Tuesday April 24, 2018 is the day that Boardriders, Inc. (Oaktree Capital’s action fashion brand holding company) officially takes the reigns at Billabong. The company has wasted no time waving bye-bye to Billabong’s board of directors and others including Neil Fiske, Peter Myers, Tracey Wood, Jim Howell, Mara Pagotto, and Paul Burdekin. But that list is sure to get much longer of the next few weeks. And presented their list of new “appointments.”
“Today marks the beginning of what will be a turning point for our industry,” said Dave Tanner, Chief Executive Officer of Boardriders Inc. “With the combination of Boardriders and Billabong, we bring together the best of both companies, creating a dynamic enterprise under the Boardriders umbrella.”
At least we can agree with Dave on the whole “turning point for our industry” thing. Which way its turning will be up for discussion for years. We are happy to say that we still know two people at the new mega corp. If you’d like to check the list for your friends, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
We’re all looking forward to checking this one out — especially those of us who were fans of Andy Irons in spite of full knowledge that he was on the downward spiral. We hope Kissed By God can be both a celebration AI’s life and a cautionary tale for an industry that has all too often ignored serious personal issues in pursuit of quality marketing. You know what we mean.
Kissed By God premiere’s in Los Angeles, CA on May 2, 2018 at the Regency Village Theater. In Honolulu, May 6, 2018 at the Hawaii Theatre Center, and in NYC on May 10, 2018 at NYU Skirball. For all the details click the link.
We all love a good zombie story, so how’s this? Men’s fashion label Perry Ellis has just signed a deal with Kennek FZE in North Africa to “source and distribute a full range of products from surf boards and wetsuits to casual wear and footwear under the Gotcha brand.”
“We at Kennek are very proud and excited to join the Gotcha family and showcase the Gotcha brand’s action sports legacy. We look forward to expanding the Gotcha brand with franchises throughout Africa and seeing the success of the Gotcha brand in North Africa in the years ahead,” said Mamoun Tadili, CEO of Kennek FZE.
It’s not dead yet, in fact, they’re still using all the old photos because, you know, it’s retro now.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help those most affected Kauai’s Hanalei-Haena Flood. Over $200,000 has already been raised, but the goal is $1 million. Here’s what organizers Koral McCarthy, Gabby Reece, and Hannah Skvarla have to say about it.
Your donations will help us move past this devastation, and we will remain transparent about how they are being managed. Thank you for your patience as we continue to work out logistics while also doing our part with impacted friends and neighbors. Thank you so much!
Tomorrow is Earth Day, maybe you can do you part be helping some people in this specific part of the world. For all the details, please click the link.
On Earth Day (April 22, 218) Jones Snowboards will be donating 100 percent of online sales to POW: Protect Our Winters. That means, if you’re going to buy something from Jones Snowboards, tomorrow is the day.
Jones Snowboards is a proud member of 1% For Planet. Every Jones product we make gives back to the playground we strive to protect. In honor of Earth Day on Sunday, April 22nd we are stepping up that support and donating 100% of online sales to Protect Our Winters. All online customers who make a purchase on Earth Day will also be registered for a free membership to POW.
Jeremy Jones has been making big moves for the environment for years, can you help tomorrow? For all the details, click the link.
The Vans Park Series, arguably the best skateboarding contest series to be streamed online, is partnering up with ETN in an exclusive (yet free to all of us) deal for 2018.
The 2018 Vans Park Series Pro Tour will be broadcast live and for free on the ETN app, ETNlive.com, and vansparkseries.com. The new partnership will expand Vans Park Series’ global reach to inspire a diverse and engaging audience, from core skateboarding loyalists to an emerging mainstream skateboarding fan base worldwide. Download the ETN app or visit ETNlive.com for more information.
For all the details (and the complete Park Series schedule) please follow the jump.
The annual skateboard industry conference hosted by the International Association of Skateboard Companies is getting a change up with year. Rather than a three day event that requires hotel rooms, travel, and more the IASC is breaking it up into one day events — quick and easy like. The first stop is May 3, 2018, but if you want to stick around there are still three days of fun.
Stop 1: Towne Park Brewery, Anaheim, California – May 3rd. The kick-off Summit Series will be in conjunction with the Skateboarding Hall of Fame and Icons Awards Ceremony that will be held on May 4th. Also, join us at the Vans Pool Party on May 5th. Tickets start at just $150 for IASC members and $200 for non-members until April 20th. Every attendee gets 10% off admission to the Skateboarding Hall of Fame Ceremony and the first 50 tickets come with passes to the Vans Pool Party!
For all the details, including a speaker list and how you can get tickets, please follow the jump.
A certain privately owned entertainment company specializing in event and online streamed content production (mostly surfing sport) has reportedly shut down their production at Western Australia’s Margaret River due to sharks.
Following two separate incidents that occurred at nearby Gracetown on Monday, April 16, approximately 6 kms away from primary competition site at Main Break, the [company] actioned safety protocols and met with a variety of stakeholders for feedback over the past 48 hours before making the decision to cancel the event.
So, guess that’s one’s over. Seems this whole surfing content production business would be much more profitable if they’d simply shoot it TV style on a sound stage somewhere. They could shot a whole season in three weeks and then distribute it online over the year.
If only there were a TV production facility that had perfect waves and no sharks. . . wait, doesn’t Kelly Slater have a ranch somewhere that could accommodate this kind of production schedule? Think of it — surfers would no longer have to travel the world all year. They could stay in one place, get their work done in one month, and then spend the rest of the year free surfing at home. People who wanted to watch them surf could travel to the ranch, buy tickets and watch. Kelly’s ranch could become the Branson, Missouri of surfing. If only. . .
We talked about this a while ago (November 1, 2017 to be exact), but it appears that the day of Kering’s off-loading of Volcom has officially arrived, according to a story on SGB Media.
“In accordance with Kering’s strategy to fully dedicate itself to the development of its luxury houses, Volcom no longer constitutes a core asset and Kering has initiated a disposal process,” the group said in a statement.
Disposal process? Wow. Kering bought Volcom in 2011 for $608 million will Wooly buy it back for $200 million? Could this happen, (please)? We’ll all just have to wait and see.
Don’t write the 2017-18 snow season off just yet Mt. Hood Meadows is still in the think of it with an expected three feet of the fresh stuff by Saturday, April 14, 2018.
Vice President of Marketing Dave Tragethon says it is definitely still winter on the mountain, saying, “It’s awesome to have this kind of powder skiing when so many other ski areas across the country have already closed for the season.” Meadows continues daily operations through April 22, and then operates Fridays – Sundays for the next two weekends (April 27, 28, 29 and May 4, 5, 6). A season ending party is scheduled Saturday, May 12, the resort’s last day of winter operations.
There’s a lot coming up including reVegetate, 11th annual Sno-Kona Pond Skim, and much more. So get up and take one last bite before you shift into summer mode. For the official word, follow the jump.