It was a great show. Fun to watch. The waves were huge. And a 27-year-old Oahu lifeguard named Luke Shepardson fittingly won the 2023 Eddie Aikau Invitational. We were most stoked by the fact that the event, which some argued would never happen without a previous corporate sponsor’s involvement, seemed to run flawlessly. The crowd onshore was massive (estimated at 50,000), the Kam was a parking lot, and the live show rolled well all day with all the angles any fan of big wave surfing could ask for. Best surf event ever? We think so.
Top 10 results went like this:
Luke Shepardson
John John Florence
Mark Healey
Billy Kemper
Kai Lenny
Ezekiel Lau (Best Wave of the Day)
Landon McNamara
Keali’i Mamala
Lucas Chianca
Ross Clarke-Jones
Paige Alms was the highest placing female surfer in 31st place ahead of Makani Adric, and Keala Kennelly.
Congratulations to the Aikau family and everyone involved with making January 22, 2023 an epic day at The Bay for everyone. For full results and coverage check out Surfline.com. Or, just press play to watch the whole thing.
There was a time when Mason Aguirre was one of the highest paid snowboarders in the world. His smooth-flowing, rock star halfpipe style made him a standout in any terrain. Few snowboarders have had more raw natural talent. And during the first decade of the new millennium it seemed like Mason was everywhere (including placing fourth in the 2006 Torino Olympics).
Then, in what seemed like a minute, he was gone. The Bomb Hole Podcast gets Mason’s entire back story. What he went though and how he made it back. It is a cautionary tale. Thankfully, the same skills that put Mason to the top in snowboarding, helped him get back to sobriety, happiness, and success.
Nothing makes us feel older than a 30 year retrospective of pretty much anything. In this case it’s Ride Snowboards. For their new docco Rough Around The Edges they put a who’s who list of OG shreds from the 90s into a Corbusier and let them run. Every single somebody from the era is represented. Can’t wait to see the entire thing.
We’ve said it for years, but here’s a little reminder about author/skater Walker Ryan from Old Friends. And, if you want to read a great skate book, click here for Top of Mason.
Apparently, Buried is a great documentary on what can happen when falling snow and avalanche prediction/control are at odds. It’s also a compelling reminder of something an old Mammoth Mountain ski patroller used to tell us: “This isn’t Disneyland. It’s the great out-of-doors.”
Patrick O’Dell chases down the story of an East Coast BMX kid who became the most innovative, influential image grabber in skateboarding and, arguably, the world in general. Yep, it’s Spike Jonze. The nicest, kindest, coolest, creative genius we’ve ever had the chance to hang out with.
Yes, apparently the world has come to this. Are we saddened? Sure. Shocked? Not really. Celebrity culture (like pop) will eat itself. Views are views. And in instances like this, we can’t point fingers because we are part of the problem (just like Yung Gravy).
With Culture Shifters 2022 at Aspen/Snowmass Burton Snowboards is spreading the inclusivity of snowboarding with the help of a few friends and influencers.
Building off the success of last year’s Culture Shifters, @Zeb Powell, Selema Masekela and the #BurtonTeam assembled a new group of legendary athletes, musicians, artists, and cultural icons to celebrate their love for snowboarding and its community.
Looks like a pretty good trip all around. But one question: what happened to all that Gary Rogers footie?
Jamie O’Brien and the Stay Psyched crew make two, two, two waves at once. Hard to believe that anyone has ever moved more sand with one shovel. Or, that such ecological shenanigans can go unpunished in Southern California. Crazy.
