The snowboarding community lost one of its original innovators on Wednesday, September 15, 2022. Adam Merriman died while riding an electric skateboard on the North Recreation Path and Red Sandstone Park in Vail, Colorado, according to a story in the Vail Daily. Merriman was 50 years old.
Officer Brad Porter said it was a Halo Board Beast 2 electric skateboard. “I observed one end of the board to be completely broken, with both wheels on this portion of the board to be broken and completely severed from the rest of the skateboard and skateboard’s deck,” Porter said in his report. “These wheels were still attached to the board, connected by wires that led to the battery pack. I observed these severed wheels to be the driving wheels (mechanism) that powered or moved the skateboard.”
Merriman had reportedly gotten the e-skateboard the day before his crash. He is remembered by the staff at Slush Magazine in a glowing eulogy. Here’s a piece, but you should read the entire story by clicking here.
Adam Merriman’s impact on snowboarding is immeasurable and the loss on his friends and family is inconceivable. Perhaps a sliver of solace can be found in the faith that Adam is likely laughing and conjuring new adventures on the other side alongside J2 and the rest of our snowboarding community who we have lost too soon.
We grieve with the entire snowboard community. A memorial for Adam is planned for October 1, 2022 at 4pm at the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame in Vail, Colorado.
Patrick O’Dell chases down the story of an East Coast BMX kid who became the most innovative, influential image grabber in skateboarding and, arguably, the world in general. Yep, it’s Spike Jonze. The nicest, kindest, coolest, creative genius we’ve ever had the chance to hang out with.
Kicking off the festivities with the Parade of Nations, 246 of the world’s best surfers, representing 51 countries, marched down Main Street. Led by the Huntington Beach High School marching band, the teams sang out cheers and chants in celebration to the joy of the hundreds of spectators lining the street. . . Joining for the first time, teams from the nations of Algeria, Lithuania and Saudi Arabia drew extra support. . . The large crowd at Pier Plaza was treated to the ISA’s signature Sands of the World ceremony, with a member from each nation pouring sand from their local beach into a single container symbolizing the peaceful gathering of nations of the world through surfing. The audience rose for a tearful standing ovation as Team Ukraine joined the stage.
Nice to see an international surf contest of this size that is not privately owned. For the official word from the ISA please follow the jump.
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard (and his family) have decided to do an end around on the normal life cycle of a clothing brand in the action sports space. They’re not going public, they’re not selling out to private equity, and they’re not just shutting it down ala Grubby Clark. Instead, they’re splitting up the $3 billion company into two different entities: first, the Patagonia Purpose Trust, which owns two percent of the companies shares and ALL the voting rights, and second, 98 percent of the shares (and no voting rights) is going to the Holdfast Collective. The “collective” is a non-profit organization that will distribute Patagonia’s future profits to combat climate change, according to a story in The New York Times.
“Hopefully this will influence a new form of capitalism that doesn’t end up with a few rich people and a bunch of poor people,” Mr. Chouinard, 83, said in an exclusive interview. “We are going to give away the maximum amount of money to people who are actively working on saving this planet.” . . . By giving away the bulk of their assets during their lifetime, the Chouinards — Yvon, his wife Malinda, and their two children, Fletcher and Claire, who are both in their 40s — have established themselves as among the most charitable families in the country.
They’ve also saved themselves a boat load of taxes, but who’s counting. It’s a wonderful thing to do. And they still get to run the company as controllers of the Patagonia Purpose Trust. Win win. For all the details, click the link.
When the spreadsheet doesn’t look good adjustments must be made, and apparently, VF Corp (parent company of Vans, Supreme, The North Face and more) has decided the company will run much better without 600 of its “positions,” according to a story on Footwear News.
VF Corp did not specify which departments and locations would be impacted by the layoffs. The company employed 35,000 people around the world as of the end of fiscal 2022. According to Denver Business Journal, these cuts will impact 1.7% of the company’s existing workforce.
Looks like it’s 300 people losing their jobs and 300 empty positions being eliminated. Business is business.
Yes, apparently the world has come to this. Are we saddened? Sure. Shocked? Not really. Celebrity culture (like pop) will eat itself. Views are views. And in instances like this, we can’t point fingers because we are part of the problem (just like Yung Gravy).
It’s been a rough go for the official Olympic snowboarding body US Ski and Snowboarding since allegations of sexual assault within the organization surfaced during the Beijing Olympics in February 2022. Now, USSA Director Jeremy Forester and freeskiing and snowboard head coach Mike Jankowski are gone from the organization as well, according to a story on ESPN.com.
USSS director Jeremy Forster. . . resigned from his position on Aug. 14, and freeskiing and snowboard head coach Mike Jankowski’s position was eliminated on Aug. 15. . . “With Jeremy Forster’s resignation, we are restructuring the freeski and snowboard teams and Mike Jankowski’s position was no longer needed,” USSS said in a statement to ESPN.
Forester had been with USSA for 30 years and Jankowski 19 years.
It’s currently the warmest part of the year in Southern California and maybe that’s why Mountain High is offering their hottest deals on 2022-23 season passes. For SoCal snowboarders there are many reasons to love Mountain High. It’s real. It’s real close. And it’s not part of some super mega resort run by a massive Colorado corporation. Here’s the deal they’re serving up for Labor Day weekend.
Snowy days are on their way and this Labor Day weekend, skiers & snowboarders save up to $350 on 22/23 Season Passes to Mountain High, Southern California’s closest winter resort. Guests who purchase by 9/5 receive a FREE Buddy Ticket worth $129. It’s the best season pass deal in Southern California and pays for itself in just 4 visits. . . “For the cost of a handful of tickets, you can enjoy an entire season of skiing and snowboarding at Mountain High, Southern California’s closest winter resort,” says John McColly, Mountain High Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
Ride local and leave the super mega passes for the tourists. For the official details from Mountain High, please follow the jump.
When France hosts the Olympic Games in 2024 their surfing venue is going to be a short 22 hour plane ride away in French Polynesia a.k.a. Tahiti, home to the monster wave Teahupo’o. Of course you already know this and we just watched the mostly boring contest from there last week. That said, the leaders from the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Organizing Committee (including Owen Wright, Stephanie Gilmore, Tony Estanguet, Italo Ferreira and Jean-Philippe Gatien, pictured above) visited Tahiti during the contest to officially check things out. According to the ISA:
The ISA and Paris teams held productive discussions on key elements of the surfing competition in Tahiti and toured core elements of the planned Olympic surfing location. Agenda items for the meetings covered major topics such as the 2024 event format, competition schedule, infrastructure, sustainability, athlete accommodation and broadcast services.
Nice work if you can get it. For the rest of the official details, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
The snowboarding community lost one of its original innovators on Wednesday, September 15, 2022. Adam Merriman died while riding an electric skateboard on the North Recreation Path and Red Sandstone Park in Vail, Colorado, according to a story in the Vail Daily. Merriman was 50 years old.
When the spreadsheet doesn’t look good adjustments must be made, and apparently, VF Corp (parent company of Vans, Supreme, The North Face and more) has decided the company will run much better without 600 of its “positions,” according to a story on 
It’s been a rough go for the official Olympic snowboarding body US Ski and Snowboarding since 
