Last month Rabbit Bartholomew announced that he was retiring from his position as president of the Association of Surfing Professionals. Today, the Sydney Morning Hearld looks back at the huge effect Rabbit’s “best surfers in the best waves” philosophy had on the ASP Tour and on surfing in general.
Problem being, a lot of the best waves are kilometres offshore. Tough, said Bartholomew. If that’s where conditions peaked, that’s where the contests would be held. . . . The result became the high-voltage tour now traversing the globe: Fiji, Tahiti, the US, Europe, a mystery location every year. Slater ended his retirement. It shouldn’t be forgotten that without Bartholomew’s brainchild, Slater would have been lost to the sport for good.
A Fly In The Champagne’s producer/ interviewer/ narrator Selema Masekela (and special guest) discussing Kelly Slater, Andy Irons, the rivalry, the film, and the surf trip that made it all happen.
Check out the images from Billabong’s Design For Humanity runway show/party in Sydney, Australia on February 18, 2009. Looks like the high fashion nobs were turned up a little on this one.
The Kelly Slater vs. Andy Irons documentary A Fly In The Champagne premiered tonight (February 19, 2009) at the Legendary La Paloma Theater in Encinitas, California during two packed-house showings.
Through back and forth interviews with Andy and Kelly, the film breaks down the story behind what many consider the greatest rivalry in modern surfing. In a story in the Sydney Morning Herald former ASP President Rabbit Bartholomew spoke of the rivalry and its effect on the entire tour: “Kelly came back but AI was killing it,” Bartholomew says. “The next three years, they just went hammer and tong. They took it to a whole other level and the rest of the tour went with them.”
Kelly wouldn’t disagree. “People don’t get pushed by nothing,” Slater says in the opening moments of the film. “Competitively in sports you get to see what people are made of when they really get pushed with their back to the wall.”
Hearing about what both surfers went through to put the other up against the wall and seeing how much they both hate losing had the audience laughing out loud. Even when Andy and Kelly went on the “bury the hatchet” surf trip together (which is the focus of the movie) they still ended up jocking each other for waves. But at least they were reportedly talking and hanging out together (not that we saw much of that in the film), and that was a big step forward in their relationship.
One thing we couldn’t help feeling bummed about as the movie ended was how much we’re going to miss Andy Irons on the WCT tour this year. Not that we have anything against Taj, Mick, Jordy, or Bede. We just enjoy the drama and emotion that Andy brings to surfing and selfishly hope that this year off will bring him back to the tour better than ever.
Fishermen and activists in India’s state of Kerala say that officials are diverting tsunami relief funding and using it to beautify the beaches and tourist resorts rather than funding the rebuilding of the local fishing industry, according to a story on Sky News.
After the tsunami hit activist claim the Indian government said that the tourist facilities in Kerala were “safe and unaffected,” but they changed their minds later and diverted £170 million to tourist projects.
There are now plans to market Kovalam as an international, year round surfing destination by using the funds to construct a 500 metre artificial reef at a cost of almost half a million pounds. . . . It would be India’s first specialist surfing and wave sport destination. . . . “How can such activities protect coastal population and environment from disaster like tsunami?” asks Ajay of Janamunnettam, a network of civil society organizations. . . . “Kerala Tourism is insulting and fooling the affected communities while claiming these activities as coastal protection.”
Then again, no one throws their money around more than tourists, though surf tourists are not exactly who we’d want to go after is we were looking for a steady revenue stream.
The Oakley/Surfing Life Big Wave Awards celebrating big waves ridden in Australia were held last night and surfer Marti Paradisis, 25, walked away with the award for “the biggest paddle-in ride and the award for best overall performance for 2008-09,” according to a story on The Mercury.
Marti Paradisis, 25, of Clifton Beach, won the award for the biggest paddle-in ride and the award for best overall performance for 2008-09. . . . This makes him the first surfer in the history of the national competition to win two awards in one year.. . For this year’s competition, Paradisis continued to surf at Shipstern Bluff but he also tackled the newly discovered wave at Eddystone Rock, near Pedra Branca, off Tasmania’s South-East.
Billabong profits are down 7.1 percent in the “first half” thanks to the US economy, according to a story on News.com.au. Not knowing all the much about currency markets it’s always funny to hear companies saying things like this:
“While the company has experienced margin erosion in its biggest division, the Americas, the effect is being partially offset by strong appreciation in the US dollar against the Australian dollar,” Billabong chief executive Derek O’Neill.
So, if we’re hearing this properly, sales in the US are down, but luckily for Billabong the Australian dollar is going all to hell. Good times in international business, huh?
The economy didn’t seem to pull Volcom down too much last year according to their 2008 Q4 and full year results released this afternoon. Total consolidated revenues for 2008 were up 25 percent, and probably the best news: “the company generated $24.7 Million in operating cash flow,” has $79.6 in the bank with absolutely no long-term debt. Wooly explains it:
“While the ongoing global macroeconomic turmoil affected our results for the 2008 fourth quarter and full year, the underlying strength of Volcom is well intact,” said Richard Woolcott, Volcom’s chairman and chief executive officer. “In the face of this economic uncertainty, we are working to maintain a healthy balance between being aggressive when we see opportunities and pulling back where we can, including reducing our cost structure. We have a solid cash position and a strong global brand with a devout following. Further, we believe that our product line-up for 2009 is one of our best ever. We plan to approach the year with discipline, commitment and focus, and we remain confident in our ability to ride this period out and prevail as an even stronger company.”
According to the OC Business Journal, however, moving into 2009 things aren’t going so well. Volcom “warned of a big shortfall in profits and sales for the current quarter” . . . projecting “a profit of $3.1 million to $3.9 million for the current quarter, well below the $6.3 million analysts had been forecasting.” That may explain why they cut eight percent of their employees and are giving many others reduced pay.
We would have listened to today’s conference call, but apparently the Volcom audio server doesn’t like Macs, or maybe it’s just us.
Joined by some of her famous friends at the fabulous Milk Studios Penthouse space, Elle’s Kate Lanphear and Joe Zee, Leighton Meister, Alexander Wang, Coco Rochas, Cory Kennedy, The Cobrasnake himself Mark, and countless other models and models off duty. . . . So break out a pair of baggy cut off denim shorts, black tights, mismatched denim, leather and some crushed velvet for that extra fall touch. Erin’s Fall | Winter 09 will keep you in a Cali spirit, even if your no where near the warm temperatures.
Click through for great photos and poor writing. Or hit Thecobrasnake.com for all the goods.
