Once again ALL!! The thing about Mares is it is carried by many scuba shops already. Even in areas like mine, where freediving is barely known. Presumeably it will be much easier for shops already stocky mares scuba gear to bring in a little freediving kit and see how it sells.
Hi Fondue,
You are correct about this. There is one caveat though, many dive stores are reluctant to sell freediving / spearfishing equipment for various reasons. I've heard many, we don't believe in hunting, we are not knowledgable about freediving / spearfishing, there is not a large enough freediving contingency to warrant the expense of inventory etc....
I have been fortunate to convince quite a few stores to make the investment into the equipment and also the sport / recreation. It takes a fair amount of education, but also and more importantly dedicating the energy and resources into promoting spearfishing and freediving. For those that do allocate the time and energy quickly find that this sport becomes another revenue stream for their business. In fact they will actually get some freedivers to become scuba divers and vice versa. The two go hand in hand and is a win win for all.
I don't know if you have a relationship with your LDS, or if your lds stocks this type of equipment. If not, a great way to get them involved is to befriend the store. If you are willing, maybe you can become a spokes person and provide some leadership in this specific category. Perhaps you can offer to lead some outings, teach some freediving classes, teach hunting classes. Education is a great way to get more people involved and by default people will end up purchasing some of this equipment. Maybe you can make an arrangement where you are sponsored equipment (in some capacity) for your services? What better way to spend the day spearfishing and later enjoying a fish BBQ, possibly some libations with people of like minded interests?
This is such a great sport and I wish more people would embrace it. I strongly feel by becoming a good freediver, makes for a better scuba diver. I also feel there is no better ecological or enviornmentally friendly way to put food on the table, than to selectively harvest your own. Not to go into the big eco discussion.
Anyhow thanks for your interest in our products! I wish you all well, and safe diving.
Best regards,
Zak
