Fashion

Investors Call Potdevin “Dumpy”

by The Editors on April 23, 2014

You may remember Laurent Potdevin. A while ago he was the President of Burton Snowboards. He did that job for five years then went on to be the CEO of Toms Shoes. Most recently, Mr. Potdevin was named CEO of Lululemon (the yoga pants company started by Westbeach founder Chip Wilson). Things at the suburban mom shaping factory haven’t been going that well for Mr. Potdevin and some investors feel that has to do with Laurent’s pot belly, according to a story in the NY Post.

Meanwhile, some investors who attended the meeting said they were surprised to see that Potdevin, in his first major public appearance since he took the helm in January, didn’t exactly look the part of a fitness mogul. . . “He was kind of … dumpy,” one shareholder said, noting that Potdevin wore baggy clothes with an untucked shirt that failed to hide a bulging stomach . . “If he’s a competent leader, he’s a competent leader,” another investor said. “But you’ve got to ask whether this guy is really in touch with the mind-set of his core customer in the athletic space.”

Make a presentation on a bad day and the stock falls five percent. Being the CEO of a publicly traded company must be really fun.

[Link: NY Post]

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Joel Tudor’s New Neptune From Spy

by The Editors on April 17, 2014

Former longboard surfing world champion and Jiu Jitsu US national champion Joel Tudor has a new shade from Spy. It’s called the Neptune and it comes in four different frame options and three different lenses.

The Neptune is Joel Tudor’s signature style, and draws a cool line between modern and classic.

What more do you need to know?

[Link: Spy Optic]

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Daniel Lutheran’s New Era Pros

by The Editors on April 16, 2014

Vans is putting out some new Vans Pro Classic styles. This one above is Daniel Lutheran’s own perspective on the Era Pro. His color way features “textured floral print.”

The PRO CLASSICS™ concept is simple: enhance the functional performance of our most tried and true, heritage shoes to meet the demanding requirements of the Vans pro skate team. The spring offering includes the Era Pro, Half Cab Pro® and Slip-On Pro with upgraded features like our Ultracush HD high impact sock liners, Duracap® rubber underlays for reinforcement in high wear areas.

To see what Ray Barbee has up his musical sleeves, follow the jump for his update to the classic Old Skool ’92 Pro. [click to continue…]

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Raen Has Just The Right Prescription

by The Editors on April 3, 2014

Southern California’s Raen eyewear is delivering just the right prescription for people who need to wear glasses for a little more than style. By partnering with Coastal.com Raen can now prescription optics delivered right to your door in 72 hours.

“With frames priced at $100, and prescription fulfillment starting at $100, our customers can now order prescription eyeglasses for much less than if they weren’t the tradition route,” says Raen COO Jeremy Heit. “We’ve partnered with Coastal.com to make the entire process of fulfilling eyeglasses more affordable, without compromising the handmade quality and modern-classic style Raen is known for.”

We can see clearly now after what Raen has done. . . for the official word from Raen, follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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Fyasko Goes All The Way Bananas

by The Editors on April 2, 2014

Its spring and there’s no better time to go bananas. Fyasko has done it up and gone well over the top with their new Go Bananas Collection. Planet of the Bananas has never looked so smooth. Looks like this “apish” surfer is getting all the goodness. Follow the jump for all the product. . . [click to continue…]

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Vans + Independent = OG Collection

by The Editors on April 2, 2014

These two brands have been showing up on the same people for decades, so it’s fitting that Vans and Independent Truck Company are collaborating on an exclusive apparel and footwear collection.

As original manufacturers in skateboarding, these two brands share an influential heritage deeply rooted in the early days of skating’s genesis as well as current team riders from Amateur to Legendary such as Gilbert Crockett, Anthony Van Engelen, Geoff Rowley, Tony Trujillo, Andrew Allen, Curren Caples, Daniel Lutheran, Dustin Dollin, Elijah Berle, Jason Dill, Omar Hassan, Pedro Barros, Christian Hosoi, Jeff Grosso, John Cardiel, Ray Barbee, Steve Caballero and Tony Alva. Hailing from Santa Cruz, Independent has offered skateboarding hardwoods since the late 70’s, providing the functional equipment that hardcore skaters rely on to this day.

For the official word from Vans, follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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Kelly Slater Changes His Shorts

by The Editors on April 1, 2014

Kelly Slater has left Quiksilver and few are surprised. The most surprising thing to us (aside from the April 1, 2014 roll out) is that news went out in a press release from the ASP. Why is Kelly Slater leaving Quiksilver an ASP news item? Oh yeah, that’s because Kelly owns has extremely close ties to the owners of the Association of Surfing Professionals.

Mr. Slater, however, was a true professional with his exit letter:

There is little I can say that would give the credit due or cover the debt of gratitude I feel on a personal and professional level to Quiksilver. As a brand and on a human level, they have been a part of my life, career, and personal relationships for more than 23 years now, well over half my life. They’ve supported me through good times and bad, personal hardships and competitive triumphs, and never wavered in backing my choices and desires in all that time.

Quiksilver founder Bob McKnight was equally professional and warm.

“Kelly has been a part of the Quiksilver family for over 20 years. It’s been an incredible journey watching him grow from a young surfer with great potential, to the 11-time World Champion he is today. We wish Kelly all the best as he enters this next phase of his career.”

Yes, it went on for a long time (23 years) and they created some iconic images together, but it was just a clothing sponsorship, and Kelly was just a model, and Quiksilver is just a giant clothing company dead set on selling swimsuits to the mall moving masses so we’re sure they’ll find cheaper, younger, more handsome men to model their products in the future. And Kelly, well, he’s moving on up to model for a huge French Fashion conglomerate (that owns Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Puma, and Volcom/electric]. Because if you’re going to model, it might as well be for the French. They invented it.

[Side note: we searched Kering's site for "Kelly Slater" and the site replied: "Did you mean 'helly later'?" Yes, that's exactly what we meant.]

[Link: ASP]

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Roark Revival’s Nate Zoller Surfing

by The Editors on April 1, 2014

What makes this video special? It’s got Nate Zoller in it. That’s what. Oh, and a girl shaking her pineapples.

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Jamie Lynn For Dragon Optical Collection

by The Editors on March 26, 2014

Does the concept of pro snowboarder product endorsement still work? Of course it does. The only reason we posted this Dragon Optical Collection video is because Jamie Lynn is in it. And it’s probably the only reason that you’ll watch it. Simple as that.

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March Logo Madness Goes Lifestyle

by The Editors on March 24, 2014

In this week’s March Logo Madness you finally get the chance to vote for Boardistan and our down arrow B logo made famous on coffee mugs around the world. Help us get out of our round one match up against AWSM. Click the link and vote for us, as well as the rest of your favorite lifestyle brands.