Blog | gekko

A Rebirth

Mark Overbye- May 1, 2013

I remember hanging out with Scott Cook, HO's art director at the time in 1988, at HO's Seattle HQ working on art concepts and what would emerge as Moomba's branding. We deliberated over those big block letters, honed the Australian theme and I launched Moomba in 1989. Although in the beginning there were lots of questions about kangaroos, wild colors and a very different twist on tow boats, it turned out the concepts developed back then became the bedrock for the brand and we had nice successes with Moomba from the beginning.

At Christmas time 1993 I left the helm of Supra/ Moomba. A few months later the Gekko concept was born. Fineline Industries, the builder of Centurion boats, became Gekko's contract builder in 1994 and I'll be forever grateful for the opportunities and advantages of working with a great team there. I had a clear profile for the brand and wanted an identifiable icon with the word, a tough branding premise to be sure, but learned at Moomba that if the world could embrace kangaroos, certainly some cool marketing around an agile Gekko would work. As a competitive skier, performance has always been a primary focus for Gekko, a passion for the sport is embedded deeply in Gekko's DNA. Between 1995 and 2008 Gekko consistently won many accolades as a world class performer. Approved by the AWSA for record events, Gekko pulled high profile events around the world including a world championship, cementing it as a formidable producer with a global following.

In 2007 I sold Gekko to Challenger where it joined other boat companies in their portfolio. I stayed for a time with Challenger and we continued to build on Gekko's successes to record levels. By 2009 the industry had severely imploded and Challenger's ownership pulled the plug on its marine holdings. In the next few years some Gekkos were sold through Fineline, I lead the organization of a World Wakesurfing Championship and even left the industry for a time. I don't need to revisit how dark those years were for everyone in the marine and watersports industries.

By 2012 there was a glimmer of hope in the watersports category again and I reacquired the Gekko assets. Today I'm more excited about Gekko's prospects than ever. The tedious process of scrutinizing over 200 lines on the bill of materials to restart is a labor of love. New windshields, new engines, new towers, new interiors, new graphics along with hundreds of new updates will be featured as new 2014 Gekkos in June.

DNA

Mark Overbye- July 24, 2013

Where ever it is that you work, your familiarity with that company's products breeds a certain confidence. Probably some loyalty, pride and definitely understanding too. It's the same at Gekko. We see our products used across the globe by a full range, from top athletes to families to ski schools, and the most die hard enthusiast to the newest tow boat buyers. Gekkos work and they do so as a function of the diligence of the many passionate people that continue to add to Gekko's legacy. The flow of positive comments has been ceaseless. Amazing people write just to say how much they love their Gekko and sharing what a source of joy it is carries a lot of inspiration.

When I encounter that very rare comment by a blog poster who's uninformed about Gekko I do so with a bit of horror. While I've seen just a handful of such comments over the past few years the cause always makes me curious. Maybe they never saw David Small, a world champion barefooter, leaping with other world class athletes behind Gekkos who offered up countless positive reviews. Or maybe the likes of David Gee in Minneapolis who has amassed a trove of Gekko encounters all over the state as he and his wife ski/ surf frequently all summer, trailering their GTR 22 hundreds of miles, producing smiles where ever they go. Or Murray Fairweather in Canada who has created a hoard of Canadian Gekko followers across many provinces, with all of his flock coming out of other big brands. In any case, Gekko has a broad and faithful following.

One of the things we could do better is share our quality story. We're so close to Gekko's awesome performance and quality story that maybe we've not focused on sharing it as well as we should. We have great partners, all are top rated- Indmar, Boatmate, Medallion, Seadek, Acme, Taylor, Zero Off and many others. Our commitment to quality is tops. Here's some propaganda that will help kick off our Gekko quality and partner story. Gekko boats are built by marine craftsmen whose boat building excellence spans 40 years. Gekkos come to life embedded with a world class DNA in a 150,000 square foot, dedicated boat production facility teaming with expert gel and lamination specialists, top upholstery tailors and seasoned production crews. Fusing the latest technologies and materials with proven practices results in products designed appeal to the most demanding athletes and families as well as withstand the rigors of water sports and look great doing do so for many years. Gekko’s passion and boat building acumen are second to none. Thoughtfully selecting top materials from the most recognized suppliers, Gekko’s strives to deliver not only exceptional performance but products built from the best materials resulting in superior quality.

We have a great story to tell for 2014 and we look forward to sharing more.

Passion
Mark Overbye, October 1, 2013

The past several months have been an exercise in passion. Of course Gekko is all about passion and why it exists in the first place. We're more than casual skiers, riders and surfers and expect that our passion is evident in all things Gekko. So the new 2014 boats should exude that sort passion in the form of the way they look, drive and feel.

Getting there as been a profound effort. Over 250 lines on a bill of materials each need attention in the form of a vendor, contact, materials, product selection and then the integration of those items into a finished product. It's a monumental task. First we moved from a chopper gun process as the boats were built previously, to a higher quality entirely hand laminated process. From there it was a deep dive into every element that goes into each model.

Designing a new tower and working with new digital processes that allow cnc machined feet to mate perfectly with Gekko's unique, curvy deck architecture. Selecting a guage manufacturer that permitted analog and digital data displays since tournament feedback has been somewhat critical of all digital displays. And ours had to work with standard speed control as well as Zero Off. Digital throttle controls needed cool Gekko laser icons. Sifting through countless vinyl options and designing the interior took weeks. The right Italian steering wheel, spending huge on automotive badging, finding the right graphics people, insuring the new catalzyed engines fit...hopefully you get that the process is immense and takes severe dedication to execute well.

We're on it and if you visit our Flickr site or gallery on this website you can see the first shots of the new REVO 6.7. Check it out, Gekko's back with a vengeance!

What We Believe

Mark Overbye- November 27, 2013

I recently read a profile about a guy who was rebuilding a surf brand he had started 20 years earlier and he outlined the important drivers in his new venture. It was more personal than expected and it resonated in key ways that made me look inward on Gekko. As I read the profile it only took a few minutes to pencil out what we believe in.

We believe in product. Products that inspire. Products that work. Products that perform at extraordinary levels. Most importantly, products that we'd want to own. We get excited about the right running surface, a new graphic and trailers. It's a more challenging pursuit but the rewards are greater.

Lame is out, cool is in. It's hard to define it but you know it when you see it. It's a driver for us and we'll go the extra mile to get there. Coolness is a core aspect in our styling, materials selection what we strive for when we draw a style line, design a control knob or produce a hat. Gekko's brand is forged on the anvil of coolness, we strive to thread it through everything we do and produce.

Ski or ride every day. Doing it has lots of benefits. It's good for the soul and it's who we are. It also provides an intimacy with the product and brand over time that you can't get any other way. It infects our friends and customers with Gekko's mantra and lends credibility to what we do and how we communicate. Most of all it's fun and we're blessed to be able to enjoy our passion and let it inspire us.

Financial rightness. We like what we're doing and want that to continue. We've got a CFO on board and we try to make sound business decisions. Having a strong business strategy makes us a better partner for our dealers and suppliers. We expect to be around a long time and have a defined plan to expand the Gekko empire.

Hardly the formal mission statement found in most typical businesses. Then again we're not typical.

You Call, We Answer

Mark Overbye- January 5, 2014

It happened again today. It drives me nuts. I had an idea that would partner us with another boat company. The potential partnership would have been worth tens of thousands of dollars to the other company. But there was no way to contact them, crucial information that was intentionally left off of their website. Nope, just one of those pathetic pop up boxes to fill in my contact number, post my question and wait. Instant buzz kill, I moved on.

What kind of company doesn’t want to talk with customers? Not only did this other boat company not post their phone number on their website but there was no email contact either. What gives? What sort of logic says talking with customers is best to avoid?

Ever talk with Go Daddy or Southwest Airlines? They love developing a relationship with their customers and usually you can’t help but raving about how awesome their customer service and products are. It would appear that those companies that don’t want to talk with their customers do so at their peril while their competitors win converts and steal their market share.

When we announced the return of Gekko we were inundated with excited calls and emails. On ballofspray.com, a popular ski blog, over 1400 views were tallied and hundreds of positive comments about our return were posted in less than 48 hours. People like it that we engage with them and share their passion. Even Jay, our CFO, talks with customers because he enjoys it as much as customer do.

We look forward to talking Gekko on the phone, across emails, via texts or whatever communication form makes our customers happy. And we love the feedback that reflects how happy people are that we are driven to connect.

We believe that it’s just as important to share our culture as well as build cool products. Call us, we look forward to it.

Gekko In The Limelight

Mark Overbye- March 27, 2014

The new Gekkos do look good and we recently completed on water boat tests with Wakeboarding and Waterski magazines. We took a new REVO 6.7 and GTR 22. They looked great and you can see the reviews here:

REVO 6.7

http://www.wakeboardingmag.com/boats/2014/03/03/2014-gekko-revo-6-7-review/

GTR 22

http://www.waterskimag.com/boat-reviews/2014/03/03/2014-gekko-gtr-22-review/

Bringing Gekko back to life has been a labor of love. We've had many victories in terms of developing products that work, look great and have lots of authentic touch points. Our challenges are meeting demand. There aren't enough boats to go around right now but we're taking aggressive measures to produce enough boats.

Thank you for your support!

It's Harder Than It Looks

Mark Overbye- May 14, 2014

When we drive the new boats we get the familiar grins of excitement, just like everyone else. It's always fun and it never gets old. Gekko's touch points are the best ever and we have lots of exciting ideas as we move into the future. When you slip into the driver seat you know that's done right. The etched logo on the controls is inspires a touch. You don't see it but those controls are state of the art, digital style, that connect directly, via an automotive-style wiring harness, to the engine ECM for the most precise response. Gone are the manual throttle cables of yester-year. Could save a few bucks there but it wouldn't be as hi-tech and the purist action wouldn't be the same. Check out the dash and the combination of digital and analog gauges have all the latest features. While ZO is an option, Gekko Cruise Control is standard equipment on all boats. Yep, your phone connects via blue tooth intuitive interface that sets up easily in just a few seconds. In the power department, Gekko's got it going on with a minimum of 330 HP and upgrade choices topping 550HP, all backed by an available 5 year Indmar warranty. Outside the new automotive quality badging and graphics are real head turners. The laser etched, thick platform pads never fail to generate a, "that's cool"! And of course, true to Gekko's mantra, Gekko trailers are more than a ride to the lake. They're cool too. At this point Gekko's world class on-water performance is a foregone conclusion. Check out the reviews to confirm that.

When the new Gekkos are on the road or on the water nobody seems to ask how much they cost, people want to know where to get one, how to demo one or comment about Gekko's unique coolness.