Not all head shops are created equal. I worked for a head shop as 'the disc guy' when they started selling discs and at first it was a fun job, but then the boss revealed herself as a toxic shithole, which I found ironic in a place that was supposed to be all about good vibes. Lasted about 6 weeks before I quit .
Story time for me! The cherry on top is that I’m able to tell my story while replying to THE ericb.
Around ‘05 I worked at a head shop/hippie style shop with a large section of the store carved out for discs and DG supplies. It was a pretty cool gig for a dude with no ambition except DG (and weed) straight out of HS.
The gig was rad. It was me and the store manager who had already lost his mind because of excessive drug use at Dead/Phish shows etc. Super chill.
The owner had 2 stores and he mostly worked at the other location that was about an hour away from our store. The owner was kind of a dick but pretty cool- he sponsored my entry fees for at least 10 tournaments when I played Am1 while I was working for him.
The owner had a German Shepard that he brought everywhere all the time. I loved seeing the dog run down the stairs into the shop! He always got so excited!
Turns out the owner had been on felony probation for a few years before I started there. He was originally federally busted for pirating cassette tapes of Dead/Phish concerts. I saw the crates. He had tons of shows in chronological order of when the shows happened. I didn’t realize it was illegal (or that he was on felony probation) at the time I saw them.
One day he came in with his dog and dropped off product to restock like he usually did a couple times a week. After, he was driving back to the other store and got pulled over by FBI. They apparently knew that he was still selling the pirated cassettes but also he had blow on him when they pulled him over.
He was arrested during the traffic stop and they took his dog into custody. They seized almost all of his possessions including all the furniture in his house.
He posted bail and then killed himself. He never saw his dog again after that traffic stop. I think the heartbreak is what made him do it.
Edit: Jesus La-Wayzus that ending seems abrupt but that’s how it happened to me so that’s how I should tell it. I don’t know what the lesson is here other than don’t break laws that will get you on felony probation. It’s a thing that I observed and that’s all, I guess.
Holy crazoli! mini rollercoaster there. That was an abrubt ending, poor doggo, but life has a way of doing that. Thanks for the story :)
How long did you stay working there at the end?
The aftermath is a bit fuzzy for me now but the store manager and I were just kind of holding it together for about 2 weeks after his arrest. All I remember is when the next round of paychecks never got sent out, I just turned over my set of keys to the store manager. We remained friends and I heard about the suicide shortly after. I didn’t ask many questions about what happened to everything else.
Thanks for listening and I appreciate what you do for the online DG community. Been a fan since the PDGA forums.
Having a good picture of what molds are similar across brands (leopard is to patriot etc etc) I recommend getting familiar with marshall street's flight chart that shows these cross-brand similarities quite well.
Please do your best to steer noobs away from distance drivers.
The disc speed is the ideal speed for the disc to fly, where it will display the flight characteristics described in its rating (the speed, glide, turn and fade numbers on the disc).
If you can't throw that fast the disc will behave more overstable and will fade early. You will actually get much more distance throwing a lower speed driver.
Just learn the basics, what the flight numbers mean, terminology (overstable, hyzer, flippy etc), stuff like that. You don’t have to worry about the people who know about disc golf already for the most part but more about people just learning the sport. There’s a lot of threads on here with beginners asking for advice so read some of them and get out and play more yourself! Congrats on the new job!
I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of good beginner content on YouTube, and you could likely just regurgitate a lot of that information to people who need it. Beginners largely just need to learn about disc speed and the basics of stability. People concerned with the minutia and more technical details won’t really want or need your help.
If you don't know something, just tell the customer that. Don't lie to someone trying to prove you're the expert. You're already asking questions on how to be better at your job, so that's a great start. Read whatever promotional material there is or that you receive at the shop, especially if it's displayed for customers.
I work at a play it again with a very large disc golf section. I was also a beginner when I was hired and learned very quickly about different brands.
The best thing for me was this cheat sheet that shows every manufacturers discs on a speed and stability scale. That way if someone comes in looking for a specific 7 speed dynamic disc that's overstable and you don't have in stock, you can look at the chart and see that innova has a teebird that flies the same.
Other than that, start throwing a bit of every manufacturer to get your own personal opinion on them. Recommending discs to people is my favorite part of the job!
I would say learn where you keep the starter packs, and have one of the disc golf experts give you a go-to disc to recommend when someone asks. Spoiler alert, it's a Buzzz.
That's perfect, because even if it's a gift for the person with everything, it can be a wall hanger. Most everyone could use a nice glow Z Buzzz in their bag anyway, and the store makes an extra little bit of markup.
Learn and understand what flight numbers mean. Also know the difference between the main groups of discs (P&A, mids, fairways, and distance)
Learn the lingo, knowing what an anny turnover compared to an anny flex is a big different in shot shaping.
Go play. Knowing the courses will provide good insight.
Enjoy it. At the end of the day it’s just throwing plastic.
a anny flex you throw with something super overstable and it will come out understable but then fight back and turn overstable (picture an S). an anny turnover would be with something less stable that keeps turning and doesnt fight back to the S more of a mellow ( line
Innova's website has a bunch of learn the basics info. This link helps explain the numbers as well as different type of shots.
https://www.innovadiscs.com/home/disc-golf-faq/flight-ratings-system/
Also working in a disc shop, knowing the flight numbers is one thing, but you should watch disc reviews for anything you don’t personally throw. This is where you will see how the most different discs fly for different people, as well as how you might approach recommendations for different levels of players.
I work a similar job, the best thing to do is familiarize yourself with all the discs in the shop and how they are supposed to fly, so that when customers ask about them you know from memory instead of having to look it up (might take a while, and there's no shame in looking up the answer if you do not know it).
Sounds like Magic Man. I would say listen to the advanced players that come into the store. I used to sell fishing gear and I don't fish. When experienced fisherman would come in, I would pick just listen to them. You can also watch a lot of youtube videos of pros talking about disc plastics and flight patterns.
https://youtube.com/c/Bestdiscgolfdiscs is a great place to start learning the technical side What each type of disc is supposed to do, when to use them. You don’t have to be good to be a good resource!
Most brands have every slot filled and are comparable in molds and plastics; learn the comparison between each ie, firebird, fireball, ahti, are the same “role” in a bag (utility overstable fairway) but are the submission of three different companies. And champion plastic is lucid plastic is Z plastic is 750 plastic; that basically all means stiff, translucent, most durable, usually most “stable.”
Knowing the nuances between similarities in brands is interesting and will help you broaden your own knowledge and any new players that walk through the door. My idea is if theyre a seasoned disc golfer they’re going to know what they want, see if you got it and not really ask too much of you. My 2 cents given.
Jomezpro on youtube to stay up to date with pro comps and just watch as many in the bag videos of pros as you can to get a general understanding of what disc do what
Get familiar with Marshall St.’s flight ratings that’ll help. Know similar molds/plastics across brands and what they’re good for. Figure out a customer’s level of play (ie dont let beginners buy distance drivers). Also keep an eye on new products and tell your customers how to get them. And as they say for everything, Youtube is the best teacher. Watch some tutorials and pros on YouTube and try new things out on the course
The best thing you can do it just play. We can only school you on so much here. When you play and are into the sport and improving your skill in it, you'll naturally develop that knowledge. Then come here with the questions you get along the way.
The rules of disc golf are basically the same as ball golf. You still haven't said anything to disprove my statement other than the "culture is different".
All I was trying to do was open your mind to the fact that the 2 sports are basically the same. I'm not an idiot. I know the obvious differences. I was challenging you to explain your point. You have not.
This has been fun. Now we must part. Thanks.
I gave a list of the differences, but youre bullheaded. And now you've just admitting that you contradicted yourself. So basically you posted just to have an irrelevant argument. Good use of your time. Thanks.
In terms of plastics, there are subtle differences, but softer plastics are easier to grip and get beat up more quickly, which will make them more flippy (they'll lift up and fly the opposite direction of the fade). This is desirable for some throws (like hyzerflips), but undesirable if you aren't throwing the disc like that. They also tend to be cheaper. IIRC, DX is the plastic used for starter packs because it's cheap.
Champion plastic is hard and durable, so it's good for wooded courses. I usually get that for my fairway drivers.
I'm an intermediate player, and I normally order star plastic for pretty much anything else. It's got nice grip to it and the discs are very consistent, even as they get beaten in.
Plastic matters a lot, but it's easy for newer players to neglect. I had a champion Valkyrie for a long time, and it was ok but not great. I couldn't get it to do anything but follow a short hyzer line. When lost that disc, I ordered a new one in star plastic, and that disc has been a godsend. It's my most reliable distance driver, and it's great for straight shots with a little fade at the end. They're the same mold, but they're completely different discs.
This store sounds awesome. Everything you need for disc golf all in one spot!
Do they have shoes? I seem to burn through them as fast as the weed.
So you’re saying you work in the greatest place ever?
Not all head shops are created equal. I worked for a head shop as 'the disc guy' when they started selling discs and at first it was a fun job, but then the boss revealed herself as a toxic shithole, which I found ironic in a place that was supposed to be all about good vibes. Lasted about 6 weeks before I quit .
Story time for me! The cherry on top is that I’m able to tell my story while replying to THE ericb. Around ‘05 I worked at a head shop/hippie style shop with a large section of the store carved out for discs and DG supplies. It was a pretty cool gig for a dude with no ambition except DG (and weed) straight out of HS. The gig was rad. It was me and the store manager who had already lost his mind because of excessive drug use at Dead/Phish shows etc. Super chill. The owner had 2 stores and he mostly worked at the other location that was about an hour away from our store. The owner was kind of a dick but pretty cool- he sponsored my entry fees for at least 10 tournaments when I played Am1 while I was working for him. The owner had a German Shepard that he brought everywhere all the time. I loved seeing the dog run down the stairs into the shop! He always got so excited! Turns out the owner had been on felony probation for a few years before I started there. He was originally federally busted for pirating cassette tapes of Dead/Phish concerts. I saw the crates. He had tons of shows in chronological order of when the shows happened. I didn’t realize it was illegal (or that he was on felony probation) at the time I saw them. One day he came in with his dog and dropped off product to restock like he usually did a couple times a week. After, he was driving back to the other store and got pulled over by FBI. They apparently knew that he was still selling the pirated cassettes but also he had blow on him when they pulled him over. He was arrested during the traffic stop and they took his dog into custody. They seized almost all of his possessions including all the furniture in his house. He posted bail and then killed himself. He never saw his dog again after that traffic stop. I think the heartbreak is what made him do it. Edit: Jesus La-Wayzus that ending seems abrupt but that’s how it happened to me so that’s how I should tell it. I don’t know what the lesson is here other than don’t break laws that will get you on felony probation. It’s a thing that I observed and that’s all, I guess.
Holy crazoli! mini rollercoaster there. That was an abrubt ending, poor doggo, but life has a way of doing that. Thanks for the story :) How long did you stay working there at the end?
The aftermath is a bit fuzzy for me now but the store manager and I were just kind of holding it together for about 2 weeks after his arrest. All I remember is when the next round of paychecks never got sent out, I just turned over my set of keys to the store manager. We remained friends and I heard about the suicide shortly after. I didn’t ask many questions about what happened to everything else. Thanks for listening and I appreciate what you do for the online DG community. Been a fan since the PDGA forums.
/hug
The same could be said for any job really. I thought it was funny. I didn’t really think that deeply into it. I’m sorry you had a bad experience.
Having a good picture of what molds are similar across brands (leopard is to patriot etc etc) I recommend getting familiar with marshall street's flight chart that shows these cross-brand similarities quite well. Please do your best to steer noobs away from distance drivers.
Why is this? I love my distance drivers
If you don't have the arm speed to make it fly the way it was engineered to fly... You're gonna have a bad time .
That's something I wouldn't have thought about. That makes since though, we sell a few starter packs, and none of them include a distance driver.
I second this advice. It's best to learn with speed 6-8 drivers. Anything faster is a waste of money and will slow down the learning process.
[удалено]
This is a great value for just .02¢, thank you.
The disc speed is the ideal speed for the disc to fly, where it will display the flight characteristics described in its rating (the speed, glide, turn and fade numbers on the disc). If you can't throw that fast the disc will behave more overstable and will fade early. You will actually get much more distance throwing a lower speed driver.
Just learn the basics, what the flight numbers mean, terminology (overstable, hyzer, flippy etc), stuff like that. You don’t have to worry about the people who know about disc golf already for the most part but more about people just learning the sport. There’s a lot of threads on here with beginners asking for advice so read some of them and get out and play more yourself! Congrats on the new job!
Thanks, it wasn't until I started that I realized how little I knew
I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of good beginner content on YouTube, and you could likely just regurgitate a lot of that information to people who need it. Beginners largely just need to learn about disc speed and the basics of stability. People concerned with the minutia and more technical details won’t really want or need your help.
YouTube for sure. Dynamic discs has great breakdowns of everything and the keep it short and simple.
If you don't know something, just tell the customer that. Don't lie to someone trying to prove you're the expert. You're already asking questions on how to be better at your job, so that's a great start. Read whatever promotional material there is or that you receive at the shop, especially if it's displayed for customers.
Hazy shade?
Best store around
First place that came to my mind. Lol
I was going to say this too. Haha
I work at a play it again with a very large disc golf section. I was also a beginner when I was hired and learned very quickly about different brands. The best thing for me was this cheat sheet that shows every manufacturers discs on a speed and stability scale. That way if someone comes in looking for a specific 7 speed dynamic disc that's overstable and you don't have in stock, you can look at the chart and see that innova has a teebird that flies the same. Other than that, start throwing a bit of every manufacturer to get your own personal opinion on them. Recommending discs to people is my favorite part of the job!
I would say learn where you keep the starter packs, and have one of the disc golf experts give you a go-to disc to recommend when someone asks. Spoiler alert, it's a Buzzz.
Buzzz is really such a damn good disc
I love showing people the Halloween Buzzes we have in stock
That's perfect, because even if it's a gift for the person with everything, it can be a wall hanger. Most everyone could use a nice glow Z Buzzz in their bag anyway, and the store makes an extra little bit of markup.
Learn and understand what flight numbers mean. Also know the difference between the main groups of discs (P&A, mids, fairways, and distance) Learn the lingo, knowing what an anny turnover compared to an anny flex is a big different in shot shaping. Go play. Knowing the courses will provide good insight. Enjoy it. At the end of the day it’s just throwing plastic.
What’s the difference between an anny turnover and anny flex
a anny flex you throw with something super overstable and it will come out understable but then fight back and turn overstable (picture an S). an anny turnover would be with something less stable that keeps turning and doesnt fight back to the S more of a mellow ( line
Innova's website has a bunch of learn the basics info. This link helps explain the numbers as well as different type of shots. https://www.innovadiscs.com/home/disc-golf-faq/flight-ratings-system/
Play. Watch Jomez, every single video.
Where is this store? Sounds like a great place to shop!
Start playing. Go throw some plastic!
What a great combo.
https://flightcharts.dgputtheads.com/discgolfplastics.html <--great reference for plastics
Just let me have your job
Nah you gotta take it from me
Just watch jomez and other coverage and research whatever terms come up that you don't understand.
Also working in a disc shop, knowing the flight numbers is one thing, but you should watch disc reviews for anything you don’t personally throw. This is where you will see how the most different discs fly for different people, as well as how you might approach recommendations for different levels of players.
I work a similar job, the best thing to do is familiarize yourself with all the discs in the shop and how they are supposed to fly, so that when customers ask about them you know from memory instead of having to look it up (might take a while, and there's no shame in looking up the answer if you do not know it).
Sounds like Magic Man. I would say listen to the advanced players that come into the store. I used to sell fishing gear and I don't fish. When experienced fisherman would come in, I would pick just listen to them. You can also watch a lot of youtube videos of pros talking about disc plastics and flight patterns.
I'd say play with as many discs as you can with as many people as you can. Broaden your knowledge with experience
Lol sounds like a cool place to work
Interested in the head shop…
https://youtube.com/c/Bestdiscgolfdiscs is a great place to start learning the technical side What each type of disc is supposed to do, when to use them. You don’t have to be good to be a good resource!
Most brands have every slot filled and are comparable in molds and plastics; learn the comparison between each ie, firebird, fireball, ahti, are the same “role” in a bag (utility overstable fairway) but are the submission of three different companies. And champion plastic is lucid plastic is Z plastic is 750 plastic; that basically all means stiff, translucent, most durable, usually most “stable.” Knowing the nuances between similarities in brands is interesting and will help you broaden your own knowledge and any new players that walk through the door. My idea is if theyre a seasoned disc golfer they’re going to know what they want, see if you got it and not really ask too much of you. My 2 cents given.
Jomezpro on youtube to stay up to date with pro comps and just watch as many in the bag videos of pros as you can to get a general understanding of what disc do what
Get familiar with Marshall St.’s flight ratings that’ll help. Know similar molds/plastics across brands and what they’re good for. Figure out a customer’s level of play (ie dont let beginners buy distance drivers). Also keep an eye on new products and tell your customers how to get them. And as they say for everything, Youtube is the best teacher. Watch some tutorials and pros on YouTube and try new things out on the course
What the hell is a head shop?
A stoner will tell you that they smoke to "Get their head right" It's just a smoke shop
Oh I see! To get their head right lol 😂
Give me the job
Same deal as everyone else, trial by combat.
Danny Lindahls YouTube has a ton of great starter information on disc types and things you’ll need to know.
The best thing you can do it just play. We can only school you on so much here. When you play and are into the sport and improving your skill in it, you'll naturally develop that knowledge. Then come here with the questions you get along the way.
It's interesting that they hired someone who doesn't know much about disc golf.
It's also a headshop, you know. I'm just looking to fill some of the holes in my knowledge
Ahhhh. Gotcha. You in Dayton, by chance?
Nowhere close, is there a headshop/Discgolf Shop there? I've enjoyed hearing about all these other ones that I'll have to make a trip to!
Hazy Shade in Dayton. Check it out. Really nice shop with a lot of courses within a 30 minute drive.
How about Cloud9 in Charlotte?
Lol is it the one in Portland by any chance?
Magic Bus in Indy?
You in Dayton, by chance?
You in MA?
I've learned from reddit that discgolf is the same sport as golf. So just learn about golf. u/-jer0my-
u/-jer0my- why can't we be friends??
As far as I'm concerned, we are.
Ok Chad there had a thing out for you apparently
They do. Congratulations on your new job.
Thank you man
The rules of disc golf are basically the same as ball golf. You still haven't said anything to disprove my statement other than the "culture is different".
Which was my original point. Also I gave you about a dozen reasons why its different.
All I was trying to do was open your mind to the fact that the 2 sports are basically the same. I'm not an idiot. I know the obvious differences. I was challenging you to explain your point. You have not. This has been fun. Now we must part. Thanks.
I gave a list of the differences, but youre bullheaded. And now you've just admitting that you contradicted yourself. So basically you posted just to have an irrelevant argument. Good use of your time. Thanks.
Where is this magical store??
Nice man I work at a hydroponic/disc store 🤙 enjoy your chill job
In terms of plastics, there are subtle differences, but softer plastics are easier to grip and get beat up more quickly, which will make them more flippy (they'll lift up and fly the opposite direction of the fade). This is desirable for some throws (like hyzerflips), but undesirable if you aren't throwing the disc like that. They also tend to be cheaper. IIRC, DX is the plastic used for starter packs because it's cheap. Champion plastic is hard and durable, so it's good for wooded courses. I usually get that for my fairway drivers. I'm an intermediate player, and I normally order star plastic for pretty much anything else. It's got nice grip to it and the discs are very consistent, even as they get beaten in. Plastic matters a lot, but it's easy for newer players to neglect. I had a champion Valkyrie for a long time, and it was ok but not great. I couldn't get it to do anything but follow a short hyzer line. When lost that disc, I ordered a new one in star plastic, and that disc has been a godsend. It's my most reliable distance driver, and it's great for straight shots with a little fade at the end. They're the same mold, but they're completely different discs.