Tech Deck is ready for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris with new park pieces and signature boards from a whole slew of skaters we’ll see going for the gold. And, they’re the only officially licensed toy line of the Games.
The single pack assortment will roll out in two waves, one 4/1 and one 6/15 in stores at Walmart, featuring boards from these skateboarding Olympians: Felipe Gustavo (Brazil), Kalvin Hoefler (Brazil), Aurélien Giraud (France), Vincent Milou (France), Nyjah Huston (USA), Mariah Duran (USA), Jagger Eaton (USA), Rayssa Leal (Brazil), Shane O’Neill (Australia), Yuto Horigome (Japan), Sora Sharai (Japan), Micky Papa (Canada), and Bryce Wettstein (USA).
You know, collect them all! Look for them where toys are sold!
Roscoe Shorey, 42, a snowboard mountaineer who had summited Mount St. Helens 27 times, died on his 28th attempt after a cornice he was standing on gave way while he was creating social media on March 29, 2024, according to a story in The Chronicle.
But the 42-year-old Washougal man, known to friends and family as Rocky, was alone. He was wearing only snowboard boots, synthetic pants and a lightweight long-sleeve shirt. His jacket, cellphone, SOS satellite device and backpack were at the top of the crater where, minutes earlier, he was documenting his summit of the mountain. . . Shorey pulled himself out of the snow and looked up to the top of the crater. He started to climb up the icy, snow-packed, near-vertical interior wall toward the rim. . . He didn’t make it.
After surviving the avalanche, Shorey apparently died while trying to climb back out of the crater. So many lessons to be learned here.
Lucas Beaufort spent his downtime during covid putting together a big book of skateboard shops called Heart. We should all check it out, according to a story in Brooklyn Magazine by Colin Kirkland.
“You need a big heart to run a skate shop,” says Lucas Beaufort, a French visual artist, filmmaker and life-long skateboarder who turned his quarantine confinement into a years-long quest to document and celebrate the world’s most iconic skateboarding hubs. . . Across 428 pages, readers will find personal interviews and classic skate-mag photos, which help make the case that amidst an onslaught of digital retail and social media, skate shops remain an essential analog to harnessing the soul of skate communities worldwide.
For more on the book and an interview with Beaufort, click the link.
Kelly Slater has a rental property that he would like you to consider buying. Not really a surf-out-front house, but on the water and not too shabby. The only problem? He wants $20 million for it, according to My San Antonio.
Built in 2001, the retreatlike residence is on just over a half-acre. There are ocean views throughout, with soaring ceilings and equally high glass doors. . . There are six bedrooms and seven bathrooms spread across a main home and two guesthouses. Organic influences are also apparent: Wood factors prominently throughout the design in several living and sitting areas. . .An infinity pool and a hot tub are surrounded by mature tropical landscaping, and the beach is just behind the house. . . The listing calls the pad “an exclusive showcase of nature’s splendor, and every moment spent in the gardens feels like an escape to a personal retreat.”
Slater apparently purchased the home in 2017 for $7.8 million. $12 million profit for seven years of not doing much doesn’t sound so bad. Way to let your money work for you, Kelly! Click the link for all the details.
So the 90s really are back. Are we sure we want to do this all over again?
According to a post to Venice, California based Sidewalk Skateboard Distribution’s Instagram, Steve Rocco, founder of World Industries, Big Brother Magazine, et. al. is officially back in skateboarding. (Click the image for all the details.)
Here’s how he explains it:
After flooding the market with worthless cartoon characters, I sold the company and walked away, believing my mission was accomplished. It has, however, come to my attention that skateboarding is still alive. But Barely. . . Therefore, I would like to announce that I am joining Sidewalk Distribution to finish off skateboarding once and for all. Then everyone can rest and enjoy their lives once again.
Is it the return of big pants that got him re-interested? Or does he just have money to burn. On that note: Mr. Rocco if you’d like to pay way too much for a pristine set of years 1-4 of Big Brother, please hit us up. We’d like to buy a new Duffy Boat.
We’ve said it before, but when it comes to doing contracts with artists, and designing products with them, it seems many brands find it’s easier to get deals done when the artist is dead. Roark seems to agree as they’ve launched a new collection of clothing featuring the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat, who sadly died at 27 (he’s in the club) from a heroin overdose on August 12, 1988.
“It’s beyond special to present this collection inspired by the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat and share it with Roark fans,” said Roark Founder Ryan Hitzel, “We explore the merger of rhythm and flow with his iconic symbolism, raw creativity and challenging of the status quo. We find the best version of ourselves in that state of mind, whether we’re surfing, running or adventuring through the world.”
Obviously the collection looks great. As it did when Billabong did the same thing in 2018. For a complete overview, please visit Roark’s website . . . which we’re assuming is on the Internet somewhere.
George Carpenter, son of Burton Snowboards founders Jake and Donna Carpenter has shared his spine surgery story publically for the first time on Instagram. Here’s what he said:
On July 27th, 2023, I underwent an emergency surgery to remove a benign tumor that was within my spinal cord at the T-4 level. Until a week before this surgery, I had been unaware to the presence of the tumor. And we’ll never know why or how it got there. If I had left the tumor alone, I would have been paralyzed in a matter of months. . . Post-surgery, I was left with incomplete paralysis, with very little sensation and no movement below my nipples. Since then, I have regained some function and sensation. I’m living in Denver with my girlfriend Jamie and doing intensive rehab at Craig hospital, one of the best spinal cord injury facilities in the world. . . While I tend to deal with hardships privately, at this point it feels good to share. Much love!
For the rest of the story and continuing updates please check George’s posts on Caring Bridge.
You know the Screaming Lord Salba drill. Find the pools, clean them, skate them. Move on. Watch through because this may include the best “reporter tries skateboarding” footage ever seen thanks to CBS Evening News.
Former TransWorld Snowboarding Magazine Editor Eric Blehm’s deeply researched, insightful, and heartfelt biography of snowboarding legend Craig Kelly,The Darkest White, is now available where ever you buy books. And, of course, you should buy it right now.
The Darkest White is the story of Craig Kelly’s life, a heartbreaking but extraordinary and inspiring odyssey of a latchkey kid whose athletic prowess and innovations would revolutionize winter sports, take him around the globe, and push him into ever more extreme environments that would ultimately take his life. It is also a definitive, immersive account of snowboarding and the cultural movement that exploded around it, growing the sport from minor Gen X cult hobby to Olympic centerpiece and a billion-dollar business full of feuds and rivalries.
Trust us. No matter how well you think you knew Craig Kelly and his story, you will learn something in The Darkest White. If you’re in San Diego, California this weekend Eric will be appearing at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Encinitas at 6 PM on Friday, March 1, 2024 to discuss Craig’s life, his legacy, and to sign some books. For more info click here and to get the book sent straight to your house, click here.
We wondered what plans Jamie Slater aka Athentic Brands Group had for Quiksilver, Billabong, et. al. when he purchased the Boardrider Group back on September 1, 2023, so we’re not surprised to see him begin selling it off in little pieces to whomever is interested. The first piece of Boardriders is reportedly going to French group Beaunamoir, according to a story on Fashion Network. The company, which owns a load of fashion brands you’ve likely never heard of, has reportedly “entered into exclusive negotiations . . . to buy the Western European activities of the Boardriders Group made up of Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, DC Shoes, Element and RVCA.”
Roland Beaumanoir, the group’s CEO, believes that this takeover “would develop the Beaumanoir Group’s expertise in the lifestyle segment, which is doing well. The Boardriders brands are emblematic and offer a lifestyle that is both relaxed and driven by a passion for outdoor sports. We would therefore be delighted to take on the challenge of promoting these brands on the European market.” Details of the countries covered by the agreement have not yet been released.
Brands are brands and apparently they have value long after they’ve died. If Jamie knows anything, it’s Zombie brands. So we’re going to just trust him to do the right thing for his wallet.
Tech Deck is ready for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris with new park pieces and signature boards from a whole slew of skaters we’ll see going for the gold. And, they’re the only officially licensed toy line of the Games.
We wondered what plans 
