If a whole day riding the Blackbox TF isn’t enough Brixton brings us this. . .
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Skateboarding
On January 24th, 2009 from 7-10pm New Image Art celebrates their 15 Year Anniversary with some art, music, and video including art from some of our favorites like: Ed Templeton, Barry McGee, Thomas Campbell, Geoff McFettridge and many more. New Image Art, 7910 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles.
[Link: New Image Art via RVCA]
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Turns out there is a high-ollie challenge at ASR. It’s The Grind For Life High Olllie Challenge sponsored by DC Shoes on January 22, 2009.
[Link: Grindforlife.org via The Skateboard Mag]
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Women’s Wear Daily did a really nice feature profile on Active Ride Shop in their Independent Spotlight section today.
It was so nice that it didn’t even mention any of the problems we’ve all been hearing about since last fall: no mention of the fact that many manufacturers are no longer shipping product to Active, or the rumor that one company spent last fall physically removing product from the stores. The only nod to the realities of the current business climate was this from Active President Shane Wallace:
It’s tough right now. In our 20 years, this is the most interesting and most difficult environment to move in I’ve seen,” Wallace said, adding that he would wait to up the store count until the economy improves or until Active finds an investment partner to help take the chain national. . . Looking toward the new year, Wallace is cautious, but positive. “We’re playing it very conservative for 2009,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t rule out store closings, if needed. “We’ll do what makes sense for our business.”
Yeah, playing it conservative probably isn’t a bad idea at this point.
[Link: Women’s Wear Daily]
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From the “things we thought would never happen” file: after working with Larry Balma for 23 years, Buddy Carr has left his positions as CEO or Tracker Trucks to become president of Bennett Boardsports, LLC, owners of Bennett Truks and Alligator wheels, according to a press release posted on Silverfish Longboarding:
“It was just time for me personally to move things to the next level,” said Buddy Carr. I had a good run the last 23 years, but the opportunity to purchase part ownership in a brand with such a rich history was the right thing for me at this time. Having been in the industry since 1975, I feel like I have had a front row seat to Bennett’s heritage and ties to the birth of modern skateboarding. I see tremendous potential in that legacy,” Carr explained.
Follow the jump for the rest of the details.
[Link: Silverfish Longboarding]
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Economic times are troubling, but full-time fireman Pete Hamborg’s Hamboards‘ is rolling through it all in a very large, oversized, long way, according to an LA Times story.
Hamborg is the creator of the Hamboard, a nearly 7-foot-long skateboard he says mimics the feel of a surfboard on the water. . . . Hamboards have picked up a devoted following among hard-core surfers and skateboarders — those devoted enough to the sports to shell out $395 for one of the boards.
We don’t really get the product, but maybe size matters to some people.
[Link: LA Times]
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According to the blog Knowskateboarding.com Quiksilver has pulled out of another event it had planned on sponsoring:
The reese forbes ollie challenge has been postponed. . . . just talked to reese forbes. after quiksilver pulled out of the show, i guess asr didn’t really want them getting any promo off the ollie challenge. so according to reese, “it’s postponed, and the location is YTBD.”
Somehow we’re not surprised, thought this time it may have more to do with ASR then Quik’s support of skateboarding.
[Link: Knowskateboarding via ClubMumble]
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Slapmagazine.com Editor-In-Cheif Mark Whiteley gets interviewed on Club Mumble. The big question: now that Slap is out of the paper printing business are they still going to do any old-media projects? Mark says they might:
We’re talking about a few ideas, from something like you mention to a best-of issue from all the stuff that goes on the site every six months to little ‘zine-type projects when we do trips with companies for them to distribute with product to all kinds of little ideas. I think we’ll do something in the next few months to get the ball rolling, it mainly depends on money right now as as everybody knows, money is a little tight these days. But yep, there shall be ink!
One other questions we might have asked: how’s that online advertising thing going?
[Link: Club Mumble]
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Self-proclaimed “action sports pioneer” Paul Taublieb has enlisted the help of Rob Dyrdek to roll out a new “Instant Scoring eXperience” from MSInteractive, and claims that it’s going to revolutionize the action sports industry.
“For the many years I’ve been around such judged events, I’ve always been struck by the disconnect – the athlete is competing and the audience is waiting, waiting, waiting to know what to feel until those scores drop,” explained Taublieb. “No longer. With ISX it’s all happening in the present enhancing the entertainment experience of the core fan and at the same time make street skating and all action sports accessible to the mainstream sports fan.
The idea is that the judges simply twiddle a knob while an event is going down and those knob twiddles are compiled and displayed in real time, like the score meter on that Tony Hawk video game.
“ISX will take the appreciation of what skaters, and all action sports athletes do to a whole new level and you’ll see ISX not only in my new MTV series ‘Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory,’ but also in my Street League,” added Dyrdek.
Reminds us a little too much of the “instant feedback” in the sci-fi book Interface. Shouldn’t the people judging an event take a little time to process what they’re seeing? You know, think a little? Seems like thinking is a good thing when it comes to event scoring. Follow the jump for the whole release.
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Using an empty fountain in suburb of Macroroyan in Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul, Sharna Nolan, 31, is teaching peace with a skateboard. It is called Project Skateistan.
Ms Nolan said of the eager pupils, with as many girls as boys: “Skateboarding has given them a chance to be children and to smile.” . . . The sport has taken root so strongly in Kabul that the couple and their team of volunteers, who call their project Skateistan, plan to start a school with $70,000 raised so far and another $70,000 that has still to be found. . . . Land has been donated by Afghans in three provinces for indoor recreational centres with facilities for traditional Afghan sports as well as skateboarding.
Obviously the organization needs all the help they can get. Click here to learn more about helping to support the cause.
[Link: Skateistan via The Age]
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