by The Editors on April 22, 2009
The New York Times knows skateboarding is cool. And what better way to show how hip a young couple can be than by profiling Jay Shapiro and Claire Bigbie at their wonderfully skatie pad in San Francisco’s trendy Noe Valley neighborhood. The profile is filled with lines like these:
After Ms. Bigbie graduated in 2001, the couple lived in London for a year. Ms. Bigbie — who had been collecting furniture since she was 14 (about the same time she started skating) and had designed a skateboard clothing line by 16 and graphics for the indie record company Tooth + Nail by 18 — worked at the British furniture design company Precious McBane. . . Mr. Shapiro became an assistant to Richie Hopson, a British photographer. . . .When he was offered a job as a team manager for Think Skateboards in San Francisco, they returned, and Ms. Bigbie became a stylist for the do-it-yourself magazine Ready Made.
And that fellow skateboarders is exactly how you end up with an envelope a&d designed $1 million house in SF. Notice our tone? That’s just us being jealous and petty.
[Link: New York Times and evelope a&d]
by The Editors on April 22, 2009
The minds behind the Toronto, Ontario, Canada blog KingShit.org have just launched a new snowboarding site named, not surprisingly King Snow. Here’s what they had to say about it:
Before we say anything else, please go visit the new snowboard site we started, called King Snow. If you think snowboarding is retarded, then don’t go. Now, on to the goods.
We’re putting them on the list because they just gave Embry Rucker a porfolio. And that’s not a bad way to kick off a new site.
[Link: King Snow via Embry Rucker]
by The Editors on April 22, 2009
As if the X Games weren’t rad enough, they’re now going to be rad times 3-D, thanks to a new ESPN/Disney joint.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Steve Lawrence (Down the Barrel), the film will use groundbreaking digital 3D techniques to immerse sports fans into the world of action sports and its top stars. Iconic action sports personalities chronicled in the film are: Shaun White, Travis Pastrana, Danny Way, Ricky Carmichael and Bob Burnquist.
Luckily for us our interest in 3-D totally overshadows or dread of the X Games so we’re actually looking forward to having Bob Burnquist, Danny Way, and Shawn White thrust their boards right into our faces.
X Games 3D the Movie will be released August 21, 2009 with a limited one-week theatrical release.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on April 22, 2009
The Newport Beach Film Festival begins on Friday April 24, 2009 and included in the festival is The Action Sports Film Series presented by etnies, Fuel TV, and Surfing Magazine.
Here are just a few of the 20 films and five world premieres: Echo Beach, The Lost Wave, P. Rod’s Street Dreams, Travis Rice’s That’s It, That’s All, and “The Malloys” in Waveriders.
We’d link directly to the show times for the Action Sports Series, but we can’t because the site is in Flash. You’ll have to find it yourself. Flash is rad.
[Link: Newport Beach Film Festival]
by The Editors on April 22, 2009
As more proof that all West Coast brands haven’t made it until they make it there, Nixon is setting up a popup shop at New York City’s “legendary” 114-year-old boutique Henri Bendel.
The Nixon pop-up shop will showcase many new pieces from Nixon’s spring 2009 line as well as two, limited edition 42-20’s.
. . . To celebrate the launch of the women’s spring 2009 line at Henri Bendel, we invite you join us for an evening of new product, music, sips and sweets and the opportunity to receive an exclusive Nixon gift-with-purchase* on Wednesday, April 29 from 6:00-8:00pm.
If we lived on the right coast we’d go, but that will never, ever happen (for all kinds of reasons).
[Link: Nixon]
by The Editors on April 22, 2009
Photographer Chris Burkard and surfer Eric Soderquist took a surf journey down the California coast (the entire coast) and have created a book about their experience called The California Surf Project. Here’s what Surfer Magazine Editor Joel Patterson said about it:
“Surf exploration has become so focused on the far-flung and unpronounceably exotic, it’s reinvigorating to see some California natives rediscover their own backyard. Few coastal stretches offer the sheer variety of waves, colors, urban densities, and attitudes as the Golden State, and to see it all through the prism of Burkard and Soderquist made me want to put in my two-weeks notice, buy a VW bus, and hit the road. The California Surf Project will stand as a unique time capsule of California’s post-modern surf culture.”
The authors are currently on tour again with the book and tonight (April 22, 2009) they’ll be in Capitola at the Capitola Books Store. For more information on their trip, check out their blog.
[Link: California Surf Project via Surfline]
by The Editors on April 22, 2009
Tony Hawk has signed an army green messenger bag that is now being auctioned off by The Children’s Place to raise money for the Books for Kids foundation.
The mission of the Books for Kids Foundation is to promote literacy among all children with a special emphasis on low income and at risk preschool aged children. Books for Kids creates libraries, donates books, and partners with literacy programs to help develop the critical foundation and skills which young children need to be successful in life.
The auction ends on April 24, 2009 and the current bid is only $78. Thanks, Tony.
[Link: Ebay.com]
by The Editors on April 22, 2009
New York Times writer Michael Brick gets looks into boardsports triathlon Ultimate Boarder and finds the intersection of marketing, action sports, novelty and a founder who just wants make money doing what he loves.
The Ultimate Boarder organizer, Tim D. Hoover, a 38-year-old amateur surfer and onetime film industry worker, described the contest as his ticket to raising his family in this easygoing beach setting 60 miles north of Los Angeles. . . .“I really wanted to make this a grassroots, bootstrap, organic thing,” he said. “I wanted to do something to inspire and create a format for the next generation of kids that grow up in this lifestyle.”
Wonder how that’s working for him? How many people, aside from the competitors, really care about a competition that is won each year by aging skateboard team managers from surf clothing companies?
[Link: New York Times]
by The Editors on April 22, 2009
West 49, the Zumiez of Canada, announced that it lost $8.5-million its fourth quarter ended Jan. 31 “after booking $9.6 million after tax in writedowns of goodwill and other assets, and is in trouble with its bankers,” according to a story in The Star.
For all of last year, which included an extra week compared with the company’s prior financial year, sales rose 2.7 per cent to $210.4 million from $204.9 million. West 49 said it lost $12.3 million, 19 cents per share, compared with the previous annual loss of $2.4 million, four cents per share. Excluding one-time items, the full-year loss was $2.6 million, down from a prior-year profit of $1.5 million.
Not too shabby compared to other mall retailers.
[Link: The Star]
by The Editors on April 22, 2009
A surfer from Okeechobee, Florida has been the second shark attack victim in Volusia County this year.
The unidentified 20-year-old was surfing in front of the Minorca Condominium, 2600 block of North Peninsula Drive, late Monday afternoon when a shark grabbed his right ankle, Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn said Tuesday. . . “It was very minor,” he said. “Two or three puncture wounds.” . . . Petersohn said it’s unclear whether the victim went to the hospital, but he was not taken by ambulance.
We think minor is the best kind of shark bite there is.
[Link: News-Journal Online]
