For the past two years, Brad and Sheena Van Orden have been piloting their 1984 Volkswagon Vanagon “Nacho” around the world in search of adventure and documenting that search on the website Drive Nacho Drive. Now they have Freewaters helping them along on their mission. The Van Ordens are the casual and conscious footwear company’s newest ambassadors.
“Brad and Sheena (and of course Nacho) epitomize what the Freewaters ethos is all about: the freedom of travel and road tripping, being global citizens and daring to chart one’s own path in life,” says Freewaters Co-Founder Eli Marmar. “The long and rugged quality of their trip makes them ideal product testers and brand messengers. We have a ton of respect for what they are doing and are very happy to have them as ambassadors.”
Follow the jump for the official word from Freewaters, or click here to learn more about the goals of the Drive Nacho Drive project.
Volcom has created a new position for Mandy Fry. She will be the vice present of women’s. Women’s what? We’re guessing with her year of experience in design (most recently 12 years at Billabong) she’ll be running everything at VeeCo that has anything to do with women.
“With Mandy leading the women’s division we are now fully equipped to build on an important part of our business. We see an incredible opportunity to further develop our women’s program on a global level,” said Jason Steris, CEO of Volcom. “Mandy’s creative vision and business insight is just what we need to take Volcom women’s to the next level. We are absolutely thrilled and honored to have her join the Volcom team.”
We’re expecting some great things for girls at Volcom in the coming year. Watch out! For the official word from Volcom, follow the jump.
Dakine has a double set of new limited edition bags for summer: The Scout (above) and the Mesa. The collections include a Vault 25L Pack, a Command Duffle 15l, a Capital 23L classic backpack with padded laptop sleeve and the Mission 25L with vertical board carry straps, a padded laptop sleeve and, yes, a fleece-lined pocket for the sunnies.
The packs range in price from $40 to $90 and are being produced in runs of 250. That means the chances of you getting your bag mixed up with someone else’s at the airport is close to zero. For a look at the southwest inspired Mesa collection, follow the jump.
Made in America surf trunk manufacturer Katin has teamed up with New York-based fashion boutique Club Monaco for a summer collection that includes trunks, shorts, T-shirts, and hats.
Launching in May, the Club Monaco x Katin collaboration will be carried exclusively in a dozen special Club Monaco men’s shops and on the company’s online store.
We’re down with anything that is made in the USA. Follow the jump for the official word.
GLM Shows, the parent company of Surf Expo has decided to put the Launch LA project “on hold,” according to a information from the company.
Based on the reviews we received after the first LAUNCH last year, showcasing emerging California lifestyle brands is important. . . We will continue to evaluate the best way to highlight these brands in a venue that maximizes all the resources that GLM brings to the table.
So no July show this summer. Wonder how long this “hold” will last, because we enjoyed the show last year.
One of the ads was in the form of a T-shirt titled “The ex-girlfriend”, which depicted a woman with tears and an arm in a sling saying: “He really does love his skateboard more than me.” A different poster showed a male skateboarder with his finger over the mouth of a female mannequin head, as if hushing her, and the slogan: “Where no means yes.”
More than 1,800 people signed the petition and it appears that, after Klasek threatened to march on the company’s headquarters that Enjoi has taken the T-shirt down and enjoyed more mainstream media play than they’ve gotten in a long time. Times are hard, guess they have to take the attention while they can.
Doug Palladini, the former global marketing leader at Vans has been named to the newly created position of Vice President General Manager of the Americas.
Palladini brings his experience and leadership as the head of the Vans Americas division to ensure the alignment of strategies on a global and regional level. “Doug’s outstanding performance as our global marketing leader over the last nine years has prepared him to take on the new challenge and lead as he carves out a local strategy for the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Latin America regions,” said Vans President Kevin Bailey. “He will build Vans’ regional strategy and oversee execution, to continue to cultivate our business in the Americas.” In the interim, Palladini will continue to oversee the Vans Global Marketing division and will assist in finding his replacement.
And we hoped VF would buy Billabong and have Doug run it. Looks like that dream has been dashed for the time being. For the official word from Vans, follow the jump.
While we were all awaiting news of the pending Billabong takeover by Paul Naude today (May 9, 2013), the company has requested that their trading halt continue even longer. Here’s what Billabong said in their release:
The securities of Billabong International Limited (the “Company”) will be suspended from quotation immediately, at the request of the Company, pending an announcement with regard to possible transactions affecting the Company, including in connection with the bid process announced on 14 January 2013.
In other words, they’ll let us know when they want to let us know. Until then, there’s no getting out. Oh, and it also looks like VF Corp is back in the buyout mix (Wall Street Jounrnal link via Tiffany) now that Naude’s “exclusivity” period has ended. Wonder how much more time they will need?
Hard to believe it’s taken until 2013 for an action eyewear company to make sunglasses that don’t sink to the bottom of the ocean the second they get fumbled, but that’s exactly what Dragon’s new H20 line is all about.
“The Floatable sunglasses are super functional for me and my friends,” says Shane Dorian. “For people who spend essentially half their lives around the ocean surfing, fishing, boating, stand up paddling or anything else that’s active, knowing you won’t lose your favorite pair of shades if you drop them into the water is key.”
Yes, it is. With these glasses and his inflatable Billabong wetsuit Mr. Dorian is in danger of drifting right out into space. For the official word from Dragon follow the jump.
Seven Days Vermont did a story on “man caves” in the Green Mountain State and Burton R&D legend Chris Doyle’s garage fit in quite nicely.
Chris Doyle’s shop is the kind of man-space that would drop a 12-year-old boy’s jaw in a heartbeat. Sure, the radio-controlled airplanes in the loft are pretty cool, as are the 15 vintage motorcycles and dirt bikes in various states of repair.
But they couldn’t decide if they were more impressed with his 1968 Corvette or his wingless ” vintage 1947 single-engine Luscombe airplane.” Us, we’re just impressed.
