Rookies USA

First off, check the new trailers for The Dawn and Rookies projects. The Dawn is a feature that was split between fellow Clamdiggers Zach Nicholas and Kellen Keene. It showcases their recent adventures in Oz, Mex, Hawaii, and Cali, and is set to release in late September. Judging from the trailer and their previous work, this flick should provide a little shakeup from your usual viewing experience.

Secondly, you can live the NF premiere vicariously through our grande Decade Etcetera, equipped with a mini-review that was penned by fellow boogie video connoisseur Josh Shelly. The first half of the feature was shot at the first stop of the tour in Pismo Beach courtesy of Adam Terpening, while the second half was shot at the final California destination in the depths of good ‘ole Chula Vista. It’s one of the only coming-out parties of the year for us spongers here in Cali so it always provides a good stage to let loose and a rare opportunity to watch the sport that we all know and love on the big screen.

Lastly, Alex provided us with some shots from his Indo trip. Luckily camels have three eyelids or we could have had a real mess on our hands. Also, rumors of Pismo’s Josh Warthen on reality TV were validated this week. After producing Adolescence some years ago, he replaced his boogie with a 9 iron and won a seat on SDSU’s golf team. Now he’s breaking hearts on the Golf Channel’s Big Break. Tune in on October 3rd to watch the mythical Warthen in action.

Link of the Week: We decided to split this spot between the new releases from Chula Vista Media (Happy Days) and 5-South (The Mixtape Experiment). Both are well deserving and both show some Cali love so show some love back with the “Buy Now” button if you can.

Alex updated us post-G-land and is currently weaving his way back to the states amidst Taipei typhoons. Sounds like he left a little Camel residue behind on the reef while getting pitted at Speedies. Pics to come shortly. Adam Terpening and Cale Moore added to the assemblage of images from their mainland adventure here. Also, Ben Player earned his second win of the year in Chile. Looks like he’s well on his way to a second world title.

Link of the week: The new IBA Tour website isn’t done quite yet but judging from all the links on the site there should be a banquet of content for us cyber-folk to feast upon in the near future.

Murdock supplied all the dirt on Mex for us. From god-awful mudflap creations to French “gongbongs” to 24 hour barbiturate bus rides, you’re in for a treat with this mini-novel. Willie’s still frolicking in coffee country; babysitting red light district illegitimates, hunting for waves off the beaten path, and spreading the gospel of the mini-shaka to both believers and naysayers alike. Lastly, Alex sent us what may have been his final transmission from the land of Indo before a 7.5 would shake Jakarta. At least we know that the ASA will still live on.

Back on the home front we got word from Ryan Loughlin that Ralphy is still loving the single life as one of the few surviving straight male hairdressers on the face of the planet:

I happened to be in downtown SLO getting drunk when who do I run into but Raphly….somehow I end up on their party bus with Josh stripping and the bus driver’s wife doing headstands up against the stripper pole. The shot is horrible quality because it’s from my phone but you get the idea!

We just received the NF X premiere flyer with all the details on the annual Fair Oaks mayhem. A little teaser has surfaced on editor Todd Barnes’ site, quality indeed! The DVD-included tix look like a steal.

Arica is still going down as well. On first glance I mistook the finalists for a World Cup roster, but make no mistake these Euros and Latinos are willing and able, taking down all the big guns along the way. With 2 Americans not named Jeff still remaining, hopefully we can get a fellow countryman on the podium this year. Here are the remaining heats:

Quarters: Man on Man heats

Heat 1 - Ivan Hernandez x Manuel Centeno

Heat 2 - Yeray Martinez x Pierre Luis Costes

Heat 3 - Dave Hubbard x Hugo Pinheiro

Heat 4 - Paul Benco x Ben Player

Link of the Week: SCCOOS looks clean and gives you all the up-to-the-minute wave info you can muster.

Just giving a shout to a couple solo missions going down on either side of the globe right now while we’re still withering away here in Cali. First off we have Willie Richerson who is now going on one month strong in Central America. He sent us his regards and we threw some of his updates and images together here. Wonka even got a little play from the local online surf photography dude at ZoomNicaragua.com. Getting hustled by bandito taxi drivers, camping amidst thunderstorms, and getting his nose stuck in obscure Nica novels - sounds like Willie’s being Willie down in the tropics. Secondly we’ve got Alex Statom in route to Indo as we speak. We’re hoping to get a few emails from Alex upon arrival. He’ll be splitting his time between G-land and Bali with that crazy Frenchman Paxcou as his knowledgeable tour guide. Looks like solid swell is on tap so I’m sure some drainers will be had.

The Arica Challenge has also gotten underway. The prelims and 1st round action is now complete but there is nothing major to report as of yet. Looks like good swell throughout the coming week so I’m sure some action will go down soon enough. Also the Pismo kids have arrived from their whirlwind Mexico tour and Murdo is busy penning a write-up to go along with some images of the trip from Adam Terpening, Kellen Keene, and Zach Nicolas. Check the home pic for a preview.