SURFING HALL OF FAME - 2008

Yesterday was a big day at PCH and Main. The US Open was underway in front of thousands. At 10am, the festivities surrounding Duke provided a truly historical moment in the sport of Surfing. Mike Parsons, Brad Gerlach, Sean Collins and Rabbit Bartholomew were inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame on the walk in front of HSS. Each honoree was and is deserving. Parsons, the all-around good-guy, Big Wave Rider, contest organizer and Billabong Exec. Gerlach, the rogue, former ASP bad boy, and big wave rider as Parsons' watercraft team mate. NOTE: Yes, that is Parsons and Gerlach in the behemouth surf download on youtube. A little stretched in post-production but who cares, it is still a huge wave and has enjoyed over 2.7 Million online views to date....gotta be a record for surf! Also inducted at HB yesterday. . . Rabbit Bartholomew, 70's World Champ, world traveller and ASP Prez from the Gold Coast. Then there was that soft-spoken honoree who may have changed surfing more than anyone in history, with the exception of Duke, Sean Collins - surfing's premier wave-forecaster, every one's "KNOW BEFORE YOU GO" buddy, the founder and creator of Surfline. In my view, Sean should have had this honor bestowed on him 5-7 years ago. Each one of these Hall of Fame inductees have made important and meaningful contributions to the sport.









And it was great to see three other world champions on hand to honor Rabbit and take part in a media photo opp. Tomson, Bartholomew, Richards and Townend. Great timing for the "Bustin" film release as well. Congrats to all!!!

BUSTIN' DOWN THE DOOR - REVIEWED

Variety Mag's Robert Kohler has posted his review of Bustin' Down the Door, a Film executive produced by Surf Legend Shaun Tomson and Chris Blair, and written by my friend, and Surfing History expert, Phil Jarratt. If you haven't yet seen the film on the big screen, clear some time and go while you can. Nostalgic to see the word "Primo" in print again.
VARIETY MAGAZINE REVIEW

AND THE ESPY's ACTION SPORTS NOMINEES ARE?

MALE:
Shaun White, Skateboarding & Snowboarding (WINNER!)
Fourteen-time Winter and X Games medalist and 2006 Olympic gold medalist. You all know his story!

Chad Reed, Motocross
Chad Reed dominated the 2008 AMA SuperCross circuit winning nine races and earning the overall AMA World Champion.

Kevin Robinson, BMX
Recently made headlines with his high air world record in Central Park – landing a new record of 27 feet.

Kevin Pearce, Snowboarding
Won the Arctic Challenge in 2007 and Burton European Open in 2008.

FEMALE :
Gretchen Bleiler, Snowboarding (WINNER!)
Four-time Winter X Games medalist and 2006 Olympic silver medalist.

Jessica Patterson, Motocross
Has won 27 National Championships.

Lindsey Jacobellis, Snowboarding
Jacobellis won her second consecutive SBX World Championship in 2007.

Stephanie Gilmore, Surfing
The 19 year-old from Australia became the first surfer ever to win an ASP world title in rookie season .

The ESPY Awards will take place at the new NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE, located across the street from STAPLES Center in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 16. It will be televised Sunday, July 20, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN and available in high definition on ESPN HD.
Vote at www.espys.tv

BILLABONG ENTERS WAKE

Billabong announces the launch of the “Out of the Pond” website, a site promoting the upcoming Fall 08 release of Billabong’s first ever Wakeboard Video.

“Out of the Pond” follows the Billabong Wake Team around the globe as they examine the definition of the sport of wakeboarding and proceed to push the boundaries of that definition.

I look forward to getting a screener.

"VIOLENT SURFERS SHRED PAPS OVER OVER McCONAUGHEY" ????

So TMZ.com (and x17online.com) balloons another non-story into something sensational. Absolutely shocking. The Matthew McConaughey incident at Little Dume gives the media yet another open door to stereotype surfers. I meant to say tabloid media. I laughed when I read an article that stated the following: "Surfers are notoriously press shy and paparazzi are notoriously aggressive. Anyone see this as a natural for conflict?" In my travels I have never known the majority of surfers to be "press shy", in fact cameras usually act like magnets on the beaches of the North Shore, California, Florida and Malibu. Evidence below.
So a pack of guys, who claimed to own the beach, had some harsh words with a few city-folk photographers who don't understand some of the the realities of Malibu. A clash breaks out. No one is arrested and no charges are filed to date. Then, edited clips from this incident make their way to national and international news streams?

Two-day x17online coverage stated, "I'm just ranting here, people, but these "locals" (who probably drove in from West LA) really get my goat. Don't these professional beer drinkers and party-ers have anything better to do?"

If you missed this fiasco, here's a few headlines:
"Violent Surfers Shred Paps Over McConaughey" TMZ

"Surfers Vs. Paparazzi At Malibu Beach" KCBS

"Surfers Attack Paparazzi in Malibu" KTLA

"Surfers Protect McConaughey, Attack the Paps" E-Online

"War in Malibu" x17online

"Paparazzo says surfers in Malibu attacked him" LA Times

"McConaughey photog claims surfers attacked him" AP

"Surfers attack paparazzi over Matthew McConaughey, Courtney Love sparks health fears" NZ Herald

"McConaughey Photos Spark Violent Beach Brawl" ShowbizSpy, UK

Can't TMZ find more substantive material? And why is the clip so oddly edited?

I will say this, no one deserves to have their camera equipment soaked....ever.

THE SCREENING ROOM

Google's YouTube has organized a virtual screening room to bring the work of independent filmmakers to a global audience. It debut's on Wednesday. The screening room will highlight four new films a week, picked by a YouTube editorial panel. Submissions are welcomed. The panel will scour film festivals and work with partners such as the Sundance Channel to identify quality prospects.

The YouTube screening room should offer a hot showcase for some of the creatives in the Action Sports industry.

KELLY and JACK

This past Sunday we noticed that current ASP Tour Leader Kelly Slater was able to take a break between WCT events in Fiji and South Africa to score rare courtside seats next to Jack Nicholson for the Lakers-Celtics battle.














During a heated 4th quarter, the 8 time world surfing champ jumped off his chair in protest, potentially drawing an interference call, as Laker Sasha Vujacic was thrown to the ground by Sam Cassell. Lakers take Game 5.