Just when we thought no one would even get close to 40-year-old Kelly Slater’s ridiculous 18.80 score that he reeled in in 10 minutes during his Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Round 1Heat 6 match up against Garrett Parkes and Kolohe Andino, along comes 2 John Florence in the final heat of the day to lay down a 19.60 against Damien Hobgood and Tiago Pires.
“Last night was my first time surfing at Snapper, it’s an amazing wave!” Florence said. “I knew there was some good ones out there, I was out at this time last night and I got a couple. I so happy right now, I was stoked to just get those two waves, but to win the heat with some good scores is even better. I’m having a lot of fun.”
As for there rest of the day we had these thoughts: No matter what is coming out of Dane Reynold’s head, the truth is he loves surfing contests once he gets in the water. He charged it against Adam Melling and Joel Parkinson but got stuff in the final minutes of their Round 1 Heat 5 match up. Dane will get another chance in Round 2 Heat 2 when he faces off against Taj Burrow. Jordy Smith is looking lean and mean, Owen Wright got off to a rough start but pulled it. But it’s all going to sort out in the next three rounds.
For the official word from the ASP and full mens and women’s’ Roxy Pro results follow the jump. [click to continue…]
The Roxy Pro Snapper Rocks is goes live on day one of the waiting period. The men’s Quiksilver Pro is on standby currently. There really isn’t one heat to miss on the women’s side. Courtney Conlogue is currently in the water with Malia Manuel and Silvana Lima in Heat 1.
“The swell has filled in this morning and there are some good waves coming through from behind the rock,” Rich Porta, ASP International Head Judge, said. “It’s about three-to-four foot with cross-shore winds and we expect conditions to improve throughout the day as the tide drops. Women’s Round 1 will start at 7:30am with Round 1 and the opening round of men’s competition on standby.”
Follow the jump for the Round 1 match ups and the official word from the ASP. [click to continue…]
The crew at Chasing Monsters captured the last big Mavericks swell with some of the most amazingly super-slow motion footage we’ve seen in a while. And having Skindog as a guide only makes it better.
Private equity firm TPG Capital’s offer for Billabong is outrageously low compared to previous fashion label buyouts according to a story in Businessweek.
Excluding extraordinary items, analysts now estimate Billabong will earn A$64.5 million in the year ending June 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. TPG’s offer is worth almost 12 times that forecast, compared with the median bid of 24 times profit for takeovers of apparel makers greater than $500 million in the U.S., western Europe, and developed markets in the Asia-Pacific region, the data show.
In other words, TPG is offering half the average multiple for Billabong. In its analysis Businessweek questions what exactly TPG knows about the company that would cause it to make such a low offer. Are things that much worse than they appear? Or is TPG just out trolling for bargains?
For an in-depth look at the continuing Billabong situation, click the link and read the story. Or check out the Sydney Morning Herald’s piece A Tragedy of Errors.
Thanks to the severe financial trouble Billabong has been wallowing in lately the company has decided to cut their J-Bay prize money and drop the event from the World Championship Tour to an ASP 6-Star event.
“The change in event status follows a broader review in which we are seeking to identify cost savings throughout the business.” Billabong said in a statement. “By retaining an event at Jeffreys Bay, it now provides two qualifying events back to back in the South African region. The move to an ASP 6-Star also opens the event up to South Africa’s aspiring pro surfers for the first time in 20 years and ensures continuity of the event for the local businesses in Jeffreys Bay.”
Sure, that’s nice and all, but the truth is the ASP World Championship Tour is now down to 10 events. Billabong, however, still has their Rio, Teahupoo, and Pipeline events on the calendar. For the official word from the ASP, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
We say this every year, but it’s hard to believe the ASP winter break is over and we’re already staring down the barrel of the 2012 ASP World Title Season with the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast waiting period beginning Saturday, February 25, 2012 and the 2012 ASP awards banquet last night.
The ASP would like everything to know that Joel Parkinson and Jordy Smith are ready to chase down the title, so, for that matter is Kelly Slater.
“I had some really good waves at home and I’ve been going to J-Bay a lot to work on my boards for Snapper,” Jordy Smith said. “If a board doesn’t go good there it’s not going to work anywhere. It’s such a good wave that you can stand up and feel every little bump in your boards. I’ve been testing fins as well, seeing which fins work with what boards. I think in my first couple of years I lost some heats because I wasn’t that dialed in with my equipment, so I’m just working on eliminating that. I’ve also been staying fit with some training.”
Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP including a complete list of award winners from last night banquet. [click to continue…]
Over the years Newport Beach, California has become a breeding ground for jacked up rolling toys of all kinds. Time to add the Surf Skate to the list. It’s a skateboard with a 360 degree rotational front truck set up that reportedly allows skateboarders to ride just like surfers. Okay. . .
Shawn Stussy is someone we often wonder about. There is much about the action fashion business word that Shawn hasn’t experienced two or three times. Having sold off his last name years ago, he continues to dabble in the things that made him famous, but at a much slower, lower pace. Seth Epstein rolled by Shawn’s S/DOUBLE Studio with a Canon 5D Mark 2 and rolled some video for a while. This is the result.
After watching this edit It’s rather difficult to argue with the entire premise of Billabong’s latest marketing message. Life in boardshorts looks pretty, pretty, good.
Nike Surfing team cameras follow Filipe Toledo, Scooby, and Gabriel Medina as they surf up Oahu’s North Shore over the winter. Yep, the kids are still good.
