Shane Dorian’s worst wipe-out of his life inspired this self inflating wetsuit with a ripcord for bigwave survival. After a year of mournful loses in the big-wave community, Dorian describes it as an “absolute game changer.”
Watch the evolution of XXL surf technology.
The Billabong V1 wetsuit inflates with a shoulder-mounted rip cord that uses a replaceable CO2 cartridge to instantly fill an air bladder at the back. Dorian used this device while paddling into his record breaking wave at Jaws last year. The V1 wetsuit helped Dorian make a quick an easy recovery form the enormous wave that eventually earned him both Monster Paddle and Monster Tube recognition at Billabong’s XXL Awards last April. At the time of his big ride, Dorian declined to comment to spectators and photographers about the peculiar lump on his back. However now that the patent is pending, Dorian and Billabong have made the official Press Release and are ready to equip the big wave community’s elite with this device.
What do you think this wetsuit means for the future of big wave surfing?
The Billabong Rio Pro was a close one. We were all sure our Catalog Mastermind, The-Not-So-Into-it Mr. Nutt, would get locked up, but Adriano’s win gave him an extra 200 points to narrowly defeat Bill. Bill, who had been laughing at Nutt the day before, didn’t realize his loss until well after Adriano had already been showed with champagne by his fellow Brazos. In half disbelief he reluctantly presented his neck for the cumbersome device and then bore the weight of his poor judgment for a grueling 24 hours. Above is the video of said feat. Watch him go from surf session to bar crawl and from breakfast to lawn bowls, in this telling tale of a man who can’t pick a Fantasy Surfer team to save his neck.
Think you can beat our scores? Join SWELL’s FAN-tasy Surfer Challenge. Registration opens Thursday, June 2nd. Invite your friends, challenge the SWELL team, win prizes, talk smack.
Got a good idea for a shameful punishment? Before the JBay Pro a Facebook Punishment Poll will determine the consequences for losing the next event. Leave us a comment below and your suggestion might get dealt to one of the losers!
The next Event:
The Billabong Pro J-Bay
July 14-24
Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa
CHECK THE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER FOR LIVE UPDATES BEFORE THE NEXT WCT STOP!
The Feelies are a rock band from the little town of Haledon, New Jersey. The band was put together by singer/guitarists Bill Million and Glenn Mercer. In 1976, while the punk era was about to detonate, The Feelies were born. Their name is a reference to Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World,” where “feelie” was used to describe a motion picture that also incorporated the sensation of touch.
The Feelies’ sound was everything in terms of rhythm which set them apart from the punk/New Wave bands of their time. They were a particle collider of glistening soundscapes that transformed into an alchemy of purified Velvet Underground-esque jingle- jangle & propulsive measures.
By focusing on precision rather than minimalist drones of distortion and noise, the Feelies forte was off of the beaten path of the late 70s & early 80s punk & art rock movement around New York. Unlike most bands, The Feelies weren’t connected to any extant rock scene and never were exactly tapped to the zeitgeist of their time. They were proud of being musical nerds from New Jersey who wore tucked-in button up shirts & horn-rimmed glasses pushed up to their nose bridges.
Although they looked and dressed as one that would do so if he or she was slavishly devoted to intellectual & academic pursuits, their original sound made up of rapid, clean strumming and sudden explosive leads mixed with simple melodies made them an indelible part of the history of American music. The Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore recalled seeing them play in the late 70’s and quoted “They came out and proceeded to just mow the place down with their guitar playing, and these guys were buttoned-up-collard nerd boys from the ‘burbs. They were totally straight from the backyard cookout. So it was cool to be not cool.”
Still un-signed, in 1978 The Feelies were named “The best underground band in New York” by The Village Voice. In 1980 they released their debut album “Crazy Rhythms.” The record never had a great number of sales but it has become a cult classic, and known as a masterpiece to many people within the music world. The band “ R.E.M.” cited the album as a “major influence.” “We were more concerned, not with how many people we could reach, but how deeply we could reach them,” said co-founder Glenn Mercer (guitarist/vocals).
The Feelies archetypical, hypnotic sound has become a delicate footprint within the annals of music history and is still heavily visible in a cornucopia of contemporary indie rock today.
Here’s a ditty to throw into your walkman and jam to-
“Old Love”
Enjoi!
Upcoming Shows-
• Friday Jun,17 – World Café Live – Philadelphia, PA
• Saturday Jun,18 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
-Bill Bill wears a bike lock as the loser of the SWELL’s fantasy surfer challenge for the BIllabong Rio pro. Stay tuned for the video of his 24 hour lock down!
The 2011 Billabong Pro Rio started the elimination rounds this morning. Yesterday’s bumpy yet powerful surf made the boys hone their skills in to knock off the host of local Brazilians who grew up surfing the slop.
Despite the Brazilians all but sweeping the field at lowers, only defending champ Jadson Andre won his 1st rd heat, while the rest of his countrymen battle it out in the elimination rd today. The surf forecast calls for conditions to clean up, with sustained pulses of south. The swell and the waiting period end soon, so expect tons of action in the next couple days.
As for the SWELL office challenge, round two in Rio may decide who wears a bike-lock around their neck for an entire work day and a surf session.
Here’s the Fantasy Surfer teams around the Swell office.
Morgan’s Approach: “If it doesnt kill you, it makes you stronger, but walking around in Rio…that will kill you”
Bill’s Approach: “One lucky pump could change a surfer’s life…kinda how I was convinced”
Dave’s Approach: “T.Knox is makin the final. No more poop stance, slob airs and fist pumping ”
Michael’s Approach: “If I have to wear a bike lock around my neck, everybody will suffer with me”
Watch Billy pay the piper for losing the challenge for the last event at Bell’s Beach. This time the loser wears a bike lock around their neck, that video should be classic.
Stay tuned.
To create your own Fantasy Surfer team, click here
