Quick Hits Archive: January
Feb 28 2007 / Los Angeles, CAJanuary 30, 2007
SKATE
Ryan’s Range Rover
We’re not sure why, but the February issue of Car Audio and Electronics magazine includes a big feature on new driver Ryan Sheckler’s less-than-new ride: “Sheckler rolls in a 2003 Range Rover decked out with Kicker gear delivering dominant sound for the best skater around. Kicker dealer Wired for Sound in Temecula, CA, installed the amazing system.” Hmm, guess it’s ’cause it has nice speakers.
Full story >
Man jailed in Florida for “unlawful skating”
Adam Kowzun, a 25-year-old from Atlanta, was arrested—and spent the night in a Florida jail—for “unlawful skating.” The best part? He was on his way back from checking out the 13th annual Tampa Am, the world’s biggest amateur skate comp. Apparently, for those not actually competing in the sport, skateboarding is a crime.
Full story >
Brit skater pushes past world record
Then again, skating is totally legal in Australia. We know because Englishman Dave Cornthwaite, 27, has broken the longest-journey-on-a-skateboard world record by cruising 5,823 kilometers across Kangaroo-land. Kinda silly, but hey, he’s raised over $40,000 for charity. Our only question: Is that skateboard regulation?
Full story >
SURF
Two-timing surfers
You want stress? Try being a high school kid racing around town to compete in both ISF and NSSA surfing comps on the same day. As the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports, this past weekend: “As many as 10 surfers decided they didn’t want to choose between the notoriety the NSSA series can offer and the bragging rights and school pride they get for doing well during the ISF season. So, they tried to get both.” Um, couldn’t they have scheduled the events on different days?
Full story >
The shark attack kids
While in Australia for the Roxy Women’s Pro, Bethany Hamilton met up with the survivor of a more recent shark attack to offer some inspirational words. Aussie Zac Golebiowski lost his right leg above the knee and a chunk of his left calf when a shark bit him on December 2. But apparently Bethany’s visit helped. “I don’t think it’s going to happen again,” Zac told the Sunday Mail. “I just can’t wait to get back there—it’s a great wave.” He plans to return on a body board.
Full story >
Big-wave women
Timed with the any day now Mavericks Surf Contest, The San Jose Mercury News has put together a great story on female big-wave surfers, of which there are only about 20 in the world: “We’re another breed,'” says Dustin Tester, one of the few women to surf Jaws, the outer reef break in Maui that surfers can ride only with a personal watercraft and a tow rope. “It takes people who are almost desensitized to the extreme environment.” To which we can only say, you go, girls.
Full story >
SNOW 
Engineering an Empire
In just five years, Vermonters Josh Reid and Paul Maravetz have grown Rome into a pretty damn successful snowboard company. And as their interview with Transworld Business shows, these guys know their stuff. Plus, they still got the love: “We felt what we could add to the market would be a company that did really focus itself around a passion and love of snowboarding. To be a company that will express itself in innovative product, events, and marketing that connects with people who have a similar mind-set. If you boil us down, that would probably be it.” Word.
Full story >
Snowboarding bank robber convicted
Busted! Steven Simmons, a 27-year-old Mammoth Lakes snowboarder—we’re sure he does other stuff, too, but that’s how the Nevada Appeal refers to him—has been convicted of robbing a Nevada bank at gunpoint. The funny part? “Simmons was arrested in a doghouse less than a mile from the Bank of America branch where the robbery occurred Nov. 22, 2005.” There are probably worse hiding places, but we can’t think of any right now.
Full story >
Snowboarders die at Jackson Hole, Moonlight Basin The Sci-Fi Channel went to CES and found something called uSurf, “the wave-action exerciser.” As blogger Ken Sander reports: “It works on the body’s core muscles and improves balance and strength, since it forces you to stay balanced. It gives you a total workout without getting wet or dodging traffic.” Hmm. For $500, we can think of about 500 other things we’d rather do. Click here for the full story > The company held a contest to design a new-and-improved E-Bomb wetsuit, and entrant Dave Prodan’s forward-thinking approach won him the prize (a current E-Bomb). With suggestions like Shark Shield technology, a chest camera, and an alien-created Excrement-to-Wax membrane that “transforms your turds into fresh-smelling wax,” he’s clearly on the cutting edge. Congrats, Davo! Click here for the full story > Things are getting uglier in the continuing battle for waves. The Courier Mail reports that Scott Freestone, a former rugby player, was fined $1,800 and ordered to pay damages for assaults on two Gold Coasters. The attack began after one of them, a bloke named Terry Simmons, dropped in on Scott’s son Jack. Jack cursed him out, Simmons allegedly whacked him in the face with his board, and, well, Scott got pissed. His attack was delivered with the words, ‘YOU want to pull the cat’s tail? Here’s the whole cat!” Eh, guess that’s what happens when you send a bunch of convicts to live together on an island. Carlsbad, California, surfer Daniel Braff is filing suit against several local governments and two nonprofit conservation groups. His claim? That sewage spills near where he surfed in 2005 caused him to contract brainstem encephalitis, a brain inflammation that has cost him $500,000 in medical expenses, jeopardized his speech and motor skills, and put him in a wheelchair. Unfortunately for Braff, most experts say his case is a long shot. Click here for the full story > SKATEBOARDING This eye-opening anti-discrimination spot’s been running on MTV. It’s nice to see they’ve still got some edge. Speaking of which, EDGE Boston has a great story about the ad, drawing some interesting parallels between the skate community and the gay community: “Skateboarders, who call themselves “thrashers” or “shredders,” are largely self-taught. They have their own lingo, their own clothing styles, their own competitions, and their own publications. This is very similar to the gay culture, which has also found a niche with marketing and publications geared with a gay edge.”
Sad news: Snowboarder Lawrence Quedado, 42, a US Coast Guard helicopter pilot, died of a heart attack while snowboarding at Jackson Hole. And snowboarder Edgar Dickson, 26, a cook at a resort-based restaurant, died after crashing into trees at Moonlight Basin.
Full story (Jackson Hole) >
Full story (Moonlight Basin ) >
Snow Patrol drummer breaks arm snowboarding
How’s this for ironic? Snow Patrol drummer Johnny Quinn (the dude on the right in this band photo) had to drop out of the band’s European tour after breaking his arm in a snowboarding dust-up. Maybe Quinn should take inspiration from Def Lepard’s one-armed drumming legend, Rick Allen, and hold onto his spot.
Full story >
SURFING
The couch surfer’s board
Rip Curl’s wetsuit of the future
More surf rage in Australia
Sick surfer sues in San Diego
MTV fights hate with gay skaters
Click here for the full story > SNOWBOARDING
Website probes for top terrain Forbestraveler.com got several pro riders—including Jeremy Jones, Molly Aguirre, Gretchen Bleiler, Priscilla Levac, and Chad Otterstrom—to name their favorite park-and-pipe scenes. From the looks of the West-heavy list, if you’re anywhere east of the Mississippi, there’s only one place to go: Shayne Pospisil’s fave, Mountain Creek, New Jersey! 
Shaun White goes Outside
Yep, he’s the cover boy for their new February issue. For the story, Outside had a writer sit down with White and Tony Hawk to shoot the bull about turning oneself into a mega-brand. Hey, we can’t wait to read any article that refers to Shaun as an “ascendant boardsports conquistador.”
Click here for the full story > Co-ed naked skier
Of course, the east coast isn’t the only place things are rather balmy. Eurosport.com reports that two-time Olympic bronze medalist Rainer Schoenfelder of Austria took to the slopes in nothing but his skis, ski boots and an orange helmet. “Somehow I didn't notice the photographer,” Schoenfelder says. “It was a private bet and of course the whole thing wasn’t planned for the public.” Oh, right.
Click here for the full story>
January 8, 2007
SNOWBOARDING
Times tumbles down Echo Mountain We gotta hand it to New York Times writer Anne Goodwin Sides. She really tries to infuse the language and culture of action sports into her piece about Colorado’s terrain paradise, Echo Mountain. That means lines like, “he shouted as a twin-tip skier popped off the hip, arcing backward, arms outspread, a snowboarding Greg Louganis tracing the sky with his fingertips.” Wow, we didn’t realize a skier could transform into a snowboarder in mid-air. (Still a fun article to read, though.) Click here to read the full story > Tahoe boarders launch clothing line NC’s Asheville Citizen-Times reports that resort users are getting younger. According to a recent National Ski Areas Association study, the proportion of minors on the slopes rose from 12.9 percent in 2004-2005 to 15.5 percent last season. Other interesting stats: The average male boarder is 21, while the average male skier is 32. The average female boarder is 23, and the average female skier is 28. About half of skiers are male and half female, while almost three-quarters of boarders are male. And 13.3 percent of you are still reading this. Click here to read the full story > Just when skiing seemed ready to keel over and die in the wake of the snowboarding boom, freeskiing brought it back to life. “When skiers started going 20 to 22 feet out of the halfpipe at the (Winter) X Games and snowboarders were only going 16 to 17 feet, kids saw that,” says Doug Donovan, general manager of, yeah, Echo Mountain. “There’s always a crowd out there that wants to go bigger, and skiing allows for that.” This may be totally true. Or it may be a way for the Rocky Mountain News to hype the Jeep U.S. Freeskiing Open, which comes to Copper Mountain January 16 through 21. This may look like a sadly broken-in-half Burton G-Twin, but in fact, it’s a USB drive from ACP-EP memory. They’ve also got Custom and Vapor versions, and they’re available in 512 MB, 1 GB, and 2 GB varieties. Is this cool, or just really, really dorky? Either way, we want one! Click here to read the full story > The next (female) Shaun White? Minnesota rider Alexis Rolland is only seven years old, but she already has a pro contract and will appear in an upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated. “They just tell me I’m really good,” she says. “I am pretty good.” Eh, we’re not so sure. Check out WCCO’s video to watch her do several uninspiring boardslides in her backyard. Twenty bucks says she peaks at age 10. Click here to read the full story > SURFING Surf rage in Oz Queensland’s best waves in six months mean too many people in the water, and surf rage mania. Check out these quotes: “This bloke thought he owned the waves and he kept dropping in on me so I pushed him off. When he came up he came at me and it was on.” / “You have to psych yourself up just to paddle out because you know, sooner or later, someone’s going to have a go at you.” / “I love to surf but that’s just ridiculous. I mean, it’s supposed to be fun.” Something tells us these guys haven’t been reading Surfer’s Code. Click here to read the full story > SKATEBOARDING Dad supports skaters Here’s a story you don’t hear too often. Ron Cowan, a father in Selinsgrove, PA, thinks the local borough council is screwing over his skateboarding son and his friends by limiting the area where they can ride. Reports the Sunbury, PA, Daily Item: “In a letter Mr. Cowan distributed to community members and throughout the Selinsgrove Middle School, he asked for community support and said, “I will be asking the council to amend or suspend the use of Article V, Ordinance number 587, “Skateboards.” ’Atta Dad! Click here to read the full story > HEADLINES
Connecticut boarder saves drowning woman> Seven stranded boarders rescued in Nagano; two skiers missing> Alaskan racer, 17, makes US Snowboarding Team> Colorado avalanche sweeps cars off roadway>
INDUSTRY NEWS
With members like Danny Kass, Shaun Palmer, Andreas Wiig, and Tara Dakides, the Southshore Soldiers ooze street cred. Now they’re gonna make some dough. “We’re not a corporate brand with standards and approvals,” Soldiers’ co-founder Robert Crosby tells the Tahoe Daily Tribune. “If we like it, it goes to production. This is a liberty few other companies can claim.” Oh, but what do pro snowboarders know about clothes?
Snowsports big with kids
Freeskiing saves the world
Burton techs it up
ThirtyTwo Adopts Two-Mile Section of Highway to Mammoth Mountain>
ThirtyTwo Sponsors the Nation’s First All-Mountain Freestyle Terrain Park>
January 4, 2007
SNOWBOARDING
The Block to premiere this month Colorado groups work to get Hispanics to shred
The first snowboarding-based reality show—about life at Mark Frank Montoya’s rider-friendly Lake Tahoe hotel—will make its debut on G4 on January 15th at 10 p.m. ET/PT. And from the looks of the trailer, it’s really gonna show off what mature, sober people boarders are.
The Denver Post tracks the efforts of Juan Alberto Delaroca to get more Hispanics on snow. His Equipo Roca marketing company has teamed up with Burton, Copper Mountain, and The Sports Authority to create “El Primero Descent,” a grassroots effort to change the fact that just three percent of the U.S. Hispanic population rides. Turns out he’s not alone—other Colorado organizations are reaching out, too.
Click here to read the full story >
Burton boards popular with thieves
According to the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 29 snowboards were swiped at Boreal and Northstar resorts near the end of last year, and most of them were Burton sticks. “Get a no-name board,” advises the wife of one victim. Or skis. Oddly enough, none of those have been stolen.
Click here to read the full story >
One reason to wear a brain bucket
Speaking of skiers, the Seattle Times brings us this great photo of local two-planker George Ackley, who is really grateful to have been wearing a helmet when he landed headfirst on a rock. Can you imagine why?
Click here to read the full story >
White tops some dude’s top 10 list
Scott Bair, a staff writer for San Diego’s North County Times, reviews the year in action sports and places Shaun White’s Olympic gold at the top. “His performance elevated action sports into mainstream consciousness, and his personality turned a beloved local into a media darling and an international superstar.” But did he go to Disneyland?
Click here to read the full story >
SURFING
Study says surfing is safer than soccer
Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School say competitive surfing is safer than playing college soccer or basketball. “We found that competitive surfing has a relatively low risk of injury, 6.6 significant injuries per 1,000 hours of surfing—compared to other sports for which comparable data is available,” says the study’s lead author. Clearly, this man has never met Zinedine Zidane.
Click here to read the full story >
Foam company demise has surf shops rethinking strategy
Georgia’s Savannah Morning News examines the business fallout from the collapse of leading surfboard material company Clark Foam a little over a year ago. A shortage of quality board foam has forced boardmakers and merchants to switch to other materials, diversify their product lines, and, well, work harder. “I have to cater to people who don't surf,” says custom boardmaker Jim Stephens. “If I don’t, I might as well charge admission at the door, because I’m not going to get any money out of them.”
Click here to read the full story >
Surfrider boss not afraid to rock the boat
Jim Moriarty, the unconventional, Christian conservative executive director of the Surfrider Foundation is really taking the organization to the next level—and saying some interesting stuff. “I spoke to a church group recently,” Moriarty tells Common Ground magazine, “and I told them, ‘You’re being labeled, maybe rightfully so, as ambivalent on the environment. Read the Bible! If you believe that God created the heavens and the earth, then you’ve got a mandate: take care of creation.’ ” You tell ’em, Jim!
Click here to read the full story >
SKATEBOARDING
A really expensive skateboard
Sony is developing a motor-powered, platform-based human-moving device, as indicated by these sweet conceptual images. According to The New Scientist, they’re hoping to compete with DEKA’s Segway human transporter. Which shouldn’t be too hard, considering they’ve sold, what, five of those?
January 1, 2007
Snowboarding
Depressing photo of the day
This is how conditions look these days at Wintergreen Resort in Virginia. About 100 other eastern mountains could produce similar pix. Honey, get the kids…we’re moving to Whistler!
Click here for the full story >
Colorado snowboard photographer seriously injured
Steamboat Powdercats reports some sad news: “On December 21st, our photographer, best friend and brother Dave Genchi suffered a serious spinal injury. While snowboarding with our guides, Dave took a surf turn, hit a rock, lost his balance, tumbled and seriously injured his neck. Our guides reacted immediately and we transported him safely off Buffalo Pass. A life flight ultimately transported him to St. Mary’s hospital in Grand Junction, CO, where he is currently on the path to recovery. Surgery was successful to stabilize the fractured vertebrae. Dave currently has limited movement only in his upper extremities; he is more than able to communicate and shows evidence of improvement everyday.” Dave, all of us lat34.com are thinking of you.
Canadians think skiing is hotter than snowboarding
The Canadian Ski Council’s 2005-2006 review has found that snowboarding is apparently down with the kids, and skiing is up. According to the review, the number of (Canadian) snowboarders aged 12 to 17 has dropped from 362,000 in the winter of 2002-03 to 307,000 last season. At the same time the number of young skiers has risen from 176,000 in 2002-03 to 218,000 last winter. Those crazy Great White Northerners, what will they think of next?
SKATEBOARDING
Skateworks shutters four of five stores
The New Year isn’t looking too rosy for the Santa Cruz-based, family-owned company. The rise of mall-based chain skate outlets like Zumiez and Pacific Sunwear has made it difficult for mom-and-pop shops like Skateworks, in business since 1988, to compete, so they’re closing four stores and pumping up their website. “Your purchases do make a difference,” says Letitia Ruano, owner of local shop Consolidated Skateboards. “Do we want our country to become a Wal-Mart of everything?” Quick, buy something at skateworks.com today!
Click here for the full story >
More news on Zephyr skate shop
Months ago, we noted that the building housing the Horizons West surf shop and the Zephyr skateboard shop, original home of the Z-Boys, was in danger of being torn down. A new piece in the Santa Monica Monitor doesn’t report any new developments, but it does have some cool info on the shop’s history, from Horizons West owner Randy Wright: “They wanted to skate like the guys who surf. They didn’t want to do ‘nose wheelies’ or handstands, what people used to do in the ’60s. So these guys went to Del Mar as a team, the Z-Boys and they rock and rolled and a lot of people didn’t like it because it was futuristic [but] a lot of people think in retrospect that that was the birth of the ‘hardcore’ movement.” Oh wait, they kinda covered that in Dogtown and Z-Boys, didn’t they?
Click here for the full story >
SURFING
Teen is South Africa’s first black surf champ
In an achievement akin to Jackie Robinson playing Major League Baseball, 18-year-old Kwezi Qika has become South Africa’s junior surfing champion. “The chicks were like, “You’re from Africa? You know how to surf? Oh my gosh,” Qika says of competing at the world championships in California. Now he’s the man in a sport that was once for whites only in his country. Pretty good for a poor kid who took up the sport six years ago, when he didn’t know how to swim.
Click here for the full story >
2006 a record-breaker for wave riders
Global Surf News reports that last year, the following surf records were broken: Most surfers on one wave (broken four times, it’s now at 73, thanks to riders at Muizenberg Corner in South Africa); longest surfboard to ride a wave (28 feet, ridden by Brazil’s Rico de Souza); most ASP world titles for a man (Kelly Slater won his eighth); most ASP world titles for a woman (Layne Beachley won her seventh). Oh, and Sofia Mulanovich won the Vans Triple Crown.
Click here for the full story >
Big-wave surfer Abberton prefers blondes
For a new low-carb beer called Bondi Blonde, ad man John Singleton is holding a contest to pick a girl to be the face of it. And along with Paris Hilton and Singleton’s son Jack, the third judge is Koby Abberton. He’ll have to pick from 40 bikini-clad beauties displaying their goods at a Hilton Hotel in Sydney. Man, pro surfers have it tough.
