Mini Simmons Surfboards

With the return of retro and classic surfboards, many surfers love the feel of riding a Mini Simmons board. The best way to describe these boards are short and wide. Most mini simmons boards are twin fins. These boards tend to be very fast and slide out on big turns.

Riding these boards requires patience & good style. You surf it as more of a longboard than High Performance Shortboard. These boards are great for less than par waves. Yet they can also hold there own in surf with a little more push. You can sometimes even hang 5 on them like the picture below.

Photographer Profile: Greg Ewing

Name: Greg Ewing

Years shooting Surf Photography: 14

Equipment: Canon 1d Mk4, 50d, lenses from 15mm fish eye

to 600mm F4 IS and SLP housing

Favorite Type of shot: Pulled back land shot, image needs to tell a story

Favorite Spot: So many, I love to travel

Where have you been featured: I’m a senior photographer for Zigzag Surfing Magazine

in South Africa where I live,

Internationally: Surfer, Transworld, Surfers Path, Surfin Life, ASL...

Do you shoot in the water: Yes, I think it’s important to do both

Favorite Shooting Conditions: Late afternoon, clean crisp light

Favorite Surfer to shoot: Royden Bryson

I love photography because....It speaks to me

My inspiration comes from.... Seeing the world

Get A Custom Firewire Surfboard

After many years of Firewire Surfboards not offering custom boards the time has come. They will still carry their standard boards, but they will start to offer custom boards. You control the Dimensions, you control the Design for the Alternator and Flexfire Series.

This is one great feat for Firewire Surfboards. The Program will be called LCP - Limited Custom Program. You can expect to wait 10 -12 weeks from ordering to receiving the board. Not to bad for a custom board made out of this technology. There will also be a $75 charge because of the time it takes to "build" your board on the CAD computer/shaping machine. Not to bad to get your very own custom Firewire with your name and dimensions on it.

If you would like to order a board you can get an order form from any Firewire Dealer.

Big Wave Surfing - Professionals Only

It is very easy to look at stories on Surfline and in Surf Magazines featuring big wave surfers and think that you can also surf big wave spots like Mavericks or Todos Santos. I do the same thing. They seem like regular guys who have no fear of big waves.

But aside from their fearlessness these stories do not show the training that these professional surfers go through.

They practice big wave hold downs by holding their breath underwater and practice swimming for long distances. The point is although they make it look easy, there is a lot of behind the scenes training that they go through to prepare both mentally and physically for Big Wave Surfing.

3 Reasons To Enter a Surf Contest

Surf contests have started to market themselves to younger and younger kids. With various grom contests there are a few good reasons why you might want to enter into one. The first reason is because you want to get sponsored. There is no better way to get noticed than by winning contests.

The second reason is to see how well you surf compared to other kids your age. Lastly, plainly because surf contests are a lot of fun. Surf Contest are a great experience and are a fun way to spend a weekend.

Aerial 7 Chopper 2 Headphones

One of my favorite ways to prepare for a surf session is to listen to music. It clears your mind and allows you to focus. And focus is important whether you are surfing in a contest or just a mid-week surf session. I personally don't like the standard ear buds that come with Ipods. I like something that provides better quality noise & are more comfortable to wear.

I was really excited when Aerial 7 sent me a pair of their newest pair of Chopper 2's. These headphones combine classic style with great quality. Over the past week, I have tested the pair. From being outdoors with my Ipod to having them plugged into my computer, they worked well. Not to mention that they are comfortable to wear and blocked out most outside noise.

Aerial 7 also has a strong surf team including Taylor Knox, Luke Stedman and Parker Coffin.

Corprate Sponsors

One thing the sport of surfing is missing is corprate america sponsors. I can recall many companies using the sport of surfing as a way to promote there products. It seems like the are taking and not giving.

A perfect example is Carls Juniors recent commercial showing a surfer eating one of there burgers after a surf session. But when did Carls Juniors sponsor a surfing contest or sponsor a surfer. Eventually a time will come when surfing contests will receive big corporate sponsors, but for now they will continue to use our sport to benefit them without giving back.

Power Balance Bracelets

Every surfer and athlete is looking for an edge or advantage. So when Power Balance bracelets hit the surfing world, I knew I needed to get my hands on one. Luckily Power Balance sent some my way to review. Just like most people, I was skeptical about anyone who claims that a bracelet will improve your balance etc. But they do have a lot of pro athletes behind their product like Bruce Irons, Andy Irons, Brett Simpson and Courtney Conlogue just to name a few.

When I first put the bracelet on I didn't feel an immediate change. However, I can see a positive change after wearing the bracelet for a few days. I personally didn't like wearing it while surfing because it was uncomfortable under my wetsuit. But come summer time I will definitely be wearing it while surfing.

I personally like the silicone model because it is a smaller bracelet than the Neoprene Model and it has a cleaner look. Both bracelets were comfortable and had the same effect on me.  Some times I forgot I was even wearing one.  So I definitely like the product and will continue to wear mine.

How it Works -

"Most everything has a frequency inherent to it.  Some frequencies react positively with your body and others negatively. When the hologram comes in contact with your body’s energy field, it allows your body to interact with the natural, beneficial frequency stored within the hologram. This results in improved energy flow throughout your body."

Kelly Slater rushed to the hospital after warm up surf

Yesterday during a Warm Up surf Kelly Slater was rushed to the hospital due to an ankle injury. At first it was thought that we had broken his ankle. However now it has been reported that his ankle is just injured. None the less, it appears that Kelly will be surfing his heat later today.

Knockaround Sunglasses

The Knockaround Brand was started in 2005 by Adam Moyer. He had just moved to San Diego to pursue a Art career. Before long Adam had started a growing Sun Glasses company that would grow to become a very popular brand.

The best way to describe the Sun Glasses is Simple & Functional.

Prices start at $7.00 and go up to $25.00. The have a series that will fit every budget. These are perfect for summer. They will protect your eyes from the sun, but they are not super expensive.

Whats the best part of running Knockaround?

The best part of running Knockaround is taking a look at the orders each day and seeing all of the places we're shipping to.  For each order I wonder, "How did this person hear about Knockaround."  Minnetonka, Minnesota, Owings Mills, Maryland, Aceonbase, Virginia.

What is your most popular series?

Our Premium model is our most popular model- at $14 they're a great value, and our goal is to put out a new colorway every month or two.

What makes your company different than other sun glasses companies?

Knockarounds are less precious than other sunglasses.  A scratch on your Ray-Bans is an annoyance, a scratch on your Knockarounds is a battle scar.

Turn Surf Magazines into Drink Coasters

Every month I would anxiously wait for the next edition of the various Surf Magzines to come in the mail. I would spend the next few days reading and re reading them until I got bored. And then it would be tossed into the ever growning pile of "used" surf magazines. They would sit there for months until I finally would throw them out. When I would throw them out, I would feel bad because I was in a sense throwing away a ton of paper.

And as surfers we are suppose to be "Eco Friendly".

So when I came across Jessica's Idea about turning old magazines into drink coasters I was thrilled. There isn't a better way to put used surf magazines to work. Plus it will save you some money because you will never have to buy more drink coasters. To seal the deal you now have a great reason to subscribe to even more surfing magazines. Click Here to learn how to turn old surf magazines into Drink Coasters.