We’ve always been impressed by the way the crew at Agenda has been able to pull together great graphics, logos, etc. . . for all their shows, but we never really looked past that too much. Apparently, real artists are at work behinds the scenes. Dabs & Myla designed the poster for the Agenda Show Long Beach. Here’s their story. (Be warned, it’s a love story.)
We know, it’s silly to have a Go Skateboarding Day when you already go skateboarding everyday so we’re calling this year’s even Go Skateboarding Again Day. That means on June 21, 2012 you do your usual and then you go and do it all over again with all your friends who don’t skate every day. But there’s more than that:
This year, Go Skateboarding Day takes on a new direction with IASC’s Just One Board recycling initiative. The program collects and refurbishes used but functional skateboard equipment, re-assembles it with the help of local skateshops and distributes the complete skateboards to local community organizations for underprivileged youth.
Nyjah Huston kept his flawless ways rolling this weekend in Ontario, California as he topped the qualifiers and then grabbed top spot in Street League Skateboarding #2 (click here to watch it all if you missed it). Pretty soon they’re going to have to call this the Nyjah League. Does anyone else have a chance?
Tonight, the Street League gets down to qualifier business at 7 PM PST live from Ontario, California. The big question on everyone’s mind–will Nyjah Huston continue his fat wallet project? We’re going to say yes. Finals are Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 5:45 PM PST. In the meantime, check out a little practice action from DC Shoes. Click here to watch it live online.
The OC Weeky’s Andrew Asch profiles Black Flys co-founder Jack Martinez and the company that he is hoping to conjure up from the ashes. Here’s a little piece:
If anything can put Black Flys back on top in OC, it’s Martinez, with his talent for provocation. Under his direction, the brand was about forcing extremes and having a laugh at convention. In a recent interview at his office, located in one of Irvine’s countless, anonymous office parks, Martinez says he believes the eyewear market is stale and that the industry—dominated by retailers such as Hot Topic and Tilly’s—is ready for a more colorful, wild offering from the likes of Black Flys. But, he concedes, a comeback is far from guaranteed. . . “Every day, we ask that question,” says Martinez, who now sports a shaved head and gold tooth. “Has the world changed? Can we come back?”
Click the link for the rest of this comprehensive story.
Dylan Rieder joined a partnership with Jake Lamagno and Steven Ditchkus on a new hipster antique/furniture/art store on New York City’s Lower East Side. It’s called The Hunt. No, it’s not a skateboard shop, and yes, it is a conceptual retail piece.
Santa Cruz big wave surfer Jeff Spencer, 49, was found dead “near West Cliff Drive” in Santa Cruz, California on Sunday, June 10, 2012, according to a s tory in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
An off-duty San Jose firefighter came upon Spencer near a fence at David Way about 6:10 a.m., and it was unclear how long Spencer had been dead. A coroner’s autopsy will determine the cause of death later this week. . . Spencer was part of a powerhouse group of Santa Cruz surfers in the 80s that included Richard Schmidt, Vince Collier and Anthony Ruffo. Melissa Kreger, his common law wife of nearly 20 years, called Spencer her soul mate.
Spencer’s cause of death has not been officially released. Like other Santa Cruz surfers of his generation Spencer’s life was “consumed by drug and alcohol abuse,” according to the story. Our thoughts are with Spencer’s family and especially Melissa Kreger.
It’s Saturday, June 9, 2012 and Gary Ream, the visionary behind Camp Woodward, is leaning against the railing of the upper observation deck inside Woodward Tahoe’s new 33,000 square foot facility (“The Bunker”) looking out over what they’ve created. He can’t help but smile. Moments before, a BMXer fastplanted over and through the ribbon to officially open the facility, and now a constant stream of kids and their parents pour into the building to check out the six olympic sized trampolines, the foam pits, and the concrete skate park for themselves.
While action luminaries like Tony Hawk, Todd Richards, Mike Vallely, Hannah Teter, Tanner Hall, and Slash dine on catered snacks behind him Ream (pictured right with his daughter Kelsey) looks out over the facility and nods. It’s obvious that he is extremely proud and excited about the new facility, but more than that he seems amped on what this means for the future of Woodward action sports complexes.
“Look at this,” he says gazing off into the cavernous space. “You know there’s obviously a lot of passion here. You listen to the kids, we have a great staff and look at the pros and family that showed up. We did this at Copper. We did this in Bejing. We listened to the kids, we listened to the pros. We added a little capital and a bunch of passion and we’re going to do this again.”
Follow the jump for the rest of the story and a slew of photos from the Grand Opening. [click to continue…]
It was a battle of wisdom vs. youth in the finals of the Volcom Fiji Pro as 40-year-old Kelly Slater faced off against 19-year-old Gabriel Medina in perfect four-to-six foot Cloudbreak. Slater did the usual–he got in early with an 8.33 and a 9.83 and knocked Medina back on his feet and made the Brazilian fight for it. But there just wasn’t time.
“It’s about time I got him,” Slater said. “He had my number in the back half of last year and he’ll probably go on to beat everyone for the next 20 years. He can do it all and I think he proved that to a lot of people this week at Restaurants and out here at Cloudbreak.”
With this win Slater moves into second place in the ASP World Rankings behind Mick Fanning and appears to be well on his way to number 12. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
We never pass up the opportunity to listen to Rodney Mullen speak. Here is his presentation from TEDx and what TED said about it:
What do skateboarding and innovation have in common? More than you might think. A successful entrepreneur and innovator, Rodney Mullen is widely considered the most influential street skater in history, inventing most of the tricks used today. By the time he was 23, Mullen had already set new milestones for skateboarding winning 35 out of 36 freestyle competitions.
But we’ll let Rodney explain it all. The man is obsessed in all the best ways. Just watch the video.