DC Shoes co-founder and Gymkhana video star Ken Block has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Mad Media (the company that directed the first three Gymkhana videos) over their use of the word Gymkhana, according to a post on Jalopnik.
The lawsuit stems from the creation of Gymkhana.com, which focuses on rally, drift, and general car news. It features advertisements and includes links to Ken Block-related content, although it also carries the legal disclaimer “DISCLAIMER: This gymkhana.com website does not originate from, is not affiliated, connected, or associated with, and is not sponsored or approved by Ken Block or DC Shoes.” at the bottom of the page.
In the lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, August 17, 2012, Block’s lawyers claim that “By registering and using the domain name GYMKHANA.COM, Mad Media breached its contractual obligations to Plaintiffs to refrain from using the knowledge it gained from its contractual relationship with Plaintiffs to misappropriate, interfere with, or profit from opportunities and property in the GYMKHANA brand.” See, success ruins almost everything. Click the link for the rest of the story.
Ronald Weekley Jr., a skateboarder from Venice, California is claiming that police beat him after he was already pinned to the ground, according to a story on KTLA.com. He was stopped by police for reportedly “riding his skateboard against traffic.”
Weekley said he was skateboarding in front of his home Saturday afternoon when Los Angeles police officers detained him and threw him to the ground. . . “I turned around to two cops running directly at me and throwing me on the ground, putting my arms behind my back and tying my legs to my arms and telling me I was resisting arrest,” Weekly recalled.
As is the case with most everyone who is beaten by police, Weekley was charged and jailed for “resisting arrest.” Luckily, it was all caught on video. Follow the jump to see the entire cellphone video and see first hand how hard police officer work to keep the public from recording their actions.
Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi’s flying through the apperati in the women’s final.
The New Zealand OpenBurton High Fives “invitational” contest in Wanaka, New Zealand wrapped up the Slopestyle finals today with Mikkel Bang and Enni Rukajarvi taking the top spots.
Burton rider Mikkel Bang (NOR) was the clear standout throughout the men’s competition as he took the lead right off the bat with his first run score of 91.00 – only to top it on his second run with 95.40 points. Mikkel’s winning run started out with a switch backside 1, front 270, back 5, switch back 12, front 10 double, and a backside rodeo 5 stale over the final hip jump. Head Judge, Mel Simmons, commented, “Mikkel’s run had everything, it was tech, it had the spins, and it was totally stomped. It was the complete package”.
For the rest of the official word from Burton, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
According to a story on Eonline.com, the Beastie Boys have filed a lawsuit against Monster Energy Drink “claiming the [company] tried to create “an association” with the Beastie Boys by using several of their hit tunes in a promotional campaign without properly licensing them.”
First up, the plaintiffs don’t want to see Monster Energy’s promotional video for its 2012 Ruckus in the Rockies event, which the suit claims was posted to the drink’s website in May, in its current incarnation ever again. . . According to the complaint, the video is “comprised substantially of excerpts from the Beastie Boys Sound Recordings and the Beastie Boys Musical Compositions totaling more than three minutes in duration.”
Looks like the group is sticking to the letter of Adam Yauch’s will in which he stated that “in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes.”
The story of Sal Masekela’s relationship with his musician father Hugh could be hitting the big screen in a feature film from Olympic Pictures and Paul Haggis, according to a story on Deadline.com.
South African filmmaker Mukunda Michael Dewil has been hired to write and direct the film. The project follows a son emerging out of the shadow of his successful but troubled father set against a backdrop of music, surfing, and South Africa’s racism. The untitled Masekela project will be produced by Leslie Urdang and Dean Vanech of Olympus Pictures, Haggis and Michael Nozik of Hwy 61 Films, and Selema Masekela.
We’re looking forward to this one if only to see the Hollywood version of Sal’s autobiography.
Songstress (and former Transworld Media intern) Tristan Prettyman has come a long way since IMing MP3’s of her home-recorded tracks around to friends and family. Now, the Wall Street Journal takes us all on a tour of the place where she wrote most of the songs from her upcoming album Cedar and Gold (which drops September 25, 2012).
After . . . Tristan Prettyman’s engagement to pop star Jason Mraz ended in 2010, she retreated to the cedar bungalow where she’d lived as a child. Her father, a former carpenter, had renovated the house months earlier, hoping it would be a place for the couple to live in after they married.
Sounds like Tristan has all she needs: a great place to live and the continually broken heart that inspires her best work.
Rather than bringing other skaters to the Weekend Buzz set Jereme Rogers brings Justin Beiber video girl and pop singerJennifer Jayleen Martinez to talk all things Jereme. He has a lot of explaining to do, and truthfully Jereme gets through some of his most “media spectacles” by blaming them on the mushroom plant. But this is only Part 1. Part 2 is next week.
Judge James Black, while acknowledging Fox’s mental illness, said he was a danger to the public and a longer sentence was needed. . . “The public cannot rely on this offender either being compliant with his medication or with him not aggravating his condition by consuming illegal drugs.” . . Judge Black jailed Fox for a total of four years but ordered him to be released on parole in December next year.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that he has already served 600 days and will be released on parole in December of 2013. Hopefully he’ll stay on his “anti-psychotic medication” when he gets out.
Unbeknownst to us Peter King, the pro surfer, former MTV personality, and photographer, is back in the TV hosting game with a reality show for the Outdoor Channel called Project Dominion.
Along with co-host MMA fighter Jamie Toney, and Dennis Deutsch, PK reportedly goes along on hunting and fishing trips and then comes back to tell us all about it. As much as we love watching PK on camera, we’re not sure we’re going to be able to sit through much of this. Check it out yourself.
Chainsaw Productions’Shaun Palmer documentary The Miserable Champion is finally available on DVD and shipping, according to a story on Pinkbike.com.
The Miserable Champion is a shocking portrait of one of the most notorious athletes of all-time, action sports’ hero Shaun Palmer. 7 Sports, 7 Times World Champion, 6 X-Games Gold, 38 Elite Victories, 117 Tour Podiums and ESPY 2006 “Action Sports Athlete of the Year”. USA Today asks the question “Is This The World’s Greatest Athlete?”
DC Shoes co-founder and Gymkhana video star Ken Block has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Mad Media (the company that directed the first three Gymkhana videos) over their use of the word Gymkhana, according to a post on Jalopnik.
