Category: Sports

Burton’s Massive Restructure Shifts Energy to Core Snowboarding Including Analog; End of Foursquare, Forum, Special Blend, and Shift for Gravis to Tokyo

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Snowboarding, like Surfing, is going through major transition as reflected by a much weaker snow sports season from last year and lower sales moving into winter 2012-13 due to a difficult economy and the high pricetag of the sports of snowboarding and skiing in general. Burton’s announcement today regarding upcoming changes for the brand provided […]

Nike Ends Contract with Lance Armstrong

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It seemed inevitable, but it took awhile: Today, Wednesday, October 17. 2012, Nike announced it was ending it’s contract with Lance Armstrong. “Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him,” […]

Surf Round-up: Vans Triple Crown of Surfing to Kick-off with $1 Million Purse, But No Women’s Events; Women’s LongBoard Championships in China; Effects of ASP’s Ownership by ZoSea Media

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Surfing continues to go through unprecedented changes as the effects of the economy take its toll on what survives and what doesn’t, and new interests re-shape the traditional standards of an industry in major flux. To start, on the cusp of news that Nike/Hurley will no longer be sponsoring mainland’s largest surfing event, the U.S. […]

Retail Round-up: Billabong Plunges as TPG Pulls Bid; Fast Retailing, a.k.a. Uniqlo Takes a Hit

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After two crucial months of due diligence and negotiations, the private equity firm TPG has pulled its bid for taking over the beleaguered surf brand Billabong. Immediately, shares dropped to 82 cents. According to City Index chief market analysis Peter Esho, Billabong’s future is not looking good. “What we’re seeing today in the market is […]

Fall Youth Culture Study Reveals New Spending Patterns, Inspired DIY Trends and Market Opportunities, Plus Sustainability Trends, Fashion, Sneaker Culture, Action Sports, More

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Fresh research and analysis released today from Label Networks’ 13th Fall Youth Culture Study reveals where shifts in the youth marketplace and various declines have also created new opportunities across a range of industries, such as fashion, technology, sports, electronics, music, entertainment, non-profits, sustainability issues, among others, based on new consumer insights among 13-25-year-olds across […]

Hurley/Nike Pull-out of U.S. Open of Surf Sponsorship for 2013 and Future—Pushing for Greater Connection to Youth Culture

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When Shop-Eat-Surf scooped Transworld Business yesterday on the big action sports news that Hurley, and therefore Nike, decided to no longer sponsor the mega-surf event, the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, CA, the responses to answers were of course remarkably similar. But there’s more beneath the surface. In the Shop-Eat-Surf story, Tiffany Montgomery […]

Kelly Slater, 40, Claims 50th ASP Surfing Title at Hurley Pro Trestles

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As incredible as it seems, Kelly Slater, the 11-time ASP World Champion of surfing, has once again claimed another Association of Surfing Professional World Championship Tour event, the 6th out of 10 this season, yesterday, September 20, 2012, at the Hurley Pro at Trestles, CA. Beating out Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, in clean three-to-five foot […]

Coachella, Staples Center, Nokia Live Among Properties in the AEG Bundle Up for Sale—What’s This Mean for Music

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Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) based in downtown Los Angeles, the world’s second largest concert promoter behind Live Nation, is up for sale. The announcement yesterday, September 19, 2012 came as a shock especially to the city of Los Angeles and the fact that AEG just got a $700 million naming right deal for Farmer’s Field […]

Action Sports Round-up: Shaun White Busted in Nashville; Rip Curl Seeking Potential Investors

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Two-time Olympic snowboarding gold medalist and X Games skateboarding gold medalist Shaun White was busted on Monday, September 17, 2012 for charges of public intoxication and vandalism at Loews Vanderbilt Nashville hotel. According to a police report and related story from the Associated Press, police came to Loews Vanderbilt Hotel at 2 a.m. on Sunday […]

Tom Sims, Legendary Snowboard and Skateboard Pioneer, Passes Away at 61

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On Wednesday night, September 12, 2012, legendary snowboarding and skateboarding pioneer Tom Sims passed away from cardiac arrest at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, CA. He was 61. Tom Sims was known for many things including the inventor of the snowboard on the West Coast when he built his “skiboard” in 1963. He later went on […]