Was it only December 31 of last year when Robbie Maddison “smashed” the world distance record for a motorcycle jump? That 322-foot jump eclipsed the unofficial record of 310 feet set by Ryan Capes. Then on a special event held by the Crusty Demons in Australia in March Capes briefly retook the record with a 324-foot jump before Maddison did him one better by reaching nearly 352 feet. Apparently he’s gone further but that was the last recorded record.
Still following me?
Now word comes that on June 21 a rider named “Bird” smashed that record by making a huge jump in California of more than 394 feet. Unlike the last records, this one doesn’t seem to have been witnessed by the Guinness folks so we’ll see if it holds up, but it will be on the upcoming DVD “On the Pipe 5′” from Powerband Films.
But you can still see this huge jump for yourself below…
Despite a heavy contingent of hometown Brazilian heroes in the final rounds of the Local Motion Guaruja Surf Pro, it was American surfer Shaun Ward who took the championship, which boosted his ASP ranking from 77th place to 30th with his impressive win. Shaun had to face three Brazilians in a row in for his last rounds as he took out Tomas Hermes, and Andre Silva before facing Simao Romao in the final. The conditions that day were very similar to that in his hometown of Huntington Beach to help him feel comfortable out there. Romao started the final pretty well with a score of 7.33 but failed to impress with a mediocre backup run.
“I have never been in an ASP WQS 5-Star before and I am so happy to be here,” Ward said. “I never imagined I could’ve won, but I worked hard every day to make it happen. It’s a dream come true. I have surfed and trained every day to get good results and it paid off here so I am very happy,” Ward said. “I faced very strong contenders all the way to the final but felt no pressure. The waves here are similar to my home break, Huntington Beach, and I have no problem surfing here. We had good waves pumping the whole week and now I want to celebrate my victory which is the highlight of my career.”
The next ASP stop will be at the 6-Star Mr. Price Pro in Durban South Africa.
If you’ve ever seen the Sam Mendes film “American Beauty” and you happen to have a real appreciation for the story told in that fine piece of cinema, then you probably made a connection with the character called Ricky Fitts. He’s the one that carries a video camera around with him at all times and documents every single insignificant piece of beauty he comes across for his personal video collection. We see him videotape dead animals, his naked neighbor, and of course the plastic bag that was talking to him. It’s a great message really.
Ian Reid is like a real life Ricky Fitts. If you’ve seen his first movie “Sex, Hood, Skate, And Videotape”, I’m sure that you will be a fan of his new movie “Street Is Talking”. It’s pretty much the same non-storytelling documentary styled movie with a bunch of randomness Ian comes across on his daily routine.
The movie stars Ian Reid, Brian Wenning, Stevie Williams, Jamal Smith, Tim Johnson, and appearances by all of your favorite skaters, hood dudes and hot girls. Check out the trailer below.
Premiering tomorrow night July 1st at 9pm on Fuel TV is “The Daily Habit” starring professional female rider Leanne Pelosi. She’s back on the show along with renowned Australian skate photographer Mike O’Meally who will be in the studio. And performing live will be Tweak Bird who in the past year sold out of their 7-inch album. So be sure to check it out.
Remember a while back I complained about how hot it was outside and the weather made me want to do absolutely nothing? But then I came across this flyer for a pool party in Orange County? Then remember how I got my Speedos together and drove 40 miles out to the O.C. to get some sun, girls, and drinks? And then remember how I arrived there and it was a complete sausage fest because it ended up being at the Van Skatepark and there were no girls, water, or drinks? Well yeah, it didn’t turn out my way but I had fun anyway.
Shred Or Die just put up some footage from that event if you’re interested in how it went. The new video features footage with Rune Glifberg, Josh Borden, Sergie Ventura, Omar Hassan, Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek, and a bunch of other bros. Check it out if you haven’t seen any footage from it yet over at Shred Or Die.
Check out this episode of Grill Session over at Vital Skate starring Dan Murphy. It’s actually one of the better episodes in a while, probably due to such an interesting skater. So if you’ve ever wondered why Dan Murphy pisses on his cat, or why he always wears long sleeve shirts, and have always been curious about his sneaker collection, then you’re going to like this. Grill Session #20, the Dan Murphy Limited Edition…
Just in case you haven’t checked it out recently, Silver Trucks keeps putting up some great vids of its team riders trying out the semi-new Syndrome Distribution Skatepark.
We’ve put together three of the videos in one clip for you to check out below. And keep an eye open for the new Silver vid shot in Barcelona…
You probably haven’t had the chance to see the documentary about FMX superstar Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg called “Hood Rich.” It got a small premiere last April and is now out on DVD. Twitch is pictured above at the San Diego premiere.
The storyline is simple: It’s about Twitch’s growth into one of the top FMX riders on the scene and how he’s changed (in a good way).
If haven’t gotten the DVD, you can watch the show on Monday night on Fuel. It initially airs at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) then repeats a bunch of times.
Check out the trailer below for some sweet footage of Twitch at Deegan’s place.
Another stop on the PWT, another win for teenagers Phillip Sover and Butler. Both set a new record for most consecutive victories on the tour won by any rider in a single season after taking the finals in Phoenix Sunday. It was the fourth win for each this season on tour (four out of four). The final stop hits Reno on July 11.
For Butler, the win marks her fifth consecutive contest victory, another record, because she scored a win in last week’s Tigé Pro-Am Wakeboard Championship in Portland. The event is not part of the PWT. Soven missed out on that event’s final.
The Liquid Circus was covering the Tigé Pro-Am Wakeboard Championship and they have a couple of cool clips you should check out. The first one is of Rusty Malinoski landing the very difficult HS Backside 900, while the second is the site’s “set of the week” featuring Aaron Rathy at his house. Visit the site for a bunch more.
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