Tyler Wright and Gabriel Medina were the winners in a privately owned surfing content creation production contest final held today (October 15, 2015) in France.
“It feels so good, I’ve been trying so hard this year. I’m so stoked, my board felt really good and everything went my way,” Medina said. “I’m really glad to be back on the podium and especially for a win. I’m stoked to be back in France, which has always been good to me. I promised myself I would win an event this year for my grandfather who passed away a couple of months ago. ”
Both surfers are now at fifth place in the world rankings. For the official word from the content creation company, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Bloomberg Business is reporting today that an investment banker who is reportedly working with Quiksilver (Durc Savini) “testified” that “at some point” Oaktree Capital Management “may” merge Billabong and Quiksilver in an effort to dig Quik out of the financial hole it is currently wallowing in.
Savini added that he never directly approached Oaktree about a transaction with Billabong and that he doesn’t believe Billabong “has the balance sheet to support” such a deal. Oaktree owns about 20 percent of Australia-based Billabong.
The story also mentioned another item reportedly in The New York Post that claimed “a Quiksilver-Billabong combination was being considered.” Guess the media just get to make stuff up and then we can link to it like it’s news.
The new Mashman Helmet and shield from Electric may be our favorite snowboarding helmet concept for 2016.
Inspired by the counterculture period of the 1960’s, where motorcycle culture embodied a rebellious spirit of a new generation looking for freedom. That same freedom can be found on the hill today; riding as fast as you can with the wind in your face.
Not only will it allow us to zone out like Daft Punk while on the lift, the Mashman also offers total protection from those pesky drones (see below).
As if the drunk neighbor who flew his blinky-lighted drone over our backyard every Saturday night ALL SUMMER LONG wasn’t annoying enough, we now have something more dreadful to look forward to this winter. Redwood City, California based Cape Productions is launching a new “drone filming service” that will allow winter resort tourists to get a bird’s eye video view of themselves fumbling down their favorite mountains, stopping on jump landings, and falling off rails and boxes.
Here’s the pitch:
Cape’s drones automatically fly with you to record your favorite moments on snow. Customers sign up, meet Cape on the mountain, and get filmed by the drones while riding, then receive a professionally edited and published video online to share with friends and family. Cape’s proprietary drone technology can fly up to 40 mph, staying ahead of even the most hardcore athletes. The drones automatically maintain safe distance from the ground and all major obstacles like trees, chairlifts and crowded areas while withstanding the treacherous weather conditions and high altitudes found at mountain resorts.
Apparently, vaping on the chairlift just wasn’t annoying enough, now we have to be buzzed by a whining swarm of drones every time we want to get a couple runs in. We have three words: drone net guns.
To escape the coming drone apocalypse be sure to avoid the following resorts: Winter Park Resort, Copper Mountain, Timberline Lodge, Mount Hood Meadows, Powder Mountain, Homewood Mountain, Mountain Creek, Fernie Alpine Resort, and Schweitzer Mountain.
For the official word from Cape Productions, please follow the jump.
Last Sunday (October 11, 2015) the Tony Hawk Foundation took over Ron Burkle’s Green Acres Estate in Beverly Hills for the 12th Annual Stand Up For Skateparks benefit. The day included performances by The Vandals, DJ Z-Trip and appearances by some of Mr. Hawk’s celebrity friends including: Anthony Kiedis, Perry Farrell, David Spade, Johnny Knoxville, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Fred Durst, Sarah Chalke, Verne Troyer, and many others.
Tony Hawk’s Stand Up For Skateparks benefit is a family-friendly action-sports carnival that included games, food, and live and silent auctions with unique items and experiences. All proceeds from the event will support the Tony Hawk Foundation’s mission to empower youth through the creation of free, quality, public skateparks in low-income communities throughout the U.S., and Internationally with programs that enrich the lives of youth through skateboarding. Since launching in 2004, the annual Stand Up For Skateparks benefit has raised over $9.3-million dollars to benefit the Tony Hawk Foundation.
As further entertainment Tony Hawk, Elliot Sloan, Lizzie Armanto, Allysha Bergado, Evan Doherty, Paul-Luc Ronchetti, Andy Macdonald, Simon Tabron, Coco Zurita, Kevin Staab, and Mat Hoffman dazzled the crowd on Tony’s 13-foot vert ramp.For the official word from the Tony Hawk Foundation, please follow the jump.
The Vissla ISA World Junior Surfing Championships are going down live this week (October 11-18, 2015) at the Oceanside Pier in Oceanside, California. Click play above to watch 322 of the world’s best junior surfers from 36 countries battle it out in some epically great waves.
We continue to be entertained by the ironies of Patagonia’s drive to sell us all more clothing we don’t need ($35 “Live Simply” T-shirts) as well as their commitment to using the environmental movement to market their brand. Occasionally, however, it all comes together into something interesting, and maybe even good.
Sweetgrass Productions‘ Jumbo Wild appears to be one of them. The film, funded by Patagonia, covers the “decade’s long fight over a proposed ski area” in the Jumbo Valley backcountry, part of British Columbia’s Purcell Range. Be warned, there is far too much skiing in this clip. For more on the story (and the film), please follow the jump.
Bummed with missed this on October 3, 2015 in Ramona, California (you know ’cause crusty vert dogs are the only skaters we recognize these days). Maybe next year.
Sydney-born Vans Pro skater Chima Ferguson brings new perspective to one of Vans’ most popular performance models to date, the CHIMA PRO, to introduce a brand new signature mid-top style with the Chima Estate Pro on October 10. For the official word from Vans, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
