According to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald, Rip Curl made at least some of their 2015 snowboard outerwear in North Korea, a country known for using slave labor in manufacturing. Of course Rip Curl didn’t mention it until after it was pointed out to them by Fairfax Media. Now the surf wear company is doing everything they can to blame it on their China based contractors.
After Fairfax Media sent Rip Curl photos of its garments being made in North Korea, the company’s chief financial officer Tony Roberts released a statement that said the firm “takes its social compliance obligations seriously. . .We were aware of this issue, which related to our Winter 2015 Mountain-wear range, but only became aware of it after the production was complete and had been shipped to our retail customers. . . This was a case of a supplier diverting part of their production order to an unauthorised subcontractor, with the production done from an unauthorised factory, in an unauthorised country, without our knowledge or consent, in clear breach of our supplier terms and policies.”
Hey, you can’t keep those margins in check without cutting production costs, right? In other news, Kim Jong-un may be getting the boot from his own country for a failing economy.
This weekend (February 20-21, 2016) the crew from PowderJet are setting up their build-your-own snowboard class at the Patagonia store in Cardiff, California.
The super fun two day workshops are lead by PowderJet founder Jesse Loomis, and participants will leave at the end of the workshop with a hand built, individually shaped, high performance snowboard. The boards are built using FSC certified poplar, fiberglass, Ptex base, and steel edges – ready to carve up any slope in the world. Also, in addition to the handmade snowboard, participants will receive a limited edition print and T-shirt, both designed by PowderJet team rider and renowned NYC artist Scott Lenhardt.
One of our favorite action sporting GPS smart watches, the Garmin Vivoactive, is getting a nice upgrade this spring with the addition heart-rate monitoring, a completely redesigned case, and built-in snowboard activity tracking. The new watch is called the Garmin Vivoactive HR.
The snowboarding app measures 3-D speed by calculating the speed and distance on an incline versus latitude and longitude. It also provides splits automatically and features Auto Pause, which freezes the timer automatically when users stop or ride the lift.
We like it for the snowboarding app, but not only that, the Vivoactive HR does smart notifications better than most. It allows you to get texts and emails (and even answer your phone) on your wrist without having to dig for your phone and it will run for up to eight days on a single charge. For the official word from Garmin, please follow the jump.
Surprise, it appears another snowboard magazine is no longer in the magazine business.
But don’t think for a minute that the revenue generating team behind Snowboard Mag is going to simply stop the presses, pack up their old “books”, and quit depositing checks, no, no, no. There are still dollars to be collected from the snow biz, apparently. That’s why Storm Mountain Media is going to “focus on digital, social, and custom content formats” you know, to get more in line with the kids.
SNOWBOARD currently has the most print subscribers in the snowboarding industry. But these print numbers are dwarfed by SNOWBOARD’s digital and social channels that reach more than 6 million enthusiasts every month. SNOWBOARD is listening to its audience — and to its advertisers — by delivering content and messaging where they want it, when they want it, and how they want it. . . The team at SNOWBOARD remains passionate about print, and will develop future custom projects rooted in quality, not quantity. SNOWBOARD will no longer rely on traditional subscription and newsstand models that have become particularly ineffective and inefficient for all snowboarding magazine titles in North America.
Makes us wonder how long the Snowboarder and Snowboarding twins will keep their presses rolling. For the official word from Storm Mountain, please follow the jump.
Photographer and filmmaker Liam Gallagher has created a short film on the world famous Legendary Mt. Baker Banked Slalom in celebration of the event’s 30th Anniversary. As a kick off for the start of the 2016 LBS (which begins today, February 18, 2016) here is a small taste of Fast Forward: 30 Years of The Legendary Banked Slalom.
Head USA is recalling six models of helmets sold from January 2015, through December 2015 because the “helmets do not comply with the impact requirements of safety standards for helmets.” In other words, the helmets are not actually helmets.
This recall involves six models of HEAD ski and snowboard helmets: Agent, Alia, Andor, Arise, Arosa and Avril. They were sold in sizes M/L and XL/XXL in black, blue, green white and yellow, with straps in a variety of colors. . . HEAD, the model name, size and “Production Code: Dec. 2014” are printed on stickers that can be found by lifting the lining above the right earpiece.
If you are one of the 440 people who bought one of these helmets please contact Head at 800-874-3235 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at http://www.head.com/index.php?id=1313.
Looks like Shaun White has actually “joined the Mammoth Resorts’ ownership team” by plunking down a pretty large pile of cash (reportedly seven figures), even though making money by running ski lifts technically ended somewhere in the 90s. That said, he certainly seems stoked on his latest brand affiliation.
“It’s amazing that I’m now an owner of the mountain where I grew up riding,” said White. “As an owner I’ll be able to make changes and shape the future of the mountain and how people enjoy it–whether they’re beginners or professionals.”
Mr. White’s influence on Mammoth’s Big Bear Resorts will certainly help (White House Slopeside Condominiums, Summer Action Sports Complex, and dryslope maybe), and hey, if it sells a few more Air & Style tickets in the process, even better.
For the official word from Mammoth, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
The mouse dissolving, caffeinated, carbonated high fructose corn syrup tour is getting a jolt of authenticity with today’s announcement that Snowboarder, Surfer, and TransWorld Media’s parent TEN: The Enthusiast Network is stepping in to take the flagging tour in a much needed new direction (while still reportedly keeping their broadcast deal with NBC alive). The best news is that this will give TEN one more thing to sell that doesn’t involve pieces of paper with pretty pictures printed on them.
“Partnering with Mountain Dew and the Dew Tour property showcases exactly what TEN has been designed to do for brands – provide authentic, credible, full-service media capabilities to reach, engage and excite a large audience,” commented Norb Garrett, Executive Vice President / General Manager of TEN, Sports & Entertainment. “The Dew Tour has been around for over a decade, and by leveraging our position as the world’s leading action/adventure sports media company, TEN is dedicated to contributing to its ongoing success so that it will continue on for another decade and beyond, providing a truly one-of-a-kind experience for the action sports community.”
This certainly makes for a good press release if nothing else. Now, if they could just find a new title sponsor. . . For the official word from TEN, please follow the jump.
Elm Company is taking over the Denver, Colorado’s Black Book Gallery on January 27, 2016 for their Lost & Found – The Story of Adventure photo exhibition.
Join Elm Company as we explore a cultural mix of photographers from around the world in a one night how. The photographers document the lifestyle that we live and breathe, brining together the effort, action and environment to one location where the viewer can too participate in the simplicity of being outside. In this collection we bring together outdoors, snow, and adventure.
The show features the works of Tim Peare, Shaun Daley, Pascale Shirley, Ben Gaveled, Sean Kerrick Sullivan, Mike Yoshida, Ryan Hughes, Chris Wellhausen, Andrew Miller, and Frode Sandbeck. The show begins at 7 PM January 27, 2016. The Black Book Gallery is located at 304 Elati St., in Denver, Colorado.
Big Mountain snowboarder Travis Rice has extended his endorsement deal with Lib Tech snowboards for five more years, according to Lib Tech.
“I am so proud to announce that I have signed on for another 5 years with Lib Tech and Mervin Manufacturing,” Rice said. “From an early Jamie Lynn that was the first board I spent money on at age 15, to the Last 10 years of R&D on my incredible pro-model board line culminating with the upcoming Climax model which I believe to be the best board on the planet made with Non-Toxic, Eco friendly materials, built by snowboarders here in the USA. Mervin is a family that I am overjoyed to be a part of and has been putting Snowboarding first since it’s inception over 25 years ago. From the water-boards I surf to the skateboards I roll, this company is based on fun with friends, creative freedom and the expression which makes the world a brighter place. Many companies try to replicate what Mervin is doing but there is only one magical Mervin! Thank you Mike, Pete and everyone else that empowers and supports me, can’t wait to share what is in the works for tomorrow!”
This weekend (February 20-21, 2016) the crew from PowderJet are setting up their build-your-own snowboard class at the Patagonia store in Cardiff, California.
Surprise, it appears another snowboard magazine is no longer in the magazine business.
Head USA is recalling six models of helmets sold from January 2015, through December 2015 because the “helmets do not comply with the impact requirements of safety standards for helmets.” In other words, the helmets are not actually helmets.
Big Mountain snowboarder Travis Rice has extended his endorsement deal with Lib Tech snowboards for five more years, according to Lib Tech.
