Yesterday, December 17, 2018, was a good day at Pipe. Not a epic day, but good enough for Gabriel Medina to prove beyond any doubt that this year he was the best performer in internet-streamed surfing productions and an absolute ruler at Pipeline.
“All my heroes have won this contest,” Medina said. “I’m stoked to be a part of everything here. Winning this event is a little different. I really wanted this one, and I worked really hard for this one so I’m so happy. That was a good final. Julian (Wilson) is the toughest competitor to go up against so I’m lucky I got two good waves. He won in a Final against me a few years ago and I got this one, so it feels good. I really appreciate everyone that came down to watch and I’m stoked to put on such a great show. I’m so happy to be part of history – I’ve put in a lot of work.”
In other news Jesse Mendes (BRA) won the VANS Triple Crown of Surfing title following Jordy Smith’s (ZAF) Semifinal loss to Medina. Mendes collected a fifth place at Haleiwa, a runner-up in Sunset and a 9th at the Billabong Pipe Masters. Mendes is only the second surfer from Brazil to claim the prestigious award after Medina in 2015.
Special thanks to the Vans Triple Crown for allowing us to watch this made-for-the-internet production without having to jump through any facebook and/or registration hoops. Kind of reminded us of the good old days there for a minute.
Nick Carroll, a writer who surfs well, gives his take on Dirk Ziff’s wave pond in a really, really long story on BeachGrit.com. Deja vu. As much as we love Nick, and cherish his contributions to surfing lit, we again didn’t read the entire story, however, we don’t think he mentioned William Finnegan nor The New Yorker magazine. He did however offer up an epic butter-em-up-then-poop-on-their-plate overview of the place in the last few paragraphs. Here it is:
You ride waves, but that’s it. . . And ultimately, this is dissatisfying. The WSL Surf Ranch is an ideal venue for major pro surfing competition. It’s an epic showcase for pros, and a theme park for good surfers. It’s almost impossibly original, and fun as hell. I’m flabbergasted by what Kelly has done up there at Lemoore; at some moments I think maybe it outdoes all his world championships. After all, people won world titles before him, and they continue to do so since; none, however have built anything like this. . . But as a surf experience, it just doesn’t hit the spot.
We’re assuming you can learn how Nick arrived at this conclusion by reading the entire piece.
We’d like to think that Burton itself is the product of Jake Carpenter’s “creativity,” but it seems that corporations outgrown their founders by design. It’s nice to see Jake getting back to doing the stuff he likes to do with the Mine 77 collection . . . even if it is made up of $700 jackets, $400 backpacks, and $60 tee shirts.
Surf photog Jack English has launched a new “style brand” with his 10-year-old daughter Eden. It’s called Sea of Seven. It goes a little like this:
Driven by unstoppable rhythms, Sea Of Seven is a divergent clash of art, sound and style. Inspired by authentic ocean living and creative surf lifestyles, Sea Of Seven designs custom posters, prints, apparel, décor and accessories featuring Jack English’s original surf photography.
For the official word from Sea of Seven, please follow the jump.
It’s all beginning to make sense now. “I mean before, I thought the 900 was actually a real trick. Then I figured out it’s just as fake as someone landing on the moon.” Word, Greg.
Coal Headwear is partnering with Protect Our Winters on a new beanie that consumes 76% less energy, 85% less water and 76% less waste than a typical acrylic beanie, just in time for the holiday shred season. A portion of the proceeds will support Protect Our Winter’s advocacy around climate change.
Coal will be one of the first US-based brands to introduce the new Polylana yarn to the outdoor industry. Polylana is made from virgin and recycled polyester and has similar characteristics to acrylic or wool fiber. Using this material saves 5 liters of water per beanie, when compared with acrylic. The production of this fiber also releases 19% less CO2 than traditional polyester materials. The material is ACH Compliant, Formaldehyde free and its vegan!
William Finnegan, a surfer who writes well, gives his take on Dirk Ziff’s wave pond along with a recap of nearly everything wave pool related that has happened in the last four years in a really, really long story in the December 17, 2018 The New Yorker magazine. It starts out a little like this:
The first few hours I spent at the W.S.L. Surf Ranch, a wave pool built for surfing in the farmlands south of Fresno, California, were for me a blur. I was fine on arrival, hiking through a little forest of scaffolding, eucalyptus, and white tents with a publicist from the Kelly Slater Wave Company, which built and runs the place. The valley heat was fierce but dry. House music rode on a light northwest breeze.
Not really sure how the story finishes because we lost interest about three paragraphs in, but you might not. Give the link a click and see for yourself.
Twelve minutes of powder blowing to put us all in a midwinter state of mind from Iisakki Kennilä amd Antti Autti. Enjoy Closer.
Antti explains: “In snowboarding and especially in freeriding, no matter where you strap in you’ll find yourself in unique places doing stuff you will never do the same again. Every moment, every turn, every hit – they’re all special. That’s been my motto for my whole riding career, and that’s what I’ll keep up to.
Former pro snowboarder and athlete manager Roberta Walker was seriously injured on Saturday morning December 8, 2018 when she was hit by a truck while cycling in her hometown of Leucadia, California according to a story in The Coast News.
Roberta Walker was struck shortly after 6 a.m. on North Coast Highway 101 in front of the Leucadia Post Office. The impact of the collision threw her a significant distance and she was briefly unconscious. . . Walker was transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where she is listed in critical but stable condition after suffering serious injuries to her brain and spine, as well as several broken bones, according to Kellie Shay Hinze, Walker’s friend and executive director of Cardiff 101’s sister organization, Leucadia 101 Main Street.
According to the website set up to update everyone on Roberta’s condition she “received a blood transfusion and the results are now looking good. She also had surgery on her lung that went well. Recent CT scans show no further bleeding. Roberta is doing much better today and things are moving in the right direction. Her labs are all almost in the normal range. Her lungs are doing much better. They are going to keep her resting another couple of days to let her brain trauma recover.”
For more info on Roberta’s condition and how you can help her and JP Walker during her hospitalization and recovery please click here: https://heambailey.wixsite.com/roberta.
Billionaire Westbeach co-founder Chip Wilson (his other little start-up was Lululemon Athletica) has joined forces with Chinese sportswear giant Anta Sports Products Ltd and some others to purchase Finland based Amer Sport, owners of Salomon, Atomic, Arc’Teryx, Suunto, Mavic, Percor, and Wilson for $5.2 billion, according to a story on Bloomberg.
The consortium, which includes Chinese buyout firm FountainVest Partners, will offer shareholders of Finland’s Amer Sports Oyj 40 euros a share in cash, or about 4.6 billion euros. The deal is the largest struck by a Chinese acquirer for a European asset since China Investment Corp. agreed to buy Logicor Europe for almost $14 billion in June 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Guess Chip just couldn’t stay away from the snow any longer.
Surf photog Jack English has launched a new “style brand” with his 10-year-old daughter Eden. It’s called 
Former pro snowboarder and athlete manager Roberta Walker was seriously injured on Saturday morning December 8, 2018 when she was hit by a truck while cycling in her hometown of Leucadia, California according to a story in 
Billionaire 
