We had to laugh today when our new Mike Valleley copy of Skatebook arrived (in time to get signed). The thoughtful warehouse guys had protected the new issue from damage at the hands of the US Postal Service by packing it in a layer of wadded up pages torn from the latest issue of The Skateboard Mag. There’s a message in every medium, apparently.
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From the “we hate turning pages online” files comes Quiksilver’s latest online misfire: Roam ‘Zine 1.
With all the cool (or mudane) things that can be done online it seems almost sad that Quik skate would build a ‘zine by hand, scan it, and then put it up online in a format that is difficult to navigate, hard to read, and kind of pointless.
The video and audio were cool, but having to hunt for it was silly. Then again, maybe they were going for that retro, early 90s online thing. If they were, they nailed it (just like RipCurl did).
[Link: Roam #1 via The Skateboard Mag]
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These skateboarding Guiness World Records are getting sillier by the day. Robert Prado, 21, of Lake Elsinore, California just set the world record for “most varial heel flips in a minute” (14), according to a story in the North County Times.
There was some (records) for other tricks, but not that,” he said. “People will say, ‘Oh, you broke a record,’ and I say, ‘No, I set it.’ It’s kind of cool to be the first person in the world to do that. Of all people, I never thought it would be me.”
Hurry, someone call Rob Dyrdek. Records are meant to be broken.
[Link: North County Times]
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Nike plans to eliminate 4 percent of their 35,000 person work force (about 1,400 jobs) according to a story on Oregonlive.com.
The decision to reduce our work force is a difficult one, but it will put our business in the strongest position possible to continue to deliver long-term profitability and growth,” President and CEO Mark Parker said in a statement. . . . The layoffs would be Nike’s first since 1998 and 1999, when the company cut about 2,500 positions — but not the first belt-tightening measure of this recession. Late last year, Nike executives instituted a hiring freeze, reined in travel spending and said they would slow their plans for opening new stores in 2009.
At least Nike is giving some numbers and speaking up about the layoffs unlike some action sports footwear companies we know.
[Link: OregonLive.com]
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Another analyst who follows Quiksilver’s stock has downgraded her rating thanks to Quik’s rather large debt, according to a story in the Orange County Business Journal.
Caris & Co. analyst Claire Armstrong Gallacher downgraded Quiksilver’s stock to “average” from “above average,” saying the company’s profits are “at risk” due to its heavy debt and the retail sector’s downturn. . . . “Given the large debt burden, tight credit markets and worsening consumer spending trends we would recommend investment in companies with debt free balance sheets,” Gallacher wrote.
The stock closed the day down 24 cents to $1.59.
[Link: OC Business Journal]
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The roof of the Danfoss Universe building in Nordborg, Denmark needs to be skated. That’s all we’re saying.
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News reports are pointing out that Tony Hawk is now the only sports figure appearing in the Guitar Hero “Risky Business” ad who has not had a major career PR snafu, according to a story in the New York Daily News.
This quartet of superstars is made up of a steroid cheater (A-Rod), a bong-toking swimmer (Phelps), a hoopster once accused of rape (Bryant) and the squeaky-clean – at least for now – skateboarder.
Thanks, Tony. For once the skateboarder is the good guy.
[Link: NY Daily News]
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It was Ryan Sheckler Fight Night at The Grove in Anaheim and apparently former pro skater, satellite radio DJ and all around funny guy Jason Ellis won his match by submitting “Tony Gianopulos with a guillotine choke in the second round.”
Apparently, MMA is the new skateboarding. Yes, that was Sal Masekela on the mic.
[Link: MMA Fighting]
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Dean Spunt and Randy Randall, the guys behind No Age, were recently named music “team managers” for Altamont’s Spring 2009 limited edition catalog, according to a story on Pitchfork.
Twice a year, Altamont issues a catalog highlighting that season’s line that comes with an exclusive 10″ vinyl record. Starting with the Spring 2009 collection, Spunt and Randall are in charge of curating what bands contribute to that 10″. Naturally, their first one features music from No Age themselves. The 10″ includes “Goat Hurt”, from an early EP, their cover of Björk’s “It’s Oh So Quiet” from Stereogum’s Björk covers project, and “Recovery and Everything Else”, which according to Spunt, is the “isolated noise track” from “Everybody’s Down”.
Apparently, music makes the Altamont world go ’round.
[Link: Pitchfork]
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