The Volcom team hit up the skateparks and street spots of Canada on tour recently and came back with some footy for you. Watch Geoff Rowley, Dennis Busenitz, David Gravette, Aaron Suski, Chris Pfanner get amongst it in the only way they know best here.
Tag: volcom
Need a jacket that makes you feel amazing? Look no further, but firstly, scroll down below and click play as you need the music to make this review work best.
Done that? OK here we go.
Volcom’s Oxford Jacket loved me and left me this month. She arrived in the post at the end of May and fit like a glove- tailored perfectly to make my appearance look smart for the first time in ages. It was exactly what I needed at the time. A jacket that could deal with the summer nights, light weight with pockets inside and out to deal with the usual electrical gadgets I ship around my stupid life daily.
I had fallen for her curves, I had fallen for the the punk rock inner lining and her abililty to make me feel like i was being noticed for the first time in a while. I was wearing her when I met a beautiful girl in the park one afternoon. She walked past a rose bush at the ice cream parlour to pat my lovely woofer on the head, then kissed his little nose and told me he was the most amazing dog she had ever met. I asked her if she wanted an ice cream but she was with friends. I guessed she was actually being polite and probably had boyfriend. She was stunning so there’s no way she could have been single. The next day I returned to the park for another walk. She was there again and alone this time so I bought her a drink and we exchanged numbers.
I lucked out. She was single, and thankfully we fell in love pretty quickly. After the first week I noticed that she adored my Oxford jacket. She would prune the bobbles that appeared on the elastic cuffs, she took it to the dry cleaners once every 2 weeks and used to wear it whenever it wasn’t on my back. We booked a holiday to Greece after dating for a month. My bag didn’t arrive at the airport so it was not the ideal welcome to another country but thankfully the jacket was there with us to meet the 42′ heat. She still looked good on the ferry though, hooked over my shoulder, enjoying every breeze that caught her 65% polyester and 35% cotton charcoal heather appearance. It was here that our love was torn apart. The jacket was unfortunately left on the boat. My mind has wandered. She is probably being worn by a Greek ferry worker as you read this. He is probably fingering the zip that I loved the most, fastening the buttons that joined the collar and warming his hands in he pockets I loved resting my hands in. It’s soul destroying and I never quite recovered from the loss.
My new girlfriend left me shortly after the jacket disappeared. Not even the dog could convince her to stay. She is probably back in Greece right now having a cold beer and some seafood with a local who looks amazing in his new Volcom threads, whilst i’m here pining for the best jacket I have ever owned. Purchase one of these today as it could change your life.
UK skate shops are stacked with new decks, wheels, clothing, shoes, hats and more right now so here’s our monthly gathering of what we think are the best options throughout July. Explore below for a selection of products available from Skate Mental, Girl, Superdead, Heroin, Drawing Boards, Volcom, Foundation, Unabomber, Chocolate, Crayon, Toy Machine, Fourstar, Altamont, DVS, Lakai, Kr3w, éS and Emerica.
If you would like your product considered for inclusion in this zine, get in touch here.
We have been sent a mammoth amount of product for inclusion in this month’s Line Check so enjoy June’s selection that you can find in your local skate shop this month from Death, Blueprint, Superdead, Witchcraft, Girl, Pig, Addict, éS, Emerica, Dekline, Etnies, Lovenskate, Unabomber, Heathen, Volcom and Fourstar.
If you would like to send us product for inclusion in next month’s round up, contact us from the link at the bottom of the page.
This year’s Volcom Wild in the Parks date has been announced to arrive in Uckfield Skatepark in East Sussex on August 13th as part of their annual European comp.
Unsponsored skaters can enter the comp for a chance to attend the finals at the European WITP Championships on the 24th of September in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a 4000€ prize purse, more prizes to win as well as 4 trips to the world WITP champs in the USA (25 000$ prize money).
There are 3 divisions to choose from: an Open division with cash prizes, a 14 and under and a 15 and over categories. And as every season, these contests are entirely free, with free entry, free food, free drinks and tons of prizes. Get this in your dairy.
Global new agency Reuters announced yesterday that the Volcom brand is subject to a takeover from PPR, who also own brands such as Puma, Gucci, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen for $607.5 million.
Read the full story here and get hyped on the TXOTX! Mini-Ramp comp that is coming on the 21st of May in Durango, Basque Country as it’s always amazing. Enjoy this edit of the last one.
Categories
Gone Skating in Costa Rica
Spot photos by Dan Cates, wildlife shots by Zac
Etnies footwear have started 2011 with a decent eco pledge, their mission is to plant a tree for every pair of Jameson 2 shoes that are purchased and create the etnies rainforest in an area that has seen much deforestation over the last 80 years. The latest ecological promise from Soletech founder Pierre-André Senizergues derived from a trip to Costa Rica in 2007 where he met with government leaders and learned about their commitment to making the country carbon neutral by 2021- one of the first developing countries to make this pledge. The result of that visit was a catalyst for his current mission that starts this month working alongside native tribes in Costa Rica called the Maleku and a reforestation organization, La Reserva Forest Foundation, to make it happen.
If you have ever visited this beautiful country found between Nicaragua and Panama in Central America you will know just how special this place is. I have personally had the pleasure of flying in to this wonderful land three times now and have seen it develop hugely since 1996. Hotels have sprung up all over the place with trees chopped down to accommodate the demand for tourism and tarmac roads connecting towns that used to be pot holed pathways are now common place. The country is dedicated to its fauna. Trees grow out of trees, flowers and shrubs grow everywhere and different rainforests harbor thousands of known life forms across across all of the various regions; all contributing something different that is vital to their environment so it’s great to see a skateboard company getting involved to help the cause.
Skateboarding has become popular in Costa Rica over the last 10 years. The Tony Hawk video game era of the early 2000’s helped to push skateboarding to many countries opening more avenues for skate teams to hit the road and add more countries to their touring schedules. Arenas indoor skatepark in San Jose is the capital’s biggest park to host demos. Last month four Volcom riders arrived in the capital and were mobbed by the locals eager to see a pro team skate their park. Arenas is an air conditioned indoor wood park and has a street course and a mini ramp but worth noting that you will need a helmet to skate it.
Costa Rica’s most famous concrete skate park at Hotel Tilawa in Tileran is situated on the edge of a picturesque lake nearby the Arenal Volcano which is still fully active. You can drive around the lake during the day and see Coati’s (raccoons with razor sharp claws) and Armadillos crossing the roads, in the evening on a clear night, you can also witness molten red hot Lava spitting from Arenal if you are sat below drinking cocktails in its natural hot springs. The mix of relaxing mud baths, mineral pools, and thermal hot springs after skating the Tileran park (below) is highly recommended. Take that in for a few seconds and try to resist the urge to book a flight.
Death Skateboards‘ most traveled pro Dan Cates phoned me back in 2009 for info on the country and came back with nothing but praise for Central American culture so I’m going to hand over the reigns to Dan from his own experience of visiting these shores.
“Costa Rica has year round sunshine, good surfing, natural volcanic hot springs and some strange one-off skate spots dotted around the country if you know where to look. It is a kind of paradise for many and indeed is the only country in the world to not have an army. One thing I would say however, if you are thinking of visiting this weird and wonderful place be sure to rent a 4×4! It has the worst roads and its tropical climate means lots of rain storms and lots of mud for you to get stuck in. Take heed.
Most of your street skating needs will be taken care of in San Jose, which also has an indoor skatepark and a skate shop. Find a local to show you the spots, because San Jose is notoriously bad for traffic, lawless driving and gangs.
Next stop is the surf town of Tamarindo, that has a fun concrete snake run (above) leading into a 7 foot deep vert bowl. This thing is a lot of fun. If you are in the know there is a guy who has a clover leaf bowl in his back yard nearby, but like I said you definitely need to know someone if you wanna see this spot, it is strictly private.
As mentioned above Hotel Tilawa on the shore of lake Arenal is a must see for any visiting skaters, a quaint old hotel on the edge of the jungle with a large concrete park in the grounds! I stayed here off season and was the only person in the hotel. It was kind of like visiting Dracula’s castle, but with a skatepark in the garden. If you are feeling brave and fancy a trek through a howler monkey infested jungle there is also a rather perfect concrete spillway pipe that Salba once skated, it’s Costa Rica’s answer to Mount Baldy. Search and you shall find.”
Truer words were never spoken. Costa Rica’s magical landscape hosts many hidden gems. The country is composed of seven provinces, all with variable climate’s. Within 45 minutes from the airport in Alajuela (San Jose) you can be overlooking the turquoise blue sulphur lakes of the Poas Volcano. 3 hours drive from there you can be surfing on the party beaches of Jaco Beach and driving the hillsides of the beautiful town of Manuel Antonio. The latter has one of the best National Parks you will ever see where cappuccino monkeys bounce off every branch, sloths frequent the trees and the beaches are on par with the luxurious settings of any of the James Bond movies. An hour spent on the ferry with the jeep from Punteranas to Paquera is necessary for you to find the ultimate paradise also known as Montezuma and 10 minutes from here you will find the tiny village of Mal Pias which is simply heaven. Zorlac caught his first ever wave on a surfboard here with myself alongside for the ride as the sun set. I personally didn’t want to leave here and many don’t.
If you visit the North East on the Caribbean side you can travel by boat or plane to the swampy land strips of Tortugeuro and see Caiman and Crocodiles ruling the inland waters. In the North West, the Rincon de la Vieja National Park is home to the most active geysers in Costa Rica and amazing waterfalls, sights that are so beautiful that you can never revisit it in photos. The national parks are generally mind blowing. It’s best to take a guide on these missions with you as you will be surprised just how many living creatures are watching you walk through the rainforests without you even noticing they are there.
So with all this in mind, get yourself a ticket to Costa Rica this year and experience this stunning country first hand and if you want to help the cause get yourself some new kicks and Soletech will plant a tree in exchange. Click here to find out more about them.
Have a good look at the lines, ledges and concrete at the Geelong Skatepark in Victoria, Australia as it looks incredible.
Volcom riders Chima Ferguson and Dustin Dollin look like they had a blast…
Categories
Mark Appleyard gets stoned
Element’s Mark Appleyard features in Volcom’s Stone-Age video clip archive this week. Click below to watch it.
Volcom visited our shores last September for their ‘Somewhere On Tour‘, a trip focussed on hitting up low key street spots with the UK fam in Sheffield and Essex and meeting the good folk at Sidewalk (you can check the full article in the current issue).
Watch the full edit below, featuring footage from Dustin Dollin, Chima Ferguson, Caswell Berry, Harry Lintell, Gav Coughlan and Nick Stansfield. Scroll on down and click the photo to see the official Volcom Photo Blog. Big.
