by The Editors on March 3, 2015
![Rowanzorilla Indyair Helena,Mt[2]](http://www.boardistan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/RowanZorilla_IndyAir_HelenaMt2-tm.jpg)
Looks like Rowan Zorilla won’t have to worry about shoes (or clothing) for a while (not that he’s had in trouble with that in the past). Vans has bumped him up to official global team status and they’re pretty happy about that.
Rowan is among the most naturally well-rounded skateboarders to emerge on the scene in recent years with the ability to charge a bowl as hard as he can skate a 12-stair rail, switch and regular. In the past year, RoZo has gone from relatively underground flow ripper to full Vans and Baker skateboards Am by managing to bang out an upcoming video part for this spring’s highly anticipated Vans skateboarding video.
Congrats, Rowan!
[Link: Vans]
by The Editors on February 25, 2015
When the World Surf League wants to project success they’ll invite potential sponsors to their newly renovated Santa Monica, California offices where Malibu design build firm Classical Progression, Inc. just gave the place a complete “surfer” make over, according to a story in Malibu Business.
Just steps from the surf in Santa Monica, the newly renovated, vintage bow-truss warehouse boasts business and creative office space for 50, a fully-equipped professional sound stage for its on-site broadcasting of worldwide competitions, a café with beer on tap, a game room with 24-hour live, surf video footage, and an on-site gym, complete with his and her locker rooms, all designed in a sophisticated surfer vibe. Professional surfers are welcome.
Those who have followed WSL CEO Paul Speaker’s career will not be surprised. It seems a newly renovated office is where he does his best work.
[Link: Malibu Business]
by The Editors on February 23, 2015
The New York Times checks in with Paul Speaker and the ZoSea Media Holdings crew to get their spin on plans for World Surf League web broadcasting and the new 6,000 square foot production studio in their Santa Monica, California headquarters. Not surprisingly, according to WSL data the WSL is doing very well on everything digital and social as far as percentages go.
In making everything available online, the W.S.L. has solidified its growth in a key demographic: More than 67 percent of its audience is between 25 and 44 years old. Engagement across their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat accounts nearly doubled, while simultaneously dwarfing engagement rates of larger, more established leagues. The N.F.L.’s Facebook page has some 12.5 million likes compared with the surfing league’s 2.3 million likes. Yet the engagement that the league has per post — likes, comments and shares — is on par with the N.F.L., according to data provided by the organization.
For the rest of the story click the link.
[Link: New York Times]
by The Editors on February 23, 2015
Dragon Alliance is upping their presence at USSA events like the US Grand Prix in a new deal with Crown Sports United.
“With revolutionary technology like the first fully frameless snow goggle and our new Swiftlock Lens Change System, we constantly strive to enhance the experience of being in the mountains,” said Dragon Alliance Founder and Chief Executive Officer Will Howard. “We are excited to leverage this opportunity with Crown Sports to engage more fully with USSA supporters and the winter recreation community.”
This new agreement will reportedly see the integration of Dragon signage, on-site marketing space, in-event promotion, video content on broadcast and in-event, and promotion on USSA social media channels for the eyewear company. For the official word from Dragon, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on February 19, 2015
The minds behind Girl Skateboards (Mike Carroll, Rick Howard, Megan Baltimore, and Spike Jonze) have decided that now is a good time to do a little work with other people’s money. In this case private equity firm Altamont Capital’s money, according to a Kailee Bradstreet story on Transworld Business.
“Our conversation with Altamont began last year,” Girl Co-founder Megan Baltimore says. “We weren’t actively looking for investors when we first met them, but everything they were working on was very interesting and relevant to us. Partnering with them helps us accelerate what we want to do with our brands and what we want to do for skateboarding.”
Girl (and their brands) are joining Fox, Mervin, HUF, Dakine, and Brixton in Altamont’s growing action sporting mall portfolio. Congrats to them. We hope they enjoy the money and use some of it to keep fighting the good fight.
[Link: Transworld Business]
by The Editors on February 17, 2015
Well, this will make you feel like an old industry salt: The Surf Industry Manufacturers’ Association & Board Retailers’ Association is hosting their 18th Annual Surf Summit at the Barcelo Grand Faro in San Jose Del Cabo, BCS, Mexico May 13-16, 2015. Eighteenth? Seriously? Well, if you work in the surf industry mark it on your calendars and please, please, please don’t read too much into the fact that the Surf Summit 18 logo features a skeleton in surf trunks. It’s only a cool graphic. Seriously.
by The Editors on February 13, 2015
Nixon is continuing its global retail expansion with stores in Hong Kong and Sydney.
Located in the popular shopping district of LCX on the 3rd floor of Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong and a newly opened Westfield in Sydney’s southside, both new storefronts feature Nixon’s recently introduced Horizon marketing concept. As seen in the newly opened Nixon Paris and Nixon Carnaby locations, the horizon line is a subtle nod to the diverse environments of surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding found within the Nixon landscape. This own able design language is more than a literal interpretation of a horizon line. Rather, it becomes the canvas for the Nixon story, allowing us to showcase our perspective and products in a bold, distinct way.
And that’s what time it is. For the official word from Nixon, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on February 12, 2015
The World Skateboarding Federation (a.k.a. the group founded by the group behind the Kimberley Diamond Cup) announced today the first ever Global Skateboarding Summit in Instabul, Turkey May 22 – 24, 2015. The event will be held at the Conrad Hotel.
Designed to be an annual meeting to help support skateboarders globally and further the growth of skateboarding, the summit will be packed with top tier speakers from the global skateboarding and international sports community. An exhibition area will be available for companies to share merchandise, activities and connect with the largest collection of global skateboarding athletes, retailers, manufacturers and brands. There will also be valuable networking and one-on-one meeting opportunities for attendees.
Those who register before February 28, 2015 will reportedly get a 20 percent discount on conference fees. For the official word from World Skateboarding Federation, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on February 9, 2015
John Jackson, who recently joined up with Signal Snowboards, now has jumped in with Under Armour.
Jackson joins the Under Armour team with a multi-year partnership, alongside veterans and snowboarding icons Bjorn Leines, Kyle Clancy as well as multi-slope mavens Chas Guldemond, Dustin Craven and Tyler Nicholson. Together, these athletes will be critical in building upon Under Armour’s legacy of innovation and developing state-of-the-art outdoor performance gear. . . “There are many new heights I want to reach in snowboarding,” said Jackson. “I’m very happy to team up with a company who is committed to technology, design, and to making athletes better. I am beyond stoked to be able to be working with one of the world’s most innovative brands.”
For the official word from Under Armour, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on February 3, 2015
It’s been a pretty big media week for Westbeach and Lululemon founder Chip Wilson. First, he was featured in the Talk of the Town section of The New Yorker magazine regarding the launch of his wife and son’s new clothing line (and retail stores) Kit & Ace, and then yesterday (February 2, 2015) he was profiled in The New York Times.
More than once, the way Wilson spoke reminded me of the airhead fashion model Ben Stiller plays in “Zoolander.” But for all his off-putting and impolitic utterances (in a blog post about Lululemon’s origins, he infamously linked the use of birth control to rising divorce rates, and claimed this led to his future market), he has a kind of genius for forecasting trends and assessing the human impulses — vanity, insecurity, the yearning for perfection — that make people pay more for something they could buy much cheaper elsewhere.
Yep, the same old Chip we remember from back in the snowboard days. It’s good to see someone stick to their opinions and become action sports single most successful billionaire at the same time. There are lessons to be learned here somewhere.
[Link: The New Yorker & New York Times]
![Rowanzorilla Indyair Helena,Mt[2]](http://www.boardistan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/RowanZorilla_IndyAir_HelenaMt2.png)
