July 10, 2007

Active Marines get Book 1.2 from The Standerd

In celebration of the patriotic time of year, and to show gratitude, The Standerd sent a large batch of the new Book 1.2 to active Marines.

Complimenting the July 2nd release, the issue has a "Red, White & Blue" theme, including a firework-filled cover shot.

"It started with us thinking of ways to tie into July 4th, and the more we talked about it, the more we wanted to do something for the troops fighting for our freedom," said co-founder Joey Meddock.

The Standerd connected with photographer and former Marine, Ray Petersen, who provided the photos and story for the "Short Story" section of the issue. The story details the experiences of a fellow Marine and avid wakeboarder as he served three tours in Iraq. Petersen himself is a former Marine, deployed as a combat photographer.

Co-founder Josh Letchworth said, "We strive to provide a complete view of the wake lifestyle, and Ray's story shows how the love of riding can go deeper than just the next trick. The story makes you appreciate how good we have it." 

After reading Petersen's story and seeing his photos, the team at The Standerd decided to go an extra step and print additional copies specifically for active Marines to enjoy. With the help of their printer, Progressive Communications, they produced an extra 1,000 copies of Book 1.2 and shipped them to Marines currently serving our country.

Progressive Communications is a design, print and direct mail facility located in Central Florida with over 80,000 square feet of production space and 200 employees. Offering a multi-channel marketing approach, Progressive offers speed to market and a production savings in B-to-B and B-to-C markets.

"We are extremely fortunate to have a printer that shares our passion for doing what is right," Art Director James Krawczyk said, "Progressive was very receptive to the idea, and really helped us make the gift to the troops a reality."

Subscribers began receiving the newest edition on July 2, 2007, and the books going to the troops are scheduled to arrive this month.

Book 1.2 is 122 pages of only the best in wake photos and stories. The current issue features hundreds of photos, a 20-page profile on wake legend Shaun Murray, "Transpacific Transgression" (an inside look at the Gator Boards team trip to Asia), and stories from Trevor Graves, Bryan Soderlind and Dana Preble.

To celebrate the release of the new book, The Standerd threw a party at The Projects wakeboard and wakeskate camp on June 30, 2007.  Festivities included a live performance from the North Carolina-based band The Ivy League, wakeboarding demos from the Orlando-area pro riders, and sponsor support from Coors Light, Level Vodka, Rossi's Catering, Fox Riders Co., HO, Wall St. Plaza, Red Bull, popShuv.com, Liquid Force, Hyperlite, MB Sports and Gator Boards.

The release of Book 1.2 also introduced a new set of top-quality images available as gallery prints on The Standerd's online shop, www.StanderdStore.com. With the additional photos from Book 1.2, StanderdStore.com now features 46 incredible photos available for purchase.

Adding to the launch frenzy, The Standerd also started a new photo blog web site, www.StanderdSlides.com. The site features a new photo and the behind-the-lens story every day. It also provides a new home for reader feedback about the quarterly wake photo journal.

"StanderdSlides.com gives us the chance to show some photos in their uncropped format, and gives readers a chance to tell us what they think." Letchworth said.