Brandon Brubaker, the former Cons Skateboarding and Vans designer has accepted a new position at Supra Footwear as the vice president of design and merchandising.

“SUPRA has always been a design driven brand,” said Scott Bailey, ONE Distribution’s CEO, “and Brandon’s commitment to pushing design make him uniquely suited to lead our young team. Bringing Brandon back home to Southern California after years of experience with some major footwear brands is something we’re really proud of.”

For the official word from Supra follow the jump.

Continue reading ‘Brandon Brubaker Moves Up To One’

Sure, it’s Monday morning and we’re still trying to recover from a white hot action sporting weekend, but still, we haven’t laughed this hard watching a skate edit since, well, since 1969. And we owe it all to The Amazing Richie Jackson Skateboard Show.

The Extension Gallery in Allston, Massachusetts is hosting a collection of all of Dennis Mcnett’s artwork for Antihero Skateboards Saturday evening, May 18, 2013. The event is a celebration of the Antihero + Orchard Capsule Project release.

The show will feature the entire collection of skateboard graphics that Dennis Mcnett has created for Antihero, including the original wood relief cutouts and insight to this amazing artist’s process. . . That evening we will also be releasing the Orchard X Antihero “Off Campus Housing” capsule including a board designed by Dennis and a limited edition “Care Package from Mom” collection of co-branded goodies.

The opening begins at 8 PM. Extension Gallery is located at 156 Harvard Ave. in Allston, Massachusetts.

[Link: Orchard Skateshop]

Skateboarding doesn’t go much deeper, kinder, or funnier than with Jason Lee and Chris Pastras. Just watch this edit and you’ll understand what we’re talking about.

Real Skateboards co-founder Jim Thiebaud has partnered up with the guys from Green Day on a skateboard collaboration that will help raise funds for the Children’s Hospital & Research Center in Oakland, according to a story in the New York Daily News.

“It’s a true collaboration with Green Day,” Thiebaud told the Daily News. “I’ve been friends with Billie Joe for more than 15 years. I grew up in Berkeley and Oakland. When you were a punk rocker or a skateboarder, you stuck out, so you got to know everyone in the scene.” . . Mimicking the graphics for Green Day’s latest, multi-album release, “Uno!,” “Dos!,” and “Tré!,” Real is issuing custom skateboards that the company will sell in skate shops and online. Proceeds will go to Children’s Hospital.

For the rest of the great story behind a group of really good guys, click the link.

[Link: NY Daily News & Green Day]

Kilwag, that smarty pants editor of Skate And Annoy, linked up a great story from Salon.com by Matt Reevy titled: Authenticity and the X Games: Why ESPN just doesn’t get it.  In it Reevy gets right down to the heart of the action sports/mainstream media conundrum. We’ve always said that the mainstream doesn’t care, won’t care, and never has cared about action sports. But Reevy makes a much more complete, compelling argument:

Essentially, what ESPN seems to miss,, is that that the statement “I am a skateboarder” is a far different one than “I am a basketball player”. There’s no such thing as the best skateboarder, BMX rider, snowmobiler, skier, or snowboarder. Placing in the X Games is a reflection of a high level of skill, certainly, but it doesn’t make you the best.

Reevy finishes his article off with the statement that Shaun White is neither a snowboarder nor a skateboarder, “he just happens to ride them. Until that changes, no one is going to care about the X Games, regardless of where they’re held.”

While we’d never take anything away from Mr. White’s snowboarding and skateboarding, the larger point is made — X Games? Who really cares? Aside from the people who are getting paid, no one.

[Link: Salon.com via Skate and Annoy]

Another artistic behind-the-action-sports-star profile is on its way from Disillusion Mag. This time with Eric Koston of all people. The full edit drops on May 25, 2013. Can you wait for it? Guess we’re all going to have to. Silly teasers. . .

[Link: Desillusion Mag]

Enjoi Skateboards has reportedly pulled a T-shirt design from its website after Ginae Klasek of  Phoenix, Arizona started a petition on Change.org claiming the shirt made fun of domestic violence, according to a story in The Guardian.

One of the ads was in the form of a T-shirt titled “The ex-girlfriend”, which depicted a woman with tears and an arm in a sling saying: “He really does love his skateboard more than me.” A different poster showed a male skateboarder with his finger over the mouth of a female mannequin head, as if hushing her, and the slogan: “Where no means yes.”

More than 1,800 people signed the petition and it appears that, after Klasek threatened to march on the company’s headquarters that Enjoi has taken the T-shirt down and enjoyed more mainstream media play than they’ve gotten in a long time. Times are hard, guess they have to take the attention while they can.

[Link: The Guardian]

The Onion has decided to take on “amateur skateboarding” with a story titled, Nation’s Amateur Skateboarders Haven’t Landed Trick In 12 Years and it reminded us of how skateboarding must look to people who don’t care. Here’s what they say US Berkeley researchers discovered.

Having completed a long-term analysis of skateboarding activity at every skate park, public plaza, parking lot, and suburban cul-de-sac in the United States, researchers at the University of California reported this week that not one of the nation’s 19 million amateur skateboarders has successfully landed a single trick since 2001. . . The report confirmed that not a single ollie, nollie, kickturn, heelflip, frontside 180, backside 180, or fakie has been landed in over a decade. In addition, 100 percent of handrail grinds resulted in subjects landing on their shoulders while nearby acquaintances laughed at them.

Yeah, we’ve seen those kids, too, but it sounds like The Onion hasn’t watched Street League Skateboarding lately.

[Link: The Onion] 

Apparently, the official word has gone out regarding New Balance Numeric’s skate team. Here it is: Levi Brown, Tom Karangelov, Arto Saari, and PJ Ladd.

[Link via SkateDaily]