On Saturday, June 1, 2013, big, famous skate action returns to San Diego’s Mission Valley YMCA Krause Family Skatepark with the Clash At Clairemont 7 as Tony Hawk, Andy MacDonald, Bucky Lasek, Pierre Luc Gagnon, Mike McGill, Kevin Staab, Sergie Ventura and many more get together to raise money for Grind For Life and to compete in the Sega Sonic Generations of Skate contest.

“The Sonic Generations of Skate format, representing several generations of skateboarding, is really fun and gives everyone something to cheer for,” said Andy Macdonald, veteran skater and 23-time X Games medalist who is one of just four skaters who have competed at every X Games. “It’s a great addition to the Clash and should really help generate incremental awareness and financial support for Grind for Life.”

There will also be musical performances by Three Wheels Out, P.O.D. and  Mix Master Mike. Tickets for the six hours of skate and music mayhem are just a $10 donation at the door. For all the official details, follow the jump.

Continue reading ‘Grind For Life: Clash At Clairemont 7′

Tom Turner was tired of not having any place to put his keys and phone when he cruised to the beach. And this, being America, he decided to do something about it. Turner created a trunk with a completely waterproof pocket. They’re called Stash Shorts. Now he, like many entrepreneurs, has turned to Kickstarter to round up some funding. Turner is looking for $135,00 and with 15 days left, he only has $10,249.

Here’s what the shorts are about:

The Stash pocket is built into the interior of the shorts by a lock-down fitment, and it’s sewn into the material as well for extra security, A soft layer of fabric surrounds the Stash pocket bag for comfort, A cap is placed over the pocket opening, and users simply place their items in the pocket, snap on the cap, and slightly twist until you hear a clicking sound which indicates that it’s securely closed, Cap is attached to the shorts by a durable lanyard string so you don’t ever have to worry about misplacing it, 60/40 polyester/cotton blend with double and triple stitch construction for long-lasting durability, and an Antimicrobial treatment is used on the fabric to keep your shorts extra clean.

The Stash pocket looks pretty solid. This and some waterproof, Bluetooth headphones could be the perfect way to drown out the chatter at your favorite breaks. For more, click the link.

[Link: Stash Shorts]

Reality webisodes returns to the Northshore of Oahu with Network A’s new series Surf House. The 8-episode video series features “marketable” surfers on the up Mitch Crews, Alisha Gonsalves, Michael Dunphy, and Bree Kleintop doing their best to survive and flourish on the North Shore while not wearing a whole lot. Sounds like another recipe for success.

Starting Monday, May 20, Surf House will air exclusively on Network A and stars four upcoming professional surfers as they navigate their way through the trials of competitive surfing, the chaos of shared living, and other real world drama. . . Surf House was shot and directed by Jamie Tierney, Quiksilver’s main videographer from 2005-2011. During his time at Quiksilver, Jamie produced countless hours of surf footage and worked with the hottest names in professional surfing including Kelly Slater and Dane Reynolds.

If we’re going to watch reality surf edits they might as well be from Hawaii. Check it.

The Artist Republic 4 Tomorrow, in conjunction with Surfline, Thalia Surf Shop and Vans, is hosting the opening reception for The Surf Gallery retrospective Expression Session on Saturday, June 1, 2013. The show features art from some great surf artists and photographers including: Art Brewer, Ben Brough, Thomas Campbell, Joe Curren, Harry Daily, Andy Davis, Ned Evans, Julie Goldstein, Andrew Holder, David Lloyd, Jason Murray, John Severson, Kevin Short, Pat Tobin, Patrick Trefz, Tyler Warren, and Alex Weinstein. And it’s all currated by The Surf Gallery’s Will Pennartz.

When The Surf Gallery opened its doors in 2001, it was the only gallery in the world dedicated to surf-related art and photography. Will’s mission was to blend contemporary art and more traditional surf imagery – a reflection of the changing modern surf culture. And he did it. The Surf Gallery, tucked between Thalia Street Surf Shop and Goko Cafe, just up the steps from the famous Thalia Street Surf break made waves – large ones. “There was a movement happening in surf culture,” explains Will Pennartz says. “It just needed a home, and The Surf Gallery was my way to share it with the world.”

The opening begins at 6 PM, Saturday, June 1, 2013. AR4T is located at 210 North PCH in Laguna Beach, California. For the official word from AR4T, follow the jump.

Continue reading ‘Expression Session: The Surf Gallery At AR4T’

Grind Media’s Senior Vice President and Group Publisher Norb Garrett is driving North on I-5 from Carlsbad back to the office in San Clemente, California. He’s riding in the passenger seat of a Honda that is nearly out of gas when we finally catch him on the phone.

We know the car is running on empty because twice during the call he interrupts to ask the driver if they are going to make it. Being stranded by the side of the road in Southern California’s last bit of undeveloped wilderness would be a crazy way to finish off what has likely been a long day for Garrett, but as usual, he doesn’t seem too worried.

Earlier today (May 20, 2013) Grind Media announced to employees and later to the press that they had purchased their number one long-time competitor Transworld Media (publisher of Transworld Skateboarding, Transworld Snowboarding, Transworld Surf, Transworld BMX, Transworld Motocross, and Transworld Business). The deal has made Grind the “largest action sports media company in the world.” This is obviously a big deal in our world, especially in an era when some (okay, us) would argue that investing in print media brands is a pretty bad idea. Garrett, however, is quick to correct us and state that today’s transaction was not a “magazine” purchase.

“We didn’t buy print assets,” he says. “We bought great brands. What we’re attempting to do is leverage these brands and the quality content that they produce to help us play a more important role in growing our markets, engaging more people, helping our advertisers grow their businesses, and luring new advertising to take advantage of the scale.”
Continue reading ‘The Drive Home With Grind Media’s Norb Garrett’

The action sports media chickens have finally come home to one big Southern California roost as we’re getting reports that Source Interlink’s action sports, adventure, and lifestyle group Grind Media a.k.a. Surfer, Surfing, Snowboarder, has purchased Transworld Media (all the titles except Wakeboarding) from the Florida based Bonnier Corp while at the same time selling them nine motorcycle magazines (according to a post on Media Bistro) including Motorcyclist, Sport Rider, Dirt Rider, Motorcycle Cruiser, Hot Bike, Baggers, Super Streetbike, Street Chopper and ATV Rider. It looks more like a title swap than anything else.

Bonnier CEO Dave Freygang was in Transworld’s Carlsbad, California offices this morning (May 20, 2013) along with Grind Media Senior Vice President, Group Publisher Norb Garrett to communicate the changes in store for the company.

Just last week Freygang was quoted in Folio as saying that Bonnier’s previous title offloadings “should not be taken as the dismantling of the company.” And, to be fair, this latest transaction resulted in a net gain of two magazine titles for Bonnier.

The question that on many people’s minds is what will Source do with the titles. Transworld Motocross would be a great addition, and Transworld BMX could be a good fit as well. The organizational fun will come with the board sports magazines. Source now owns Surf, Surfer, and Surfing, along with Skateboarder and Skateboarding, and Snowboarder and Snowboarding. Figuring out how all those brands sort out could take a while, or, sadly take no time at all. Currently, it appears that Grind Media has no plans to change much at Transworld. But to keep running the magazines as they are.

As for Transworld Media, this is just one more sale for a publishing company that has remained surprisingly resilient through five changes in ownership in the last 18 years (today’s announcement makes it six).

If you have an opinion, be sure to vote in Yobeat.com’s What Should Grind Media Do? poll right here.

Follow the jump for the official word from Grind Media.

[Editors' Note: The details of this story will be continually updated as our information improves. We apologize in advance.]

Continue reading ‘Grind Media Buys Transworld Media’

Brandon Brubaker, the former Cons Skateboarding and Vans designer has accepted a new position at Supra Footwear as the vice president of design and merchandising.

“SUPRA has always been a design driven brand,” said Scott Bailey, ONE Distribution’s CEO, “and Brandon’s commitment to pushing design make him uniquely suited to lead our young team. Bringing Brandon back home to Southern California after years of experience with some major footwear brands is something we’re really proud of.”

For the official word from Supra follow the jump.

Continue reading ‘Brandon Brubaker Moves Up To One’

Sure, it’s Monday morning and we’re still trying to recover from a white hot action sporting weekend, but still, we haven’t laughed this hard watching a skate edit since, well, since 1969. And we owe it all to The Amazing Richie Jackson Skateboard Show.

For the past two years, Brad and Sheena Van Orden have been piloting their 1984 Volkswagon Vanagon “Nacho” around the world in search of adventure and documenting that search on the website Drive Nacho Drive. Now they have Freewaters helping them along on their mission. The Van Ordens are the casual and conscious footwear company’s newest ambassadors.

“Brad and Sheena (and of course Nacho) epitomize what the Freewaters ethos is all about: the freedom of travel and road tripping, being global citizens and daring to chart one’s own path in life,” says Freewaters Co-Founder Eli Marmar.  “The long and rugged quality of their trip makes them ideal product testers and brand messengers.  We have a ton of respect for what they are doing and are very happy to have them as ambassadors.”

Follow the jump for the official word from Freewaters, or click here to learn more about the goals of the Drive Nacho Drive project.

Continue reading ‘Freewaters Helps Drive Nacho Drive’

It’s taken Jordy Smith a while, but he finally won an ASP event outside South Africa as he edged Brazilian surf hero Adriano de Souza 17.80 to 16.34 in the Billabong Rio Pro on Sunday, May 19, 2013 in two- to four-foot surf. It was Smith’s third ASP World Tour win.

“This win feels unbelievable,” Smith said. “It’s another dream come true. I knew I could win a World Tour event, but I had to prove to myself that I could do it away from South Africa. Thanks to crowd and Adriano (de Souza). He’s been ripping the whole event. Thanks to all of my friends and family for all of the amazing support.”

His appearance in the final pushed de Souza into the lead in the ASP World Rankings just head of Jordy. That and beating Kelly Slater in quarter final one, added up to a pretty good day for the Brazilian even if it wasn’t another win. For the official word, including scores and top five World rankings, follow the jump.
Continue reading ‘Jordy Smith Airs Into Billabong Rio Pro Win’