Quick Hits Archive- Sept/ Oct 2006
Mar 20 2008 / Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 30, 2006
SURFING
10 million crispy chicken sandwiches for Slater?
Eight-time ASP world champ Kelly Slater has been talking a lot about retiring, but here’s something that may change his mind: Rumor has it sponsor Quiksilver has offered him a $10 million bonus if he wins 10 world titles. That’s about $8.2 million more than his career earnings, but is it for real? Quiksilver spokesman Johnathan Jenkins refused to confirm the rumor, saying: “I think you’ll find most elite sportsmen have bonuses written into their contracts.” Hmm. If it weren’t true, wouldn’t he just say, “No.”?
Click here for the full story>
Surfer saves a life but loses a board
San Diego surfer Dustin Lackey had an up-and-down afternoon Sunday. At Pacific Beach, he watched a man take a headfirst dive off a pier, then float in the water, facedown. Acting quickly, he and another surfer held the bleeding man afloat until paramedics could reach him on a jet ski and get him to an ambulance. Then Lackey returned to shore to discover his new $700 longboard—a John Carper Peter Mel Machine, which he’d had for a week—had been swiped. Hey JC, [http://www.jchawaii.com/] maybe you can hook a brother up?
Click here for the full story>
SNOWBOARDING
Shaun White dines with Heidi Klum
Last week at a restaurant called Orso in LA, the Flying Tomato had lunch with the world’s hottest pregnant supermodel. There’s not really much else to say, but based on this photo, it looks like they had a lovely time.
Click here for more paparazzi pics>
Brit invents snowboard stance locator
A snowboard instructor named Sean MacCarron has created a product called StanceFind, “the world’s first fully patented board riders’ stance calibration device.” It’s basically a board-like platform that you stand on and, through the use of biomechanical reference points, figure out the best possible settings for your bindings. We’re still trying to figure out where this falls on the scale between “totally brilliant” and “completely unnecessary.” But if we saw one, we’d definitely try it out.
Click here for the full story>
EXTREME-NESS
Mountain Dew redewing image
Say goodbye to those snowboarding, base-jumping, caffeine-guzzling Dew dudes. Mountain Dew is ditching its “Do the Dew” image, which has apparently lost its edge now that action sports have become more mainstream. So, what’s next? "Extreme is no longer extreme," says one PepsiCo exec. "We don't know what the answer is. We're waiting for our agencies to come up with something and we're conducting research. We haven't come up with the Holy Grail yet.” On the upside, the Dew Action Sports Tour will continue.
Click here for the full story>
SURFING
The Road Back
The Nova Schin Festival, presented by Billabong is getting ready to start crackin' on Monday. While some of the worlds best surfers congregate down in the Southern Hemisphere it's interesting to see Neco Padaratz pull a wildcard invite. Padaratz is the true dark horse as he continues down the comeback trail form six month forced suspension due to use of a banned substance. Padaratz tested positive for steroids after the 2004 World Championship Tour event in Hossegor, France. Padaratz has had some success earlier in 2006 and a good showing at the Nova Schin would be a nice way to close out the year.
----------------------------------------------------------- SNOWBOARDING Aussies Surf the 50 states For no immediately apparent reason, a couple of loopy Australians have decided to surf in all 50 US states. This may seem a little tricky, considering that most of our states don’t have, you know, waves, but Jonno Durrant and Stefan Hunt are prepared to get creative by throwing their boards down on “snow, lakes, rivers, grass, concrete, puddles, crops, wavepools.” (In this pic, for example, they’re tackling the mighty surf hills of Wyoming.) They’ve knocked out nine states so far and, naturally, they’re making a movie about it. We were totally gonna do the same thing in Australia, but last time we checked, they don’t have states. Click here for the full story > SKATEBOARDING For the first time ever, the insanely popular skate video game franchise has used motion capture technology to take the game’s reality to a whole new level. (That means they attached those magic sensors to a bunch of pros and had them skate around doing their best tricks.) This sweet video goes behind the scenes of Stevie Williams’’ mo-cap session. If you think kickflips are tough now, try doing them in a spandex suit. SNOWBOARDING Secrets of Sessions Joel Gomez dropped out of San Diego State in 1983 to open Sessions, the world’s first snowboarding shop, way back in 1983. Now, 23 years later, the company is still independent and still going strong. Last year, making and selling apparel for skateboarders, snowboarders, skiers, and surfers, it brought in over $10 million. Sessions’ keys to success? Signing a great team of riders, staying true to its roots, and staying positive. “It wasn't scary," says Gomez. "It never crossed my mind that I wouldn't make it, and I didn't think of all the bad things that could've happened." That’s a pretty gnarly attitude, for both the mountain and the business world. Click her for the full story > ----------------------------------------------------------- Oct. 10, 2006
Oct. 26, 2006
Tony Hawk’s Project 8 captures the motion
Surfing dog more popular than surfing people
A dog and his owner got in trouble at a contest in Brazil because the dog, who happens to surf, had more fans than the actual competitors did. The duo rode together on the same board during intervals at the Praia da Tiririca, part of the 2006 Surf World Championship, but not everyone was amused. Said police: "We were called to remove the pair because they were drawing more attraction than the actual competition." Yeah, that really fits with the spirit of the sport.
Click here for the full story>
Where is “Surf City USA”?
A debate is raging in Southern California over which city really is “Surf City USA.” Bruce Noland, the owner of two surf shops in Santa Cruz, is suing the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau, which has threatened him with legal action for selling T-shirts that read “Surf City Santa Cruz California USA.” Huntington Beach, the city referenced in the 1963 Jan and Dean song, “Surf City,” applied for a trademark on the phrase in 2004. But Noland, whose city has been referred to as “Surf City” in newspaper articles from as early as 1927, just wants everyone to chill. “I think of `Surf City USA' more as a state of mind, not some kind of enforceable trademark or official title,'' he says. Damn straight.
Click here for the full story>
The snowboard company announced dates for its global movie tour, which will screen the film For Right or Wrong, in 22 cities over the next month, starting October 14th in Tokyo and ending November 11th in Innsbruck. “When we set out to create For Right or Wrong our vision was to show the variety in snowboarders’ personalities, their riding styles and the terrain they ride—all from an insider’s viewpoint,” says Jake Burton. “It’s a perspective on our sport that has never been seen before.” With pros like Shaun White, Keir Dillon, Kelly Clark, Terje Haakonsen, Mads Jonsson, and Jeremy Jones on board, it’s sure to be a shred-fest.
Click here for details, tour dates, and the trailer>
Alta closes terrain park
We’re deeply saddened by the news that Alta Ski Resort, one of four ski areas left in the U.S. that prohibit snowboarding, has decided to close its two-year-old terrain park. Says spokesperson Connie Marshall: "Skiers liked it but they would just use it once or twice as a side activity and then head back to the regular runs." Well, duh. Can we make a suggestion that would have solved this problem? Let in snowboarders.
Friends are still wondering what happened to Benjamin Bradley, a backcountry snowboarder who disappeared this summer while hitchhiking from Winter Park, Colorado to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to celebrate his 29th birthday. His remains were found two weeks ago in area called Red Desert, three miles from the nearest road, and police are investigating.
Dogtown building in jeopardy
The structure that housed the Zephyr Shop, one-time home of the Z-Boys who revolutionized skateboarding in the 1970s (See Dogtown and Z-Boys, Lords of Dogtown) is in danger of being torn down. While some see it as a cultural landmark, the owner is planning to tear down the building to create an earth-friendly mixed-use complex. The development would include “more green space, no air-conditioning, natural light and low water-use toilets for its residential units.” Sounds great, but couldn’t ya build it somewhere else?
MyCitySkates.com aims to be the citysearch/youtube/myspace of the skateboarding universe. Might be worth checking out.
SKATEBOARDING
Skateboard stabbing
According to police, a 30-ish white male with dreadlocks stabbed another man twice in the chest outside of a bar in the Ocean Beach area of San Diego. Which really wouldn’t be news, except that the attacker then pushed off on a
skateboard. Hey, they’re a lot cheaper than getaway cars! Click here for the (very brief) full story>
His voice has yet to crack, but Andrew Classon, a 12-year-old skater from British Columbia, already has his face on skate decks. His sponsor, Surgo Skateboards, slapped his likeness on boards under the word “Wanted.” “It was a pretty big surprise–I didn’t know they were doing it or anything,” says Classon. “I love it. I think it’s pretty sick.” In yet another instance of life being ridiculously unfair, guys twice his age are still trying to get sponsored.
More kickflips for Christ
King of Kings Skateboard Ministry International, a five-year-old organization based in Arizona, uses skate, BMX, and motocross pros to spread Christianity. Here’s the head-scratcher: They’ve teamed up with born-again actor Stephen Baldwin (!), who’s now head of an “extreme sports ministry” in San Diego. "We will find the churches that are receptive to these kids…whether or not they have tattoos or piercings or whatever," says Baldwin. This from a guy who once starred in a film called Sex Monster.
Electronic Arts preparing to Skate
Finally, a challenger to Tony Hawk’s dominance of skateboarding video games. EA’s Skate will be released in 2007 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. "We're focused on capturing the actual feeling of skating with the innovative control system, the physics driven animations, and the intelligent cameras working together to really deliver the closest thing to being on a board," says Scott Blackwood, executive producer, EA Black Box. The game will feature pro skaters Danny Way and PJ Ladd, and this crazy Italian site offers a first look at some graphics. Oooh, purty. Click here for the images>
Arby’s to sponsor Action Sports Awards
Movies have the Oscars. Music has the Grammys. And now action sports has…the Arbys? OK, they’re not actually gonna be called that. But on December 10th, Fox will air an awards show to honor the best in skate, surf, snow, ski, wake, FMX, BMX, and motocross, and the maker of the Bacon Beef ‘n Cheddar sandwich is paying for it. All the big names—Pastrana, White, Teter, Burnquist, Slater, etc.—are up for accolades, and winners will be selected by a combination of fan balloting and “expert judges.” So why’s Arby’s involved? Says senior v.p. Debra Mager: “These kids take risks and excel at being different, which is something we at Arby’s have always prided ourselves on.” Oh, right. Got it. Click here to vote >
Surfers wage turf war
Fishhooks caught in wetsuits? It’s just another day in the bitter battle between surfers and anglers over San Diego’s Oceanside Pier, the longest wooden pier on the West Coast. A local ordinance requires surfers to stay at least 100 feet away from each side of the 1,954-foot pier, where fisherman reel in mussels, squid, and croakers. But naturally, that’s where some of the best surfing is. When yummy fish go up against yummier waves, it gets nasty, to the point of a fistfight this past Memorial Day. And, we’re sorry to say, the surfer got his ass kicked. Click here for the full story>
Ride wants your fingerpaints
Well, not exactly. But the suh-weet snowboard company has announced its fifth annual snowboard art contest. Grand prize? $1,000 cash and a board featuring your art. And you thought there was no such thing as a free Ride. Zing! Get moving—the “intent to enter” deadline is November 1st. Click here for entry details>
Boarder-friendly hotel gets reality show
You know “The Block,” that hotel chain that caters to snowboarders? It’s got locations in Big Bear Lake and South Lake Tahoe, California, and its rooms feature “amenities” like stripper poles, PS2s, and convenient boot dryers. Word is, the cable channel G4 is making it the basis for a reality series featuring its founders, pro boarder Marc Frank Montoya and Las Vegas hotel honcho Liko Smith. The show, to premiere in January, will follow the Lake Tahoe staff and their dealings with guests, pro boarders, rock bands, and celebs. You know what would be crazy? Watching The Block while staying at “The Block.” Whoa. Click here for the full story>
-----------------------------------------------------------
Oct. 6, 2006
SKATEBOARDING Wassup Rockers was an eye-opening look at Latino skaters in LA, but it was fiction. Now filmmakers in North Devon, England, have found a real-life version. Their documentary, Teenage Kicks, ain¹t pretty, but it so powerfully shows what life is like for UK skater kids (rough) that it¹s scheduled to be shown to parliament! Ever wanted, say, the Mona Lisa, to stare back at you from the top of your board? A (relatively) new company in California makes killer grip-tape designs of skulls and demons and, well, Renaissance art. Click here to see the grip> This just in: people were snowboarding in New Jersey last weekend! Staffers at Mountain Creek Resort trucked in 55-gallon barrels of hockey-rink ice shavings to provide enough white stuff for a rail jam. Seriously. Click here for the full story> They're not trucking in snow, but Park City Mountain Resort has found another way to go after the groms. A pro-Park City promo DVD featuring Shaun White (yeah, we hear he¹s pretty good) will be packed into the December issue of Future Snowboarding. Click here for the full story> ----------------------------------------------------------- Oct. 5, 2006 SURFING Saved by the waves In writer Steven Kotler's new book, West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origin of Belief, he embarks on a three-year quest to explore a myth about a surfer who could control the weather. Fighting Lyme disease at the same time, he uncovers a mystical connection between surfing and healing. Sounds epic. Click here for the full story> Kotler isn't the only one communing with higher powers in the ocean. Calling himself the Surfing Rabbi, Rabbi Nachum Shifren leads kosher surf trips to Costa Rica, Mexico, and Hawaii. You don¹t have to grow a sweet beard like his to sign up, but you¹d look way cooler if you did. Click here for the full story> Big-wave studs Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama are teaming up to bike and paddle their surfboards from one end of the Hawaiian Islands to the other (that¹s 500 miles) in seven days. It ain¹t just for fun‹they¹re raising money to distribute a documentary, Beautiful Son, about a friend¹s autistic child. Can you think of a better reason to surf? Click here for the full story> ----------------------------------------------------------- Designer David Hasselhoff? Former Baywatch stud David Hasselhoff has decided that he “is as popular as Elvis.” What’s a guy to do when he comes to that life changing realization? Design a clothing line of course. The ‘Hoff’ has been so overwhelmed with fans that are rockin’ the “Don’t Hassel the Hoff” tee, that he is left with no other choice but to design a line of laid back surf gear under the name Malibu Dave. Don’t believe it? Hear it from the ‘Hoff’ himself: "It's just going to be supercool, laid back surfing gear. Everywhere I go, there are all these guys, like 400 guys, wearing the 'Don't Hassel The ‘Hoff' shirt. "There are guys who turn up dressed like me. It's a bit weird. I'm like Elvis, only alive. "Although just between you and me, Elvis is alive. He's living at my home."
UK Film Exposes Skater Struggles
Click here for the full story>
Grip Tape, circa 2006
SNOWBOARDING
Rail Jam in Jersey Somehow
Park City Marketing Plan: Free DVDs!
Wetsuit? Check. Yarmulke? Check!
Surfers with a cause
-----------------------------------------------------------
Oct. 3, 2006
Penguins make waves (CGI ones)
As if the little black-and-white beakfaces haven’t done enough, it now appears they invented surfing. At least, that’s the theory behind Sony Animation’s latest movie. Slated for a summer 2007 release, Surf’s Up focuses on the efforts of a young tuxedo-bird named Cody Maverick to become the next great pipeline legend. From the looks of the trailer, this could be gnarly.Click here for the trailer >
Grom skaters roll till 7 a.m.
The 3rd Lair Skate Park in Golden Valley, Minnesota, may just be closest thing to adolescent skater heaven. It’s a 25,000-square-foot indoor oasis that hosts all-night lock-ins—from 9:30 p.m. to 7 a.m.—every other month, to the delight of around 200 grind-happy young locals.Click here for the full story >
SURFING/SNOWBOARDING
Etnies Girls take over the tube
Fuel TV’s cool action sports show, “The Daily Habit,” is slowly being commandeered by Etnies Girl athletes. Surfer Mary Osborne and snowboarder Leanne Pelosi have already co-hosted, and snowboarders Alexis Waite and Janna Meyen and surfer Schuyler McFerran are all on the schedule for future episodes.Click here for the full story >
SNOWBOARDING
First U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team rider bails out
After three Olympics, Rosey Fletcher, the 2006 Olympic parallel giant slalom bronze medalist and a two-time World Championships medalist, has announced she is retiring from World Cup competition. For the Nagano Games in 1998, Fletcher was the first rider named to the first U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team.Click here for the full story >
Liquid Boardwear wants you—maybe
In search of athletes to sponsor, snowboard apparel maker Liquid Boardwear is holding the equivalent of open tryouts. Amateurs can upload photos and footage of themselves to the company’s website, and Liquid rider Jeff Meyer will decide whether you’ve got what it takes to go pro…and get a bunch of free clothes. Click here for the full story >
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 29, 2006
New Alva Women’s Team Born To Dominate
Tony Alva, the godfather of skateboarding, is making headlines again. This time with the new Alva L.A. Women’s Team – the all-star skate crew that’s taking America and the world by storm.
The girls team is comprised of the best female skaters in the world including Cara-Beth Burnside, Jen O’brien and Mimi Knoop. They’ve also got Amy Caron, Annie Sullivan, Vanessa Torres, Felicity Coral and Lauren Mollica, with Jaime Lopez at the helm as team manager. They talked to Lat34 about how the team started and what their plans are for world domination: Get the Lat34 interview here>
Jessica Simpson and Bam Margera? 
The whole did they or didn't they has been confirmed by Bam Magera and was reported in US Magazine on September 27. Apparently the Viva La Bam and Jackass star and Jessica Simpson hooked up while she was married to Nick Lachey according to Bam in an interview with Howard Stern. The big question US wanted to know though was what Simpson saw in the "grungy pro skater?"
Hello? Skater rebel boys who drive fast cars and make money for simply just being themselves is kind of hot. Just ask Paris Hilton who has an on again, off again relationship with pro skater Chad Muska. See Lat34s coverage on Bam's latest Jackass movie here>
QUICK HITS: SKATE PARK NEWS
Missoula, Montana is not exactly the kind of place you would first think of when you are listing the hottest places to skate, but after the grand opening of Missoula's new skate park, you might just change your mind. This past weekend 12,000 people including skaters Tony Hawk and Bam Magera attended the "MOBASH" grand opening in Missoula. This is one of the newest concrete waves to add to the ever growing and increasingly impressive USA collection of parks, but it has a geat story in that the town rallied together to raise the money for the park over the last six years. "The skatepark in Missoula is an absolute hit and we're all still basking in the glory of a job well done," said founder Ross Peterson, who has worked hard on this project since 2000. " The pros including Tony said that this was 'the best demo they'd ever been to'. Not bad for a little northern town...eh?" he added.
- For more information and an incredibly impressive gallery of photos go to: Missoula Skate Park
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 18, 2006
Sept. 10, 2006
Ro Sham Bo Premiere: Misschief Girls Take Over Oakley
Master of Skateboard Photography Passes Away: Warren Bolster 1947 – 2006
On Wednesday, September 6, word began to flow sadly out of Hawaii that legendary surf and skate photographer Warren Bolster had committed suicide. There was shock and sadness but not a lot of surprise as Bolster had been struggling with health and financial problems for many year. He suffered from arthritis and the Oxycontin he took to ease that pain, “made him crazy,” according to a friend who had known Bolster from his heydays. Get the full story here>
Es Scramble Snowboarding Movie Premier
If you weren’t in
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 2, 2006
Boardfest ‘06
This weekend Boardfest, a girls surf event in Huntington Beach, CA every summer, will be adding snow to the summer fun. Event organizers are dumping 20 tons of snow on the beach and inviting some of the top rail riders to attend. The best trick contest will net one lucky snowboard femme fatale $1,000. To check out the happenings or attend the event go to: http://www.boardfest.com/
Skateboarding Makes it Onto the Government Radar
The last time skateboarding was a household name in the White House was when skater Andy Macdonald spoke in front of the White House Press about kids just saying “no” to drugs. On August 30, the USINFO website posted an article about skateboarding being one of the top new lifestyle sport in America to watch. The USINFO is an information provider of current U.S. foreign policy and about American life and culture. The piece offers up a layman’s run down on skateboarding with great lines such as: “The countless tricks mastered by millions of skateboarders have their own names, including "ollie," "heelflip," "nosegrind," "indiegrab," "180" and "varial." If executed well, fellow skaters will offer their most superlative compliment: "Dude, that stinks!" or our favorite comment: “Like its distant cousin surfing, skateboarding appeals to daredevils, risk-takers and, admittedly, showoffs.” Wonder what the multi-million dollar skaters Tony Hawk and Danny Way would think about that statement. Those silly show offs!
Wet Hits the Newsstands
Longtime surf writers and former Surfer Magazine editor Ben Marcus has just launched a new girls surfing magazine called Wet. The high glossy, 90-page publication is currently the only hardcore surf magazine on the market for women. In the past year both Surfing Girl (aka SG) and Surf Life for women folded leaving a hole for girl surfers, so Wet is a welcome addition to the scene. Some of the top features in the mag include a piece on 13-year-old surfing phenom John John Florence’s mother and a piece on Bethany Hamilton, the surfer who lost her arm to a shark a few years ago. While there are pessimists who say a girl’s surf mag is just not going to happen and the past filures are proof, Marcus is ignoring the naysayers. He told the Santa Cruz Centenial earlier this month: Did those magazines fail because there's not a big enough market to support them, or because they're not good magazines? "I'm trying to be great. I hope that first issue is fairly great, as good as any magazine out there that happens to be about women." So far we are impressed with the first attempt. Get your copy at www.wetmagazine.org
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 1, 2006
Shark Attack
An Oregon man was bit by an 8-10 foot great white shark on Tuesday, August 29 in Florence, OR. Todd Larson, 23, of Eugene, OR felt a tug on his foot and then looked down to see a two-foot dorsal fin in the water. The shark bit his foot through his rubber booty and then came back for more, but Larson beat the shark on the head with the fin of his board. Eventually the shark sank back into the water allowing the surfer to paddle back in. He told the Register Guard, “The scariest part of it all was paddling in,” because he didn’t know whether the shark would return for more. Larson received 30 stitches from the incident and said he hopes to be back in the water within a few weeks. The last shark attack in Oregon was December 26, 2005 in Seaside, OR, 166 miles to the North of Florence. Since 1959 there have been 17 shark attacks in Oregon. For more information on Shark Attacks go to: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm
Orlando Bloom Meets a Sea Urchin While Surfing
Rumor has it according to the web, which we know is always truthful, Pirates of the Carribean star Orlando Bloom recently was in Los Angeles for surgery on his foot after stepping on a sea urchin while surfing in Mexico with his girlfriend, Blue Crush star, Kate Bosworth. The actor tried pulling the sharp prongs out and even had Bosworth pee on this foot (this is supposed to stop the stinging) but neither remedy worked. Bloom flew home underwent minor surgery to remove the barbs. His rep wouldn’t comment on this happening or on Bosworth peeing on him, but Lat34 isn’t concerned about their lack of insight. We just hope he keeps surfing and showing the world what a fun sport it is.
