Rob Dyrdek has announced the launch of his professional skateboarding Street League today. With this announcement it has been said that Chris Cole, Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka, Torey Pudwill, PJ Ladd, Sean Malto, Mike Mo, Mikey Taylor, Billy Marks, Tommy Sandoval, and Paul Rodriguez have signed their way in to competing in the contests this summer. The series has over One million dollars worth of prize money to be given away.

Announcing Street League Skateboarding™; the Future of Competitive Professional Skateboarding

The world’s best street skateboarders sign to the first million dollar professional tour with three stops in 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA (March 24, 2010) – Street League Skateboarding™ announced today that for the first time in history, street skateboarding competition has been organized into its very own professional league, with the best skateboarders in the world competing head-to-head in a series of individual tour stops in the summer of 2010. Founded by twenty-year professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek, Street League™ is truly the future of competitive street skateboarding.

Signed to multi-year contracts, a total of twenty-four of the world’s biggest skateboarding stars will compete in Street League™ exclusively. The first pros that have signed are arguably the top skateboarders in the world and include Chris Cole, Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka, Torey Pudwill, PJ Ladd, Sean Malto, Mike Mo Capaldi, Mikey Taylor, Billy Marks, Tommy Sandoval, and Paul Rodriguez. The Street League™ pros will be battling it out for more than $1MM in prize money on a 3-stop arena tour this summer.

Dyrdek, in discussing the origins of the league says, “It has been a dream of mine to create a professional tour that bridges the gap between true street skateboarding and contest skating, which to date has been fragmented and misguided. Street League™ is more than just a new contest series; it will redefine the way skateboarding competitions are done.”

Chris Cole, 2009’s Dew Tour Champion, Maloof Money Cup Winner, two-times X Games gold medalist and Thrasher’s Skater of the Year, in regards to his exclusive commitment to Street League™ adds, “It’s what we have always wanted – it’s a contest circuit that is actually created, owned, and operated by skaters.”

To maximize the talents of these street skateboarding stars, Street League™ has designed authentic concrete skate plazas to be built on the floors of world-class sports arenas. In addition, Street League™ brings with it the exclusive use of the instant scoring technology, ISX (Instant Scoring Experience™), to the world of skateboarding. Using real time scoring and an exciting proprietary format, Street League™ will tell a compelling story about each skateboarder’s performance and will have fans on the edge of their seats from the first trick to the very last.

The inaugural year of Street League™ features a 3-stop arena tour beginning at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona on August 28th, Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California on September 11th, and the final stop in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center on September 25th. The skaters will be competing at each event for the largest prize pool in skateboarding history.

Street League™ is the culmination of more than five years of development, which began with a professional contest Dyrdek held at the opening of the world’s first skate plaza he built in Kettering, Ohio in 2005. Building on the knowledge gained from this event, Dyrdek and his team began planning for the launch of the league, consulting for and developing several major skateboarding events to serve as additional case studies.

IMG Action Sports, the go-to event production company in the industry, is producing and executing Street League™ in 2010. The worldwide leader in skate park design and construction, California Skateparks™, will provide skate plaza construction. Instant Scoring Experience™ is a partnership between MXi, Dialsmith, and Street League™.

For more information go to www.streetleague.com.

About Street League Skateboarding ™

Street League Skateboarding™ is the first sports entertainment property that gives professional street skateboarding its very own league for individual competition. Street League™ features the exclusive participation of the world’s best professionals, over $1MM in prize money, and real skate plaza course design inside world-class arenas. Driven by the need to enhance the experience of live professional street skateboarding, Street League™ utilizes real-time scoring and a proprietary format that makes every trick count. Street League™ is the brainchild of twenty-year professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek. More information is available at www.streetleague.com.

12/18/09 (Vista, CA) - The Tony Hawk Foundation Board of Directors has announced the recipients of its Fall 2009 Skatepark Grant Awards, as well as a special allocation to match, dollar-for-dollar, donations to the Watts Skatepark project in Los Angeles.

From the 52 applications submitted for this season’s Grant Review Session, the Board of Directors selected fourteen from low-income communities across the U.S., and awarded a total of $130,000 to help build free, quality skateparks that will serve at-risk youth.

Fall 2009 Tony Hawk Foundation Grant Recipients
$25,000

* San Luis Obispo, California

$15,000

* Mount Airy, North Carolina
* Lyndonville, Vermont

$10,000

* Aurora, Illinois
* Brooklyn, New York
* Wilmington, Ohio
* Dormont Borough, Pennsylvania

$5,000

* Estherville, Iowa
* Lyons, Michigan
* Mecosta, Michigan
* Royalton, Minnesota
* Commercial Township, New Jersey
* Greenfield, Ohio
* Martinsville, Virginia

The Board also allocated $10,000 in matching funds for the Watts Skatepark project in Los Angeles. Through January 15, 2010 all donations made via skatewatts.org will be MATCHED by the Tony Hawk Foundation*. Having helped launch it in October, the Tony Hawk Foundation is also featuring the Watts Skatepark project during the Athletes For Hope Who Gives? Racing For A Cause challenge, a widely publicized fundraising event hosted by globalgiving.org/athletes-for-hope/.

With few alternatives to crime, gangs, and drugs, youth in the Watts community struggle daily to find healthy pastimes that can keep them engaged and active. Through this effort to build a free-quality public skatepark in Watts, the Tony Hawk Foundation is helping local youth realize their dream of a world-class skatepark.

Make a contribution during this limited campaign, and the impact of your donation will be DOUBLED. Visit skatewatts.org and support the youth of Watts today.

(*All donations made during the Who Gives? Racing For A Cause challenge—December 15, 2009 through January 15, 2010—will be matched by the Tony Hawk Foundation, up to $10,000.)

A charitable, non-profit organization, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established in 2002 by its namesake, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, to promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States—with an emphasis on the word “quality.” Since then, the Foundation has awarded $3,111,000 to 444 communities. The Foundation focuses on working with local officials and grassroots, community-based organizations that plan to hire designers and contractors with strong experience designing and building skateparks.

The Tony Hawk Foundation was established by a gift from Tony Hawk. Its directors raise additional funds through events, industry donations, and continuing contributions from Tony and other entities. In addition to skateparks, the Foundation also makes donations to other children-related charities, as chosen by its Board Of Directors. For more information or to make a donation, visit the Foundation’s Web site.

Habitat is launching a shoe line with Guru Khalsa, Marius Syvanen, Austyn Gillette, and Alex Davis as the first riders.

Habitat Skateboards Elevates Its Brand Footprint in the Skate Industry
Footwear Line to Launch February 2010

Dayton, OH (November 19, 2009) – Marking its 10-year anniversary in the skateboard industry, Habitat Skateboards is pleased to announce the initial launch of their skateboard footwear line, Habitat Footwear. Since its inception, Habitat has been committed to pure skateboarding, timeless design and inspiration from the natural world.

The Footwear

Designed by skateboarders for skateboarding, Habitat Footwear boasts the core components of comfort, weight and durability to optimize skate performance. Consisting of six models, the line also infuses Habitat’s signature design principles — branded colorways, visual balance, and attention to detail. “After 10 years of building a solid presence in the hardgoods market, developing a footwear line was a new creative outlet for Habitat and a natural next step in the progression of the brand,” stated Joe Castrucci. “Footwear is a great platform for the evolution of Habitat. Pre-season sales have exceeded our goals and we are excited for the full product launch early next year,” added Chris Carter.

The Team

Representing the next generation in the ever-evolving Habitat brand, amateur skateboarders, Guru Khalsa, Marius Syvanen, Austyn Gillette, and Alex Davis have teamed up to be the faces behind the footwear line.

The Collaboration

Habitat is proud to celebrate and honor acclaimed mid-century wildlife artist Charley Harper in its footwear launch. Three Charley Harper Artist Series decks and shoes will be available in the first season which include classic Harper artwork printed insoles and corresponding exterior fabric colors.

Habitat Shoes Quest

9 November, 2009 : - - Huntington Beach — Quiksilver today announced its 40th anniversary celebration in Paris, November 20-21, 2009. The event will feature two days of skateboarding, music, art and fashion at the historic Grand Palais–culminating in a Saturday night finale featuring The Quiksilver Tony Hawk Show, followed by a concert with Dead By Sunrise (Chester Bennington of Linkin Park with his newest band) and a late night with DJ Mix Master Mike.

“Quiksilver is very excited to kick off our fortieth anniversary in Paris with some of the world’s most celebrated athletes,” said Bob McKnight, CEO of Quiksilver. “It is amazing to think that we have been at this for over four decades. With the help of our athletes, we’re proud to have built Quiksilver into a global company that helps define a lifestyle and culture around the world.”

This will be the first action sports event ever held inside the Grand Palais, with the largest vert ramp ever built in Europe and an immense street course open to skaters of all ages and skill levels—free of charge–for the entire two days. And a Street Contest Invitational will feature a prize purse of 20,000 Euros. This is a rare and unique chance for pros and locals alike to skate inside one of the city’s massive historic monuments—for the last 109 years its held boxing competitions and horse racing but never before has it been open to skateboarding.

While in Paris, Quiksilver will pay tribute to forty years of working with the world’s best athletes by bringing together its top global team in surf, skate and snow, including Kelly Slater, Todd Richards, Travis Rice, Danny Garcia, Alex Olson, Jérémy Florès, Mathieu Crépel, Robby Naish and Roxy’s Kassia Meador, Lisa Andersen and Torah Bright. Be sure to look for Todd Richard’s event coverage, Paris exploits and special interviews with athletes and artists alike in several upcoming “Todcasts” on quiksilver.com.

In addition to the insane roster of Quiksilver athletes, The Tony Hawk Show is bringing friends such as skaters Andy MacDonald, Kevin Staab, Sandro Dias, Jean Postec, Sergie Ventura, Jesse Fristch, and four of the biggest names in international skateboarding will be our very special guests: Christian Hosoi, Daniel Cardone, Javier Mendizabal and Omar Hassan.

The weekend’s events also include exhibition areas for art, music and cultural events. Special guest and renowned graffiti artist André will be transforming giant ramps into unique art, giving the public the exceptional opportunity to watch the notorious artist at work. Quiksilver has also assembled a 40 year fashion retrospective inside the venue.

Entrance is free to the public for the daytime events (10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.). Saturday night’s performance is a ticketed event for 40 euros. For ticket purchase information and a schedule of events, please visit: quiksilverlive.com

www.quiksilverlive.com

Tony Hawk Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

10/01/09 (Vista, CA) - The Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks benefit returns to Beverly Hills on October 11, 2009 to help the Tony Hawk Foundation bring free, quality public skateparks to low-income communities across the U.S. On November 7, the star-studded event then travels to the Wynn Resort for its Las Vegas debut.

Now in its sixth year, Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks is the Tony Hawk Foundation’s annual family-centric action-sports carnival, featuring games, activities, food, auctions, A-list celebrities, special musical performances, and a Vert Demo with Tony and a crew of top-pro skaters and BMX riders on Tony’s personal ramp. An established must-see event in Beverly Hills, this will be the first time Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks comes to the Las Vegas Strip.

Each Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks location will feature a unique musical guest. Having performed at the first Stand Up For Skateparks event in 2004, blink-182 returns to the stage in Beverly Hills this year on October 11, while Rancid rocks the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas on November 7.

Joining Tony on the event’s Benefit Committee are Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong, Travis Barker, Ron Burkle, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Eisner, Jon Favreau, Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta III, Jeff Fine, Robin Greenspun, Mia Hamm, Mat Hoffman, Kathy Ireland, Bobby Kotick, Chuck Liddell, George Maloof, Andrew Pascal, Shaun White, and Elaine Wynn.

For more information about Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks, or to purchase tickets, visit http://standupforskateparks.org, or contact C.C. Hafner at 760-477-2479 or cc@tonyhawkfoundation.org.

———–
A charitable, non-profit organization, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established in 2002 by its namesake, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, to promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States–with an emphasis on the word “quality.” Since then, the Foundation has awarded $2,887,500 to 448 communities. The Foundation focuses on working with local officials and grassroots, community-based organizations that plan to hire designers and contractors with strong experience designing and building skateparks.

The Tony Hawk Foundation was established by a gift from Tony Hawk. Its directors raise additional funds through events, industry donations, and continuing contributions from Tony and other entities. In addition to skateparks, the Foundation also makes donations to other children-related charities, as chosen by its Board Of Directors. For more information or to make a donation, visit the Foundation’s Web site at http://tonyhawkfoundation.org.

Copyright 2009 Tony Hawk Foundation
http://tonyhawkfoundation.org

The third annual Harold Hunter Day, held by Harold Hunter Foundation in conjunction with Zoo York, New Era, CCS and DC Shoes, will kick off on Oct 10 at Manhattan Bridge Skate Park. A four hour all-age skate jam with beats provided by DJ Smoke LES and DJ Ani will be held during the day, after which, an afterparty will go down at KCDC Skateshop in Brooklyn.

The Harold Hunter Foundation, in partnership with Zoo York, New Era, CCS and DC Shoes, is proud to announce that the 3rd Annual Harold Hunter Day will take place Saturday, October 10th, in New York City.

Established in 2006 after Harold’s untimely passing, HH Day III will once again unite NYC’s skateboarding community for a positive day of shredding in honor of the one-and-only, Harold Hunter.

An iconic figure in New York’s downtown scene, Harold’s larger-than-life personality and generous nature touched the lives of countless people around the world. HH Day commemorates a life well lived by celebrating the things Harold loved most– skateboarding, music, friends, family, good times and of course, NYC.

On Saturday afternoon, October 10th, HH Day III will kick off at the Manhattan Bridge Skatepark on the corner of Pike and Monroe Streets in Chinatown. An all-ages skate jam will run from 1–5pm with pop-up best trick events throughout the day, a massive product toss and beats courtesy of DJ Smoke LES and DJ Ani. (View Map)

Once the skate jam is a wrap, an after-party will go down from 9pm-Midnight at KCDC Skateshop located at 90 North 11th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Open to the 21+ crowd only, Harold’s party people will enjoy free beverages and live music, with mini-ramp sessions in full effect all night.

As a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Harold Hunter Foundation relies on support from the skateboarding community to achieve its mission of providing “inner-city youth with valuable life experiences and opportunities for personal and professional growth by encouraging and sponsoring their interest in skateboarding.”

With this goal in mind, an exclusive run of limited edition HH Day III T-shirts and New Era hats will be sold to commemorate the event with proceeds benefiting the HH Foundation. Both items feature a collage of classic Harold portraits shot and donated by long-time friend and acclaimed photographer/videographer, Giovanni Reda. The T-shirt ($20) and hat ($35) will be available for purchase separately, and together as a kit ($50).

“As Harold once said, ‘Growing up in New York I never thought it would be like this, but now being here in New York it is like this,’” says Mark Nardelli, HH Day co-organizer and CCS brand director. “Let’s keep things popp’n like Harold always did and have a good time skating with his extended NYC family.”

Harold Hunter Day III is made possible through generous support from the numerous people and companies that played an integral role in Harold’s life. This year a special thank you goes out to Zoo York, New Era, CCS, DC Shoes, Shut, Camp Woodward, KCDC, 5boro, UXA, Brooklyn Brewery, Acapulco Gold, DQM, The Professionals A/V and DJ Equipment, Hopps, Alien Workshop, Habitat, Official, Verte, Billy’s Nuts, Frank151, Instant Winner, Famous, Savage, Off Bowery, Autumn, Anything, Rival, Homage, Supreme, Dah Shop, POST, Rockstar Bearings and Red Bull.

Tony Hawk Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two Chances To Support Public Skateparks
Tony Hawk Foundation brings its celebrity Stand Up For Skateparks benefit to Beverly Hills and Las Vegas.

9/4/09 (Vista, CA) - The Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks benefit returns to Beverly Hills on October 11 to help the Tony Hawk Foundation bring free, quality public skateparks to low-income communities across the U.S. On November 7, the star-studded event then travels to the Wynn Las Vegas for its debut in the City Of Lights.

Now in its sixth year, Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks is the Tony Hawk Foundation’s annual family-centric action-sports carnival, featuring games, activities, food, auctions, A-list celebrities, special musical performances, and a Vert Demo with Tony and a crew of top-pro skaters and BMX riders on Tony’s personal ramp. An established must-see event in Beverly Hills, this will be the first time Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks comes to the Las Vegas Strip.

Joining Tony on the event’s Benefit Committee are Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong, Travis Barker, Ron Burkle, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Eisner, Jon Favreau, Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta III, Jeff Fine, Robin Greenspun, Mia Hamm, Mat Hoffman, Kathy Ireland, Bobby Kotick, Chuck Liddell, George Maloof, Andrew Pascal, Shaun White and Elaine Wynn.

Each Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks event will include a special Pledge Drive to raise funds for the construction or improvement of a local skatepark in the Los Angeles and Las Vegas areas. Past recipients of Pledge Drive funds include public skatepark projects in Compton, California, New York City, and the military community of Tierrasanta in San Diego, California.

For more information about Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks, or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.standupforskateparks.org, or contact C.C. Hafner at 760-477-2479 or cc@tonyhawkfoundation.org.

The Tony Hawk: RIDE Presents Stand Up For Skateparks MEDIA contact is Emily Miller.
She can be reached at 916-719-9949 or emily@tonyhawkfoundation.org.

While preparing for this year’s benefit events, the Tony Hawk Foundation is also currently accepting applications for its Fall 2009 Grant season. Grants of up to $25,000 are available for the construction of free public skateparks in low-income communities across the U.S. The deadline to submit an application is Midnight, October 1, 2009. For details and application criteria, please visit the Grant Application section of our Web site at http://www.tonyhawkfoundation.org.

———–
A charitable, non-profit organization, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established in 2002 by its namesake, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, to promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States–with an emphasis on the word “quality.” Since then, the Foundation has awarded $2,887,500 to 448 communities. The Foundation focuses on working with local officials and grassroots, community-based organizations that plan to hire designers
and contractors with strong experience designing and building skateparks.

The Tony Hawk Foundation was established by a gift from Tony Hawk. Its directors raise additional funds through events, industry donations, and continuing contributions from Tony and other entities. In addition to skateparks, the Foundation also makes donations to other children-related charities, as chosen by its Board Of Directors. For more information or to make a donation, visit the Foundation’s Web site at http://tonyhawkfoundation.org.

DONATE: Text the word RIDE to 90999 to donate $5 to the Tony Hawk Foundation. Or visit our How To Donate page at http://www.tonyhawkfoundation.org for other ways to contribute to our mission.

Copyright 2009 Tony Hawk Foundation
http://tonyhawkfoundation.org

World Industries announced today that Anthony Shetler is the newest member of the team. Here’s the official press release:

“COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA – (September 1, 2009) World Industries adds Anthony Shetler to the team. Anthony joins the World family as the brands newest pro to endorse World Industries skateboards and footwear. With a successful amateur career behind him World Industries is excited to partner with Shetler and release a pro model board out Holiday 2009 and hopes of adding a Shetler signature color way shoe out early 2010.

Anthony Shetler, “It feels rad to be apart of a company that has been in business for 20 plus years and helped to start all this raw street skating.”

“I’ve know Anthony for a while and I’m really excited to work with him. He’s been killing it for years and I am glad that his first board will be with World.” – Charlie Thomas, World Industries Team Manager.

World Industries founded in 1987 by professional skateboarders Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullen, has been attributed as a brand that had a major role in re-defining skateboarding into a street based activity, which in turn drove skateboarding’s massive growth through the 1990’s and 2000’s.”

“Stereo Skateboards is proud to announce the addition of Josiah Gatlyn to the Stereo team. Hailing from Goldsboro, North Carolina, Josiah recently came out to Los Angeles on a serious mission. If you need documented proof, just take a minute to watch his Recruits on the Berrics. But that’s not it, because the kid stacked a bunch of street footage while out here too. Look for Josiah’s Stereo Team Induction video premiering on August 21st, exclusively at www.stereosoundagency.com.

Once again help us welcome Josiah Gatlyn to our team, and I guarantee you will be seeing a lot more of this kid in the near future. He’s just that good.”

Chris Pastras and Jason Lee

“Donovan Rice is on 1031 and Landshark wheels! Is that enough of a press release? Oh I guess I have to write a bunch of boring crap to try and hype this up. I guess thats how everyone else does it. Anyways, Yeah he’s on. Too bad for him! Good for us though, he cooks us steak dinners at 2 am when we are on tour! Its like having our own personal chef. Donovan is originally from Milwaukee but now lives right next door to Burnside up in Portland Oregon. He like apples and wearing winter clothes in the middle of summer. This is so lame, you dont even care anyways. Get Bent!”