But what are the qualifications for a shop to be saved by the Unified Berrics? Is it the amount of work they’ve put into grassroots events? Is it proof that the owners actually skate? Is it a lifelong dedication to the culture of skateboarding? No it’s anywhere from 1440 to 5280 dollars. . . . Yes, as Exit Skateshop has pointed out via Twitter, what Berra forgot to mention was that the completely altruistic system that is the Unified Berrics is actually just a 12 month contract to have your skateshop advertised on The Berrics.
Obviously inside by Tony “Ride” Hawk, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert recently went skateboarding with Congress woman Jackie Speier, Representatives Jim McGovern and Patrick Kennedy. He even nearly tried dropping in on the staircase.
He rolls quite well it should be no surprise: Colbert pushes mongo. Skateboarding starts at 5:20 into the clip.
A 27-year-old surfer in New South Wales, Australia had finished surfing at The Farm, and was up in the car park when he was bitten on the right leg by a red-bellied black snake, according to a story in the Illawarra Mercury.
A witness said the man’s surfboard was on the ground and, when he went to pick it up, the snake emerged from beneath it and bit him. . . . Ambulance officers applied a tourniquet to the man’s leg and took him to Wollongong Hospital.
Sharks and snakes? Damn, Australian surfers will put up with almost anything.
Admittedly, we don’t make it over to GrindTV all that often. Okay, never. So it was with surprise and not a little shock that we discovered Erica Hosseini getting ignited by BallPark Franks and talking action sports. That girl has some nice . . . teeth.
OC retailers rejoice. There’s a Sanuk company store coming just in time for the holidays. Then it will go away.
Sanuk sandals has reportedly opened a temporary shop in the OC’s Downtown Disney according to a story in theOC Register.
Sanuk, an Irvine-based footwear company, is scheduled to open a temporary location on Friday, said Suzi Brown, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman. The casual store is scheduled to close in mid January.
Just think if all the brands opened pop-up stores for the holidays. . . as if it isn’t hard enough out there.
This skateboarding dog on Tony Hawk: Ride smells just a little too “viral”? A couple kids on the couch cranking out a Youtube.com video with four angles, 14 cuts, and posted from an account that was opened today. So it’s an ad and yet, we still posted it because we’re suckas when it comes to Tony Hawk.
Witness Steve Berra’s tear-jerkingly earnest discussion of the Berrics Unified skateboard shop seal of approval program. Which is not to say we disagree with anything Steve has to say. As one PR executive mentioned to us: “Passion is a great weapon.”
If that’s true, this little video is a “firing AK-47.”
The film stars the break known as Nelscott Reef. Reaching faces of fifty feet, this Oregon wave rivals notorious surf spots like Hawaii’s Jaws and Mavericks in Northern California. But Nelscott’s powerful conditions come only a few times a year, lying undiscovered until Lincoln City transplant John Forse attempted to surf it. . . .The film was co-written and produced by Billy Miller, produced and filmed by Sarah Henderson and features the surf photography of Richard Hallman. Executive Producers are John Forse, Adam Wagner and Jim Kusz, with music by Northwest-based indie musicians and an original score by John Askew.
If you’re anywhere near Portland tonight, be sure to check this film out. Tickets are $5 at the door.
The Wall Street Journal’s Hannah Karp lightly discusses halfpipe judging to see just what will happen if Shaun White or any other snowboarders pull out some tricks in the Vancouver Olympics that the judges have never seen before.
Sweden’s Ola Sundequist, the Olympic Head Judge, chimes in with some color, but doesn’t really get into how the judging is really going to work. And that’s probably a good thing, because snowboard halfpipe judging never really has stood up that well to rigorous analysis of any kind.
It seems like somewhere along the line skateboard media kind of forgot what their purpose was. Luckily, Steve Berra and Eric Koston were there to blend their knowledge of skateboarding and Hollywood pop culture connections with a little technology to turn the entire skateboard media game upside down with The Berrics.
What began as coverage for their skate warehouse in downtown LA turned into the largest skateboarding media site in the world with a reported 6 million visitors viewing 20 million pages of content each month, according to an interview on Malakye.
Berra explains:
The consumer is not the jaded skateboarder who hates everything and everyone and tries his hardest to get everyone else to feel the same way he does. This person is a slight, slight minority, but wreaks the most havoc for brands and skaters because these brands and skaters tend to think it’s a majority opinion when it’s not. The majority of the skaters out there are excited about skateboarding and professional skateboarders. They don’t hate everything and everyone. I know because I get thousands and thousands of emails and I read every single one and I know what they’re like and I know what they’re saying, probably more than anyone in skateboarding, just because I’ve taken the time out to really listen. I think as a result of this, we’ve seen fantastic growth. I also try not to use the word kid because they are skaters, just like I am, and I think sometimes people use the word kid as a derogatory term. I remember being 13 and not appreciating being called a kid, despite being one.
You Will Soon‘s Dan Watson lays down some of the realities behind Berrics United and does it well in a post titled Unified Theory. . . Of Bullshit.
