The SPY crew headed to Virginia Beach, Va., Aug. 22-28, for the 49th Annual East Coast Surfing Championships. Impending Hurricane Irene sped things along for all involved, forcing heats to run from sun-up through sundown.
While the SPY crew held it down in the sand, our surf team held it down in the water. Cody Thompson and 2011 NSSA/Surfing American National Champion Parker Coffin, 15, surfed their ways into the quarterfinals of the WQS 4-Star-rated event, with Evan Thompson making it into the semi-finals of the Pro Junior!
SPY once again proved to be the crowd pleaser with giveaways and a shooting gallery that attracted thousands of spectators scrambling to get their hands on some SPY booty.
In spite of a looming storm threat, our posse decided to hold-off evacuation plans and, instead, partnered with a local watering hole, The Boxx, on a pre-hurricane, over-21 shindig.
Cody, aka DJ Code Red, kept the party moving and the shoes shuffling with a body-rocking DJ set that thumped well into the early morning hours.
Last call at the Boxx heralded a shift of venues, kicking-off an after-hours soiree where the only rules were no cameras, no stories and no hard feelings.
With the final days of the competition canceled due to the hurricane, SPY took the high road (which paralleled the prescribed evacuation route) with heads held high and stomachs turning from the previous night that officially didn’t happen.
There’s no doubt that the SPY crew helped out ol’ Irene by doing a little damage of its own…
The SPY Optic gang loaded-up the SPY van and headed to Huntington Beach for the brand’s 3rd Annual Pier Bull: a mechanical bull-riding competition with a few of our favorite O.C. retailers.
We made our way to Black Bull Chophouse, bringing a bucket load of beach to the honky-tonk restaurant’s country groove. Huntington Surf & Sport, Jack’s Surfboards, Surfside Sports and Kanvas by Katin all showed up ready to get buck wild and busy, in a good ol’ fashioned mechanical bull-riding contest that left them battered, bruised and bloody.
This year it was the ladies who brought their best, posting some very impressive times while hanging on for dear life.
In the end, H.S.S. claimed victory and bragging rights for the next 12 months. (They would have taken home the Bull Horns, too, had some other shop not already stolen them.) We stuck around for an epic ‘80s cover band and flash danced till the lights came on and we got booted. We are all a little worse for the wear, still, but SOMEBODY has to bring the party, right?
Special thanks to the Black Bull Chophouse, Kanvas by Katin, Jack’s, Surfside Sports, and H.S.S. for suiting-up, showing-up and proving that surfing, steak, fake animal riding and the cowboy way are alive and well in H.B.
Win a chance for you and a friend to get VIP access to TransWorld Surf’s latest surf film, Surprise Excitement Party, premiering Wednesday, August 3 at the Lido Theater in Newport Beach! You and a friend will meet and hang with two of the films stars, SPY’s own Parker Coffin and John John Florence before the movie and get VIP access for the premiere. The winner will also receive a SPY prize pack to make sure they’re repping hard at the premiere! Head over to the SPY Facebook page and post “Parker” or “John John” in the comments section of the contest post for your chance to win! Winners will be notified Monday, August 1st and winners must be in attendance to win.
Contest Rules
1. How to Enter: You can enter the giveaway by posting “John John” or “Parker” in the comments section of the contest post on the SPY Facebook page. No purchase necessary. You must complete all required information to be eligible to win. . Incomplete, Illegible, duplicate, corrupted or untimely entries are void and will be disqualified. Entries must be submitted by the individual entrant. All entries become the property of SPY when submitted and will not be returned to entrant. The end date/time of the giveaway is located on the entry form.
2. Winner will receive:
· Prize varies by week and can be located on the entry form
· Prizes may not be substituted for cash value or for products of equal or lesser value.
3. Winner Selection and Notification: Two winners will be randomly selected from the group of eligible entries and emailed upon selection.
4. Eligibility: Including, but not limited to: Giveaway entries are limited to those able to attend the above mentioned contest. Void where prohibited.
5. Winner Notification: Winner will be selected by random drawing. Winner will be notified via email. Winner must claim prize within 2 days of notification of win. SPY and sweepstakes sponsor are not responsible for prize damage once it has been given to the prize winner.
6. Odds of Winning: The odds of winning shall be determined by the number of eligible entries received.
7. Error Correction: SPY reserves the right to correct or change any and all printing, typographical or mechanical errors.
8. Use of Information: All personal information collected via entry forms becomes property of SPY and sweepstakes sponsor. For more detailed information about our use of information and privacy policy, please visit: http://www.spyoptic.com/privacy.phtml
9. Release of Liability: SPY and sweepstakes sponsor are not liable or responsible for; Loss of entry - including, electronic, computer, communication malfunctions, damage caused by virus/bug or non-authorized intervention, injury, or property damage in connection to with giveaway, or giveaway results. This sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to SPY, not to Facebook.
10. General Terms/Disclaimers: SPY reserves the right to terminate giveaway at any time, with or without prior notice. By entering in the sweepstakes, each participant agrees to be bound by the Official Rules and decisions of SPY which shall be final on all matters pertaining to this sweepstakes.
The 3rd stop of the 2011 Scion RAT Skate Tour will take place Saturday, May 21st at the Lee & Joe Jamail Skatepark in Houston, TX. The event will feature some of the top amateur skaters competing in street and bowl competitions for over $2500 in cash and prizes.
Live art created on-site by local artists will also be featured in the Sector 9 Inspiration Station along with music from Skull Candy DJ Brother Roo, free drinks and swag from the Monster Energy Team and tons of chances to win great prizes from local skate shops and series sponsors like SPY!
The event will be followed by the Skate & Rock Concert series featuring live music from The Octanes, Papaya and Satin Hooks.
Both events are FREE for spectators and action is scheduled to start at 12 noon. Competitors can register at www.SkateTheRat.com.
Slovenian SPY homie Nejc Ferjan wins the European Volcom PBRJ Finals in Laax, Switzerland. Volcom hooked him up with 1750 Euro Cash and a ticket to the PBRJ Finals which were hold in Mammoth on the 16th April. Congrats Nejc!
The die is cast - Thomas “Jecksn” Franc wins SPY+ Snow-JahZee™!
The SPY+ Snow-JahZee™ at Zurich’s home mountain Hoch-Ybrig is without doubt one of the most intriguing events of the winter. Because it isn’t just about sending the sickest trick over the biggest hit, it’s about stomping a total of 24 (!) different ones in a five hour session with eight counting runs! Winner Thomas “Jecksn” Franc got it to the point: “The cool thing about this event is the fact that you have to show tricks you wouldn’t do all year. And maybe even ones you’ve never tried before!“. 3rd placed Roger Schuler, added: “The vibe isn’t like a contest at all. It’s more like hanging out in the park with your friends, having a session, the only difference being that here you might go home with some extra cash or goodies. We all chat with each other between the runs and check how far along with ticking off their tricks the rest is yet.” – Main organisers Natural Born Chillaz fully lived up to their name as well, supporting the crew at the start gate with a little BBQ and catering for the spectators with food and drinks in the Chill Area.
Under bluebird skies the battle was full on from the first run and with the locals showing their very best the lack of international involvement was forgotten immediately. Instead the kickers got given fond international nick names: starting off with hot “Kelly Trump” the course lead over “Habibi” (arab for my lover), and finished with the hugest of all, the Big Mama.
So much female involvement seemed to motivate the riders even more and the spectators came to witness a true fireworks of tricks. Local heroes Mike Knobel and Fizzel Huber were among the big favourites before the event and dropped into the session with according motivation. Although in the training they clearly proofed that they have what it takes to get to the top of the podium, their weekend was jinxed and once the runs counted, nothing worked out any more and they had to settle for ranks 5 and 7. SPY+ team rider Roger Schuler was apparently blessed with more luck. After a slam in his first counting run eliminated all plans for the Red Bull Perfect, he quickly changed tactics and focused on the tricks for the SONY combo prizes. This earned him a SONY HDR CX 700 Handycam as well as 3rd place in the overall ranking. One of the highlights from his trick bag was a cab 7 over Kelly Trump, followed by a switch backflip over Habibi and switch straight air on the Big Mama. Second ranked Deniz Cinek was able to hold the Red Bull Perfect course for the longest time. While the sw bs 7 over Kelly in his 6th run counting was still flawless stomped, the landing of the sw straight air over the Habibi was a bit off the mark and killed the speed for the Big Mama. So much for the Perfect, but he still scored silver and 1.500 U$ prize money. Thomas “Jecksn” Franc on the other hand started the 7th SPY+ Snow-JahZee™ with a rather weak one: his first counting run didn’t score a single point. But then the tides abruptly turned for the better, Jecksn finished off his safe tricks before attacking the ones with higher scores, that he didn’t have on lock quite yet. His clean combo consisting of a cab 7, cab 5 and sw bs 7 combo was already quite impressive nevertheless. Besides the victory, that surprised him most of all, 400 TTR points and 3.000 US$ prize money, Jecksn also bagged a SONY combo prize like Roger (for the other winners check the full results list below).
Even tough the fog wanted to take its chances as well at some point and fondly wooed Kelly Trump and Habibi, the contest went down as planned, despite some smaller breaks due to visibility. And for the prize giving at 16:30, ski and snowboard instructors as well as the bully drivers and park shapers joined the spectators and participants to celebrate the winners. While the prizes couldn’t be presented by Kelly Trump herself, the lovely vice Miss Switzerland from 2008, Rekha Datta, kindly filled in for her. This is part of the SPY+ Snow-JahZee™ as well – just Natural Born Chillaz!
Spy shredder Robby Balharry took third last weekend at the Quicksilver Showdown Over the City, on Grouse Mountain, BC. After dislocating his shoulder in Semi finals, Robby went on to brave the pain and take home $2000 for his troubles. For a full recap check out SBC.
The two Swiss SPY+ ladies, Elena Könz and Isabel Derungs did a good job at the 4 star TTR Contest “Battery Catfight” in Levi, Finland. Isabel finished 2nd in all 3 disciplines while Elena took first place in the pipe! Congrats girls!
rail jam
1. enni rukajärvi, fin
2. isabel derungs, ch
3. christina gruber, aut
slopestyle
1. urška pribošič, slo
2. isabel derungs, ch
3. christina gruber, aut
halfpipe
1. elena könz, ch
2. isabel derungs, ch
3. saana pehkonen, fin
