As of December 15, 2011 current Spy Optic CEO Carol Montgomery is moving to the company’s board of directors and Michael Marckx will get to trade in his president title for that of the chief executive officer.
“The past several months have been very positive for Orange 21 and SPY. Carol was consulting for the Board when we appointed her CEO in April 2011. She completed her mission ahead of schedule and above expectation,” said Seth Hamot, Orange 21 Chairman of the Board. “Carol will continue to play a strategic role as a member of The Board. Michael Marckx was instrumental as President in reinvigorating the SPY brand and developing innovative sales strategies and product extensions. Michael Angel’s contributions have helped us put the Company on a more solid foundation.”
All nine people aboard a small plane heading to the British Columbia Interior were sent to hospital Thursday after it slammed onto a city street just outside Vancouver’s International Airport. . . Richmond RCMP reported late Thursday that the two crew members on the flight were in “very critical condition.”
Reportedly, witnesses on the scene rushed to the downed plane and began helping passengers get out. So far none of the passengers nor the three people injured on the ground have died.
According to the crew at Ultimate
“Kelly is in the Intensive Care Unit right now at Vancouver General Hospital and although he has multiple fractures in his spine and some smoke inhalation he is responding and has movement to his extremities. He woke up early Friday morning and was communicating with family. Kelly still has much recovery ahead but is OK now. We are all praying and sending positive thoughts to him and his family as well as his fellow passengers.
Our thoughts are with Jablonski and the entire Ultimate Skateboard family. Read the comments for more.
[Update 10:30 AM: According to the CBC the pilot of the plane has died due to injuries he suffered in the crash.]
SURFING brand Billabong International says its strategy of buying retail outlets will increase the struggling company’s margins. . . Billabong’s comments that it is on track for strong earnings growth this financial year helped its shares rise nearly 9 per cent yesterday. The stock closed 31¢ up at $3.91, partly offsetting the slump in value this year caused by a fall in profit.
Former Transworld Business Editor Josh Hunter is now directing Southern California’s latest action fashion trade show for GLM Shows ( Surf Expo’s parent company). It’s called Launch and it sounds a lot like a more corporate version of the Agenda Show.
This “juried show” will be held July 25-26, 2012 in Santa Monica, California’s Barker Hangar. It appears that Launch has lined up a few fashion hitters to help kick things off. For more background on Launch check out an interview with Hunter at Transworld Business or follow the jump for the official word.
Wilmer Valderrama, Jeff Renfroe and Kathy Herndl, the producers of a documentary on the life of 7-year-old Venice skatepark dominator Asher Bradshaw, have reportedly decided to go to Kickstarter.com to crowd source funding for the film, according to a story on Hollywoodreporter.com.
To raise completion funds for the project, the filmmakers have turned to the crowd-funding site Kickstarter.com. . . “We’re so close,” says Herndl, who is also directing the film. “We need $100,000 for post production costs and to fund the film’s entry onto the vital film festival circuit. We want the world to experience Asher’s story.”
Better than standing out on a street corner with a sign. Those who supply more than $1,000 will be listed on the Shred movie website as an associate producer. If you’d like to buy in on the project, click here.
According to a story on Goldcoast.com.au, Base Surfboards, the surfboard maker owned by Simon Anderson, Darren Handley and Murray Bourton has gone bankrupt.
Worrells was appointed as voluntary liquidator for the company last month when the Australian Taxation Office started putting BASE under pressure to pay off a tax debt of almost $1 million. There were hopes the company would be pulled out of financial trouble if new investors could be found, but negotiations broke down recently with interested parties and now the company will be shut down and the assets sold off.
Guess Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore will have to get their boards somewhere else from now on.
Some people were just built for taking care of business. And while people may not have expected that from Erik Ellington in the past, it’s obvious now. His work with Baker Boys Distribution, Death Wish, Shake Junt, et. al. has proven that the guy is a savvy merchant who knows exactly what he’s doing, as evidenced by this interview with Copenhagen’s BitchSlap Magazine.
Alaska Tailgate founder Mark Sullivan is happy to announce that he has signed a new title sponsorship agreement with Flow Snowboarding which will come in handy now that there are two events, (Tailgate Alaska and Tailgate BC) on the 2012 schedule.
Flow Snowboarding CEO Anthony Scaturro, “We are very excited to step up as the title sponsor for the Tailgate events. 2012 will be Flow’s third year of involvement. We have seen the event change lives and educate people on backcountry riding, which we hope will help save lives. While the competition component is a great part of the event, we love the fact that it is more about community than competition. It is a composition of freeriding, backcountry freestyle infused with a whole lot of fun. At Tailgate, everyone is a winner“.
The Association of Magazine Media (formerly the Magazine Publishers of America) has released their print advertising numbers for the quarter July through September 2011 and that whole recovery thing isn’t looking so strong just now. Total magazine advertising was down 5.6 percent for the quarter. And when we check in with the only action sports magazines to be tracked by the MPA (Transworld Media) we find that four of their six titles were down in ad pages sold. Check out total pages for Q3 2011 vs 2010.
Skateboarding took the biggest hit with a 15.2 percent drop, followed by Ride BMX with a 12.1 percent fall. Not sure there is much to be taken away from this other than to say that the skateboarding and BMX markets continue to feel pressure. On an up note, it appears that Wakeboarding Magazine has found a great home in Carlsbad. For past Boardistan print coverage click here, or click the link for more info from this quarter.
We were just thinking about what ever happened to Fuel TV’s CJ Olivares (who left the cable channel April 26, 2011) and what should show up but a little announcement that he’s joined GrindMedia (fomerly ASG) as a television/video advisor.
“I’m thrilled to engage someone of CJ’s caliber to serve as TV/video advisor for GrindMedia,” said Norb Garrett, SVP Group Publisher of GrindMedia. “The development of original TV and video programming by our brands is a critical next step in the evolution of our business, and I can think of no one who brings more credibility, insight, knowledge and creativity to the table than CJ.”
Can’t really believe anyone still uses the term “television” but Olivares has seen action sports video distribution from pretty much every angle. As long as he doesn’t start pitching people on a new cable channel it seems like his knowledge will be a great addition to the Grind team. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
As of December 15, 2011 current Spy Optic CEO Carol Montgomery is moving to the company’s board of directors and Michael Marckx will get to trade in his president title for that of the chief executive officer.
