Surfersvillage and Global Surf News have always bummed us out a little. Their “we post everything and don’t care who we steal it from” mentality made for some great fun in the early days as online editors at certain surf magazines delighted in posting completely bogus stories just to see how quickly the seemingly irony impaired minds behind Global Surf News would pick them up and run with them. Remember the Rip Curl Search at Swami’s story?
But now, with The Surfing Yearbook, Surfer’s Village has done something that we think will become standard for most publications in the action sports media space (if they’re smart). They have collected a year’s worth of posts from their websites, added some great photos, and a bit of commentary and perspective and are releasing it all in a 240-page illustrated coffee table book edited by surf journalist Phil Jarratt. Here’s what he said about it:
“What we’re aiming to do with The Surfing Yearbook is to present a fully-rounded picture of surfing that will appeal to everyone in the sport, culture and industry, from the lowliest grom surfing in his first amateur comp to the high-rolling CEO of the biggest surf corporations. We’re targeting the grom first because we know the CEOs will follow.”
Looks like Sony Australia is turning to Billabong to give the ailing electronics manufacturer a little help with the iPod driven cool kids (specifically with Joel Parkinson), according to a story on Current.com.au.
In his new role Parkinson will represent and endorse the Sony brand, Sony sub-brands and products with media, consumers and retail partners. . . “2009 is shaping up as a big year for me and it’s pretty cool that the partnership with Sony allows me to keep my fans up to date with what’s going on both on and off the world tour. Family, friends and supporters are important to me so documenting my year with products such as Sony’s Cyber-shot cameras, Handycam camcorders and VAIO notebooks will help me share my experiences and, hopefully, triumphs,” said Parkinson.
The video cameras are great, but we hope the money is good because not having an iPod can be almost debilitating.
Piper Jaffray has just released the results from their 17th semi-annual survey Taking Stock With Teens and as might be expected the news is not good. Teens are now spending 14 percent less on fashion and in juniors it was down 19 percent. Looks like the bottom of the “discretionary recession” was not hit last summer as Piper Jaffray claimed in their last report.
“After the drop in teen spending stabilized last fall, it is apparent that the continued challenges in the economy are having a dramatic impact on teen spending this spring and the 14 percent decrease is a direct reflection of this,” said senior research analyst Jeff Klinefelter. “The decrease in spending leads us to believe that the economy is forcing parents and teens to cut back on spending across the board. Teens and their parents are still buying new clothes, footwear and accessories, but are more selective and increasingly price conscious. This will force retailers to discount prices and offer unique promotions to keep a steady flow of spending until the economy improves.”
Luckily, for the action sports fashion world the number one “brand” is still what Piper Jaffray calls “West Coast Brands.” Yeah, our category is so small that Piper continues to group PacSun, Volcom, Quik, and Zumiez together in one category, otherwise none of them would likely show up on the list. The rest of the list looks something like this:
Hollister, Nike, Forever 21, and American Eagle. Specifically among brands ranked by young women, Hollister took the “most preferred” position, while West Coast Brands continued to remain a favorite among young men.
For the rest of the highlights including notes on teen video games, digital, music and restaurant spending follow the jump. [click to continue…]
To celebrate the Grand Opening of Jed Noll’s surfboard shop in San Clemente, Jed’s proud parents Greg and Laura Noll beat on the Redwood Wireless, which connected with the Coconut Wireless and sent out an invitation that apparently no one could refuse.
On a fresh spring afternoon in April – the 4th to be exacto – Jed Noll’s surf shop at 1709 North El Camino Real in San Clemente was the place, and the faces included three-plus generations of surfers, writers, photographers, industrialists and other surf notables.
Phil Edwards and C.R. Stecyk made rare public appearances and they cruised and schmoozed with Paul Naude, Bruce and Dana Brown and entourage, L.J. Richards and Eddie Talbot (E.T)
The Scandinavian countries were represented by the brothers Aaberg – Kemp and Denny and also Karl Ekstrom and a large number of tall attractive blondes. [click to continue…]
Lindsay Rose, a 15-year-old surfer from Goleta, California died Sunday after being found unconscious in the water at Sands Beach on April 1, 2009, according to a story on Noozhawk.
The Dos Pueblos High sophomore was discovered by other surfers face down in the water around 5:15 p.m. April 1 at Sands Beach near Devereux Slough. Paramedics were called to the scene and performed CPR and defibrillation, according to eyewitness accounts. . . .She was transported to Cottage Hospital where she was reportedly breathing on her own. Doctors put her in a drug-induced coma to help her recuperate, but she died Sunday morning.
Lindsay was a member of the Dos Pueblos High school surf team. Our thoughts are with her parents, family, and friends.
To celebrate the release of the Stereo/Obey board collab Stereo is throwing a party Thurday April 9, 20089 at La Cita in Downtown LA. Click here to RSVP.
Shane Wallace and the crew at Active Ride Shop aren’t going to let a little bankruptcy dampen their 20th anniversary celebrations one bit. They kicked it off with four parties in four counties, according to a post on their blog Active News.
Things kicked off at the Cantina Lounge in Fullerton. Then a gathering at Omaha Jack’s in Rancho. The amazing Fai Do Do LA played host for the LA stop and we finished big with the ever popular Bondi Bar in downtown San Diego! Thanks to the Antics/Toyota Matrix crew for throwing down the hefty bar tab, RED BULL for all the RED BULL VODKA, and all of the bars for showing love!The tour featured the musical talents of Hen Heart and our main man Wes Rogers. The boys brought the girls out to shake their booties on the floor and Wes broke a few hearts.
Surfersvillage and Global Surf News have always bummed us out a little. Their “we post everything and don’t care who we steal it from” mentality made for some great fun in the early days as online editors at certain surf magazines delighted in posting completely bogus stories just to see how quickly the seemingly irony impaired minds behind Global Surf News would pick them up and run with them. Remember the Rip Curl Search at Swami’s story?
