Latest Update: September 13, 2005

From The Sacklunch Boards
The Sack boards need some new thoughts from people who know what's up. Please drop by and say something smart on the Sack boards.

Gnu Movin' To Mormon Country
Quiksilver is centralizing their winter sports business in Park City, Utah and it looks Mervin will be moving in with Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, Look, and DC's Mountain Lab. How's that for a wintersports brand stable.
- Mervin Expanding Near Sequim
- Carlsborg factory to grow
- Seventy jobs leave Vermont
- Vermont loses Rossignol and Dynastar
- The Motley Fool's take on Quik
- Ogden bummed about not getting the biz

Burton Silver Edition
"Spring and summer" clothing coming from Burton? Yep, it's called Burton Life and like Analog and Anon, it's yet another swipe at the SoCal action industrial complex.

Wall to Wall Exposure
Eddie Wall gets picked up by the Associated Press with a story by Brian Fees of the Towanda Daily Review. That T-dub cover is making the rounds for sure.

Guilt Relief
Make up for all the terrible things you've said in the Sack boards and give a little to the American Red Cross.

Truck Hats A Hot New Trend
Laren Hughes, a writer for the Delaware Beachcomber has recently noticed the strangest thing: "trucker hats are a top fashion statement."

Recommended Reading?
Media Bistro just did a little story on how writers can get involved with action sports and The Sack was linked as "sort of an insiders' resource." We're sort of stoked. . . kinda. Thanks, Jack.

Hawk and Vuckovich Nearly Booted
Miki Vuckovich and Tony Hawk were simply trying to roll the Montclair, CA skate park when Police Chief Chester Thompson noticed they weren't wearing elbow pads. Miki got the boot and if a park employee hadn't told the chief who he was about to kick out, Tony would have been out too (even though the Hawk Foundation donated $10,000 to the park). That's how the man say thanks.

Pentagon Drops It Like It's Hot
Pentagon Distribution (parent of Academy Snowboards) recently announced the launch of Snoop Dogg Board Co . The brand is being launched with help from Snoop's brother Bing Worthington, Jr. Included are a complete line of skateboarding and snowboarding products. Bow wow wow yippie yo yippee yay.

Billabong Profits Up 44%
Good, but not good enough apparently. Billabong announced that profits were up and the street splits on exactly what it means. We have no idea.

Globe's Profits Take a Skate
Globe International Limited (GLB) reported a net profit of $400,000 for the 2005 financial year, down from $7.1 million last year. But according to CEO Matt Hill, they meant to do that.

Jason Lee's Name is Earl
According to TV critics, former pro skateboarder Jason Lee may have a hit show on his hands as NBC kicks off My Name is Earl.

Gaza Surfer Won't Pull Out
Lior Barda, 21, says he's doesn't want to leave his Gaza Strip beach because "it's paradise." The Israeli Army is coming to evacuate everyone, but Barda doesn't want to lose his waves.

Terrorist Aussie Surfer
Mathew Stewart, an Austrailian man accused of being an al-Qaeda terrorist and threatening nations with troops in Iraq on a recent video, is remebered as being a quiet and friendly surfer. That is until he disappeared in Afghanistan in 2001.

Megattack of Danny Way
Writer and skateboarder Bret Anthony Johnston mulls over the X Games MegaRamp™ and what it all means for Slate.com. And yes, Bret is just a tad too fascinated by the whole thing.

Volcom Reports, Drops $5
The company reported a 47 percent jump in revenue for the second quarter, but profits were down. VeeCo closed at 29.56 August 11. Looks like someone is taking some profits.
- Sales soar at Volcom

What is Nike SB Thinking
TWSbiz scribe Cullen Poythress interview's Nike Action Sport VP Sandy Bodecker and Nike Skateboarding's Kevin Imamura and finds out that they "just want to do things the right way." So just try to ignore the fact that they are big, bad, corporate Nike, okay?

T. Hawk 22nd On SI's List
When the editors of Sports Illustrated named the top 25 sports stars of the last 25 years, Tony Hawk was number 22, two spots behind Anna Kournikova. She, apparently, has much better legs.

Skateboarder Beating
When Caleb Benning refused to perform a trick on his skateboard four young strangers beat him up so badly he now has metal plates in his face. Now, 16-year-olds Samuel Leaman and Jeremiah Keifer of Port Orange, Florida are under arrest. Lock 'em up.

Shark Repellent
Scientist Eric Stroud says he's a year away from releasing a synthetic shark repellent liquid called Shark Defense. No word on when it will be added to popular sunscreens.

X Games Wrap Up
The X Games are over and here are some of the interesting things being said about them:
- Dip in attendance raises questions
- X Games push action sports
- ESPN Still stoked about X (USA Today)
- NHS' Novak says "It does nothing for the industry."

Primedia Sells Biz Pubs
Surfing Magazine's parent company plans to sell it's specialized business publications to private equity firm Wasserstein & Co. LP for $385 million so it can focus on its "so-called enthusiast magazines, such as Motor Trend and Surfer."

Mundaka Is Nada
Thanks to dredging by a local shipping company Spain's once amazing wave is gone. Understandably, the locals (and the surfing work in general) are not happy about it.

Icer Air 2005 Upsetting the Monks
The monks at the Vedanta Society Hindu temple in SF's pacific Heights neighborhood aren't too excited about the snowboarding big air competition scheduled for their front yard.

Teens and Technology
If you're interested in what today's teens are up to (and it appears that most of you are) check out this report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. You can thank us later and we'll say we told you so.

Roxy (rock ski) Girls
Quiksilver has just announced that Roxy has teamed up with Dynastar (a division of Rossignol) to create truly functional ski technology for women. We always loved ski bunnies.

Skate Radio?
Radio station program directors, faced with fading numbers thanks to the iPod are trying to figure out exactly what skateboarding means. They come off sounding more like teamsters discussing prom dresses.
- The Onion on a similar topic

Etnies Website Template
Want to design a solid website for your multi-sport brand? Don't look to Quiksilver for inspiration, look to Etnies. Their Etnies sport-focused sites have the action sports world on lockdown. Smooth navigation, fresh content, and fun stuff, too.

Volcom Conference Call
On Monday August 8, 2005 at 1:30 pm PST Volcom will talk about how things look for the quarter ending June 30. Should be fun to hear them be all corporate. You can listen live on the web at volcom.com

Ruffo Arrested for Meth
Pro surfer Anthony Ruffo, 41, of Santa Cruz, CA was arrested on suspicion of possessing the drug for sale when officers raided his house.

Adidas Gunning For Reebok
Adidas (hot on the heels of dumping Salomon) is on the hunt to purchase Reebok with a $3.1 billion Euro offer. This really means nothing to us. But we thought you might like to know.

United Action Sports Workers
Action sports athletes have been hucking themselves for year to the delight of TV networks, sponsors, and crowds, however, who is looking after their best interests? Maybe the Pro Riders Organization. Is it time to unionize?

Time Warner's $2.4 Billion Settlement
The parent company of Transworld Media has agreed to settle class action suits alleging accounting screw-ups at AOL.

Oakley's Wired Sunglasses
Looks like Jim Jannard's HR Giger view of the world is finally getting traction as gadget freaks dive in on the new Razrwire bluetooth sunglasses.

All Girl Skate Skate Jam Camp
For only $400 girls are joining Patty Segovia for yoga, surfing, downhill skateboarding and street skating with Cara-Beth Burnside, Isabelle Caudle, Julie Cox and Linda Benson.

James Lipton in DC Shoe Ads
The man responsible for Inside the Actor's Studio, James Lipton (slayed by Will Farrell on SNL), is doing his first commercial work ever with DC Shoes. In the spots Lipton interviews Rob Dyrdek, Mr. Pastrana, Danny Way, Travis Rice and in probably the funniest, Bruce Irons. The spots were created by the 72 and Sunny shop. DC continues to raise the bar for everyone. It's crazy. (ID and Pass: sacklunch)
- Click here to watch the clips (you have to watch them now, seriously).

TransWorld's Totalvid
TotalVid has announced that it will now distribute TransWorld's collection of Skateboarding, BMX and Motocross videos online. So, if you want to check out TransWorld videos, go visit Totalvid.com.

Jimmy'Z' Aeropostale Revival
Yes, the brand responsible for velcro waisted shorts has been brought back to life by teen retailer Aeropostale (aero-so-stale?) in the form of 1,000 Jimmy'Z retail mall stores. Are they serious?

Annual Holly Beck 'n Call
Each year as the US Open of Surfing rolls into Huntington Beach, newspapers begin to swell with stories of Holly Beck. The stories always mentioning that she is smart, beautiful, and well, ranked 21st on the women's WQS. Oh, yeah, and she's really hot.
- Sickest surfer with Holly Beck

Jim Gray: Skateboarder
You've got to hand it to Jim Gray. He's had his ups and downs in the this industry, but he's still there, stoked to skate. This time at the Volcom park in Costa Mesa, which he helped ram through local government. Bill Sharp helped, too.

Oakley Stock Thumping
After announcing that their quarterly profits had jumped 27 percent, Oakley shares (OO) hit $18.99, a three year high. Merrill Lynch says "buy". Are mini trucks making a comeback, too?
- At Oakley success goes Thump, Thump

Video Action Sports Sold
The California-based action sports video distributor VAS does $15 million in sales each year and on July 15, it was sold to Uplift Equity Partners, a New York-based private equity firm specializing in health and wellness products.

Globe Losing It's Grip?
According to Australia's Urban Market Report Globe, who was 16th on the top 30 cool clothing companies in Australia last year, has slipped off the list entirely. Does going public kill street cred?

Dyer Mountain Con?
Briar Tazuk, principal investor in a $35 million ski resort planned near Westwood, CA, has been sued for financial mismanagement, intent to defraud, converting company money for personal use. But isn't that what developers do?

Hot Hot Manhole Heat
When Elizabeth C. Wallenberg, 27, fell off her skateboard in New York's East Village she didn't expect to have the Con Edison logo branded into her flesh. But it happened and now she's suing the utility company. Apparently, she likes her manholes cool.

Nokia Throws a Taipei Party
It's been known as Totally Board, but really it's an excuse to sell cellphones in Taiwan. And who are this weekend's performing snow monkeys? It's Jonas Emory and Simon Axe. They'll be hucking for the crowd on a 90 meter man-made booter. Hopefully they're well paid.

Padaratz On The Juice
Brazilian surfer Neco Padaratz has been stripped of his 2005 WCT points and banned from ASP events until January 2006 after testing positive for anabolic steroids at the 2004 event in Hossegor.

McKnight's Frat Brother Up for SEC Post
President Bush would like to see Orange County Representative Christopher Cox in as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cox's Delta Tau Delta fraternity brother Quiksilver's Bob McKnight had this to say about him,"He was an absolute chameleon." Yep, that sounds like a perfect match.

Dave Lee and Kennedy Procreate
Congratulations to snowboarder Dave Lee and his wife Kennedy on the birth of their son Pele Valentina in LA on July 1. The child will undoubtedly be smart, funny, and posses amazing physical powers of balance and daring.

Dakides Playing Extreme Dodgeball
Listen up kids: get an agent and you too can be involved in amazing bouts of "celebrity" dodgeball with pro snowboarder Tara Dakides and actor Mario Lopez. Hey, it beats falling off the side of a ramp onto a New York street.

Snowboarder Dies in Wet Slide
Jared Spear, 31, died July 2 while snowboarding on Idaho's Castle Peak. Spear was swept 1000 feet down the mountain by a wet slide.

Sole Tech's Senizergues
The OC Register pops in on Pierre Senizergues to discover that he has 350 employees, more than $150 million in annual revenue, and that he enjoys flushing his gallbladder, fasting, and organic food. Sounds more like a myspace.com page.

Skaters vs. BMXers In Portland
The Portland, OR City Council is expected to approve a plan that would see 19 future skateboard parks built in the city. Now the Skaters and BMXers are trying to figure out which parks they'll get to use. BMX bikes work on dirt, right?

Kids Staying Indoors
Newflash: it appears that kids are staying indoors more these days. Anyone noticed a corresponding drop in hardgood sales?

Quik's New Global Overlords
Zumiez Sales Jump 10% in June
West Moving in on America
Wooly Has $133 Million Dollar Day

Previous Bags o' Crapola:
- July 7, 2005
- May 11, 2005
- March 8, 2005
- February 24, 2005