Well, not me specifically, I guess. But ESPN posted the second part of their interview with Eastern’s Jon Byers, and it included a question about people who aren’t too receptive to Eastern’s “innovations.” This was his answer:

Well there is no shortage of hate or s**t-talking. Some kids just don’t want change and progression and anything new to them is ‘dumb.’ If BMX didn’t change and progress, all the bikes might still be 40lbs. You have to be open-minded to new technologies, processes, materials and ideas. It doesn’t bother me, and if I have the pleasure of meeting one of these ‘Internet’ kids face to face, I’m going to teach him the proper way to eat a knuckle sandwich.

This, I totally agree with. Obviously anyone who dislikes your product is “hating,” and the proper way to deal with said “hating,” as a mature business owner, is to threaten people with violence. Henry Ford used to do the same thing. Heck, maybe if Rick Wagoner had punched some people in tha face, GM wouldn’t have gone bankrupt: “Just shut up and buy the fucking Escalade, asshole!”

Anyway, there’s a lot more to it, and it’s worth reading in its entirety. One of the other things he says is this: “Ill-informed kids are buying stuff because it weighs five ounces lighter when they should put more weight into what they plan to do with it when making their purchasing decision.” Now that’s worth remembering, no matter what brand you buy. Thinking: It’s better than a punch in the face.

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