Spangler's Archive

December 7th, 2011 | By | 1,884 Comments

Surfer Poll Awards 2011 -Biggest Party on The North Shore

Last night’s Surfer Poll Awards celebrated the year’s standout performances in the world of surf. Instead of rating surfers for their contest results, Surfer Magazine tallies the votes from fellow surfers and fans voting online. Criterion usually encompasses style and personality in and out of the water…and the awards show had plenty of both.

With the buzz from the richter scale swell due to detonate on the opening day of tomorrow’s Pipemasters, nervousness and gitters added to the pressures of speaking to the crowd of over 1,000 legendary attendees. Security was tight, but any north shore security guard gets distracted by hot chicks just long enough to slip past. Peligroso tequila loosened up the nominees, and the speeches ranged from shy, to high, and hilarious.

Emcees Sal Masacala, and Freddy Pattachia didn’t hold back any punches as they used the industry’s inside jokes against everyone on stage. Carissa Moore dedicated her award to WCT mens surfer Dusty Payne, and the gal pal jokes kept coming. But he wasnt the only super fan of the womens tour, many speakers mentioned their displeasure of not having a Womens Triple Crown of Surfing on the in Hawaii this year.

The big suspense of the evening was whether Dane Reynolds or Kelly Slater would take the No.1 prize, but Dane settled for second yet again. All awaited his quirky, awkward comedy relief and he didn’t disappoint, ” I surfed pipeline today…that was a humbling experience. I saw the Pipemasters heat draw today…that was also quite humbling. Jamie (O’Brian -Pipemaster) have mercy on my soul, please. Thanks to everyone who voted for me because lets face it, I’ve made it pretty hard to be a fan of me this year.” Dane also took the award “Best Digital Short” for his aptly named flick “Lost Interest” shot during his no-show period on tour this year.

Kelly accepted his 17th poll-topping award, thanking the Miller family, cracked what we think is a joke, then gave his expert analysis the conditions for the 2011 Pipemasters, “I saw Jamie O’Brian at pipe today and he said if WaveJet paid him 20K, he’d surf their motorized surfboard during the conteest. But, there’s about 100 ft of sand on the reef that shouldn’t be there. Hopefully it get washed away before the swell, because right now the wave doesnt know where to go.”

After the show, everyone headed over to the new Surfer Magazine bar at the Turtle Bay Resort where the girls again stole the spotlight…this time on the dancefloor.

Here’s the final results from the 2011 Surfer Poll Awards

Top 10 Male Surfers

1. Kelly Slater
2. Dane Reynolds
3. Owen Wright
4. Julian Wilson
5. Taj Burrow
6. Mick Fanning
7. Joel Parkinson
8. Jordy Smith
9. Andy Irons
10. Bruce Irons

Top Five Female Surfers

1. Carissa Moore
2. Coco Ho
3. Stephanie Gilmore
4. Alana Blanchard
5. Sally Fitzgibbons

Movie of the Year

Year Zero

Best Barrel

Alex Gray -Teahupoo Uncut

Best Cinematography

Come Hell or High Water

Best Digital Short

Lost Interest

Best Documentary

Splinters

Best Performance

Josh Kerr -Kerrazy Kronicles

A.I. Breakthrough Performer Award

John John Florence

Heavy Water Award

Nathan Fletcher -Teahupoo Uncut, Get-N-Classic

Worst Wipeout

Rodrigo Koxa -Teahupoo Uncut

Watch the 2011 Billabong Pipemasters live Dec 7 here

Thank you for visiting the Swell blog. Visit us on www.facebook.com/swell for more exclusive fan offers, giveaways and more.
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Posted in CHECK IT | 1,884 Comments »
December 5th, 2011 | By | 690 Comments

Day 1: Jack Johnson Performs at Surfrider Awards in Waimea Bay

The SWELL team is out on Oahu’s North Shore to bring you the exciting events in the epicenter of  surf world. The first part of our “7 Days on 7 Mile Miracle” series features the Surfrider’s 9th Annual John Kelly Environmental Awards.

The ceremony and silent auction went down  in the Waimea Valley Pavilion, and the whole north shore community joined in to celebrate those responsible for protecting the coastal environment.  Attendees enjoyed a surprise performance by Jack Johnson, performing original songs about the harms of single-use plastic, holiday remixes, and his best selling hits.

Mark Cunningham, Peter Cole , and other legends recounted decades of hard fought battles to “keep the country, country” and they awarded  these supporters for maintaining an uncompromising defense of the coast. Do your part showing support with iconic Surfrider apparel here.

Lifetime Achievemnt Award: Cora Sanchez is the co-founder of the Oahu Chapter, and leads the ongoing fight against development.  She also made huge strides in ridding North Shore beaches of plastics  deposited by oceanic gyres from all over the world.

Environmentally Friendly Hawai‘i-Based Company Award: The Kona Brewing Company  promotes sustainable practices at all their facilities and is a long time supporter of Surfrider.   The company helps organize the Kona Brewers Festival, which raises money for educational, environmental and cultural organizations.  The State of Hawaii holds high eco-standards, and Kona leads the charge by using recycled building materials and installing solar  panels at their facilities.

Professional Surfer Award:  Kyle Thiermann created a five-part video series, Surfing for Change, to encourage individuals to change their life habits to help save the environment. Kyle’s video “Where Is Away? Solving Plastic Pollution in 4 Minutes” shows how wasteful and destructive single-use plastics are to the marine environment and encourages people to bring their own reusable bags and bottles.

Check back for day two on the North Shore, Featuring locals surfing in the Waimea River
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Posted in EVENTS, SURF, VIDEOS | 690 Comments »
December 1st, 2011 | By | 1,398 Comments

Movember 2011 -See the Swellest Staches

Another furry Movember is in the books, and supportive staches graced every workplace, college, and ball park…the SWELL facebook wall was no different. Our amazing fans canvased our page with over 100 creative displays of mustachery.
Check out the album here.

For every Mo posted SWELL donated to the fund, and here’s our winners who campaigned for prizes from SWELL, Sanuk, and Billabong.

First Place Sanuk Chills: MOst Likes on Real Stache -Jamie Reed (35 likes)

Second Place $50 SWELL Gift Card: MOst Likes on Faux Mo -Shaddia Ghneim (120 Likes)

Third Place Billabong Surf DVD: SWELL’S Favorite -Tyler Brady with his many mos

Many of the brands sold at SWELL joined the cause by not only letting it grow, but donating portions of their profits to Movember Prostate Cancer Fund and LiveSTRONG. Notable brands that took part this Movember are: Electric, Autonomous, Volcom, Billabong, Imperial Motion, and Vonzipper. Show your support by shoping their brands here
Our Friends at AMBSN & Electric rock out with their MOs out, and threw a Gala party at Mothers Tavern in San Luis Obispo, Ca.

Scroll through the photos and get psyched to show your mo next MOVEMBER!

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Posted in CHECK IT, EVENTS, STYLE, SWEEPSTAKES | 1,398 Comments »
November 25th, 2011 | By | 2,070 Comments

Movember Week 4: One MO Week of Supporting in Style

We’re in the last week of the mo-grow and we’re blown away by the supportive showing of facial fur. The full spectrum of staches canvassed SWELL’s facebook wall, and we’ve kept good on donating $1 to the Movember fund, but we’re ready to give ALOT more. You can still post staches, faux-mos, or finger staches on SWELL’s wall until the end of the month. Sanuk donated a pair of shoes, and SWELL has great prizes for the Mo with the MOst likes in our Movember album. Check out the 125+ Mo’s.

These bushy brooms are back in style, and many of the boys are hanging up the razor for the holidays. Celebs, surfers, and everyday gentlemen have embraced this look that gives any dude an extra dose of danger that everyone fears and endears.

Need some inspiration? Here’s a few staches that have really “grown” on us this Movember:
Movember Staches

Even competitors at the Triple Crown of Surfing on the North Shore of Hawaii have grown Mos to support mens health, and perhaps to intimidate the opposition. We are proud of our partners in the surf industry who dedicate their energy to this great cause. These brands have given MO money and really wave the flag for Movember, so supporting them gives you good karma (and awesome stlye Volcom, Electric, Sector 9, AMBSN, VonZipper

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Posted in CHECK IT | 2,070 Comments »