SACRED CRAFT CONSUMER SURFBOARD EXPO
WHO: Surfers, Shapers, Designers, Craftsman, Manufacturers
WHAT: Surfboards and the culture that flows from them.
WHEN: Saturday August 14 & Sunday August 15 10am-6pm
WHERE: San Diego Convention Center
WHY: Because surfers really only care about two things; waves and the equipment to ride them with.
HOW: $10 at the door includes TransWorld SURF subscription and door prizes including surfboards..

It is all about the surfboard; has always been about the surfboard. We at the Sacred Craft Consumer Surf Expo feel it is time to reassert that philosophy. To put the surfboard-and the modern-day kahunas who craft them-back at the forefront of surf culture. To place that influence, that importance, that responsibility, back in the hands of the artisans, surfers, and shapers who design our sacred crafts-and ultimately our future.

When you boil it right down, surfers only care about two things: Waves and the equipment to ride them with. Sacred Craft merges the two by organizing expositions that focus on surf equipment and situating the expos in coastal locations that offer waves nearby.

More than anything, Sacred Craft is a celebration of the surfboard. The philosophical icon of enduring youth. No other object stirs as much passion, as much stoke, and as much power.

When your company is associated with the Sacred Craft Surf Expo, it is associated with the passion, stoke and power of the surfboard and all of its ancillary trappings.

ATTRACTIONS / EXHIBITS / FESTIVITIES
* Tribute to the Masters Shape-off honoring legendary craftsman
* Vintage surfboard ‘Antique Road Show’ appraisals
* Surfing Heritage Foundation timeline exhibit
* “Best of Show” award
* Musical acts; surfers playing music for surfers
* Surfboard Auction benefitting Surfing Heritage Foundation
* Seminars
* Movies
* Live shaping
* Live glassing
* Magical Morning surfboard demos

SWITCHFOOT ANNOUNCES LINE-UP FOR THEIR 6th ANNUAL BRO-AM PRESENTED BY HURLEY, EVENT WILL TAKE PLACE JUNE 26TH IN ENCINITAS, CA

TIMMY CURRAN, DYNAMITE WALLS,
JON FOREMAN AND FRIENDS, OK GO,
CHRIS SHIFLETT & THE DEAD PEASANTS, THE ALMOST,
KATE VOEGELE AND YOUNG THE GIANT WILL PLAY
A CONCERT ON THE BEACH THAT WILL BENEFIT STANDUP FOR KIDS

The 6th Annual Switchfoot Bro-Am presented by Hurley (www.switchfoot.com/p/broam) will feature performances by Timmy Curran, Dynamite Walls, Jon Foreman and Friends, OK Go, Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants, The Almost, Kate Voegele and Young the Giant. The concert/surf contest will take place on Saturday, June 26th, at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.

The event will benefit San Diego and Oceanside chapters of StandUp For Kids, a national nonprofit volunteer outreach organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of at-risk, homeless, and street kids. Funds will be raised at a pre-event auction night set for Friday, June 25th, as well as from beach vendors, sponsors and an after-party at the Belly Up Tavern. Admission to the beach concert is free to the public.

“The Bro-Am has been my favorite day of the year ever since we started it back in ’05,” says Switchfoots’s lead singer, Jon Foreman. “To see our hometown come together to help out a deserving group of kids is an incredible experience — surfing, music, and the San Diego scene at its best. Last year was our biggest year ever, and we hope to top it again this year.”

“StandUp For Kids is extremely proud that Switchfoot has chosen our Southern California programs as the beneficiary of their Bro-Am again this year,” notes Rick Koca, founder and CEO of StandUp For Kids. “Their dedication, support, and commitment to the homeless and street kids of Southern California is unequaled. For Jon and the band it isn’t just about raising funds, but getting to know the kids and the volunteers. Their impact in Southern California is felt long after the last surfboard is put away, the last song has been played, and the last fan has left the beach.”

The 2009 Bro-Am raised $100,000 for the charity and drew a crowd of over 7,000. This year’s surf contest participants include riders representing Hurley, Billabong, Surfer Magazine, Jedidiah, Surf Ride, Macbeth, Jet Pilot, AKA, Surfline.com and SIMR Surfboards as well as professional surfers Rob Machado, Tom Curren, and Timmy Curran, and members of Switchfoot. In addition, there will be a nerf surf jousting exposition between surf contest heats and an expression session.

Clothing brand Hurley will also have its “Phantom Truck” on location, allowing beachgoers to customize boardshorts, win prizes, and potentially win an all-expense-paid trip to Indonesia with Rob Machado and the Hurley Team.

The Switchfoot Bro-Am will again work with San Diego-based Sustainable Waves to offer cutting-edge solar-powered sound and staging. Sustainable Waves utilizes the renewable energy sources of the sun to deliver 100% pollution-free concerts.

At night, the festivities move from the beach to The Belly Up Tavern in nearby Solana Beach. Teva and Switchfoot will host an after-party there featuring the Bro-Am All-Stars – an all-star cast featuring Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman and Bro-Am performers past and present – plus Silent Comedy and The Howls to raise additional funds for StandUp For Kids. Party attendees will get a firsthand look at the illum, Teva’s new surf-inspired flip-flop. Tickets to the after-party are $19 ($17 in advance).

Beach vendors include:
Surfrider Foundation, Pizza Port, Nika Water, Harney Sushi, Surf Ride, Keep A Breast, Quiver, California Quivers, Love Nail Tree, INT, Surf Aid, Jedidiah, So Cal Kettle Corn, Walking On Water, the Belly Up, 91X, To Write Love On Her Arms, Life’s Rad, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, Outside The Bowl, Le Grand Cru, Clif Bar, Hurricane Olympics, Project7, Zinka, Water For Christmas, We Minus Me, Vitamin Water, GenerateHope, Tonic, Green Cruiser, Inc., Nature’s Agave, First Light Surf, Christian Surfers Encinitas and more.

About Switchfoot
Switchfoot – comprising Jon Foreman (vocals/guitar), Tim Foreman (bass), Chad Butler (drums), Jerome Fontamillas (keys/guitar) and Drew Shirley (guitar) – has sold over 4.4 million albums in its career. Founded in San Diego, CA in 1996, Switchfoot released three independent records before its breakthrough album, 2003’s The Beautiful Letdown, which was certified multi-Platinum. Each of the band’s subsequent studio albums – 2005’s Nothing Is Sound, 2006’s Oh! Gravity and 2009’s Hello Hurricane – debuted in the Top 20 of The Billboard 200 and elicited critical acclaim.

Event marks 30-year anniversary of the legendary Australian’s revolutionary Thruster design
article via Malakye

This year marks the 30-year anniversary of legendary Australian surfer/shaper Simon Anderson’s seminal Thruster surfboard design. On August 14 & 15 Sacred Craft will honor Simon Anderson during the Tribute to the Masters Shape-off presented by US Blanks.

“Simon Anderson’s surfing suited single-fins, but the events at the time were all being won on twins. Frustration led him to consider a weird-looking mix — three smaller fins, one set three inches from the tail, the other two set 11 inches up and on either rail a la the twinnie,” explains surf historian/writer Nick Carroll.

The first Thruster, made in October 1980, went with Anderson to Hawaii that winter, then on to California, where he convinced Nectar’s Gary McNabb to make a Thruster model. Back in Sydney, he went to work at his own factory, energy and made two more Thrusters. On one of his boards, he won the Bells-Coke double again and surfing history took its biggest turn since polyurethane foam.

“Simon never took full commercial advantage of his Thruster concept. “I’m too lazy” was his judgment, but perhaps closer to the truth is that it was never in his nature to deny others a chance to enjoy their surfing,” continues Carroll.

The six shapers, which will include defending champion Pat Rawson, will be asked to replicate the Thruster that Anderson rode during his legendary 1981 Bells Beach victory. That event featured the largest waves ever ridden during that iconic contest.

“I’m very stoked to have the Thruster’s 30-year anniversary honored at Sacred Craft,” says Australia’s Simon Anderson. “It’ll be good fun to get back to the States and see some old friends and see what is happening with board design over there.”

“US Blanks is once again proud to be a part of the Sacred Craft Expo and the Tribute to the Masters Shape-Off honoring Simon Anderson,” says Jeff Holtby, Marketing Director, US Blanks. “We feel that Simon is the perfect honoree for this year’s Tribute as his contributions to design and innovation have certainly left a profound and lasting mark on the industry.”

The Sacred Craft Consumer Surfboard Expo is open to the public and takes place August 14th and 15th at the award winning ‘Sail Pavilion’ in the San Diego Convention Center. Sacred Craft includes live shaping, laminating, art, music, film, book signings, legends, and hundreds of world-class surfboard shapers, designers and lovers of the craft.

San Diego, CA (April 22, 2010) – Surfrider Foundation Retail Member, SIMR Surfboards, announced today that every purchase of a custom surfboard comes with a membership to the Surfrider Foundation. Now riders of new SIMR Surfboards can enjoy a yearlong membership to the Foundation, take advantage of special offers of other participating retail members, and do their part to protect our world’s oceans, waves and beaches.

“It is our responsibility as surfers to remain educated and aware. Likewise, it is our corporate responsibility to guarantee that awareness is made available to the people enjoying our products,” says Christopher Clark, CEO & Founder, SIMR, INC.

The Retail Membership Program is a special Surfrider Foundation membership program available to retailers and businesses. As a member, retailers are encouraged to offer incentives to Surfrider Foundation members, including discounts on merchandise, promotional items, or whatever is deemed appropriate for the business to increase Foundation support and customer loyalty.

Individual Surfrider Membership costs $25 per year, and SIMR Surfboards covers this cost for all customers without a current membership. If proof of membership is shown at the time of purchase, SIMR Surfboards will credit the customer with an instant $25 dollar discount.

“We’re very excited to have SIMR Surfboards join us as a retail partner as they share a great passion for protecting our coastlines through an environmental policy focused on sustainable manufacturing and raising awareness about the Foundation,” says Alexis Henry, Surfrider Foundation’s Communications Manager.

With an environmental policy that takes a firm stance on sustainable manufacturing, SIMR hasn’t been without its fair share of challenges. “Day one, we decided to make a strong commitment to the environment, no matter what the cost,” says Lead Surfboard Shaper and Co-Founder, Derrik Kapalla.

SIMR Surfboards are made with a 100% recyclable EPS foam core, however, alternative materials are only a fraction of what makes a surfboard more sustainable. “You can make a surfboard out of recycled cardboard, but if it doesn’t float you’ve done nothing for the environment and nothing for surfing,” says Clark. “We use alternative materials where we can while our focus remains on building boards that last twice as long as the average surfboard. This commitment, along with our hands on initiatives, is what sets us apart environmentally.”

SIMR Surfboards, a subsidiary of SIMR, INC., is an environmentally conscious, San Diego based, company with a dedication to producing quality sustainable products, the advancement of women’s surfing, and global humanitarian outreach. Founded in 2008 by two surfers from San Diego, California, SIMR Surfboards maintains a unique business model of non-retail surfboards; instead focusing 100% on custom surfboards. For more information about the social and environmental efforts of SIMR Surfboards, please visit www.simrsurfboards.com.

Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 90 chapters worldwide. For more information on the Surfrider Foundation, go to www.surfrider.org.

Global Surf Industries 2010 Noosa Festival of Surfing – interview with Leah Dawson from GSI Noosa Festival of Surfing on Vimeo.