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Skateboarding
Apparently, the latest new craze in Kabul is not Kite Running. It’s skateboarding, according to a story in The Sydney Morning Herald.
Skateboarding is the latest teen craze to hit Kabul. It was started by three Australians who see it as a way to help young Afghans and redefine the way rich foreigners interact with them.
“They’re born naturals,” said Oliver Percovich, watching a dozen kids whiz around the fountain outside an upmarket restaurant. “They’ve got more balance than Western kids, mainly because they’re not scared to fall and get up again.”
Oddly, the three Aussies have called their skateboarding introduction project “skateistan.” Click the link for more on how skateboarding is changing lives in Afganistan.
[Link: Sydney Morning Herald]
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Thanks to chaotic traffic in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta police will soon start patrolling on skateboards.
Traffic police on skateboards will began patrolling the Indonesian capital from July 1, the Koran Tempo newspaper reported on Friday. . . . The city’s traffic police chief, Dua Sutirto, said police had hired a professional skateboarder to teach a team of 20 young police officers. He believes that skateboards will be able to get traffic police to any congested road in Jakarta much faster than cars or motorbikes.
We love skateboarding cops.
[Link: Russian News Agency]
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On June 7, 2008 the following post was up on the Emerica website. But then by today (the start of Emerica’s Wild Ride) it was gone. Wonder what happened? Did Heath Kirchart get a little too much grief on the phone?
Attention, girls! Heath Kirchart and his sidekick Bob are on their way to kick off Emerica’s Wild Ride! They’re somewhere in Georgia right now. To meet up with them, text SLAGS to 619-559-6141 and they’ll give you directions. Join in on the (Girls Gone) Wild Ride! . . . All you non-Southerners and non-girls: text photos of your sisters and girlfriends to Heath and Bob instead! Who knows, Heath might even call you back to say what’s up! Stay tuned for more Wild Ride updates coming soon!
Looks like a certain Sole Tech blogger got the reigns pulled in a little.
[Link: Emerica.com]
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The Maloof Money Cup continues to get coverage thanks to the family’s high-rolling ways and the $500,000 in prize money. Now they’re just flaunting the parade of professional stunt jockey’s who all say the Money Cup (scheduled for July 11-13, 2008) is the best thing to ever happen to skateboarding.
Among those joining Dyrdek in the street competition will be Paul Rodriguez, Jake Duncombe and Ryan Sheckler. . . . Vert skaters entered include Shaun “The Flying Tomato” White, the Olympic snowboarding gold medalist and X Games star; Bob Burnquist, who two years ago rode a skateboard into the Grand Canyon and then parachuted the rest of the way down; Australian Jake Brown, who became an instant celebrity last summer after he survived a 40-foot fall at the X Games that was so jarring it knocked his sneakers off; Andy Macdonald; and Bucky Lasek. . . . The prizes are big, too — $100,000 for first place in street, $75,000 for first place in vert and $25,000 for women’s first place. Another $240,000 will be distributed among the first-20th finishers in street and first-10th in vert.
It’s hard to argue with all this money, but it’s even more difficult to ignore the fact that taking free money can get extremely expensive.
[Link: International Herald Tribune]
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As anyone who has read Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay knows; all super heros must have a diminutive, effeminate sidekick. Now, thanks to T-Mobile Tony Hawk has his own limited edition Sidekick phone.
The T-Mobile Sidekick LX Tony Hawk Edition will be the first Sidekick to ship with video record, play and share. It also includes other enhancements such as a more personalized Web browsing experience, stereo Bluetooth support, easier downloads and more options for theme and background personalization.
Though sadly, Sidekicks do not sync with Apple computers.
[Link: Skateboarding.com]
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In a strangely sad press release ASR Show Director Andy Tompkins reminds the world that DC Shoes is still attending the fall ASR show (the one Sole Tech, Podium, and C1RCA are skipping).
DC, an industry leader in skateboarding footwear and apparel, plans to attend ASR September with over 5,600sqft of meeting room space. The footwear and apparel manufacturer reports doing a significant amount of business with many of the brand’s 2,000 specialty retail accounts at ASR.
Then DC Senior VP of Sales Mark Miller (the guy who appears to like selling DC in CostCo) jumps in to say how important the “specialty store account base” is. But that’s not enough. Global President Nick Adcock chimes in with: “We are committed to trade shows because they are still a destination for our retailers.”
Yeah, it sounds like trade shows are amazing. So amazing, that they have to send out press releases announcing that one shoe company is attending.
[Link: Transworld Business]
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Too bad those Euros cost so much or we’d be there in a heart beat.
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Sole Technology, Podium Distribution, and C1RCA have all decided that the fall ASR Show is irrelevant to their businesses and have announced that they will not be showing, according to a story on Transworld Business.
Sole Technology Senior VP of Marketing Don Brown says this is a move his company has been contemplating for quite some time. “We really just wanted to be more proactive in reaching out to our retailers and really engaging them in a way that we can’t at ASR,” Brown says. . . . In lieu of the September show, Sole Tech will be focusing its energy—and its half-a-million-dollar budget—on smaller regional shows, as well as having retailers visit the Sole Tech campus in Lake Forest, California.
In a digital world, buying a bunch of space for your employees to sit around in for three days just doesn’t seem as sexy as it used to.
[Link: Transworld Business]
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