A few years back during a poker-run lunch stop, a participant described Outerlimits owners as “a snobby clique.” Curious, I asked him to elaborate.
“Look at them,” he said, then nodded toward a group of Outerlimits owners sitting at a table. “They only hang out with other Outerlimits owners.”
That comment stuck with me because it was somewhere between silly and idiotic. People who like the same brands bond over their shared appreciation for them. Why wouldn’t they? And why wouldn’t they gravitate toward others who share and—in the process—validate their own taste, especially when it comes to big-dollar, discretionary purchases such as custom-built high-performance boats?
It’s the kind of high-class “problem” boat-builders dream of.
And why wouldn’t the owners of those companies want to curate an experience or two for their loyal clients?
A few folks scratched their heads when MTI organized its first client-specific trip to the Florida Keys in 2016. They wondered why company owner Randy Scism and his team were “getting into the event business.” What they failed to understand was that MTI wasn’t getting into the event business.
But the Wentzville, company was getting into the concierge-service, customer-experience business.
And now that business is booming. It has become an established part of MTI’s identity. You could even call it—smart guy, that Scism—a sales tool.
MTI is far from the only boat-builder going this route. Mystic Powerboats has an annual owners rendezvous in Cape Coral, Fla., in December and leads groups of customers to the Bahamas each summer. DCB Performance Marine augments its annual owners regatta on Lake Havasu with a group-trip to the Lake Powell Challenge. Nor-Tech has added a fun run for owners to its annual dealer meeting and has its own private lunch stop, as does Cigarette Racing Team, during the Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run.
But perhaps the most impressive single-brand event is the annual Sun Run produced by Sunsation Boats in the Lake St. Clair, Mich., area. Three years ago, the event attracted 90-something Sunsation sportboats and center consoles. Last year, the event attracted 179 Sunsation builds. Clearly, the demand for an exclusive event existed.
Thanks to the Florida Powerboat Club and nonprofit poker-run organizers around the country, most events such the Key West Poker Run, Boyne Thunder Poker Run, 1,000 Islands Charity Poker Run and many, many others are open to all comers regardless of what brand of powerboat they own. In fact, they compromise the majority boating events, and they are thriving.
But brand-specific events are as here to stay as they are sure to grow. And there’s nothing “snobby” about that.—Matt Trulio
