While we were hanging out at the Converse Coastal Carnage bowl it appears some pretty amazing surfing went down at the US Open of Surfing today if Dane Reynolds Round of 48, Heat 8 score of 17.43 was any indication.
“It was fun out there,” Reynolds said. “I kind of just sat off to the left of everyone and took it easy. I didn’t really get any waves in the beginning and Kolohe got an 8 in the beginning for a small wave, so I knew if you were to get a set wave, anything you did was going to be a good score. That 9.33 was really important, I was looking pretty bad in the beginning and that definitely turned the heat for me.”
When the Agenda Show opened at Huntington Beach, California Hyatt Hotel yesterday (August 3, 2011) it didn’t take long for the place to fill right up. And that didn’t seem to bother show co-founder Aaron Levant all that much.
“Even in the first two hours it was packed everywhere we went,” Levant said. “The valet filled up and there was no where to park. We’re having some logistical problems like that, but they’re good ones, just because there are so many people here. We’ve been getting compliments all morning. It’s good show.”
Levant brought the show back to Huntington Beach after a January show in Anaheim because there’s just nothing like the synergy created by the US Open, Huntington Beach, and being right in the middle of it all.
“This is our third year in a row that we have coincided with the US Open,” Levant said. “The US Open has a lot of energy. And the two things together has an undeniable draw for someone traveling from across the country or across the world. They can come out to Agenda, get business done, hang out at the US Open. See the contest. See the free concerts. I think that whole synergy together is kind of undeniable.”
While the space in Anaheim was larger, Levant was able to bring close to 350 brands back to the Hyatt thanks to a temporary building called The Pavillion. “We really wanted to come back to Huntington for the summer with the US Open and the whole vibe here,” he said. “So that’s why we had to build that whole zone, because we just maxed out the space here.”
Brazil’s Thiago Camarao and Hawaii’s John Florence ended local favorite (and two-time US Open winner) Brett Simpson’s shot at a third title this year in Heat 22 of the Round of 96 of the US Open of Surfing. Camarao described it like this:
“When I paddled out I knew it was going to be gnarly with Brett (Simpson) winning the last two years and John John (Florence) having good results in the last two events,” Camarao said. “I told myself I should do airs, but it never happened because it was kind of weird and small, but I just surfed and tried to go for the sets because they were the good scores. Luckily I was able to get one good set.”
Vans and Joel Tudor took their Duct Tape Invitation on the road over the weekend to the Salinas Longboard Festival in Spain. Apparently, Tyler Warren won $4,000 in the final heat against Justin Quintal, Al Knost, and Jared Meil. For more details follow the jump. [click to continue…]
“I’ve been training and drinking HDX for the past few months,” said Simpson. “I’ve noticed a big difference, not just from being better hydrated, but it also completes my total training regiment mentally and physically. It’s amazing that a drink mix can give me mental clarity and quickly replenish my body during intense training and competition.”
Having tried HDX several times ourselves, we can’t say we disagree with Simpo. Follow the jump for all the details. [click to continue…]
On Saturday, July 30, 2011 the US Open of Surfing kicked off with the Nike Junior Pro and the beginning of the biggest week in North American pro surfing. Nineteen-year-old Maxime Huscenot ruled day one with the highest heat total of 15.67.
“Huntington is a really hard wave and this morning I got lucky and got two waves at the beginning and it put me in a good position for the whole heat,” Huscenot said. “My second heat was a bit harder because the tide was high and there were not many waves as well.”
We think by “hard” he means shifty and fickle. But that’s why trying to surf the Huntington Beach pier is so much fun. For more info on day one, follow the jump. For a complete schedule with absolutely everything you need to know click here, or click here for the free US Open iPhone app and be the US Open source of information for all your friends. [click to continue…]
The body of high school surfing coach Daniel Bobis was reportedly found by local fisherman five days after he went missing while surfing out of Sumatra’s Krui Damai surf camp on Sunday, July 24, 2011, according to a story in the Washington Post.
Daniel Bobis apparently hit another surfer’s board after emerging from the barrel of a powerful, 10-foot (3-meter) wave. His leash broke and his board washed to shore. A member of the search and rescue team said Bobis’ body was found about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from where he’d last been seen.
Our thoughts are with Bobis’s family and friends. As Kelly Slater said about Bobis in a Tweet last night: “He was a good man.”
Action Industry veteran Matt Patterson has reportedly signed on as VP of Marketing and Business Development for SponsorMe. Here’s what Matto has to say about his new employer.
“SME is positioned perfectly to assist action sports brands to bridge the gap between their core and non-core audiences seamlessly and with all the credibility and authenticity they are known for,” said Patterson. “We are living in interesting times, very few small brands have survived this recent economic torpor and most of the exciting new developments are coming from the big guys these days. Red Bull, Monster and Nike are the labels kids are in to and we are finding an ever expanding group of influential taste-makers and culture-vultures that are okay with this new twist. It’s no-longer a sin to be successful and the action sports industry needs a platform that can speak with credibility to this group.”
We’ve never been able to figure out exactly what SponsorMe business model is, and Matto’s explanation doesn’t help much. Follow the jump and see if you can figure it out. [click to continue…]
After Kelly Slater famously tweeted that he’d rather surf macking Cloudbreak than meager Billabong Pro J-Bay surf and Bobby Martinez failed to show up, the ASP is reportedly working toward significantly increasing the fines for tour surfers who bail on events, according to a Joli story on ESPN/Action.
From the next event, which is the Billabong Pro in Tahiti, sources close to the ASP have indicated increasing the fine to US $25,000 if the surfer has been in touch with ASP officials but is still a no show (e.g. Slater at J-Bay) or possible US $50,000 for a surfer who has not been in touch with officials (e.g. Martinez) and fails to turn up. Prodan could not verify these numbers.
Increased fines do show that the ASP is serious, but will they actually help hold things together? Or just piss more surfers off? Guess we’ll find out soon enough.
