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!
Showing posts with label video of the week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video of the week. Show all posts
Perfect lines, dirt aplenty, some of the world's best BMX riders and time aplenty. This is the Dream Line. Sick event, sick edit!
The qualifers pitted all 16 of the riders against each other. But only eight of them made it to the finals.
Red Bull Dream Line invited 16 of the world's best BMX dirt riders to Anthony Napolitan's private training facility in Wabasha, Minnesota. A first of its kind, Red Bull Dreamline features an unrestricted trails-style course that the riders couldn't get enough of.
The Quiksilver Pro New York begins on Monday and it is a first for Pro surfing. Firstly as this is the first ever CT event in NY and secondly due to the mammoth $1'000'000 prize money. After mind altering and rather frightening waves in Tahiti, the pro show moves to pretty mediocre and cold beach break for this event. There have been many questions asked about the feasibility of taking a contest to these kind of venues, but it seems the bottom line is that the major Brands want pro contests back where they will get huge crowds of spectators.
Major points of interest are that:
1) Kelly Slater is back on top of the ratings, hotly followed by Jordy Smith and Joel Parkinson and it looks like we are going to have a major 3 way battle for the World title this year between these 3. None of them will want a bad result before the half way mark of the tour and moving onto Trestles where all 3 are super dangerous.
2) Will Bobby Martinez and Dane Reynolds surf? Both have been awol for the last 2 events and neither has indicated they will be surfing in NY. Dane is of course a Quiksilver rider and I would be pretty amazed if he does not pitch up for the event.
3) Travis Logie, who got a wildcard thanks to Bobby not pitching up in Tahiti, and ended up making the semi finals and getting a 3rd place, is on the cusp of making the cut off for the premier tour. He needs two withdrawals from the field, as he is the 2nd wildcard option, but if this happens and he can secure a good result, he will almost definitely make the cut. In small beachbreak conditions you have to know the Durban beachfront local will be hard to beat. Only time will tell though and Travis must be praying that some of the Tahiti injured don't make it.
4) The Cutoff! After this contest there is a reshuffle on tour and anyone outside the Top 32 on the World Rankings is gone, while any WQS surfer in the Top 32 will move up to the big leagues. there are a span of amazing surfers, like John John Florence very close and the Brazilian wonder Kid, Gabriel Medina is already in.
Why New York and are there Waves? Quiksilver say -
The surf industry was created by surfers, for surfers. New York surfers represent the core dedication that has made the sport what it is today. This event is as much in honor of that dedication to wave riding as it is to the stars who light the way. For many, cold water and big city living would be reason enough to turn their backs on the ocean. To be a life-long surfer in New York requires considerable sacrifice and unwavering commitment. It means braving the majority of the year for the incredible surf pay-off that typically comes during a brief window at the end of summer.
But the surfing culture is rich and deep on Long Island. The East Coast Surf Championships began on Long Island in 1962 and continues to this day as one of the longest-running surfing competitions in the world. Like California, Hawaii and Australia, New York can lay claim to hometown heroes, mom-andpop surf shops, and die-hard personalities who have supported and influenced generations to become a part of surf history.
WHAT ABOUT THE SURF?
Forecasters and analysts pored over charts and historic data before selecting the National Boulevard surf site on Long Island, New York. The September 4-15 time frame has historically offered the highest incidence of quality surf and hurricane-generated swell opportunities. Surfline.com, the world's leading forecaster of wave and surf conditions, conducted an independent long term 15-year wave study for western Long Island, New York, summarizing that September 4-15 is one of the most consistent time periods for sizable surf in the region. In addition, independent local feedback supports these findings, with September typically averaging 3+ hurricane swells, typically with at least one 3-4 day swell. Surfline.com is the official forecaster for The Quiksilver Pro New York, serving as a key reference point for contest officials in selecting surf contest days.
“ This was a very fascinating study,” said Sean Collins, Chief Forecaster and President of Surfline.com. “The surf climate in Western Long Island is greatly affected by the underwater Hudson Canyon offshore, which can turn average surf into very high quality surf comparable to many of the best surf spots in the world on the right day. We are also in a La Nina year, so we expect the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season to be a little more active and hopefully we can score great surf with the world's top surfers in one of the best cities in the world.”
The Wild Cards -
As with all Association of Surfing Professionals events, there are two wildcards selected to mix it up with the world's Top 34 ranked surfers. The first wildcard was granted to rising professional New York surfer Balaram Stack, hailed as the most talented surfer to emerge from the New York surf scene. Balaram joined the Quiksilver Pro Team at the age of 14. He is now 19 and pairs his supremely smooth surf style with a repertoire of crowd-wowing, gravity-defying aerial antics. Balaram won the coveted New York UnSound Pro title in 2010. He is also a multiple NSSA East Coast champion.
The second wildcard will be given to the top surfer to emerge out of a threestage trials competition that was open to juniors, locals and international talent:
Stage 1: The UnSound ASP Pro Junior, held at Long Beach, Long Island, April 27-30, 2011. The winner of the event, Hawaii's Keanu Asing, earned a berth into the final stage of trials competition:
Stage 2: The Empire State Surfing Championships Trials for the Trials, presented by Quiksilver, held at National Boulevard, Long Island, July 15-17, 2011. This was open to 16 of New York's hottest home-town surfers. The winner, Leif Engstrom (Montauk) advanced to the international trials competition that will immediately precede the Quiksilver Pro New York:
Stage 3: The Quiksilver Pro New York ASP World Tour Trials, presented by UnSound Surf, supported by Vitamin Water, to be held September 1-3 at the National Boulevard main event site. This is open to 14 rising international pro surfers, plus Keanu Asing & Leif Engstrom. The lineup of talent includes solid East Coast representation in Fisher Heaverly, Ryan Carlson, Sam Hammer, Asher Nolan, and Jeremy Johnston. International challengers include: Craig
Anderson (Australia), Masatoshi Ohno (Japan), and Marc Lacomare (Europe). The winner will receive the wildcard into the main event.
And this is where it really gets interesting. The two wildcards are always immediately drawn against the two top seeds of the event. That sounds like a good deal for the top seeds, but as often as not, the youthful ambition and nothing-to-lose mentality of a wildcard can prove to be the undoing of a champion.
So get your Fantasy Team ready, even in crap waves there is a whole lot to do for the surfers at both ends of the ratings and this should be a banger of a Contest.
Never mind the fact that this is a nuts event. The video is simply amazing. You could be forgiven for thinking you are watching a fully animated Dinky Car production. Creative use of time lapses and very wide shots make this video seem unreal.
Check out all of the little people battle it out at Erzberg Rodeo moto enduro event in Austria as part of the epic Red Bull Hare Scramble 2011.
For more rattling two-stroke engines, smoking machines, loud rock-music, the smell of gasoline, dust-covered faces, muddy boots, the absence of any traffic rules and a crazy show of fanatic motorsport-enthusiasts, head over to...
With Japan still reeling from their close encounter with earthquakes and tsunamis, it is good to know that it was pretty much business as usual up in the mountains. Often rated as the premier destination for fresh powder hunting, this video from the crew at True Color Films will have you frothing to head to Japan, even with the current problems.
This trailer simply stopped me dead in my thoughts. It was the typical, tropical, 3rd world country, feel good story and then like a tsunami rolling over paradise you witness the savage violence inherent in this culture. I cannot wait for the movie and sincerely hope it makes it onto our screens.
In the 1980s an intrepid Australian pilot left behind a surfboard in the seaside village of Vanimo, Papua New Guinea.
Twenty years on, surfing is not only a pillar of village life but also a means to prestige. With no access to economic or educational advancement, let alone running water and power, village life is hermetic.
A spot on the Papua New Guinea national surfing team is the way to see the wider world; the only way.
Directed and Shot by Adam Pesce
Produced by Perrin Chiles
Edited by Kim Roberts
facebook.com/splintersmovie
splintersmovie.com
Ok, so today's video of the day is actually 4 videos. Why you ask? Well first off, I like you guys and felt you could be spoilt. Secondly, The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, turns 50 next week and I thought you should get ready by watching the highlights from years past! Enjoy!
For this week I had a couple of options, but eventually I decided to go with this great little video on, Johnny Aubert, the legendary Enduro rider. I like how they gave you a look at what he is like, told a little story and showed some crazy Enduro riding. I wish I could ride a bike like this guy!
Ok, back to the snow for this week's video of the week. Arbor, one of the more underground snow brands around, provide a great look into free riding absolutely prime powder conditions. Beautifully shot and edited, I really enjoyed this video.
"At it's roots Arbor is a "Big Mountain" snowboard company all about powder, pillows, cliffs, chutes, glades, open bowls and and just plain getting deep into the backcountry. In this latest video from the Arbor northwest crew, Byron Bagwell and Shawn Freyer take us into a world of powder packed pillow lines. Get me there!"
Welcome to the second in my soon to be world famous video series. Every week I choose my favorite video, out of the large amount I watch every week online.
Wade Goodall charging!
This week I introduce you to Aussie surfer Wade Goodall's "Creative Destruction" project. Wade was pretty jaded with the whole contest scene and decided he wanted to travel, surf great waves and produce epic media. So far, so good! I love the edits I have seen so far and am pretty sure we will see a great movie at some point, well, I hope so! I chose this one, as it has one of the meanest looking right hand tubes in the world in it, take a guess...
Welcome to the first in my new weekly series, Video of the Week. Every Friday I will be sending out my choice for the best online action sports video I have found during the course of the week. it could be funny, it could be insane and it could just be me in the video, who knows?
For this week, there were a couple of good choices, but eventually I had to go with this one, for the Red Bull Donkey Cross. What an epic idea for an event. Fun, funny and pretty dam action filled! check it out -
