From the “wonder what The Arena Group is going to do with all their zombie magazine brands” files comes news that Arena has partnered with AcTVe to launch five FAST (stands for free, ad-supported television) “channels” with their action sporting brands, according to story on Deadline.com.
Powder Mag, Surfer Magazine, Transworld Skateboarding, Bike Mag and Snowboarder will provide the backbones for the new channels, which will debut globally this fall. The channels will be available on free, ad-supported streaming platforms like SportsTribal, FreeMovies+ and FreeCast, as well as via Roku, Vizio and Samsung. More distribution platforms will be added in 2024, the companies said.
We have absolutely no idea what these “platforms” are, who watches them, or what this means for the brands. Nor, do we believe they will spend any real money on content. So what is going to be on the channels (aside from paid advertising against no viewers)? If you understand any of this, please let us know in the comments.
The Navajo Nation was host to The Modern Matriarch Skate Jam on September 23, 2023 at the Two Grey Hills Skatepark. This first of its kind all-woman skate comp was a showcase for women’s skateboarding in general and specifically provided inspirational mentorship and clinics for Indigenous women.
“The Modern Matriarch Skate Jam was an incredible success thanks to the support of our sponsors, partner brands, and most importantly the women who competed and the community that came out to support them,” said 4KINSHIP Founder Amy Denet Deal. “It was such a joy to see young women joined by Navajo Nation Vice President Richelle Montoya. We were honored to have the first woman elected to the executive office of Navajo Nation join our celebration. We’re looking forward to making this an annual event and being able to continue to support our young matriarchs as they rise in power in this sport.~ Amy Denet Deal, Founder of 4KINSHIP, auntie of Diné Skate Garden Project.
For full results and the official word from 4Kinship and Diné Skate arden Project, please follow the jump.
Today (September 27, 2023), Jamie Salter’s Authentic Brands Group announced that they have chosen Costa Mesa’s Liberated Brands as the licensee for several of their recently purchased Boardriders brands.
In the deal, Liberated will run retail and e-commerce ops for Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, RVCA, Honolua and Boardriders in the US and Canada. They will also act as the official licensee for the Billabong, RVCA, and Honolua brands. The press release makes it seem like they’ve reached outside Authentic Brands to do a licensing deal, when it’s actually more of an inside play. ABG owns a rather large chunk (officially a “minority stake”) of Liberated Brands so they’re basically licensing the brands to themselves while building in a little distance. Here’s how Nick Woodhouse explains it:
“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Liberated,” said Nick Woodhouse, President and CMO at Authentic. “As evidenced by their focus on the growth of Volcom and Spyder, Liberated’s unwavering commitment to innovation and community engagement makes them the ideal partner to take on Billabong, RVCA and Honolua, as well as the retail operations for the best lifestyle brands inspired by skate, surf and snow. Together, we look forward to implementing our strategic vision for growth and expanding the brands’ presence in the US and Canada.”
Yes, your own business usually makes a great “partner.” Sorting out the facts of this announcement are well above our pay grade, but let’s just say it is always entertaining to see how these businesses shuffle things around. Side note: if you’re a graphic designer, Liberated is looking for a few good people to shape the vision for the brands moving forward. For the official release, click the link.
Admit it. This Strip Mall Surfer Phantom Flyer kit is the raddest, funnest skateboard you’ve seen in years. Wide board, squared off, narrow tucks, Clay Pigeon wheels, round wheel wells. . . what more could you ask for when surfin’ the ditches? And it’s all new from Blockhead Skateboards. Click the link for all the details.
Legendary skate and music photographer Glen E. Friedman has a new collection of images coming out in book form from Akashic books on October 3, 2023 titled: Just a Minor Threat.
JUST A MINOR THREAT is a book of Glen E. Friedman’s most outstanding photographs of the Washington, DC, band Minor Threat, one of the most influential hardcore punk bands in music history. While the book offers Friedman’s best-known photographs of the band, most of the pictures in this volume, shot in 1982 and ’83, have never been seen before. . . The book has writing by Jello Biafra, Alec MacKaye, Guy Picciotto, Zack de la Rocha, Jamie Shanahan, and Ian F. Svenonius. Friedman’s own introduction explains how he initially met the band, and the lifelong friendships that grew from there.
If you are a fan of Minor Threat or just someone who collects rock photo books, click here to buy one and get all the info.
In this age of nostalgia nothing seems to be more interesting to skateboarders of a certain age than the Bones Brigade. And this fact has not escaped Bones Brigade co-creator (and documentary filmmaker) Stacy Peralta. He’s decided to create The Bones Brigade Experience for fans who would like to spend Sunday, November 19, 2023 with the Bones Brigade at Vans The Block in Orange, California. But, there’s a hook. It costs $200 a ticket and only (only?) 300 tickets will be sold.
Here is Mr. Peralta’s reasoning behind the rock star experience.
In March of this year, Mike McGill held a grand opening for his new skateboard shop in Encinitas, California. He invited a handful of Bones Brigade members to attend and sign autographs, and announced it weeks in advance on social media. The event was a huge unexpected success, as thousands of fans showed up for autographs and selfies with the Bones Brigade, to buy product and just be there to celebrate with everyone. The line of fans outside of the store seemed a mile in distance and didn’t abate once that day. The event went hours over time and yet hundreds of people had to be turned away when the store inevitably had to close. This incredible response got us thinking that maybe it was time we put something together to celebrate the Bones Brigade and our fans; thus the idea for the Bones Brigade Experience was born. . . .This is our first Experience, and we’re putting it together ourselves with the thought of it possibly becoming an annual event to be held in different locations all over the country, and perhaps the world. Being the first one of its kind, we are all very excited to present it to any and all of you who may have an interest in attending. See you there.- Stacy
We love the Bones Brigade and cherish every moment we’ve spent with them all, but. . . well, let’s just say, if you’re interested please click the link to buy tickets (only four per person) because they’re sure to sell out fast. Oh, and if you want to buy a limited edition Bone Brigade deck with all the rider’s logos and signatures, those decks are only $999. All the money is reportedly going to support skateboarding causes and is tax deductible.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Santa Cruz Skateboards the crew is getting together this weekend with a series of gatherings staring at 11 AM on Saturday, September 23, 2023 and culminating in the evening with a free show from Dinosaur Jr., according to a story in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
The third and final session will be held 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Boardwalk, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz, where professional skaters will grind the park’s approximately 40-foot Mega Rail. The roster includes Steve Alba, Eric Dressen, Erick Winkowski, Emmanuel Guzman, Jake Wooten, Rob Pace, Fabiana Delfino, Kevin Braun, Blake Johnson, Justin Sommer, Nora Vasconcellos, Chris Cope, Yndiara Asp and many more. The skaters will also be on hand to autograph Santa Cruz Skateboards decks, which can be purchased at Threads.
Wonder if Rob Roskopp will be there? For all the details, please click the link.
Legendary skateboarder and businessman Jamie Thomas has teamed up with OTIS Eyewear on a new frame named The Outsider.
The Outsider draws inspiration from vintage frames, while adding bow tie temple pins as a nod to the classic fashion of the 60s. An unpolished finish on the nose bridge then brings out the personality of Jamie’s skate culture – raw and unrefined. The frame comes in two different sizes, offering a tailored fit in the hero dual tone colour or matte tortoise shell, plus a larger version in classic black and tortoise too. Every piece is made with optically correct, scratch-resistant mineral glass lenses, offering the clarity and focus Jamie demands of himself.
Look pretty nice, don’t they? For a look at the official line click here.
Our long running love/hate relationship with the Apple Watch surf tracking app Dawn Patrol continues. It is, by far, the most elegant solution to putting a tide chart on the Apple watch, but when it comes to actual live tide data it falls way short.
Dawn Patrol gives the high and low tides along with the local time of each event, but for current tide measurements, and/or what the tide will be tomorrow or the day after, Dawn Patrol offers nothing at all. Some of this will reportedly change soon.
In our next release you’ll get a short term forecast on the Apple Watch! Stay tuned for the update, it will come alongside the release of watchOS 10.
In the meantime, we’ve found that by adding the free Ocean Watch app to our Apple watch we now have the live tide (lower right complication) and forecasting that we need. Ocean watch also has a tide chart complication, but it’s clunky. Dawn Patrol for pretty graphics and moderately close water temps, and Ocean Watch for real tide data.
A great snowboarder who became the darling of the art world. How did Trevor Andrew do it? If you’ve always wanted to know the story behind Gucci Ghost, he explains it right here in an interview with Art Plugged.
With skateboarding and snowboarding, my mom worked at the little local ski hill in Nova Scotia, and I went there every day after school and then started competing, and those older guys started bringing me around to contest. Then I left home at like 15, dropped out of school and just went for it. I was committed to making it work. There was no plan B.
Apparently, he has applied the same all-in method to music and art. Click the link for the entire interview.
From the “wonder what The Arena Group is going to do with all their zombie magazine brands” files comes news that Arena has partnered with AcTVe to launch five FAST (stands for free, ad-supported television) “channels” with their action sporting brands, according to story on Deadline.com.
Today (September 27, 2023), Jamie Salter’s Authentic Brands Group announced that they have chosen Costa Mesa’s 
Our long running love/hate relationship with the 
