The BBC has a rad article up about the history of the surf industry. It focuses on O’Neill which, here in Australia, seems like a weird brand to work from but overseas it is still a powerhouse. The article notes that it is a US$6.24 billion industry in the States alone and its trek into the mainstream is continuing with global fashion firms like PPR buying in through brands like Volcom and Nike making considerable marketing pushes based on the sports. This despite a few …

Skullycandy listed on the Nasdaq in the US last night with the stock opening at US$20 a share and rising to US$23.40 and finishing at US$19.86. The public offering raised $188.8 million for the company which now has a total valuation at over half a billion dollars. The company expected to sell 8.33 million shares at $17 to $19 but due to high demand ended up selling 9.44 million shares at $20. The money raised will be …

I love to see surf, skate and snow crew getting mixed in with marketing for other sports – it says good things about where we’re headed. Laura Enever appears in the new commercial for Nike Womens and she’s looking great! Check it out below and head over here for her profile page as part of the campaign.

Easy on the colors, but bright enough to make you stand out a touch when standing around 12 other peacocks trying to lure the same bird in.

3CS have run a pretty amazing test on their entry level Signal Series gear. I don’t know if I’d let some guy fire arrows in my direction to test the waterproofing but this guy does. The Signal Series features 10k/10k Waterproof/Breathability which is more than you need for your average Australian conditions plus two layer lamination with fully taped seams – something you normally pay a lot more for. Check out the clip below and don’t try this …

Mitchell Ayers shot me through this early season edit of Paul Edwards, Jordy Crockford, Troy Sturrock, Jed Davidson, Zac Hidding, Cody and himself shredding Perisher. Check it out!

We talked about the introduction of Lunarlon into the Nike SB Eric Koston 1 back here. The guys have released a commercial to promote the tech now featuring Justin Brock, Grant Taylor, Daryl Angel, Ishod Wair and of course, Koston. Check it out below!

Thredbo have shot through this little clip showing off their two job lines that are set up and ready to run! They have got the DC C-Rail and down/flat (Donkey) out for the first time as well as the new lift tower A-Frame. This clip below has got Jye Kearney, Charles Beckinsale, Tom Munro, Harry Crean, Pete Long, Ben Fawcett and Louie Macindoe in it. Check it out and peep a few photos of the setup above!

Ken Block is a damn genius and it’d be rad to see him do his Gynkhana thing live. The clips he’s created for YouTube, the Top Gear spots, the car releases – it’s all been great and this is from someone with only a minor passing interest in rally. Block is bringing his skills to Melbourne some time soon and I would love to have gone but unfortunately the below commercial is playing and it all of a sudden seems like it isn’t my kind of gig. Hoonigans?

Nomad have gotten together with advertising agency Leo Burnetts, one of the worlds biggest advertising businesses, to create a campaign. The ad agency entered it into the Cannes advertising awards and won a Silver Lion – I’m not sure what tat means but I’m guessing it’s a good thing.The campaign is solid and looks awesome. Check out the ads above and a video from creating them below!

Previously, Quik shades have been ok at best, but your opinion may change after viewing this new collection that is about to arrive. Titled Velvet Skull Machina, Quiksilver are bringing their best game to date to the shades world.

The good guys at Lifewithoutandy have launched their new site for 2011. Faster loading, cleaner layout, more galleries and more videos, it looks the goods. Check it out over here.

You heard of the Art Park? It’s a pretty neat little brand kicking up Byron way. Books, ‘zines, tees, resisdency programs, they’ve got a bit going on..

DC have put up an infomercial for their new shoe tech, Unilite. The commercial features Rob Dyrdek (and is in his typical style) along with Chis Cole, Mikey Taylor and actors Nick Swardson and Michael Rapaport. The tech is in Dyrdek’s new shoe, the Alias Lite. The release says, “Inspired by one of Rob’s previous DC signature pro models the Alias, the Alias Lite has a clean and slim profile, without sacrificing the performance technologies needed for a …

Travis Pastrana takes the piss out of Ken Block…

Nike have released a week one wrap of what’s going on in ‘The Chosen’ competition they’re running. The prize is getting to live like a pro – cash, travel, product and more. The blurb with the clip says it features “top crews from around the world that are either bringing fresh and unexpected creativity to the Chosen crew video contest or creating a ton of buzz for themselves in Facebook.” If you get a chance, hit the facebook app and check out …

Kr3w have released a clip for their fall 2011 lookbook. The gear for the new season looks awesome – loving some of the jackets and shirts. Check it out below and there’s a bit of a gallery above.

Following on from the announcement around Comune’s staff departures the other day, the company released a statement to clarify what’s going on. Basically the company is shifting its headquarters from its current home in Costa Mesa to the Los Angeles Art District, Corey Smith is remaining with the company and co-founder Sven Altmetz has taken over at the head of the company – formerly the role held by Frank Delgadillo. If you want to see the full …

3CS have posted up a little video of their 2011/12 gear shoot which happened in St. Antons last summer. The guys had Jason Currie along who was joined by Luke Moffitt and model Anna Lucia for the day. Sten Muchow was behind the camera. Check it out!

Over the weekend I got sent a link to this article on Transworld business which detailed a takeover in the works at Comune. According to some reports, an investor in the brand, Komex International Inc., was forcing changes to the sales team and a shift in direction for the brand which caused ten key employees to leave. The news came to light through an open letter from Julie Shumaker, the former VP of Marketing. In her letter, Shumaker said, “COMUNE was NEVER designed…

Burton has launched ‘Bag Check’ – a rad little online flow chart to get you to your ideal bag … While it sounds a weird idea, it’s actually great for narrowing down usage and features and giving you a selection of relevant bags, rather than going through pages and pages of stuff you’re not after. Check it out over here.

The last two versions have been some of the best selling shoes I’ve seen and the new version has been hyped for months. Muska mentioned it in our interview with him last October … Finally, Supra have launched the latest iteration and it looks pretty damn good. There’s currently white, grey, red, and black available. Sneaker Freaker magazine said of the shoe “Innovation and experimentation has ground to a halt, courtesy of tough times and rampant conservatism …

One Distribution, which is the parent to Kr3w and Supra, have hired Dave Carnie as Senior Director of Marketing … While this is noteworthy on its own, the press release is what is really going to make this announcement. Carnie said of the appointment, “I’m fucking really fucking, like, fuck. But, fuck—butt fuck?—it’s kind of fucking funny because, seriously, I don’t fucking know fucking shit about SUPRA. Aren’t they those fucking moon boots that Justin Bieber kid …

The Taj Collection must be doing pretty well for Billabong, it’s back for a third installment. Due for release this week, the collection has some really nice looking pieces and most importantly – Side Boob. Not Taj’s, he got himself fit, the model tho, she is side boobing all over the place.

Here’s the invite clip for Nike’s ‘The Chosen’ competition that’s open now. It’s a filming contest that can win you a pro’s life – money, travel and tonnes and tonnes of product… Did you see Koston’s garage on Berrics footnotes the other day? That level of product. Check the invite clip featuring P-Rod, Danny Kass and Julian Wilson below then head over here for details.

Tyler Bledsoe just copped his first signature shoe with etnies, and it’s a real impressive debut. It’s a mid, which I’m digging. Mid’s are good.

Nike have premiered their epic new surf, skate, snow and BMX film The Chosen this morning. It features Ganny Kass, Nicolas Mueller, Paul Rodriguez, Theotis Beasley, Julian Wilson, Laura Enver and many more. The clip is 20 minutes of epic shots, interviews and amazing editing… A pretty exciting clip. You can check it out over here.

The 34 year old founder of apparel company, LRG, passed away suddenly on May 31st. Jonas Gregory founded the company in 1999 with Robert Wright and Charlie Moothart when he was in his early 20’s. A release from the LRG co-founders said, “Jonas was a creative visionary, loved by those around him. Jonas was a friend, partner, father, mentor and a very caring person who inspired so many of us who were fortunate enough to be around him.” You can read the full …

Makia have released their fall 2011 and winter 2012 catalog. As usual, it looks incredible. I love the photography they use and the styles are classic. Check out a few above!

Bellroy have released an update to the ‘Take Out’ wallet. The new version has a larger main zip, through to new rounder corners and higher note section zips for easier access to your notes. Basically some quick improvements to the functionality – and these guys are all about the functionality of wallets. On first look I would have said this was one for the ladies but I have been assured that the buyers for this are evenly split …

Abuze London clothing has been making rad clothes in the UK for over a decade now and it’s finally entering the Australian market. Hailing from the street art community, it has broken through to a bigger fan base with some pretty epic collaborations over the years and some super unique designs. Check out a few styles above!

Our friends launched a new website last week called Everguide – the site is all about events happening in your city (Melbourne and Sydney to start – others coming soon). They had a launch in Sydney last week to celebrate the launch which I headed along too with Kynan who now blogs for the site, Jana our fashion editor and Jason who shoots our big editorials each issue. It was a super fun night – although, as Kynan pointed out, we would have fitted in better if …

Devine keeps his signature apparel collection with etnies kicking for another season. Here’s a quick peek at what he has coming out later this year – 

Not the most imaginative name but one that’s honest, the Quiksilver Limited Collection is indeed limited. And let’s be honest, it’s way better then some dick slapping name like Anchors in the Wind by Brand XXXX right?

A few weeks back, Red Bull released the ‘Red Bulletin’ as a free insertion in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Houston Chronicle and New York Daily News – 1.2 million copies of a magazine dedicated to the Red Bull happenings around the globe. It’s part of a major push into media by the company which hopes to leverage it’s amazing roster of athletes and incredible events to create interesting advertorial. There’s no doubt the company has the …