Category — Industry News

Billabong has shown how they can help the skate industry progress with Element as their prime example. Billabong has signed an agreement to license Plan B Skateboards for the next 10 years.  Billabong is eager to unite these core brands and give Plan B the backing they need to progress in this tight market.

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The International Association of Skateboard Companies is pleased to announce the creation of Local Skateshop Days, two full days honoring specialty skateboard retailers. The celebration, set for October 9-10, 2010, will encourage manufacturers to focus their attention on the front lines of their distribution, the core skateboard retailer. IASC members will take this opportunity to create special promotions for their key retailers and show their recognition of shops worldwide that are the cornerstone of the skateboarding scene in their communities.

“Skate shops have always been essential to the heart, soul and spirit of skateboarding.” Says Don Brown, IASC Chairman of the Board. “By creating “Local Skateshop Day” skateboarding, as a whole, can focus on driving awareness, energy, support and friendship to our family on the front lines- the core retailer. It’s essential that we do whatever it takes to support these shops in order to keep the true passion and creativity of skateboarding alive. Let the good times roll!”

Local Skateshop Day will utilize many of the successful elements from Go Skateboarding Day, a worldwide celebration of skateboarding created by IASC in 2004 and held every year on June 21. Look for more information on Local Skateshop Day on Skateboardiasc.org and coming to a skateshop near you!

Some skaters view Mike Vallely as one of the last true old school skaters still influencing the industry today. Whether or not this is true, Mike V has been in the media’s eye since he was a teenager. Mike V was Powell-Peralta’s golden child and skated to prove everyone that this was true. Now Mike Vallely is still in the limelight doing his thing with his own iPhone App, website, blog and mag covers.

Get the full scoop by checking out Transworld Magazine’s in depth interview, Mike Vallely: A Taxonomical Guide.

Check out the CtotheJL blog to get in-depth coverage of the show.

We just got back from the ASR/ Crossroads event in San Diego on Saturday, so sorry about the absence of blogs last week.  I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked to, but hopefully you will get the idea of what goes on at these shows. So stay tuned to catch all the happenings from last week.

Zoo York Skateboards has expanded past their normal graffiti and city landscape designs to collaborate with Morning Breath to put out a new series called the The Hells Kitchen Bunch.  Morning Breath Inc. is a creative studio based in Brookyln, NY that has worked with bands such as AFI, Foo Fighters, Placebo, Slayer and Talib Kweli not including companies such as Girl Skateboards and Ride Snowboards.  I think this collection will be a huge hit, so don’t hold your breath, we should have them in stock soon!

Transworld Business sat down last week and spoke with John Turnbull, buyer at BuySkateShoes.com, about upcoming trends and how they are going to effect upcoming sales. Go to Transworld Business to get the full interview.

Josh Hunter with Transworld Business interviews Crystal Worslet at Surf Expo on how skateboarding has changed her autistic son’s life.  Her and her husband, Peter Karvonen, owner of Faith Skate Shop started the non-profit organization about 2 years ago to help build a skatepark in their area. Watch the interview to see where Crystal plans to take Concrete Curve here in the near future. Go to Transworld Business to read the full article.

“Art is what you can get away with.” – Andy Warhol

Alien Workshop is proud to introduce the initial, limited-edition collaboration offering with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. As the preeminent American artist of the 20th Century, Andy Warhol challenged the world to see art differently. This distinctive project presents a new approach to skateboard/artist collaborations by pairing unique examples of Warhol’s groundbreaking artwork with each of the ten iconoclast pro riders sponsored by Alien Workshop.

Read the full article at Alien Workshop!

Transworld is going to prime time television with “Skate and Create 2“. MTV2 will be having a one-hour special about the creative contest that etnies, Circa, DC and DVS worked so diligently on.  The one-hour “Skate and Create” special will air on Feburary 6th, at 11p.m. ET and PC times.

Watch the Trailer at Transworld Skateboarding.