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March 2009
Shocker: It was announced today that Andy Irons is joining Billabong’s Kustom Footwear program. A “delighted” Kustom GM Harry Truscott has released this seemingly un-ironic statement:
‘Kustom and Andy Irons are a natural fit,’ says Harry Truscott, General Manager at Kustom Footwear. “Andy will be a huge addition to our team.”
Huge addition? Absolutely. Natural fit? Okay, if by “natural” Truscott means that AI is pretty much strapped to the Billabong wagon right now (not a bad wagon to be strapped to, but strapped is strapped) then his quote makes perfect sense.
[Link: Global Surf News]
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Calvin Galbraith, 17, of Halls Head Australia got a lucky break while surfing last Friday, according to a story in the Mandurah Mail.
At 6.45pm, Calvin, along with three friends and his brother Scott, were 30m offshore just north of Blue Bay trying to catch one last wave into shore. . . The TAFE student felt something grab hold of his leg. . . .Gradually the grip got tighter and pulled Calvin down off his board. . . .“It felt like my leg was being clamped in a vice,” the teenager said. . .“I looked down and my whole foot was in its mouth then I saw a tail thrashing in front of me; that was when I realised it was a shark.”
Calvin got away with six stitches and a puncture marks all over his lower legs. But what comforted us was that this was another shark attack stories that didn’t mention pain. It is somehow easier to deal with when the bites are described as a “pressure” or “tugging” sensation and not, as we would expect, as the excruciatingly painful nightmare. Don’t know why, but it does.
[Link: Mandurah Mail]
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The idea behind the Ultimate Boarder event is a cool one: a contest to decide who is the best boardsports tri-athlete. Problem is the sports have become so specialized that no one anyone cares about will be able well. The big name players event organizers list in their press announcements all either have one really weak sport, or are just not that great at everything.
Last year’s winner Aaron Astorga is undoubtedly a bad ass and we care about him immensely, but we all know what’s going to happen this year: some random 19-year-old shred dog from Ventura or HB is going to win the whole thing. And maybe that’s the way this thing should go. It can be just like a triathlon with 1,200 entries and a beer garden at the finish. Get some participants involved. The organizers have never been afraid of a little main stream sponsorship.
The 2009 Coast Body Wash Ultimate Boarder runs April 4-11, 2009 at Bear Mountain and the Ventura County Fair Grounds. click the link for more info.
[Link: Ultimate Boarder]
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One of Athen’s Greece based architectural firm Archivirus Architecture clients requested a “skatetable habitat,” according to a story on Arplustest.com.
According to architect Athanasia Psaraki, the Ramp House is a project which tries to reconsider and redefine the living space. The result of the client’s request is a curved form interior, which “set the whole house as well as the inhabitant’s life, into motion”. . . .It is intended to be a ‘ramp house’ and not a ‘house with a ramp’. Straight lines are curved and the flat surface becomes a ramp or a bowl. Basic house elements such as the fireplace and storage units are hidden inside the ramp forms.
Okay. Next time we’re in Athens we’re finding this place.
[Link: Arplustest via Skatedaily.net]
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Shaun Hover is spreading the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the world with his skateboard, according to a story on Homtownlife.com.
“In L.A., there are so many skateboarders. I skate down the sidewalk and see guys skating and start talking to them. It makes it easy, I guess. Sometimes I feel like I’m cheating,” the Rochester Hills native said with a laugh. “When I have a board, it makes it more comfortable to talk with someone on the street because skateboarding is such a street sport.”. . In Thailand, we were going around to different villages, getting to know people, teaching the kids English,” he said. “When I’d pull out my skateboard, everyone would come and gather around. They were fascinated … it made them more interested in what we were offering.”
Love the passion, but nothing blows a good skate session faster than when someone starts preaching. But then hopefully Shaun is a little stealthier than that.
[Link: Hometownlife.com]
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UVM Snowboard Team rider Michael Schwarz had a little trouble at the World Quarterpipe Championships last weekend at Vermont’s Timber Ridge, according to a story on Yobeat.com.
Micheal got bucked off the log jib, bouncing on his head not once, but twice. Not even his helmet, which he was wearing, helped. In the midst of the mayhem he was taken away by ambulance, then airlifted to Dartmouth. He underwent minor brain surgery to relieve swelling and was put in an induced coma. Last we heard, there was no brain damage and all his vitals were good so we have high hopes for a full and speedy recovery!
We wish him a speedy recovery.
[Link: Yobeat.com and Shred Party]
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Baldwin Park, California’s world famous skateboarding parrot Gordo, has reportedly been stolen from his cage and owner Fred Mirales is distraught, according to a story in the Pasadena Star News.
The bird-napping occurred about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday as Gordo – a green Malaysian parrot from Guatemala – played in his cage on the front porch of his owner’s Bess Street home. . . “My mother was at home and she heard somebody trying to break into the cage,” said Fred Mirales. “When she went out there, the guy was already (running away).” . . .Gordo has become a popular city figure, said Mirales, who has had the 30-year-old parrot for about a decade.
Just one of the downsides of fame, apparently.
[Editors’ Note: We’re having a hard time believing that we just posted this, but shore ’nuff there it is.]
[Link: Pasadena Star News]
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Filmmaker Jared Eberhardt once told us that there are guys of a certain age in this industry who, no matter how hard they try, always end up wearing Vans shoes. They show up at weddings, funerals, and baptisms in suits. . . but on their feet it’s Vans.
Many have had access to ass-loads of free shoes over the years but they always end up throwing on a pair of Vans on their way out of the house. The Vans Off The Wall book seems built especially for them, errr, or us.
Vans Off The Wall tells the multi-generational story of the community that encompasses boards, bikes, art, music, and street culture, as well as the iconic shoes keeping it all together. With oral histories from Tony Alva, Joel Tudor, Steve Caballero, John Cardiel, Geoff Rowley, and others Vans: Off The Wall provides an intimate visually stunning account of how the company had changed the face of pop culture since its founding in 1966.
Self-promotional? Yes. Written by Vans Marketing VP Doug Palladini? Yep, but we’re not going to let either of those things quell our enthusiasm. That’s how much we’re looking forward to it. Vans says the book drops on June 1, 2009 but Amazon says they’re shipping May 1.
[Link: The Vans Book via Boardsports Source]
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We know Spike Jonze has been through a lot to bring this Maurice Sendak book to the screen: re-editing, re-shooting, and then shooting even more. But this teaser for Where The Wild Things Are makes it look like it’s all worth it. We can hardly wait to see it on the big screen.
[Link: Where The Wild Things Are]
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