by The Editors on March 11, 2009
Tahoe snowboarder Nick Gorman, 27, recounts his tale of getting stuck in snow up to his neck at Heavenly Resort on March 4, 2009 floundering around for hours thinking he was going to die only to be rescued by a Navy Helicopter four hours later in a story in the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
Tired and unable to sustain any amount of ride, he looked around and saw nothing but trees and snow. His breathing became heavy. Panic overcame him. “I’m looking at two miles from the bottom, and every time I move I’m getting deeper and deeper into trouble,” he said. Snow flowed like sand down his parka, into his gloves and through his pants. One foot of powder is something he could handle easily, he said. But four feet of it and going nowhere, Gorman knew he was in trouble. . . . Beginning to hyperventilate and his clothes soaking wet, he took off his gloves and went for his cell phone. His hands numb, he had trouble dialing 911. He began sucking on his fingers to get some feeling back and was able to complete the dial.
The finger sucking was apparently the only thing that worked for Gorman that day. By 6 PM a Navy helicopter found and lifted him to safety. Gorman refused medical treatment in Carson City because he didn’t have insurance and spent the night in a local motel. The next day Gorman returned to his car only to find it had been towed and ticketed costing him $600.
As much as we’d like to think this could happen to anyone, somehow we think Nick Gorman has a special gift. . . or something.
[Link: Tahoe Daily Tribune]
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
It’s a classic California skateboard success story: kid from Brighton, England moves to San Diego at 18 and freestyles his way into the position of skateboard industry titan. It’s the Don Brown true skateboarding story as told by Red Bull in their Red Bulletin.
“I was living in the moment,” he recalls. “I remember going to a contest in Huntington Beach one day, looking in my wallet and realising I only had a dollar to my name.” So, Brown took a warehouse job with Vision Skateboarding. After winning three consecutive amateur contests, Vision became his sponsor, eventually giving him what no other English skater before him had managed – a professional board model named after him.
That was only the beginning. In the early 90s Don joined Pierre Senizergues at Etnies and the skateboard footwear world was never the same again. Then again, neither was any industry event that Don attended, but we’ll keep those stories to ourselves.
[Link: Red Bulletin]
by The Editors on March 11, 2009
Quiksilver review their Q1 financials today, March 11, 2009 in a conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet at 1:30 Pacific Time. The broadcast will be hosted at www.quiksilverinc.com and at www.viavid.net.
This maybe one of those calls we won’t want to miss.
[Link: MarketWatch]
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
According to a Form 8-K filing today with the SEC, Quiksilver’s big Euro lender paying has been pushed off until June 30, 2009.
On March 9, 2009, a French subsidiary of the Company, Pilot S.A.S. (“Pilot”), entered into an amendment to its € 55,000,000 Line of Credit Agreement (the “LC Agreement”) with Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Credit Lyonnais (collectively, the “Banks”) pursuant to which the Banks extended the LC Agreement from March 14, 2009 to June 30, 2009. This amendment will become effective March 13, 2009, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions. The Company intends to conclude either a strategic or refinancing transaction within the period covered by this extension, in which case, the indebtedness subject to the LC Agreement would either be refinanced or repaid.
Interestingly, the lender has increased the interest on the loan to EURIBOR plus 2.8% from EURIBOR plus 1.6 and tacks on a .5% administration fee and “requires a mandatory prepayment of the LC Agreement upon the occurrence of certain events (e.g., sale of the Company’s Quiksilver, Roxy or DC Shoes trademarks or businesses, termination of the Company’s French tax consolidation, or the default under or cancellation of certain other debt arrangements).”
What does this all mean? Well, it looks like the lenders want to get paid straight away if Quiksilver decided to sell something. Maybe tomorrow’s conference call will help sort things out.
[Link: Hoovers.com via Transworld Business]
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
When Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning face off in the semi-finals of the Quiksilver Pro later today it will be a battle between to Coolangatta Kids, according to a story on Goldcoast.com.au.
Me and Joel have been great friends since we were little kids and it is going to be a tough heat,” said Fanning. “We always push each other. Sometimes it is pretty, sometimes it is ugly. “I am lucky that I have got my best friends on tour but it is unlucky that we are going for the same thing.”
But they’re not alone. Taj Burrow and Adriano de Souza are also battling for the finals. Either way, it’s going to be a great day to sit in front of the computer and watch surfers fight some pretty ugly waves on the Goldie.
[Link: Goldcoast.com.au]
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
On Thursday March 12, The Copenhagen Skatepark will hold a fundraiser to help support Project Skateistan the organization that we mentioned back in June of 2008 that is spreading peace in Afghanistan through skateboarding.
Worldfamous Trentemöller and many more music acts are supporting the project by playing for free on this evening. A lot of very talented artists among them Olafsur Eliasson has donated art for our beneficiary art auction. Famous chefs from Gasthaus4Experiment in Germany are coming to cook extraordinary food, skaters are coming from all over Europe to participate in our skatecompetition, where Eastpack has already donated 4 x 1000€ for price money that will go directly to Skateistan!
[Link: Skateistan-CPH09 via Club Mumble]
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
In their new book Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time journalists Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton roll out the completely history of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise. Gamasutra has been cool enough to preview the entire THPS section:
What Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, which has now generated $1 billion in sales across the course of the series, added was an extraordinary level of realism to the over-the-top antics that resonated with many players who were turned off by the overly competitive nature of the previous games. By making it about technique over style, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater expanded its audience to far more players than any other game of its type before.
Thanks Gamasutra, we won’t have to buy the book. Click the link for the rest of the five page story.
[Update 2:20 PM: According to a comment from Bill Loguidice the Tony Hawk Pro Skater history isn’t even in the book, it’s a bonus chapter run exclusively on Gamasutra.com Sorry for the mix up, Bill.]
[Link: Gamasutra]
by The Editors on March 10, 2009
Orange County Business Journal writer Michael Lyster reports on exactly what the financial world is looking for from Quiksilver when the company reports results from first quarter of fiscal 2009 tomorrow.
More than results for the January quarter, “What matters much more than this is whether or not the company is able to restructure its uncommitted debt, and we would expect to get an update on this issue,” analyst Mitch Kummetz of Robert W. Baird & Co. said in a note to clients this week. . . . Kummetz and other company watchers have been eagerly awaiting word on Quiksilver’s efforts to rework its near-term debt.
All we keep thinking as we contemplate Quik’s upcoming $71 million debt payment to a European lender is: Beware the ides of March.
[Link: Orange County Business Journal]
