Who has it better than Kevin? Surfer Magazine sent him to the North Shore of Oahu for 2 weeks to cover the beginning of the surfing season. He sent a few photos over & this one is my favorite. It really gets you into the spirit of what Hawaii is all about. Talk about simple beauty.

[ in the lineup with scott bass & sam george ]



The bro's over at Surfer Magazine had the web-cast of episode no. 3 today & it was epic! My long-time friend Kevin of Psylicyde & Surfer Magazine was good enough to bring me over to sit in live for today's show. Rob Machado showed up to show some love and talk about what he has been up to. Most recently, Rob had the opportunity to travel to the Maldives with Laird Hamilton & Mr. Pipeline - Gerry Lopez for an adventure.

Later on in the segment, Laird Hamilton called in from Kauai, where he just finished shooting a commercial for Davidoff cologne. The Hawaiian Islands are absolutely going off right now. Swells are forecasted in the 10'-15' range with good conditions. Laird is definitely having a ball over there. He has to be the most stoked person that I have ever heard speak. His energy definitely got everyone in the room pumped. Laird left the crew with the sure lesson of the day. This is a concept that I have been kicking around in my head for some time now: As a true leader, you must lead by example. He nailed it!

[ trestles - san clemente, california ]





California Myth No. 2: When a train comes blowing around the mountain at Trestles, you can bet that a set is rolling in.

This is the absolute truth. Perhaps this is a good segue into our 3rd piece of Cali folk lore: All people from California buy into myths. OK, so maybe that's a stretch, but I'm beginning to dig this superstitious behavior though.

On a side note, Kevin let me rock his twin fin today. I forgot how much fun those things are. Pete Arslanian shaped this board custom for Kevin. This board is fine like wine even down to the wooden skegs (which are outstanding)!

Tune in tomorrow at 3pm EST to the 3rd episode of "In the Lineup," Surfer Magazine's answer to weekly web-based radio programs. I will be making a special guest appearance and if that's not enough for you, Rob Machado will be in the place serving up all he's got for the listener's at home. Also scheduled to call in as a guest is Laird Hamilton. Tune IN!

[ lefty ]




Cali Mission: 8 days
Objective: Shred lips, destroy.

It's Day 4 and we scored solid 5' Middles at Salt Creek this morning. It had to be the most crowded spot ever. None the less, sick tubes went around for all. The water temperature was a smooth 63 degrees and the fog was dense. Local folk lore tells a tale of fog stopping wind dead in it's tracks, so as you can imagine, it was really clean.

I'm off to wreck the concrete at San Clemente Skatepark. After that, it's off to meet up with local shaper / ripper Pete Arslanian over at Hydroglas to talk about a new custom twin fin. Pete's shop is right next to The Victoria Skimboards factory and he hand-shapes custom skegs from the scrap they throw away from their projects. Way to be Pete.

More To Come Later!

[ Animal New York ]



The latest issue of Animal York is out and is available at select newstands. If you are stomping Lafayette, be sure to pop into Lafayette Smoke, [ 63 Sping Street ] you can cop an issue there. I did not make the party, but Vinny Peps said "it was all cashews and almonds!" Solid Vinny. Included in this quarterly issue is the Jeffrey A. Miron report. Print it out, it's a great read for the train.