Quick Hits Archive: February 21 - February 27, 2008

Mar 20 2008 / Los Angeles, CA

February 27, 2008

Stephen Murray Update: Back From Baltimore
Published: 12:51 p.m. PT by Me

It's been a little while since we've gotten an update about Stephen but now Kimarie from the Stay Strong Stephen Murray MySpace Page sent us through the following:

Hi, here is a quick update of my trip to see Stephen at the Kennedy Krieger Rehab Hospital in Baltimore. To be honest, Baltimore was a place which I said I would never visit again, the last time I was there we were all filled with despair after Stephen's tragic accident and the life changing effect it had on the lives of our family, but then we should all learn never to say never!

Stephen has been at The Kennedy Kreiger rehab hospital for 7 weeks and has just returned back home to California this weekend. I flew out to see him 2 weeks ago to see how he was progressing in rehab. I went to see him working out, and I mean working out, in the gym where physio and occupational therapy take place. There is no room for 'slackers' here. You come to work and learn how to get out of a wheel chair. The music is blaring away, the atmosphere is electric, whilst physios and patients are working together, the positive energy in that room is amazing, it makes you feel like lazy just watching and you just want to participate with everyone.

Stephen's OT and physio are superb. His physio, plays no rules Australian ladies football and the words 'can't do' are not in her vocabulary, She's a tough cookie and just what Stephen needs. They have the greatest respect for each other.

He is under the wing of Dr John McDonald who we have spoken of previously. This man is a great scientist and has huge plans for Stephen. Stephen's confidence in him is immeasurable and both of them are determined that he WILL get out of the wheelchair. It will take some time but everyone is so so positive that I truly believe he will. One day I watched his physio get him onto a gym mat which is about 2 feet of the floor. She positioned him in a sitting position with his feet on the floor. Then she placed his arms behind him on the mat so that he was leaning back supporting him all of the time ...whilst she was doing this Stephen was watching himself in front of a mirror. Then she left go and Stephen had to support himself independently. The concentration on his face was just like when he was on top of the start hill waiting for his final run. It was amazing to see. He DID support himself for more than 30 seconds! He did this several times. These are small steps to people like you and I but GIANT to a person who was initially told that he would never get out of a wheel chair.

Stephen's positively remains unchanged. He had Mason & Seth out for a 4 day visit to see him and Melissa. He had Mason sit on his knee in his wheelchair, charged across the lounge, slammed on the brakes and sent Mason flying onto the couch. They had such fun and the boys loved it. Its amazing how you can find alternative ways to entertain your children! He has had wheelchair races down the hospital corridors with other patients trying to beat them, he still has his competitive streak in him.

Stephen and Melissa are going to return to Baltimore in 3 months time for another 6 weeks, after Stephen has worked on the exercises given to him by his physio, they will then progress onwards and upwards. Of course there are many hiccups along the way and the road is still a long one with many mountains to climb. He still has tremendous neck pain and nerve spasms. He is prone to pneumonia and UTIs but his body is now learning to cope better in these situations however, throughout all of this we would like you all to know that we are more positive and stronger than ever and would once more like to thank you all for your support, without which we may have been telling a different story.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out a new song dedicated to and about Stephen written and produced by TJ Lavin. It features vocals by Lavin and a chorus written and recorded by Pippa Tabron, wife of Simon Tabron who plays the guitar on the song. Even Cory Nastazio shows up on the song. It's not commercially available yet, but you can hear it here.

Keep up with all the updates re: Stephen on our Stephen Murray update page and visit www.stephenmurrayfamilyfund.com to donate to help Stephen and his family.

Sheckler Apologizes for V-Day Massacre Fiasco
Published: 1:12 a.m. PT by Me

Earlier this month an autograph signing with Ryan Sheckler in Long Beach went awry when a few too many screaming girls came to see their hero. Instead of a three-hour event, police shut down the signing after an hour and a half.

Now Ryan has spoken to fans about the incident, apologizing for what happened via a phone call posted to his official site.

"I'm pretty bummed I only got to get through probably like – I might not even have got through 200 of them and you know, there was thousands," he said in the call. "I feel bad. I feel pretty bad that it had to get shut down but it was crazy. It was too crazy to continue. It was nuts."

Read more about it here. And if you want to check out more about the latest episode of his show, click here.

Check out a couple of photos of the Tilly's signing below...


Round Two Done at Quik Pro Gold Coast
Published: 12:54 a.m. PT by Me

Round Two is history at the '08 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast and a few big names didn't advance to Round Three. Pancho Sullivan and Damien Hobgood were kncoked out, while an injured Freddy Patacchia had to drop out, allowing Jay Thompson to advance. Aritz Aranburu also had to drop out thanks to an injury suffered at Tuesday's Expression Session contest.

Advancing into round three were Andy Irons and CJ Hobgood, along with Jeremy Flores, Ben Dunn and Jordy Smith.

Here are the full results of Wednesday's action down under. If you want more info check out the official site.

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast pres. by LG Round 2 Results:
Heat 1: Andy Irons (HAW) 16.37 def. Tamaroa McComb (PYF) 5.90
Heat 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.00 def. Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 13.23
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 10.83 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 8.00
Heat 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 12.16 def. Nic Muscroft (AUS) 12.00
Heat 5: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 12.33 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 10.83
Heat 6: Roy Powers (HAW) 13.74 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 9.60
Heat 7: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 14.84 def. Michael Campbell (AUS) 12.66
Heat 8: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 17.17 def. Jihad Khodr (BRA) 12.50
Heat 9: Ben Bourgeois (USA) 12.34 def. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 11.70
Heat 10: *Neco Padaratz (BRA) advances Aritz Aranburu (EUK) injured
Heat 11: Leonardo Neves (BRA) 13.67 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 7.33
Heat 12: *Jay Thompson (AUS) advances Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) injured
Heat 13: Dane Reynolds (USA) 14.20 def. Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 10.06
Heat 14: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.34 def. Daniel Wills (AUS) 11.50
Heat 15: Tim Reyes (USA) 16.16 def. Royden Bryson (ZAF) 5.97
Heat 16: Ben Dunn (AUS) 12.07 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 8.50

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast pres. by LG Round 3 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 2: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Ben Dunn (AUS)
Heat 3: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 5: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (AUS)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Heat 7: Neco Padaratz (BRA) vs. Leonardo Neves (BRA)
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Julian Wilson (AUS)
Heat 9: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Mikael Picon (FRA)
Heat 10: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Bruce Irons (HAW)
Heat 11: Jeremy Flores (AUS) vs. Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 12: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Tim Reyes (USA)
Heat 13: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 14: Luke Stedman (AUS) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Heat 15: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Ben Bourgeois (USA)
Heat 16: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Luke Munro (AUS)

GvR Snow Video
Published: 12:29 a.m. PT by Mike

We already told you yesterday about what went down at the GvR Snwo event last weekend. Now we have a link to more coverage from snowboard-mag.com plus a video of musical entertainment Ghostface Killah below... Check it out.



Las Vegas: Danny Way to Upstage Danny Ganz
Published: 12:09 a.m. PT by Mike

With an insane jump over the Great Wall of China and two record-breaking jumps from a helicopter, Danny Way is about to break onto the Las Vegas strip with a crazy jump over the Sphinx in front of the Luxor hotel and casino. Not only will he jump over the statue, he will roll down the side of the Luxor’s pyramid to do so. DAANG! I don’t know if you’ve ever seen that pyramid but that thing is damn steep. And dusty so they better clean it.

Also, if you happen to be there and you’re a bro, I think it would be worth it to get a room on the side he will be rolling down because you may be able to catch a millisecond glimpse of him rolling past your window. That would be any bro’s fantasy. I’m not sure how he keeps getting access for these stunts but hopefully he will make it around the world and possibly do a stunt like this on the moon. He would shatter every distance record known to man.

February 26, 2008

Skateboard Trees Get No Love in North Carolina
Published: 1:40 a.m. PT by Me

So it seems some kids in Fayetteville, NC thought it would be a good idea to put up their broken decks on some trees outside a local skate shop. Since last August, more than 200 boards (or parts of them) have been hung and now the locals are complaining about the eyesore. Some brilliant city guy went as far as to call the broken boards a form of "advertising" since they were outside a skate shop. Yeah, right.

Locals are trying to keep the trees up but the city appears determined to tear the boards down. You can read more here.

2008 Journeys Backyard BBQ Dates Announced
Published: 1:40 a.m. PT by Me

The good folks at the Journeys Backyard BBQ have announced their '08 dates. The music/skate/moto tour will hit up five cities over five weeks in May/June in what should be quite a show. Each stop will feature a different skate team, including the etnies, Adio, DC, Vans and Osiris/Globe teams. Check out the image below for the dates and cities, which include some pretty big markets.

Here's the official site though there's no 2008 content up yet (but you can check out the '07 site).


etnies GvR Snow: Regulars Dominate
Published: 1:22 a.m. PT by Me

Last weekend featured the first edition of etnies GvR snow and it was a good day for the regulars, led by Juuso Laivista and Keegan Valaika, who dominated the goofy footers. Laivista was also named MVP for the contest. Final score was 2747 pts for the regulars to goofy's 2345.

The whole thing went down at Bear Mountain in SoCal and the resort couldn't have been happier with the results, selling out of lift tickets and having more than 7,000 people show up.

The full payout is below and a couple of photos posted for your enjoyment. If you want more photos and some video, check out the GvR site.

GvR Results:

Total Weekend Prize Purse – $50,000

Regular Team:

1. Team MVP Juuso Lavisto – $9,000
2. Keegan Valaika – $4,500
3. Stian Solberg – $2,000
4. Erich Dummer – $1,750
5. *Robbie Walker – $2,500
6. *Austin Smith – $2,000
7. Dave Fortin – $1,000
8. Scott Vine – $1,000
9. *Markku Koski – $2,000
10. Corey Cronk – $1,000
11. Corey Noble – $1,000
12. *JP Walker – $2,000
13. *Joe Sexton – $2,000
14. Beverly Vuilleumier – $1,000
15. Desiree Melachon – $1,000

Goofy Team:

1. *Louie Vito – $1,750
2. Forrest Bailey – $750
3. Clayton Shomaker – $750
4. Tyler Flanagan – $750 - etnies
5. Jonas Michilot – $750
6. *Nick Dirks – $1,750
7. *Simon Chamberlain – $1,750
8. Siguard Haga – $750
9. Alex Sherman – $750
10. Cody Boan – $750
11. Kimmy Fasani – $750
12. Harrison Gordon – $750
13. *Ryan Thompson – $1,750
14. Gabi Viteri – $750
15. *Chris Bradshaw – $1,750

* indicates the five riders selected by the team captain for the final team. Each received an automatic $1,000 going into the event.


MTV Survives 24 Hours of Jackass
Published: 12:59 a.m. PT by Mike

But honestly, it would have been nice if MTV didn’t survive and the Jackass guys got a lot of people fired. Not to say that all of MTV is crap, but 95% of it is. Anyway, if you missed any of the madness, check out the Jackass Blog for a recount of every passing hour and what they did to fill time.

I didn’t get a chance to watch much but what I did see was pretty stupid. What I saw consisted of Steve-O wearing a beer can hat duct taped around his head. Then he proceeded to smash the cans with a skateboard, and then by pounded his head into a table. The only funny part to me was when he introduced the segment by saying “this here on my head is not a turban”.

But as I scrolled through the blog, I saw that one of my hopes for a segment came true. If you read what I wrote last Friday, you would have seen a list of things I hoped the Jackass guys would do and one was a workout show with Party Boy. He gathered a bunch of old geezers for an early morning workout. Looked pretty funny.




Nippon Open Coming This Week
Published: 12:29 a.m. PT by Mike

The Burton Nippon Open is coming up in just a day or so and if you're not in Japan (and how many of will be lucky enough to be?) you can follow along with the action with live webcasts of the event. Check out the official site for more on the event and check out the schedule of the live webcasts below...

LIVE WEBCASTS

Wednesday, January 27:
ParkStyle Semifinals 7:15pm - 11:00pm (PST)
10:15pm - 2:00am (EST)

Thursday, January 28:
SuperPipe Semifinals 6:45pm - 10:30pm (PST)
9:45pm - 1:30am (EST)

Friday, February 29:
Live Morning Show 6:15pm - 6:45pm (PST)
9:15pm - 9:45pm (EST)

Friday, February 29:
ParkStyle Finals 6:45pm - 8:30pm (PST)
9:45pm - 11:30pm (EST)

Saturday, March 1:
Live Morning Show 5:15pm - 5:45pm (PST)
8:15pm - 8:30pm (EST)

Saturday, March 1:
SuperPipe Finals 5:45pm - 7:00pm (PST)
8:45pm - 10:00pm (EST)

Clyde and Wassup Rockers: Part 2
Published: 12:11 a.m. PT by Mike

Check out part two of Transworld Skateboarding's feature with the Wassup Rockers crew hosted by Clyde Singleton. It continues from the last time we saw them sitting in front of the Brooklyn Projects on Melrose. And it includes a special guest appearance by Braydon Szafranski from the Baker team.

The skating in this segment is more extensive and really sick. Check it...

February 25, 2008

Fanning DVD on Sale Tuesday
Published: 1:55 a.m. PT by Me

As the 2008 ASP World Tour gets underway in Australia a new DVD chronicles 2007 champ Mick Fanning's ascension to the record books. "Lightning Strikes" from Rip Curl talks not only about his epic 2007 campaign, but also his career and features freeriding with Fanning and pals Dean Morrison and Joel Parkinson.

The DVD goes on sale tomorrow from Koastal Media (the dudes who brought the awesome Mixed Tape to the masses). Buy it here. They have a trailer on the site or you can use the video below, which is the official Rip Curl video released after Fanning won the title.



Block Wins Second Stage of Rally America
Published: 1:23 a.m. PT by Greg

DC Shoes founder Ken Block continues to show that he's quite the rally car racer, winning the 100 Acre Wood event in Missouri for the third consecutive time. The win solidifies Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino's first-place standings after two events. Travis Pastrana finished second in the event after not finishing the first event last month after a run-in with a deer.

Pastrana had a new co-driver, Derek Ringer, who replaced Pastrana's long-time co-driver Christian Edstrom. Edstrom basically retired before the event to spend more time with family. I'm sure it had nothing to do with check out the official site or check out the official site. Ringer has quite the qualifications, though, having won a Rally championship while serving as a co-driver for the late Colin McRae.

Pastrana sits in seventh after two events but there's plenty of time for him to defend his championship since there are still seven events to go in this year's Rally America series.

O'Neill Big Mountain Pro Underway
Published: 1:11 a.m. PT by Greg

The second annual O'Neill Big Mountain Pro is underway in Europe as some of the top snowboarders and skiers come together to see who is the berst freerider. The event will go through March 2nd and features snowboarders like Jeremy Jones, Stefan Gimpl, David Benedek and Flo Orley while the skiers include TJ Schiller, Thomas Diet and Raphy Gillioz.

We've embedded the webcast below so you can watch it starting at 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET (scheduled) but you can also check out the official site for more about this crazy contest.



And the 2008 King of the Groms is...
Published: 12:37 a.m. PT by Me

The season-ending King of the Groms contest went down this weekend at 3rd Lair in Minneapolis and we have the top results below. Congrats to Ryan Thompson who won the Bowl contest and placed in the top five for Street and Mini Ramp (he was the only skater to place in the top five for each) and to Marcus Jalabar (1st in street, 2nd in Mini Ramp) and Steven Pineiro (Mini Ramp Champ).

To check out the full results for each of the categories go to the official site.

King of the Groms - 3rd Lair, Minneapolis - 2/24/08

Expert Bowl - Final Results
1. Ryan Thompson (Katy, TX) - 12
2. Anthony Anaya (Santa Maria, CA) - 11
3. Mitch Brusco (Kirkland, WA) - 11
4. Alessandro Sorgente (Lake Korth, FL) - 10
5. Keith Baldassare (Merrit Island, FL) - 12

Expert Mini Ramp - Final Results
1. Steven Pineiro (Jacksonville, FL) - 11
2. Marcus Jalabar (Clearwater, DL) - 12
3. Seth Dupuis (Jacksonville, FL) - 12
4 Cason Kirk (Atlantic Beach, FL) - 12
5. Ryan Thompson (Katy, TX) - 12

Expert Street - Final Results*
1. Marcus Jalabar (Clearwater, DL) - 12
2. Taylor Willis (Las Vegas, NV) - 12
3. Phil Hanson (Centennial, CO) - 11
4 Ryan Thompson (Katy, TX) - 12
5. Jake Hill (San Clemente, CA) - 11

* Labeled as Heat 1, Run 1 on the official site, but assuming it may be a typo... We'll see...

Lay Day For World Tour Contests
Published: 12:22 a.m. PT by Greg

Both the men's and women's event for the ASP World Tour had lay days on Monday in Coolangatta< Australia. Small surf at Snapper Rocks and alternate site Duranbah Beach was not up to par and organizers will see if conditions are better in the next few days. Both events have plenty of time left (the holding periods for both events run through March 5).

Meanwhile, if you're curious as to what the lads and ladies are doing on the off days, you can check out the official sites for the Roxy Pro and Quiksilver Pro. Here's a little hint: Luke Munro and Jake Paterson, among others, took part in a charity footy (Australian rules football) match...  If you don't want to read about what's happening on the lay day, then here's a little pic of Claire Bevilacqua I like.  She missed the cut for the world tour but made it in to the contest thanks to Melanie Redman-Carr missing the event.

February 24, 2008

Kevin Pearce Wins 2008 Oakley Arctic Challenge, Becomes TTR #1
Published: 1:02 a.m. PT by Mike

Kevin Pearce continued his hot 2008 by winning the six-star TTR event The Oakley Arctic Challenge in Norway. By taking the event, Pearce moved to the top of the TTR ranking over Risto Mattila and Peetu Piiroinen. In the event Mattila finished 7th and Piiroinen finished third. Piiroinen also took honors for Highest Air, reaching 7.5 meters, while Pearce took Best Trick honors.

You can replay the finals in the window below or see the video here. Get the full story here.

The Oakley Arctic Challenge 2008 - Full Results
Nr. BIB FIRST NAME SURNAME NAT
1. 6 Kevin Pearce 1800
2. 18 Shayne Pospisil 1692
3. 9 Peetu Piiroinen 1482
4. 11 Terje Haakonsen 1462
5. 7 Nicolas Müller 1436
6. 4 Andy Finch 1423
7. 24 Risto Mattila 1346
8. 17 Colin Frei 985

Best trick - Kevin Pearce with a 7.1 meter high Inverted BS 540 Doublegrab (See the video)

Highest Air - Peetu Piiroinen with a 7.5 meter high BS Tailgrab (See the video)



Canada Honors Snowboarding... With a Coin
Published: 12:34 a.m. PT by Me

If you live in Canada you might want to go down to the corner store and ask for some change for your Canadian dollar. Who knows, you might just get lucky and get a new 25-cent coin featuring snowboarding. The coin was just released by the Royal Canadian Mint and is the sixth of 17 coins that will celebrate the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

If you don't live in Canada, I guess you can mail away for one. Or check out eBay. Read more here about the release.

Roxy Pro Burns Through Two Rounds
Published: 12:12 a.m. PT by Greg

The women of the 2008 ASP World Tour started their season one day after the men as the Roxy Pro kicked off on Sunday (in Australia). The first two rounds were completed and when all was said and done, rookie Karina Petroni and Aussie Laurina McGrath were eliminated and reigning world champ Stephanie Gilmore was sitting high with the top heat of the day (15.84) after fighting off young gun Carissa Moore (12.87). The two will meet again in round three.

Check out the official site to see the live webcast.

Roxy Pro Gold Coast pres. by LG Round 1 Results
Heat 1: Melanie Bartels (HAW) 12.70, Layne Beachley (AUS) 10.84, Nicola Atherton (AUS) 8.83
Heat 2: Megan Abubo (HAW) 13.83, Julia de la Rosa Toro (PER) 7.17, Samantha Cornish (AUS) 3.50
Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.84, Carissa Moore (HAW) 12.87, Karina Petroni (USA) 11.96
Heat 4:Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 13.00, Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 13.00, Laurina McGrath (AUS) 10.50
Heat 5: Silvana Lima (BRA) 14.83, Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 11.07, Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 6.53
Heat 6: Amee Donohoe (AUS) 15.67, Serena Brooke (AUS) 13.17, Rebecca Woods (AUS) 10.86

Roxy Pro Gold Coast pres. by LG Round 2 Results
Heat 1: Samantha Cornish (AUS) 14.33, Nicola Atherton (AUS) 11.45, Laurina McGrath (AUS) 5.76
Heat 2: Rebecca Woods (AUS) 14.33, Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 10.34, Karina Petroni (USA) 6.30

Roxy Pro Gold Coast pres. by LG Round 3 Match-Ups
Heat 1: Samantha Cornish (AUS) vs. Nicola Atherton (AUS)
Heat 2: Layne Beachley (AUS) vs. Serena Brooke (AUS)
Heat 3: Melanie Bartels (HAW) vs. Megan Abubo (HAW)
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) vs. Carissa Moore (HAW)
Heat 5: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) vs. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS)
Heat 6: Rebecca Woods (AUS) vs. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
Heat 7: Amee Donohoe (AUS) vs. Jacqueline Silva (BRA)
Heat 8: Silvana Lima (BRA) vs. Julia De La Rosa Toro (PER)

February 23, 2008

Girl Distribution Orientation Video
Published: 1:22 a.m. PT by Mike

Have you ever been curious about how one of skateboarding's top brands operate their business? Well here's your chance to take an inside look at Girl Skateboard's corporate headquarters located in the glitzy city of Torrance. Watch as some of Girl and Chocolate's best skaters work odd jobs, such as a janitor, vending machine supplier and lettuce manager. This highly produced corporate video should answer all your questions about how a team’s products are managed.




11th Annual Sapient-Showcase Showdown
Published: 12:59 a.m. PT by Mike

Forty snowboarders are confirmed and ready to take on the Superpipe for this year's Sapient-Showcase Showdown in Whistler Blackcomb on February 29 – March 1. This year's top prizewinner gets a monstrous $50,000 in cash and prizes. Check out snowboard-mag.com site for more info.



Ian Reid's New Video
Published: 12:21 a.m. PT by Mike

If you are not familiar with Ian Reid, he came out with a video which consisted of a long montage of random video clips he had collected through his travels and adventures through skateboarding. Everything from fights, hookers and parties are in encapsulated in his video. He thanks skateboarding for allowing him to see so much and never takes it for granted. And with that appreciation, he has put out a highly cult following of a film called "Sex, Hood, Skate, and Videotape".

Anyway, he has blessed us with another video which you can see the trailer for here. It looks to have more skateboarding in it though...



Quik Pro Kicks Off Down Under
Published: 12:01 a.m. PT by Mike

The 2008 ASP World Tour has started with the first round of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast. The first round of action featured the favorites advancing, including Mick Fanning, Bobby Martinez, Bede Durbidge, Joel Parkinson, Kelly Slater and Taj Burrow. However, the first round was not as forgiving for some veterans, including Andy Irons and the Hobgood brothers,

Durbidge and Burrow took the top heats of the day, scoring 16.83 and 16.60, respectively.

Speaking of Slater, he admits he may not participate in all of the events of the season.

"I'm not going to surf all the contests this year that's for sure, I'm not real sure which ones I will surf in; but I'm going to use that free time to go on some surf trips and enjoy myself," Slater said.

Hopefully action will continue on through the weekend and if it does, you can check out the live webcast.

February 22, 2008

Epickly Later'd - John Cardiel Continued
Published: 1:39 a.m. PT by Mike

A couple of more parts are up for the John Cardiel interview. Part Seven should be called the 'Julian Stranger Episode". John Cardiel talks about his relationship with his eccentric friend Julian Stranger and what it was like skating with him plus the beginning of their company Anti-HEro. This episode also feature Bryce Kanight and Tobin Yelland and what it was like shooting the very first frontside boardslide on a handrail. See it below. Check out Part Eight at the site...



Osiris Arizona Road Trip
Published: 1:13 a.m. PT by Mike

Look out for James Brockman, Caswell Berry, Shuriken Shannon, Stu Graham, and Jimmy Carlin if you're in Arizona. They are doing a two-stop skate demo across the state. Check out the flyer.



A Skate Documentary 4 Peace in the Middle East
Published: 12:55 a.m. PT by Mike

I would have to say that skateboarding single handedly is responsible for unifying people of different classes, cultures, race, age, and socio-economic sub-groups more than any other hobby or sport out there. Take for instance surfing; it's pretty obvious that not as many people can partake in the sport if a beach is not easily accessible. Or even a mainstream sport like baseball. You have to have a pretty high tolerance for boredom. John Cardiel possibly explains it best in Epickly Later'd Episode 5 about snowboarding, "skating was just better...you semi got to be of means to even kick start the sport (snowboarding)...now you're around all these dudes who are professional at it and are like 'I grew up in Aspen'...and don't know hard times." This quote sums it up pretty well, that most sports are certainly biased against a few or many groups of people.

For me growing up, I was strictly a punk/new wave kid. I grew up in a decent part of the city in a middle class neighborhood. When I took up skating at the age of 12, not many other kids were into it. I actually got into skating after seeing a Sonic Youth video called ‘100%’ directed by Spike Jonze. A young Jason Lee doing a 180 off a curb inspired me. I noticed that after I began skating, it lead to me going to other cities and befriending other kids from surrounding neighborhoods. Before I knew it, my skate buddies from different classes included a Romanian hessian that was really into Sepultura, a Chinese kid that thought he was part of the Wu-Tang Clan, and a black kid who wore bright orange pants.

Most of those guys are still my good buddies even though we don’t skate anymore. It was that kind of interaction with different kinds of kids that allowed me to be, in my mind well rounded. Basically I wouldn’t have had that kind of exposure to different kinds of cultures without meeting these friends through skateboarding. And I think that the same goes for most kids.

So learning of a documentary like ‘Sour’ excites me because it involves a deeper issue in an international affair involving two cultures that have high animosity for each other for many generations now. It’s a simple story that takes place in a complex time: the 2006 Lebanon/Israel war of 2006. It’s really inspiring to see people from different cultures who on the most part hate each other, come together through something so simple as skateboarding. Check out the Sour site for more info.



Jackass to Take Over MTV for 24-Hours
Published: 12:34 a.m. PT by Mike

Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and the rest of the Jackass crew will be running the MTV network for 24 hours. This will be awesome! I’m not sure what to expect since it will be live television but here are a few things that I’ve seen from them in the past but would like to see again, but in a different manner.

1. A pre-recorded episode of The Real World/Road Rules Challenge and see the cast of Jackass shoot bottle rockets out of their butts at those annoying kids that partake in those crappy shows.

2. A work out show with Party Boy. I remember seeing Chris Pontius’ first Cribs episode, which was one of the funniest segments I’ve ever seen. He lives out of his truck and pumps iron by posting Playgirl photos onto the side of his truck. Hahaha oh man.

3. In the first Jackass movie, Party Boy went around Tokyo harassing the cops. I think it would fresh to see him do that to the NYPD.
Wow, I guess I really like Party Boy. But this 24 -hour take over is a brilliant idea. It will attract people like me, who hate MTV. And I’m sure that a few people from the network will be in big trouble once this is all over. Executive producer of the network Jeffrey Tremaine was quoted, “It’s quite irresponsible of MTV, allowing us to do this”. This all takes place this Saturday on the 23rd at noon. Can’t wait.

Read more on the Jackass blog for some words from Johnny Knoxville about this Saturday.



Hot Moves and Hot Dogs
Published: 12:09 a.m. PT by Mike

Team Vox is reaching out to the skate community by having a nice set of skate demos in four different skate park locations around southern california in the coming weeks. Check out the flyer below for dates, times, and locations.

February 21, 2008

Surfer's Hall of Fame Names 2008 Honorees
Published: 1:33 a.m. PT by Me

The Surfer's Hall of Fame celebrates its 11th anniversary by inducting four legendary figures from the sport. Surfers Mike Parsons and Brad Gerlach will honored, along with Surfline.com founder Sean Collins and ASP President and former surfing world champ Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew.

The induction ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 25, in Huntington Beach during the US Open of Surfing.

Read more here.

Ben Bourgeois and Gabe Kling Featured On “The Daily Habit
Published: 1:01 a.m. PT by Me

With the surf season just getting ready to kick off, what better time to catch a couple of great surfers on Fuel's "Daily Habit." Later today (airing at 9:00 pm ET/ 6:00 pm PT) you can catch guest host Chris Pastras talking with Reef team rider Ben Bourgeois about the ASP World Tour and Matix team rider Gabe Kling. Plus check out some coverage of the O’Neill Sebastian Inlet Pro.





Element Team Signing
Published: 12:23 a.m. PT by Mike

If you happen to be in the beautiful palm desert area on the 7th of March, Element is doing a team signing at Utility Board Shop. A plethora of dope skaters will be there including Chad Muska, Jeremy Wray, Tosh Townend, Levi Brown and many more. Check out the flyer for more details.



Inside The Lakai Design Dept.
Published: 12:12 a.m. PT by Mike

While basketball had the Jordan's and tennis had Agassi's Air Tech Challenges, skateboarding had the Koston 1's. Those Es' were some of the dopest, most comfortable skate shoes at the time. Not to mention some of the best looking skate sneakers to date. The clean, slick, master switch stance appearance of the shoe personified Koston well.

Many of you semi-old schoolers will appreciate this. Vital Skate did an amazing inside look at the new Koston Lakai sneaker, which is a throw back to Es' classic 'Koston One'. Go to the Vitalsite to check out the breakdown from footwear designers Aaron Hoover and Scott Johnston. It's pretty nostalgic to see these again.

View Previous Quick Hits Entries From February 14 - February 20, 2008