Profile for Brandon McCartney

Jamesbrandon Volunteer

• Laguna Niguel, CA

O&E snowboard line for
Winter 2008 unveiling in
Vegas
Industry News
O&E SNOWBOARD LINE, VETERAN RIDER MCCARTNEY, STEP-IN AT SIA
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 23 January, 2008 : - - Huntington Beach, Ca. -- Orange County-based
Ocean & Earth Products Inc. (O&E) is unveiling its Winter '08 line of snowboarding product at this year's
SIA show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Jan. 29 through Feb. 1. The range from
O&E inaugurates its first full offering of snow product for the U.S. market, and includes jackets, pants,
hoodies, gloves, beanies, snow-shoes and back-country gear, on-mountain tools and accessories, and the
brand's signature travel bags and backpacks.
Concurrent with its product development for the upcoming season, O&E announced its '08 snowboarding
team roster, which includes up-and-coming riders Ross Baker, a qualifier in this year's Nippon Open, Mike
Burton, Devon Allen, Joel Fuquay and female standout Ally Carrol.
"Working with the team on new designs, and lending insight to our young riders during this important time
in their career development is a great part of my job," says Brandon McCartney, brand manager of O&E
Snow. "Even in these early days, it's motivating to see the team already growing with the brand, watching
our common vision of quality, function and style come together. We're really a rider-owned business, and
that translates in cool ways to what we do and what we make."
McCartney will preside over duties at SIA in addition to his role overseeing O&E's snowboarding team and
R&D. He was for nine years a professional snowboarder, finishing his career in 2001 on the National Pro
Team of Solomon/Bonfire, which went on to hire him in an R&D capacity for several years.
"Brandon was a key addition to the Company and our snow program," says Dave Nielsen, O&E VP,
commenting on McCartney's recent transition from consultant to in-house brand manager. "He's an
experienced pro rider who contributes great technical experience to the design process and a core
perspective to the team and brand overall, translating O&E's roots in boarding into shops and up to the
mountain."
During his tenure as a world-traveling rider, McCartney was the subject of nearly two-dozen print ads, an
array of editorial stories and interviews, and he additionally appeared in television commercials for ESPN,
Solomon and Snow Summit. He was invited to compete in the first X Games and, as a member of Snow
Summit's "Westridge Crew," he is credited with helping establish the notoriety of Southern California's
snowboarding scene.
Rounding-off his broad experience in snow business, McCartney was Guest Coach at Mt. Hood in Oregon
through the '90s, and was Head Coach at the United States Snowboard Training Center. Recently, he
helped establish the new Real Deal/Pharmacy Ride Shop at Big Bear Lake, Calif., and for the past few
years he focused on attaining business and technical degrees while consulting with O&E, which last year
appointed him to his current post.
"Building on unique relationships with our retailers is a goal at O&E," says McCartney. "We want to make
sure we're doing everything on our part to market our products in a way that shops and customers can
appreciate and benefit from. Hopefully, everyone will get that message when they see our product and get
our vibe at the (SIA) show."
About Ocean & Earth Headquartered in New South Wales, Australia, with operations in Huntington
Beach, Calif., Ocean & Earth has developed and designed core action sports accessories and apparel for
more than two decades. Its products are recognized worldwide for innovation, quality, design and function,
and include board covers and travel bags, guys' and girls' apparel and outerwear, and an array of surf-,
snow- and wake-related accessories.