Paulo Prietto makes skimboarding look so much radder than standing around with a piece of plywood. Maybe that’s why he’s world champ.
[Link: Etnies.com]
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March 2009
Pennsylvania skaters Adam Podlaski and his brother Jason noticed that a lot of perfectly good wood was going to waste when they and their friends would throw away broken skateboards. And that gave them an idea, according to a story on CBS3.com.
Adam said, “I approached Jay, and I was like, can you make me some furniture out of these things?” So Jason created the Deck Stool. “The design was really based on the way skateboards break,” said Jason. “A large percentage breaks at the truck, because they’re weakened by the holes that are drilled there for the truck. And then the rest break in the center. As you can see by the design, the longer ones become the legs, and the shorter pieces become the seats.”
Deckstools cost about $250 each, so at this point they’re a little more art than eco-furniture.
[Link: Deckstools via CBS3.com]
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The new 09 Gear Guide issue of Transworld Surf sent Postsurf.com’s Lewis Samuels into a bit of a tailspin regarding the surf industry, advertising, publishing, and ultimately what will happen to surf publications when and if the economy recovers:
I’m tempted to believe that what surfers really want and need are waves – pictures of waves, insights about waves and surfers, thoughtful CONTENT that makes you excited to be a surfer. Even Transworld’s 14-year-old audience doesn’t want a catalog. They’re children, not morons. . . . Yes, the economy is fucked. The surf industry is crumbling. People will lose their jobs. I may lose my job, because of the garbage I write if not because of the economy. But I wonder… if people quit buying shit they don’t need because they’re broke, what will they do if they have money later on? Will they start buying useless crap again, or will they learn that consumer consumption isn’t the equivalent of happiness?
As funny as it is to see a buyer’s guide when no one is buying, we’re going to go with option one. People will always buy useless crap. It’s the American way.
[Link: Postsurf.com]
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The Gold Coast water police think they need some rules to curb “thrill seeking surfers” who use jet-skis to tow in to waves. Cyclone Hamish, the one that brought surf for the Quiksilver Pro has whipped up some nice tow-in waves and they are being exploited according to a story on Goldcoast.come.au.
Most were breaking the law, as tow-in surfing is classified the same as waterskiing which requires a spotter, or observer, on board. All three — driver, spotter and surfer — must also be wearing lifejackets. . . . Many of the tow-in surfers seen this week were not wearing life jackets and did not have spotters. . . . Gold Coast water police said several tow-in surfers had been booked for not having a spotter.
Other feel using waterski rules are kind of silly.
Queensland Surfing CEO Andrew Stark said the legislation that required spotters was dangerous. . . “If you are in 10-15 foot waves buzzing around and you’re towing a guy, it just doesn’t make sense to have a spotter on the back. . . “It’s not in the best practice rules of it. That’s why the whole thing needs an overhaul.”
Seems like the penalties of screwing up in big surf are high enough without the government getting involved.
[Link: Goldcoast.com.au]
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Diver Craig Clasen and friend Cameron Kirkconnell were hunting yellow fin tuna with filmmaker Ryan McInnis and Surfing Magazine staff photog DJ Struntz when a 12 foot tiger shark began circling McInnis, according to a story in the Daily Mail.
With no time to lose, Mr Clasen grabbed his speargun and swam to his stranded friend, who was being circled by the giant predator. . . .’I positioned myself between Ryan and the shark and I tried to watch it for a second, hoping it would pass us by,’ explained 32-year-old Mr Clasen. ‘I noticed that the shark was getting tighter and tighter and just kept trying to get a back angle on us and behaving in an aggressive manner. ‘The shark made a roll and looked like it was going to charge us so I just went ahead and took the conservative route and put a shaft through its gills. ‘Cameron and I have been around sharks for years and we all have a lot of experience with them but this encounter had a different feel to it. ‘Down in my core I really felt the shark was there to feed. I didn’t want it to come to that.’Mr Clasen spent nearly two hours wrestling with the giant 12ft shark, spearing it seven times and even attempting to drown the beast before eventually finishing it off with a long blade knife.
While Clasen was killing a shark with his bare hands, DJ was apparently getting perfect photos like the one above.
[Link: Daily Mail]
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Steve Lockhart and his friend Aaron Hix were about a mile and a half off-shire from Newport Beach last night burning off some fuel after working on their the engine of their 1985 29-foot Carver when they thought they saw a seal bumping along beside them. But it wasn’t a seal, it was a what they are calling an 18-foot-long shark, according to a sory in the OC Register.
“The shark was a beast,” he said. “It was definitely curious.” He said the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail fin was about 10 to 12 feet. “The shark was somewhat inquisitive, but still focused on his direction. We originally thought it was a seal, then realized it was a fin … then we pulled right next to it and realized it was a shark,” he said.
As the OC Register reminded us: it was about this time last year when a San Diego County triathlete was killed by a great white. Anyone surfing San O this weekend?
[Link: OC Register via Shop-Eat-Surf]
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Pac Sun reported Q4 numbers today and guess what? They sucked. But according to the Orange County Business Journal they were at least “better than expected.”
Losses for the quarter ended Jan. 31 totaled $27.1 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with a profit of $5.2 million, or 7 cents per share, last year. . . For the year, the Anaheim, Calif.-based company reported a loss of $63.8 million, or 59 cents per share, compared with a loss of $30.4 million, or 65 cents per share, last year. Revenue fell 4 percent to $1.25 billion from $1.31 billion last year.
It would be fun to be in a business where you have $63.8 million a year to lose, wouldn’t it?
[Link: BusinessWeek]
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Things were bad everywhere, but Zumiez just announced a 49 percent slide in Q4 profit vs. last year. That’s like cuttin’ it in half.
Chief Executive Rick Brooks said the second half of fiscal 2008 was “incredibly challenging.” “Since September, the deteriorating economic conditions have significantly dampened consumer appetite for discretionary items,” Brooks said.
Yep, that’s what we keep hearing.
[Link: Forbes]
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Earlier this week Portland photographer/ designer Jared Souney tipped us off on the news that snowboard photographer Cole Barash had been named to PDN’s 30 Choice New Photographers list.
Now, Fuel TV gets the back story on the 21-year-old photo slayer with an insightful interview and an amazing collection of his work. So where does Cole turn for inspiration?
Kevin Zacher, for going against the grain in snowboarding and shooting the lifestyle, not the action, as a priority. Ari Marcipolis as well for that. Trevor Graves and his drive to always deliver something fresh. Vincent Skoglund for his moonlight series and his double exposures. Albert Watson and his portraits. Michael Kenna and his landscapes, not your typical landscapes either.
Cole obviously knows where to turn for inspiration, and from the looks of his client list he knows better than most just how to balance art and commerce.
[Link: Fuel TV]
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After yesterday’s Quiksilver conference call we kind of knew this was coming, but Reuters is now reporting that the company’s stock fell more than 20 percent in early trading based mostly on word that Quik was looking to sell off assets.
Analyst Eric Tracy of BB&T Capital Markets said in a note to clients that the company’s view of a muted cash generation, coupled with an extension of its credit line makes an asset sale unavoidable. . . “We believe the company may seek to sell its DC business to a strategic or financial buyer,” the analyst said, while expressing his worries that by selling DC, Quiksilver “would lose its fastest-growing, highest-margin business.”
That’s the rub isn’t it? Reminds us a little of Stephen King’s story Survivor Type.
[Link: Reuters]
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