by The Editors on September 1, 2016
Hey SoCal, you like watching the big boys play in the smoothest, rampiest, most consistent contest waves in the world? Now is your only real chance to see how a certain privately owned entertainment company specializing in event and online streaming content production does it right in your own backyard, with the Hurley Pro at Trestles. The show begins September 7, 2016 with a window open until September 18, 2016.
With four events remaining on this year’s CT a thrilling three-way title race is emerging between John John Florence (HAW), Matt Wilkinson (AUS) and Gabriel Medina (BRA). Florence and Wilkinson are on the hunt for their first world title while Medina looks to reclaim his 2014 surfing crown. . . Florence will wear the coveted Jeep Leader Jersey heading into the Hurley Pro after taking back-to-back runner-up finishes as the previous two events on the CT in South Africa and Tahiti. Florence, whose best result at Lower Trestles was a second place in 2014, will be looking to improve on last year’s 25th place finish at the event and extend his lead heading into the European leg of the tour. Florence will face Davey Cathels (AUS) and either Brett Simpson (USA) or Tanner Gudauskas (USA) in Round 1.
And remember, if you only watch one round, make it Round 1. That’s the round that everyone is in. Duh! For the official word from that privately owned entertainment company specializing in event and online streaming content production, please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on August 31, 2016
Sebastien Zanella, the dark lord of dark action videos, has produced an inspiration short movie featuring Nixon surfer William Aliotti. The dark movie is titled You Only Tell The Truth In The Dark.
With just a van, a few boards and a camera, William Aliotti and Sebastian Zanella embarked on a 3000km solo surf exploration road trip along the Chilean coastline, travelling across the dusty Atacama desert, ghost towns and fishermen villages from Santiago all the way to Arica. . . The loneliness atmosphere expressed here is a romantic, pastoral attitude which inspires us to leave culture and technology behind, and to rediscover nature through surfing, an exploration beyond social conventions.
And don’t kid yourself, Zanella knows dark. If the name isn’t familiar, he’s the one responsible for the often lauded, always inky Desillusion Magazine.
by The Editors on August 26, 2016
There must be a ton of money in proposing wave pools, because it seems people are always proposing them and never building them, ever. The latest example is the $25 million park being proposed by Perth, Australia based Wave Park Group in Western Australia, according to WA Today.
“Perth is blessed with a number of idyllic beaches but the surf quality at some of those beaches is often poor, with over-crowding in the line-up also becoming an increasing issue,” said Wave Park Group Executive Andrew Ross. . . “Surfing is enjoyed by millions of Australians for excitement, lifestyle and recognised health benefits and is second only to AFL in terms of participation, so it seems fitting that Tompkins Park, a hugely popular sporting hub, could now include a surfs sports facility.”
The pitch sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? It’s a “Wave Garden” design after all. Let us know when it’s built. Oh, and one more thing, if anyone anywhere has surfed a wave pool that they loved so much they’ve gone back week after week and bought a season pass (not counting Kelly’s central valley compound), please let us know. We’d love to be less bitter on this topic and good info would help.
[Link: West Australia Today]
by The Editors on August 23, 2016
Kelly Slater remains an inspiration to all middle-aged men. He proved that he’s old, but he can still whoop the best kids in the world at Teahupo’o. In this case the kid was 2 John Florence.
“When I look back that will for sure be one of the best wins I have ever had,” said Slater. “To have John John [Florence] in the Final is a dream for me. It is no secret that I am towards the tail-end of my career. John John and Gabriel [Medina] are on their way up and those guys are just monsters. John John is all of our favorite surfers, so I want to see how many heats I can get with him before I am done and to have him out here where he and Gabriel are the favorites. This is a really special time for me. I am stoked.”
The surf world is still undecided on Slater’s early round”perfect heat,” and while we tend to line up with those who believed his second wave was a 9.49 or so, there is still no doubt that Slater remains the King of Teahupo’o. For the official word from Kelly’s business partners at the surf content generation company, please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on August 19, 2016
Patagonia is making us feel bad about our old wetsuits and we don’t even know why exactly. Apparently, their new Yulex wetsuits are the first suits ever to be made from natural rubber and that is reportedly better for the environment and just as good as neoprene. Here’s why:
. . . because the main polymer is produced in trees instead of factories, using natural rubber reduces the CO2 emitted in wetsuit manufacturing by up to ~80 percent. The FSC certified rubber is blended with a small amount of chlorine-free synthetic rubber for increased ozone and UV resistance, and to meet Patagonia’s rigorous demands for durability and strength. The Yulex process also removes over 99% of impurities, resulting in a nonsensitizing material.
If you’d like to help reduce your own carbon footprint (while rocking a cool new wetsuit) you might be interested in one of Patagonia’s 21 new offerings. For the official word and all the details, please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on August 4, 2016
Group Y will be celebrating 10 years in action sports and youth culture with a special gathering Wednesday, August 10, 2016 in Huntington Beach, California. The event kicks off at 6:30 PM at SeaLegs At the Beach with food, drinks and a speaking appearance by Ryan Kingman, President of the newly launched Villager Goods coconut water.
“It’s incredible to see how Group Y has grown over the past decade with the support of the sports and entertainment industry, world renowned athletes and creatives, our dedicated marketing partners and the media.” says Mark Sperling, Group Y co-founder. “When we started back in 2006 there was a huge need to create a forum that would allow this community to come together to share ideas and experience that would grow the industry and address the uniqueness of youth culture programs and products. This night will be about sharing stories, creating new ideas and saying thank you.”
We know it seems like the Vans US Open of Surfing just ended yesterday, but it’s time to get back out in the mix. You’ve had enough time to recover, but then who are we to talk. For the official word from Group Y including all the details, please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on August 3, 2016
The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan will be the first Olympic games to feature skateboarding (street and park) and surfing according to an announcement today (August 3, 2016) from the International Olympic Committee.
Professional skateboarder and ISF athlete representative, Neal Hendrix, said: “I’m excited to be the athlete representative on the Tokyo 2020 Skateboarding Commission. It is really important to me that skateboarding culture is fairly represented and protected on this global stage, and I hope skateboarders worldwide will be proud of the show that the best male and female skateboarders in the world are going to put on in Tokyo in 2020.”
International Surfing Association President Fernando Aguerre, who once said he would fight for surfing’s inclusion in the Olympics even if it meant waiting until every current IOC official had died of old age, was understanably ecstatic:
“After decades of hard work and dedication we are absolutely thrilled that Surfing will officially join the Olympic Sports Program at Tokyo 2020. Our Olympic dream has now become a reality and on behalf of the entire Surfing family I would like to express our sincere thanks to the IOC and Tokyo 2020 for their pioneering vision in making this historic decision possible.
Other sports added in the announcement include baseball/softball, and sport climbing. For the official words from both the ISF and the ISA please follow the jump. More details as the arrive.
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by The Editors on July 31, 2016
The Vans US Open of Surfing, the world’s largest action sports festival, wrapped up on July 31, 2016 in Huntington Beach, California with Tatiana Weston-Webb and Filipe Toledo winning the women’s and men’s event in three to five foot surf at the Huntington Beach Pier.
Weston-Webb claimed her first elite Championship Tour victory today by taking out Malia Manuel (HAW) in a tough Final at Huntington Beach. The win sees earned her 10,000 points and advanced her two places to 4th on the Jeep Leaderboard. . . “To be honest, I had a tough week last week because I lost out in the first round of the Supergirl Pro QS event,” said Weston-Webb. “I just wanted to get my confidence back up. I knew I had a tough draw here in Huntington, especially going against Courtney (Conlogue). She is at her home court and she is so amazing out here. After beating Courtney I got a lot of confidence. I had to surf the Final against my fellow Kauian Malia (Manuel) and she has been ripping all event.”
Toledo was equally happy about his QS win.
“I had an amazing week and this win is for all my family, friends, and fans that support me so much,” Toledo added after his celebration. “Competing against Ethan (Ewing) in that final was so crazy, he absolutely rips and know he’s poised with for a big year with his Ballito result and this runner-up. This wave is one that I’m super comfortable in, growing up on beach breaks like this my whole life and now living down the road it just feels like home to me.”
For the official word from the content company that produced this surfing event please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on July 29, 2016
The International Surfing Association will host 2016 Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship in La Jolla, California, for the second consecutive year, December 8-11, 2016. The confirmation of the second edition of the event highlights the ISA’s commitment to the development of Adaptive Surfing worldwide.
For the official word from the ISA, please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on July 25, 2016
It’s nice to see that the corporate surf film has not killed the genre off entirely and that Orange County dereliction remains entertaining. . . even after all these years.
[Link via What Youth]
