by The Editors on June 20, 2008
Wonder why we haven’t heard about this from the mainstream surf media. . . or maybe since we stopped reading the print magazines we just missed all the coverage this group is getting. (Just kidding).
THE GAY AND LESBIAN SURF ASSOCIATION WAS BUILT OUT OF THE FRUSTRATION OF HOMOPHOBIA OUT IN THE OCEAN!!!!!! MANY OF THE TOP PROFESSIONAL SURFERS ARE GAY AND CAN’T COME OUT OF THE CLOSET AND BE THEMSELVES BECAUSE THERE SPONSORS ARE RIGHT WING GOD FEARING REPUBLICANS IN ORANGE COUNTY!!!! THIS IS A PLACE TO BE YOURSELF AND NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GETTING HASSLED BY SOME HOMOPHOBIC JOCKS WHEN YOU WANT TO RELAX AND CATCH A FEW WAVES WITH SOME FRIENDS!!!!!!!GO SURFING!!!
We’re glad someone still has a sense of humor in this money mill.
[Link: Gay and Lesbian Surf Association]
by The Editors on June 20, 2008
From the LA Times:
Bruce Grimes gingerly clenches his stitched right hand, asserting as best he can that he was accompanied by angels the morning a large bull shark chomped “softly” on his arm as he paddled his surfboard.
“I could feel the inside of its mouth with my hand,” he says while sitting on a small wooden stool inside his downtown surf shop. “It was steely, all hard inside, like a bear trap.”
Follow the link for the rest of the story from a Zihuatanejo surf survivor.
[Link: LA Times]
by The Editors on June 10, 2008
Last night friends and family of Adrian Ruiz, the 25 year-old surfer who was killed by a shark near Troncones, Mexico, gathered for a traditional Hawaiian paddle out.
Holding a surfboard, Misty Spinney said it was Ruiz who taught her to surf at Linda Mar. “He was my best friend,” she said, “He was the most beautiful person, fun charasmatic loyal, fun human being to be around and you don’t say that about anybody. He was legit. . . . His mother, Sharla McDaniel struggled to hold back tears. “I feel him out here, it’s part of who he is,” she said.
[Link: KTVU.com]
by The Editors on June 9, 2008
Steve & Berry’s (200 super-stores in 33 states) has figured out that if Quiksilver can sell more trunks because of Kelly Slater, and Kohls can sell most stuff because of Tony Hawk, why shouldn’t they help move some of their cheap action clothing with Laird Hamilton. Enter Wonderwall.
Last month, Hamilton unveiled his surf-and-skate-inspired men’s board shorts, graphic T-shirts, cargo shorts and polo shirts. All 200 pieces of his new Wonderwall clothing and accessories are $8.98 or less at area Steve & Barry’s stores. . . . “I’d like to say I discovered Steve & Barry’s, but they approached me about the concept,” Hamilton says. “I had little to no knowledge of their business philosophy. After a very short discussion, I realized it was something that I definitely wanted to be part of.”
We are just glad that Laird is getting paid. Because that is what he does best.
[Link: The Detroit News]
by The Editors on June 7, 2008
Ever since Al Merrick sold Channel Islands Surfboards to Jake Burton Carpenter, Santa Barbara’s “biggest and brightest” surfer Bobby Martinez has been “less than thrilled” according to the Santa Barbara Independent. Now he has official left the company to join Australia’s DHD label
. . . this spring, after test-driving some of Darren Handley’s DHD shapes during the Australian leg of the WCT, Martinez became an official convert. In a statement announcing the arrival of his newest team member, Handley said, “It wasn’t one of those million-dollar deals that you read about…We just felt we were heading in the same direction, things clicked, and it just made sense.” Not only did Martinez ride a DHD board to a third place finish at the Bell’s Beach event in April along the south coast of Oz, but both the Men’s and Women’s 2007 World Champions, Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore, also ride for Handley.
Maybe one Kelly Slater is enough for Burton.
[Link: Santa Barbara Independent]
by The Editors on June 4, 2008
A surfer who was out catching some morning surf in Del Mar, CA stumbled on a stash of more than 70 lbs of marijuana hidden under a tarp on a rocky outcropping. Rather that take the No Country for Old Men route he immediately called the sheriff.
Responding deputies recovered approximately 70 and one-half pounds of marijuana,” he said. “More marijuana was found in a trash can in the (beach) parking area.” . . . The origin of the pot, which was bundled in 1-kilogram packages and two large burlap sacks, was unknown, though several people reported seeing a small boat in the area about 3 a.m., the sergeant said.
The surfer’s friends are apparently no longer speaking with him. Just kidding.
[Link: 10News.com]
by The Editors on June 2, 2008
TAVARUA, Fiji (Tuesday, June 3, 2008) – 8x ASP World Champion and current ratings leader on the 2008 ASP World Tour Kelly Slater (USA) added another victory to his ever-growing scorecard today, defeating fellow Floridian C.J. Hobgood (USA) in firing six foot (2 metre) surf at Cloudbreak today, taking down the Globe Pro Fiji.
[Link: ASP World Tour]
by The Editors on June 2, 2008
Billabong’s second annual fashion show Design For Humanity at LA’s Avalon/Spider Club on June 4, 2008 is sold out. Which means that unless you know someone (or have tickets) you’re not going to see a bunch of white-hot bikini models strutting to the sounds of DJ Steve Aoki.
Design for Humanity is Billagon’s charitable initiative. It began as an opportunity for Billabong’s marketing, art, and design teams to come together and give back to a non-profit close to the heart of our industry.
This year the money raised is going to the Surfrider Foundation. We wonder why they don’t just call it Hot girls Loosen Wallets.
[Link: Design For Humanity]
by The Editors on June 2, 2008
So far this season three surfers (two Aussies and one American) have been killed by sharks while surfing in Mexico and at Zihuatanejo sign have been posted.
Large yellow-and-red signs reading “Caution — Swim at your own risk” were erected at the Troncones, Pantla and Linda beaches west of the popular tourist resort of Zihuatanejo.
So far experts are blaming the La Nina weather for cooling parts of the Central Pacific and through things out of whack. We think it’s just that the planet is pissed.
[Link: International Herald Tribune]
by The Editors on June 2, 2008
Scott Bass and Marty Thomas got a little mainstream love from the San Diego Union-Tribune today.
Bass and Thomas form an articulate, insightful team. The middle-aged tandem packs the show’s hour with commentary and analysis of the week’s surf headlines in an accessible format that serves to extend the issues they cover.
Articulate surfers? Ah, well, let’s just say they do a very nice job. And leave it at that.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
Wonder why we haven’t heard about this from the mainstream surf media. . . or maybe since we stopped reading the print magazines we just missed all the coverage this group is getting. (Just kidding).
