The theme of this past year, since I began my stint as an unemployed traveler and freelance journalist, has been road trips. Following The Great KL&C Northwest Odyssey, the winds of adventure this time were blowing south, leading me to the great and vast southern extension of California that is Baja.
New On The Extreme Scene
Top F*cking 5 Surfing Storylines of 2009
Note: This story is a special contribution from Nugable. Go to his website for hilarious, insightful and honest surfing revelations.
5. The Recession
Budgets were cut. Surfers were dropped. Employees were sent packing. Stock prices tanked. Brands went out of business. No one was safe from the 2009 Velcro Valley Chainsaw Massacre. In 2010 surf company executives won’t be counting barrels in Tavarua. They’ll be counting their fingers hoping whoever they borrowed from to keep afloat doesn’t come looking to collect. Some say the worst is over. If the fat lady is singing, she’s a little off key at the moment.
One of the Greatest Weeks in Surfing History
The past week has seen an unbelievable variety of surfing accomplishments by the greatest surfers of the modern era. And with the word ‘Greatest’ included in the title, one cannot exclude the greatest surfer ever, Kelly Slater, from being a part of the excitement. In this case, he was involved in two of the occasions, along with the new King of Big Wave surfing, Greg Long, and the former King, Laird Hamilton, with a lot of the action taking place on the mythical islands of Hawaii.
Cute Kittie
I'll tell you what I've been up to, a whole lot of everything. Doing three times as much & getting half the pay. Sound familiar? I'm not trying to be negative, but I'm sorry to let you all know the economy has shocked the extreme sports industry just as it has shocked the world. The only positive is that extreme sports are still somewhat of a niche, so it's not as affected as everything else.
Back On The Air (Sort Of)
While we’re still working on getting The Extreme Scene back on the air (and believe me, I’m trying), I wanted to let everyone know I’m back on the San Francisco Bay Area radio airwaves this week for the first time since T.E.S. was taken off the air. Tuesday Wednesday through Friday evening, from 10 pm through Midnight on XTRA 860 AM, I’ll be filling in as host of The Chris Townsend Show.
The Top F*cking 5 ASP World Title Bridesmaids
Note: This story is a special contribution from Nugable. Go to his website for hilarious, insightful and honest surfing revelations.
You know the old saying—always a bridesmaid, never the bride. Surfing is not immune. The latest installment of Nugable’s Top Fucking 5® chronicles the best second-place finishers in ASP history. All five had stellar professional careers (some are still having them) but none have tasted the championship champagne or held the trophy high. A wise man once said “second place is just the first loser.”
Catching You Up on All the Latest Surf News
There’s been a lot going on in competitive surfing lately. And we haven’t written $hit about it lately. Part of the reason why is because we’ve been off the air (not counting shitty podcasts) for five months now (largely because the vast majority of radio management is either gutless pu$$ies, complete idiots, or a combination of the two), and I’m not going to lie: Morale has been better with the T.E.S. crew. Nonetheless, we’ve never heard of the word “Quit” before, so until every last available option is exhausted, we’ll continue to give you honest reporting mixed in with some edumacated opinions.
Reader Submission: Red Bull Project X
One of TheExtremeScene.com's readers, Josh Wigod, used the 'Contact The Extreme Scene' button below to tell us about Red Bull Project X, which focuses on Shaun White's private halfpipe. Cool site, definitely worth a look.
Floyd the Magic Bulldog
Have you met Floyd yet? Dude loves to skateboard. By the beach. While scoping nuggies. Oh yeah, Floyd’s a dog. A badass dog. A skateboarding dog.
Video of Floyd the Magic Bulldog skateboarding after the jump.
Owen Wright Eliminates Both Kelly Slater and All Interest in Pro Surfing for 2009
Owen Wright, who no doubt will be a regular in the ASP’s top 10 rankings sooner than later, knocked out Kelly Slater this morning in the second round of the Rip Curl Pro Search in Portugal. With Slater out of contention for the world title, interest in pro surfing has been relegated to hibernation season, with fans possibly waking up briefly in December to catch the Billabong Pipeline Masters.
New Audio Interviews
T.E.S. Revisited: Andy Finch
Andy Finch, known in most circles as the King of Amplitude, joined The Extreme Scene on April 10th, 2006 and February 26th, 2007 to talk about his amazing aerials and his experience in the 2006 Winter Olympics.
37:45 minutes (34.56 MB)
T.E.S. Revisited: Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg
Metal Mulisha member Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg joined Cyrus, Steve & Omar on June 16th, 2007 to talk about dominating the MotoX scene.
14:07 minutes (3.23 MB)
T.E.S. Revisited: Taj Burrow
Taj Burrow, one of the top surfers in the world, joined Cyrus & Steve on December 4th, 2003 to talk about the competitive nature of Australian surfers, his chances at winning a World Title, and his environmentally-friendly efforts.
16:08 minutes (14.78 MB)
September 23rd, 2009 - Kelly Slater on NPR
Still recovering from Omar's raging bachelor party in Vegas, Cyrus gives an update on T.E.S.'s State of the Union, and introduces a funny and insightful interview Kelly Slater recently conducted with NPR.
15:29 minutes (14.17 MB)
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- Catching You Up on All the Latest Surf News - November 12
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