In this week's Big News Section, we have a few tidbits to pass along... so here we go:
First of all, Perfect North Slopes is anticipating opening on Thursday, December 9th, 2010 at Noon Sharp... depending on the weather, the snowmaking potential that comes with the incoming cold front, et cetera. Which is spectacular news to us snowboarders here in Indiana...
Our favorite roaming freestyle editor AJ Kohn has his new online skateshop is up and running at www.one4mation.com. The home of One Skateboards and Formation Skateboards (Lorenzo's company) will soon be "Your more core skate store", with a focus on an ever-expanding selection of small, homegrown, and truly "core" skate brands. Not the passe fluff-filled, ex-skater-owned "core" bullshit that you can buy at Zumiez... but, the real-deal in skater-owned and operated companies.
While we will always support the expansive old-school selection at Socal, and Socal's awesome owner Mike Hirsch... we also like this emerging project for it's grass-roots feel, inclusive nature, boots-on-the-ground activism, and overall positive vibe. And, they have some damn good deals running right now, too. Check it out.
The brand-new Formation "Be Brave" deck, with art by Alessandro Novelli (from Turin, Italy). One of the most beautiful decks that I've seen in quite some time, it comes in 7.8", 8.0", and 8.25" widths, and is only 50 bucks at one4mation.com.
In "bummer" news this week comes the word that Mike Vallely has re-joined the Powell-Peralta camp "full time"... which unfortunately means that the virtually brand-new (and hugely inspiring) By The Sword project has been dissolved. From Jason Filipow:
"Mike and I have dissolved By The Sword Skateboards, as he has recently signed with Powell Peralta. Unfortunately, there was no way for us to continue our brand as it was originally envisioned..."
And, in a statement from Kristian Svitak at Regulator Distribution (via http://www.regulatordist.com/):
"SWWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHH!! Thats the sound of a toilet flushing. Well after 6 months of working on "By the Sword" with Mike Vallely, it seems that it has come to an end. We recently recieved an email from Mikes partner with BTS telling us that he got an offer to go back to Powell Peralta and that he is taking it. We at Regulator never had a say in any of it. We just got an email and that was that. Of course we are bummed to not be working with Mike anymore but I think I am more bummed for the shops, distributors and skaters that got behind the message of BTS and supported it. In the end I am stoked for Mike. He is my friend and I only want what is best for my friends. In the meantime maybe Ill steal the "DIY Or Die" slogan?! I really liked that!
So there you go. If you still want to find some stupid skater owned bull shit, Regulatordist.com is still your place to go!
Now take that to your message boards ya queers!
Kristian Svitak
www.Regulatordist.com
1-800-Get Bent..."
While we wish both Mike and Jason the very best of luck in the future, we're bummed that such a promising project ended up having such a short life span. But while the "DIY or Die" motto might be dead [for the moment], you can be rest assured that the DIY or Die ethic will live on in a hundred truly skater-owned companies, skate shops (both virtual, and brick-and-mortar), and media outlets. And you can take that shit straight to the bank.
"Looks like the big guys can't hang with the little guys..."
- AJ Kohn's reaction to the By The Sword news.
In the world of longboard news, we spoke today at length with Wayne Gallipoli over at Surf-Rodz about a whole bunch of new projects that he's taken under his wing over there, including the new INDeeSZ truck (which is essentially a high-precision, billet-milled fusion of an Indy, a Tracker, and a Bennett), several deck brands (including Uncommon, THN, and Speed Mechanics), and a few additions to their snowboard lineup. The whole deal- from the products, to the presentation, to the photography, to the website- looks really great. Check it all out for yourself at www.surf-rodz.com.
Wayne Gallipoli doesn't let much moss grow under his ass over there at Surf-Rodz, as evidenced by this collection of projects (above). Apparently, he moves so fast that even the "mainstream longboard media" has a really tough time keeping up with how fast this guy churns out genius. Mental note to self: Call Wayne weekly from here on out, because if you blink, you're totally gonna miss something great...
Lastly (for now), on a happier note, we here at The Solitary Life would like to introduce the world to my good friend Everett, who has a little company called Ebbie that can be found here:
www.ebbieindustries.com
We especially like the style on Ebbie's plain-'ol "logo decks", which are still super-colorful and well-executed. And they're made in the USA, to boot. So you're not only supporting needy skaters, you're also supporting American Manufacturing. You tell me: How fucking awesome is that...!?
We've known Ebbie for a long, long time, and we're stoked on his new website and art direction. But most of all, Ebbie has an awesome charitable-giving project going on that we wanted to tell our readers about. It's called the "Let Every 1 Skate Project", and according to Ebbie's website, it "was put in place to help those kids who can't afford to skate, get that chance. For every two boards sold, one is donated to a kid that couldn't afford one..."
To honor Ebbie's contributions to the skateboard scene, I'd like to dedicate this Be The Scene PSA to Everett, who is a truly inspiring example of one guy taking the initiative, going out there, and busting his ass to make a difference in the lives of skaters everywhere. Everett, our hats are off to you...!
This, people, is an awesome way to run a business. It's also a huge gift to the world of skateboarding. This Holiday Season, we'd encourage everyone, everywhere, to support this program by buying a deck from Everett, and helping to make some needy skaters' dream somewhere come true. Look for an Everett interview coming as soon as Everett has the time to do one, because he's always super busy working his ass off, and helping some kid somewhere.
Happy Holidays from all of us at The Solitary Life.
