Morgan Spurlock is the filmmaker who ate at McDonalds until he turned into a fat pig and documented it all for his film Supersize Me. Now, the filmmaker has turned his lens toward Nathan Gocke, a surfer who broke his neck while surfing.
A quadriplegic, with enough feeling in his arms to enter an intensive rehabilitation program, Nathan did not dwell on his accident but instead looked to the future. His increasing strength, along with pivotal encounters with key individuals along the way, helped crystalize one simple thought in his mind that he would one day surf again. This is the story of one surfer out to prove that the impossible is possible. Nathan’s journey is a declaration that we can endure and overcome.
We’re not at Bells Beach for the Rip Curl Pro, but we all can still cruise the party scene thanks to Emprie Ave’s Lincon. Oddly, their video is about what we remember from most parties: dark blurry and loud. For photos from the Dragon/ASL party click the link.
Dirk Denny, 49, of Fairfax, California died on Saturday, April 3, 2010 while surfing Drakes Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore may have had a heart attack according to a story in the Marin Independent Journal.
Denny was in cardiac arrest when firefighters arrived, and witnesses were trying to resuscitate him, Giannini said. . . Denny was airlifted to Petaluma Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The press release doesn’t exactly say how many years they’ve signed on for but we’re sure IMG’s James Leitz is breathing a little easier now that this deal is done.
“Last year’s relationship with Hurley, Nike 6.0 and Converse provided a glimpse of the U.S. Open of Surfing’s true potential,” said James Leitz, IMG Action Sports SVP. “The NIKE, Inc. action sports family raised the bar in all areas and continues an aggressive push towards excellence in 2010.”
Nike owned the beach last year with Hurley, Nike 6.0, and Converse all over the place. We’re just hoping they build another ramp set up like last year’s Converse Coastal Carnage.
Today will be the day to see all the heavy heats in round three of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach as the circus moves from 13th Beach to Winkipop and begins live at 2:30 PM PST (5:30 PM EST)
“We’re fortunate enough to have yesterday’s swell hanging around and conditions have cleaned up for some beautiful little waves at Winkipop,” Damien Hardman, Rip Curl Pro Contest Director, said. “We’ll start Round 3 at 7:30am and look to run as many heats as possible.”
Santa Cruz, California’s Paradise Surf Shop opened in 1997 with what was a bit of a new idea for surf shops: it was a core surf shop for active women owned by women. And for the last 13 years it has been just that. But on March 28, 2010 Paradise Surf closed it’s brick and mortar shop and will live only online, according to a story in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Anna Macken, who bought Paradise Surf Shop in 2008, closed March 28 “with mixed feelings,” citing “shifts in our lives” as the reason, according to an e-mail she sent to customers. She is still selling surf gear for women at Paradise Surf’s Web site, reasoning an online store could be easier for busy people to navigate. . . “We believe it is absolutely possible to continue fostering our community of women who surf, even if the physical store we used as a hub no longer bears our name,” her e-mail said.
Sad to see another good shop go, but we hear the future is digital.
The big news from 13th Beach, yesterdays home for the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, was that the Hobgoods (yes, both of them) are now out of the contest thanks to a Brazilian onslaught lead by 16-year-old Gabriel Medina (who edged CJ) and followed up by Neco Padaratz (who knocked out Damien). Chris Davidson (pictured above) even make it past Jay Thompson.
We’ll know if round 3 runs by today at 2 PM PST. For Charlie Smith’s thoughts on Gabriel Medina click here. For the rest of the results and official ASP release follow the jump. [click to continue…]
“I’m planning just to capture a piece of the world which is the bull riding in America. I think it must be an amazing subculture,” he said. . . McLeod’s first experience on a bull was two-and-a-half months ago, and he says he stayed on for a couple of seconds. . . “I think it’s a mental thing. If you’re prepared to really put yourself on and learn and try and stick on, you might get fairly good at it,” he said.
The fact that he’s only ridden a bull once hasn’t seemed to slow him down. It seems that McLeod has found the perfect occupation for an Australian: cluelessly dive headfirst into something without a clue and then spray about it for years.
Looks like that early Chelsea Hedges run on the Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach ended today in semi-final number two when Sofia Mulanovich took her out in a nail biting tie-breaker. The three-time world champ Stephanie Gilmore marched right in and crushed Mulanovich in much the same way she cut past Sally Fitzgibbons in the semi final one. But Steph is much too humble to say it:
“Two for two is definitely an unexpected start of the year but I guess when you’re not really expecting too much that’s when it all just comes your way,” Gilmore said. “Winning the World Title is such an incredible feeling – it’s quite rare so while I can, I just might as well keep winning. But it does take a lot of energy – it really draws a lot of energy out of you. When you come to the end of the year, everybody wants a piece of your time and it can be quite intense, but it’s something that I enjoy. I think that’s why I just kind of cruise throughout the year and then at the end of the year, I want that big climax.”
One of the few things that creeps us out about surfing late in the evening or early, early morning is bumping into something in the water. And these stories don’t help. Santa Cruz surfers got an eery surprise this morning when they found the body of a 43-year-old woman who had been missing since March 22, 2010, according to a story in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Around 8 a.m. Friday, surfers noticed Davis’ body floating in the water between the surf break and a small, sand beach at the base of the stairs that lead up to West Cliff Drive. Someone called 911 while Cabrillo College instructor Rick Graziani paddled out to the body. . . “It was kind of a weird way to start a surf session,” the Soquel resident said. “It was moving in toward where the surf zone was so I decided I would stay with the body … and also I just didn’t want to leave her there by herself after she had finally been found.”
Foul play is not suspected. The missing woman, Lee Davis, 43, was a wife and mother.
