It begins with Ween and only gets better from there. Just a little reminder of how good Curren Caples is (as if we’d forgotten: thanks Gary). That’s all. Back to work.
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Apparently, today is World Water Day. A chance to celebrate water and raise awareness of the global water crisis around the world. As part of the celebration SurfAid is requesting help in their mission to improve clean water access in Indonesia, home to the worst drinking water in South East Asia.
Only 30 per cent of city residents have access to clean water and that number drops to only 10 per cent in remote villages. SurfAid is changing these odds and we need your help. Access to water and sanitation is an integral part of all our programs. We work together with communities and local government to establish clean water facilities and sanitation practices using a mix of practical support, education and sanitation promotion.
If you’d like to help SurfAid in this mission please click the link for more info.
[Link: SurfAid]
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After 35 years in downtown Encinitas Mike McGill has moved his legendary McGill’s Skate Shop a couple blocks inland and sandwiched it right between Lazy Acres supermarket and Jersey Mikes at the northwest corner of Encinitas Blvd and the 5 (as they say in SoCal). The perfect spot if you’re looking for an organic salad to compliment your corporate sub and Birdhouse Skateboard. It was also the perfect spot for a 35th anniversary party on March 18, 2023 with most of the Bones Brigade and whole host of skate heads.
Everyone was there and thanks to Malik Jones we can see it all: Lance Mountain, Tony Hawk, Stacy Peralta, Hosoi, Stevie Cab, Kevin Staab, Grant Brittain, Paul “The Professor” Schmitt, Don Brown, Steve Van Doren, Alphonzo Rawls, and apparently of dumpload of professional autograph hunters doing business.
[Link: McGill’s Skate Shop]
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The US Postal Service is dropping in on Cowtown’s 21st Annual Phoenix Am Contest on Friday, March 24, 2023 to kick off the launch of their new Art of The Skateboard stamp series.
Fiercely independent and often rebellious, the skateboarding subculture crackles with raw creative energy. The bold artwork emblazoned on a skateboard deck is often as eye-catching and individualistic as a skater’s most breathtaking moves.
The stamps feature art by Crystal Worl, William James Taylor Jr, Federico “MasPaz” Frum, and Di’Orr Greenwood. For all the details (including special info for all you philatelists), please follow the jump.
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Seems like this took a little longer than it should have but legendary snowboarder Shaun Palmer is now a member of the 2023 inductee class of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Old snowboarders know exactly how skilled Shaun was at pretty much everything, but the mountain bike world circa 1995 never knew what hit them as Shaun jumped in out of nowhere and dominated the downhill scene, changing pretty much everything about the sport all at once.
Palmer, a world-renowned Hall of Fame snowboarder, scored a breakout performance just one year after getting into the sport. Aboard one of the most-prolific downhill bicycle frames of all time, the Intense M-1, he scored the silver medal at the 1996 UCI Downhill World Championships, missing gold by just 0.15 seconds. His immediate world-topping results captured the immediate attention, and intrigue, of the entire mountain bike community.
Not sure what he’s been up to lately, but it’s great to see him getting a little more credit for all the things he’s done in his multi-sport career.
[Link: Mountain Bike Hall of Fame]
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Pro skateboarder Terry Kennedy will be spending the few years in prison after being found guilty of “aggravated battery” in the death of 23-year-old skateboarder Josiah Kassahun. Kennedy also plead guilty to one count of threatening a public official which comes with an additional five-year sentence as well bringing the sentence to 10 years total, according to a story in The Daily Herald.
Kennedy must serve at least 50% of each sentence before being eligible for parole. He received credit for the more than 1½ years he has spent in jail awaiting trial and sentencing.
Guess that means he only has three and half more to go before a possible parole. Would be cool if he could make that work.
[Link: The Daily Herald]
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Looks like Vail Resorts is no longer interested in keeping their retail businesses running in ikon towns as they shutter retail operations in Aspen and Snowmass. They’re also closing their retail in Telluride (which is on their Epic Pass) bringing the total of closing shops to 19, according to a story in The Denver Post. Branded retail stores getting shut include Burton, Patagonia and The North Face.
“As our leases in the Aspen area came up for renewal at the end of the 2022/2023 winter season, we needed to make a long-term decision regarding the future strategy of our retail operations in the Aspen market. At that time, we decided to close down our retail operations in this market in order to focus company resources on (serving) our core retail markets,” said Glenn Stahlman, vice president and chief operating officer at Vail Resorts.
Looks a little like a tail-between-legs retreat and has nothing to do with Aspen Ski Co’s grabbing a new CEO from Vail’s Whistler Blackcomb. The only reason these mega-corps even get into retail in the first place is to put all the local/independent shops out of business–consolidate and conquer! So, hey, mission accomplished.
[Link: The Denver Post]
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In what should come as a surprise to no one, Vail Resorts is being accused of cutting the hours of many of its international workers because, why not? According to The Summit Daily News, one worker has seen his hours cut substantially since the end of the Christmas Holiday.
When he began working as a back-of-house employee at the Timber Ridge restaurant in December, Queiroz said he was scheduled for 40-hour weeks, but by the middle of the month his hours began to get cut to 32. Then, he hit 24 hours in January. . . Copies of Queiroz’s work schedules, which he provided to the Summit Daily, show that for every week since Jan. 28, Queiroz was scheduled for two days — or 16 hours — not including an unpaid break. He said it’s barely enough money to cover his living expenses.
As in all business, the easiest way to cut costs is to trim labor, and if you already have everyone’s money from the super-mega pass, why provide quality services? That’s right. No reason. Vail has responded with more corporate speak about being “fully staffed” etc. . . but everyone knows what’s going on–too many employees is always better than not enough.
Even thought Vail Resorts in an offer letter (which Queiroz was required to sign) suggested that workers would get 32 hours a week, the company says it doesn’t use employment contracts. After Queiroz factors in the cost of getting to Colorado and his flight home to Brazil, he’s basically paying to work for Vail. Ah, capitalism!
[Link: Summit Daily News]
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Burton Snowboards, the largest snowboard company in the world, has been under what local news station is calling a “cyber attack” since February 14, 2023, according to story on MyNBC5.com.
If you’re looking to buy some winter gear or a snowboard from Burton, it might take some time. . . The well-known winter gear Vermont company has been dealing with a major cyberattack since Feb. 14, impacting their abilities to process orders and refunds online.
Currently, there is no way to order products from the Burton website. Guess that’s one of the downsides of cutting out independent retailers and going direct. They still have 56 company stores serving the world, however, so that’s good. For all the details Burton has this posted on their website.
[Link: MyNBC5.com]
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The word from Sporting Goods Business is that the hilariously miss-named zombie brand reanimator Authentic Brands Group (controlled by Jamie Salter) is closing in on a purchase of Quiksilver, Billabong, DC Shoes, Roxy, and Element parent company Boardriders, Inc. For those keeping track, this would make Salter the undisputed king of action sports. No one else is even close.
Authentic Brands Group has proposed a new term loan that it plans to use to support a potential acquisition of Boardriders, Inc., according to a report from Moody’s. . . Boardriders, owed by Oaktree Capital Management, has long been rumored to be on the selling block.
ABG already owns Vision Street Wear, Airwalk, and a very large piece of Volcom. And to think, he started out with the lowly Kemper Snowboards. Talk about tenacity in the business world. Someone hand Mr. Salter a medal!
[Link: SGB Online]
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