by The Editors on August 31, 2010
Not really sure what’s been going on at the Surf Industry Manufacturers’ Association lately, but it seems their Boot Camps have been oddly relevant. On September 22, 2010 SIMA will tackle “New Media.”
The first panel discussion of the morning, Media vs. New Media: Tracking the Transition, will showcase a discussion with the surf industry’s leading media experts on the transition to new media, its benefits and advantages, and specific learnings from the interactive endeavors of these media outlets. Moderated by Doug Palladini, the panelists will include: Rob Campbell / Editorial Director, TransWorld Media; Norb Garrett / Senior Vice President, Group Publisher, ASG; Ross Garrett / Director of Operations and Development, The Surfer’s Journal; Gene Pao / Vice President of New Media and International Development, FUEL TV; and Jonno Wells / CEO, Surfline.
It’s always entertaining to see what corporate executives from the established action media have to say about “new” media, isn’t it?
Follow the jump for the rest of the scheduled topics, or click here to register. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on August 31, 2010

Ryan Kingman and the crew at Stance have announced their Artists Series of foot covering the work of skate artists like Russ Pope, Andy Howell, Steven Harrington, and Don Pendleton. As if any of us needed an excuse to buy new socks.
[Link: Stance]
by The Editors on August 28, 2010
Baltimore, Maryland Police Officer Salvatore Rivieri who was caught on tape at least two times being a complete asshole way overstepping the bounds of his badge (click here for all the coverage) has finally (and thankfully) been fired by Baltimore City Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld, according to a story on ABC 2 News.
Not so suprisingly, the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 3 thinks the firing was was wrong, according to the story. In their statement they said:
For the PC to increase the punishment to termination is an abuse of his discretion and not only does it end the career of a 19 year veteran who was out there doing his job, the PC’s decision sends the wrong message to all our police officers who are expected to aggressively keep our streets safe but cannot expect to be treated fairly and not discriminated against in any disciplinary proceedings.
Oddly, we believe this firing is one of the first times the right message is being sent to other police officers regarding how they handle skateboarders in general and children specifically. If not for Youtube.com this man would still be harassing people with his badge like a school yard bully and the sooner other officers realize that this is not proper police behavior the better.
Then the Baltimore Police can get back to the important stuff like allegedly shooting unarmed war veterans outside nightclubs.
[Link: ABC 2 News]
by The Editors on August 28, 2010

Rob Dyrdek’s Street League debuts today in the Jobing.com Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The last chance qualifier begins at 1 PM today (August 28, 2010). We’d tell you to watch it online, but Rob has all that locked down tight. We’re kind of surprised he didn’t do some kind of pay-per-view deal.
[Link: Street League]
by The Editors on August 28, 2010

Kyle Johnson, 25, a snowboard instructor from Salt Lake City, Utah slammed so hard on his skateboard in June 2010 that he shattered his skull into 10 pieces (no helmet), according to a story in the Daily Mail. Doctors only gave him a five percent chance of living.
Doctors said his brain swelled so much it ‘nearly exploded’, forcing them to saw off parts of his skull to save his life. . . The operation left him with just a tiny strip of bone down the centre of his head protecting his brain. . . Mr Johnson was kept in a drug-induced coma and doctors feared he may not survive the accident, or be left brain damaged. . . .Doctors stored the rest of his skull in the freezer for two weeks while they waited for the swelling to go down, before putting it back together using plates and screws. . . Just two months after his accident in June, Mr Johnson is now well on his way to making a full recovery.
Kyle (who’s head looks better now that his skull has been put back in) is reportedly well on his way to recovery and preparing for the new snowboard season. Want to wear a helmet now?
[Link: Daily Mail]
by The Editors on August 25, 2010
For the past five years (starting in June 2005) Skate Park of Tampa’s tech nerd Rob Meronek has been logging skateboarding magazine coverage for the SPoT’s Skater Database. In this time he has kept a record of the ad and editorial pages for Skateboarder Magazine, The Skateboard Mag, Slap, Thrasher (graph above right), and Transworld Skateboarding.
Today he released all his data in a story titled: A Nerdy Analysis of Sketchy Skateboard Industry Paper Trails. Here is how it works:
For a page to get logged, it simply has to have a skater. Even if they’re just throwing gang symbols in front of their rims, as long as it has a skater it in, the page is logged as either editorial or advertising along with who the photographer is. I put all this crazy data I’ve collected since 2005 into a spreadsheet and out popped these Captain Corporate ass charts.
While only counting ads with skaters in them skews the total ad pages numbers of the magazines a little, the data does give a great snap shot of what is going on in skateboard print advertising. Look over the data and draw your own conclusions.
[Link: Skate Park of Tampa]
by The Editors on August 24, 2010

Gravis has posted the entire Greg Hunt directed short film Dylan on their website. Dylan Rieder fans should check it out for for their own seven minutes of heaven.
[Link: Gravis Skateboarding]
by The Editors on August 24, 2010
Tony Hawk’s annual Stand Up For Skateparks Fund raising is going down in billionaire Ron Burkle Beverly Hills, California estate again this year. (As some might remember Burkle own’s Skateboarder Magazine parent company Source Interlink.)The October 17, 2010 event will feature a performance by Jane’s Addiction.
The exclusive event will feature games, activities, food, live and silent auctions, a Vert Demo by Tony Hawk and an all-star cast of pro skateboarders and BMX riders on Tony’s personal ramp, and a special set by Jane’s Addiction that promises to make for a unique, intimate, and one-of-a-kind event.
If you want to attend tickets are $350 a piece (on the low end) and $20,000 for the “Platinum Package” which allows the buyer to bring a 19 person entourage to the event, shower them in Tony Hawk gifts and goodness, and hang out with people like: Shaun White, Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong, Jamie Lee Curtis, Miley Cyrus, Michael Eisner, Jon Favreau, Mia Hamm, Mat Hoffman, Terry Kennedy, Chuck Liddell, Howie Mandel, Sal Masekela, and Paul Rodriguez, Jr.
For more info follow the jump.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on August 23, 2010
We all have heard that Chris Cole owns a skate shop in Langhorne, Pennsylvania called Reign Skate. But what we didn’t know is that he has a partner in the business named Skip Millard.
Transworld Business interviewed Millard to get the background on Reign and what it’s like to run a small business with a big partner.
Everyone around the shop thinks since Chris is the partner we have unlimited cash but if that was the case I would just write myself a check. Really, just the trials and tribulations of opening a small business. There is no turning it off at 5-o’clock and sometimes you won’t get home until nine and have to put in another two hours. It’s a lot of hard work, but if you love doing it, it’s worth it.
Follow the link for the rest of the interview.
[Link: Transworld Business]
by The Editors on August 20, 2010
Randy Wright isn’t saying much about the closure of the Horizons West Surf Shop last month, according to a story in the Santa Monica Daily Press. But to fans of the Dogtown & Z-Boys story it was a sad day.
The skate and surf shop, owned by surfer Randy Wright, occupied a modest, one-story building at the corner of Main and Bay streets that was designated a city landmark in May of 2007 after neighbors and skateboarding enthusiasts erupted in outrage over plans to tear it down and replace it with a mixed-use development. The retail space was the original home of Zephyr and Jeff Ho Productions, whose founders, Skip Engblom and Jeff Ho, created the Zephyr Skate Team, which became known as The Z-Boys. . . Wright did not return several phone calls seeking comment.
Guess we can’t expect a retailer to live on the past forever.
[Link: Santa Monica Daily Press via LAist]