Enter a world of magic and mystery, in my own head, where surfing and snowboarding are considered real jobs! Amazing feats of daring and skill are performed every day - and that's just getting the footage onto film!
Media anarchist, film guru, surf addict and web video blogger!
That's right kiddies, the most mayhem filled weekend of the year is upon us! Snow, altitude sickness, boarding, airs, rails, booze and crazy antics are on the way for Quiksnow 2012. Since 2005 this event has ruled the roost as the most fun Action Sports event of the year. judging by the pictures i have been seeing of the Park at Afriski, this is going to be a stellar year, with all of the top SA riders attending, some crazy new junior riders and of course the usual mix of international chargers that make the trip out to the Southern Tip of Africa. I will be there to bring you all the mayhem first hand!
In the meantime enjoy the teaser for this year, which I just made!
Another week and another amazing show. I was joined by Daniel from the new Cape Town craze, Moonlight Mass, which happens again on Thursday. Local beauties Yolanda Nieman (FHM) and Kate Lovemore (Playboy) were keeping the boys on their toes. Yolanda will be representing for me on Thursday eve at the Moonlight Mass, so look out for her and say hi! Big wave chargers Josh Redman aka, the Vanilla Gorilla and Grant "Twig" Baker came along with their hard working photographer, Ant Fox. Enjoy the show.
Josh Redman is a special kind of guy! For example not many young surfers are willing to follow the Captain's example and grow incredible beards. He also laughed off the pro surf racket and decided to concentrate on charging mental waves and tubes. Often mistaken for Skalk Burger when in the Western Cape, he does similar things to waves as Skalk does to people, namely destroy them. Josh, his brother Dan and Brandon Jackson have a new blog going and launched this video today. Go check out the blog at http://maliciousmustache.tumblr.com/
Bianca Buitendag on the charge to victory. (Photo: ASP)
I was back paging through a Zigzag Magazine the other day and they had the surfers rated by the other surfers in SA. Bianca Buitendag was there, but she had Sarah Baum ahead of her as best Junior Lady and she was not even on the next surfer to make the premier tour list. I remember scratching my head in confusion thinking, how could the pro surfers think this girl is not our best bet at a World Champion in the next few years? She is absolutely caning it! Just to back up my opinion, she went and defeated a loaded field of the world's best female surfers at the Movistar Pro in Peru this weekend. The win moved her into 5th place on the women's world rankings. Sarah Baum did well to make the semi finals. Alana Blanchard, the world's hottest surfer, did well to make the final, but she had no chance against Bianca...
LOBITOS, Piura / Peru (Saturday, Jul, 28, 2012) -
Waves in the 2-3 foot range (1 meter) were on hand Saturday for the
final day of the ASP 6-Star Movistar Women’s Pro presented by Rip Curl
and Petrolera Sapet at the lefthand pointbreak of Lobitos, in Piura,
Peru. Bianca Buitendag, 18, (ZAF) defeated Alana Blanchard, 22, (HAW),
by displaying a powerful frontside attack to clinch her victory and win
U$ 8,000 in prize money and 3,500 points, moving her up to 5th place on
the ASP World Star ranking. Six surfers on the ASP World Star rating
qualify for the group of top-17 ASP Women´s Tour.
Bianca Buitendag scored a heat wave total of 15.00 points (out of
a possible 20) by scoring a 7.0 and an 8.0 on her two best rides over
Blanchard’s 12.90 on her two highest scoring waves (7.9 and 5.0).
Buitendag sealed her victory by catching a long lefthander where she
showed a variety of snaps, cutbacks and roundhouses.
“I feel really emotional and very happy with my victory,” said Bianca
Buitendag. “I never thought that I would make it past the
Quarter-Finals, let alone past Sofia (Mulanovich) in the Semi-Finals. So
to make it to the Finals and win the contest is such an incredible
feeling. Alana (Blanchard) surfed really well, the waves were excellent
throughout the whole week and this is the most important moment for me
in my early career.”
By surfing on her backside, Blanchard was not able to keep up with
the Buitendag’s rhythm throughout the Final heat. However, her Runner-Up
finish in Peru secured U$ 4,000 and 2,640 points which places her in
10th place on the ASP World Star ranking and remains in the race for
qualification for the 2013 ASP Women’s Tour.
“This was such a fun contest and I’m thankful for making it to the
Finals,” said Alana Blanchard. “It’s a shame I never got a good second
wave to backup my score, but Bianca (Buitendag) was unstoppable
throughout the entire event and she deserved the victory. This was my
best result so far this season and I hope this event remains on the
calendar for years because the waves are spectacular and it was a great
experience for all of the surfers that participated in the contest.”
Buitendag’s path to the Finals at the Movistar Women’s Pro was filled
with obstacles. She defeated Philippa Anderson (AUS), 20, in the
Quarter-Finals and followed by taking out the event favorite, 2004 ASP
Women’s Tour champion, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) with his best performance
on the last day, almost beating the records of the Peruvian in the
semifinals.
“It was an excellent contest with good waves all week and I’d like to
thank the Peruvian fans for all of the support they showed me,” said
Mulanovich. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the Finals, but
congratulations to Bianca (Buitendag) who surfed well during the whole
contest and deserved to be in the Finals. I’m sure this 3rd place finish
gives me some good ASP Star ranking points and now it’s time to start
thinking about the event next week at Huntington Beach.”
The Movistar Women’s Pro was event number 6 (out of 11) of the 2012
ASP Women’s World Star Series. The next event will be held from August
9-12 at Oceanside, California, right after the final event of the 2012
ASP Women’s Tour during July 30-August 5th at Huntington Beach. The
remaining ASP 6-Star events will be held in Europe on consecutive weeks.
The first will be held in Spain from September 12-16 and the following
two will be in Portugal, in Estoril from September 21-23 and the last
event will be on the Azores Islands from September 27-30, where the top
six athletes on the ASP World Star Series will qualify for the 2013 ASP
Women’s Tour.
The 2012 ASP Movistar Women’s Pro presented by Rip Curl and Petrolera
Sapet and is brought to you by Nosotras, Sony, Powerade, Tasa,
Alojamiento Peru Hosting, Barena, Star Peru, Burn, Ron Cartavio, San
Jose Rent a Car, Tablas Wayo Whilar, Xtreme Fujita Japan, Cirujano
Roberto Valdivia, Mapfre Seguros and Estructuras Aro. MOVISTAR WOMEN´S PRO FINAL RESULT:
1st – Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) – 15.00 (8.0+7.0) – US$ 8,000 and 3.500 points 2nd – Alana Blanchard (HAW) – 12.90 (7.9+5.0) – US$ 4,000 and 2.640 points MOVISTAR WOMEN´S PRO SEMI-FINALS RESULTS – 3th place – US$ 1,900 and 2.080 points:
SF 1: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 16.25 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 15.50 SF 2: Alana Blanchard (HAW) 13.95 def. Sarah Baum (ZAF) 11.40
CURRENT ASP WOMEN´S WORLD RANKING – TOP 10 (After Movistar Women´s Pro):
01: Courtney Conlogue (USA) – 9.730 points 02: Malia Manuel (HAW) – 8.280 03: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) – 7.000 04: Sage Erickson (USA) – 6.750 05: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) – 6.663 06: Rebecca Woods (AUS) – 6.530 07: Pauline Ado (FRA) – 5.980 08: Paige Hareb (NZL) – 5.910 09: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) – 5.640 10: Alana Blanchard (HAW) – 5.400
Welcome to my Friday Mix with a very surf orientated vibe this week. We start with Beautiful swell lines at the world's best right hand point, Supertubes. Straight up after this is the mental slab, The Tand, being charged by the local West Coast crew or bodyboarders. We finish off with an older, but still very hot, video of surfer and bikini model, Sanoe Lake. Enjoy!
This is a trailer that made me want to find the film and watch it immediately. In fact it is actually downloading as we speak! Watch the trailer and see why...
BIRDMEN: The Original Dream of Flight TRAILER from Team Thirteen on Vimeo.
Birdmen is a documentary film about the dream of human flight becoming reality. For millennia, humans have looked to the sky and dreamed of arcing through the air, like birds. And now, after hundreds of thousands of years, humans can fly. It is dangerous, deadly, and requires years of training, but a select few have committed their lives to the pursuit of the purest form of human flight: Wingsuit BASE Jumping.
'Birdmen' follows the dream of human flight, from its inception in ancient times to the modern world. What started with stuntmen hurling themselves to their death from objects such as the Eiffel Tower has become a respected extreme sport in which athletes zoom through the mountains at 150mph, just inches from trees and cliff faces.
During the film, professional wingsuit pilots Ellen Brennan, Mike Steen, and Matt Gerdes escort you through the inspiring yet tragic history of their ancestral birdmen and then show you the cutting edge of human flight in the year 2012. Matt, Mike, and Ellen are some of the most talented wingsuit pilots in the world – during the film, they pioneer new wingsuit flights in the European Alps and experience the highs and lows of a flying life. Finally, the future of the sport is envisioned, where scientists in Switzerland explain how pilots can soon achieve perfectly balanced and relatively safe flight paths using cruise-control autonomous systems and small engines.
'BIRDMEN' is the first documentary ever made that covers the past, present, and possible future of the sport.
FEATURING: Matt Gerdes, Mike Steen, Ellen Brennan, Patrick De Gayardon, Loic Jean-Albert, Jeb Corliss, Yvess Rossy
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Proximity Productions
PRODUCER: Team Thirteen
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: Matt Sheridan
CAMERAWORK: Kevin Steen, John James, Vinnie Urgo, Matt Sheridan
AERIAL CAMERAWORK: Noah Bahnson
EDITING: Matt Sheridan and Shane McFalls
MUSIC: Milton Menasco
Enjoy a moment with Freestyle Motocross professional and Red Bull
athlete Josh Sheehan. After humble beginnings growing up on an apple
farm in Donnybrook, Australia, Sheehan has climbed his way to the top
echelons of the FMX world, taking 1st place at the 2011 Red Bull
X-Fighters in Sydney after landing a total of 3 double backflips
throughout the day. A superstar still on the rise, we are proud to have
Josh as part of The World of Red Bull.
Been a while since we caught up with Jamie O'Brien and his mad life surfing epic waves. The Who is JOB crew head to the Mentawai Islands in Sumatra for some epic waves, great spear fishing and general mayhem...
Matthias Giraud shows us the beauty - and danger - of B.A.S.E. jumping in the unspoiled wilds of Iceland. From dramatic waterfalls to flying a Wingsuit over an active Volcano, Iceland provides a dramatic backdrop to this crazy Frenchman.
New Zealand's Levi Sherwood won an epic battle against Dany Torres and a
pulsating crowd of 20,000 frenzied Spaniards at the Madrid stop of the
Red Bull X-Fighters $1 million World Tour. It was another magical
evening under the stars at the world's most exciting freestyle motocross
event with another Spaniard, Maikel Melero, getting the first podium of
his career with third place.
First show back in the studio and I will be honest it was a little nerve racking after so much time away. I definately had one or two glitches, but having said that it was a great show. Started out with Glen from 4 Elements Gaming as we caught up on all the gaming news in SA and abroad. Then possibly my most famous surf guest yet, John John Florence and his entire travel family were in studio. His Mom, Alex, Brothers, Nathan and Ivan, friend and fellow Pro, Kiron Jabour, as well as camera crew and local tour guide, friend, Frank Solomon. Video man, Blake, had possibly the funniest intro on the show ever. Crack a listen, its worth it.
What happens when you give guys the right toys to make the action cinema they want to make? You get web videos like this. Really inspiring little piece shot on some very expensive gear...
The Epic & The Beasts from Sebastian Linda on Vimeo.
When we were kids we never dreamt of being a firemen, a pilot or superhero. We always wanted to be skateboarders, jumping up curbs, down the stairs and filp our boards as many times as we could. This has not changed until today. TOM KLEINSCHMIDT - RICHARD NAUMERTAT - ERIK GROß OCTAVIO TRINDADE - DAVID RADERECHT - SEBASTIAN LINDA Directed & Edited by Sebastian Linda www.sebastian-linda.de
This has to be one of the most innovative and creative athlete profiles I have ever seen. Red Bull Media made the profile video of BMX star, Michael "Berry" Beran. He is busting some of the biggest and unique tricks in BMX, so it makes sense that his profile video would do the same. Seriously worth a watch!
Ok, so I have been away on what many will think was a holiday, but I assure you there was loads of work. The fact that my work feels like a holiday has nothing to do with it, haha. Hence there was a small break from your favorite Friday Mix. No worries though, its back and its bad.
First up check out the teaser for the biggest and most bad ass Red Bull XFighters of them all, Madrid. I would give my eye teeth to go to this event!
Next up we hit the road with the Mongoose Bmx team in Europe, including our very own Saffer, Greg Illingworth.
Back to the USA for the Red Bull Wake open 2012. Park, boat and Big Air wakeboarding in front of 25'000 fans. Sounds epic.
Lastly check out one of the new school SA surfers, Mikey February in his latest online video. Watch this kid carefully, he is going to go places!
First things first, I arrived in Jbay on the back of a 41 hour trip from LA. To say I am broken would have been an understatement. Never the less, I woke to perfect waves at the best point in the world and a contest site frothing for what was going to be one of the best 6 Star events of all time. The biggest storm of all time was on the horizon and contest director, Luke Egan, wanted the event done before it arrived. Enter 3 days of 24 heats per day and a crew of workers and surfers who went full tilt to the finals, where the most full tilt surfer of them all was awarded victory in the form of Brazilian, Adriano da Souza. While this was all going on I found myself in the holy grail of seats for a person dedicated to talking about surfing, the Billabong Pro webcast booth, along with my main man Wok. We were given an opportunity and we both grasped it with open arms. My feeling is that we brought something fresh to the webcast and hopefully that will be rewarded with more time in the booth at big contests. We snuck the event under the storm radar and then got thoroughly bolted by what must be the most insane storm I have ever seen at Jbay. It was ok though, we were happy to chill indoors with a glass of Red wine after the best contest in a very long time!
Here is my radio show with fellow commentator, Greg Long, contest director, Luke Egan, Billabong SA main skiet, Chad da Arcy and Billabong Events manager, The Heff! Have a listen and understand fully what went down at this momentous event!
The final day at the XGames and once again it was the BMX crew giving me the biggest thrills. BMX big air was absolutely nuts! Defending champion Steve McCann pulls out a no-handed double front-flip
leading into a double tail whip on his final run of the GoPro BMX Big
Air competition pushing him into 1st. Insane...
The Rally Crew did not want to be left out though and with Travis Pastrana crashing for the second year running, it was left to World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb to show the X racers why he is the king of rally. Ken Block held on with 3 laps to go and a flat rear tire to take the Silver.
How do you put Enduro inside a stadium? Xgames figured it out and Mike Brown won the Gold. This is pretty mental...
Day 3 dawned and I left my hacienda "Hotel" in East LA for the Nokia Theater and my highlight by miles for the day, watching the BMX Vert Ramp finals and an XGames legend making history. Jamie Bestwick took down his 6th consecutive Vert ramp Gold Medal. It was amazing to watch, especially considering we never see BMX vert in South Africa.
In the Skate Street final I called Pedro Barros from round 1. The guy was just so fast around the Park and was definitely busting way bigger airs and transfers than anyone else. It was some of the best bowl skating I have seen in a very long time.
