For years most people have known Ryan Clements (right) as the guy on the mic for Skate Park of Tampa events and live webcasts, or as a partner in the Skate Park of Tampa business, but there is more. For the past few years, Clements has been acting as a business manager for several high profile professional skateboarders like P-Rod and Torey Pudwill.
Since leaving the Skate Park of Tampa at the end of 2012, Clements and Heath Brinkley have started a company called Excel to (among other things) help pro skateboarders keep track of their money. Transworld Business’sMike Lewis talked to Clements and Brinkley about what they do and the problems young pros have. Here’s a slice of what Clements passes along:
For the younger guys it’s that they don’t realize how all the money they’re getting isn’t theirs. They still have to pay Uncle Sam and they don’t necessarily realize that or how it works. Explaining the difference between being an employee and a contractor is important. For the older, more established guys it’s more about making them aware of how much money they’re blowing on eating, drinking, and other purchases that leave them absolutely nothing to show. I have one client that didn’t file tax returns for eight years. I don’t know what he was thinking, but it eventually caught up to him via a levy on his checks from his sponsors. That’s when he called me. We cleaned that mess up with the assistance of a tax attorney.
We all could use someone who is smarter than we are to mind our money. Luckily, skateboarders have Ryan. Click the link for the rest of the post.
It’s always good to check out Tony Hawk interviews. This is a long one at 26 minutes, however, you might want to watch on through at least until Tony gets his water glass refilled. “That just happened,” Tony says. Pharrell says, “Yep.”
For those time when you know you’re going to return with more than you brought, or with much less, comes the Herschel Supply Packable Collection.
Created with ripstop nylon and has the unique ability to stowaway into its own hidden pocket, the Packable Collection offers a durable, lightweight and compact storage carrying solution. This collection is comprised of duffels, backpacks, totes and a rain cover. The compact size and fully drainable features make this collection perfect for everything from eco friendly grocery shopping to extra packing space on your travels.
Think Gary Rogers would ignore the Harlem Shake tsunami like we (as rational people) have? Nope. He didn’t. But as you might guess, his take is funnier than most. . . sort of. Oh, and that backflip kid makes an appearance as well. We ignored him also. In fact, we’ve been ignoring pretty much everything lately. But then, you’ve probably noticed that already. Right?
The contest window for The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau officially closes for the 2013 season on Thursday, February 28, 2013 and (barring a really big meteor hit in the Pacific) it would appear that there are no swells on the horizon and the contest will likely not happen. But that’s okay, according to Quiksilver. According to Contest Director George Downing:
“Even though waves may get bigger in other parts of the world, the fact that Waimea is such an incredible venue for both the surfer and the spectator make it an impossible place to replicate,” said Downing, who has witnessed every major day of surfing at Waimea. . . “It’s the natural home of big wave surfing. It’s the original big wave event that paved the way for all others. It’s the place that Eddie loved and where he worked and played. Even though big waves may be found elsewhere, they can never be Waimea. This is an event about integrity and honor.”
Australian surfer Owen Wright (as if you didn’t know) now has his own pair of signature sunnies from Dragon: the Owen Wright Remix. Here’s what Dragon says about it:
Capturing the luminous colors of a desert sunrise, these shades tell a much-loved story of Owen’s camping jaunts with his mates – driving 12 hours to the middle of nowhere in the search of that perfect left hander. The intricate arm detailing unique to Dragon brings to life Owen’s desert-dwelling alter ego, seldom seen outside of the deep Australian wilderness.
And they probably dull the suns bright glare a little, too.
PPR released their 2012 full-year results and it gave Jeff Harbaugh a chance to dig in to get a better idea of what has been going on at Volcom since they were purchased by the French fashion titan a year and a half ago. From what Harbaugh could figure, it looks like things are going okay, but they just might be down for the year.
At best, Volcom has grown only a bit. If that 261 million Euros in revenue includes Cobra and Tretorn, Volcom’s year over year revenues could have fallen. . . I would like, at this time, to renew my congratulations and admiration, expressed at the time of the deal, to the Volcom management team for the timing of their sale to PPR and the price they got.
Couple this with PacSun’s recent launch of their own Kendall and Kylie Jenner branded fashion line (a shockingly rare smart move from the mall retailer) and Volcom could be sitting in a less-than-happy revenue place in the coming quarters. For the entire Harbaugh perspective click the link.
In the tradition of the Live Juiced and Tickle My Big Black Elmo comes a new board from World Industries “resignation series” called The Great Cover Up. And yeah, it features the Pope.
For years most people have known Ryan Clements (right) as the guy on the mic for Skate Park of Tampa events and live webcasts, or as a partner in the Skate Park of Tampa business, but there is more. For the past few years, Clements has been acting as a business manager for several high profile professional skateboarders like P-Rod and Torey Pudwill. 
