Ten years ago, Sun Bum (the sunscreen company) released a vinyl toy version of their ape mascot Sonny. And now, to celebrate that moment they’re releasing a limited edition of five inch vinyl collectables featuring their surf athletes Julian Wilson, Filipe Toledo, Zak Noyle, Malia Manuel, Barron Mamiya, Bede Durbidge, Kyuss King, and Rasmus King.
We didn’t know this until we read the Hypebeast interview, but surf photog Zak Noyle is the one responsible for the figurine in the first place. According to Hypebeast, the “vinyl toys will be available in surf shops as a limited-time only gift-with-purchase (GWP) for any Sun Bum purchase of $30 USD or more.” So snap ’em up if you need a couple for your desk at work.
Lately, we’ve been wondering what it’s been like for that small group of action sports media professionals who survived the AMI takeover of The Enthusiast Network. How is working for Trump pal David Pecker?
So far we’ve heard nothing from inside the building, but The Daily Beast posted a profile on March 2, 2019 titled How David Pecker Built His Tabloid Empire on Fear that might give some insight into how it could be going for those who still remain. The old story, written nearly two decades ago, suggests that Mr. Pecker has morphed his management style very little over the past 20 years.
News, dog. News. It’s that time of the week when we corral up all the headlines for the stories that got away into one big ol’ list and post them up. Take a look at what’s been going down over the past few weeks, follow the jump.
Looks like NorCal fullpipe skaters will be waiting awhile before launching any missions to the world famous Glory Hole, as the lake behind the dam is pretty full right now. Sidetone: we laugh every time we see the mainstream media calling it “the Glory Hole.”
Fox Sports today announced that they have signed a deal making them the exclusive U.S. television broadcaster for shows produced by a certain privately owned entertainment company specializing in event and online streamed content production (mostly surfing sport).
FOX Sports will telecast more than 500 hours of [surf event] programming, including live contests and highlight shows, across FOX, FS1, FS2 and the FOX Sports app in 2019.
This just might mean we’ll end up watching some of the surfing sport shows this season. Haven’t for quite some time. . . we’ll see. We were surprised to see no mention of the Oprah Winfrey Network? Maybe that deal isn’t done yet. For the official word from Fox (including all the details we’ve purposely ignored in light of our own sad, tired, anti-establishment proclivities), please click the link.
This is pretty much the only thing we saw from the 33rd Annual Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom and seriously, it scared the scary out of us. Think of all the times these guys have been close to death on the mountain and then this happens at the cabin:
Snowboarder Shea Hemlick, 32, of Meridian, Idaho died after being hit by an SUV while trying to jump a Bogus Basin road gap according to a story in the Idaho Statesman.
The accident happened at about 3:15 p.m. near milepost 15 on Bogus Basin Road in Boise County. . . Hemlick was snowboarding outside the boundary of the ski area when he attempted to jump the road, according to ISP. . . The snowboarder collided with a 2006 Hummer H2. . . He wasn’t wearing a helmet, police said.
Road gaps around Bogus Basin (like being cleared by Sean McDonald in the above video) have been popular with snowboarders (and mountain bikers) for years. For the rest of the story, please click the link.
On Sunday, February 10, 2019 a 20-year-old snowboarder died after crashing on the first jump in the Makaha Terrain Park, according to a story on 9News.com.
Patrol crews responded to the area and found a man unresponsive. He was not wearing a helmet, according to Hanle. Despite immediate life-saving efforts, rescuers were unable to re-establish a pulse. . . The man was pronounced dead at the scene by the Pitkin County Coroner.
Snowmass, spokesperson Jeff Hanle said “Our deepest sympathies and thoughts go out to the man’s family and friends, and we are offering support and assistance.”
As if this whole TEN sale couldn’t get any stranger, a deeper dive into the backstory reveals a The New York Times story from March 2018 that hints at where the money used by American Media to purchase the TEN action sports properties (among other things) may have come from. . . Saudi Arabia.
The intersection of the tabloid publisher [David Pecker, pictured right with The Donald] with the Saudis, enhanced by the White House visit, is a previously untold chapter in the long, symbiotic relationship between the president and Mr. Pecker, which was forged in the 1990s. At the time, Mr. Trump was celebrating a real estate comeback after his casino bankruptcies and was both the subject and the source of much gossip in New York.
One action sports executive wonders if this all might be part of a plan to use actions sports as a way to improve the public’s perceptions of a county that, in addition to various human rights violations, has allegedly murdered at least one journalist:
Sports have been an increasingly viable way for despots to soften their image and market a national brand (Russia/Sochi; Qatar/World Cup; Saudi Arabia/PGA events). . .Doesn’t seem a crazy reach that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, et al. would have interest in creating action/participant sports events, promoting tourism, etc. And these would be cheap and effective markets for this purpose. . . It all does line up: money gets laundered, Pecker gets ass saved, Saudi’s get backdoor to Trump administration, and a bunch of cheap sports/travel media properties run influence campaigns.
Is this really why American Media had interest in a few small circ. action sporting brands? Click the link to read the rest of the story.
In a story posted on Medium today (February 7, 2019), Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos claims that Surfer Magazine, Transworld Snowboarding, and Transworld Skateboarding’s new parent company American Media (through its tabloid The National Enquirer) has threatened to publish photos of Mr. Bezos’ penis “as well as nine other images” if Mr. Bezos didn’t call the Washington Postoff its investigation of American Media CEO David Pecker’s relationship with Donald Trump, according to a story on the Huffington Post.
Here’s a little of what Mr. Bezos is claiming:
I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Or at least that’s what the top people at the National Enquirer thought. I’m glad they thought that, because it emboldened them to put it all in writing. Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten. . . They said they had more of my text messages and photos that they would publish if we didn’t stop our investigation.
Usually these stories that have nothing to do with skateboarding, snowboarding, or surfing would be well outside our “lane.” But last week’s sale brings it all home to our world. Think about it? This suggests that those left at what once was TEN are now in a not-so-roundabout way working for the Trump Administration, forcing action sports marketing people to ask themselves, “Do we really want to support Donald Trump by spending advertising and marketing dollars with American Media in light of all this?”
We can say this: if this is how American Media does business, then the people who had their jobs eliminated last week are the lucky ones.
In a 
