HELP: Getting footbag newbies to invest in lavers.

Skippy! · Post by **Skippy!** » 02 May 2006 10:36

Modified! I need help. A friend of mine is getting into footbag, and it's cool, because he's getting a little bit better as time goes on.

Unfortunately, he seems to be really timid about buying lavers. I think it's the buying off the internet thing, combined with the fact that he's a pothead and spends all his money on dope.

So, short of buying him lavers myself (which I think ultimately is gonna happen), what can I do to get him to buy lavers? Is there some sort of magic trick? This guy's been trying to play for like, a year now, and has learned a little bit, but it's obvious that playing in shoes that aren't lavers aren't helping at all. What's worse is that he goes out and spends money on these adidas shoes that are LIKE lavers, but definitely aren't. For instance, the Adidas Safety's (shaped like a laver, but has a steel toe), Adidas Super Skates, and some other crappy shoes. It's really starting to bug me seeing people wasting their time trying to play footbag in shoes that aren't real shred shoes. It's not like they're particularly expensive, and they're only 'hard to find' if you hate sitting on ebay for more than 5 minutes. Even then, you can buy them off of worldfootbag so easily.

I need help folks.

mc · Post by mc » 02 May 2006 21:26

The best tactic is to bust awesome tricks in your shoes, and don't push the issue too much. As you're teaching, you might say something like, "don't be discouraged, it can be really hard, especially because your shoes aren't really helping you out that much". If you push too much, you could really discourage the player more than the player's bad shoes will. when people show interest in the sport, they'll often comment on the weird shoes, or you can bring them up by giving them some credit (along with your stally footbag) for why it's more easy for you to do delays.

So, yeah, make sure there's awareness that some shoes are better than others, make sure people know they can find good shoes cheaply online, and don't make it a big deal. Just try to be as generally encouraging as possible so that excitement for the sport builds in the player and they come to the conclusion that if they want to really get into it, then it's time to get the proper shoes.

shredzilla · Post by **shredzilla** » 02 May 2006 21:54

Why is it human nature to inherently reject new things? I remember I rejected lavers at first, and practically everyone does. People never want to think you're telling them what to do. You always have to trick people into thinking they're the ones making the decision in sales, or in anything else. It's quite annoying. Unfortunatey, Matt's advice is probably your best bet. Hope your friend gets hip, cuz then you'll have a new shred bud!

brinard · Post by **brinard** » 03 May 2006 08:44

i couldnt wait to get lavers and start shredding. i just waited about a month, to let cash build. then i got em.

i try and get newbs to understand shoes make a big dif. if i know them, and theyre making an effort to get better, and get into footbag, i let em try on my shoes. thats what sealed it for my newbs. then i sold my lavers to one of them, and got climas.

Drew360 · Post by **Drew360** » 03 May 2006 09:16

shredzilla wrote:Why is it human nature to inherently reject new things? I remember I rejected lavers at first, and practically everyone does. People never want to think you're telling them what to do. You always have to trick people into thinking they're the ones making the decision in sales, or in anything else. It's quite annoying.

that is the truth... i was the same way... i thought naw these people are just saying lavers are so good because they bought some...

LET ME TELL YOU.... i got my first pair last night and they are a MUST... i was blown away by the difference and they aren't even broke in.... it's crazy once you do a mod or two on them, it's like they were made just for footbag... trust me i am not just saying that... i love them... i wish i would of gotten some earlier instead of trying to make my crap shoes work...

hey you should have your buddy read this thread....

BUY SOME LAVERS

Skippy! · Post by **Skippy!** » 03 May 2006 10:51

I guess I've prolly been pretty pushy in trying to get him to get lavers. I guess if I lay off and let the playing do the talking, then it'll work out for the best.

I mean, the worst part about it is that he's really got a lot of potential, but no drive. He's so determined to find shred shoes somewhere other than the internet, but won't listen when I tell him that I've tried already.....UGH. Human nature is SO retarded.

sniper4life · Post by **sniper4life** » 03 May 2006 14:46

Why dont you just order them yourself off the internet and then have him pay you back if the problem is him not wanting to order online??

Iain · Post by **Iain** » 03 May 2006 15:00

if u have close to the same shoe size as him, u can let him try ur lavers out.

EDIT: sentence structure

Troyson · Post by **Troyson** » 03 May 2006 15:02

The thing that will make your friend decide to get lavers is if you let him try to use yours. I have 3 pairs of lavers, so whenever i shred with friends that dont have them, i let them use mine. I have a friend who has been kicking now for a while, hitting inside stalls, toe stalls, clippers, mirages, legovers and other basic shit in his crappy skate shoes but never really has gotten into the sport of footbag. Then last week he was over my house and i let him use a pair of my lavers, and he was instantly hitting strings and realized how much better they really are. Now he wants to shred all the time and come with me to an upcoming tourney.

so yeah, if you want your friends to realize how much lavers help, let your friends use yours for a session and i guarantee they will want a pair afterwards...hope this helps.

BalinorNZ · Post by **BalinorNZ** » 03 May 2006 16:27

I would let him use my lavers when possible, there have probably been like 20 pairs of feet in my lavers so far just because I always try n get people to experiance how much more fun footbag is in good footwear

Many shreders in my city have bought lavers or are buying lavers because of it.

Skippy! · Post by **Skippy!** » 05 May 2006 12:39

It's not always so easy. My feet= US 7 His feet= US 9 or 10. The only people that fit into my lavers are girls.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 05 May 2006 19:52

I usually don't push people to try out Lavers for their first shred shoe. When people make weird comments on my shoes and how it influences my footbag play, I just say "It makes doing tricks much more comfortable" and explain simplistically the structure of the shoe. I give them the choice to buy Lavers if they're financially able to do so, and look out to see if they want to make the step-up into more aggressive freestyle.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 06 May 2006 00:07

Maybe you could try on another pair of shoes and show him how much more difficult it is to play in them.

BalinorNZ · Post by **BalinorNZ** » 06 May 2006 04:44

Skippy! wrote:It's not always so easy. My feet= US 7 His feet= US 9 or 10. The only people that fit into my lavers are girls.

LOL! That's not nessisarily a bad thing dude

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 06 May 2006 08:42

Skippy! wrote:It's not always so easy. My feet= US 7 His feet= US 9 or 10. The only people that fit into my lavers are girls.

the only people that fit into my pants are girls.

Guest_2 · Post by **Guest_2** » 06 May 2006 10:24

slapdash21 wrote:
Skippy! wrote:It's not always so easy. My feet= US 7 His feet= US 9 or 10. The only people that fit into my lavers are girls.
the only people that fit into my pants are girls.

Don't worry man, once you hit puberty things'll start growing

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 06 May 2006 10:57

no see, that would be funny but it doesnt make any sense.
just ask your mom about it, she barely fit because my dick was too big

Drew360 · Post by **Drew360** » 06 May 2006 11:20

slapdash21 wrote:no see, that would be funny but it doesnt make any sense.
just ask your mom about it, she barely fit because my dick was too big

WOW

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 06 May 2006 11:28

im tellin you, i dont have to take this shit. every time you post i get so sick of your attitude that you think is so funny. just try shutting the fuck up sometime instead of saying whatever pops into your head first or you might just piss someone off.

sorry everyone else for the hijack. getting new people to try the shoes once or twice before they buy them is important. but it does help to have a reasonably close size so they get a true feel for how it can help

Kyle Hewitt · Post by **Kyle Hewitt** » 06 May 2006 18:50

slapdash21 wrote:im tellin you, i dont have to take this shit. every time you post i get so sick of your attitude that you think is so funny. just try shutting the fuck up sometime instead of saying whatever pops into your head first or you might just piss someone off.

sorry everyone else for the hijack. getting new people to try the shoes once or twice before they buy them is important. but it does help to have a reasonably close size so they get a true feel for how it can help

STFU N00B

Just kidding and yeah, ask him if he would give you money and order him some lavers man!