ASR Blog

Shark Attack Month?

What is it with the shark attack stories that have been headlining the newspapers this past week? First there was the attack which resulted in a fatality in Solana Beach, CA. Yesterday I read about a teen who was bit by a shark while surfing in Florida—luckily, he escaped with only the bite mark to talk about. Now today I read that a surfer in Troncones, Mexico was bitten, and then died as a result of blood loss. What’s doubly tragic about this attack is that the surfer could have probably lived had he received adequate medical care. And, he had just gotten to Mexico for a vacation—not the way you want to start your surf trip. It’s also surprising to hear about an attack in Mexico—I’ve been to Troncones a couple of times, and the thought of a shark coming up and getting me was the last thing on my mind. You’re more worried about a sting ray or jellyfish sting, which are minor in comparison when you think of the alternative. It’s weird, isn’t it, how things come in three? Hopefully, we won’t hear of another shark story for some time to come.

Nike 6.0 Lower 's Pro

The Nike 6.0 Lower’s Pro (WQS contest) started this morning at Lower Trestles, San Clemente. One of only three events that are held at Lower’s each year, I would think competing surfers are just as excited to surf the peak with only a few other guys as they are to have the contest start. What’s interesting this year with the Lower’s Pro is the title sponsor—Nike 6.0. Nike seems to be getting their hands on many more endemic events—I noticed that they are also the official footwear sponsor of the NSSA. As I said above, since there are only three contests held at Lower’s (the other two being the Boost Mobile Pro, a WCT event and the NSSA Nationals, an amateur event) you would think that core endemic companies would be scrambling for the chance to own branding for a week at one of the best waves in the U.S. (the Boost Mobile Pro is the only WCT contest held on the mainland). Why is this, why isn’t anyone else stepping up to the plate? Recession and budget cuts?

*Photo taken from Nike 6.0 Lower's Pro contest site.

Kite Surfing

We were at the beach in Carlsbad yesterday, enjoying the hot weather and cool breezes when we witnessed a kite surfer go out. I’ve seen kite surfers in Hawaii, but not so much around here, and I’ve never had the chance to see them go in/come out of the water. It was crazy—I can’t believe the strength that one must have to do the sport. The guy took off from the shallow water and literally flew through the air about 50 feet before landing and flying through air again. When he was done, he cruised back in, and it was amazing to see him have to get the kite down, without being dragged through the sky. He was having trouble at first, and a couple times he had to dig his heels way down to stop himself from being lifted. Nuts. I remember in the year 2000 or so when kite surfing really started to take off, you’d hear about more and more people doing it, but then it just seemed to fizz out (in Southern California at least). Is it because it requires such awesome strength? Or is there a sub-culture that I just don’t know about?

*Photo taken from www.vancouverislandsurf.com. To see more images, click here.

Shark Attack in North County

Have you heard about this yet? This morning, in Solana Beach, a man was attacked by what officials believe was a Great White shark. The man, part of a group of swimmers, was bitten in the legs; his friends dragged him out of the water, and he was pronounced dead about an hour later. Makes those who surf at San Onofre rethink getting into the water, huh? Great Whites are seen at Trail One, San Onofre State Beach, fairly regularly, but surfers continue to go out there. A shark attack is rare, but when it happens in your backyard, it becomes pretty scary stuff.

Click here for the full report.

Photo taken from Sign On San Diego.

Vulcanized or Cupsole?

If you read the last issue of Transworld Business (March ’08) you saw that there were a lot of articles on shoes which had the recurring words of vulcanized sole and cupsole. I really don’t know the difference, and I’m assuming that unless you work for a shoe company, you don’t know either. But, it’s obviously important or else I wouldn’t keep hearing about it, right? To investigate further, I sent out an email to a few contacts in the shoe world and I thought that once I got their replies, I’d educate you all. However, it’s been like pulling teeth to get the info back, so instead of me educating you, I thought I’d ask the audience—anyone out there that can tell me what the difference between the two are?

Verge Project

If you’re reading this, chances are you've already broke into the Industry and got yourself a job, or your perusing action sports sites, arming yourself with as much knowledge as you can, in order to break into the Industry. It’s one of those constant posts on the community boards—how do I get in?  It’s my neighbor’s life-long dream, and he’s been trying for years, but has still been unsuccessful in landing the job. Why is that? Why does one person have a stroke of luck (if that’s what you want to call it) and get the job at their favorite company while others never do?

It’s something that it’s interesting to ponder, which made me take note of something called the Verge Project. Posted as a press release on Malakye’s site, the Project is making a call to students who are trying to land their first job in the action sports industry. Students can apply, and if selected, they will be mentored by someone who is currently in the Industry on how to get a job. Curiosity piqued, I Googled Verge Project and came across a posting on the Group Y Network. In its news section, it says that Y member TJ Parcells has announced his Verge Project and is looking for mentors. His point of creating the Verge? It says that it, “benefits not only the mentees, but additionally the mentors and the ASI by ultimately receiving an influx of educated, motivated, passionate people into our respective industries.”

Very interesting—taking the old fashioned idea of having a mentor and using that to get you in the Industry. I’m interested to see how it ends up working.

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day is here, so I wanted to give a shout out to all those companies that do their best to make Mother Earth a better place to live. Whether it’s organically produced clothing or waterless urinals, these guys are making a difference. By no means is this an exhaustive list, they are just a few companies off the top of my head, so if there’s someone you don’t see, please let me know in the comments section and I'll add them.

• PacSun carries a bunch of brands that are earth friendly. From Volcom to Reef to Billabong to O’Neill, with Hurley thrown in between, PacSun has a special Earth Day page to peruse the products.
• project BLUE also works with several companies in the Industry to help achieve a better planet.

Some others fighting to make a difference are listed below--click and read what they are doing.

• Arbor
• Sector 9
• Simple
• Patagonia
• Sole Technology
• Reef

Jye Townend on the Ultimate Boarder

Jye (on the right) as he takes off to compete in the snowboarding contest in Tahoe. That's his brother Tosh in the middle, with Bryan Ellis, senior account executive for the ASG.

As you may know, this weekend wrapped up the First Annual Ultimate Boarder competition (click here for more information). Curious as to how it went, I got in contact with Jye Townend, marketing/team manger for Ocean and Earth. I met Jye just as he was leaving the Big Wave Awards and heading up to Tahoe to compete in the first event of the contest, which was snowboarding. Jye comes from a family of athleticism, his dad is the infamous Peter “PT” Townend and his brother is professional skater Tosh Townend, so I knew that Jye must have the skills in all three sports—a perfect candidate for the Ultimate Boarder competition. Here’s his take on the experience.

How did you like the event--did you think it was cool to be able to compete in all three sports? The event was sick... All the guys in the comp seemed to pretty stoked about it. It was something fun for everyone to get together and cheer each other on for. I mean there was the serious aspect ‘cause there was money on the line, but in all, everyone was stoked to see everyone try and compete in all the events.

Was the competition too skewed, or did it even out across the contest (i.e. Todd Richards dominated in snow, but his ratings fell because he wasn't the best surfer)? It evened out for sure. You would see guys way up in the ratings but once the second event came and left it got a lot closer. After surf it seemed to be a lot of skaters up in the top contending spots, and they were left going into their strongest sport. I’d say the skaters were the best all around in the event.

Was the contest organized? Tim and his crew had this whole thing thought out and very organized. When we showed up in Tahoe we had check-ins and got our itineraries for the entire week. So we knew exactly what time everything was going on at and where to be. They did a great job hosting parties for all the athletes and gave us things to do in the off days.

How did you like the surf/skate being located in Ventura? It worked out great. The waves were fun and the skate thing was just across the way. I think it was a good choice of location for that leg of the event. There are a few other spots they could use next year. Maybe it’ll end up in HB, I know me and Tosh would be amped on having it in our backyard. (Jye and Tosh grew up in Huntington Beach, CA.)

Would you do it again? Ya for sure. I had a great time in it. Definitely going to train harder for the next year though.

A bit about yourself. . .
Which sport do you participate in most regularly? Surfing would be my strongest of the three. Even in that event I couldn’t seem to have my A game ready though. It’s alright though. Next year it’s on.....

Have you surfed in many contests in the past? In surfing I competed all the time as a grom growing up. Did the NSSA’s for years as well as other events up and down the coast. It’s been a long time since I’ve competed in anything of it though so I definitely was feeling out of shape in the paddling.

Earth Day

Just wanted to remind you all that Earth Day is coming up. Although it’s technically on April 22, most organizations, cities, beaches, etc celebrate it on the weekend before, which means that festivities will begin tomorrow. For example, this Saturday San Clemente has a big Earth Day celebration at the pier and the South Orange County Surfrider chapter is sponsoring events such as beach clean-ups. So, look to see what your city is doing, go offer your support, and do your part in keeping our planet a healthy place for future generations to enjoy. Happy Earth Day!

Someone get Greg a sponsor!

I was checking out the Swell Blog and saw this posting on big wave surfer Maya Gabeira. Right after she received the Girls Best Performance Award this past Friday night at the Billabong Big Wave Awards, the LA Times featured her on a billboard. Pretty cool huh? Female surfing has come a long way.

But what really made me think was the comment on the blog about Greg Long not having a sponsor. Larry wrote the same comment on my posting about the Big Wave Awards. So people are wondering . . . why doesn’t a company sponsor him? Seriously, Greg charges—the guy works incredibly hard, travels all over the world in search of a bigger wave, and the only pay he gets for risking death is if he wins at the Big Wave Awards. Greg’s featured in the mags, so the argument of not getting editorial coverage is out . . . why can’t he get a sponsor?

Photo taken from Swellblog.