Jeremy Flores prevailed over reigning world surfing champion Gabriel Medina at an apparel sponsored event at Teahupo’o, Tahiti today (August 25, 2015) in what was probably one of the most entertaining content production days in a long while. Even more impressive — he accomplished this feat while wearing a helmet.
“Gabriel (Medina) is one really tactical guy so I thought I’m going to play his game,” said Flores. “He’s really aggressive in the water so I thought I’m going to be even more aggressive. Hats off to him, he’s surfed amazing all event and that was definitely one of the hardest heats.”
See what he did there? “Hats off.” Yes, Flores was being literal about the helmet hat. For the official production notes (including full results from the fanal day) from the privately owned entertainment event and online streaming production company responsible for this commercial shoot, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
We used to stay in the SF Grand Hyatt all the time back in the day (don’t ask). So when Cardiel slayed it we thought it couldn’t have been done by a better guy. Now, though we’ll miss seeing that rail and reliving the moment, it is nice to see that the rail is in really good hands.
It was every surfer’s biggest nightmare and over the past 12 hours it has become the leading news of the day. During the final of the J-Bay Open today (July 19, 2015) between Julian Wilson and Mick Fanning a shark swam over and tried to take a nip our of defending champion and three-time world champ Fanning.
“I was just cruising and waiting for my turn, my opportunity and I knew Julian (Wilson) was down the point,” Fanning said. “I was just about to get moving and start paddling again and all of a sudden I had this instinct that something was behind me. I started getting pulled underwater and then the thing came up and I was on my board and it was right there. I saw the whole thing thrashing around but I was getting dragged under by my leg rope. I felt like it kicked me off but it was still there going and I was still attached to my board. I felt like I punched it a couple of times and then it was dragging me and then my leg rope broke.”
Fanning tried to yell to Julian Wilson for him to get out of the water, but Wilson was already on his way to help Fanning.
“Mick (Fanning) was kind of out in no man’s land so I was really watching him and had my eyes on him,” said Wilson. “Mick (Fanning) was looking down the point and I saw the whole thing pop up behind him. It came up and he was wrestling it. I saw him get knocked off his board and then a wave popped up and I thought, ‘he’s gone’. I felt like I couldn’t get there quick enough. The results don’t mean anything to me, I’m just happy he’s alive. I literally thought when I was paddling for him that I wasn’t going to get there in time, especially when I saw him off his board and swimming away. I thought it was going to grab him and take him under. I’m so happy we’re both on the beach right now, I was so worried about Mick’s life.”
Both surfers were immediately removed from the water by contest water patrol and neither had a scratch on them. The contest was halted and Fanning and Wilson were given equal second place finishes and split the prize money.
We are so unbelievably overjoyed that it turned out the way it did and will be forever inspired by Julian Wilson’s heroic act. For the official word (and complete results) please follow the jump.
Canadian born graphic artist extraordinaire Geoff McFetridge has always been a mystery to us. His work is always clean, clever, cool, and catchy just like a great pop song, but we’ve never heard the man speak through anything other than his art. That’s why it’s great to see him sit down with the legendary Chris Pastras for an episode of Monster Children’s Table Talk. Watch it and learn.
If getting food on the streets of San Francisco is in your future then who better to trust than Andy Roy. Right? You can’t argue with the fuckin’ truth, fuckers.
[Link: Vice]
The Lyon introduces a unique form of construction that results in a truly sophisticated men’s design. Featuring 5-barrel hinge hardware and custom hex metal appliqué… optics by Carl Zeiss CR-39 lens offering 100% UVA/UVB protection.
Yes, there are still a lot of great people and brands (750 of them) who attend the Agenda Show. If you are one of them then please be reminded that the show is in T-minus two weeks. The show runs July 8-9, 2015 from 9 AM to 6 PM at the Long Beach Convention Center. For more info (and to pre-register) please click the link.
Dave Bergthold, the creative mind behind Blockhead Skateboards, is sneaking out a small run of reissues of some of Blockheads most iconic designs. Included in this limited edition collection is the Streetstyle, Sam Cunningham’s pro model, the Hard Times, and Omar Hassan’s Pro model. The boards feature artwork by legendary skateboard graphic artist Ron Cameron. The decks are available for pre-order now and will ship in July. Click the link to order.
