For the past week, I have been immersed into the surfing world.  I attended the US Open of surfing for the 3rd or 4th time.  This years open had a very different feel.  It was pretty much owned by by Nike 6.0, Hurley, and Converse (all Nike brands).  Off the topic, the Nike 6.0 marketing campaign was very successful.

Looking down on the crowd from the Huntington pier, a sea of Nike orange baseball caps was very visible.  Nike has solidified it’s place in action sports.

Out of all the booths at the Open I was drawn to one that had a display of boards, from the first wooden boards and hollow boards, to the current foam and epoxy models.  Beautiful boards made by the Noll brothers honoring Duke, a gun made by Gerry Lopez for Laird Hamilton, and everything in between.  I love the culture that goes along with surfing and how the surfing community embodies it’s history, and honors its pioneers.

The past 3 or 4 years have been a turning point for the surfing industry.  The closing of Clark Foam, shook the industry, and left everyone wondering what now, and fearing for the worst.

Coming from the Northwest with a snowboarding background, I was a couple years ahead of the most recent boom in surfing popularity as a bunch of my friends slowly hung up the Gore Tex in exchange for rubber, very thick rubber.  Surfing in the Northwest is popular, but you can still find an uncrowded line up in the summer during the midweek, and if your willing to surf in the rain in water temps in the high 40’s, winter swells provide a great payoff.  Generally speaking, surfers in the Northwest are a hearty, friendly breed.

Back to the closing of Clark Foam.  I was living in Orange County a block from the beach in Newport, surfing at least once a day when that happened.  The reaction in Orange County with surfers, shops, and shapers, was pretty much a full on freak out.  No one knew what was going to happen next.  Some shapers hung it up, core shops closed, and for about a year the industry was shaken up pretty good.  I really like the state of surfing right now.  I think the closing of Clark Foam was a blessing in disguise.  Epoxy boards got more popular, and whether you like them or not, I do like having the option of epoxy or foam.  There has been a renaissance of vintage shapes, another way the community passes on the history and tradition of surfings roots, as well as new and progressive shapes, that are pushing the limits of shapers, athletes, and new materials.  All in all, recession or not, surfing is in a very happy place, with a bright future.  Although the histories don’t even compare, I hope that eventually the snowboarding community can have the same appreciation for its previous generations, and can find the same happy place that surfing is currently enjoying.

Another vendor that caught my eye was that of Jon Wegener, and Wegener surfboards.  Jon has been a shaper for 15 years which is a pretty respectable amount of time.  His Alaia line of boards is finless, and made only of Paulownia wood, giving a nod to the first boards ridden , and the watermen who used them.  The boards look like so much fun to ride, and his idea is a great one.  His market for the Alaia line is a niche one, but with the push to go green, and the popularity of surfings traditions, I think he’s leaving his mark on a sport thats hundreds of years in the making.

The Volcom BS movie premier was fun, a good share of the movie was filmed at Lower Trestles, featuring local talent so a lot of friends and family were in the crowd cheering on the likes of  Andrew Doheny, Dusty Payne, Mitch Coleborn, Alex Gray,  and Nate Tyler.

Thanks to Volcom, and the La Paloma theatre in Encinitas for letting us peep this one for free.