by The Editors on May 1, 2019
Don’t miss the Sustainable Surf Surfboard Demo Day at 15th Street in Del Mar, California on Sunday May 5, 2019 from 7 to 10 AM as part of the Boardroom International Surfboard Show.
The event will feature some of the latest shapes from brands and people like Firewire, Channel Islands, Earth Technologies, Pyzel, Maurice Cole, Rusty, Donald Brink, Ryan Lovelace and many more, along with free coffee, snacks, and kombucha. If you’ve got an old wetsuit bring it along for recycling. For all the details, click the link.
[Link: Boardroom Show]
by The Editors on April 30, 2019
Mike Doyle, waterman, surfer, inventor, artist, and shaper who had suffered from ALS died Tuesday April 30, 2019 in his sleep at home in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico, according to a story in the Orange County Register. He was 78.
“To sum up Doyle in some kind of words, here’s a really fabulous guy, a real icon and definitely a champion,” Tom Morey said. “I don’t know how many surf contests he’s won, but quite a few. And how many giant waves he’s ridden, but a lot. And how many innovations he’s had in the surfing world … revolutionizing, with his pals, the soft board is his deal and surf wax is a big deal.”
He also played a large roll in the development of the monoski, which for many was the precursor to snowboarding. The surf and snow world would not be the same without Mike Doyle. He will be missed. Our thoughts are with his friends and family, especially his wife Anne.
[Link: Orange County Register, New York Times, LA Times]
by The Editors on April 24, 2019
All the headlines, no comments. Scan them, click them, read them, or just ignore them. A couple of these stories are worth reading and we’d point them out to you, but, well, that would take more time. You’ll just have to hunt them out yourself. Cheers.
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by The Editors on April 18, 2019
American Media LLC, the company that purchased a gutted Adventure Sports Network in January 2019 has apparently sold the National Enquirer (and a couple other tabloids) to Hudson Media. for $100 million, according to a story on WWD.
James Cohen, part of the family that founded Hudson News Distributors, is buying the U.S. and U.K versions of the gossip magazine from David Pecker’s American Media LLC (recently renamed from American Media Inc.), which acquired the title 20 years ago. The $100 million deal also includes two other tabloids, Globe and National Examiner. . . Pecker — whose friendship with President Donald Trump and the use of the Enquirer’s coverage to aid Trump’s candidacy and perhaps even his personal vendettas has come under intense scrutinyover the last year — wrote in a statement that the group of magazines actually pull in $30 million in profit annually.
Not sure what this really means other than Snowboarder, Skateboarding, and Surfer Magazine are no longer siblings of the politically embroiled gossip rags and AMI is a little less in debt — only $355 million now. Ouch.
[Link: WWD]
by The Editors on April 16, 2019
On May 4 and 5, 2019 the Del Mar Fairgrounds will again play host to The Boardroom International Surfboard Show.
Celebrating its 12th year, the Boardroom (formerly Sacred Craft) highlights the surfboard manufacturing industry. A gathering of like minded enthusiasts who are drawn by an authentic love for riding waves and the crafts that move us along those waves.
The event features booths from all your favorite surfboard brands and craftspeople, parties, talks, the California Gold Surf Auction, and the Icons of Foam Tribute to the Masters shaping competition honoring Wayne Lynch. The shaping comp will feature Travis Reynolds, John Oppito, Jordan Brazie, Steve Brom, Ryan Burch, Dan Mann, Daniel Tomson, and Shyama Buttonshaw. What them work their magic live on in person.
Tickets for the weekend are $15, kids 16 and under always free. For tickets, click here. For more information follow the jump.
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by The Editors on April 10, 2019
These new Vans surf boots take some style nods from the classic Vans Old Skools and put them out on the water. Good idea they waited until after April Fools Day to kick this off, right?
Grounded by the ubiquitous Vans Sidestripe and iconic checkerboard detailing, the Surf Boot Mid and Surf Boot Hi are designed 100% with performance and function in mind, emphasizing feature benefits such as grip, skin-tight fit and climate versatility. Everything Vans knows about skateboarding, like Vans’ original waffle grip and boardfeel, has been reimagined in a surf bootie design to elevate your surfing in all conditions. Vans’ surf booties are so grippy, you’ll want to wear them all the time, even in warm water! Every inch and stitch have been crafted for comfort and performance—Off The Wall and into the water.
They even threw in a pair of fly-less surf trunks to boot. The booties and trunks drop on Saturday, April 13, 2019. For all the official details and a closer look at the boots (don’t call them booties), please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on April 2, 2019
It’s hard to believe, but it appears that eventually every dead fashion brand ends up in Jamie Salter’s hands. So it should be no surprise that he was able to add Volcom to his arsenal of 50 zombie brands which also includes Airwalk and Vision Street Wear.
“We are thrilled to have completed the purchase of Volcom,” said Jamie Salter, Chairman and CEO of ABG. “For nearly three decades the Volcom family has created one of the most iconic brands in the skate, surf and snow markets. During the last few years, the brand has been consistently gaining traction with broader audiences around the world while staying true to its core. We could not be happier to finally get to work with this team.”
Yes, this is an over-simplification of the deal which includes the creation of a new operating group run by Todd Hymel and the current Volcom management of which ABG is a minority partner, but hey at least Vee-Co is out from under the French and zombie brands live forever.
For the official word and no mention of how much ABG paid for Volcom (last time it sold for $607 million, this time we’re guessing much, much, much less) please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on March 26, 2019
In a keynote address yesterday (March 25, 2019), Apple’s Tim Cook mentioned that their newly launched News+ app is like having an “entire newsstand on your iPhone,” but for us, not so much. First, as we’ve been saying lately there aren’t many surf, snow, or skate magazines left, and second, the only one that made it onto the Apple app is Surfer Magazine. The new “Netflix for magazines” app charges users $9.99 a month for unlimited magazine viewing from at least 300 different magazine titles.
For the olds who enjoy reading The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The Week, and Surfer, this new subscription model might not be terrible, but spending $120 a year for magazines that can only be read on iPhones, iPads, or Apple computers, doesn’t seem like the best deal when a Surfer Magazine subscription can be purchased online for $14. For more info on Apple News+ please click the link.
[Link: News+]
by The Editors on March 26, 2019
At this point see skate, snow, and surf headlines in our sleep and though we don’t seem to have time to snark this batch up, we still want them in an easy-to-scan format. So here they are as of March 25, 2019. Click the link for all the headlines you should have seen in the past few weeks (in no particular order, sadly) and enjoy the news.
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by The Editors on March 21, 2019
We’ve been out of the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association loop for more than a minute so please forgive our ignorance, but we were pleased to discover that SIMA is still doing an annual awards show. Yes, in 2019. Their 15th, apparently. And last night (March 20, 2019) they got their membership together for a “sold out” show at The Observatory in Santa Ana, California to pat (Parnell) each other on the backs for surviving another year and to swap awards for all the great work they’re doing.
Brands to grab awards included Vissla, Billabong, FCS, Vans, and a few others. There were 116 nominees from 41 brands. The breakout brand of the year award went to Seea. Who? Seea, you know, the swim brand that “is dedicated to the pioneering women who first braved the waves, and to every woman who has ever searched for a suit that is feminine, comfortable, and fun.” Now you know. Billabong was the night’s big winner with five awards. Quiksilver was nominated in six categories (eight if you count Roxy) and they didn’t win a thing. Volcom didn’t get a mention, and Hurley, well Hurley is no longer a member of SIMA, and you can’t win if don’t pay play.
SIMA even had an award from what’s left of surf media for something called the “Consumer Media Feature of the Year.” It was won by Stab Magazine for The Electric Acid Surfboard Test. The other media in the running were Surfer, Surfline, and something called The Inertia.
For the official word from SIMA including all the winners and nominees, please follow the jump.
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