by The Editors on March 12, 2009
We had these Skullcandy Full Metal Jacket Earbuds laying around the office for a couple months thinking they would be a perfect back-up for when our Apple buds took a second tour through the washing machine.
Skullycandy CEO Rick Alden told us they were amazing, but we didn’t really listen. When we finally plugged them a couple weeks ago we immediately felt like complete and total idiots for having waited so long.
These are simply the best earbuds we have ever used on any device. They fit our ears right out of the box, but if they didn’t Skullcandy was nice enough to include four more sets of buds virtually guaranteeing a perfect fit. The design of the 11 mm speaker and bud blocks out just the right amount of annoying outside sounds without making us completely oblivious to oncoming traffic, and the sound stays solid from listening to podcast at night to rocking out on a crowded train.
We recommend doing what we wish we had done months ago: Throw your Apple earbuds directly in the trash and go grab a pair of Full Metal Jackets. They are available online for $69.95 and for those who live by their iPhone or iPod they are worth every penny.
[Link: Skullcandy]
by The Editors on March 12, 2009
Santa Monica City Councilman and former chairman of the California State Park and Recreation Commission Bobby Shriver and Joel Reynolds, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, explain in the LA Times why the Trestles Toll Road was a bad idea from the beginning without even mentioning surfing. They say the problem is with the Transportation Corridor Agencies.
The Legislature chartered the TCA; now it must fix it. The TCA’s unequivocal mandate must be addressing traffic congestion, not just building toll roads, and it must answer to a comprehensive state transportation agency, in consultation with affected regional agencies . . . We need mobility, and we need parkland. And we can have both if only we refuse to settle for less. . . Running a toll road through San Onofre State Beach was a bad idea from a fundamentally flawed agency. Stopping it was a victory for the region. But what happens next will determine whether that victory has lasting significance.
[Link: LA Times]
by The Editors on March 12, 2009
While in Lima, Peru shooting and filming some tricks in “a seemingly unsketchy area” filmer Mike Mansoori, photographer Oliver Barton got robbed at gun point of $13,000 in camera gear in “about 6 seconds” by the guy pointed out in the above photo, according to a story on the és blog.
While no one else in the crew is watching, the striped shirt lurker creeps up on Manzoori and the kid, pulls a gun, shoves it in Manzoori’s face and grabs the video camera. Like a cartoon…the kid gets up and runs so fast that one of his shoes falls off his foot and is left on the scene. Manzoori lays face down on the ground to get away from the gun. Just at this very moment, a black Toyota Yaris comes down the street toward the thief who’s running away from Manzoori, to the car, brand-new free high def video camera in hand.
It’s a reminder that in many places carrying around expensive camera equipment is like wearing a placard that says “Rob Me.” We’re so glad no one was hurt. Click here for Quicktime video.
[Link: és Footwear]
by The Editors on March 12, 2009
For a nice overview on just how bad action sports fashion retail has gotten, tune in today (Thursday, March 12, 2009) to the Pacific Sunwear’s year-end and Q4 conference call at 1 PM PST and then the Zumiez year end call call at 2 PM PST.
Click here to listen to the PacSun train wreck live online or here for the Zumiez call.
[Link: MSNBC]
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
Just got an invitation to Chill’s 10th Anniversary Pizza Party at the US Open of Snowboarding and it reminded us how much late-night at Stratton Mountain sucks.
After standing around The Grizzly one night yelling into the ear of the Right Coast’s most skilled advertising peddler and listening to a New York City magazine editor tell people how much money they’ll make from “just one mention in my mag” (all with painfully loud dj shrapnel blasting) there’s nothing we wanted more than a quiet late night snack. Guess what? Not a lick of food anywhere.
On the way back to our room we noticed a stack of pizza boxes flowing out of a trash can and couldn’t help but check. . . yep. Three pieces of cheese pizza. Thanks, Chill. You changed our lives.
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
What are we doing this weekend? Here’s a little hint. . .
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
The boutique snowboard manufacturing bonanza continues in Calgary, Alberta with Jason Broz and Clyde Snowboards, according to a story in the Calgary Herald.
Determined not to get an office job, Broz started making snowboards out of his parents’ garage. Self-taught, he would make a board, test it on a slope and often bring it back in pieces to fix it in the garage. Soon, he found his interest in making boards surpassing his urge to ride them.”My passion shifted quickly,” he recalls. . . . Eleven years later, he has the skills to make excellent boards from scratch, tailored to any rider’s needs. He models himself after custom surfboard shapers, who get a sense of each rider they shape for and build a unique creation tailored to that customer.
Looks like more and more people are over riding the Anheuser Busch snowboard brands and would rather ride boards with a little more local flavor.
[Link: Calgary Herald]
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
If there was one thing to take away from today’s Quiksilver conference call (and there really was only one) it was this: Quiksilver management is focused on strengthening its balance sheet by increasing liquidity and improving its capital structure.
That line was repeated over and over. CEO Bob McKnight said it. Then then unflappable CFO Joe Scirocco would say it again. During the call we imagined that line billboarded on the wall of the Quiksilver conference room as a reminder to use it as an answer for every question.
It began making more sense when Scirocco laid it all out like this:
“In our current business plan we believe we have adequate liquidity in each region for the forseeable future. Nonetheless the current retail environment is significantly uncertain and we believe that we should further improve liquidity,” he said. “To that end we expect to decide on the course of action sometime between now and the end of June. We expect to increase liquidity either through a sale of assets or by issuing secured debt as well as to arrange committed credit facilities from our European banks and a new ABL with our US lenders.”
The European lenders who yesterday gave Quiksilver a three-month extension on their 55 million Euro loan expect to be paid before June 30. And Quiksilver expects to solve a $316 million debt problem on the same timeline. What are their options? Scirocco was about a direct as he could legally be:
In terms of what types of asset sales we’re looking at,” he said. “We’ve looked at everything (some are more strategic than others) and yeah they could include a brand. What we’re after here in terms of a strategy is liquidity and improving the capital structure.
Oh really? During the Q&A several analysts tried to ask the DC Shoes question. Some very cleverly worded their questions regard the DC Shoe business and what a hypothetical sale would mean to Quiksilver but Scirocco stayed firm and answered all the questions thoughfully, reminding everyone that he really couldn’t talk about specifics related to their plans to increase liquidity.
One thing is certain: we will all know before June 30, 2009. And if we were betting . . .
[Update: In other news Reuters is reporting that Quik has hired mergers and acquisitions bank Peter J. Solomon to “help find funding or an investor.”]
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
The MMA clothing category lost one of its leading lights early this morning as TapouT co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr. reportedly died after crashing his Ferrari Moderna, according to a story on TMZ.com.
“Mask” was declared dead at the scene. A female passenger — who was ejected from the crash — was taken to a local hospital, but we’re told she’s in bad shape. . . Cops believe “Mask” was racing a guy in a Porsche at the time of the crash, and authorities have since arrested the guy they believe was driving the other car. That man — Jeffrey David Kirby — is being held on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter.
Our thoughts are with Lewis’ family and friends.
[Link: TMZ via SCbrand.com]
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
Quiksilver has just released their numbers for Q1 2009 and while $59 million sounds like a lot to lose, there is nothing all that surprising in the report. Net revenues were down 11 percent to $443.3 million vs. $496.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2008. The company lost $59 million on the quarter, but if you throw out one-time charges ($6.1 million in severance charges in the Americas and $50.8 million “non-cash charge to write off deferred taxes” in the US) then it was only a $9 million loss.
Robert B. McKnight, Jr., Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Quiksilver, Inc., commented, “While our performance in the quarter was in line with our overall expectations, deteriorating macro conditions made for a very difficult operating environment. Weak consumer traffic drove lower sales and margin compression which resulted in a loss for the quarter.”
The conference call starts a 1:30 PT (click here to listen) or follow the jump for the entire release.
[click to continue…]
We had these Skullcandy Full Metal Jacket Earbuds laying around the office for a couple months thinking they would be a perfect back-up for when our Apple buds took a second tour through the washing machine. 
