Yesterday (Sunday) around 3pm I was talking to a friend who had just returned from the Blue Wild. He asked me, and I get asked this often, if I'm going to exhibit Speardiver there. I answered him that over the course of next year the Speardiver line will become much more complete and at that point it will be worthwhile to pay for a booth, so probably yes at next year's Blue Wild. At that moment it occurred to me, that if Blue Wild acquired the reputation of being the premier event to promote and check out spearfishing gear, I just bought into the hype. I really have no idea what it's like because I never been there. The smart thing to do would be to go and see before committing to exhibit. Good thing the Broward convention center is 15 minutes drive from my shop, so I headed over.
Another friend of mine recently told me, that he doesn't like the Blue Wild because it commercializes spearfishing, changing it from being private and special to something that caters to the masses, putting more people in the water and more pressure on our already pressured hunting grounds. I have to wholeheartedly agree. But as someone who gets a lot of satisfaction from providing myself and my fellow divers with the best equipment to enhance our enjoyment of the sea and chances of putting fish on the table, I can't ignore the possibility of giving exposure to the Speardiver brand. Also as a business man I can't stand by idly and allow my competitors, especially those of whom I believe to have inferior product, to have the stage without opposition. Those would be my reasons to attend the Blue Wild.