Where was I?

Oh yes, changing the beach volleyball apparel world one pair of shorts at a time. What will they look like? How about six distinct prints, one unique design: part high-grade Coolmax polyester, part soybean protein polyester bamboo, part spandex. No ridiculous Velcro fly, instead a bomb-proof invisible waistband with a drawstring—adding comfort and customizable fit. With multiple outseams; from old school 17-inch high-waters to modern-day 23-inch “capris.”

And they will go by only one name: “Volleys.” Since, more or less, Dunlop’s trademark sneaker died alongside Patrick Rafter’s career.

If you’re thinking to yourself, Body Glove already produces a performance short with an invisible waistband called the Vapor and Hurley produces a short with enough performance an astronaut could circumnavigate the moon in them, you’d be correct. But both are still boardshorts, built specifically for surfing, and carry characteristics specific to water, not sand. And yet, a significant amount of research went into their development. So, by no means am I assuming this will be an easy undertaking.

To make things even more difficult on the production side, special edition “signature” shorts will need to accompany the six original AVP designed “volleyshorts,” instantly bringing an air of notoriety and legitimacy to the careers of those who wear them. Right? I mean, that’s the intention.

But seriously, can you imagine being 11 years old, riding your cruiser down to the beach at dawn, setting up your backpack chair within inches of court one, closing your eyes for a quick nap, toes twitching, knuckles cracking, as visions of your hero Phil Dalhausser smashing his patented cross-court angle serve from the baseline race through your head? And at 9:26 a.m., after Phil’s 13th stuff block goes down, holding his opponent to seven points again, you sprint to the merchandise tent to pick up your very own pair of Dalhaussers! Decorated by Phil himself with a large paw print down the right leg and some Roman cursive lettering you rejoicefully make out as “The Beast.”

Even volleyball fans and part-time players from outside California get it. "During the Olympic year, I had no less than 24 people ask me where they could buy some [Jake] Gibb shorts,” stated Utah native Casey Adams, who played in the 2009 Barefoot Wine AVPNext Championship Cup. “I told them I had no idea. I thought they couldn’t buy them anywhere. Mine were from Gibb, personally.”

Adams believes it all starts on-site: “Why are no AVP players wearing the gear found in the merchandise tent? I know the design has to be palatable to the players, but it also needs to be high quality and palatable to our specific market. Players need to be wearing the gear if the AVP wants it to sell and vice versa. Right now, I see a lot of players wearing gear for free that even I wouldn’t wear. Why not cut a few unique designs a year that are sport-specific and award players with them for making the main draw?”

What he’s talking about isn’t a new concept, but I’ll be damned if it’s not a brilliant one. Wilson made patches for players to sew on to their shorts in ’90s if they were lucky enough to earn a berth in the main draw. Those venerated patches dictated who was truly a professional beach volleyball player and established a line between the real pros and the wannabe amateurs. There’s no reason this project cannot take that concept to the next level.

Of course, in order for players to fully understand the benefits of this idea, it’s going to take time and most likely some hefty incentives.

As an example, let’s get back to our Olympic gold medalist Dalhausser. What would his current apparel sponsor think if he just started repping the AVP’s new line of beach threads and his own signature volleyshort? It’s not like Speedo is going to just let him wear whatever he wants in 2011 so that beach volleyball can reestablish itself in the consumer marketplace. They’re not stupid. Although if they were paying attention, they would have created their very own Dalhausser signature shorts immediately following his famous sprint into Todd’s nervous outstretched arms in Beijing. And they would have actually marketed it as such. But then again, there would have been nothing volleyball-specific about those shorts, so really, they would have had nowhere to appropriately advertise them anyway. Regardless, it’s a moot point. Speedo has officially pulled out, leaving the sport wide open and ready for the merchandise-taking, relatively speaking.

Note: What ever happened to Stein Metzger, Dax Holdren, Eric Fonoimoana, Dain Blanton, Jose Loiola, Mike Lambert and Canyon Ceman? Injuries, check. Age, check. Loss of significant apparel sponsorship dollars, check. Sure, these guys tried to battle head on with father time, but you’re only kidding yourself if you think any of them would have hung it up as early as they did had their apparel sponsors not hung it up for them first. Dax, Lambo and Fonoi with Nautica. Stein with Speedo (in addition to Gibb and Dalhausser—we’ll see how long they last without any base support structure). Blanton with Oakley. And Loiola and Ceman with Nike. Guaranteed dollars up-front gone, careers over.

Think about it. Players at all levels, not just the top, need endorsement dollars if they want any shot at staving off retirement. That’s the reality.

If I want to achieve my goal of having every men’s player ranked in the top 32 competing in the AVP’s new line of beach volleyshorts in 2011, I need to find a way to outsource production and start building a significant incentive partnership plan with a brand that is savvy enough to understand it will one day have the capacity to own the merchandising rights for the entire sport of beach volleyball.

So what will it take for the top professional players to appreciate my vision? For the middle-of-the-road beach guys to realize they also need to get on board instead of running to the local surf shop for a fresh pair of boardies? For the average fans to understand that in order for the sport to be successful, they need to also support the apparel that supports our sport?

Understanding. Understanding and money.

I’ve spent hours upon hours mulling over dollars and cents, creating spreadsheet upon spreadsheet, with only one sole purpose: Build a proposal that is logical and feasible for both sides. Is it possible? I don’t know. I’d like to believe there is a way out there to help everybody. The players with a new line of shorts that will put boardies to shame while adding a little scrill to their pocket books; the fans and weekend warriors with a new line of apparel that speaks directly to their beach-loving hearts and souls; the apparel brand with expansion worldwide in both presence and profits; and the sport itself with a brand new commercial identity.

I understand there will be backlash from the players if they think I’m working on this project for my own personal agenda, or the AVP’s. I understand that players will always want the rights to negotiate their own apparel sponsorship deals. I understand that the top players have agents who work hard on their behalf and deserve to get paid.

But I also understand today’s market. I understand how many players actually have an apparel deal heading into 2010: zero. I understand that we need to start building something from the ground up if we want any hope of ever having a market value of our own. And I understand that players deeply appreciate every extra dollar that allows them to continue playing the game they love. The concept is cyclical. But it needs everybody from all angles to believe in it in order to get the ball rolling.

Our success at the Olympic Games stems from having the best players in the world competing right here, week-in and week-out on the AVP. How many players will our sport continue to lose if the athletes themselves cannot afford to travel to tournaments, let alone eat outside the players’ tent and its heavily underrated gourmet organic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?

Jason Ring had a spectacular idea a few years ago that I believe needs to be followed through on before it’s too late: “The Official Player’s Guide to Surviving on 20 Grand.” From cheap flights, to cheap places to stay, to cheap diners for dinner, to maximizing deductions for all three in April with H&R Block. It could be the most useful tool ever created for future beach athletes, but one that would be completely irrelevant if the sport’s stars actually earned the marketing dollars they deserve.

My player apparel incentive package for both genders (like I said in Part 1, women’s bathing suits are tricky and deserve their own column, but would definitely be part of the program) would ideally look like this: Finish 2010 ranked in the top 32, become an official pro, earn the right to wear the new beach volleyball apparel line and the right to deposit a base sponsorship check relative to your end-of-season ranking into your bank account. Play 2011 with considerably less financial strain, enjoy competing relatively stress-free, finish 2011 back in the top 32 and earn an incentive bonus relative to your end-of-season ranking. And the numbers would be substantial.

After the newly distinguished “pros” start wearing the beach volleyball apparel, fans will see their favorite athletes competing in something completely original and elect to invest in them and their future instead of Kelly Slater’s. An industry will be born and a cultural presence will be established. All while joining together to do whatever it takes to keep our sport alive.

If none of this flies, if no one thinks a line specific to our sport has merit, if not even one single brand sees value in partnering up with the AVP to create something special, then whaddya know? I’ll be forced to do it myself.

In case that happens, I’m tracking every move since the moment of its inception right here, so the history of this project will never be lost. Like I said, volleyshorts or die….