by The Editors on January 22, 2016
Big Mountain snowboarder Travis Rice has extended his endorsement deal with Lib Tech snowboards for five more years, according to Lib Tech.
“I am so proud to announce that I have signed on for another 5 years with Lib Tech and Mervin Manufacturing,” Rice said. “From an early Jamie Lynn that was the first board I spent money on at age 15, to the Last 10 years of R&D on my incredible pro-model board line culminating with the upcoming Climax model which I believe to be the best board on the planet made with Non-Toxic, Eco friendly materials, built by snowboarders here in the USA. Mervin is a family that I am overjoyed to be a part of and has been putting Snowboarding first since it’s inception over 25 years ago. From the water-boards I surf to the skateboards I roll, this company is based on fun with friends, creative freedom and the expression which makes the world a brighter place. Many companies try to replicate what Mervin is doing but there is only one magical Mervin! Thank you Mike, Pete and everyone else that empowers and supports me, can’t wait to share what is in the works for tomorrow!”
For the official word from Lib, follow the jump.
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by The Editors on January 7, 2016
Matt Cummins has been on the snow scene forever. He’s had a pro model longer than most pros have been alive (25 years with the Mervin crew):
He has used this opportunity to continually push snowboard designs from the earliest skate influenced twin tip MC Kink to today’s powder hungry Nootka. His designs, priorities and style forever changed the sport and paved the way for generations of pros. We are proud to celebrate Matt’s 25 years with Mervin Manufacturing and the Lib Tech brand. This video is just a taste of the legacy of Matt and the Cummins family!
Just press play and see it all for yourself. If you’d like to see what Jamie Lynn has to say about Matt, follow the jump.
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by The Editors on June 4, 2015
We’ve been surfing Lib Tech Waterboards for six months now and while we love the shapes and truly believe the founder Mike Olson is changing the face of the surf industry with his complete reset on surfboard construction technology, we also kept thinking how amazing it would be so other high-profile shapers got behind the technology.
Well, today Lib Tech announced a partnership with Lost Enterprises. Now some of Matt Biolos‘ masterpiece shapes are available in Lib Tech ECO ISO construction. And that is just plain rad.
Here’s what Biolos had to say about it:
“Since I first saw Lib Tech’s ECO ISO construction, I wanted to build a board with it. The strength to weight ratio, eco minded materials and techniques, and the fact that this tech was being built in the USA was incredibly interesting to me. I am stoked that the time has finally come and hope people enjoy riding them as much as we have enjoyed building them.”
Mike Olson is also obviously stoked:
“I have been working with alternative environmentally safer, high performance surf construction all my life…our ECO ISO construction process is much healthier for the craftsmen while at the same time using more environmentally friendly materials and having incredible durability. We are so stoked that Matt took notice of what we are doing up in the northern corner of the USA near Canada, we couldn’t imagine a better partner.”
for the official word from Lib Tech follow the jump. To hear all about Lib Tech’s ECO ISO from the man who created it, click here for our original video interview with Mike Olson (from three years ago). [click to continue…]
by The Editors on March 27, 2015
It likely wasn’t quick enough for some, but it appears that Andy Mooney’s two year run in the Quiksilver CEO position is over. In a release today, Quiksilver said that Mooney is “no longer with the company.”
From our perspective that is one of the best bits of news out of Quiksilver in a while. On Mooney’s watch (which began January 11, 2013) Quiksilver sold off Mervin, Hawk, Moskova, and Maui & Sons. They lost Kelly Slater and began turning in some pretty big quarterly losses.
At first it seemed the street thought the losses were part of the pain of Mooney’s restructuring (with some help from a down market). By Halloween 2013 the stock was up to $8.11 on the promise that Mooney was pointed the right direction. But by June 2, 2014 it was obvious things weren’t going well and the stock began taking hit after hit until that ultimately left it at $2.25 at the close today (March 27, 2015).
Today’s after-hours dip of 15 percent (down to $1.90) may suggest some aren’t happy about today’s news either, but the Quiksilver board has a plan. It looks a little like this:
. . . Pierre Agnes, President of Quiksilver, Inc., has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer and added to the Board of Directors; he succeeds Andy Mooney who is no longer with the company. In addition, Greg Healy, Quiksilver’s APAC Region President, has been promoted to President of Quiksilver, Inc., and Bob McKnight has been appointed Chairman. All changes are effective today. . . “The board has great confidence in Pierre’s ability and skills to lead our company. His primary focus will be on improving operational execution and efficiencies, and identifying growth opportunities, especially in the U.S. wholesale channel.”
It’s always good to see the people who intimately know the brand back at the helm. We’ll leave it at that. For some deeper thoughts on the news read Jeff Harbaugh’s post by clicking here. For the official word from Quiksilver, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on February 19, 2015
The minds behind Girl Skateboards (Mike Carroll, Rick Howard, Megan Baltimore, and Spike Jonze) have decided that now is a good time to do a little work with other people’s money. In this case private equity firm Altamont Capital’s money, according to a Kailee Bradstreet story on Transworld Business.
“Our conversation with Altamont began last year,” Girl Co-founder Megan Baltimore says. “We weren’t actively looking for investors when we first met them, but everything they were working on was very interesting and relevant to us. Partnering with them helps us accelerate what we want to do with our brands and what we want to do for skateboarding.”
Girl (and their brands) are joining Fox, Mervin, HUF, Dakine, and Brixton in Altamont’s growing action sporting mall portfolio. Congrats to them. We hope they enjoy the money and use some of it to keep fighting the good fight.
[Link: Transworld Business]
by The Editors on January 29, 2015
We’re not in Denver, Colorado this week for the 2015 Snow Industries of America Show. In fact, we haven’t attended the Denver show since January 2013. Why? The most simple reason is that it’s easier not to go, but the truth may be that like many other companies who are skipping this year (Burton, Mervin, etc. . . ) our SIA cost-to-benefit ratio had been sliding for years.
Seeing as this is SIA Season (not to mention Throw-back-Thursday), join us as we look back on all the people, parties, products, and booths that we’ve covered over the past few years. Here’s the breakdown:
2013: People, Products, Booths
2012: People, Parties, Products, Booths
2011: People, Products, Booths
2010: People, Parties, Products, Booths
2009: Day 1, 2009 TWS Rider’s Poll
Now that we’re all teary eyed, lets ask one question: has anything changed, progressed, or improved? If so, please let us know.
by The Editors on December 12, 2014
Mervin Manufacturing co-founder Mike Olson is the mad scientist (click here to watch the video) who is almost singled handedly responsible for every major advancement in ski and snowboard construction and design over the past 30 years. There are too many to list here, however, the good news is that for the past decade Olson has turned his ground breaking design and construction intuitions to surfing. This has resulted in a top secret, US based production facility that is creating some of the most durable, environmentally safe surfboards ever produced. Olson calls them “waterboards.” Here are few of the features:
100% closed cell foam won’t absorb water… won’t rot; more durable: Lasts longer, less dings, less boards in landfills; recycled foam core: up to 50% recycled content in blank, blank scraps all recycled, elimination of hazardous resin systems, non ozone depleting blowing agent, Basalt fiber: no additives, no boron, no solvents except water; no paint brushes, no sandpaper, no tape
If you’re thinking about giving the gift of surf this year, then the Air E Ola is the perfect board. It features a “freedom of choice” five-box fin system, a concave deck and grab rails for better edge grip. It comes in lengths from 5’5″ to 6’3″. The Air E Ola is a durable, environmentally friendly, performance shortboard that will change your surfing life. For real. The Air E Ola retails for $725.96 and can be purchased right here.
[Link: Lib Tech Waterboards]
12 Days Of Gifts Recap
Day 11: Academy Propa-Camba Snowboard
Day 10: Boosted Electric Skateboard
Day 9: Freewaters Scamps Flips
Day 8: Smith Marvine Sunglasses
Day 7: GoPole Reach Selfie Stick
Day 6: Vans Jamie Lynn Sk8-HI
Day 5: Dakine Ally Pack
Day 4: SOL Republic Relays
Day 3: Spy Bravo Goggles
Day 2: Stance Wittlake Five-Toe Compression Socks
Day 1: Byrd Dopp Bag
by The Editors on October 6, 2014
Lib Tech Snowboards is taking their zany urban street rail set up to Beantown on Saturday, October 18, 2014 for the Downtown Throwdown Boston.
The DTTD has always set itself apart from other events by specifically choosing riders who focus on filming video parts and are out changing the face of urban snowboarding…and this year’s line-up continues to back that up. Forest Bailey, Dylan Thompson, Ted Borland, Dillon Ojo, Brandon Reis, Andrew Brewer, Mike Rav, Jaeger Bailey, Spencer Shubert and Dylan Alito are among the 25 riders chasing $20,000 in the famous DTTD giant cardboard I.O.U.’s. To date, the DTTD has paid out over $100,000.00!
For all the details, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on August 26, 2014
Marginal Way DIY Skatepark will be host to Lib Tech’s Lords of Seatown on Sunday, September 14, 2014. The event which is a mix of skate jam, bbq, and fund raiser will be collection funds for the Marginal Way Skatepark Association.
Lib Tech is putting up $2000 in cash ($1000 1st / $500 2nd / $300 3rd + $200 for random acts of rawness) for the Open category, as well as getting the fundraiser off to a good start with a $1000 donation! Other categories such as Groms, Grrrls & Gramps/Old Guys will compete for prizes from our amazing sponsors. . . $20 entry fee includes BBQ lunch, drink and a raffle ticket. We are capping the entrants at 50.
The Marginal Way DIY Skatepark is located at 1 S. Hanford St. in Seattle, Washington. For the official word from Lib Tech, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on March 11, 2014
Are gold medal girls Kaitlyn Farrington and Jamie Anderson trying to be weird in this Gnu edit, or was it an accident? For reals. . . right? [click to continue…]
