Quick Hits Archive: December 27 - January 2

Mar 20 2008 / Los Angeles, CA

January 2, 2008

Everyone Loves Robbie Maddison
Published: 1:00 a.m. PT by Greg

It's been barely 24 hours since Robbie Maddison made his record-breaking jump in Las Vegas and there have been hundreds of stories written about the feat, showing that there is still a lot of interest in world records about distance jumping.

Maddison's jump of 322 feet and 7 1/2 inches broke the unofficial record of 310+ feet set by Ryan Capes in Washington and the official Guinness World Records figure of 277+ feet set by Trigger Gumm. Both of those numbers were set in 2005.

In what has turned out to be a battle between energy drinks, Red Bull sponsors Maddison while Monster Energy sponsors Capes. Capes has previously stated his intention to eclipse 400 feet on his cycle while Maddison said the same after setting the new mark.

"Four hundred feet... I know I am definitely going to do it," Maddison told the AP after setting the record.

According to Maddison, he had reached nearly 360 feet during practice, but wind conditions on New Year's Eve limited his ability to reach that mark.

Maddison's next chance to beat the mark will come March 29th when he faces Seth Enslow and Capes at the Crusty Demons Night of World Records for the Guinness World Record title in Melbourne, Australia.

The Aussie rider looks ready to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Evel Knievel, who died last month at the age of 69.

"This is just the start of it all and from here on in I plan to do similar things and come up with some creative jumps and draw some big crowds," the 26-year-old said.

"We want to jump over some unique things in the future - there are definitely plans on the table to go and jump things that have never been jumped before."

"If I could put together jumps and draw the attention with the magnitude Evel Knievel did with his that would definitely be a goal of mine."

See a gallery of photos from the event here and also read more about it in this article.

January 1, 2008 - Happy New Year!

Maddison Sets New World Distance Record
Published: 12:00 a.m. PT by Greg

Aussie FMX rider Robbie Maddison made history on New Year's Eve 2007 by setting a new long-distance jump record of 322 feet, soaring more than the length of a football field in Las Vegas. Maddison's jump eclipsed the 310 feet reached by Ryan Capes in 2005. The jump was part of the "Red Bull Experiment" -- the first in what appears to be a series of world-record breaking attempts acorss different sports.

After his first jump, Maddison appeared to be disappointed that he missed his goal of around 360 feet and took off to make a second jump. He cleanly landed that jump but failed to eclipse the record-breaking mark a second time.

What made the jump even more amazing was the fact that earlier in 2007 Maddison broke his right leg while competing at the Red Bull X Fighters contest and he didn't event start riding in earnest until early December to train.

The "Experiment" was originally scheduled to feature the first-ever flip of an off-road vehicle by Rhys Millen, but he was injured training for the jump on December 24. ESPN showed the footage of Millen's crash for the first time during the live broadcast, and what apparently happened was during a test jump Millen's ramp malfunctioned and his off-road vehicle overshot the protective set of cardboard boxes that were set up to cushion the landing of the vehicle. Millen broke three vertabrae in the accident.

Red Bull didn't replace Millen in the night's festivities, but other athletes were interviewed, including Moto masters Brian Deegan and Mike Metzger and Red Bull super snowboarder/skateboarder Shaun White.

Evel Knievel was remembered many times through the night, not only because he passed away last month at the age of 69, but also because he attempted the world-famous jump at Ceasar's Palace 40 years ago to the night of Maddison's jump. That jump, which was only 151 feet, was unsuccessful and footage of his terrible crash has been seen thousands of times since.

Maddison said he had spoken to Knievel's family and that he was "honored to be able to do this and represent him."

See a gallery of photos from the event here and also read more about it in this article.


Volcom's Woolcot Has 277,000 Reasons to be Happy in '08
Published: 12:00 a.m. PT by Greg

Richard Woolcot, the President and CEO of Volcom, ended 2007 by selling some of his stock in the company. Woolcot unloaded 11,104 shares last Thursday, seliing them for anywhere from $25 to $25.10. The total haul would be more than $277,000, but that doesn't include the option price he would have subtracted from the selling cost.

Woolcot has sold stock before and this sale was part of a prearranged plan that scheduled it in advance. Even with the sale, he has hundreds of thousands of shares to play with. He received around 900,000 shares when the company went public in '05 and still holds on to almost all of it.

December 31, 2007

Happy New Year's --- Australia
Published: 9:27 a.m. PT by Greg

Residents of the Americas and Europe and Africa are busy prepping for tonight's New Year's celebrations, but the new year is already a couple of hours old in Australia. Now that the country controls the surfing title thanks to Mick Fanning's huge year, the ASP has gone ahead and checked with some surfers to how they celebrated (or were going to, since they probably still are).

Kai Otton (AUS) - "I'll be spending New Year's down the far south coast at Tathra. My friend owns a bangin' bar/restaurant and is turning it into a party venue...all time..."

Joel Parkinson (AUS) - "I'm looking for something to do..."

Taj Burrow (AUS) - "I'll be kicking off the New Year here on Yallingup Hill in West Oz. We're going to start with bocce and beers on my parents beautifully maintained lawn, then we'll be heading to my house for a BBQ, then we'll finish the evening at Jake 'the snake ' Paterson's place where he is having a house wrecking party...woooooo!"

Bede Durbidge (AUS) - "For New Year's, I will be up on Straddie in the day, then at night, in Brisbane partying at my fiancee's friend's place - should be a great last day and night of this year."

Adrian Buchan (AUS) - "For New Year's, I will be hanging with my girl and my friends on the Central Coast. We're getting dressed up and going to the races to have a few drinks and a punt. Then I'm going to support my favorite team in the world, the Central Coast Mariners in the football A-league! Cant wait!"

Ben Dunn (AUS) - "I'll be spending New Year's in Forster with my chick and a few friends. Dinner, then my mates house party.

And what about that world champ? Turns out he won't be down under...

Mick Fanning (AUS) - "I am going snowboarding in Japan with a group of friends. I'm so excited - it should be amazing."

The ASP didn't leave out those also-rans of surfing from the US, Hawaii and other parts of the world...

Kelly Slater (USA) - "I'll be hanging on vacation in Hawaii with my girlfriend and her family. Just relaxing, surfing and golfing. Pretty quietly really. Get ready for a new year where I have a few plans up my sleeve for a fun year."

Pancho Sullivan (HAW) - "I will be spending the New Year's at a family wedding reception with my wife and children. Just a nice, mellow celebration with the family.

Taylor Knox (USA) - "Well, on New Year's Eve, I'm going to be at a very nice dinner and then proceed to a local bar that was built in the 1800's called the Saloon. Good times will be had by all! I want to start the New Year around friends with a smile on my face..."

Travis Logie (ZAF) - "I'm having the Karaoke World Championships and a Braai at my house."

Jeremy Flores (FRA) - "Well, it's very simple - I'm going to be on the plane from Honolulu to Sydney for New Year's! Boring haha."

Damien Hobgood (USA) - "Nothing too major. I'll just be hanging in Florida with family and friends."

To those who have yet to celebrate, Happy Nerw Year's -- for those who have already had their time, hope it was a good one!

More From Ryan Sheckler's Way Early Birthday Party
Published: 1:39 a.m. PT by Me

A little while ago we had an entry about Oakley's (early) surprise 18th birthday party for the loveable Ryan Sheckler. The Transworld gallery we linked to had pics that were both kinda blurry and kinda and kinda random, in that case 411VM has kinda come to the rescue with more pics from the celebration and also video of the moment Ryan walked into the party and everyone yelled "Wahhhhh!!!" (as opposed to "Surprise!".

Though the 411 gallery still has that ever present haze seen in the TWS gallery you at least get frontal views of Ryan, his family, Billy Marks, Adam Dyet, and all the other people worth taking pictures of. You also get a pic of Sheckler either dancing or checking a non-existent watch (as seen below). To check out 411's photos from Sheckler's 18th birthday party click the link here, to check out the video clip of the surprise click the link here.

By the way, Sheckler's official birthday was yesterday (Dec. 30th) so our friend is now 18. And his new show is coming up with its second season a week from today. Check out a photo gallery promoting the show here.



Competition Seeks The Best On A Board (Every Type Of Board)
Published: 1:11 a.m. PT by Me

With athletes like Shaun White, Danny Way, and others who are well-versed if not damn near equally skilled in multiple board sports it's not that much of a leap to start thinking about who's the best on a board in general, with no distinction between skate, snow, and surf. Well that's exactly what the organizers of The Ultimate Boarder Contest were thinking about because they've set up a week-long competition, from April 13th to April 19th, where competitors will take part in three separate competitions for the three different disciplines to see who exactly is the best overall boarder (as well as who can grab a piece of the $50,000 purse). The competition will start at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe on April 13 & 14th where the competitors will test their snowboarding skills, then the competition moves south to the Ventura Fairgrounds in Ventura, California for the skate (April 16th & 17th) and surf (April 18th & 19th) portion of the competition. Kinda like a board version of the iron man challenge. To make this competition sound a little more legit the organizers also brought along Christian Hosoi, Jim Rippey, and Tom Curren as judges for the different disciplines. Sound interesting? Than head over to their official website here where you can also get more info on registering as a competitor.



The High School Skate Entrepreneur
Published: 12:45 a.m. PT by Me

Here's a nice little story to teach you to stop being such lazy bastards. The Desert Sun (the newspaper for the area around Palm Springs, CA) has put up a story about Glen Coy, the local high-school kid who one day upped and decided he wanted to start his own skate shop. With no retail experience and only time after school and on weekends to run the shop, Coy took out a loan from his parents and built Epidemic Skateshop six years ago, which is now the leading skateshop serving the Coachella Valley area (all that desert between California and Arizona). I would write more about the story but we kinda gotta ween you off your lazy habits and hopefully end up like this Coy kid, so start with an easy step and click the link here to read up on the story behind Epidemic.

Lange's Farrah Fawcett-like Poster
Published: 12:02 a.m. PT by Me

Check this bit of Pirelli Calendar-like info we got from the people at Lange Ski Boots:

Following on the heels of Lange’s traditional “Lange Girl” poster, the most competitive ski boot brand in the sport has introduced a twist to the concept of the 40-year-old tradition: the Lange Girl Athlete. “The Lange Girl Athlete” turns the classic pin-up concept into a showcase for modern, well-rounded, champion-caliber women skiers in the 21st century.

Now in its second year, the 2008 Lange Girl Athlete Poster features American 22-year-old Resi Stiegler – a first-seed World Cup skier, leader on the soccer field, competitive cyclist, violin player and otherwise dynamic individual who lives every day to the fullest.

"Resi has been a role model for women of all ages for as long as I’ve known her," said Lange U.S. Race Department Manager John Dwyer. "She is a happy, vibrant, determined, natural athlete whose love of life inspires others to participate in whatever they choose. The fact that she represents Lange, as one of the strongest young slalom skiers in the world, is an honor for us."

For more on the Lange Girl Athlete check this link here. Oh and did I mention that Lange also runs a "Playmate Of The Year" deal?

December 30, 2007

We're Not Repeating Ourselves: Docuseries Sheds Light On The Portland Skate Scene
Published: 12:23 a.m. PT by Me

Here's another documentary we got for you: Thanks to Rick Coyle over at Rip City Productions for giving us a heads up about their really cool docuseries project entitled 'Rip City'. The TV docuseries, which is currently being pitched to networks, is a project that puts the focus on the Northwest skate scene, specifically Portland, Oregon (hence the name of the series). You probably already know that the city of Portland is a major epicenter of skateboarding with a damn near historic skate landmark in Burnside as well as a culture/community that supports its skaters. Thus the team at Rip City Productions decided with 'Rip City' to kind of peel the layers around the Portland skate scene to get a good look at the city and the skaters that define it, from the well knowns, like Chet Childress (check his hilarious turn in 'Nothing But The Truth'), to the locals down in the trenches. As Coyle himself puts it the intent of the show is to, "show how Portland has become a skate mecca and seeks to inspire viewers to become more involved in their own skate communities."

As mentioned the series is currently being pitched to networks so hopefully it won't be long until we see the series grace our TV screens so keep an eye out for the series (we'll try to get more updates on the progress of the series) but as for now you can watch this real nice trailer for 'Rip City' (also check this link for more info on Rip City Productions):



Documentary Sheds Light On The Gold Coast/Byron Bay Surf Scenes
Published: 12:20 a.m. PT by Me

About a week or so ago we put up an update on the X-Dance Film Festival releasing its film program for the 2008 (January 19 - January 23) and one of the films on that list was the Australian documentary from award-winning filmmaker Cyrus Sutton entitled 'Under The Sun'. Well thanks to Mr. Sutton we've gotten a trailer for the film. 'Under The Sun' is a documentary that chronicles the divergent surf cultures of two regions just one-hour apart along the Eastern shores of Australia, The Gold Coast and Byron Bay. Similar to the perceived differences in culture we got here in California between Los Angeles and San Francisco (though minus the one-hour distance) The Gold Coast and Byron Bay represents the two poles of surf culture: on one side the commercial, marketable, star-driven atmosphere of The Gold Coast, and on the other the more independent-minded, free-spirited, soulful-ness (I admit these are all running close to stereotypes) of Byron Bay. With input from figures from both sides, including Mick Fanning, Dean Morrison, Nat Young, and Dave Rastovich among others, the film intends to show the push-and-pull/yin-and-yang of these two spots and the role of the surf industry in the dynamic. 'Under The Sun' will be premiering at X-Dance 2008 with more screening planned for the future. For more info on the film check their official site here. For the film's trailer check below.



*Short* Video Round-Up
Published: 12:16 a.m. PT by Me

Again it's another slow holiday weekend so the only thing we got for you are a few video clips to check out:

• Thrasher has posted online a collage of clips put together as an end of 2007 wrap-up type thing. The clip is in no way comprehensive (as you might expect out of a year-end deal) but it does have some really sick tricks as well as some footage of the late Shane Cross. Check the clip out the Thrasher 2007 highlights here.

• A little while ago we mentioned how Globe Footwear was having a Rail Jam & BBQ over at their warehouse location in el Segundo. The BBQ was a BBQ but the rail jam (featuring the rail right in back of their warehouse) featured straight cash being handed out to those pulling off attention-worthy tricks. Among those who went up to bat against the rail were Erik Ellington, Greg Myers, Adam Dyet, Wes Kremer and plenty of others. No surprise just like at Active's Bling Fest Dyet ended up pocketing a princely sum. Check out what we mean with the Globe Rail Jam footage here.

• Oh yeah and I forgot to mention this way earlier: You can now download the entire Osiris video 'Feed The Need' via iTunes or Podcast FOR FREE here. Thanks Osiris.

Lindsey Jacobellis In Sports Illustrated
Published: 12:11 a.m. PT by Me

If you stop by the newsstands (do they even have newsstands anymore in Southern California) check out the newest issue of Sports Illustrated (I said "check out", not necessarily "buy") for their Year In Sports feature which includes Lindsey Jacobellis as one of their Women Athletes Of The Year. Given that they're stingy with putting on their website what they have in print there's no direct link to what they write for Lindsey so we have to do it 1920's secretary/transcriber-style, so here's what they wrote for the Stratton Mountain pro:

After her infamous showboat move cost her a gold metal at the Turin Olympics in 2006, Jacobellis got serious. She won her second straight snowboard cross world championship last January, picked up a silver medal at the X Games one week later and topped off the season in March with back-to-back World Cup victories at Whiteface Mountain near lace Placid, NY, to win her first Cup title. After dabbling in the halfpipe-and finishing second at the last stop on the Grand Prix circuit Jacobellis, 22 is concentrating on snowboard cross this season, and is already off to a promising start. With a win at SBX opener in Chile in September, she was the leader in total World Cup points at year’s end.

For more info on Lindsey (who just took first at the Jeep King Of The Mountain Snowboardercross event) check her official site here.

Also in other traditional-news-source-covers-women's-snowboarding news check out this piece in the Salt Lake Tribune that covers the Roxy snow team and their new DVD "Labor of Love".

December 29, 2007

And Just Like That The WQS Picks Up Again
Published: 12:27 a.m. PT by Me

There's no rest for the weary, especially for those surfers on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS). That's because shortly after the finish of the 2007 WQS season at the O'neill World Cup Of Surfing just a couple of weeks ago, the 2008 season is already ready to pick up with the O'neill Sebastien Inlet Pro, which begins January 4th. The O'neill SI Pro, taking place at Sebastien Inlet, Florida (duh), is the biggest and most prestigious surfing contest on the US East Coast as well as being one of the top 3 events on mainland meaning the event will be packed with tons of quality surfers. Not only that, there's also the fact that the opening event for the 2008 WQS season has raised the stakes by upgrading to a 5 star WQS event (from a previous 4 star ranking), meaning that in some way if you're looking to qualify for the 2009 season you've probably got to be there, which in turn means tons more quality surfers including CJ Hobgood who's not only there to spoil the fun for the up-and-comers (he's already qualified for the 2008 and is most likely gonna qualify for 2009 off the strength of his WCT showing) but also there to defend his 2007 O'neill SI Pro title. As mentioned the waiting period for the event will start on January 4th (running until January 11th) with 192 scheduled competitors ready to take to the WQS points (as well as the $110,000 purse) like desperate retail scavengers at a post-Christmas sale (sorry just got back from T.J. Maxx). For more on the upcoming O'neill Sebastien Inlet Pro check out the official ASP release here.

Your Chance(s) To Shmooze With The Mike V. And Marc Johnson In January
Published: 12:20 a.m. PT by Me

Two quick skate events coming up this January that you might wanna keep in mind:

• First is Active/Element's "Charge The Parks" event with Mike Vallely taking place on January 12th, where you'll be able to hit up two different skateparks in Corona, CA (about an hour away from L.A.) and "skate, shed blood, and get gnar with Mike V." Each session that afternoon will make available an Element/Active prize package to one of the skaters at the session (could be you) Mike V. feels went the hardest. The first session will take place at 1pm that afternoon at Huber Skatepark while the second one will take place at Harada Skatepark starting at 3pm. For more info on the event check the Active announcement here.

• The other event roughly a week later is more of a celebration. "For what?" you say. Well for Marc Johnson being named Thrasher's Skater Of The Year. On January 18th Thrasher will toast to Marc Johnson with a party in San Francisco where more than likely lots of pros will show up as part of some sort of congratulations. The best part is that the party is open to all, meaning you've got a chance to physically pat Marc on his back and tell him "Screw the other guys, your part in Fully Flared was the best". The only catch (admittedly it's a really small one) is that you gotta RSVP, most likely way ahead of time. The party itself will begin when doors open at 7pm and will feature music from legendary Norse gods Valient Thorr and "special guest DJ". There'll also be the premiere of Thrasher's 'King Of The Road '07' video. For more on the event check the info/flyer here.

Nike SB's P-Rod II (The Jordan Version)
Published: 12:10 a.m. PT by Me

I remember reading an article awhile ago about the possibility that Paul Rodriguez's connection with Nike could be a low level equivalent to Michael Jordan's historic connection with the shoe giant, where the Nike SB P-Rods could be an iconic shoe just like the ubiquitous Jordans. By the looks of the newest release of P-Rods it seems like someone at Nike SB has taken some amount of inspiration from that article. As seen in the pic included below (courtesy of In4mation) the Nike SB P-Rod 2 (aka the J-Rod) pays homage to the Jordans of yester-year with the black/red/grey colorway and the cement print that is distinctly Jordan's. Of course the shoe is still an SB shoe with logo and P-Rod signature to boot but something tells me that tons of non-skating sneaker heads are gonna try to get their hands on this so as fill out their 80's inspired closet. Apparently the shoe is out now (haven't been to Undefeated in a bit) so I'm guessing there's probably not much stock left, though you can obviously check out your local spot. For more shots of the J-Rods as well as some other new stuff from Nike SB check In4mation's blog here.

Oh yeah on a related note check out the Nike skateboarding (not SB) commercials from the 90's Transworld compiled here.

2007 In The Eyes Of Surfing Magazine
Published: 12:05 a.m. PT by Me

Just last week falling in line with media standards we put up our top 10 stories of the year. In it of course we covered everything from skating to surfing to snowboarding and beyond so we weren't able to focus of some of the nuances of the year. Lucky for us Surfing Magazine has picked up the slack in terms of surf stories with their Top 16 stories of the year (why didn't they choose I nice round number like everyone else). Looking through the list we're glad to see we got our part right as they, like us, have chosen the top surf story to be the dominance of the Aussies on tour this year with nods Mick Fanning, Stephanie Gilmore, and Bede Durbidge's Men's World Title, Women's World Title, and Vans Triple Crown wins respectively. Obviously it's not only about the obvious (redundancy count: 1) top story though, there's plenty of moments that captured their editors' eyes including the Sunny Garcia/Neco Padaratz dust-up at the Pipeline Masters, humanitarian gestures by both Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz in the Middle East and Dave Rastovich off the coast of Japan, and the phenomenon that is Jordy Smith (2 out of the 16 stories). Though some of those stories we've covered before we're pretty sure you wanna get another set of eyes on those stories as well as the others, you can do so at Surfing Magazine's Top 16 Stories of 2007 feature right here.

FUEL TV For January 2008
Published: 12:01 a.m. PT by Me

It's nearing the end of a month (a year even) so like clockwork FUEL TV has provided us with some of the programming highlights for the upcoming month. First among the programs worth noting is the series premiere on 8pm EST New Year's Day of Terje Haakonsen's "Terje’s Season Pass". As mentioned before, the 6-part series will feature Terje spending time with top pros such as Nicolas Müller, Shaun White, Mads Jonsson and Kevin Pearce to do the obvious (ride) as well as to get a peak into the life, from contests to tours, of someone at the top of their game (as if Terje himself couldn't provide all that info straight up). Other programming highlights of the non-premiere type include the multiple WCT broadcasts including the Roxy Pro Hawaii (January 21st @ 8pm EST) and the Billabong Pipeline Masters (January 28th @ 8pm), as well as the Blue Carpet Special for the latest wakeboarding film "Push Process" (January 21st @ 8:30pm) featuring our girl Dallas Friday, Andrew Adkison, and Danny Hampson. For the full FUEL TV Program Highlights for January 2008 check the link here.

December 28, 2007

More Daewon Song Via Epicly Later'd
Published: 2:00 a.m. PT by Me

Head over to VBS to catch the newest episode of Epicly Later'd, the second part of a four part series on Daewon Song. The second episode continues in the direction of the first episode with Daewon heading back to old haunts featured in his World Industries video parts (particularly 'Love Child') and reliving the tricks/lines featured in those videos. For this episode the spot in focus is Beryl Elementary School in Los Angeles, the location of the famed hip that was featured in sooooo many of the old World family of companies (Plan B, World, Blind, 101) videos. Here Daewon runs through his exact lines and tricks (including the first hardflip caught on camera) and pretty much rags on all of them (note the "worst kickflip ever") which makes us feel all the better considering this is one of the best skaters ever (watch those old 'Rodney Mullen vs. Daewon Song' videos if you don't believe me) showing no ego. To catch part 2 of the Daewon Song arc on Epicly Later'd check the link here.

Heading To Baja Soon? Think Again
Published: 1:42 a.m. PT by Me

Falling somewhat in line with something we just posted: If you wanted a reason not to surf in Baja California, reporters over at The New York Times are giving you one. That's because they've done a feature on the rising crime rate along Baja's beaches particularly those targeting visiting surfers. The report details a slew of attacks, ranging from theft to threats with firearms to sexual assault, that have been perpretrated in recent months on tourists/surfers including the disturbing attack on Pat Weber, who runs the San Diego Surfing Academy, and his girlfriend who were camping out on a bluff in Baja when they became victims of a robbery and sexual assault in the case of Weber's girlfriend. This recent trend is alarming enough to have the San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation urge their members off of trips to Baja. Not surprisingly local officials have called these incidents "overblown" and "isolated" but as in the case of Weber and others detailed in the report it's enough to have some regular visitors swear off heading to Baja. For more info on the recent attacks on tourists in Baja check the NY Times article here.

Random Celebrity News
Published: 1:19 a.m. PT by Me

Alright given it's the holidays and things are slow in general we ain't got much to cover so why not rely on one of the pillars of society: Celebrities, more specifically their run-ins with surfing and skating.

In terms of the former we've got one of the supermodels of the 90s (but still going strong...just check out the pics) Elle Macpherson, who was caught by paparazzi surfing this past Christmas weekend in Australia. Not only did they catch her surfing but as expected of paparazzi they caught everything prior to and following the actual surfing which means they got her changing (nothing indecent though) into and out of her wetsuit. Also making a cameo is former surf champ Rusty Miller, who no is not dating Macpherson (ummm you know how old Miller is right?) but instead is her surf instructor. But really who's actually here to check up on Miller? The key point of the article is Macpherson, and more importantly that the last shots of her before leaving the beach show that she (or more precisely her figure) hasn't fallen off at all, check out what we mean via the Brit newspaper The Daily Mail's hard hitting investigative report here.

The other celebrity news worth reporting is the fact that, according to his own mouth, (which might deserve a hearty punching) 'High School Musical' star Zac Efron wanted a skateboard for Christmas. All right you might be slightly curious (ok I actually substituted "curious" for "pissed") that we're even talking about this Efron guy...I mean he was in a musical right? And you're curiosity (aka "rage") might be hightened when you learn that in talking about wanting a board he actually meant a longboard (aka "sassystick"). But calm down the main reason why we even decided to mention this was as an excuse to include a pic of Efron's girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens, in this entry. We don't even know or care if he ended up getting that board, we just wanna see the pic again (oh yeah that's the Efron guy to the right dirtying what would have been a perfect picture:

 

December 27, 2007

Stephanie Gilmore Recounts Her Entire World Tour
Published: 2:02 a.m. PT by Me

Her World Tour Crown might be little more than a week-old but it's not to late for Stephanie Gilmore to revisit her World Title journey via Surfline's "The Year According To Steph: Eight Easy Steps From Rookie To World Champ". The piece features Gilmore going through all eight stops of the Women's Dream Tour and highlighting what she was going through (especially as a rookie on the Tour) or her impressions (in hindsight) of each of the stops from the nerves/disappointment of the Roxy Pro Gold Coast to the nerves/joy of the Billabong Pro Maui.

The overall sense this piece gives you is that a champ like Gilmore is every bit as determined and strong-willed as other championship caliber athletes (as if you didn't know that already). Check out Surfline's feature on Stephanie Gilmore's ASP World Tour journey right here.

Talking About Fully Flared Never Gets Old
Published: 1:39 a.m. PT by Cary

It's been almost a month since the retail release of Lakai's Fully Flared and I still can't get enough of both the video itself AND the hype around it and a major reason why is because of the role of Ty Evans, the director, in the video. From the amazing opening sequence to the in-between segments to the cinematography of the skate footage itself Evans has furthered reinforced his reputation as the best out there in terms of crafting a skate video with Fully Flared (see also: Yeah Right and Hot Chocolate). And now thanks to skateperception I have more fodder for my growing man-crush on Mr. Evans himself with their extensive and in-depth interview with Ty.

The extra long interview covers all the bases when it comes to the making of Fully Flared starting out with Ty detailing the creation of the opening sequence (won't ruin it for those who haven't seen it yet...which reminds me, why haven't you seen it yet?) then moving on to really technical info on the cinematography of the film (this part is probably skimmable for those not well versed in cameras, equipment, etc.), and then finally to the skating/filming itself (including more on how Guy Mariano ended up having his first full part in ages). As mentioned the interview is pretty damn long and to get into it here would kinda defeat the purpose of reading the interview itself (not to mention blowing the size of this entry out of proportion), so really all I can say is if you enjoyed Fully Flared at all you've got to check out skateperception's interview of Ty Evans here (and don't mind the multiple typos within the interview...they're harmless).

Jason Jessee vs. The Man Behind His Biopic
Published: 1:21 a.m. PT by Me

Some time ago we did a little entry on the documentary 'Pray For Me' about legendary former pro skateboarder Jason Jessee who has become a custom chopper builder, artist/sculptor, and all-around manly man. It was a film that was part of X-Dance's Hollywood screening series, and apparently the reaction to the screening was good all around. But it seems there's one person who isn't satisfied with the film, and that's Jason Jessee himself.

It seems that, like a good majority of cinematic endeavors, 'Pray For Me' also features behind-the-scenes turmoil leading to a recent video interview with Jessee where he pretty much unloads on the film's director, David Rogerson. From the looks of the hilarious video Jessee is at odds with Rogerson over promises not kept, the direction of the film, suggestions not taken to heart, tattooing skills, and Rogerson's use of a fusia scrunchy for his hair (*stiffled laughter*). Far be it for me to take sides on something I know nothing about but I just gotta say if this is Round 1 of what might be an ongoing battle between both Jessee and Rogerson (Jessee promotes the idea of bootlegging the film) then I can't wait for Round 2.

Check out the Youtube testimonial of Jason Jessee below:

Active Recounts The Fourstar Team's Visit
Published: 12:52 a.m. PT by Me

A couple of weeks ago we mentioned, "Four On The Floor", the Fourstar promotional event being held at the Active Shop in Santa Monica. The in-store, which happened on December 18th, involved Fourstar skaters such as Eric Koston, Sean Malto, Mike Carroll and others playing the role of retail employees (i.e. ringing up items for sale, helping customers with products, etc.) for one afternoon at the Active shop. Thanks to Active though those who weren't able to show up to the event at least get an outside-looking-in perspective on the event courtesy of video and photos from the day. What becomes apparent right away from both the videos and the photos is that the "...On The Floor" part of the event was probably lost on the skaters there as it seems like most of their time there was spent signing autographs and straight up shmoozing with the customers as opposed to helping the retail staff (check out the look on Koston's face at the beginning of the clip, and was Brian Anderson doodling?). The guys even spent time answering the ever-unsolvable question of "Who Had The Best Part In Fully Flared?" with most of them answering either Mike Mo Capaldi or Guy Mariano (my vote -- like most of the Fourstar/Lakai guys -- Mike Mo...and also Jesus Fernandez).

For the "Four On The Floor" coverage check out the Active blog entry here.

 

Skatelab & NHSSA Throw Jail-like Sleep Over
Published: 12:32 a.m. PT by Me

Coming up this weekend is a pretty cool event for those living in the Southland: 'Skatelab/NHSSA's Lock-In'. The event will be an all-night event at Skatelab where skaters, ages 8 to 18, will be able to spend the night of the 29th (Saturday) at Skatelab in Simi Valley, California, starting at 7pm on into 7am on the morning of the 30th (Sunday). It'll be just like a sleepover, but instead of the pillowfights you get to make full use of the Skatelab premises with open sessions, music, raffles, and random contests (such as Highest Ollie, or Best Trick contests, or games of SKATE) spread (like slumber bags) throughout the night. And in keeping with the Jail theme, parents and friends will only have a certain amount of time ("Visiting Hours") to spend at the park before they get escorted out by prison guards* (*not actual prision guards). Participation in the event will only set you back $50 (limited to the first 100 entrants though). For more details on the event check out the link here.

Rob Dyrdek And Danny Way Do The Impossible: Have Fun At A Waterpark
Published: 12:11 a.m. PT by Me

Thanks to one of the people behind-the-lenses of 'Rob & Big' over at MTV we have a little preview of just one of the adventures in this upcoming season of the show, and it's a crazy one. Seems on a trip over to Vegas to celebrate Drama’s birthday Dyrdek decided to stop off at the abandoned waterpark along the I-15 (you know the one you see on every road trip to Vegas) with his friend Danny Way and skate a spot within the waterpark. The one part worth mentioning though is that the spot we're talking about is one of the waterrides itself...specifically the tubular one that probably used to shuttle tons of teenage kids through on innertubes during their mid-pubescent years. I mean if you've ever been on one of these waterrides before you probably know that this type of thing could lead to either some amazing skating or some crazy injuries or better yet a bikini top flying off (that is if Dydek decided to skate the thing in full waterpark regalia). Yet we don't think that happened this time around (maybe it has to do with Dyrdek and Danny Way actually being damn good skaters) thanks to the report back to MTV from one of the show's producers which you can check here.

View Previous Quick Hits Entries From December 20 - December 26, 2007