put to bed. They certainly won’t be for us. It must be harder still for the countless Forum team riders around the world, many of whom have dedicated large parts of their lives to supporting the brand and built up a close network of friends in the process. We came across a few Facebook statuses from Forum team riders this morning and have pulled a few of them together so that you can read their thoughts on the news:
“When I was 15 years old, Forum team manager Ricky Melnik asked me to join the Forum Youngblood team. For the last decade I have lived and breathed the Forum name, and through all the up’s and down’s, team changes, team managers, owners… those ten years, to be blunt, were fuckin awesome. I would like to thank Peter Line, Four Star Distribution, Mack Dawg, The Forum 8, and all others involved for all that you’ve done for myself and for snowboarding. “Respect” doesn’t even convey the appreciation I have to all of you.” – Pat Moore
“Can’t believe it. Never thought Forum and Special Blend come to an end! Stoked i’ve been a part in the crew and ride with the the best riders out there! Thanks to everyone for a such a good time! RIP Forum & Special Blend!” – Mario Kaeppeli
“Much love to this amazing group of gentlemen. Thank you for the great times and memories Niko Cioffi, Austen Sweetin, Nic Sauvé, Cam Pierce, Stevie Bell,Aleksander Oestreng, Peter Line, Daniel Ek, JaCob T Welch, Pat Moore, Andreas Wiig” – Cam Pierce
“With the unfortunate news today of the demise of Forum and Foursquare, I just wanted to reach out and thank everyone who has ever supported these brands. It’s a sad day in snowboarding. I helped start these companies 16 years ago and am proud of all that we accomplished along the way. I feel we left a positive mark on the snowboarding world, one that I hope will be remembered for a long time. I have to thank everyone who was involved in making it all happen, especially the riders. It was a tremendous honor of mine to have your support in building these brands, and even more of an honor to be your team mate. These were the best years of my life, thanks for being a part of it. Forever my Team: Ingemar Backman, Bjorn Leines, Chris Dufficy, JP Walker, Joni Malmi, Devun Walsh, Willie Luoma, Jeremy Jones, Mike Page, Jake Welch, Sean Tedore, Jason Murphy, Chad Otterstrom, Nate Bozung, Mikko Sjoblem, Eddie Wall, Pat Moore, Iikka Backstrom, Lauri Heiskari, Travis Kennedy, Stevie Bell, Jake Blauvelt, Peter Konig, Trevor Jacob, Niko Cioffi, Jed Anderson, Cheryl Maas, Daniel Ek, Nic Sauve, Cameron Pierce, Andreas Wiig, John Jackson, Alek Oestreng, Austen Sweetin, Mario Kaeppeli {and all that I may have missed.) Forum Forever.” – Peter Line
Of course, riders in the UK have also been affected. We stumbled across this rather banterous Facebook thread between The Snowboard Asylum’s Jeremy Sladen and UK Forum rider Ross Needham:
We feel for you bro, and we’re sure brands will come knockin’ in no time!
