As you well know we hate reading stories like this one from The Herald-Mail:

An 8-year-old boy was in critical condition Wednesday night at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., after a skateboard accident at 440 N. Prospect St. earlier in the day, according to a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman. . . The accident occurred at about 5:45 p.m., when three juveniles were hanging onto a Jeep while riding skateboards, Sgt. Chad Woodring said late Wednesday. . . The 8-year-old boy lost his balance, and it is believed he was struck by the Jeep, Woodring said.

We also flinch every time we see pros towing into stuff while skateboarding in movies like Emerica’s Stay Gold and Nike Skateboarding’s Debacle. Sure, skateboarding is dangerous, but still . . .

[Link: The Herald-Mail]

Zumiez settled a California lawsuit last year over meal breaks and overtime pay and settling the suit has actually cost the company $2.1 million rather than the $1.3 million originally reported, according to a story in the Puget Sound Business Journal.

The Everett-based youth apparel retailer, in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, said “the lawsuit is similar to numerous lawsuits filed against retailers and others with operations in California. Although the company believes that the allegations in the lawsuit lack merit, it has agreed to a mediator’s proposal to settle the claims in the lawsuit to avoid significant legal fees, other expenses and management time that would have to be devoted to protracted litigation.”

It’s so nice when companies realize that it’s cheaper to pay their employees than to pay lawyers. Guess that’s what lawsuits are for.

[Link: Puget Sound Business Journal]

For those who just love smoking a bowl on that first chair ride each morning, rocking huge dirt-head beanies, and cruising down the slopes in an Irie state of mind Burton has just the board: the Whammy Bar Marley.

Key features of the new Whammy Bar Marley board include a simulated wood-grain topsheet layered with a series of classic photos from Bob Marley’s family archives. The images reflect his love for family, music and life. In addition, the base of the board features a powerful graphic showcasing the traditional Lion of Judah integrated with the colors of the Rasta flag and Burton branding. . . “It was a natural fit to work with Burton on the Bob Marley snowboard collection,” says Rohan Marley. “Like my father, they are pioneers in their field and celebrate life’s endless possibilities.”

How’s that for a reach? It’s nice that the family can continue to live off the legend. Follow the jump for all the details.
Continue reading ‘Burton Expands Dead Artist Line With Bob Marley’

There was a lot of talk about the big cuts coming to the ASP Elite Tour come the Billabong Pro at Teahupoo. The former Top 48 was getting cut to 32 and everyone seemed very worried about it. Now that it has happened everyone realizes that it really wasn’t that big a deal and just the people we would have bet on to get cut were cut. Here is the list:

Drew Courtney (AUS), 31
Neco Padaratz (BRA), 34
Tanner Gudauskas (USA), 22
Mick Campbell (AUS), 34
Kieren Perrow (AUS), 33
Tom Whitaker (AUS), 30
Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), 25
Blake Thornton (AUS), 25
Dean Morrison (AUS), 29
Jay Thompson (AUS), 28
Nate Yeomans (USA), 29
Ben Dunn (AUS), 24
Marco Polo (BRA), 29

Exactly. What was good to see was that one of the Gudauskas (Patrick the rodeo flipper, pictured above) is still elite. His parents must be at least half happy. Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP.
Continue reading ‘The ASP Makes The Cut’

Not that we’ve been pondering our sock drawer lately, but Klen Laundry just let us know that they are rolling out their their second collection of bamboo-based socks. Yeah, bamboo.

Staying in line with the KLeN principles of utilizing eco friendly materials and giving back to the planet, all of the new socks are OEKO-Tex certified to insure their clean qualities. The company also practices environmental stewardship through its membership to 1% For the Planet as well as a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation in which a tree is planted for every t-shirt sold.

Less stinky, green socks are good socks.
Continue reading ‘Klen Laundry’s Got Some New Bamboo Socks’

Not really sure what’s been going on at the Surf Industry Manufacturers’ Association lately, but it seems their Boot Camps have been oddly relevant. On September 22, 2010 SIMA will tackle “New Media.”

The first panel discussion of the morning, Media vs. New Media: Tracking the Transition, will showcase a discussion with the surf industry’s leading media experts on the transition to new media, its benefits and advantages, and specific learnings from the interactive endeavors of these media outlets. Moderated by Doug Palladini, the panelists will include: Rob Campbell / Editorial Director, TransWorld Media; Norb Garrett / Senior Vice President, Group Publisher, ASG; Ross Garrett / Director of Operations and Development, The Surfer’s Journal; Gene Pao / Vice President of New Media and International Development, FUEL TV; and Jonno Wells / CEO, Surfline.

It’s always entertaining to see what corporate executives from the established action media have to say about “new” media, isn’t it?

Follow the jump for the rest of the scheduled topics, or click here to register. Continue reading ‘SIMA Gives New Media The Boot Camp’

Billabong’s recent annual report has been out for a while now, but Jeff Harbaugh’s gotten back to it in his most recent Market Watch column. In it he covers what currency fluctuations can mean to global businesses, why new accounting rules make profit comparisons difficult, the China crisis, and Billabong’s retail strategy.

In talking about Billabong’s motivations for retail, they note how they’ve seen an increase in house brands by retailers in recent years, and how that ends up “…eroding the amount of space that’s available for premium brands…” and usually not working for the retailer. Though they don’t come right out and name it, I think they were thinking about PacSun, where their sales last year were down 40%. . . . There is also a general concern about the overall whole base. In Australia, they estimate their account base has declined 5% in the last 12 to 15 months. In addition, they have “quite a few” on credit hold and “may not continue selling to those accounts.”

Reading Jeff’s columns is a lot like having a favorite uncle go over the numbers with you. Click it and you’ll see.

[Link: Jeff Harbaugh's Market Watch]

Ryan Kingman and the crew at Stance have announced their Artists Series of foot covering the work of skate artists like Russ Pope, Andy Howell, Steven Harrington, and Don Pendleton. As if any of us needed an excuse to buy new socks.

[Link: Stance]

Cardiff California’s “Cardiff Kook” is making world headlines as the Wall Street Journal’s Conor Dougherty reports on the awkward statue and the pranksters who have made ridiculing it an art form.

Recently, Mr. Hardtke topped his wave with a new piece: Just before dawn on July 24, he and a dozen friends carried the 15-foot shark—crafted out of papier-mâché over a wooden frame—a few blocks to the beach, installing it in just 15 minutes. Those were merely the final moments of a two-week project for Mr. Hardtke, who guesses he spent roughly $450 building the shark. . . Police have mostly ignored pranksters like Mr. Hardtke, and local officials have quietly praised the various Kook-inspired works because they bring attention to their tiny beach town. In fact, Mr. Hardtke recently learned the city has been storing his wave sculpture inside at a dusty warehouse that belongs to Paul Ecke Ranch, a grower of poinsettias and other flowers in Encinitas, Calif., the city which surrounds the community of Cardiff.

Another example of how surfers will make use of anything that moves them.

[Link: Wall Street Journal]

Baltimore, Maryland Police Officer Salvatore Rivieri who was caught on tape at least two times being a complete asshole way overstepping the bounds of his badge (click here for all the coverage) has finally (and thankfully) been fired by Baltimore City Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld, according to a story on ABC 2 News.

Not so suprisingly, the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 3 thinks the firing was was wrong, according to the story. In their statement they said:

For the PC to increase the punishment to termination is an abuse of his discretion and not only does it end the career of a 19 year veteran who was out there doing his job, the PC’s decision sends the wrong message to all our police officers who are expected to aggressively keep our streets safe but cannot expect to be treated fairly and not discriminated against in any disciplinary proceedings.

Oddly, we believe this firing is one of the first times the right message is being sent to other police officers regarding how they handle skateboarders in general and children specifically. If not for Youtube.com this man would still be harassing people with his badge like a school yard bully and the sooner other officers realize that this is not proper police behavior the better.

Then the Baltimore Police can get back to the important stuff like allegedly shooting unarmed war veterans outside nightclubs.

[Link: ABC 2 News]