Add a new name to the list of people who have invented snowboarding: Steve Weill. The 58-year-old lutheir from Cocolalla, Idaho says he began snowboarding in 1959, according to a story in The River Journal.
Steve grew up in Southern California near the edge of the Pacific Ocean. He boated, surfed, and was one of the original snowboarders. . . “I invented snowboarding,” Steve said with a smile. “The first time I snowboarded was in 1959.” . . In the late 70s, Steve moved to Idaho and started building 16’ Whitehall rowing boats. He also built snowboards and spent plenty of time carving up Schweitzer Mountain on his handcrafted boards. . . “I wanted my son to carry on with Weill snowboards,” Steve said, “but they have gotten pretty high tech. Troy (one of his sons) still builds 16’ rowing boats.”
Celebrity racers: Champ Keanu Reeves, Adrian Brody, Christian Slater, and Tony Hawk.
Every so often, while cruising I-5 we see a black, tinted-out 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 (on rims) coming up behind us at speed and as we casually glance over to see who is blowing past we swear the driver looks an awful lot like Tony Hawk. We have similar thoughts each time a small jet swoops down past the skatepark for a landing at McClellan-Palomar Airport. Now, after reading this story in Motortrend we realize that at least on the freeway, it is Tony.
Hawk had to think for about what he’d rate his SRT8 on a scale of 1 to 10. “Boy, that’s a good question,” Hawk replies, and contemplates for just a nano-second. “I’d give it an 8 just because it’s not meant to be a sports car the way that I use it. But I have kids, so I have to make a compromise with the type of car that I drive,” he chuckles. He does enjoy the Jeep’s full power capability when he’s alone.
It was a final littered with fumbles, falls, and fails, but Kelly Slater was able to ride away from an impossible alley oop to edge Mick Fanning in the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach 2010 at Johanna. It is his fourth Bells win and he has tied Mark Richards‘ all-time Bells win record.
“Actually I was so frustrated with myself,” Slater said on the podium. “I kept slippin’. I noticed that it had moved a little wider. We ended up paddling in way deep. I fell on a couple, bounced on a couple. Misjudged a couple. I had to yell at myself in the water. That water photographer probably thought I was yelling at him. On that wave, I don’t even know what I did, but I saw the close out coming and I knew I had to do an air, but it wasn’t right for a reverse so i thought I’d just throw an alley oop.”
Slater threw the alley oop and then completely disappeared into the foam. We all thought he was down, but then like a jack-in-the-wash he sprang to his feet, on his board, and surfed away.
“I was actually on my butt,” he said about the landing. If the foam hadn’t hidden everything we’re sure it would not have looked as pretty as it did.
Mick Fanning, who scored first with a 7.17 for a nice speedy floater, some cutbacks, and a slam, was obviously bummed with the small bell. “It was great to get back in the mix,” he said. “But I was hoping for the big trophy. I just want to say thanks for everyone who came down.”
According to a video interview on Forbes.com titled Skateboarder’s MillionsRob Dyrdek brought in $75 million in revenue from sales and endorsements in 2009. But he didn’t do it like other “big name athletes” he did it himself.
This empire isn’t like a Tony Hawk empire or a traditional big name athlete empire where they do their sport and then everything around them is sort of is put in place for them through their managers and agents and all this stuff,” Dyrdek tells Forbes. “This is a singular world that is sort of based off my skateboarding lifestyle and not me as a professional athlete.”
Was that a little slag thrown T. Hawk’s way? Looks like Rob is coming up. He did have this little note that he learned from Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson: “When you do everything yourself you’re a millionaire. When you hire great people to do everything for you you’re a billionaire.”
Morgan Spurlock is the filmmaker who ate at McDonalds until he turned into a fat pig and documented it all for his film Supersize Me. Now, the filmmaker has turned his lens toward Nathan Gocke, a surfer who broke his neck while surfing.
A quadriplegic, with enough feeling in his arms to enter an intensive rehabilitation program, Nathan did not dwell on his accident but instead looked to the future. His increasing strength, along with pivotal encounters with key individuals along the way, helped crystalize one simple thought in his mind that he would one day surf again. This is the story of one surfer out to prove that the impossible is possible. Nathan’s journey is a declaration that we can endure and overcome.
There is nothing better than summer shredding at Mammoth Mountain. Morning park riding, afternoon skate, and an evening at the tubs. Day, after day, after day all the way until July 4, 2010.
“Those of us who run Mammoth Mountain came here to ski and ride as much as possible so we always open as early as we can and stay open as long as the snow lasts,” said Rusty Gregory, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mammoth Mountain. “We have the best April snow conditions I’ve seen in my 32 years on the mountain. With as much snow as we have, our customers would riot if we closed down as early as the other ski resorts. Keeping the mountain open until July 4th is what ‘Playing Big’ is all about.”
And the best news? Next year’s season pass is good beginning May 1, 2010. Follow the jump for more. [click to continue…]
If you do a little funky math it would appear that March was amazing for core mall retailer Zumiez. Their total sales for the five-week period ended April 3, 2010 were up 20.1 percent to $35.8 million vs $29.8 million in 2009 and their same store comps were up 13.2%. For comparison, same store comps were down 17.9% for the same period in 2009.
Either the economy is turning around or people have just said screw it and are blowing what little money they have left on iPads and logo Ts.
Combi 3.0. That’s what many pros are calling it, and painting it in a very positive light. It’s the same, but it’s not the same. There really isn’t much more of a descriptive to explain it. It will be explained best by those who ride it over time, and of course you can fill in your own blanks after you’ve gotten some for yourself. As of press time, only one official session has now taken place, but over the course of a few short hours, it became quite apparent that things are going to be a little different from now on.
We’re not at Bells Beach for the Rip Curl Pro, but we all can still cruise the party scene thanks to Emprie Ave’s Lincon. Oddly, their video is about what we remember from most parties: dark blurry and loud. For photos from the Dragon/ASL party click the link.
Add a new name to the list of people who have invented snowboarding: Steve Weill. The 58-year-old lutheir from Cocolalla, Idaho says he began snowboarding in 1959, according to a story in The River Journal.
