Ekstrom developed the first asymmetrical tail design in 1965, based on the idea that the board should better match the surfers own nonlinear stance. In 1988 Ekstrom and Windansea surfer Tom Lochtefeld began working on a stationary wave later dubbed the FlowRider, which made its public debut in a Texas waterpark in the summer of 1991. Ekstrom’s design influence can be found restaurants, military training helmets, Reebok shoes, and beyond. Ekstrom’s asymmetrical surfboard is enjoying a major resurgence with La Jolla surfer Richard Kenvin and the Hydrodynamica crew helping Ekstrom with R&D in and around San Diego environs.
In the competition shapers will be asked to shape anything they want as long as it is asymmetrical. Follow the jump for the rest of the details. [click to continue…]
A ten-foot by ten-foot mosaic of the Virgin of Guadalupe riding a surfboard next to the words “Save The Ocean” which mysteriously appeared under a train bridge in Encinitas, California around Easter 2011 has caused the city all kinds of grief and brought it worldwide attention from the art world. Firstly, the mosaic was drawing huge crowds to an already busy section of Encinitas Blvd, secondly, the city didn’t know if the artwork should be removed as grafitti or treasured as the folk art that it obviously is. Now, the artist who created it has finally come forward, according to a story in the North County Times.
Longtime Leucadia resident Mark Patterson, 58, notified the city through an attorney late Wednesday afternoon that he had created the piece, which appeared on a railroad bridge support along Encinitas Boulevard in late April. . . After his attorney contacted City Hall, Patterson told the North County Times in a telephone interview that he never expected his 10-by-10-foot mosaic would attract national and even international media attention. . . “I’m not used to this kind of attention,” the former software company employee said.
Now the the City of Encinitas knows whose responsible it still doesn’t solve what they’re going to do with it. Of course, the logical thing would be to just leave it, but as we’ve learned with skateboarding over the years, city governments rarely do the logical thing.
The official autopsy report from Tarrant County Chief Medical Examiner Nizam Peerwani, MD lists a second cause of death as “acute mixed drug ingestion.” Drugs listed include Alprazolam, methadone, cocaine, and “a trace amount of methamphetamine.”
The family’s medical expert, however, disagrees that these drugs were an official cause of death for Irons.
Dr. Di Maio questioned Dr. Peerwani’s decision to list the finding “Acute Mixed Drug Ingestion” under “Cause of Death” because he believes “it was not the cause of death and did not contribute to the death. The Manner of Death is in fact labeled Natural.” Dr. Di Maio goes on to say that the drugs cited, Alprazolam (Xanax) and methadone (an analgesic drug commonly used in the treatment of chronic pain), are in “therapeutic levels” and notes that benzoylecgonine is an “inactive metabolite,” which Gary H. Wimbish Ph.D., DABFT, a forensic toxicologist consulted by the family, has explained is a breakdown product of cocaine. . . . Dr. Peerwani’s report also cites the presence of a trace amount of methamphetamine. Lyndie insists Andy was not a methamphetamine user, so it is likely the substance was present in the cocaine he ingested. But again, Dr. Di Maio believes that none of these drugs was the cause of, or contributed to, Andy’s death.
The event, set to take place at Sydney’s iconic Manly Beach 11 – 19 February 2012 is a global, multifaceted youth and sporting event that will showcase the best in surfing, skate, music, fashion and art with an expected spectator audience of 125,000. . . The Australian Open of Surfing is an extension of the world’s largest action sports festival, the US Open of Surfing. The annual event held at Huntington Beach, California, celebrates inclusion and creativity while inspiring the next generation of athletes and artists.
Guess all we need now is a Nike French Open, and a Nike UK Open and we’ll have the Nike Grand Slam of Surfing. Seems Nike just can’t get enough of boardsports these days. Nike. Nike. Nike. Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP. [click to continue…]
Vans has apparently added Australian surfer Wade Goodall to their surf team.
“Wade represents a new generation of futuristic surfers that are multi-talented, in and out of the water,” said Vans Surf Marketing Manager Scott Sisamis. “At 24, he has already started to make a significant mark on the global surf scene and we are super psyched to have him join our crew.”
Goodall joins a stacked team which include Nathan Fletcher, Joel Tudor, Pat, Dane and Tanner Gudauskas, Alex Knost, John Florence, Andrew Doheny and Dylan Graves. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
Turns out the new Nike The Chosenjust do action sports campaign looks much better in print than it does on video if this new Julian Wilson creative is any indication. Then again, it would kind of have to.
Shane Dorian has helped create a wetsuit that Transworld Surf’sJustin Cote says “will forever change the act of big wave surfing.”
Working together with Billabong Wetsuits and Mustang Survival Corporation, Dorian created the first wetsuit with a built-in instantly inflatable air bladder. With a quick tug on a ripcord, the wetsuit quickly lifts the wearer from deep underwater to the surface. . . The revolutionary suit has been dubbed the “Billabong V1” with the V standing for Vertical ascent and the 1 indicating positive altitude, or one foot above sea level.
It’s pretty obvious that this is a wetsuit that will save lives. And like all great ideas, it seems strange that no one had thought of it before.
Big wave surfing pioneer Jeff Clark and his ex-wife Katherine Kelly Clark both want the permit that would allow them to hold a big wave surf contest at Mavericks, according to a story in the Mercury News.
On Wednesday night, the San Mateo County Harbor Commission dismissed an application to run the competition by Katherine Kelly Clark and her group, Mavericks Family LLC, after it emerged that the group had accidentally applied under a different name, Mavericks Community LLC, which was not registered as a corporation in the state of California. . . Then Jeff Clark stood up and — unexpectedly — told the commission that he, too, wants to hold a Mavericks surf competition next winter in Half Moon Bay. “There is clearly a lack of experience in business management and large-scale event planning,” he told the commissioners in a not-too-subtle dig at his ex-wife. “I would like to propose another choice.”
What a perfect place to air out personal grievances. Click the link for the rest of a story that will likely get even messier in the coming months.
Strangely, the New York Times headlined a story today Nike Tries to Enter the Niche Sports It Has Missed Missed? Seems, no one has mentioned to the old gray lady that Nike SB already owns the core skate market (and that’s not even counting Converse). Aside from a few people who still rock Vans most skaters don’t want to wear anything else. This hasn’t, however, stopped the Portland footwear giant from pushing on with a new, huge, advertising campaign that launches today called The Chosen. It’s reportedly the first time Nike has used action sports athletes in a major Just Do It, campaign.
The new campaign, called “The Chosen,” is Nike’s largest effort at moving into action sports, and will feature athletes like the skateboarder Paul Rodriguez (or P-Rod), the surfer Laura Enever and the snowboarder Danny Kass. . . “When we looked at action sports, we saw a unique consumer segment that was underserved in terms of product innovation,” Mark G. Parker, Nike’s chief executive and president, said at a shareholder meeting in May.
Nike’s The Chosen commercials premiere today on facebook at 4 PM PDT/ 7 PM PDT. Click here for skateboarding, here for surf, and here for snowboarding. The truth is, Nike really isn’t “trying” anymore in action sports. They’re just doing it. And yes, it took them a long, long time to figure it out, but now that they have . . . well, we all know the rest of that story.
In October 2011, when the Sacred Craft Consumer Surfboard Expo returns to the Del Mar Fairgrounds, surfboard shaper Carl Ekstrom will be honored during the ‘Tribute to the Masters Shape-off.’
