Authentic Brands Group, which almost owns Billabong, RVCA,
Quiksilver, Volcom (sale finalized on August 31), wasting zero time
in slashing any idea of “core.”
The issue, I suppose, is do you care?
Do those old flushes of excitement when donning a stylized wave
or, for our younger brothers and sister, RVCA’s fighting poom poom
shorts, feel whorish now? An embarrassment that will be taken to
the grave? Or, as a price point shopper, are you excited to get
your hands a new fall/spring wardrobe for pennies on the
dollar?
In your opinion, is surf culture alive, just thriving in
different soil, dying or dead?
If dead, who killed?
Let’s name names.
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Redneck Rivierans await greatness.
“Redneck Riviera” surfers let out rebel
yell as new hurricane Idalia promises to turn gulf stretch into
“Confederate Teahupo’o!”
Yesterday, Florida turned its eyes to Southern
California for advice on how to
prepare for a powerful hurricane named Franklin that
had formed in the Atlantic. Should they be scared? Board up their
windows? Horde? Think about possibly surfing? Great advice poured
in from the Golden State, which survived its own hurricane just
last week.
Today, an even greater force is whipping up in the gulf and
promising to send monster waves toward the “Redneck Riviera” and
neighboring Alabama turning the usually docile shore into that
place of broken skulls.
A Confederate Teahupo’o.
The storm, which is quickly strengthening off of Cuba and
tracking directly toward Horseshoe Beach, is fierce.
“This is going to be a major impact,” Florida’s governor Ron
DeSanctimonius stated in a quickly-organized press conference. “You
need to be executing your plan now. This storm is expected to hit
sometime early Wednesday.”
Along with windy wind and rainy rain, though, an expected wild
storm surge will create monster waves.
“Storm surge can be life threatening at just two to three feet,”
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie
told CNN. “Some
of these areas are going to experience storm surge well over seven
foot. Storm surge is often the greatest threat to life and property
from a hurricane. It happens quickly and can endanger you, your
family and your home.”
Surfline,
ignoring panic, is calling Pensacola a good bet on Wednesday,
claiming potential 10-foot waves.
“Good confidence on Idalia now and expecting a solid shot of SSE
swell for the region with N winds setting up good conditions. This
is the day so would get wet. Surf peaking AM hours with smaller
swell/surf toward end of the day.”
Tumbleweeds blow through 1 Billabong Place,
Burleigh Heads, former ground zero of the world's biggest surf
co.
It was a bleak yuletide last year when Billabong, part of a
brace of surf companies then owned by Oaktree, and including
Quiksilver and RCVA, sacked sixty employees from its Burleigh
Heads HQ.
The mass layoffs were designed to streamline the biz on paper,
sharpen the bottom line.
“I am confident that these changes will set us on the path to
achieving our goals and creating a more agile company suited to
adapt to the evolving environment,” said Boardriders CEO Arne Arens
in a press release, stating the very obvious. Kill the soldiers,
fill in the trenches and watch your payroll bill vanish.
Industry insiders told The Gold Coast Bulletin, the sacking were
“brutal especially just before Christmas. No one knew who was going
to lose their jobs or keep them.”
Now, Billabong’s once-iconic eight acre compound, with parking
for 466 cars, a two-storey stand-along retail store,all amid landscaped gardens
and on its own little road, is being offered to rent.
Need space for your burgeoning t-shirt biz? Here’s the sell.
• An impressive 2 level standalone retail/showroom
fronting Billabong Place; and
• A 2 level office/warehouse building serviced via 2
driveway entries off Billabong Place and capturing around 14,937sqm
of GLA across office, warehouse and retail/showroom and ancillary
uses.
• Onsite café with outdoor breakout area available
to building occupants and their visitors
Office Component:
The main building includes air-conditioned office
space over 2 levels serviced via stairs and lift. The standard of
office fitout is to a high level with the overall design reflective
of the creative nature of the existing business with a blend of
floor, ceiling and wall finishes reflecting different zones of the
business, substantial breakout and meeting spaces for collaborative
working, high ceilings and plenty of natural light. The office
space is sub-dividable to suit larger users from 800sqm
plus.
Warehouse Component:
The warehouse is 5,456sqm with 560sqm of mezzanine
air-conditioned office, kitchen/breakout space, high clearance and
loading docks. The access via 2 driveway points enables access for
larger vehicles.
At its peak, Billabong was valued at five billion Australian
dollars, with its marquee riders all on multi-million dollar
salaries, but eventually sold for $390 mill or one dollar a share.
A good sponno at Billys now is twenty grand and a small plastic
zip-lock bag with stickers of a stylised wave.
Good news for consumers, howevs, as tees are now being schlepped
at discount retailers for $13.99 instead of, what, fifty, sixty
bucks?
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American patriots vow to silence Brazilian
surf fans as San Clemente’s Griffin Colapinto seeks unlikely world
title victory over one-foot-and-under king Filipe Toledo!
Finals Day, the one-day shootout for the men’s and women’s
world titles, has taken a jingoistic turn following a post from
the one-time CT surfer Kolohe Andino.
Along with a party where t-shirts emblazoned with “Here’s
Griffin” will be sold, Andino hopes to harness the power of American
patriotism to give his BFF Griffin Colapinto a home-court advantage
over his four opponents.
Yeah, Toledo lives in San Clemente, but Griff is home-grown, as
much a part of San Clemente as Bear Jew Biolos and the juvenile
Great Whites that prowl the lineups.
And, while Ethan Ewing, Joao Chianca and Jack Robinson will also
feature in the one-day showdown that’ll run on the best day between
September eight and sixteen, Griff and Pip are the clear favs.
In a clipped staccato meter reminiscent of Hemingway after the
plane crash that turned his formidable brain to weeds
and channelling Jean Raspail,
Biolos writes: “Are you a surfer? Living in San Clemente? Living in
Southern CA? A fervent, lord even casual, follower of surfing
competitions? Do you have a sense of support for your local or
greater community? Do your duty in Sept, when it’s called on and
the WSL Finals run,. Run from work, school and otherwise worldly
responsibility to support a native son, as he defends his local
turf, his local surf, against the world’s best. Get behind him.
Stand in front, knee deep in cobblestones, cheering and let him
know you’re here. In front. Right behind him. Don’t let the
invading hordes be heard. Silence them with our local pride. With
our local passion. Griffin Colapinto, of San San Clemente. Son of a
school teacher. Will take on the World and battle for a World
Surfing Title. At his home break. In September. The waves call the
day. It’s so important to be there. Up front. Right behind him.
Cheering. Cheering for Griffin. Cheering for your community.
Everyone.”
East coast surfers woke this morning extremely
concerned as the Atlantic tropical storm Franklin had
strengthened into a category one hurricane and began barreling
toward-ish Florida. It is expected to strengthen further as it
passes Bermuda, into a category three, before moving out to sea and
fading away.
“This is not going to be a landfall for us,” Fox meteorologist Britta
Merwin declared. “We have a series of troughs coming
off the East Coast and that’s going to be our protector. You don’t
have to worry about this making landfall on the East Coast, but we
could see some rough surf conditions.”
Those rough surf conditions causing worry up and down the east
coast.
What should surfers do?
How can they handle?
Southern California’s surfers, all the way across the country,
are nodding, bravely, sympathetically but also offering to lend
advice and expertise.
Last week, you certainly recall, Hurricane Hilary slammed
into northern Baja then dragged up toward Compton,
leaving terror in its wake. Puffs of wind and sprinkling rain
plagued the region as school was cancelled in Los Angeles and San
Diego, Catalina was ordered evacuated and dinner parties
postponed.
