Archive for the ‘HOW TO’ Category

February 13th, 2013 | By | 39 Comments

Making of: Rareform Recycled Boardbags

Freeway Billboards cover every mile of  Southern California, so why don’t we upcycle these  massive sheets of useful plastic?
Rareform Boardbags
Billabong converts millions of plastic bottles into recycler series boardshorts, so Rareform ran the with concept to resuse plastics into “bill-board-bags” and as much surf gear as possible.

Co-Founder of Rareform, Alec Avedissian walks us through the innovation process

rareform billboard Boardbags
1. Sourcing:  Billboards are actually made from heavy-duty vinyl to withstand weather and roadside elements.  They have the ideal protective UV coating for your board,  and colorful pop with designs and patterns.

rareform billboard Boardbags
2. Saving After the relatively short life as a billboard, thousands of sq. feet of heavy vinyl is bound for the landfill. That’s where Rareform intercepts the material for reuse.

rareform billboard Boardbags
3. Designing:The team at Rareform collects the billboard waste, washes them, and cuts out rad designs for 100% unique patterns. Tha’s right, no two boardbags look the same!

rareform
4. Sewing: The bags are hand sewn in Ventura, Ca to fit most shortboards, fun shapes, SUP paddles and change mats/wetsuit bags.

They’re tricked-out with:
-#10 Heavy duty, corrosion resistant zippers
-Removable/adjustable shoulder strap
-1/4″ Foam padding
-Board bag hanger hook
-UV/heat/water/mildew resistant tarpaulin

reformfinished
5. Surfing! Boast the best gear with function fashion and eco-upcycling on your next day drip or global surf get away.

Check out the Reform line at SWELL

The Story Behind the Billboard Bags:

On an extended surf trip to El Salvador, Rareform founder Alec Avedissian spent some time volunteering in a small fishing village. There he helped locals repair their roofs using the re-purposed material from old billboards. This material, both waterproof and incredibly durable, protected families against the harsh coastal elements. This however was not the case back home. When Alex returned to the States he learned that all this great vinyl material was going straight to the landfills.

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Posted in GOODS FOR GUYS, HOW TO, Surf & Sport | 39 Comments »
October 26th, 2012 | By | 12 Comments

Last Minute Halloween Costumes for Dudes

Are you the guy digging through his closet on Halloween Eve, praying for some miracle costume to appear? Well here’s a couple ideas to pull off some fringe favorites of the surfing world.

1. From the semi-satirical cult classic North Shore, a Lance Burkhart aka Laird Hamilton costume is a perfect excuse to bust out the body paint and flash your abs this Halloween. Grab a pair of vintage surf trunks from Lightening Bolt, head down to the costume store for a colored make-up kit, then strut around the party like a jock throwing out lines like “You just have a single fin mentality”

Get the hot-doggin Hawaiian gear from Lightning Bolt -A Pure Source of Aloha at SWELL

2. Everyone has a hula shirt, which makes you a brimmed Brixton hat and some cat-eye Raens short of a Mister Senor Daddy Love costume from Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. You heard his voice-over in the Lost Atlas surf movie, and there’s no better way to drop some love lines on the ladies than to dress like DJ Samuel Jackson.

*Warning: We do not condone black-facing

3. Ya it’s nerdy as hell, but here’s a quick easy Halloween costume idea from the Big Bang Theory. Throw on an AMES bro shirt with a long sleeve undershirt, act completely OCD like Dr. Sheldon Cooper.

The Man Bot tee and other staple graphics by the Ames Bros have been spotted on legit celebs like John Mayer, Weezer, Leo DiCaprio, and those dudes from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The Ames Bros aren’t just tee-shirt junkies, they’re renowned album cover/poster artists for bands like The Black Keys, Muse, Pearl Jam, and Linkin Park.

4. Jack O’Neill is gnarlier than any poofter pirate to ever sport an eye patch. Jack lost his eye while inventing the surfboard leash in the slabby seas of nor-cal. This trucker hat actually includes a wearable eye patch, and the other O’Neill gear has no frills function for any adventure.

So boot that tired old pirate costume and get legit with O’Neill

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Posted in HOW TO | 12 Comments »
May 31st, 2012 | By | 2,937 Comments

Recycling the Reef.How to get the most out of your FREE Miss Reef 2012 Calendar

It’s those 3 little words every man wants to hear….FREE. REEF. CALENDARS.
How do you get your mitts off your keyboard and onto one of these? We’re giving one out with EVERY mens Reef footwear and clothing purchase. (Get yours HERE)

We know it’s May….but waste not! Here’s a few ways we’ve re-used, recycled and reclaimed January – April’s delightful derrières. Innovative? Not in the least. But never-the-less useful, and quite possibly, an entertaining enterprise.


BEST GIT WRAP EVER:
The ever-popular way to extend the life of your Reef Calendar.

SURFBOARD ART:
Get a surfboard ding repair kit and glass it on there- immortalizing the month of March.

 


POSTCARDS:
Add some glue and white paper to the back.

 


CUBICLE WALL-PAPER:
Creep-ify your (or  your friend’s) cubicle

 


“SORRY” STATIONARY:
Cut, write, repeat. No one can get mad at that! *Results may vary.

 


COASTERS:
Cardboard + square image = coaster.

Have any genius ideas on how to keep your Reef calendar from hitting the trash can this December? Share away.

Posted in CHECK IT, HOW TO | 2,937 Comments »
April 13th, 2012 | By | 2,733 Comments

Punt Wax -Surf Essentails Volume 2

After a year of everyone stealing slivers of Fu Wax from friends returning from Brazil, super gooey surf wax is now available from your favorite domestic wax makers.

Adriano de Souza sticky little secret was out after Taj, Luke Davis and Slater returned from Brazil comps with kilos of Fu Wax, and they weren’t eager to share. Perpetual hater, Jamie O’Brien and Kolohe had their doubts but the proof is in the pudding, and this stuff will turn into it when left in the sun. It’s not too much of a stretch to link Kolohe’s epic tear to make the tour with punt wax. Right when he became a believer, he started “sticking” every damn air in the book, and consequently dominated consecutive contest in his improbable road to qualification.

Watch and learn as the Sticky Bumps gurus put punt wax to the test.

Skeptics bitch about messy goo that coats anything it touches, and the Velcro bond it makes to your chest while paddling. Those claims have some validity, but a small price to pay once you pop up, “Even though I get a Brazilian wax job before every wave, it feel like there’s foot straps on. I’ve been able to ride out of some shit I never thought I’d land before” claims Bill Laity, SWELL’s surf enforcer.

Combat the pitfalls of punt wax by throwing this gear in your kit.

1. Surf Shirt: In a recent trip to Puerto we surfed with the Billabong Skulldrag, avoiding painful wax in the chest hair and it even helped stay positioned on your board.

sticky-bumps-wax-case

2. Wax Case: 2 SWELL employees have fallen victim to a full wax melt-down in their backpack and boardshorts. It completely melts in about about 20 minutes at 80F heat. Box it up with this case from Sticky Bumps, and even if it melts, you can throw it in the fridge and pop it out of the mold then re-use. It also comes with a costum sharped toothed comb to avoid a bead-less top-coat.

Shop all Swell traction here

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Posted in GEAR, HOW TO | 2,733 Comments »