The second leg of the SPY Optic Shred 4 Cred Shop Challenge tour hit Huntington Beach, CA, Wednesday, August 17, bringing key So Cal retailers together in head-to-head competition for cash, store credit and bragging rights, SPY style.

Jack’s Surfboards, Sun Diego, Surfside Sports, ZJ’s Boarding House, Channel Islands SB, and Surfride, and Katin suited-up for this surf ‘n’ turf event: a retro board-riding contest followed by a test of attrition atop a mechanical bull.

SPY resurrected a quiver from days of old, and competitors drew numbers from a hat for random surfboard assignment. In the water, competitors armed with their wave-shredding weapons scored points for retro-style maneuvers and pizzazz.  Surf City, U.S.A., did not disappoint with its south-to-north current and the inside reform sections which birthed  the “Huntington Hop,” and everyone got his fill of waves. Brandon Smith of Channel Islands finished-off top dog in the surf portion of this two-part fete, followed by Brent Reilly of Surfride and Victor Done of Surfside, respectively. Thereafter, SPY team riders and contest judges Benny B, Mike Losness and Torrey Meister put down their clipboards and hit the waves, themselves, in a retro board challenge of the highest order. Benny B won the heat; Losness came in a close second.

Following a quick lunch and a few coldies, the shops took to dry land for the second part of competition: single-elimination, freestyle mechanical bull-riding at Black Bull Chophouse. Surfside Sports and Surfride locked horns in a tie for first-place at the end of this exposition of virtual animal cruelty, which lead to an unprecedented and electrifying “bull-off”. In the end, Surfside Sports found itself victorious over all suitors in this day of barrels and boots.

A special thank you goes out to Black Bull Chophouse and the City of Huntington Beach, and to our retail partners who helped to make this happen.