Gregory Gladstone, 38, was found floating by his board near the Newport Pier in Newport Beach, California on Saturday January 23, 2010 and was later pronounced dead at Hoag Hospital. Officials still don’t know exactly what happened, according to the OC Register.
Lifeguards were alerted to an unattended surfboard and a possible missing surfer at about 9:50 a.m., said Jennifer Schulz, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Fire Department. Lifeguards originally reported the victim unconscious after they found him floating near the surfboard.
The coroners office said an autopsy will be done. According to the story Gladstone was a “longtime Newport surfer” who had two young children.
The downhill skateboarding underground is alive and well in Hawai’i not that anyone was worried, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.
The burgeoning sport has found particular traction in Hawai’i, where outlaw events like the Tantalus 420 are captured and transmitted across the Pacific, where informal groups like 808 Bomberz of Maui bring together longboard enthusiasts of all stripe, and where skaters such as Ryan Lau have become local legends. . . “They’re their own subculture,” said 18-year-old skateboarder Noil Buscaglia.
Watching these guys blowing by big, green, leafy jungle does have an hypnotic effect.
The crew at IllicitSnowboarding.com has created a beautiful little “infographic” that illustrates how a few corporations run most of the brands in action sports. It makes a nice little quick reference card for those times when you’d like to do business with a small guy.
Hey, looks like the perfect day check out the reef at Pipe (with a mask and snorkel). No VeeCo contest on Day 1 or 2 (Jan. 23-24, 2010), but there is still time.
Things keep going like this and it seems we’ll see a couple gold medals on the necks of Shaun White and Kelly Clark as they both threw down the best runs of their lives in Park City for the final US Snowboarding Grand Prix.
When Fuel TV’s Keir Dillon asked Shaun what we should be expecting from him in Vancouver he wasn’t shy. “I think a little bit of that and then some,” White said. “We have a little bit of time before that so I’m going to put a little more practice in. . . The team is shaping up pretty heavy. I’m pumped man. I happy for my teammates.”
The real stand-out of the night was Luke Mitrani. His style, speed, amplitude, and consistency tonight showed that he is totally capable of the kind of riding the Olympics require. He’s always been and amazing kid, but this year it seems that his riding and competitive attitude have matured. Greg Bretz is certainly on the up, but if we had to make the decision on who to send to Vancouver it would definitely be Mitrani. And if you’re wondering what happened to Louie “Tiny Dancer” Vito, he sat on both runs on the same trick: his second double cork.
The women’s event was marred by falls. In the first run Kelly Clark was the only top four rider to make it down the pipe. And after slipping out on her first run Gretchen Bleiler chose not to take her second. She didn’t need too. Hannah Teter slipped into second with a super safe B or C run. All Ellery Hollingsworth needed to do was land one run, but it escaped her. With the big girls out Kaitlyn Farrinton and Madeline Schaffrick had no problem stepping right in. Unfortunately, it was too late.
Follow the jump for the results and our guess at the 2010 US Olympic Team. [click to continue…]
Kind of crazy that with all the drama surround the US Snowboard Grand Prix Olympic Qualifiers that it’s taken until the last event in Park City, Utah to get a live Internet feed rolling. Now, thanks to Fuel TV, we can all see the final stop of the Olympic qualifying series Saturday January 23, 2010 at 5:30 PM PT.
Seems like doing more of these live web events would be good for Fuel’s business, doesn’t it? Follow the jump for the official start list.
To commemorate the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the US Postal Service created a snowboarding stamp. The stamp, created by illustrator Steve McCrackenm, features a snowboarder who looks not un-like Scotty Lago. The “first-day-of-issue” ceremonies followed the US Snowboarding Grand Prix halfpipe event last night.
Alan C. Kessler, member, Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service, and Dick Coe, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, are the dedicating officials.
“We are proud to support the Olympics and are pleased to be able to continue the tradition of honoring the Games by issuing postage stamps celebrating different Olympic sports,” said Gov. Kessler.
As usual with postal art, this image appears to be an artist’s mix of tricks and terrain. Follow the jump, check out the stamp, and let us know who it is and what trick they’re doing exactly. [click to continue…]
Neither of them needed to win an event to get into the Olympics because both Kelly Clark and Shaun White already on the team. That didn’t stop either of them from throwing down their best runs of the season tonight and winning in halfpipe number one at for the US Snowboarding Grand Prix at Park City. Shaun even threw in his 1260 double McTwist.
“It was just the run of my life, I don’t know how to say it,” White said. “I’ve basically been practicing this trick for as long as I can remember, and I don’t think I’ve crashed as much (as I have) in the last couple years I’ve been learning it.. . . The wild part about that trick is, the way I’m spinning the double cork hasn’t really been done before by anyone except myself,” White said. “Kevin Pearce was the only one trying something similar in a way, he was doing a double front flip – which is like a 900 but just spinning that way is really difficult.”
Kelly Clark saved her best run for last. ““I’ve always loved competing in Park City,” said Clark, who won Olympic gold in the same pipe in 2002, “They build amazing halfpipes, and it’s always fun for me to come back to get to compete and do well. . . I think I will need a tougher run than tonight in Vancouver. I’m definitely working my way up to it.”
The real battles for Olympic glory are going on directly below them on the results where there are six spots on the US Olympic Snowboard team still up for grabs. But tonight things are definitely beginning to get more sorted out. Here are the results from Park City halfpipe number one, January 22, 2010 (click the headers for full scoring).
Men’s Results
1. Shaun White 49
2. Scotty Lago 47.7
3. Greg Bretz 46.7
4. Elijah Teter 44
5. Luke Mitrani 44
6. Louie Vito 43.3
7. JJ Thomas 43
8. Danny Kass 42.7
9. Steve Fisher 42
10. Dylan Bidez 41.
Women’s overall
1. Kelly Clark 45.2
2. Hannah Teter 44.8
3. Ellery Hollingsworth 43.6
4. Gretchen Bleiler 42.5
5. Elena Hight
Tomorrow there will be no real reason for monitoring the as the entire US Snowboarding Grand Prix will be live on Fuel.TV. Follow the jump for the current US Snowboard Grand Prix standings.
As the preeminent American artist of the 20th Century, Andy Warhol challenged the world to see art differently. This distinctive project presents a new approach to skateboard/artist collaborations by pairing unique examples of Warhol’s groundbreaking artwork with each of the ten iconoclast pro riders sponsored by Alien Workshop. . . .Featuring five pro decks with works from Warhol’s Death & Disaster Series and five pro decks showcasing his iconic Pop works, the complete set is shipped in custom printed board box packaging inspired by Warhol’s box sculptures from the 1960’s.
Andy would likely be happy to see the same company recycling his art over and over again. We’re wondering when the Channel Islands dead artist collab will be announced, or did we already miss that one?
