Tak's New Single Fin

Our friend and local artist Tak Aoyama had a board shaped for him by fellow Leucadian, Seth Cutter of Cutter Surfboards. Tak did the artwork for the board. It's beautiful. Great job guys.

What I'm watching: Stoked and Broke

Ok, just finished up my second viewing and have to say that I am actually stoked! First off I really want to go surf. Seeing all that local footage made be want a really good northwest swell.  I also learned a lot from the film in terms of some practical knowledge as well as a bit about myself.

I'm actually in a better mood and there are moments when I laughed out loud. (The part about how to dress to go on a hobo staycation was classic.) In full disclosure I have been a part of helping get the word out online so I am not really impartial. I am biased to a degree. But with that said it was actually better than I was expecting it to be. Since I had never seen it I thought it was going to be a basic documentary about their trip but I was really surprised by the social commentary of it all. It really left me thinking about the lives of the people in the film and left me with questions about my own beliefs and priorities. Good job Cyrus.

Here are some stills...

Part of the fun in this film is how they do the trip. The rigs they built are pretty impressive and there is some practical knowledge on how to pull off a trip like this.

One lesson taught, look for families from Colorado in campgrounds. They are nice and will hook you up with food.

 Lot's of classic San Diego surfing. Made me so hungry for surfing.

Cyrus, his bluetooth head gear and his tips on getting dressed for the trip if you look indigenous. This part made me laugh out-loud.

A favorite scene was Cyrus and Ryan at Blacks. Cyrus takes out an old beat up single fin and kills it.

  Two parts in the film of pure raw honesty where Kneeboarder Steve above and Richard Kenvin below. They tell a bit about their lives and it is very interesting. Makes you think about your life and what you think is important.

Richard rips.

Cyrus and his handplane footage was cool. This movie was like when Sprout and Glass Love came out with segments on Fish boards and you finally got to see some footage of something that was more of an underground thing.  

Glen Horn and his wife are pretty amazing. They are inspiring. Saving up enough money to head off into Baja to spend their time surfing, camping and living life as they wish.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I cut this potato open and I kid you not it had a smilie face in it. I had to share. Shot with my GoPro!

Thank YOU for being a part of The Leucadia Project. Thank you David for all the photos you share and to my dad for being so supportive and loving and for trying to fix all my typos. Thank you Kipp for all the hard work you put into our handplanes and thank you Karen for being so supportive and loving of what I choose to do in this world. Thank you Alia for being an amazing young lady and to Kristen for being such a good mother and raising her with me. Thank you Mom for telling me I can do anything I put my mind to. Thank you Marc for telling me I can handle more then I think. Thank you JP for all the support and believing that people will actually want to buy one of our handplanes. Thank you for buying our handplanes. Thank you for donating your broken board. Thank you Erik, Chris and Dennis for doing what you do and being who you are. Thank you Coop. Thank you Mitch's for keeping us supplied and Just Peachy for keeping us fed. Thank you local artists, surfers, writers, contributors for being so inspiring and keeping me going. Thank you Rodney for teaching me the way you look at the world. Thank you, thank you, thank you all. I can't possibly thank all, and you all have no idea how thankful I am for you. Thank you. I love you. Ed

Stoked and Broke Virtual Premiere This Friday, Saturday and Sunday ONLY

It feels like I have been waiting an eternity to see this movie. Cyrus made it last winter or spring and it took a while to get released. Then I missed the La Paloma premiere and was bummed. When I heard that he was doing the tour I hooked him up with my friends at thesurfnetwork.com and now they are doing an online virtual premiere. Basically it's like being able to watch it NetFlix/On Demand style from your computer for 3 days in HD. So cool. I can't wait. Finally I get to see it!

To make it even better, Kipp and I donated one of our handplanes to be given away, GoPro HD donated a camera and Cyrus is giving away a Korduroy Tee and signed DVD. So not only do you get to see the movie but you get a chance to win an amazing giveaway package just like a real premiere.

To buy your ticket go HERE and you will be automatically entered to win.

Enjoy the movie! 

P.S. Anne, Kirk, Kipp, David are we having a laptop party at my place? Who's bring the tarp to do a little tarp surfing?? Kirk stop by Home Depot on Black Friday. I heard that they will be on sale!

Stoked!!!

New Blog In Town: Andrew's Choice

Andrew the official Surfy Surfy Shop Grom has started a new blog featuring all the stuff he likes in the shop as well as cool stuff he makes and video's he digs. I've been having fun checking it out. Andrew is a cool kid so check out his blog and go say hi to him at the shop.  andrewschoice.blogspot.com

Good moments come in the form of emails from friends

I just posted this shot and back ground story of Rasta up on the Enjoy Blog and had to take a moment here to verbalize how cool this is. As a guy who grew up with surf posters on my wall and lived his life as a consumer of surf products it has been a surreal and wonderful shift to be on the other side of the counter. When one is a creator and makes things they come from a place of putting ones' self out into the world. For good or for bad we take a piece of ourselves and put them into our work for others to see, judge and hopefully enjoy. When I received this shot from Mick Waters I was so stoked because it was a moment in time when I saw something that I had co-created with Kipp in the world and in the hands of an individual who I admire. To see the joy in his face as he looked at  the work we did makes me very happy and excited to do more. Thank you Mick for sending this. It made Kipp's and my day.

The Republic Stubbie Collaboration

Back yard shaper and fifth generation Californian, Mike Schoen, sent in these photos of his 7’-0” Stubbie based on the Liddle Point Break model that he and artist John Culqui collaborated on.  Mike has a fascination with the California flag and it’s iconography, so that was the direction he gave John. Mike did both the shaping and the glassing.

It hasn't seen water yet but the next good head high swell to come rolling through he will be on it.

Great job guys!

Article in The Coast News - Old surfboards get new tricks

The talented Lillian Cox of the Coast News interviewed us over the weekend. It was posted online today. Lillian is an Encinitas local and talented journalist. I love her work because her goal is to write positive stores to better our community. How cool is that? Lillian thank you so much for taking the time to share our story. You are amazing. *Enjoy

http://thecoastnews.com/view/full_story/10334136/article-Old-surfboards-get-new-tricks?instance=coast_top_story

Thank you Rip Curl!

Here is an email I got from Rip Curl. These guys are great...

Good afternoon gentleman

My name is Mark and I work for Ripcurl, in the service dept. We handle all repairs and warranty issues for all of our products including wetsuits. The reason for my email is to see if you would have an interest in the extra material that is left over from repaired suits or suits that have been replaced due to a defect. We do have a recycle center that we generally donate to, however in being a handplane fan myself I would prefer to bring new life to an item that will bring more joy to those that enjoy our oceans. So if you would like first discuss this further please feel free to contact me at the number I have provided.

Regards

Mark Tierheimer

I was so stoked to get this email from Mark. As soon as I needed rubber he sent me a box full of old wetties down to the PB shop where Steve Stout hooked me up with even more material! These guys get what we are doing and are super supportive. 

Thank you much Rip Curl! They are going to good use.

For all you other companies out there. If you are into what we are doing, contact us. We'd love to see if we could reuse your old materials. *Enjoy

The Greener Blue Collaboration Benefits SaveTheWaves.org

Our friends over at thegreenerblue.com are all about sustainable and eco-friendly products in the surf industry and are huge handplane fans. So it was a no brainer to do a collaboration with them to support their cause. The Greener Blue also chose one of our favorite organizations, Save The Waves as their charity.  From the sale of each Greener Blue model $10 will be donated to them t keep them fighting for our waves.

If you want one of these let us know. Here are 3 we just finished up and shipped out and are off getting some barrels as I type.

Thanks to Mark Marovich from The Greener Blue and Josh Berry from Save the waves for the collaboration. It's one of our favorites! Enjoy.

What I'm watching: A Fly In the Champagne

As I get older I have to admit that the contest scene doesn't excite me much at all. I'll watch the Eddie but that really isn't the same thing.  I am more turned on by some random backyard board builder or random freesurfer then I am about the guys competing for the world title. At this point in my life it is as if that world doesn't even exist. I did however grow up as a kid watching Kelly evolve into what he is today and was always aware of the rivalry between him and Andy. Me coming from Kelly's generation I must say I did root for him.

In all that competition between the two I was always sort of wondering what it would be like for them to come together as friends. They seemed so caught up in their fight against each other that it seemed impossible.

When this movie first came out I thought I had much better things to watch so I never gave it a second look. But after Andy's passing and Kelly winning his 10th World Title I couldn't help but give it a look. Especially after I read the description...

After a decade of bitter rival status, Kelly Slater and Andy Irons come together and surf off their differences. Nobody was expecting this trip to happen. To get two seemingly mortal enemies to agree to sequester themselves on a tiny island with a half-dozen cameramen, a Hollywood interviewer capable of conjuring up tears during any interview, and an in-the-know magazine staff waiting with bated breath seemed like a ridiculous notion. Despite hectic schedules, preconceived notions, and the most heated rivalry in modern surf history, somehow it all came together. The end result was a ten-day purge of feelings, emotional baggage, dispelling rumors, talking it out, and a burying of the hatchet once and for all. Oh, we nearly forgot to mention that the waves were insane!

After reading this I couldn't help but get it. It seemed very timely indeed. I haven't watched it yet. I'm downloading it now. 

Congratulations Mom!

Today my mom was honored and given an award for being the amazing person she is. She was given the 8th annual Humanitarian award by the Jonathan Tarr Foundation of Encinitas. The Jonathan Tarr Foundation was established by Robin and Skip Tarr in 2001 in memory of their son Jonathan Tarr who died in a tragic auto accident. He was only 17 and would have been a high school senior. He attended a Continuation High School offering alternative education curriculum. 

The foundation's mission is to keep Jonathan's name alive by raising money and donating it to students who want to go to collage and attended Continuation High School. Since the foundation was begun, they have helped over 200 students attend college.

As a son it was such a gift to sit in a room full of amazing people and listen to all the beautiful things they had to say about my mom. I can't tell you what a gift that was. Thank you so much to Robin Tarr and her organization for doing that for my mom.

Oh, and this is really cool. Today, Nov 6th 2010, is officially Judith Lewis Logue Day in the County of San Diego. Apparently the Mayor himself is signing off on it. You rock, mom!!!!

After the award was handed out we were treated to a concert by Cowboy Jack Johnson. (Not the Jack Johnson who you are thinking of although this one grew up in Hawaii as well.) Cowboy Jack, who also bares the name of my mom's dad and my Grandfather Jack Johnson who was a cowboy as well, is an amazing talent who does Hank William's and Johnny Cash covers. Go check to his site for local dates. If you're a William's or Cash fan you've got to see him. He rocks. www.hankshow.com

Reception for "The Big Group Show" tonight Sat. Nov 6th 5-8pm

Opening Reception

This Saturday, Nov 6 · 5-8pm

featuring work by: Jay Alders, Meredith Ambruso, Matt Beard, Big Toe, Esteban Bojorquez, Drew Brophy, Candy, Ron Croci, John Culqui, Norm Daniels, Danica Elbertse, James Finch, Damian Fulton, Roy Gonzalez, John Holm, JP St. Pierre, Calvin Knott, Wade Koniakowsky, Rick Rietveld, Heather Ritts, Phil Roberts, Kevin Roche, Blakeney Sanford, Joshua Serafin, Kevin Short, Tyler Warren, Alex Weinstein, Susan Wickstrand, Jeff Yeomans

Surfy Surfy's JP St. Pierre was asked to display his Mr. Squidy handplane collaboration we did together at The Group Show put on by the Surfing Heritage Foundation. This is JP's first art show and technically mine and Kipp's as well! Congratulations JP and Kipp good jobs guys! Barry at Surfing Heritage is a huge fan of our handplanes and we will be doing more with them later. You'll also be seeing more of JP's art on our handplanes. If you want your own Mr. Squidy contact us and we'll hook you up.

South Coast Plaza West (formerly Crystal Court)

Mon-Fri 10AM-9PM · Sat 10AM-8PM · Sun 11AM-6:30PM 

3333 Bear St., ste 303, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

714.800.1654

www.surfingheritage.org

Photos

Photos by David Gray

Eli Mirandon

Teaser

photo by David Gray

David was up at dark and out all day yesterday getting shots with a crew of some unbelievable surfers. I can't wait to see what he got. In the mean time here's a teaser for you. Enjoy.

Goodbye Andy

Happy Halloween

Art by John Culqui
www.jsculquiart.com

Dylan

Photo by David Gray

You are invited to a LEED Plaque Ceremony & Open House for 1491 Neptune Ave.

My friend Rich will be having a LEED Plaque Ceremony & Open House for his 1491 Neptune Ave. project.

For those of you, like me, who were fascinated by his project here is your chance to take a look for yourself and learn more about what makes it so environmentally friendly. 

You can RSVP at leedplaqueceremony.eventbrite.com.