Latest Update: January 15, 2003

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Happy New Year! Seems like things just haven't been happening lately, however, just to keep things rolling, we're throwing tires to sharks. In other words, giving you something to chew on until the real meaty information arrives.

Italy May Segregate Slopes
After a collision resulted in the death of a skier at Cortina d'Ampezzo sports official Mario Pescante says he's writing a new law that would keep skiers and snowboarders on separate runs.

Womens' Pro Surfing Crush Blues
The movie made it more popular for girls to surf, and the bikini is behind some of the largest sales growth in action sports, why then is the women's pro tour lagging so hard? Alison Berkely asks the question in Outside magazine.

The Model Snowboarder
She is billed as one of England's top snowboarders, but what's been paying the bills for Charlotte Dutton is posing for the camera. But then again, isn't that what all pro snowboarders are doing these day?

Pacific Sunwear Gives Billabong a Boost
What's good for the mall stores is great fot eh major labels apparently. PacSun's December sales increased 28.7 percent to $US152.9 million and that caused a seven percent jump at Billabong. It's all about the malls. Remember that.

Has Globe Fallen from Grace?
Business was going up for brothers Peter and Stephen Hill, but then it rolled back down again. Now, the Austrailian media is calling their company a "dud." What happened?

Surfline and the ER/ING Twins Team Up
According to Marcus Sanders, Surfline is doing an even closer deal with the ER/ING twins and SG. Looks like Surfermag.com will now be a partner as well as a post "tech makeover" Surfingthemag.com. Hot damn, now we can look forward to the same list of press releases under three different brands. How cool is that?

Resorting to Real Estate Sales
In his book The Downhill Slide Hal Clifford says that ski resorts are no longer designed as places to ride, they are designed specifically to sell real estate. And while condo sales are up, he says total skier visits have not changed since 1977.

Must See Swamis Clip
If you haven't seen it yet, check out the clip everyone has been talking about. It's up on Surfhistory.com, and is from January 7, 2003. If only it was like that all the time.

Are You Gay Enough?
Seems there is always a lot of talk about how "gay" things are. That is so "gay", this is "gay". Well wonder no more. This test from Channel 4 will tell you once and for all if you are gay enough.

Isn't That The Smell of Deisel?
The fashion world thinks they're crazy because they break all the rules, but the 24-year-old label continues to survive, according to Businessweek. Apparently, someone is buying it.

Trudeau's Son Getting Political
A snowboard instuctor at Whistler Mountain for the past five years, Justin Trudeau is now one one of the directors of the Canadian Avalanche Foundation. And it looks like the Canadian media would love nothing more than pushing him into politics.

Finding Love Park At Woodward
A sanitized, legal version of the classic Philly skate spot will be created at Woodward according to Gary Ream, a partner and co-driector at the world's largest skate camp. That ought to bring in some more cash, huh?

Powder Magazine Publisher Laid Off
Primemedia is tightening the belts at Surfer Pubs. Twelve year Powder vet Ben Warner and senior editor of Bike Magazine Mike Cushionbury got the axe. So the big question on everyone's mind: when will the blade drop on Surfing Magazine?

Tristan Picot Dies at Teton Pass
Picot, 19, who was reportedly "part of a group that included pros Travis Rice and Bryan Iguchi" died when the avalanche he triggered sent him off a cliff. His neck was broken in the fall. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Strider Gets Blue-Crushed
"I got all-out Blue Crushed," Wasilewski reportedly said. "There were 30 girls in the water and they were calling me off waves. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?' " The girls they are a surfing.

Globe Stock Drops 41 Percent
On the first day of trading after getting their stock halted, Globe Shoes price dropped a whopping 41 percent on Monday. The stock is now trading at 24 cents Austrailian.
-Globe gets trading halt
-Globe having rough time with skate cred

Berkeley Skatepark Gets Polluted
A skatepark that has been called the "best in the Bay Area" has been closed due to the fact that the park appears to be leaking hexavalent chromium (yes, the Erin Brockovich stuff). Note to cities: that's what you get when you only devote landfill property to skateparks.

The Burton Exodus
In one of the world record short stints at Burton, Clark "Radiohead are my friends" Staub left his job as marketing director at the corporation after barely six months on the job. Ouch. Also, gone is Dennis Jenson the former president of corporate development who is leaving to "begin a new chapter in his career and embark on his own business pursuits outside of the sporting goods industry." We could be wrong, but didn't he say this once before? A quick perusal of the Burton jobs website shows that the company is also looking for a Sales Manager and a Canadian Sales Manager.

DC Shoes Audit, Lawsuit
The LA Times has finally jumped on a story that Fortune and TW Surf Biz broke several weeks ago. You know the story, $140 million dollar lawsuit, countersuit, new book, IRS audit, and Billabong. Damn, talk about getting it all at once. Oh yeah, and now former TransWorld Media and The Skiing Company president Brian Sellstrom is DC's CEO.

Vans Tripping into Trouble
Seems like everything isn't rolling the way president Gary H. Schoenfeld had hoped. Vans lost $3.7 million dollars in the quarter ended Nov. 30. And the company is down in nearly every market. Analysts are saying the "once-scorching skateboarding trend has cooled off."

Quiksilver Named Top Stock for 2003
Standard & Poor's PowerPicks 2003 Portfolio this year included Quiksilver because of "market share gains, margin improvements." Can they really sell that many more bikinis?

The Jackass Copy Cat Chronicles
Seems like kids the world over just can't get enough of that Jackass Movie. Here is a short list of stunts that have been blamed on the show:
-Chasing boy with gun.
-Beating kid up on video
-Sledding accident
-Four men arrested making "Tape for Jackass"
-"Mr. Jack Ass" sues Viacom for defamation
-Boy sets himself on fire
-Steve O copy catting himself on stage

Tony Hawk's Signature iPod
Apple has recently released signature model iPods. Now for $19.95 more you can get a laser-etched signature on the back of your pod. Signatures include Tony Hawk, Madonna, No Doubt, and Beck. (Does Madonna know Tony named a trick after her?) Not a bad group of people to hang with for sure.

Helmet Law Goes Into Effect
California skateboarders under 18 will now be fined $25 for not wearing a helmet while skating anywhere in the state. Be careful out there.

Skater Shuts Down DIA
A skater just trying to find a place to roll ended up shutting down Denver's International Airport for 30 minutes causing all kinds of slowdowns on one of the airports busiest days.

Snowboarder Dies at Mt. Rose
A snowboarder and two friends ventured into a closed avalanche slide area at Tahoe's Mt. Rose and were caught when the slope slid. Two made it out, but Scott Sappenfield, 26, of Reno was killed.

Cote's New Years Resolutions
Yes, even a rock star, surf magazine editor like Chris Cote wants to change a few things about his life this year. Here are his top 10.

Skiers vs. Snowboarders 2003?
Denver Post writer Scott Willoughby investigates the feelings between skiers and snowboarders. Tom Sims still doesn't like skiers, Todd Richards says there's no animosity and skier Johnny Mosley says, "We're copying them."

From The Hindsight is 20/20 Files
The night before snowboarder Mark Eichinger hit a tree at Keystone Resort and died, he considered buying a helmet, according to his girlfriend.

Crazy Maine Surfers
You think you have it bad? Check out Brian Tardif. He has to trudge through a snow bank to get to the ocean. Ice cream headache? Hell yes.

Man Punches Snowboarder at Copper
A snowboarder called Copper Mountain ski patrol to say that he'd been punched twice by a skier. Turns out the snowboarder got punched after he and a skier to collided. Apparently the snowboarder told the skier to "Watch where you're going old man."

Catching Up With Kelly Clark
Just what has the gold medal darling of the 2002 Winter Olympics been up to since winning her medal? Not a whole lot, as it turns out.

Eight Aussie Surfers Die In The Philippines
Op And Fender Present King Of Bands
Guess Who's Getting Fired Next Week?
Slater Hits the Street

Previous Bags o' Crapola:
-November 12, 2002
-November 5, 2002
-October 31, 2002
-October 2, 2002

Special thanks: to Jim Romenesko's MediaGossip.com