The Australian press is really biting into the Kelly Slater vs. The ASP Tour story. Today, The Australian surf writer Fred Pawle digs in a little deeper into the breakaway group involving the nine-time world champion, his manager Terry Hardy, Quiksilver’s Bob McKnight, and former American boxing promoter Matt Tinley, as well as their “in-principle” agreement with ESPN.
ASP chief executive Brodie Carr waited three weeks before he could get a meeting with Hardy, which happened this week in Los Angeles. Carr is not saying what was discussed but one rumour in the surfing world suggests Hardy was bullish about his ability to steal the sport away from the ASP. Other sources say the rebels have employed a team of lawyers to head off any legal challenge from the ASP. . . Neither Hardy nor Quiksilver International in the US are prepared to comment on the new tour or on rumours that McKnight and Slater have invested heavily in the breakaway group, saying a press release will be issued soon.
Read the rest of the story. It has the potential to keep all of us entertained for quite some time.
Regis Roland, visionary founder of the original Apocalypse Snow films and brand, put his French snowboard/freeski company Apo Snow “into administration protection” on July 6, 2009, according to an interview on Board Sports Source. Here’s some of what he had to say about it.
I think everybody has noticed that the financial crisis has hit companies badly and it has unfortunately hit my company at the wrong time. Indeed, in the past 5 years, we have been investing in costly innovative projects such as our patented bindings, (Our Dual Entry System) and more recently our new ski range. . .The returns have been decent, but as an independent brand, we do not have the financial clout to support such a large investment without the backing of a strong financial group or the support of our banks.
Roland says the company is “not dead,” production of the 2009/10 has been launched, and he is currently looking for a private investor to make the company stronger.
Next time you find yourself at The Standard Hotel without proper swimwear (sadly it’s still required at The Standard) you can simply cruise over to a vending machine and pick up a pair of Quik classic trunks or Quik binkini without even speaking to a human thanks to a new collab between the surf giant and the porny hotel chain.
In celebration of the bold attitudes and bright colors of the boardshort’s golden era, Quicksilver has partnered up with The Standard to reissue their original boardshorts from the 70s and 80s but with modern fits, fabrics and technolocy. . . The Standard boardshorts by Quiksilver and Quiksilver women’s bikini will be sold through the first ever boardshort/bikini vending machines located poolside at the Standard Hotels.
According to a press release posted on Thrasher Magazine’s website, Cliché Skateboards has been acquired by Dwindle Distribution. The France based skateboard manufacturer has been one of the few European grown companies to make its presence known in the rest of the world.
Cliché has always had a strong European presence, they have consistently put out quality video projects and carry a strong respect in the skateboarding community,” said Bod Boyle, president of Dwindle. “We are proud of what they have achieved and see a great opportunity for them to become a truly global brand under Dwindle’s worldwide infrastructure.
It’s a small globe after all. . . it’s a small, small globe.
Skullcandy’s CEO Rick Alden is up for Entrepreneur of 2009 in a contest held by Entrepreneur magazine. He is up against four other CEO’s that you’ve never heard of (click here for Rick’s video bio)
“The greatest part of Skullcandy for me has been the association with an incredible team of employees. Being blessed to work with these people every day is the best part of the ride,” Alden stated. “I have a high opinion of the importance of entrepreneurship in America, so to be included with this caliber of other founders in the premier magazine for entrepreneurs is an insane honor.”
If you’d like to help Rick win, click here and vote by October 12, 2009. And if you’d like to see someone else to win, click here and vote from someone else. [Link: Entrepreneur.com]
Last weekend it seemed like Hurley and Converse just couldn’t get enough of the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. Their logos where everywhere the event’s 500,000 visitors looked. But after seeing Nike’s numbers from the fiscal year which ended on May 31, 2009 it looks like Nike was simply playing into their strengths.
According to a story on Sports One SourceConverse and Hurley were two of Nike’s brightest shining stars in an otherwise flat year.
Converse posted a 12.6% increase in revenues for the fiscal 2009 year, reaching $915.3 million for the year. . . Hurley revenues jumped 18.6% to $202.9 million for the year from $171.1 million in the prior year.
Pro snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler and pro skater Lauren Perkins are joining pro baller Steve Nash, pro paintballer Johnny Perchak (and others) in backing a new website that reportedly will help people learn how to become pro athletes. The site, which launches Wednesday July 29, 2009 is called Makeitpro.com, according to a story on Forbes.com.
These optimists are launching MakeItPro.com July 29, a site targeted to young athletes, especially those not growing up in sports hotbeds, offering them sport-by-sport advice as well as a social network to help connect with coaches and recruiters.
Because we all know that by following a few tips from our favorite pros we all be living the good life in no time. God, we just hope Gretchen and Lauren are getting paid upfront. . .
We have to give credit to Scott Tilton, founder of Loop’d Network. He continues to land great press release fodder for his “online community for action sports.” This time he’s lined up to be the “official online community” for X Games 15, according to a story in the San Diego Business Journal.
As part of the agreement, ESPN.com Action Sports will provide year-round news for Loop’d Network across all of its action sports hubs. ESPN will also provide RSS feeds from ESPN’s columnists and bloggers in skateboarding, snowboarding, free skiing and surfing.
Wait, can’t anyone run and ESPN RSS feed is they want? Isn’t that what RSS feeds are? Guess this is just one more thing about Loop’d Network that we’ll never understand.
The last time we attended the Agenda Tradeshow we had some criticisms that didn’t go over so well with the event’s management. We didn’t really like the old beat down hall, or the shabby booth set up, or the fact that the show was running concurrently with the San Diego ASR Show.
Interestingly, all that has changed for the July 22-23, 2009 show in Huntington Beach, California. It’s almost like Agenda President Aaron Levant read everyone’s minds (or listened really well). The new venue at the Hyatt is clean and well lit. The booths were consistent and solid (except for the shelving in the Analog booth that dropped to the floor scaring half the people in the room).
Things were so nice in fact that we began wondering if it might be too nice for some of the smaller street brands. But everyone we spoke to (including some of the deepest LA street brands) loved the new venue, the new dates and the fact that Vans, Hurley, Volcom, Nike and RVCA were now coming to the party.
If you don’t believe us, watch the video, click here for the Agenda 09 photo gallery, or do both at the same time. See if we care.
It’s the middle of summer, but the Snow Industries of America wants everyone to know that the show’s move to Denver, Colorado (yee haw) is the best thing ever and they’ve got video proof from the likes of Joel Gomez, Dave Roseberger, Andrew Marriner, Rick Alden (and some guys we don’t know from some ski companies) in this six minute “come to cowtown” video.
The Australian press is really biting into the Kelly Slater vs. The ASP Tour story. Today, The Australian surf writer Fred Pawle digs in a little deeper into the breakaway group involving the nine-time world champion, his manager Terry Hardy, Quiksilver’s Bob McKnight, and former American boxing promoter Matt Tinley, as well as their “in-principle” agreement with ESPN.
