The Danny Way Waiting For Lightning bio-pic officially hits theaters (and digital downloads) on December 7, 2012.
Waiting For Lightning is the inspirational story of visionary skateboarder Danny Way. The film follows the journey of a young boy from a broken home in Vista, CA, whose passion for skateboarding would one day bring him fame and a lifetime of accomplishments. Way’s drive has no limits as exemplified by his creation captured on screen, a ramp of prodigious and dangerous proportions, across many cultural and ideological boundaries to attempt the impossible: jump China’s Great Wall on a skateboard. It’s a film about how much abuse the body can sustain, how deep you have to dig to survive the challenges life presents, and how high and far dreams can fly.
Here’s a little taste for everyone who missed the premiere.
Chicago skateboarding leader, mentor, and legend Reggie Destin died Saturday, October 29, 2012 from the injuries he suffered when he was hit and run down by a drunk driver in the early hours of October 19, according to a story in the Chicago Sun-Times. He was 42.
On Saturday, just hours after Destin’s death, dozens of people — most of them skateboarders and many of them in tears — gathered at Uprise, a skateboard shop near the scene of the accident. The group of about 50 walked somberly to the 1700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue and placed a white skateboard — similar to a “ghost bike” left as a memorial to a slain bicyclist — at the site where Destin was hit. Flowers, pictures and other mementos were left at the memorial.
Skatepark of Tampa founder Brian Schaefer sets the stage for a new Ride Channelseries celebrating The Skatepark of Tampa’s 20 years of skateboarding.
Countless memories have been created over the past two decades, and to help relive those experiences we asked 20 pros, ams, and industry leaders to share their SPoT stories with us. . . There will be 20 more episodes with the likes of Stefan Janoski, Andrew Reynolds, Tony Hawk, Brian Anderson, and many other iconic skateboarders explaining what SPoT personally means to them. Check out each episode, airing every Wednesday from now until Tampa Pro in March 2013 and share in the excitement of the Skatepark of Tampa 20 Year Experience.
Watching this it reminds us how a small group of people can have huge and positive impact if they’re passionate and they stick to doing what they know is right.
LA skater Charley Ford, 24, was in his car in Compton, California with another man and a 10-month-old baby Sunday afternoon (October 21, 2012) when, according to a story in the LA Weekly, “someone ran up, opened fire, and then fled on foot.”
It doesn’t seem clear if Ford was the intended target, but the other two inside the vehicle weren’t injured, deputies say: The department pointedly says the suspect “started shooting into the car at the victims. . . Ford was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”
NYC skateboarders didn’t let something as silly as a court order top their Broadway Bomb, according to a story in the NY Daily News.
Hundreds of scofflaw skateboarders gave Manhattan hell on wheels in Saturday’s “Broadway Bomb” road race, snarling traffic in an illegal mass ride from Morningside Heights to Wall Street. . . The skaters rolled south on Broadway from 116th St. to Bowling Green, defying a court order that outlawed the “dangerous” rally because it lacked permits. . . Cops tried to quash the race by stringing up temporary fences at intersections and ordering skaters onto sidewalks, but many just pushed onto side streets instead. . . “They’re like, ‘You can’t do this.’ We were like, ‘F–k off,’” said Ian McMahon, 18, a skateboarder from Killingworth, Conn. “We got so excited for this!”
This collectible deck is built using Arbor’s, tried and true, bamboo and maple blend to deliver lightweight pop and durability. “By adding bamboo as a deck-side power ply, we create a hybrid maple construction that has a clean Zen flavor, nice return, and long lasting durability,” says Arbor product manager, Max Myers.
The decks come in 7.75, 8.0, 8.25, and 8.5 widths and each has a different gracphic by Sylvia Ji. Follow the jump for the official word from Arbor. [click to continue…]
Here’s the short version: Analog is going snow and moving back to Burlington. The snow team will stay, but the skate and surf teams will be “transitioned out of the brand”. Gravis is moving to Tokyo and going Asia only as a lifestyle brand. The team will be “restructured to accommodate” that market. Helmet’s and optics will be combined under the Anon brand (with some Red still being produced). Burton will “exit out of” The Program brands (Special Blend, Forum, and Four Square) by 2014 (good-bye). Burton has operated the brands for eight years yet, “the businesses have failed to be viable.” In the surf world Channel Islands and it’s team remain unaffected.
Here’s what founder Jake Burton Carpenter has to say about it:
“Burton has experienced several years of income growth since the recession and paid out bonuses to employees over the last two years,” said Jake. “That said, the economy has a voice of its own that we all have to listen to, and the message is clear: do what you do best and focus purely on it. In our case, that means to narrow our focus to the sport and lifestyle that got us here – snowboarding. We will continue to support Channel Islands in its endeavor to make the best surfboards in the world and Gravis in its new home in Japan, but when you walk through the front door here in Burlington, Vermont, it will be all snowboarding and snowboarding lifestyle all the time – driven by the Burton, Analog and anon brands.”
Sound like a good plan all around and honestly, we can’t believe it took them so long with Gravis and the Program. Burton went far beyond a reasonable investment in many of their brands and should be commended for trying to make them work in spite of market response.
Follow the jump for the official word an complete breakdown of the changes. [click to continue…]
