Aaron Draplin, designer of so much we know and love in the world of snowboarding graphics (Union Bindings, Coal Hats, Grenade, etc. . . ), has pulled together “pretty much everything since we spit town” for his Thanks MPLS show tonight (October 23, 2010) at CO Exhibitions in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Here’s what Aaron says:
“Dear Minneapolis: In 1998, after five wild winters cutting my teeth out west, I made my way back to the Midwest to see if I could hack in the big leagues of Art School at MCAD. Things like those Replacements and the ever-inspiring Charles Spencer Anderson brought me to you. Sure, I got myself a hi-falutin’ graphic degree, but more importantly, I fell hard for yer design community and the mountain of great work always coming out of it. And I’ll be forever hooked on you. What you are looking at in this show is basically, “Pretty much everything since I split town.” So that’s what we’re calling it. Thanks, Minneapolis. You were the kick in the ass I needed.” – Aaron Draplin
The show runs until November 20, 2010 and the party tonight is from 7 to 10 PM. Those who attend will get to meet Aaron’s parents, listen to The Evening Rig, and even purchase some exclusive prints, tees, and more.
While we’re pretty sure the Tony Hawk Foundation’sMiki Vuckuvich was at the Stand Up For Skateparks Benefit last weekend in Beverly Hills, California we’ve recently received puzzling evidence suggesting he’s been moonlighting as a French police officer. Then again, Miki would never turn a blind eye as a protesting skateboarder was hauled away. No way. Never.
Lucas McKaine Ransom, 19, of Romoland, California died Friday morning October 22, 2010 after being attacked by what witnesses say was an 18 foot long shark at Surf Beach at Vandenberg Air Force Base, according to a story in the Lompoc Record.
The friend, Matthew Garcia, told The Associated Press that he was two feet from Ransom, who was wearing a wet suit, when the shark rose out of the water without warning and bit into Ransom’s leg. . . . Garcia says his friend cried ‘Help me, dude!’ before he disappeared under the water in a cloud of red. . . .Garcia was pounded by waves as he looked for Ransom. He estimates the shark was 18 feet long.
Garcia (who was on a surfboard at the time) found Ransom and pulled him to shore, but Ransom died on the beach. Ransom was junior at UCSB majoring in chemical engineering. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Photographer Deanna Templeton will be presenting a collection of images in a show titled Scratch Your Name In My Arm at LA’s Paul Kopeikin Gallery. The show, which features mostly girl fans getting their bodies signed, runs from October 30 to December 18, 2010 with an opening party on October 30, 2010 from 6 – 8 PM. A 130-page hardcover catalog of the show will also be available.
Personal brand marketing has peeked in snowboarding as the China Air & Style becomes the Shaun White Air & Style (with a little help from Oakley) on December 4, 2010.
“This is a huge opportunity, and it’s really great to be part of it,” said Shaun White. “We’ll bring together top riders and showcase global talent, and we hope to stoke all the homegrown talent that’s coming out of China and see some of their best in action. To partner with Oakley and share our ever-progressing sport with Beijing and Chinese society as a whole is an amazing honor,” White concluded.
A group of big wave surfers and photographers have convinced the San Mateo County Harbor District to give them the permit to run the Mavericks’ only annual surf contest, according to a story in the Peninsula Press.
Under Harbor District rules, only one organization can hold the permit needed to host the annual Mavericks event, which takes place about half a mile offshore of Pillar Point Harbor and uses harbor facilities as a staging and viewing area. Last night, the Harbor District commissioners voted to award this winter’s permit to the new Hay Moon Bay Surf Group that includes Washburn and fellow big-name surfer Peter Mel; Clark’s wife, Katherine Clark; surf event organizer Darren Brilhart; and several surf photographers.
Will be good to see the event return to surfing. The over-promoted surf rodeo/circus thing it had become was sad.
VF Corp announced their third quarter financials today with a press release and an analysts’ call. Revenues were up to record levels for the quarter ($2.2 billion), gross margins reached a record 46.5%, and earnings per share increased 14% to a record $2.22.
The VF Outdoor & Action sports businesses had record revenues, income, and margins thanks to “exceptional growth” from Vans, North Face, andLucy. But in all that press release boosterism was not one mention of Reef. None. In fact, the only place Reef was mentioned in the release was in the list of companies that VF owns. Ouch.
Celtek has created a special line of gloves in collaboration with top shops called the SLSH Collection (Shop Local Shop Here). The gloves currently come in eight flavors: Milosport (Salt Lake City, UT), The Youth Shelter Supply (Waite Park, MN), Easy Rider (Alberta, Canada), Shred Shop (Chicago, IL), Tactics (Eugene, OR), World Boards (Bozeman, MT), EVO (Seattle, WA), and Damage (Duluth,MN). And all of them look pretty good.
Celtek founders Erik and Bjorn Leines describe the motivation behind this collection, “The feeling of going in to a real snowboard shop for the first time is a mixture of wonder, intimidation, and stoke. It’s usually the moment when you become snowboarder and stop being “someone who snowboards”. We wanted to let these shops have total control on the artwork on the gloves to showcase their personality, and give the ability to fly the flag of people that bust ass every day to make sure that snowboarding stays awesome.”
Smart way to give shops hand while letting shreds fly the fingers with local pride. Follow the jump for the details. [click to continue…]
Sean Aruda, 44, the CEO of the action sports website Go211.com, died Tuesday, October 19, 2010, according to a story on the Patriot Ledger.
Sean M. Aruda, a basketball coach at Notre Dame Academy in Hingham, died Tuesday of a sudden illness. . . He is survived by his wife, Patricia, and four daughters, including his youngest child who is a sophomore at Notre Dame Academy.
On September 9, 2010, Aruda, 44, sold Go211.com to Metacafe where he became chief revenue officer. According to sources Aruda had a meeting scheduled with former Go211.com investors on Tuesday and he never arrived.
According to his obituary, published October 21, 2010 in the Patriot Ledger, Aruda died “unexpectedly in his home” in Hanover, Massachusetts. Our thoughts are with Aruda’s family and friends.
Aaron Draplin, designer of so much we know and love in the world of snowboarding graphics (Union Bindings, Coal Hats, Grenade, etc. . . ), has pulled together “pretty much everything since we spit town” for his Thanks MPLS show tonight (October 23, 2010) at CO Exhibitions in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Here’s what Aaron says:
