Ever wonder what happened to Burton Snowboards employee Doug Powell? Back in the 90s Doug put in 8 years at the Big B before deciding that he’d rather be a physician and work on people, according to a story on Defense Video & Information Distribution System.
Though he thoroughly enjoyed his work at Burton Snowboards and the environment that kind of work provided, Powell said he continued to feel like something important was missing from his life. . . “After eight years at Burton, I started feeling a strong desire to get away from business and start doing something that would have an impact on people’s lives,” said Powell. “At that point, I began volunteering at a hospital in Burlington, Vt.”
Powell got his pre-med classes done by going to night school while still working at Burton. He was admitted to medical school when he was 40 years old. Now “Doc” Powell is “brigade surgeon assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division” as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Not bad for a former shred.
Each storm seems to bring more bad news. The body of missing snowboarder Phillip Walker, 22, of San Jose, California was found in a tree well and “covered in several inches of snow” just before noon Sunday, March 27, 2011 at Sierra-at-Tahoe, according to a story in the El Dorado Hills Telegraph.
According to El Dorado County Sheriff officials, Walker may have struck a tree, but it has not been determined if severe winter weather was a contributing factor in the young man’s death.
Walker was reportedly snowboarding with his brother on Saturday, March 26, 2011, on the “Upper Powderhorn Trail” when he was reported missing. Walker is at least the 17th snowboard death in North America since December 20, 2010. Our thoughts are with Walker’s family and friends.
James Drummond, of Redding, California was riding Mt. Shasta with his helmet camera rolling when he tripped up and went headfirst into a tree well on Wednesday, March 23, 2011. Drummond was stuck upside down in the well for over a half hour before a cellphone call from his wife saved his life, according to a story on KRCRTV.com.
At first, I thought it was just a stumble,” said Drummond. “I went and put my hands out in front of me and when my hands touched the snow, it was like there was a false bottom.” . . .As Drummond struggled to make an airway, he says he was able to reach his cell phone. Just then, he says his wife miraculously called him as he was trying to call her. . . Leanne Drummond – James’ wife – then called the Ski Patrol, who then called the trapped snowboarder to help keep him calm.
Rescue crews were able to locate Drummond in about a half an hour. Drummond said he thought several times of Alexander Gautreaux, 23, a snowboarder who died on February 17, 2011 after falling into a similar well. Click the link to watch the video of a white powder run that goes all black.
Losses at Orange 21, the parent of Spy Optic, increased $1.2 million in 2010 to $4.6 for the Carlsbad, California based eyewear marketer, according to financial repors for the year ended December 31, 2011. But some of those losses were actually investments according to CEO Stone Douglass.
“We are pleased with our results for 2010 even though we had substantial direct and indirect additional operating costs related to our two newest brands, Margaritaville and Melodies by MJB, for which there have been minimal sales during this period,” commented Stone Douglass, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. “Gross margins increased to 48% for the year ended December 31, 2010 from 40% during the comparable period in 2009, aided by more effective sourcing in Asia, and improved operations and a more favorable Euro to U.S. Dollar exchange rate on purchases from our Italian manufacturer, LEM.”
To get the full story tune in to Orange 21 investor conference call on March 30, 2011 at 1:30 PM PST. Just dial 1-866-711-8198[click to continue…]
Burton Snowboards has announced today that they have signed a licensing agreement with Korea’s “leading fashion company” LG Fashion to not only distribute Burton products but to license the brand to design streetwear in Korea.
To celebrate the new partnership, LG Fashion invited Burton Snowboards’ Co-Owner Donna Carpenter to a ceremony in Seoul this week where executives from the two companies officially signed the agreement. . . “It is a true honor for me to be in Korea to personally sign our new partnership agreement with LG Fashion,” said Donna. “With dozens of winter resorts and a snowy climate, Korea is a very important market for us, and we’ve always wanted to enhance Burton’s presence here. Now that we have such a reputable and established partner as LG Fashion, we can take Burton to a whole new level in the Korean marketplace.”
Not a bad way to go big in Korea quickly, but is this licensing deal the beginning of the end of Burton as we know it? [click to continue…]
On Wednesday March 23, 2011 Rick Alden announced that he was stepping down from his position as CEO of Skullcandy, the company he founded, and handing the position over to Skullcandy President Jeremy Andrus.
[Update March 28, 2011: Rick Alden has officially “resigned” from the company but will remain on the board. Ouch! And right before the IPO. Someone obviously isn’t happy. Follow the jump for the official press release.] [click to continue…]
We don’t follow the Dew Tour in general so we’re not really sure what any of these announcements mean, other that to say that it would appear that the courses are getting better with concrete and that there will be a bowl, all to be allegedly built by California Skateparks. And we know they do good work.
Here are the dates:
Dew Tour at Ocean City July 21-24 Ocean City, Md. – Ocean City Pier Dew Tour at Portland Aug. 11-14 Portland, Ore. – Rose Quarter Toyota Challenge Sept. 8-11 Salt Lake City, Utah – EnergySolutions Arena Dew Tour Championships Oct. 13-16 Las Vegas, Nev.
According to these photos from x17 online, it would appear that surfer Jon Rose is checking his Code Red PMS alert app to see what mood Pamela Anderson is in at the moment. From the look on her face, she’s all good. x17 says:
The sexy twosome couldn’t keep their hands off each other while strolling through Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo, Brazil for World Water Day. Looks like Pam has snatched up another hottie! . . Besides loving the beach, the two have something else in common … both are activists. While Pam is dedicated to PETA, Rose is the founder of Waves for Water, an organization whose mission is to “get clean water to everyone who needs it.”
Ever wonder what happened to Burton Snowboards employee Doug Powell? Back in the 90s Doug put in 8 years at the Big B before deciding that he’d rather be a physician and work on people, according to a story on Defense Video & Information Distribution System. 
