Wondering where Penny Skateboards came from? So were we. That’s why it was great of founder Ben Mackay to kick it all down for us on Vimeo.
From his humble beginnings to the challenges of breaking into the industry, Ben tells in his own words how early lessons in life had inspired him to chase his dream in helping to bring the “fun” back into skateboarding.
Seriously, that’s one of our favorite skateboarding stories. Click play and hear it again.
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Rob Machado has launched his first photography exhibition at Encinitas, California’s Bliss 101.
“I’ve been interested in photography for years, always taking photos on my surfing trips, but one of my favorite places to shoot is my hometown area in North County,” says Machado. “Because Bliss 101 supports local artists and the community, it’s a great fit to launch the exhibit of the images I’ve taken throughout the years.”
Nice to see Machado branching out. And the photos look good.
[Link: U-T San Diego]
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On Saturday, May 5, 2012 skateboarders, sponsors, and hundreds of fans joined Ryan Sheckler and the Sheckler Foundation at the etnies Skatepark for Skate For A Cause. The event, held to help raise money for A.skate, collected $86,000 in total, $57,000 of which will fund A.skate’s 10-stop Be the Change tour this summer. It was a great day of skateboarding, friends, and doing something good for kids on the Autism spectrum.
For photos and the official word, follow the jump.
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We rolled to the Ryan Sheckler Foundation Skate For A Cause event at the etnies Skatepark in Lake Forest, Califronia on Saturday May, 5, 2012 and it reminded us what skateboarders and skateboarding can do when pointed in the right direction.
And example of being headed proper is filmmaker Ben Duffy. He’s working on a film titled Heartchild that tells the story of Crys Worley, her autistic son Sasha, and the work Worley has done creating A.skate to help kids with autism through skateboarding. Duffy is raising money for the film on Kickstarter. Click here to help him get the movie done right.
[Link: Heartchild, Kickstarter via NYSkateboarding]
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Click here for the Nike Lowers Pro Photo Gallery
The two biggest points of discussion following the 2012 Nike Lowers Pro finals were Gabriel Medina’s air reverses (many surfers don’t like them) and how unknown Glenn Hall is. The first topic will probably remain in discussion until well after Medina wins his first world championship, but the second seems to have sorted itself out after we all saw Hall move past defending champ Miguel Pupo in the round of 96, Freddy Patacchia in the Round of 16, Jeremy Flores in the quarters, and 2 John Florence in the semi-finals. Yet, even Hall seemed a little surprised by his good fortune:
“It’s Lowers, it can turn on or off at any time in the day,” Hall said. “You kind of have to be on to it and luck has to go your way as well,” Hall said. “I had a few lucky heats earlier in the event and that heat was funny with Gabriel. I thought we were going to have an interference in the beginning and they didn’t call it, but it’s all good though. He surfed well and he won.”
For his part Medina was focused and flawless. Rarely falling and almost always following his airs up with a full mix of turns, Medina was functionally unstoppable in his ride to the solid gold spike.
“This is a very special win and it has been a long week,” Medina said. “I’m going to Brazil now with more confidence and this has been great. . . “I love Trestles so much. “It’s just such a good wave and it’s one of my favorites, I just don’t even have words to explain how I’m feeling right now. I’m stoked.”
Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP including complete results, or click here for a photo gallery. [click to continue…]
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On Friday, May 4, 2012 the world hardest charging monster wave riders gathered at The Grove in Anaheim as Network A presented the live broadcast of the Billabong XXL Awards.
The Billabong XXL Awards are the culmination of a year-long event window in which the bravest surfers chase the world’s biggest waves, in search of the event’s coveted Ride Of The Year award. Other categories include XXL Biggest Wave, Monster Tube, Monster Paddle, Verizon Wipeout Of The Year, Surfline Overall Performance and Billabong Girls Performance.
Nathan Fletcher ran away with the big award, Greg Noll showed the crowd (and worldwide Internet audience) his enormous, striped ass and The Foo Fighters played a secret show. Click play to watch it yourself, or follow the jump for complete results, photos, and more. [click to continue…]
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Rob Brink and Erica Yary discuss Kyle Frederick’s large reproductive organ, kayaking with Chris Cole and the all-new season of Street League on the Weekend Buzz. It’s a good one.
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Spy just launched a collection of “vintage inspired” sunglasses titled the Crosstown Collection. They’re describing them as “stylish, handmade sunglasses inspired by ’50s and ‘60s fashion, music.”
“We worked with a small crew of athletes and fashion-forward advocates with the intent of reinventing ‘classiness’ with our own point of view,” says Michael Marckx, SPY President. “We cut our design team loose to represent what’s happening within the creative ranks of our universe, to make something that they completely groove on, which led to a really unique handmade approach that you can feel and certainly see in the line.”
For the official word, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
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Tony Hawk speaks to Entrepreneur Magazine about selling things, selling out, and not being a sellout. On the way he discovered this bit of business wisdom: “People don’t call you a sellout until your stuff finally sells. And it’s finally selling out.”
[Link: Business Insiders]
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James Smith, the executive director of The Kona School has a pretty cool idea. Since it seems few school districts have time for anything other than improving test scores, let alone help kids learn the skills they’ll need to work in the world, Smith has come up with a better idea. Build a school at a skatepark. Plans for the first one are underway at Jacksonville, Florida’s Kona Skatepark.
By incorporating the most innovative instructional strategies with progressive technology, a focus on healthy living, and green campus construction, the mission of Kona School is to inspire in each student a desire to learn creatively, think independently, and act responsibly.
Can’t imagine that parents could ask for much more than that. Check it out.
[Link: The Kona School]
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