Santa Cruz contest- Memorial weekend.

The 26th Annual Santa Cruz contest at Steamer Lane was this year during Memorial day weekend. If you have never been there, I highly recommend it. We decided to make a road trip out of it, and have some fun.



Leaving San Diego on Friday, we stopped about half-way. that can be a long drive.....
We had to leave our hotel room by 4:45am to make it into Santa Cruz early Saturday morning. I was able to watch the sunrise on the 1 into Santa Cruz, it was colorful! I ended up finding parking by the Surf Museum, and I was so lucky I found that spot.



It was VERY crowded. Not just for the contest, but because of the holiday weekend as well.

The swell, wasnt hitting like I had wanted it too. Being 200lbs, I need to have some push or strength to the wave. It was doable...so I suited up for my first heat. The water was still super cold! and the direction of the wave moved mid-heat. I ended up getting 4th in my first heat, which was good, but only the first 3 advance. So the contest was over for me, but there was still plenty of places to surf before heading back.




We drove around for a bit, the tide was too low to really go out.



There was a few SUP'ers out, but not too many surfing. The conditions just werent there.




After a bitter-sweet meeting with the Aptos jumps, we decided to go back down south in search of a better spot to surf.

The 1 south, was a lot better then taking the 5. The coastal scenary is great to look at! The traffic wasnt too bad either. As long as we were up early to beat the crowd.

As we were driving down through Santa Barbra this wall of fog came in...so we decided to stop at Emma Wood State Beach, and check it out.



The surf didnt look that fun, but it looked better then it did north. So my dad and I went out for a quick surf...that lasted for about 4 hours!! It was so much fun. It wasnt too windy, and we were in a pocket of sunshine. There was fog to the left, right, and way, way outside...

That was the last surf session of the trip. The swell just didnt present itself to us that weekend. We made the last leg of the trip back into San Diego on Monday morning and actually made it through LA in less then an hour and a half! thats record breaking for me.

All in all it was a great trip, I spent time with the family, surfed in a contest, and got to see some amazing things along the way. It was a holiday weekend to remember.

New Rusty Noserider!!!

Recently, I was over at the Rusty factory where I picked up my new 10' Rusty noserider. Hoy Runnels and I, discussed what I wanted in a noserider. With summer coming I mentioned that I wanted a board that I can noseride small summer point breaks on as well as smaller mushy surf. The board has a slight entry concave into a displacement bottom with 50/50 knify rails. Its thin and wide, with special tail rockers. This board works best between 9'6" and 10'2" and is made for waves chest high and below. Here is a little video of some small waves in La Jolla, CA.

CLICK HERE

Sticky Bumps- Recycled deck pads

I have recently been using Sticky Bumps Recycled Deck Pads on all my new Rusty boards.

Its made out of recycled foam, and the traction works great. The cut is a little sharper then the last pads, which I have found to have a better grip. For the last 3 months I have been testing these out and have grown to like them more then the original pads.

The new deck pads along with Day Glo wax is the ultimate combination for competitive surfing. Because of the color added to the Day Glo wax, it created a magical combination that can not be compared to anything on the market...


Check out all the other cool things at www.stickybumps.com

Suprise ...Dickies

So, that last box that came off the UPS truck today...it just happened to be my newest package from Dickies. YES!!!



After I got at least one bike put together. (and it looked very nice, if I do say so myself) I was able to focus on seeing what Dickies sent me. Inside there was awesome Flannel Jackets- very San Diego style. There was also slim cut jeans and a few other things.



Dickies is going to great lengths to get this stuff in local surf shops near you! More updates to come...

Thanks Dickies!!!

Primo Beer

It's official...I am an ambassador for Primo Beer.




For those of you unfamiliar with this awesome brew...here is a little Primo Beer 101...

1897, is when Primo Beer was first started in Hawaii. Its been a very adventurous 110+ years, but the traditions and the Aloha spirit behind Primo Beer are still just as vibrant as they were back then. Committed to Hawaii, Primo Beer uses local Hawaiian Cane Sugar in the recipe. They are also involved in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation, helping to raise money for athletic scholarships.

I am so stoked to be a part of Primo Beer. Be on the look out for more updates!!



Check out all the cool stuff Primo has going on...here is the link to their blog:
http://www.primobeer.com/whatsHappening_news.aspx

FSA/Gravity...its Christmas in March!!

I haven't been this excited for a UPS truck to get here since...well, it's been a while.

I get outside to the truck and he hands me a box, then another, then another, then another...and then one more! (See my next blog about the last box)



I practically trip over the dogs getting everything inside so I can get it all opened. The only thing missing from this moment is the egg nog. Wheel Sets, Cranks, pedals, grips, and more goodies to get my bikes in proper order. I am stoked to get everything on and running. Looks like I'll be hitting the trails this week.

Thanks Max and everyone over at FSA/Gravity. pictures to follow!

ASR Tradeshow

I was at the ASR Tradeshow last week representing Dickies. They had me signing a Dickies card with my pictures on it.



It was really neat to be a part of the show with them.


The tradeshow, in general, had less people at it this year then I remember from recent years, but it was still a successful event. It was interesting to see the companies that were there, and the ones that weren't. Everyone in attendance had business on their minds, and some good things happened.



The first day of the show, we had a ton of traffic at the Dickies booth. The guys worked hard all day long taking orders and meeting with new vendors. Its always fun to see people you know stop by and chat for a bit. You never know who you will run into at one of these things. I also met some very interesting people in-passing throughout the day.



They had a vert skate ramp in the back of the show. I was very tempted to go session it for a while, but I was there to work! Occasionally you could hear the crowd go crazy...cant wait to see the footage.



I walked around and met so many cool people and saw some old and new things. There was also some interesting products that for sure got me to laugh. I was impressed with the 'Green' companies and the sustainable products they are coming out with. I cant wait to see how it affects the Action Sports Industry. I know a few of my sponsors are taking a 'Green' approach to a few of their products, and they are getting a great response from it. All in all, it was a good event and I cant wait for the next one.

I was asked to do an interview for My Local Line Up TV. Of course I couldnt say no!



Luckily, Jeff from Dickies, was in the interview with me. He was able to go over some of the amazing cuts and styles to come from Dickies this year. Some of my Fav's are the Slim Cut Jeans, and the Plaid Action Sports line. Look for them to come to a surf shop near you soon!