Wholesome Family Fun

In case you’ve never been to an evo company picnic, it’s a lot like a third grade end of the school year party: more chips than anyone can eat, lawn games, skateboards, brownies, and cool prizes. Except no chaperones! And we brought a boat. And beer. Also, people were making bets, making out and making jokes at Shilo’s expense. There was almost a dog fight. At least one person got sort of drunk, and I don’t mean that in a metaphorical way. After Bryce and Shilo kept losing warshers repeatedly, the last game got a little bit heated, but when it was all over everyone chipped in to clean up and we all gave each other hugs goodbye. Family parties are always the best - can’t wait ’til next year!

Wholesome Family Fun

In case you’ve never been to an evo company picnic, it’s a lot like a third grade end of the school year party: more chips than anyone can eat, lawn games, skateboards, brownies, and cool prizes. Except no chaperones! And we brought a boat. And beer. Also, people were making bets, making out and making jokes at Shilo’s expense. There was almost a dog fight. At least one person got sort of drunk, and I don’t mean that in a metaphorical way. After Bryce and Shilo kept losing warshers repeatedly, the last game got a little bit heated, but when it was all over everyone chipped in to clean up and we all gave each other hugs goodbye. Family parties are always the best - can’t wait ’til next year!

Malibu Pro Team Challenge in the Northwest

August 16th and 17th marked the second annual Malibu Pro Team Challenge. The scene at the campground was great - family and friends setting up camp for the weekend, watching in anticipation as teams Liquid Force, Ronix, Gator Boards, and defending champs, team Hyperlite battled it out for a grand prize of $25,000. The beautiful Silverlake Resort in Eatonville, Washington served as this year’s venue. The players included some of the top riders in the sport: Adam Errington, four time X-Game gold medalist Danny Harf, Mikey Ennen, Jimmy Lariche, AJ Racinelli, Bob Soven, and many more. These athletes teamed up to compete in three events: boat-pass, rail jam, and a double up contest - the perfect set up for the crowd’s viewing pleasure. The riding was incredible. Bill Geiger, creator of the event, remarked, “All these guys out here are killin’ it”.

The Malibu Pro Team Challenge is the only pro wakeboard event held in Washington, and, aside from being in evo’s backyard, it was super fitting as most of the board companies call the Northwest home. The audience and the participants seemed to think the venue ideal as well. Erick Ruch, a Hyperlite rider told evo, “It’s cool getting to see Mt. Rainer and everyone just hanging out by the campfire enjoying themselves. I think the whole idea for it [Malibu Pro Team Challenge] was to keep it intimate, a little more relaxed than normal events.”

Besides the wakeboarding competition, the weekend was packed with amazing weather, after-hours shindigs hosted by local sponsors, ride with the pros, and hob-knobbing with legends like Parks Bonifay and Gator. Spectators not only left with great stories, but also great swag. Raffles and giveaways included wakeboards from Hyperlite, a wakeskate by Ronix, vests from both O’Neill and Liquid Force, Ronix rope and wake handle, Malibu beach blankets, a signed board by Gator, and not to mention a ton of hats, t-shirts, coozies, and stickers.

Before the beginning of competition on Saturday, Malibu hosted a “ride with the pros” event., where, Mikey Ennen divulged some of his wake skill secrets. Later at the evo tent, Mikey Ennen was visibly stoked, “Yeah I took a little kid out riding, and taught him some basic skills: how to jump the wake, and he was going big,” pausing to laugh a little, “It was pretty awesome seeing a little grommet just charging.” Danny Harf of team Ronix also dropped by the evo tent to sign a Ronix board and chat with some fans. evo was interested in his thoughts on his first Malibu Pro Team Challenge, “We [normally] ride against these guys individually, so its kinda fun to cheer for your teammates while they’re going, and it’s a little less stressful out here, a relaxed environment, makes for a good time. The conditions are perfect, I can’t really ask for more.” But what about vendor sponsored parties?

Reps from Skull Candy, Monster Energy Drink, Reef, Ronix, Hyperlite, NW Riders Clothing Co, Bake’s, Von Zipper, and Liquid Force chilled, chatted and enjoyed cold Pyramid Brewery beer at Friday night’s festivities hosted by evo. Bake’s Saturday night VIP party included ample food, more Pyramid brew, and some impromptu Indo board demonstrations by riders and patrons.

Sunday morning brought the last day of competition, with the finals in the rail jam and double-up events. At the end of the day Jimmy Lariche was awarded overall best rider—a prize of $1,000, and team Hyperlite was crowned champions for the second year running winning the $25,000 purse. Participants, vendors and patrons a like left the lake asking what is in store for next year? Bill Geiger answered this question best, “Well I think the goal for everyone, evo, Alliance, and Malibu… is to absolutely keeping it in the Northwest, making it bigger, better, and more fun for everyone, every year as we go.”
-Rhesa

Check back soon for video from this weekend’s comp. These guys go big. Like opening ceremony fireworks in Beijing big.

Results:

Boat Comp - 1st Place - Aaron Rathy - Hyperlite

2nd Place - JD Webb - Hyperlite

3rd Place - Bob Soven - LF

Double-Up - 1st Place - Danny Harf - Ronix

2nd Place - Jimmy Lariche -Hyperlite

3rd Place - Kevin Henshaw - LF

Rail Jam - 1st Place - Jimmy Larich - Hyperlite

2nd Place - Bob Soven - LF

3rd Place - AJ Racinelli - Gator

Overall Winner - Team Hyperlite (defending champions) with 240 points earning $24,000 and hanging on to the “Malibu Cup” for another year!

Hunting Yeti Update // The Summer Months //

Hello Nimbus fans and supporters. This is Chris here reporting in from my endless summer of Hunting Yeti’s…

It all started with a crew discussion of taking a road trip down to Mexico for a month. It was the plan all season, until we unfortunately lost the keys to Pollard’s shackles, which had him locked to his 22-hour days of editing. Andy got up close and personal with a softball, leaving him a new grill and a large dental bill. And the news channel’s left us skeptical of traveling as clueless Gringos all the way through Mexico for an entire month.

With that in mind, when Eric found a free moment, the crew (sans Andy) booked a 10-day flight to Cabo, Mexico. As a whole (of passionate not so great surfers), we wanted to document a trip away from the snow, while at the same time capture some third-world traveling..

As anticipated, it was more then just surfing good waves.. There was rattlesnakes, feeding donkeys, surfing, rallying rental cars, attempting to speak spanish, snorkeling, and much much more.

After a successful and funny trip, Pollard went directly back to his computer and finished up the movie. Pep went to his sisters wedding. Andy was still dealing with dental issues. And I booked a quick flight to Whistler to get a day in with DaKine at COC.

Sure enough, we had Whistler fog both days we tried to shoot, which left us with little to no skiing footage. Directly after Whistler, Pep and I had agreed to coach at Windells for a session. So, that’s exactly what we did. We originally planned to get some more footage there, but an Oregon bug unfortunately hit me hard, giving me bronchitis and an ear infection.

Needless to say, we had another amazing couple months together, and were able to document something new, that we all truly love… With that said and webisode 4 all wrapped up, I am here in Mammoth packing for Australia and Chile to give you the seasons last webisode of shredding powder. To make my packing more enjoyable, I put my Hunting Yeti DVD on loop. Yep, that’s right, Hunting Yeti DVD’s are shipping out all over the world as we are proud to announce the film is done. I got a box full of Yeti’s just a couple days ago. Go to your local shop and ask for a copy.

—-

CB

Summer Rail Jam Benefits Injured Team Rider

by Matt Holihan

Mt. Hood, Oregon is one of the most unique places America has to offer. An endless winter is made possible for riders all over the planet by providing a special retreat for summer jibbing, pipe riding, and jumping. One rider in particular, who calls Mt. Hood her summer home, is Randa Shahin. Randa, an evo team rider, has been a part of the Mt. Hood community for the past 5 years. She is recognized by many as not only a driven and talented snowboarder, but as a caring and loving friend. However, her boarding skills have recently been put on hold. While taking her first lap through the Timberline Park this year Randa overshot a jump, which resulted in a horrific accident. Randa suffered a double fracture in her neck, which is clearly evident by the halo she currently wears. Randa is presently at home in Virginia recuperating, and learning that the road to recovery is not an easy one. However, the community of Mt. Hood, after becoming instantly aware and distraught regarding Randa’s injury, has been proactive in providing the support she needs.

Mt. Hood and the good people of Timberline Lodge are a close community of skiers and snowboarders who dedicate their summers to playing in the snow. When one of their own is in need of assistance, they join together to show their full support. An example of this camaraderie is apparent in the circumstances surrounding Randa’s accident and subsequent healing. To help Randa, the Timberline Lodge, and the society of riders from Mt. Hood quickly came together to host a fundraising event for their fallen friend. The “Rail Rendezvous,” a rail-jam competition, was put together by Randa’s close friend Megan Ginter and Timberline Lodge Event and Promotional Manager Jenny Johnson to raise money for Randa during her recovery period. The funds will help Randa financially, allowing her to make payments on her Mt. Hood home, which she is currently struggling to keep up with, among other expenses.

This event took place on July 12th at the base of Timberline Ski Area’s Magic Mile Ski Lift and registered just over 60 participants. The competition was in jam format and was called by rider’s choice judges. Based on participation there were three categories: 1st-5th male snowboard, 1st-5th female snowboard, and 1st-5th male ski. The judges helped draw attention to those riders who threw down on the three obstacles, a down rail with a donkey kick, a flat bar to step-down rail, and a wall ride. Towards the end of the comp the judges called out a handful of noteworthy riders to stand in front of the crowd, where the riders themselves voted (by shouting) who they thought should place.

Lake Tahoe resident and snowboarder Andrew Brewer took first for the men, and earned his spot rightly by throwing down back lips, back side 180’s to pretzel out - all around nasty moves. Everyone else who placed received a hefty supply of prizes including snowboards, complete setups of outerwear, gloves, boots, shoes, and certificates such as Burton’s “free wax for life”. There was also a sizeable swag toss, which gave everyone a little something to go home with.

The Rail Rendezvous brought in a total amount of $3,340 which is going directly to Ronda to help out with her current situation. Randa’s sponsor Betty Rides donated $2,500 while $840 was accumulated through entry fees. The event couldn’t have been done without the great people of this unique Mt. Hood community. Randa will soon be back shredding with the best of them, and her friends at Timberline have clearly shown that they are looking forward to that day.

Evo would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful people at Timberline Lodge and Ski Area, along with friends of their community, for allowing us to take part in the event, and experience a weekend to remember and share. Tre Dauenhauer (evo Photographer), Matt Holihan (evo Intern Creative Writer), and Chris Shalbot (evo Team/Shop Manager) covered The Rail Rendezvous, inherited their own experiences while traveling down to Mt. Hood, and were welcomed into this unique and supportive community formed by those sharing a similar passion for snow sports.

Evo also thanks: The 7-11 guy for turning down Matt, Tre, and Chris’ request for free slurpees on 7/11, Graham Hiemstra for letting the trio crash at your house for the weekend, evo team rider, Austen Sweetin, for letting us bring down your abundance of camping stuff in a tightly packed Honda Civic to end up not even using it, Seth Kitzke for falling in the tree-trunk hole, Timberline Lodge and Ski Area Promotional manager, Jenny Johnson, and Megan Ginter for keeping The Rail Rendezvous organized and successful, and thank you to Marketing Manager, Brian Reed.

Timberline Ski Area is still covered with tons of snow left over from last winter’s record breaking season. The conditions are amazing, and without the people of Timberline Lodge and Ski Area we wouldn’t have been able to cover the event or enjoy the excellent conditions. Thank You Everyone!

evo hosts - Art Deck-o: Rivard Merges Skateboarding and Art

commentary by Bekah Grim

Abandon what you thought skateboard graphics could be—farewell kitschy skulls and a few predictable stars. Artist Mark Rivard has rescued skate design and has reinvented it with his original artwork. He’s amping up skate decks with everything from a two-years-in-the-making Breckenridge landscape to an organic blending of a women’s body with a tree—fine art and skateboarding have collided.

In celebration of Fremont’s First Friday Art Walk, evo’s Times Infinity art gallery debuted the opening of Mark Rivard’s feature gallery. The opening rocked steady with jams from DJ Grapenuts, and even Rivard himself was there to hang out, drink some free beer with the evo crowd and talk about his artwork. Incredibly, we learned Rivard has no formal artistic training. He began sketching on skate decks after a ski accident in ’03 left him wallowing on his mom’s couch. “I pretty much needed something to do and so I reached for a skate deck and starting drawing.” Rivard explained.

This artist has gone from injured to ingenious, sketching up his super-detailed skate deck magic with Sharpie markers. That’s right, Sharpies.

Several of Rivard’s pieces in the evo gallery include the artist’s free flow writings about life, liberty, and pursuit of skateboarding. When asked if the writings were poetry, Rivard just laughed: “I don’t consider it poetry. It’s just what I have to say. The piece Slow Beat came from a night of drinking.”

Rivard keeps it real when talking about his art, skipping out on the fancy “isms” and fine art snobberies. We’ll skip those too. Rivard’s deck art is what would happen if graffiti artist Banksy was a Siamese twin with the graphic designers at Imperial Motion. These skate decks are urban mindwarps, with skylines melting into faces and faces melting into crows. Rivard’s art is inventive; Fishing for Ugly goes underwater with a fish, while above the surface an emu peeks out. There just aren’t enough emus at art galleries these days.

For those of you who missed out on opening night’s free beer, chill vibes, and DJ Grapenut’s grooves, fret not; you can still take in the emu. Rivard’s decks will be displayed in evo’s gallery for the rest of the month.

Evo’s art gallery openings are a regular event held every first Friday of the month to debut the work of a feature artist. To find out about upcoming artists, check out evo.com.

evo’s ’skate inside your store 2′ contest

Last month evo hosted the Second Annual Skate Inside Your Store Contest. This year’s event was a Wedge to Planter Challenge that consisted of a giant wedge ramp, a small deck on top, and a two-tiered planter box setup with real plants.

Sponsors Included: BFC, enjoi, Manik Skateboards, Nike 6.0, Skull Candy, and Ally Video

Pretty sick!
eric b.

evo signs up for city Bus program!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Seattle, Washington (11 August, 2008) – Local board-sports retailer evo will begin use of the FlexPass program through King County Metro Transit, allowing employees to reduce the impact their daily commutes have on the environment and community.

With their headquarters housed in an energy efficient converted warehouse in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, evo’s employees have long upheld admirable environmental standards and have demonstrated their dedication to sustainability form the beginning. Bikes and alternatively fueled cars are highly encouraged as means of transportation. Access to Seattle’s bus system will only strengthen this commitment to reducing emissions.

“Our goal as a company is to give every one of our employees an opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint,” says Chris Bahr, evo’s financial controller.

While the FlexPass program is currently only available to full-time employees (35+ hrs/week), Bahr is working toward an alternate plan to help subsidize part-time employees’ commuting expenses.

Evo is aware of its environmental impact and is committed to decreasing this impact and promoting sustainable practices. The company also realizes that these concepts are not necessarily at odds with the driving forces behind a successful business and that environmental sustainability can, and often does, benefit the bottom line.

Founded in 2001as a ski and snowboard retailer, evo has quickly because a major promoter of active outdoor lifestyle as well as a cultural leader, both locally and nationally. Not only does evo highly value the protection of natural places and encourage the exploration of the American wilderness – the future of the company, from employees to suppliers to customers to the community at large, depends on it.

For more info on King County Metro Transit’s FlexPass program, pleast visit: http://transit.metrokc.gov/cs/employer/ctr-fp-seancent.html#cbpv

# # #

evo explores the collaboration between culture and sport by seamlessly joining fashion, music, art, and sport. Through our unique events, movie premiers, art exhibitions, and partnerships we are simply providing a venue to share what we love. Passion for building community is a driving force; both on a national level and locally here in Seattle.