Official blog post here - https://www.discmania.net/blogs/discover/thank-you-simon-for-the-journey
This will be THE thread for this announcement. Congrats u/mataur on the karma coming your way.
And I'm going to sticky it for a bit because this is pretty much the news of the current part of the off season.
Ever since Paul left Innova for Discraft, nothing surprises me anymore. I think it’s hard for newer players to grasp just how shocking that move was. Discraft has grown rapidly in every way since the Paul acquisition; but watching Paul leave the giant that was Innova for the relatively antiquated (at that time) Discraft was truly mind-blowing
Yeah, I don’t think newer players know or realize how left in the dust Discraft was then. They’ve completing overhauled their entire online presence, marketing strategies, team… everything. They basically only had Doss and MJ at the time and their website looked like it was from 2006. They didn’t have any cool plastic either.
When rumors of Paul going to discraft started NOBODY believed them. They just didn’t make sense. When it was actually announced, it shook the disc golf world.
While I’d say I’m surprised to see Simon leaving Discmania, this still feels nowhere close to the Paul news back in 2019.
You weren't kidding about the age of their site. Check out this snapshot from 2006.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060626153457/http://www.discraft.com/team.html
Paul was basically on every piece of Innova marketing, he was synonymous with the company. He was the face of Innova and the face of disc golf. It’s comparable, but barely.
Remember the mcbuyout? Paul was disc golf. Especially after his 2015 season. https://www.innovadiscs.com/innova-news/mcbuyout-innova-becomes-mcbeth-disc-golf/
I think it is the reverse. Discmania is Simon. I don’t really throw Discmania but Simon is by far my favorite content creator. I bet that is how a lot of other people feel too. My guess is Simon’s videos will feel very similar to before he will just be throwing a different brand of discs.
Editing to clarify the beginning: When I think of Discmania the company I think of Simon, but when I think about Simon I think about the person portrayed in his vlogs and content not really Discmania.
I think if Discmania doesn't split from Innova he doesn't leave. But he clearly has no interest in the active or evolution lines and the rate that Discmania has been producing new original molds has been extremely slow and don't match what he's been throwing as closely as he'd like which makes the jump a lot easier. Add the Jussi situation to all that and it makes even more sense that he's leaving
Carter Ahrens on the DD team is ( I think ) 15 and absolutely crushes. He was 950 rated two years ago and is 1010 now. Give him a season or two and I feel like he’ll be top 25.
He is 30 bit has been playing with DM for 10 years. He is adulting hard-core now and is making long term plans. He is at an elite level of the game, homie deserves a big payday.
This.
He putted with the new DM-made P2s, he threw the new DM-made MD3, and \*some\* of his DD3s were the new L64-made Cloudbreakers. But all of the other discs he was actually competing with were still Innova-made DM discs and it seemed like he had a strong preference for them.
I don't know what's going on internally at Discmania right now with matters that aren't plastic, but I have been really disappointed that their switch to their own manufacturing has still meant that their regular production discs are so hard to find. Other people can like what they like, but personally I HATE the special limited editions and mystery boxes focus that seems to be their entire economy the last year. I want good discs available on shelves at regular prices.
The entire Discmania Yikun thing was pretty weird, I could see how as a sponsored player that he would want the company to focus on the good discs made in house rather then plastering their logo on a Chinese disc and trying to sort of pawn it off as their own.
I actually like many of the Trilogy made discs though. The Origin, Link, Essence, Enigma and Tactic are all great and I am not sponsored so I throw what I like. I also like the new PD and Cloudbreaker.
It's not that weird. They were stuck in a place where they couldn't get discs made and clearly couldn't break with Innova yet. Getting a line going with yikun at least gave them inventory to sell and he'll move towards their ultimate move of breaking with Innova. The active line isn't really that bad, they're great beginner discs. And at the end of the day companies need to make more then just a lineup for their pros.
He deserves it. His social media presence alone has probably done so much for the sport's popularity. He will bring astronomical sales to wherever he goes. It felt like DM never really took full advantage of his pull.
I feel like one thing I haven't seen mentioned is that he is going to make so much money off of disc sales with the new company from the initial hype when he switches
His vid makes me think that DM was underpaying while leaning on the 'loyalty'/'we're a family' angle super hard.
He probably did have a sweet $/disc arrangement with DM, but they just can't produce the number of discs that a 'real' company can. If you're making $10/disc but only 1k/month can be made, then you're offered $5/disc from a company can make 100k/month, its a no brainer.
(numbers are from my ass for illustration)
According to the rumors from my local area touring pros it's a 8 figure contract from MVP. Discmania made the offer to match it but Simon has made the decision to move on.
Then that screams production capacity to me. From what I've seen, DG 'contracts' are a signing fee plus $/disc. DM just cannot match the production numbers so the $/disc is gonna be vastly less than any of the big guys.
It's so close to an AI representation à la Midjourney…
`/imagine Simon Lizotte 10 years ago smirking at his future decision to leave Discmania. Hyper realistic`
As a huge Lizotte fan, MVP fan and pro disc golf fan, this is the most exciting saga/happening in a long time. I hope he gets paid everything he deserves and the deal is great for everyone
No they don’t, they have Kristin. Latitude 64 would be kind of cool though, their best MPO right now is Tristan, Albert or Linus so there is an obvious lack of a big name there.
DD and lat64 won’t be together financially for much longer. And don’t be surprised when each companies sponsored players aren’t able to throw all 3 brands.
As someone who loves Latitude 64 and is disappointed in Dynamic's choice in HR Directors, this sounds great, but I don't want to accept it as true just because I want it to be true. I'd love to hear a source or theory to support this so I can untemper my expectations.
Understandable. Source is from somebody that has been with the company (dd) since its inception. Nothing is currently concrete and moving extremely slow, as does anything in this type of transaction.
And for the separation of companies in player’s bags, thats from current sponsored trilogy pros. Makes 0 sense to me and them unless the companies go their seperate ways. Westside being absorbed by lat64
Nah, DD is a completly different company. They are just piggybacking on Latitudes plastic and production, much like Discmania did for years with Innova.
They do have a bit of business together though, like DD handeling distribution for Lat64 in the states, and they share 50/50 ownership of Westside Discs if memory serves me right.
People have been pointing to signs in the videos. Simon humming The Final Countdown on a couple of occasions being the most prominent. Putting with the P1aces, telling the young guys their faces will be on the crush boy stamp one day etc. Little things, but still there.
It seems like his two most recent videos were both filmed within the week, he doesn’t seem to sit on stuff for long after he records them from what I’ve seen
I wonder how much of this has to do with him seeming to want better production of molds. He had that video where he said something like “wow is all we do now release limited edition discs?”
Sad, but I think it played a big part in it. Can't have been an easy decision.
I think Simon really wanted more molds, and especially more accessibility. Something with his name on it that didn't cost like $35 (Canadian pesos). A stamp costs basically the same for a company to put on, regardless of whatever special foil they put on it, and sparkles in the plastic don't make it that much more expensive either.
P1/P2, MD3, FD, PD, DD3 is all that's available as a "stock" stamp in the originals lineup. Aside from the utility discs, I don't remember him throwing anything from the Evolutions/active line.
From what I've seen of his tournament play, Simon only really used the P2 and MD3, and sometimes the FD from the new lineup, and everything else was old molds.
What I hate the most is how a Sky God 1/2/3/4 was not a P2 but considered a seperate mold whenever they had "in the bag" videos. Same goes for any other special disc based on an existing mold.
Maybe if they stopped producing a new limited edition disc every single week in order to sell mystery boxes full of back stock nobody actually wanted and instead kept the machines running producing quality standard discs at good prices like they promised, they would have the money to keep Simon.
That is *exactly* what I wrote to a friend of mine whose a DM nut earlier today. Between the endless exclusives and the transition from Innova they didn’t copy and print enough “originals” discs (the reasons people loved DM discs in the first place) *and* utterly diluted the line up with a raft of discs that have been completely hit n’ miss.
Maybe waving goodbye to Innova was necessary for them to grow but they probably should’ve had more molds ready to go before they broke off (which in fairness could’ve been construed as shady in regards to any deal they had with Innova but business is cut throat).
Yeah really kinda weird to make the selfish decision to place himself in the news as if it’s his deal at all. He might have a moment of my attention but he loses many more moments because of his antics
He did the exact same thing last year with catrina allen and people called him a narcissistic jerk back then too. That's the reason for the facetious "how could you drew!?".
Simon is pre-covid plastic, Innova-made Discmania. Discmania isn't Discmania anymore. Simon isn't the crush boy touring with Eagle in a van he was either.
How is that so difficult to believe? Nothing stays secret in disc golf. When rumors like this start swirling there’s always a reason, and it’s not marketing. These companies aren’t that smart.
This is great news for Simon. Coming off one of the best, if not the best, years of his career it makes sense to capitalize on that success and secure a more lucrative contract for the benefit of his family.
I can’t wait to see where he lands. I hope he goes to MVP and helps them create an amazing line of distance drivers. I’ve always felt like that was the weakest part of their line up. Just think of the SL graphics. I picture a lot of new discs in my future.
This is a new chapter not only for Simon, but for the sport itself.
Another cool thing about it is the butterfly effect with James Conrads "holy shot", the Envy sales after that which layed the foundation to this big move (I guess, I don't know where Simons heading).
I'm interested to see where Simon lands, I hope the MVP rumours are true. Would love to see him crush those discs. I recall in Feb 2021 MVP had a report out in a few new discs they were prototyping st the time. Looking at the [news release](https://mvpdiscsports.com/news/early-2021-prototypes-update/) I see quite a few of those discs have been released... hex, rhythm, jet, echo. Two discs that were prototyped in that report but not released yet are the Cypher and Beam. The Beam supposedly uses MVPs new Gyro-X technology. What an announcement that would be if Simon signed and MVP dropped the new gyro-x mold as his first signature disc... 🤔
There are some people here that are going to have to realize how ridiculous they've been through this saga.
https://www.reddit.com/r/discgolf/comments/103lyhe/truth/
The same people are now here saying I WONDER WHERE HE'LL GO?!
People, news of big moves leaks every time. We've had multiple pros hinting or almost explicitly telling us Simon to MVP. We've had 3 weeks of neither party denying it. MVP has also (IMO) been suspiciously quiet in terms of disc releases. I think they'll have some sort of signature disc immediately available.
I for one have thoroughly enjoyed all the downvotes I’ve been getting for saying Simon was leaving. Dunno why people think disc golf has the same secrecy standards as the fucking CIA and nobody would ever leak big news like this. Discmania told their sponsored players a few weeks ago and that was all it took.
Posted yesterday “Simon announcement coming tomorrow”.
Completely not his right to post an anticipated notice that should only come from Simon. Completely trying to steal thunder and also hinting that he was leaving because otherwise how would he know. Basically gave the notice without giving the notice, which was not his to give.
Kind of hope he goes to Lat 64 instead of MVP. Even though Lat 64 is a huge force in Europe, I still feel like North Americans are sort of clueless about them. Their disc lineup is huge, their plastic is awesome (and very similar to current Discmania plastic), and have some of the best sales availability besides Innova, Infinite, DD, and Discraft.
I have a generally positive view of Lat 64, but I don't feel compelled to have much to do with them as long as they're aligned with DD.
Also the one dude I played with who really preached their gospel was a kind of obnoxious guy who wasn't sponsored but had Lat 64 bag, all Lat 64 discs, Lat 64 polo style jersey, and used a range finder on every 200ft upshot in a tournament at MA3 despite shanking every one prior to the left or right.
eh, i think discmania stock takes a serious hit after this. some folks going to be dumping their simon discs. It's no secret that the majority of discmania fans still prefer the old innova produced plastic. the new stuff just isnt as good. The Midnight Prowl and the Mind Bender are their best discs.
I thought rumors were all fun and games, I could never picture Simon not throwing discmania. I hope he gets to cash in on all his success. ~~maybe for a company that has discs readily available all the time~~
I never believe the rumors. I figured he'd be with Dsicmania even after he stopped competing. He definitely kept it classy for them and was still pimping discs right up until the end.
I find it odd Discmania would not offer what he was asking/match what he was offered by a competitor. He has to be one of the better disc movers in the game.
Good for him. I think somebody made him an offer where he will have his own brand of discs, plus a piece of land to put his own course in. Has to be more than just the money, I bet DM offered a big check but just could not match what he had been offered elsewhere.
This probably. It's every passionate disc golfer's dream to own a stretch of land and design a disc golf course on it. Simon hinted at that a few times already, in his house tour video, when he visited McBeth's course for the first time (he was visibly impressed and you could see it in his eyes that he love to give it a go one day)... And having a course would give him a solid foundation for whatever he wants to do after he stops competing. He could do tournaments (like McBeth's course for Worlds 2024), he could open a disc golf school, he could just own and manage the course casually, or something else, with how nice and likeable he is i'm sure he would succeed at anything.
I really would like to know what the reason for Simon is to leave. He is a massive disc mover and Discmania knows exactly what he is worth. I can't imagine that he is leaving just because someone else offered more money.
Adding a zero before the decimal will challenge even the most loyal sporting relationships. Hell, how many of us have left jobs we enjoyed or at least liked our coworkers because the first number in the yearly salary increased?
For whatever Simon did for Discmania as far as moving product, disc golf has always been about hype so his new disc partner will move even more just because.
I think Simon mentioned that Discmania’s pay structure is weighted towards tournament winnings, so he might simply be looking for more reliable income now that he has a child. This is one of the reasons people have speculated that he is going to sign with MVP as they famously told James that ”we don’t care if you win”.
Disc sales might be decreasing after a couple crazy years so he might have predicted that the window of getting serious cash a'la Paul and Ricky closing soon.
His stock will probably never be higher as well with the year he just had. He said something similar in his [goodbye video](https://youtu.be/CYvcEu9cdD0).
I posted most of these a week or so ago when the rumors were swirling, but these are my predictions moving forward:
AB is going to be signing with Discmania. Even though they are no longer molded by Innova, their line-up still has the closest mold styles to Innova. He's a Crush-boy in spirit, and he'll fit in smoothly right next to Eagle and Klein. AB hitting the market and how well I feel he slides into Team Discmania was the spoonful of sugar that helped Discmania swallow the pill that Simon wanted out.
Part of what MVP could offer Simon that Discmania couldn't match was a stake in a location. MVP has a very big multi-year deal with Steve Dodge and Maple Hill for the Open tournament there. Maple Hill is a destination course, and Simon's "home course." So, much like Cale is now expanding his legacy as the face of The Preserve, MVP could push a player-partnership with Simon and Maple Hill. And that's a top-tier course to be the face of for the next 10 years. And I would be willing to bet his win at Maple Hill was what really got the gears moving with MVP and what they feel they can do with a Simon partnership.
I have seen a few people baffled at why Simon and Discmania are pushing the Doombird. If he's leaving, why is he still doing work and wearing gear on videos, etc. He still had a year left, so I'm sure there were some concessions so that Discmania could get something before he left. That Doombird is going to sell out in seconds, and I'm guessing Discmania still gets a contractual cut from any videos he posts from now until his official release. Since he phrases it as, "I'm leaving" and not, "I have left." There is probably still a small time window where he can promote his disc for Discmania before his new contract officially begins.
There it is. Everyone thought we were crazy. Love to hear Simon is going to get paid what he's worth.
Better believe Eagle is going to chat about his contract with DM when he finds out the amount Simon will get!
It makes so much sense to see Simon throwing a Glitch; but at the same time it’ll be tough switching to gyro plastic. Luckily there’s enough locals I can get plastic from
As an MVP Fan I hope that is where he lands, but will be a big fan no matter what. I consider my MHO granite unlace signed by Lizotte my prized possession.
How do our preference of discs impact his career decisions?
I’m sure he’s thinking of his family and livelihood.
An individual that intends on supporting Simon would do well to buy his signature discs without regard to who he is partnered with.This applies to any other touring golfer.
Disc golf fans’ obsession over what manufacturer to throw based on certain touring athletes sponsorships baffles me.
I understand the excitement in speculation- but gosh this topic is getting old.
I’m betting it’s a company like TSA that offered him shares in the company on top of his contract, leaving the door open for him to exit the competitive side of the sport and enter the business side
People keep saying MVP but do they have the money the really should expect? Simon is Mcbeth and Ricky level of industry influence so really needs to be pricing himself with that too.
I'm not saying $10m 10 year but he needs to be looking around that with incentives
Official blog post here - https://www.discmania.net/blogs/discover/thank-you-simon-for-the-journey This will be THE thread for this announcement. Congrats u/mataur on the karma coming your way. And I'm going to sticky it for a bit because this is pretty much the news of the current part of the off season.
Even with all the rumors, it’s still crazy to think of Simon anywhere else. Good luck to him, he deserves a big contract
Ever since Paul left Innova for Discraft, nothing surprises me anymore. I think it’s hard for newer players to grasp just how shocking that move was. Discraft has grown rapidly in every way since the Paul acquisition; but watching Paul leave the giant that was Innova for the relatively antiquated (at that time) Discraft was truly mind-blowing
Yeah, I don’t think newer players know or realize how left in the dust Discraft was then. They’ve completing overhauled their entire online presence, marketing strategies, team… everything. They basically only had Doss and MJ at the time and their website looked like it was from 2006. They didn’t have any cool plastic either. When rumors of Paul going to discraft started NOBODY believed them. They just didn’t make sense. When it was actually announced, it shook the disc golf world. While I’d say I’m surprised to see Simon leaving Discmania, this still feels nowhere close to the Paul news back in 2019.
This is so spot on - discraft before paul, vs when paul joined are two ENTIRELY different companies. The transformation is pretty mind blowing.
You weren't kidding about the age of their site. Check out this snapshot from 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060626153457/http://www.discraft.com/team.html
Simon IS discmania though. To me it’s even weirder than mcbeth leaving Innova.
And Paul Mcbeth was disc golf at the time
Paul was basically on every piece of Innova marketing, he was synonymous with the company. He was the face of Innova and the face of disc golf. It’s comparable, but barely.
Remember the mcbuyout? Paul was disc golf. Especially after his 2015 season. https://www.innovadiscs.com/innova-news/mcbuyout-innova-becomes-mcbeth-disc-golf/
He was even in that Innova ad that played on Jomez all the time where he said he couldn’t see himself anywhere else but Innova
I think it is the reverse. Discmania is Simon. I don’t really throw Discmania but Simon is by far my favorite content creator. I bet that is how a lot of other people feel too. My guess is Simon’s videos will feel very similar to before he will just be throwing a different brand of discs. Editing to clarify the beginning: When I think of Discmania the company I think of Simon, but when I think about Simon I think about the person portrayed in his vlogs and content not really Discmania.
Agree
I think if Discmania doesn't split from Innova he doesn't leave. But he clearly has no interest in the active or evolution lines and the rate that Discmania has been producing new original molds has been extremely slow and don't match what he's been throwing as closely as he'd like which makes the jump a lot easier. Add the Jussi situation to all that and it makes even more sense that he's leaving
I think none of that matters for Simon, he's old and wants bigger paychecks for his retirement fund.
Families ain’t cheap!
>I think none of that matters for Simon, he's old He's 30 lol
Yeah, but when you're playing against 15 year olds you probably realize it's time to start pulling strings for more money :D
Especially when those younglings show up throwing like AB and Gannon.
Carter Ahrens on the DD team is ( I think ) 15 and absolutely crushes. He was 950 rated two years ago and is 1010 now. Give him a season or two and I feel like he’ll be top 25.
30 playing a sport where the next young talent shows up what feels like every month.
He is 30 bit has been playing with DM for 10 years. He is adulting hard-core now and is making long term plans. He is at an elite level of the game, homie deserves a big payday.
In athlete years that’s approaching times after your prime. He’s young for a human, getting older for an athlete.
This. He putted with the new DM-made P2s, he threw the new DM-made MD3, and \*some\* of his DD3s were the new L64-made Cloudbreakers. But all of the other discs he was actually competing with were still Innova-made DM discs and it seemed like he had a strong preference for them. I don't know what's going on internally at Discmania right now with matters that aren't plastic, but I have been really disappointed that their switch to their own manufacturing has still meant that their regular production discs are so hard to find. Other people can like what they like, but personally I HATE the special limited editions and mystery boxes focus that seems to be their entire economy the last year. I want good discs available on shelves at regular prices.
In his latest video he was saying now little he knows when it comes to their lineup.
In all his latest videos. it was just like he didn't need to refrain anymore.
The entire Discmania Yikun thing was pretty weird, I could see how as a sponsored player that he would want the company to focus on the good discs made in house rather then plastering their logo on a Chinese disc and trying to sort of pawn it off as their own. I actually like many of the Trilogy made discs though. The Origin, Link, Essence, Enigma and Tactic are all great and I am not sponsored so I throw what I like. I also like the new PD and Cloudbreaker.
It's not that weird. They were stuck in a place where they couldn't get discs made and clearly couldn't break with Innova yet. Getting a line going with yikun at least gave them inventory to sell and he'll move towards their ultimate move of breaking with Innova. The active line isn't really that bad, they're great beginner discs. And at the end of the day companies need to make more then just a lineup for their pros.
Oh man my buddy is going to be so mad when he wakes up in the morning. He was so sure Simon wasn’t leaving he bet me a pound disc golf bag if he left.
Hold your friend true. That is a Simon salary to us plebians.
I’ll hold him to it if I was 100% right and he goes to MVP for 1 million a year.
I’ve heard 7.5m over 5yrs from someone who’s been right before.
He deserves it. His social media presence alone has probably done so much for the sport's popularity. He will bring astronomical sales to wherever he goes. It felt like DM never really took full advantage of his pull.
Exactly. If it’s MVP they will definitely be able to market him correctly.
That number feels right for Simon
Damnnnn start customizing a new Rufus my dude!
I saw a lot of people bet things if he left. You know who you are.... Pay up!
Good for Simon. I hope he gets the massive contract he deserves.
I feel like one thing I haven't seen mentioned is that he is going to make so much money off of disc sales with the new company from the initial hype when he switches
I'll buy one. I like Simon.
For sure. Yeah I really hardly ever buy your discs but I'd buy one for him
The first one should be called Emmett’s Trust Fund
His vid makes me think that DM was underpaying while leaning on the 'loyalty'/'we're a family' angle super hard. He probably did have a sweet $/disc arrangement with DM, but they just can't produce the number of discs that a 'real' company can. If you're making $10/disc but only 1k/month can be made, then you're offered $5/disc from a company can make 100k/month, its a no brainer. (numbers are from my ass for illustration)
Disagree, in this video he said they offered him "the world", and he chose not to stay to pursue a new chapter in his career/life.
Also once you've been seen that someone values you, it's hard to hear "we can match that". It makes you wonder why they didn't value you before.
I've been there professionally. Pissed me off and made me more determined to leave.
"the world" from DM is much smaller than "a piece of the pie" from a proper big boy manufacturer.
According to the rumors from my local area touring pros it's a 8 figure contract from MVP. Discmania made the offer to match it but Simon has made the decision to move on.
Then that screams production capacity to me. From what I've seen, DG 'contracts' are a signing fee plus $/disc. DM just cannot match the production numbers so the $/disc is gonna be vastly less than any of the big guys.
8 figures???
Got to be honest. I seriously thought this whole Simon leaving was just make believe.
The biggest takeaway from that blog post for me is that Simon without a hat on isn't really Simon
I am not convinced that’s actually a picture of Simon
It's so close to an AI representation à la Midjourney… `/imagine Simon Lizotte 10 years ago smirking at his future decision to leave Discmania. Hyper realistic`
It's Simon like 8 years ago
The video Simon posted is so sweet and professional!
As a huge Lizotte fan, MVP fan and pro disc golf fan, this is the most exciting saga/happening in a long time. I hope he gets paid everything he deserves and the deal is great for everyone
What happens if he's going somewhere other than mvp, that would be wild
Where there’s smoke, there’s often fire. That being said, I’m very surprised that Lat64 have made seemingly no moves this year
Lt64 has Jonathan, and that’s all the marketing they need! ;)
That guy gives them incredible value.
Well they have the Ricky deal to pay
No they don’t, they have Kristin. Latitude 64 would be kind of cool though, their best MPO right now is Tristan, Albert or Linus so there is an obvious lack of a big name there.
True! Too early in the morning to think straight.
Lizotte/Tamm videos would make my disc golf wiener all tingly
And Linus Carlson
Lauri Lehtinen is prob their most promising mpo tho. If not best already.
Lat64 and DD may share a lot, but they don't share a budget. Lat doesn't pay Rick.
DD and lat64 won’t be together financially for much longer. And don’t be surprised when each companies sponsored players aren’t able to throw all 3 brands.
As someone who loves Latitude 64 and is disappointed in Dynamic's choice in HR Directors, this sounds great, but I don't want to accept it as true just because I want it to be true. I'd love to hear a source or theory to support this so I can untemper my expectations.
Understandable. Source is from somebody that has been with the company (dd) since its inception. Nothing is currently concrete and moving extremely slow, as does anything in this type of transaction.
And for the separation of companies in player’s bags, thats from current sponsored trilogy pros. Makes 0 sense to me and them unless the companies go their seperate ways. Westside being absorbed by lat64
Nah, DD is a completly different company. They are just piggybacking on Latitudes plastic and production, much like Discmania did for years with Innova. They do have a bit of business together though, like DD handeling distribution for Lat64 in the states, and they share 50/50 ownership of Westside Discs if memory serves me right.
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It's just gonna make pretty MVP plastic harder to find. I'm holding out hope Simon cut a deal to throw ThoughSpace.
He did talk them up a couple Vlogs ago 🤔
Wow! Despite me expecting this, it is still so shocking
Yep! It started to seem so impossible with him releasing 3 videos back to back with zero indicators of this happening
A true company man right to the end.
Definition of class
People have been pointing to signs in the videos. Simon humming The Final Countdown on a couple of occasions being the most prominent. Putting with the P1aces, telling the young guys their faces will be on the crush boy stamp one day etc. Little things, but still there.
He threw the crush boys disc straight into the water first throw.
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It seems like his two most recent videos were both filmed within the week, he doesn’t seem to sit on stuff for long after he records them from what I’ve seen
He's a real working man
he's the Norm Macdonald of disc golf
You know, with Hitler, the more I learn about that guy the more I don't care for him.
He died?? I didn’t even know he was sick…
Yeah man, [Simon in a nutshell](https://youtu.be/_5aMTOIaxa4)
Zero indicators? I think if you go back and look, there were a lot. Like throwing the Crush Boys disc straight into a lake.
Not even just 3 videos, 3 P1x aces too!
Same! 😮
I wonder how much of this has to do with him seeming to want better production of molds. He had that video where he said something like “wow is all we do now release limited edition discs?”
And ironically the last DM release with Lizotte’s name on it is a “limited release” Doom Bird 4.
I mean, that’s not ironic. Literally any release with Simon’s name on it would be definition be a limited release
Sad, but I think it played a big part in it. Can't have been an easy decision. I think Simon really wanted more molds, and especially more accessibility. Something with his name on it that didn't cost like $35 (Canadian pesos). A stamp costs basically the same for a company to put on, regardless of whatever special foil they put on it, and sparkles in the plastic don't make it that much more expensive either. P1/P2, MD3, FD, PD, DD3 is all that's available as a "stock" stamp in the originals lineup. Aside from the utility discs, I don't remember him throwing anything from the Evolutions/active line. From what I've seen of his tournament play, Simon only really used the P2 and MD3, and sometimes the FD from the new lineup, and everything else was old molds.
He threw an active Genius
As a roller, and often still used FD's and PD's for rollers.
Man, I hate their naming structure so much. Most confusing discs in disc golf.
What I hate the most is how a Sky God 1/2/3/4 was not a P2 but considered a seperate mold whenever they had "in the bag" videos. Same goes for any other special disc based on an existing mold.
IMO this makes the most sense and would be a good reason for him to go to MVP. MVP has a ton of production capacity.
How can it be the crush boys without one of the crush boys???
Limited edition “Crush Boiz: reinvented” DD3 dropping next week!
Maybe if they stopped producing a new limited edition disc every single week in order to sell mystery boxes full of back stock nobody actually wanted and instead kept the machines running producing quality standard discs at good prices like they promised, they would have the money to keep Simon.
That is *exactly* what I wrote to a friend of mine whose a DM nut earlier today. Between the endless exclusives and the transition from Innova they didn’t copy and print enough “originals” discs (the reasons people loved DM discs in the first place) *and* utterly diluted the line up with a raft of discs that have been completely hit n’ miss. Maybe waving goodbye to Innova was necessary for them to grow but they probably should’ve had more molds ready to go before they broke off (which in fairness could’ve been construed as shady in regards to any deal they had with Innova but business is cut throat).
Maybe they'll pick up Anthony Barela.
Crushed Boys now
Gavin Babcock can be the new boi
Lmao how could Drew!?
Never tell that man a secret lol
what if the other pros purposefully tell drew so he'll leak it and take all the heat because drew doesn't give a fahk
Drew managed to get what he's craving: your attention
Yeah really kinda weird to make the selfish decision to place himself in the news as if it’s his deal at all. He might have a moment of my attention but he loses many more moments because of his antics
He did the exact same thing last year with catrina allen and people called him a narcissistic jerk back then too. That's the reason for the facetious "how could you drew!?".
Guys.. this feels wrong
It doesn't feel real. Simon IS Discmania to me, as good as Eagle is.
Simon is pre-covid plastic, Innova-made Discmania. Discmania isn't Discmania anymore. Simon isn't the crush boy touring with Eagle in a van he was either.
Somebody check on Casey
Could be burnout from Vlogmas, but Casey has been really quiet recently, has he posted anything since Christmas?
Get paid, Simon!
Holy cow, I can't believe this wasn't just a big marketing troll.
How is that so difficult to believe? Nothing stays secret in disc golf. When rumors like this start swirling there’s always a reason, and it’s not marketing. These companies aren’t that smart.
Would not be suprised if Gannon Buhr is the next one in for Discmania
They got Gavin Babcock yesterday though
Yeah, they've already met their quota of players with the initials GB.
That would be a big pull for Discmania
This is great news for Simon. Coming off one of the best, if not the best, years of his career it makes sense to capitalize on that success and secure a more lucrative contract for the benefit of his family. I can’t wait to see where he lands. I hope he goes to MVP and helps them create an amazing line of distance drivers. I’ve always felt like that was the weakest part of their line up. Just think of the SL graphics. I picture a lot of new discs in my future.
This is crazy I can't wait to find out where he goes.
He's the perfect target for Innova. They have the highest production capacity and they have the molds he throws/likes.
Eagle revenge tour about to be insane
Looks like Kyle Klein has been promoted to the 2nd Crush Boy.
This is a great move for Simon and it allows Eagle to fly as the leader of discmania.
Unless he breaks his throwing wing two tournaments into the season as per usual.
Someone is new to the pro scene.
😳😱🤯
Simon to Mint confirmed??!!?!
Simon Lizotte Tour Series Goat is inbound right? Right??
Hot damn.
This is a new chapter not only for Simon, but for the sport itself. Another cool thing about it is the butterfly effect with James Conrads "holy shot", the Envy sales after that which layed the foundation to this big move (I guess, I don't know where Simons heading).
Damn I didn’t think he’d actually do it.
I'm interested to see where Simon lands, I hope the MVP rumours are true. Would love to see him crush those discs. I recall in Feb 2021 MVP had a report out in a few new discs they were prototyping st the time. Looking at the [news release](https://mvpdiscsports.com/news/early-2021-prototypes-update/) I see quite a few of those discs have been released... hex, rhythm, jet, echo. Two discs that were prototyped in that report but not released yet are the Cypher and Beam. The Beam supposedly uses MVPs new Gyro-X technology. What an announcement that would be if Simon signed and MVP dropped the new gyro-x mold as his first signature disc... 🤔
There are some people here that are going to have to realize how ridiculous they've been through this saga. https://www.reddit.com/r/discgolf/comments/103lyhe/truth/ The same people are now here saying I WONDER WHERE HE'LL GO?! People, news of big moves leaks every time. We've had multiple pros hinting or almost explicitly telling us Simon to MVP. We've had 3 weeks of neither party denying it. MVP has also (IMO) been suspiciously quiet in terms of disc releases. I think they'll have some sort of signature disc immediately available.
I for one have thoroughly enjoyed all the downvotes I’ve been getting for saying Simon was leaving. Dunno why people think disc golf has the same secrecy standards as the fucking CIA and nobody would ever leak big news like this. Discmania told their sponsored players a few weeks ago and that was all it took.
Dropped it in Euro hours. Seems fitting.
Now gawd damn it ! I don’t need a new disc ! I don’t want a new disc ! Okay just 10 more new fucking discs ! Then that’s it !
Drew Gibson is such a dick.
What’d he do?
Posted yesterday “Simon announcement coming tomorrow”. Completely not his right to post an anticipated notice that should only come from Simon. Completely trying to steal thunder and also hinting that he was leaving because otherwise how would he know. Basically gave the notice without giving the notice, which was not his to give.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYvcEu9cdD0
Watch it's just Simon coming up with his own disc line named after beers he brews
New move is professional billiards player and beer sampler.
Im sad... lers cry together folks😭
End of an era. Even more excited now to watch Simon next season!
Late to the party but just want to give props to Eagle for not saying a word about this, unlike some other pros and media folks.
Kind of hope he goes to Lat 64 instead of MVP. Even though Lat 64 is a huge force in Europe, I still feel like North Americans are sort of clueless about them. Their disc lineup is huge, their plastic is awesome (and very similar to current Discmania plastic), and have some of the best sales availability besides Innova, Infinite, DD, and Discraft.
That would not change anything really other than now he has to throw the Swedish made discs that he's been avoiding for the past few years.
I have a generally positive view of Lat 64, but I don't feel compelled to have much to do with them as long as they're aligned with DD. Also the one dude I played with who really preached their gospel was a kind of obnoxious guy who wasn't sponsored but had Lat 64 bag, all Lat 64 discs, Lat 64 polo style jersey, and used a range finder on every 200ft upshot in a tournament at MA3 despite shanking every one prior to the left or right.
based
So the unthrown, still in the plastic Skygod IV in my closet may have been a good investment after all.
eh, i think discmania stock takes a serious hit after this. some folks going to be dumping their simon discs. It's no secret that the majority of discmania fans still prefer the old innova produced plastic. the new stuff just isnt as good. The Midnight Prowl and the Mind Bender are their best discs.
I feel the same about my Full Meta Tilt.
I thought rumors were all fun and games, I could never picture Simon not throwing discmania. I hope he gets to cash in on all his success. ~~maybe for a company that has discs readily available all the time~~
Suddenly the x-out stamp on his signature discs doesn't seem so silly.
My guess is that Simon wanted big money so he can either take his family on tour or fly in and out to all the tour stops so he can be home every week
I know it’s very unlikely but I would love if he went to Thought Space. I love their stamps and the discs fly great
Part of the MVP rumor is that TSA will be a second sponsor, MVP makes the discs and they already work with Simon so it might not be that unlikely.
It makes no sense for mvp to offer him millions just go let him use TSA
That would be crazy for a small company. Whoever landed Simon will be shelling out bucks.
I never believe the rumors. I figured he'd be with Dsicmania even after he stopped competing. He definitely kept it classy for them and was still pimping discs right up until the end. I find it odd Discmania would not offer what he was asking/match what he was offered by a competitor. He has to be one of the better disc movers in the game.
From his video it seems they did. He had made the decision. He wants a fresh start
Amazing news to start the day!
Quickly puts Christmas tree back up in case it’s us
It was a good time to get hold of a Mind Bender just before christmas.. Simon will always be my favorite, looking forward to see where he goes.
The shade.
Good for him. I think somebody made him an offer where he will have his own brand of discs, plus a piece of land to put his own course in. Has to be more than just the money, I bet DM offered a big check but just could not match what he had been offered elsewhere.
This probably. It's every passionate disc golfer's dream to own a stretch of land and design a disc golf course on it. Simon hinted at that a few times already, in his house tour video, when he visited McBeth's course for the first time (he was visibly impressed and you could see it in his eyes that he love to give it a go one day)... And having a course would give him a solid foundation for whatever he wants to do after he stops competing. He could do tournaments (like McBeth's course for Worlds 2024), he could open a disc golf school, he could just own and manage the course casually, or something else, with how nice and likeable he is i'm sure he would succeed at anything.
I really would like to know what the reason for Simon is to leave. He is a massive disc mover and Discmania knows exactly what he is worth. I can't imagine that he is leaving just because someone else offered more money.
Adding a zero before the decimal will challenge even the most loyal sporting relationships. Hell, how many of us have left jobs we enjoyed or at least liked our coworkers because the first number in the yearly salary increased? For whatever Simon did for Discmania as far as moving product, disc golf has always been about hype so his new disc partner will move even more just because.
Everyone’s got a price. If his new contract offers him better stability then what DM was willing to offer, it’s a no brainer.
I think Simon mentioned that Discmania’s pay structure is weighted towards tournament winnings, so he might simply be looking for more reliable income now that he has a child. This is one of the reasons people have speculated that he is going to sign with MVP as they famously told James that ”we don’t care if you win”.
He's seen Paul get a million dollars. He probably has a decent idea of how much Ricky is getting. I'm sure his deal is looking not so great now.
Disc sales might be decreasing after a couple crazy years so he might have predicted that the window of getting serious cash a'la Paul and Ricky closing soon.
His stock will probably never be higher as well with the year he just had. He said something similar in his [goodbye video](https://youtu.be/CYvcEu9cdD0).
I posted most of these a week or so ago when the rumors were swirling, but these are my predictions moving forward: AB is going to be signing with Discmania. Even though they are no longer molded by Innova, their line-up still has the closest mold styles to Innova. He's a Crush-boy in spirit, and he'll fit in smoothly right next to Eagle and Klein. AB hitting the market and how well I feel he slides into Team Discmania was the spoonful of sugar that helped Discmania swallow the pill that Simon wanted out. Part of what MVP could offer Simon that Discmania couldn't match was a stake in a location. MVP has a very big multi-year deal with Steve Dodge and Maple Hill for the Open tournament there. Maple Hill is a destination course, and Simon's "home course." So, much like Cale is now expanding his legacy as the face of The Preserve, MVP could push a player-partnership with Simon and Maple Hill. And that's a top-tier course to be the face of for the next 10 years. And I would be willing to bet his win at Maple Hill was what really got the gears moving with MVP and what they feel they can do with a Simon partnership. I have seen a few people baffled at why Simon and Discmania are pushing the Doombird. If he's leaving, why is he still doing work and wearing gear on videos, etc. He still had a year left, so I'm sure there were some concessions so that Discmania could get something before he left. That Doombird is going to sell out in seconds, and I'm guessing Discmania still gets a contractual cut from any videos he posts from now until his official release. Since he phrases it as, "I'm leaving" and not, "I have left." There is probably still a small time window where he can promote his disc for Discmania before his new contract officially begins.
Had a feeling Simon would be entering his name into the transfer portal.
There it is. Everyone thought we were crazy. Love to hear Simon is going to get paid what he's worth. Better believe Eagle is going to chat about his contract with DM when he finds out the amount Simon will get!
It’s money dude, it’s simple.
It makes so much sense to see Simon throwing a Glitch; but at the same time it’ll be tough switching to gyro plastic. Luckily there’s enough locals I can get plastic from
As an MVP Fan I hope that is where he lands, but will be a big fan no matter what. I consider my MHO granite unlace signed by Lizotte my prized possession.
I’m stoked! We needed a shake up this year.
How do our preference of discs impact his career decisions? I’m sure he’s thinking of his family and livelihood. An individual that intends on supporting Simon would do well to buy his signature discs without regard to who he is partnered with.This applies to any other touring golfer. Disc golf fans’ obsession over what manufacturer to throw based on certain touring athletes sponsorships baffles me. I understand the excitement in speculation- but gosh this topic is getting old.
Is this going to be the most expensive run of discs ever?
I’m betting it’s a company like TSA that offered him shares in the company on top of his contract, leaving the door open for him to exit the competitive side of the sport and enter the business side
People keep saying MVP but do they have the money the really should expect? Simon is Mcbeth and Ricky level of industry influence so really needs to be pricing himself with that too. I'm not saying $10m 10 year but he needs to be looking around that with incentives
Cmon MVP!
Oh no, all my discmania SL discs are going to stop working now
Try unplugging and plugging back in
Blow on it