by The Editors on January 15, 2009
In a race against The Eddie, Mavericks Surf Contest organizers have bumped the prize purse up to $150,000, according to as story on the San Jose Mercury News.
There really is no amount of money on Earth that could compensate the guys for the risks they take out there at Mavericks,” Keir Beadling, CEO of Mavericks Surf Ventures, wrote in an e-mail, “and I honestly believe they’d surf in the contest with no prize purse. Many of them have said as much. . . . “But, we are extraordinarily proud of the fact that — even in the teeth of the worst recession in generations — we were able to pull together and put on the contest, and even make some more history in the process.”
Wonder if this has anything to do with the approaching “swell of the winter” this weekend?
[Link: San Jose Mercury News]
by The Editors on January 15, 2009
Nixon hosts an art show with pieces from all their friends: Chivo, Jody Morris, Taylor Dunfee, Marlena Detrick, Steven Neiley, Morgan, Mimi Knoop, The Pirates, Rob Machado, Russ Morland, Tony Ramsell, Cory Shephard, Travis Collier, Chili Thom, Rob Mathis, Mike Jackson, Jody Rogac, Tyler Quarles, Catherine Leslie, Mila Franovic, Calen Knauf, Kevin Rockwell, Tyler Simpson, Phoenix and Caley Vanular .
It all happens January 21, 2009 at the Trunk Gallery, 1755 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6J 1K7
[Link: Nixon]
by The Editors on January 12, 2009
Quiksilver announced today that Marty Samuels, president of Quiksilver Americas has left the company and Craig Stevenson has been named interim President of Quiksilver Americas effective immediately.
Robert B. McKnight, Jr., Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quiksilver, Inc., commented, “I would like to thank Marty for his many contributions to Quiksilver over the last twelve years. Marty was instrumental to our growth during his time here, a period in which we’ve established ourselves as the leading action sports lifestyle company and we will miss him. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”
The press release gives no reason for Marty’s departure. Maybe he’s leaving so he can “spend more time with his family.”
[Link: Welt.de]
by The Editors on January 12, 2009
Quiksilver CEO Bob McKnight will be featured in a new commercial for Microsoft in which he makes the case that the right software can help them do their jobs better.
The ads, via JWT, New York, feature audio conversations with WestJet CEO Sean Durfy, Quiksilver CEO Robert McKnight and Eric Ryan, the co-founder and chief brand architect for Method. As each of the execs is talking, Monty Python-esque animation plays outlining what each are saying.
Quiksilver uses Mircrosoft products? Maybe that’s the problem.
[Link: MediaWeek]
by The Editors on January 12, 2009
Women’s Wear Daily did a really nice feature profile on Active Ride Shop in their Independent Spotlight section today.
It was so nice that it didn’t even mention any of the problems we’ve all been hearing about since last fall: no mention of the fact that many manufacturers are no longer shipping product to Active, or the rumor that one company spent last fall physically removing product from the stores. The only nod to the realities of the current business climate was this from Active President Shane Wallace:
It’s tough right now. In our 20 years, this is the most interesting and most difficult environment to move in I’ve seen,” Wallace said, adding that he would wait to up the store count until the economy improves or until Active finds an investment partner to help take the chain national. . . Looking toward the new year, Wallace is cautious, but positive. “We’re playing it very conservative for 2009,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t rule out store closings, if needed. “We’ll do what makes sense for our business.”
Yeah, playing it conservative probably isn’t a bad idea at this point.
[Link: Women’s Wear Daily]
by The Editors on January 11, 2009
There appears to be a swell on the horizon and while Marvericks contest director Jeff Clark says “everything beyond 48 hours is hypothetical” this bump could mean a Mavericks contest January 16-17, 2009, according to a story in the San Jose Mercury News.
The pulse looming large on satellite imagery is the byproduct of a gale spawned off the coast of Japan late last week. The system is expected to be tracking southeast today toward the international date line and making a beeline for the coral reefs off Oahu and Maui. . . .If it stays on course, it will release its fury there Wednesday and Thursday. Then it will hurtle toward Northern California with the potential for clean 40-foot wave faces jutting from the shallow rocky shelf off Pillar Point on Friday and Saturday.
Keep your browsers tuned to Marvericks.
[Link: San Jose Mercury News]
by The Editors on January 11, 2009
Jason Borte takes on the persona of the core surf shop and points out some of their challenges and why they are not going to go away any time soon in a rambling rant on Surfline.com titled Reports Of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated.
Along the way he drops the names of the bad guys; Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Target, and quotes the good guys Bob Hurley, Quiksilver’s Tom Holbrook, Billabong’s Royce Cansler, and Whalebone Surf Shop’s Jim Vaughan. This is how Borte wraps it up:
Surfing is magical, and the one place where we all gather outside of the water is magical as well. We, the authentic surf shops, are nothing less than shrines to the sport. We provide the essentials for riding waves, and we provide a place for surfers to connect, communicate, and share the stoke. Just as wavepools fail to deliver the magic found in the ocean, pseudo-surf shops fail to offer a genuine experience. Truth be told, I don’t deserve the credit. It isn’t the building or the smells that make a surf shop special. It’s people. And those people don’t just smell like surf, they do it.
If only we had a lighter handy, we’d be waving it high above our heads right now and typing one-handed.
[LInk: Surfline.com]
by The Editors on January 11, 2009
Yesterday, on Australia’s Gold Coast Jonathon Beard, 31, was surfing with three friends at Fingal “when a shark inflicted a bite about 40cm long and 5cm deep to the top of his leg.”
Apparently there was a group of dolphins nearby and then the next thing he realised was he received a large bite to the top of his leg,” he said. “The blokes he was with then saw some violent thrashing in the water and called out ‘Shark!’. . . . “They showed a lot of initiative — they used his leg rope as a tourniquet and got him into shore quickly and got help.”
Meanwhile at Binalong Bay 13-year-old surfer Hannah Mighall was surfing with her 20-year-old cousin when she was chomped by a 5 meter white pointer.
The shark twice dragged the girl under the water before her cousin reached the scene on his surfboard and hit the animal, causing it to let go of the girl’s leg. . . . The cousin managed to pull the teenager on to his surfboard and began to paddle towards the shore. But the shark followed and circled the frightened pair as they frantically paddled.
Luckily, both surfers escaped major permanent damage though as the story points out they will have some great scars to talk about.
[Link: The Australian and Time Magazine]
by The Editors on January 8, 2009
The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is running out of funding and may close, but O’Neill founder Jack O’Neill has an idea, according to a story on SantaCruz.com: “Write checks, please.”
Always the type to take his own advice, O’Neill handed over a $4,000 large novelty check inside the museum to members of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society, the new name for Santa Cruz Surfing Club members that hope to take over the museum.
The City of Santa Cruz and the Preservation Society still have a few details to work out including raising at least $20,000 to finish out the year, but with friends like Jack it seems the museum has a good chance of living on.
[Link: Santacruz.com]
by The Editors on January 8, 2009
Nathan Fletcher suffered a broken femur Wednesday January 7, 2009 while surfing Pipeline, according to a story on Surfermag.com:
Fletcher caught a clean west peak, ducked under and then emerged cleanly from a six-foot spinning tube. He sped out onto the shoulder in full afterburner mode. Fletcher then lay his outside rail into a massive Mach 5 roundhouse. He headed into the oncoming foam ball with a prodigous amount of speed. Too much speed. It was one of those cutbacks. His speed and velocity actually increased through the turn. Unfortunately, the mountainous white cotton ball grinding towards him was anything but fluffy and soft. “I heard his leg snap,” said Wassel. “It was the eeriest sound. Myles and I looked at each other and we just knew it was bad.”
Myles Padaca and North Shore lifeguard Dave Wassel went out and were able to drift with Nathan down to Gums and get him to the sand. We wish Nathan a speedy recovery.
[Link: Surfermag.com via Transworldsurf.com]
In a race against The Eddie, Mavericks Surf Contest organizers have bumped the prize purse up to $150,000, according to as story on the San Jose Mercury News.
