Thursday, July 31, 2014

Every Day is Day One...


Every Day is Day One - Samsung - ASP - Surf




Published on Jul 23, 2014
Samsung Mobile is proud to be the first global partner of the ASP, together they celebrate the growth of surfing worldwide and remind us that out on the waves, every day is day one.

The film launches with the 2014 US leg of the ASP World Tour, featuring pro-surfers Kelly Slater, Stephanie Gilmore, Gabriel Medina, Mitch Crews and Johanne Defay.

The first time you hold a surfboard, the first time you ride a wave, the first time you get barreled, the first time you win a world title.

It doesn't matter where you are from or how good you are. Every day is day one.

http://www.aspworldtour.com/events
http://www.samsung.com/global/microsi…


Monday, July 28, 2014

One Dead, 13 Injured in Rare Southern California Lightning Storm (Via ABCnews)


Jul 27, 2014, 10:17 PM ET

Sunday, July 27, 2014

"The One-Legged Bastard" (via the surfer's journal)

bastard
By TSJ
As far as gaining some perspective on the man vs. fish trend that's permeating the waterman culture as of late, there's no shortage of reasons to pickup The Evolution of Freediving and History of Spearfishing in Hawai'i by Sonny Tanabe. Included in the 200-page book are the story of Dr. Terry Maas' record-setting 398-pound Bluefin speared off of Guadalupe Island in 1982 (which served as the cover photo for his seminal Blue Water Hunters), the story of the first purge valve masks, and all of the other deep water exploits that 100 years underwater have brought us.
Also included is a short, one-page story about the relatively obscure Del Wren, which both captivates and inspires. Born in Rochester, New York, in 1925, Wren ran away from home at 13. By the time World War II rolled around, he found himself serving in the Pacific theater. After the war he spent a brief stint in Oregon as a logger, where an accident took his left leg in 1946. Undeterred, shortly thereafter he moved to California and began diving. By 1958 he won his first U.S. National Spearfishing title, and the following year Wren and the U.S. team would finish third at the World Spearfishing Championships in Malta. 
As the story goes, Wren was sick with the flu during a competition in 1954 and had decided to stop fishing early. Laid up on the beach under a towel, when it came time to announce the winners one of his fellow divers announced that Wren's 45-pound catch was enough for the victory. That's when his old nemisis Charlie Sturgill exclaimed, "That one-legged bastard, that's who won?" Thus a nickname was born. 
The above photo of Wren was taken in 1953 and features his own handwriting depicting the adaptations he made to his equipment to become a successful spear fisherman. "To stay in top diving shape Wren practiced breathing exercise, did push-ups, and swam at least four times a week," writes Tanabe. "He preferred to use a Duck Feet fin. His accomplishments in the sport are amazing."

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

12 Miles North: The Nick Gabaldon Story (via the interia.com)



Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on February 16, 2012. “12 Miles North” was just nominated for a Webby. Vote for it here.
The Inertia, in partnership with Nike Surfing, is proud to present the online premiere of 12 Miles North: The Nick Gabaldon story. You can also visit Nike Surfing’s Facebook Page to watch and download the film.
Read more about 12 Miles North below:
Our lives revolve around stories. When told correctly, stories have the power to inspire, challenge, and organize ideas in an otherwise puzzling world. They often provide a framework for understanding ourselves, so when a story realizes its potential, it’s an absolutely transcendent event. Nick Gabaldon’s is one such story. Laden with superlatives, it strikes a deeper place where passion, risk, and iconoclasm intersect.
According to Matt Warshaw, author of The Encyclopedia of Surfing, Nick Gabaldon was the first African American surfer. He learned to surf at an informally segregated beach called “The Inkwell” in Santa Monica in the 1940s and regularly paddled twelve miles north to surf Malibu, one of California’s best waves. In doing so, Gabaldon defied conventions in an America that had institutionally prevented many blacks from accessing the ocean (and swimming pools) through a variety of latently racist legislation encouraged by Jim Crow laws, which weren’t formally dismantled until 1965 when Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act.
But that’s just context. Forget the racial boundaries he collapsed by simply standing on a surfboard. Instead, ponder the stroke-after-shoulder-burning-stroke that a 12-mile open ocean paddle demands. Gabaldon pursued his passion for surfing to an extent most would never consider, which stands alone as an impressive feat, magnified further by his tragic, yet poignant conclusion.
On June 5, 1951, Nick Gabaldon caught his last wave. During an eight-foot south swell, Gabaldon lost control of his board and struck a piling beneath the Malibu Pier. His board washed up on the beach shortly after. Three days later, lifeguards recovered his body and the small community of (white) surfers who had come to accept and respect Nick mourned.
Eerily, just six days before he passed away, Gabaldon, who was enrolled at Santa Monica City College, submitted a poem entitled “Lost Lives” to the school’s literary magazine. The poem praised the power of the sea and foreshadowed the events of June 5th. Nick wrote:
The sea vindictive, with waves so high,
For me to battle and still they die…
Scores and scores have fallen prey,
To the salt of animosity,
And many more will victims be,
Of the capricious, vindictive sea.
We can’t pretend to know what Nick was thinking as he glided towards the Malibu Pier on his final wave. And we’ll never know the exact relationship between Nick’s poem and his end. But we can salute the depth of his passion and its cultural import.
As Director Richard Yelland told me, Nick’s story isn’t about surfing. It’s about humanity. It’s about sourcing inspiration from extraordinary ambitions and obstacles like those that Nick confronted and applying them to your own life, whatever that may mean. For Nick, surfing was a vehicle to improve his world. The ocean was his medium, which is fitting because the sea knows no prejudice; it’s the ultimate equalizer. As is a basketball court. Or a soccer pitch. Or a football field. Or, especially, a great story. - Zach Weisberg, Founder, The Inertia
Be sure to check out more editorial celebrating black surf culture on The Inertia:

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Eat Your Vegetables (#12) in Waste Land

When I was a kid I didn't like to eat my vegetables. At the time I didn't see a need for them. I used to joke to my mom that I would catch up on eating all my vegetables at our next Thanksgiving dinner which of course was months away. I understand now that my mom wanted me to be healthy and vegetables are good for me. This segment is about eating your vegetables, well mentally. The vegetables that I'll be dishing out to you are for your own good. It's a dose of getting exposed to something that might be new to most of you, even outside of the usual surf culture. It's ok if you don't like it, but like my mom said,"at least give it a try before next Thanksgiving."

I think it is a very good thing that a person can remind others that they have meaning. Vik Muniz did this by incorporating the lives and life styles of trash pickers in Rio de Janiero into his art. The art was sold at auction and he donated the proceeds to the trash pickers, and it changed their lives forever. I feel that the trash pickers may have changed they way Vik Muniz viewed the world and people in general. Everyone has value and can make this world, your world, a better place. Check out the trailer below:


Waste Land (2010) - Official Trailer [HD]





Uploaded on Jan 11, 2011
"Waste Land" is an award winning documentary by director Lucy Walker - An uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit. Top-selling contemporary artist Vik Muniz takes us on an emotional journey from Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, to the heights of international art stardom. Vik collaborates with the brilliant catadores, pickers of recyclable materials, true Shakespearean characters who live and work in the garbage quoting Machiavelli and showing us how to recycle ourselves.

Released on 2010 and premiered in Berlin Film Festival 2010 (Berlinale)


Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”—self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Director Lucy Walker (DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, BLINDSIGHT and COUNTDOWN TO ZERO) and co-directors João Jardim and Karen Harley have great access to the entire process and, in the end, offer stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.

















Surfers Shoulders - Shoulder Impingements & Injury from Excessive Paddling (Via strengthconditioning.tumblr.com)


Swimmer’s or Surfer’s Shoulder is a common condition affecting both competitive and recreational swimmers and surfers. It is basically an overuse injury which results in shoulder impingement or rotator cuff type symptoms.
HOW WE GET IT
The action of paddling in surfing strengthens the larger muscles around the shoulder, some of the major ones taxed being the pec major, pec minor, deltoids, upper trapezius, levator scapulae, lats and serratus posterior. These muscles when strong relative to their opposite acting muscles tend to apply upward force on the arm bone, migrating it north toward the bone above. The rotator cuff muscles when strong will apply a downward force on the ball of the arm bone.

Because of regular paddling we tend to become strong in the muscles that apply this upward force and relatively weak in the rotator cuff muscles that apply downward force. This can result in the ball of the arm bone sliding upwards in the shoulder joint. 
Impingement Syndrome occurs when there is abnormal contact between the rotator cuff muscles and the roof of the shoulder (acromion). Normally, a sac of tissue (bursa) sits on top of the rotator cuff, allowing the muscles to glide smoothly as the shoulder moves in different directions. When the arm is raised, the space between the rotator cuff and acromion becomes smaller. There is usually enough room in the shoulder joint for this to occur without pain. With repeated paddling, irritation and damage to the rotator cuff can occur and the bursa can swell. This decreases the space in the shoulder and compresses the rotator cuff muscles, causing pain.

A subtype of impingement is called internal impingement. This occurs as a result of imbalanced forces in the shoulder capsule, which is a fibrous tissue. In some people, the front part of the capsule is too loose, or unstable, and the back part is way too tight. This results in an imbalance of forces across the joint, especially with overhead stuff like paddling. Abnormal contact between the rotator cuff muscles and the back part of the capsule occurs, damaging the rotator cuff, capsule, and labrum and ultimately causing pain.

If this impingement is allowed to go on for an extended period of time it can cause small tears in the rotator cuff tendons, reduce blood supply and important nutrition to the shoulder joint.
Muscular imbalance is a key problem, but also so can be restricted mobility in the thoracic spine, neck, hips and shoulders. Paddling places a massive amount of stress on the rotator cuff in general, they need to work their derrière’s off to keep up with the stronger muscles that surround them. The freestyle and paddling strokes result in overdevelopment of both the shoulders internal rotators (subscapularis), compared to external rotators (infraspinatus) and the anterior chest wall musculature (pectoralis major and minor) relative to the posterior wall scapular stabilisers (rhomboids, levator scapuli, serratus anterior and middle/lower trapezius).
Rotator cuff injury is a continuum beginning with impingement and progressing to a cuff tear. The cuff tendons have areas of low blood supply, making healing more difficult after injury. As a result, the tendons degenerate with time. This is why most tears occur in late middle age.
OTHER AREAS AFFECTED THAT AFFECT THE SHOULDER THAT MAY NOT HAVE CROSSED YOUR MIND
Surfing creates tight hip flexors.
The hip rotates toward the back foot and this over time creates imbalanced loading through the spine, hips, knees, ankles. 
Tension created by imbalances in the hip cause core instability; which affects your surfing and just about everything else!
Increased muscle-shortening keeps the right shoulder (natural footed) under stress and out of
alignment, decreasing its flexibility, coordination, and strength.
Muscle imbalances from being right-handed causes the right hip to draw upward as the right shoulder is pulled down, creating ongoing stress that over time affects all of the joints in the body.
The neck, chest, and the internal rotator muscles of the shoulders all shorten and limit normal range of motion.
Diagnosis
Pain at the front or back of the shoulder during or after surfing, especially when you lift your arm to paddle.
Often rounded shoulders and slight winging of the shoulder blades.
Pain in lifting the arm straight up and straight out to the side. 
Shoulder instability.

Treatment
Treatment involves restoring softness to overly tight muscles (therapist, deep sports muscle therapy, trigger point release, muscle corrective therapy), flexibility in tight muscles/fascia, ensuring optimal mobility in the neck, upper back and hips, and strengthening the rotator cuff as well as weak opposing muscles.
Ideally these prehab or rehab exercises, stretches and muscle therapy should be part of the surfers training so as to prevent the condition in the first place. Learning correct paddling technique also helps to offset rotator cuff injuries. For surfers over 40, it is important to listen to your body. There is a difference in the pain we feel from muscle soreness and that from our joints. Respect the signals. It is important to rest and stretch the shoulder as needed to maintain shoulder health – especially if you want to keep surfing for life.

It’s all connected. For a lot of surfers, the front of our shoulders are very over used, while the back of the shoulder is not. There’s also a lot of funky stuff going on in other parts of the body from the ankle up. See this post for some ideas on therapy, stretching and exercises -Shoulder Problems in Sport & Exercise - part two
King Kelly keeping his joints mobile.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Stand Up Paddling at Massive Wedge (Via theinertia.com)

So far, July has been a pretty dang good month for insanely entertaining giant waves. A few days ago, we ran into another pretty nuts video fromThe Wedge. That was crazy. This one might top it. This video in particular shows just how crazy the Wedge can get… and just how crazy a few of the people who surf there are. Stand-up guy, we don’t know whether to applaud you or call an asylum.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Skimboarding Bulldog



Gandhi Speedy 


Published on Mar 3, 2013


Tillman the Skimboarding Bulldog



Uploaded on Oct 19, 2010
Incredible Features Exclusive Story - Oxnard, CA - On a beautiful day in California, Tillman, a 6 month old bulldog, takes to the beach with his owner Ron Davis and cohort Rose, a 6-month old female bulldog who hopes to follow in her bigger brother's (they're not related) athletic enterprises. Its early morning, and Tillman, already a TV star with a starring role on CBS Television's realtiy series 'Greatest American Dog' and a commercial video sensation with his appearance in one of Apple's first iPhone ads, takes on one of his favorite sports, skimboarding. Read more here:

http://www.incrediblefeatures.net/blo...

See our blog for more amazing stories:http://incrediblefeatures.net/


Brad Domke rides the biggest skimboarding wave of all time (Via SurferToday.com)

If there were any doubts, Brad Domke has put them to rest. Big wave skimboarding is here to stay and impress. Prepare to watch the biggest wave ever ridden on a skimboard.

The Floridian skimboarder has ridden what is widely considered the largest wave ever on a skimboard. Domke took off on a massive barreling ride at Puerto Escondido, Mexico, in early July, alongside Shane Dorian.
While riding big waves on a surfboard is no longer a secret, holding the line on a finless skimboard is a different story.
Brad Domke's hollow wave at Puerto Escondido not only is the biggest skimboarding wave of all time, but it also opens a new chapter in the history of the sport.
It's time to invest in skimboarding. There are more and better skimmers, agile and established tours, steady and sustainable brands. The International Surfing Association (ISA) may play a key role in the development of skimboarding.
Take an in-depth look at Brad Domke, the master of big wave skimboarding.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Planet Ocean, a new film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand (Via surfeuropemag.com)




French photographer, reporter and dedicated environmentalist Yann Arthus-Bertrand originally made a name for himself by circumnavigating the planet by hot air balloon, allowing him to capture some of the most striking images of the earth’s surface from the air and in doing so revealing the environment’s ‘bigger picture’.

In a brand new project, the photographer has turned his attention to the world’s oceans, releasing a 1 1/2 hour documentary called ‘Planet Ocean’. While the movie offers little in the form of any real surf action, the striking aerial views of the world’s oceans and myriad facets of how mankind interacts with them are well worth a watch if you have the time (and even if you don’t).