A blue-collar skateboarder’s dream come true. . . apparently. Tools, beer, and boobs all thanks to Hubba Wheels. That girl looks thirsty. . . and hungry now that you mention it.
[Link: Hubba Wheels]
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After 15 years of writing action sports business analysis for publications like Transworld Business, Ski Area Management, Boardsport Source, Snowboard Canada Business, and others Jeff Harbaugh has joined the modern era. For the last couple months he has been providing his “commentary, analysis, and advice” directly to the people through his blog Jeff Harbaugh’s Market Watch.
While his analysis often pisses people off, one thing is certain: it is always entertaining, insightful, and opinionated; three things that are rare in action sports business media. The most recent topic Jeff dropped in on is, not surprisingly, Billabong Acquiring West 49.
Billabong’s strategy may be opportunistic with regards to timing (anybody’s acquisition strategy is) but I don’t think there’s any doubt that they have been planning to make retail a bigger part of their business. The presentation on West 49 says, in part, “Billabong has a long track record of successfully acquiring and integrating ‘bolt-on’ acquisitions consistent with its key strategic objectives of growing its brand portfolio and expanding its retail distribution network.” (Emphasis added) And their store count has grown from 49 in 2004 to 510 this year assuming they complete the West 49 deal.
And better yet–Jeff has posted every Market Watch column he’s written since 1995. Check it out if you care, and if you do, put him on your RSS reader.
[Link: Jeff Harbaugh’s Market Watch]
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Luckily, we got up early enough to see Owen Wright’s floater in full motion, live at the Billabong Pro J-Bay. It was good. So was his three-wave 17 point win over Ben Dunn. Wright apparently likes J-Bay.
“I’ve been feeling very comfortable out at Jeffreys,” Wright said. “I got here a week early and have been working the place out on boards and sections. It’s such a fun wave. I saw Ben’s heat in Round 2 and he was looking really good so I knew I would have to pull out something special. I didn’t feel nervous at all though, I went out and tried to maximize each wave I caught.”
Apparently. For results from the first four heats of round 3, and the entire losers round (CJ Hobgood lost to Tim Reyes) follow the jump.
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Method Snowboard Magazine CEO Rasmus Ostergaard announced today that they moving to a free distribution model for the “pan-European” magazine.
It’s very simple, over the past 5 years it’s become increasingly clear that newsstand sales are in steady decline. Sadly, our target audience simply doesn’t buy magazines anymore. We could continue working with the old paradigm or radically change our business model to adapt to the market’s new realities. . . . Going free is a win-win situation for everyone –advertisers, retailers, readers, riders and photographers. From now on METHOD will be found where it counts most, namely core snowboard shops and other spots where snowboarders hang out.
We’ve always been big fans of free, plus, it’s just one step closer to 100% digital. Follow the jump for the official release and unleash the kitties.
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On Wednesday (July 14, 2010), when news began arriving that Mike Vallely was leaving Element Skateboards (and becoming one of the few objects to escape Billabong’s gravitational pull in recent weeks) we were too caught up in agreeing with Boil The Ocean’s take on the new company to get the official word from the man himself. And what a disservice that was. Here’s what Mike said on his blog:
You see, I still love Element and the people who I worked closely with there but unfortunately those people are ultimately powerless to steer the ship that is the conglomerate that owns Element. And it has become clearer and clearer to me that the parent company of Element is only looking to build their business and improve their bottom line on the backs of people like me. They can buy admiration but they can’t buy achievement. They can own skateboard companies but they’ll never be skaters. And this really bothers me. It bothers me so much that I can no longer give one ounce of my energy or another second of my time to their cause. Thus, I’ve started my own thing because I simply can’t and won’t be apart of their thing anymore.”
No one ever questioned Mike Vallely’s commitment, nor his ability to march directly into battle. We just hope he can live By the Sword, and not the other way around.
[Link: Mike Vallely via The Skateboard Mag]
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This may be one of the few times we agree 100% with Laird Hamilton. For more info on how to join Laird and the Surfrider Foundations in stopping offshore drilling, visit Not The Answer.com.
[Link: Not The Answer]
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The Photoshop wizards at Reef have been going so over-the-top retouching the Reef girl’s asses that it’s getting creepy in a silicone-and-articulated-joints kind of way.
If they’re going to spend this much time making real girls look plastic, wouldn’t it be easier to simply shoot plastic girls?
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Eddie Wall is obviously not afraid. We’ll leave it at that. Want to see him perform live, click the link for more info.
[Link via Snowboarder Mag]
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Mick Fanning fins out at the Bay.
For those who got in early and stayed up late the Billabong Pro J-Bay delivered some of the most amazing contest surf of the season. Perfect four-to-six footers reeled off the point letting the ASP World Tour’s finest get their contest legs back after a nearly three months break. Our favorite heat was seeing Andy Irons back in unshakable form.
Andy Irons (HAW), 31, former three-time ASP World Champion and past winner of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay (2004), returned from his 2009 sabbatical with a vengeance today, seamlessly threading the barrel and mixing it up with his signature forehand blasts to advance to Round 3 past Jay Thompson (AUS), 27, and Jadson Andre (BRA), 20. . . “J-Bay is a special place for me,” Irons said. “I’ve had some of the best results of my career here and I’ve also had some of the hardest losses. To come back here after taking last year off and to get such amazing surf for Day 1 is a great feeling.”
Internet users who tried to turn in later in the day (early morning PST time) were greeted by web trouble from the Billabong Pro site. The scores were rolling, but the video dropped completely. In a tweet Billabong said they were working on it: “Apologies for website disruptions. Fixing now.”
We’re guessing the return of the tour and the epic waves had most of the surf world tuning in and that can cause problems with an Internet feed. Let’s hope they get it all sorted out before day two begins at 11 PM PST tonight.
For the official word from the ASP (and Round 1 results) follow the jump.
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Okay. We give up. We can’t ignore Buoloco any longer. For the past few months Euro snowboard historian Ed Segovia has been interviewing some of snowboarding biggest names on iChat and then posting the videos on a site that he and Kevin Jones have created called buOLOco. Some are boring as hell, others compelling to no end. This interview between Kevin and photographer Ian Ruhter may be our favorite yet. The best part: seeing Kevin Jones get back in the mix.
But be careful–entire afternoons have been known to be blown on this.
[Link: buOLOco via Board As Fuck]
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