It was a Quiksilver dream final at the Quiksilver Pro France 2012. The master versus the prodigal son with Kelly Slater facing off against event wildcard Dane Reynolds in surf that allowed them both to shine. Slater landed his first win in France in 20 years.
“It has literally been 20 years,” Slater said. “I had my first win here 20 years ago and that’s pretty crazy. Obviously when you go out there you want to win the heat, but I would have been really stoked if Dane (Reynolds) pulled a 10 out of his hat at the end of the heat, it would have been pretty rad.”
Though he didn’t win, Reynolds had fun and that all that he seems to care about.
“That was a lot of fun out there,” Reynolds said. “I just really like these waves and I wasn’t really worried about competing or winning the heat. I always put a lot of pressure on myself, maybe not on winning but to surf well. I’ve liked every day of this event. Yesterday was intense and challenging and the day before was the same. Today was just perfect and fun. Today was a playground, you can’t ask for any better than that.”
This win (his third of the season) puts Kelly Slater firmly in second place in the World Rankings behind Joel Parkinson. And already the world tour numbers man is figuring out his chances.
“When you start working the numbers a little bit, I got that 500 pointer and a 13th, two bad results, already,” Slater said. “Parko (Joel Parkinson) is sitting on a 9th and a 5th. If I couldn’t get past Parko today, it would have put a lot of pressure on me, but this has now put the pressure back on Mick (Fanning) because Parko, John John (Florence) and I did well here at this event.”
For those who didn’t want to stay up until 2 AM PDT to watch the finals, the entire event is online. Watch it here or follow the jump for the official word from the ASP. [click to continue…]
Keep A Breast Foundationis encouraging every to send in personal messages explaining the meaning of everyone’s “I Love Boobies” wrist band. The promo is called: This Is My Pink Ribbon. Here a couple skate celebs kick down their thought, but you should share your own:
This is My Pink Ribbon is an extension of an existing online campaign. If you wear an I love Boobies! bracelet, you can participate and share your story by simply finishing the sentence: I wear my bracelet because… And tagging it on Twitter or Instagram with #ThisIsMyPinkRibbon, uploading a video response on YouTube or adding a pink i love boobies! Twibbon to your Facebook or Twitter profile photo.
Scott Blum gets his own VeeCo “individually produced part” with a little help from Seth Huot on camera and edit rig. And it all looks good. Check it now.
Thanks to a media report in The Australian Financial Review claiming that private investment firm TPG was about ready to pull out of its purchase of Billabong, shared slid so low that trading had to be stopped on Thursday, October 4, 2012, according to a story on ABC News.
TPG has refused to comment on a media report claiming it is considering pulling out of its $700 million dollar takeover bid. . . Billabong shares slumped more than 18 per cent to $1.075 before the company requested and was granted a trading halt by the ASX due to the market speculation.
AFR now says that TPG is still in the game however, they are looking very closely in several areas.
Concerns about Billabong’s earnings forecasts and the strength of its core brand have prompted private equity suitor TPG to express serious doubts about its $695 million approach. . . The Australian Financial Review revealed online yesterday that TPG was considering walking away from the long-running pursuit of the surf and board sports company.
A group of teen girls and their male getaway driver attempted to rip off a Pearland, Texas Zumiez store (even roughing up an employee) but they didn’t get far, according to a story on KTRK.com.
Police say it all started a few minutes earlier inside a Pearland Town Center shoe and clothing store when 18-year old Ashley Jackson, 17-year old Chrishonta Reshard and 19-year-old Angel Martin came in with plans to shoplift. . . “Chrishonta Reshard began selecting items just at random, just grabs T-shirts and starts stacking them in her arms,” Pearland Police Department Lt. Onesimo Lopez said. . . But police say a suspicious store employee jumped into action, blocking the door when she noticed two of the three girls trying to run out of the store with bags of clothes. . . “One girl charged at her like a linebacker, hits the clerk at the door — hits her hard enough to run into the door, push her out on the sidewalk and fall over a sign outside,” Lt. Lopez said.
Note to Zumiez: please make sure this employee gets to the 100k this year.
Protect Our Winters Riders Alliance member Forrest Shearer has written an editorial appearing The Daily News regarding California’s shrinking snow pack. Here’s a little of what he has to say:
In my native state of California, boarders and skiers are bracing for the effects of a warmer world. Scientists are predicting the Sierra snowpack will decline by 25 percent by 2050. We caught a preview this past ski season, when Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley had to make their own snow well into February. It’s no wonder the California Ski Industry Association is a big supporter of AB 32, the state’s landmark clean energy and climate law.
The parents of a 16-year-old girl who was reportedly sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old snowboarding coach while the two were at Copper Mountain for the 2011 Nationals are apparently suing Carrabassett Valley Academy for $1.35 million, according to a story in the Sun Journal.
The lawsuit, filed last month by attorney D. Michael Noonan of Dover, N.H., claims that the school was negligent when it allowed [the coach], whose current age and town of residence are not included in the complaint, to continue coaching after it learned he had had a sexual relationship with a female student before his assault on “JD.”
For it’s part CVA says they “terminated its relationship with the coach, notified the student’s parents and notified the appropriate authorities.” She also said that the 19-year-old was not the girl’s coach.” Ugly situation all the way around.
When celebrity chef Ludo Lefebvre decided to open one of his pop-up restaurants on the Big Island, Quiksilver jumped right in and offered the services of Mark Healey, Stephanie Gilmore and Reef McIntosh. Check out the video to see how it all turned out.
Former Billabong CEO Matthew Perrin is now being charged with “defrauding the Commonwealth Bank of $13.5 million,” according to a story in The Australian.
The charges relate to Mr Perrin allegedly forging the signature of his former wife, Nicole Bricknell, on documents where he used the value of a house he and his then wife owned jointly at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast to obtain a loan of $13.5m from the Commonwealth Bank in 2008. . . Mr Perrin, 40, filed for bankruptcy in March 2009 with debts of $28.2m to 20 unsecured creditors, but he had previously spent four years on the BRW Rich List with his wife, recording a peak value of $151m in 2002 when he was 30.
Perrin is out on bail, however, he has apparently had his passport confiscated.
“Sharks are highly visual animals but the world they see lacks colour and will appear as shades of grey like we see when we watch a black and white movie,” he said. . . “It may be possible to use this knowledge to change the way a shark reacts to certain objects. . . “It may also lead to better design of equipment such as wetsuits and surfboards that reduce the risk of shark attack.” . . . UWA’s Professor Shaun Collin says they plan to create a wetsuit, using particular patterns, that would make the wearer look unappealing to sharks. . . “It makes the wearer appear obnoxious, poisonous or unattractive to the shark, somewhat like a sea snake,” said.
Sounds like a description of half the groms at our local break. . .
