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Blue Skies Magazine Sponsoring a Skyride Boogie?

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I just received word that Blue Skies Magazine is sponsoring a boogie at the Skyride DZ in Tennessee. Can anyone verify this?
If it's true, I am canceling my subscription and demanding my money back for the remaining 11 months that I paid for!
There will be no addressing the customers as "Bitches", "Morons" or "Retards"!

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I guess I don't understnad - they own the dz or just accept skyride certs?



I think they own the DZ.

The way I read it, this is not a 'Skyride' boogie, it's a DZ boogie. I know that the Skyride guys own the place, but it's still a DZ full of fun jumpers who want to jump just like everyone else.

It's also not 'Blue Skies Mag presents The Skyride Boggie', it's a DZ boogie that Blue Skies Mag is 'helping' to sponsor. This usually means they donated a couple of subscriptions or T-shirts to be used as door/raffle prizes.

If the case was that BSM was the main sponsor/huge contributor to something called 'The Skyride' boogie, or something of the sort, that would be one thing, but the real truth of the matter seems to be something considerably less than that. Does that make it OK? I'm not sure, but it's something to think about.

That's always been an area I have mixed feelings about the Skyride deal. I know they own a couple of DZs, and of course I wish them nothing but poor business performance, but in the mean time those DZs are full of fun jumpers who are regular people just looking to have fun. I'm sure if you showed up there on any given day it would be just like any other DZ, jumping and fun times in general. Sometimes it's the only DZ within reach, or people have other reasons they can't take their money elsewhere, so the decision becomes jump there or not at all, in which case I cannot blame them for jumping there. We all know that tandems/students drive the business of a DZ and that fun jumpers are barely profitable. Even if those people did 'vote with their feet' and go elsewhere, the DZ would still be there turning loads all day.

The staff of those DZs, likewise, do have some of the same thing going on. I'm sure that some of them are stuck with those DZs being their only practical choice for jumping, so it's either there or not at all. I also know that plenty of weekend intructors use their DZ work to pay for their all of their fun jumps/equipment, so if they don't have a paying slot at a DZ, they can't afford to jump otherwise. Again, the Skyride owned DZ might be their only choice. My feelings about the staff are FAR less warm and fuzzy then about the fun jumpers, but I'm sure there are some of them who are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

That said, there are also fun jumpers and staff alike who are well aware of who owns the place, what they do, and don't give two shits about it. Some of them even seem to enjoy flaunting those facts as if it makes them 'cool' to jump/work with the 'bad guys'.

In the end, BSM is probably just donating some prizes to the pile for a DZ boogie, a boogie which has nothing to do with Skyride in the sense that Skyride sells tandems and boogies are for licensed jumpers. It's another one of the 'grey' areas the Skyride debacle has created.

Does anyone plan to boycott any company that sends a door prize to this boogie? What if it's PD? Airtec? Bonehead? Is anyone going to sell their canopies and AAD?

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To me, it's like 'receiving stolen goods', you're still dirty for working with the thief.
SR is dirty and I won't give them any of my money either directly or indirectly.
There are plenty of DZ's out there so I can easily avoid the SR ones.:P

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I know that the Skyride guys own the place, but it's still a DZ full of fun jumpers who want to jump just like everyone else.



That's very probably true.

And BSM should have used their limited marketing / sponsorship budget at a dropzone full of fun jumpers that would not help the business of Skyride. I'm sure it's a small drop in the bucket, but, bathtubs get filled with drops...
Remster

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You know it's an emotional subject but as stated before some of you guys have tons of dz to choice from and would NEVER go to a skyride dz....others have tons so they wouldn't even go to a dz that accepts the tickets.

I wouldn't stop skydiving over it and as long as the planes were maintained and the vib of the dz was good I wouldn't drive another 30 minutes on the princple.

Some people (not talking cause I don't KNOW about the posters on this thread) have a real hard on over the issue.

I just can't see BSM "sin" over this. Yes they could give the same stuff to someone else I guess...but they have there on reasons.
Kevin Keenan is my hero, a double FUP, he does so much with so little

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And BSM should have used their limited marketing / sponsorship budget at a dropzone full of fun jumpers that would not help the business of Skyride. I'm sure it's a small drop in the bucket, but, bathtubs get filled with drops...



I know, which is why I said it's sort of a 'grey' area in terms of bad it really is for BSM to donate to the boogie.

I think part of what people aren't thinking about is that BSM is the only independent publication we have here in the states since the demise of Skydiving Mag. The whole point of the mag, and what people like about it is that it doesn't have to toe any 'company line' like Parachutist does. That's why they cover BASE jumping, and show Mirage ads that some people find offensive, becasue they can.

So if you ask for an independent, 'no limits' type magazine, don't be surprised if they do something that pushes your own personal buttons. Again, they're not coming out and supporting Skyride directly, or endorsing what they do, they just donated some swag to a boogie at a DZ in Alabama.

I'm as anti-skyride as they come, but like I said, this is issue is a little 'iffy' for me. As much as I'd like to wish bad things on any person or DZ related to Skyride, it's still a DZ full of (mostly) harmless local jumpers, just looking to have a fun boogie with some door/raffle prizes.

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And BSM should have used their limited marketing / sponsorship budget at a dropzone full of fun jumpers that would not help the business of Skyride. I'm sure it's a small drop in the bucket, but, bathtubs get filled with drops...



I know, which is why I said it's sort of a 'grey' area in terms of bad it really is for BSM to donate to the boogie.

I think part of what people aren't thinking about is that BSM is the only independent publication we have here in the states since the demise of Skydiving Mag. The whole point of the mag, and what people like about it is that it doesn't have to toe any 'company line' like Parachutist does. That's why they cover BASE jumping, and show Mirage ads that some people find offensive, becasue they can.

So if you ask for an independent, 'no limits' type magazine, don't be surprised if they do something that pushes your own personal buttons. Again, they're not coming out and supporting Skyride directly, or endorsing what they do, they just donated some swag to a boogie at a DZ in Alabama.

I'm as anti-skyride as they come, but like I said, this is issue is a little 'iffy' for me. As much as I'd like to wish bad things on any person or DZ related to Skyride, it's still a DZ full of (mostly) harmless local jumpers, just looking to have a fun boogie with some door/raffle prizes.



Sometimes you have to make a stand and the best way is to vote with your money. A magazine has no bearing on my well being but it does on the owners of it. My canceling the 3 years I just paid for won't hurt but me telling everyone that I know that signed up to cancel and for them to tell their friends to cancel it will most definatly hurt. they should have thought it through which I am sure they did as they don't seem stupid just very short sighted.

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

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Nice to see a bunch of skydivers attempting to bully a small magazine into their own personal agenda's :S. It's certainly within your rights as a paying customer, as petty as it may be.

That said, I find it even MORE telling of the posters that they haven't even waited for BS mag to respond to this thread (and the owners of the mag have ALWAYS posted here and been available).

Finally, I really don't CARE if they're doing a BOOGIE somewhere for JUMPERS, long as it's run safely and is FUN.

Seriously people......sheesh.

BS will continue to get my support, and hell, I feel like getting another few subscriptions for the hell if it. I like the style of the mag, and it's something I'd love to see continue.

Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

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I dislike what Skyride and their ilk do.
That said, BSM has demonstrated there are no boundaries in their love for the sport, and I think that's worthy of respect.
If BSM is advertising or promoting an event for fun jumpers, they're providing a service to the sport without politics. The knife cuts both ways. Can't have em' independent and then expect them to toe a line.
It's a boogie. Not a tandem sale.

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Bully? It is completly in their right to support liars, thieves and hucksters just as it is MY RIGHT to not support someone that has choses to support liars, thieves and hucksters. It is MY money after all...sheesh

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

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Ok, I don't like Skyride's business practices, and I wouldn't patronize their DZs if I had other options, but cancelling my BS subscription over this would be a bit ridiculous. I don't like the businesses, but I don't have a problem with the jumpers themselves. Sure, some of you have and will it clear that you equate patronage of a SR DZ with support of their practices. I simply don't go so far.

Even if I held this against BS, that still wouldn't justify terminating my subscription. Consider all the excellent things they do. This sure as hell isn't enough to outweigh the pros of the magazine.

I will continue reading the magazine and enjoying it. If you cancelled your subscription, your loss. :)

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

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I almost agree with you Douglas.

While I dislike everything about SR, I wouldn't hold it against BSM for a sponsorship of a boogie at a SR DZ. Some boogies can put a nice chunk of change in the DZ's pockets...that is where it would bother me. I can't put money in those pockets.
I wouldn't participate.
I do like everything about BSM...but I disagree with this.

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>So it's ok to contribute to and assist dishonesty as long as there is a
>good vibe and some fun jumpers?

You're posting on a board that once hosted Skyride ads. Even made a little money from them. YOU SUPPORT SKYRIDE! For shame! O the horror! O the humanity! Why do you contribute to and assist dishonesty? Why do you hate skydivers so much?

Reminds me of an old song:

===========
I believe I've passed the age
Of consciousness and righteous rage
I found that just surviving was a noble fight
I once believed in causes too
Had my pointless point of view
But life went on no matter who was wrong or right
===========

I don't like Skyride either. But the current climate of trying to destroy anything that is associated with/mentions/knows anything that has to do with Skyride is a bit silly.

I've seen dozens of these causes throughout the years. Avoid Lodi, Tennessee, the Ranch, the Raeford tunnel and Chicago. Dause is an evil moneygrubber who puts profits above lives. Mullins is a murderer. Richards is a criminal. Nelson was a drug dealer and his family is supporting the DZ on drug money. Verner let Hopwood nearly die for his own mistakes - and won't even take a lie detector test! Obviously he's a criminal too.

If you listened to every one of these, you'd never jump anywhere. (Well, you might be a BASE jumper who built your own gear.)

If you don't want to go to the boogie, don't go. If you don't want to go to any Skyride DZ's, don't go. But please stop with all the moralizing when people disagree with you.

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You want to cancel your subscription, fine, vote with you wallet. But trying to hurt BSM by encouraging others to do the same is going over board.

I agree with this statement:
Quote

That said, I find it even MORE telling of the posters that they haven't even waited for BS mag to respond to this thread (and the owners of the mag have ALWAYS posted here and been available).



Busy people make snap decisions and sometimes a snap decision turns out to be wrong. Does that mean we should crucify them for it?

What should we do to you next time you make a mistake?
"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

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I entirely agree with you, Mark.
I won't go to the boogie, therefore I'm making my political statement with my dollars.
But...UPT sells rigs to those guys, PD sells canopies to them, L&B sells em' altimeters, yadayadayada...
Vendors are in business to sell.
I can't say to any of my sponsors or favorite manufacturers "Don't sell to a Skyride DZ because I can't support a company that helps them be in business."

I truly respect what BSM brings to the sport. I don't like a lot of what they print (a recent stroke piece for XXXXXXXX bugged me a lot because it helps promote his personal agendas that are professionally bad for the XXXXX) but on the whole, the balance, in the grand scheme (insert euphimism here) the sport is much better for their presence. They're the alternative, underground, rebel, radical voice that can represent us well.
Kudos for that, and I can't find fault with them for doing what they have to do in keeping the presses warm.

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