Am Tec Today!!!

Eamon Stylin'

Pioneers riders Eamon Samojla, Zac Rose, and Max Jenson will be competing today at the Combi Bowl out on Orange, Cal for the Am Tec title. This event will showcase the best of the best in amateur bowl riding and these kids are going to be blowing up. With back to back 5's, fast lines, and style the local boys are going to represent, just wait till they make it to Pro-Tec!

p. GITV

Nora Vasconcellos is lurking around the shop today and I figured I'd put her on the hot seat and fire away at so we can catch up on the life and times of one Nora V. She'll be shredding vert this afternoon so if you're at the park make sure to say hi.

So your 17 now and you just got your license, how does it feel to have that freedom?

I love it, my parents let me take the family car so I have been able to skate so much more.

Why does it take you 3 hours to get here when it should only take 1?

Living a half an hour south of Boston the commuting traffic is disgusting. The first two hours were spent getting through the tunnel...yay!

Do you text and drive?

Never!

How did 2010 go for you overall? General life, results, sponsers?

2010 was a great year, I have been able to make some great connections, including joining the Pioneers team. I was also able to compete in Women's vert at Dew Tour and X-Games, placing 5th and 6th. I have also been able to work with Mimi Knoop and Cara- beth Burnside with their board company Hoopla.

Tell me more about Hoopla and your relation ship with its founders?

I was fortunate enough to meet Mimi and CB at the Dew Tour this summer and then they approached me about riding flow for their board company Hoopla. Hoopla which is a division of Skate One (Powell Peralta, Bones, etc.) is a great company focused on the female rider and inspiring young girls with a more feminine board. I was so honored when they asked me to ride for them, they were the women I had always looked up too so it meant a lot. The boards are really great also, great pop that lasts and Ligament Technology.

Heard you got mauled by a scoot kid at Rye yesterday, tell me about it.

Haha I was coming out of Rye (Airfield) and all of the sudden I was on the ground on top of this little kids scooter. I have a good scooter bruise this morning but I felt bad because the kid was embarrassed.

Your a damn good artist, how does that relate to your skating? Any interest in designing board graphics?

Thank you! I think art ties in with my skateboarding because both are just ways I express my creativity. I would love to eventually be a creative director or designer for a skate company, it's what I am most passionate about.

From my perspective you have a deeper than normal relationship with Tabitha Bob... please explain.

Tabitha Bob is much more than you average domesticated kitty. She is a very important member of the family, basically my child. I love her.

Ke$ha or Gaga?

Gaga, I don't even think Ke$ha is a real person, just some auto-tuned hologram.

Scooters or roller blades?

Fruitboots, I respect them.

New York or LA?

Im not a city girl but New York is just a train trip away. I loved the west coast too but there is just too much smog.

Plans for college?

I applied to some local schools in Boston and also San Diego State but next year I am taking a gap year to skate. I want to really focus and push myself. School will happen at some point and I would really like to study design and marketing.

What kind of plans do you have for 2011?

Skate, surf, work, and build a portfolio, just push myself and my skating to the next level. With the new vert ramp at Rye Airfield I am really excited to see where it will take me and the other kids.

Favorite people to skate with?

Tate, Eamon, Derek, Max, Zac, Nolan, Cam, Ivana...we have such a great group up here from Rye and Pioneers, there is always a good sesh.

In surf news John John Florence is the MAN!!! Yesterday he won the Volcom Pipe Pro and early this month he won the Da Hui Backdoor Shoot Out. The dude is on FIRE. People he grew up looking up too are now looking up at him. I'll be really interested to see where the 2011 year takes this boy. He'll be on the road doing some QS and I'm sure he'll find his way into at least on ASP Prime before the year is through. Check the highlight below form the final day of the contest!

SURF & SNOW mid week I think/hope. We're in the shop till 6, swing by if you need anything!!

VOLCOM PIPELINE PRO

IT'S LIVE RIGHT NOW RIGHT HERE!!!!

Shut the brain down and let your computer screen take you to the Hawaiian North Shore where it's sunny, warm, pumping, and all the girls are in bikinis!!!!

SNOW and WAVES on the way!!! I LOVE NH. 8 to 10 inches for the coast with a little less forecasted for ski country. Winds will be turning west early and staying that way all day! Surf Surf Surf!!! I'm really looking forward to getting wet tomorrow morning. The big question is where am I going to be able to park without getting in the plows way??? Maybe I'll ride my bike, whatever it takes I'll be there!!!

New Reef gear just showed up! Trunks, shorts, and tees. If you're traveling of just preparing for an epic summer we got you covered!!! Check the freshness below!!!!

Tees

Walk Shorts

Trunks

Keep the Stoke ALIVE!!!! We'll see you in the water!!!!

Baby it's BEAUTIFUL Outside!!!

p. Nevins

WOW it's cold out there!!! There was so much sea smoke on the water this morning it looked like the ocean was on FIRE!!! According to my thermometer it was -8 and I was loving it!!! This is winter and I want more!!! If you feel the same way then your out of your skull nuts just like me, my only wish is that it was head high and firing so I could have paddled out and surfed some smokey waves. Joe GITV Carter shot and edited an amazing little video that really captures the radness of an eight below zero morning. Check out the latest VANRIDE HERE.

Volcom Pipeline Pro was almost a go this morning but unfortunately, like the Eddie, the sets just were not consistent enough. Tomorrow??? Maybe??? Check it HERE to get the scoop! Live HD cam too so you can see what's happening right now in the 6 to 10 foot surf!

Wild Card Decision for the Volcom Pipeline Pro MADE...

TODAY IS VIDEO DAY AT THE SHOP!!!!

Restocked with SURF, SKATE, & SNOW TITLES! Here are a few of the NEW Ones... Lots more too. Who is JOB, Innersections, The Seedling, Sprout, The Present, Street Dreams, Stay Gold, Origins, The Arena, Cheers, Deeper, & F___ IT!!!!!!

Just heard on the radio that our storm just got upgraded to 6 to 12 inches for Thursday!!! STOKED, Bring it ON!!

1.21.2011= Snow-heavy at times...

r. Coates p. Nevins GITV

Another snow day, another solo session, another great day to be a New Englander. How rad is winter??? I say keep it coming!!! Bring on the snow, I want more, keep the waves coming, I can't get enough, and keep it cold because that's how it supposed to be! The White mountains are prime time right now. Whether your ride the lift or you earn your turns it all systems go!

Last weekend I took some runs at Bretton Woods and found powder stashes in the woods all day!!! Tuesday the dog and I headed up to Mt Major for a hike and shred mission. I've hiked that mountain a hundred times now but never rode my snowboard down it. Well the snow was there and I went for it. It was a little rocky up top but I found some thigh deep turns in the woods about mid mountain. The bottom half of the trail is like a skatepark the whole way down. Can't wait to go back for more!

Then the WAVES, oh man the WAVES, which were insane Wednesday and Thursday and still fun today! I heard Steve claim a 9 out of 10 for Wednesday morning and the smile on his face Thursday morning said the same thing. Sprinkle a little skateboarding in there and what more can you ask for. We got it made so make sure you're enjoying yourself. No more talking about missing summer.... it will get here when it gets here. Until then the time is now and now is winter, MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

Yesterday the North Shore of the Hawaii got pretty big... but not Eddie big. There were some 20ft sets but they were inconsistent at best. So back to waiting, back to hoping that the Eddie will run two years in a row. Here is a quick video of what did happen and I'm sure there will be some footage from pipeline available soon. Keep checking back!

The shop has been rocking lately, it;'s that time of year where we're stocking up! New stuff arriving daily. Most recently we got our Oakley eyewear case restocked and we got our boardshort selection updated for all you folks that plan to travel to warmer climates this winter.

We're here till SIX. Pow day tomorrow come get your board waxed!!! Enjoy Winter!!!!!!

Pacific Swell Turns It Up To 11...

If you pulled yourself out of bed early, braved the single digit temps, and made your way to the coast then you got to see an amazing sunrise and a serious display of sea smoke. I forgot my camera but was able to snag the above photo off one of the local webcams. Now you can call me crazy but there was actually some fun looking surf out there too. The longboard waves at Jenness Beach looked amazing this morning. I'm pretty sure I even saw a few thigh high sets and thoughts of running home to grab my log and suit danced through my head until I remembered that I blew my fin box out earlier this year and have yet to fix it. If it was summer time there would have been 50 people out, today there were none.... If you can deal with the cold, winter is the best!

Words can't describe the RADNESS that is the All 80's All Day Vert Challenge...

Lucky for us they made a video that does it justice, Check it out, it's totally Bitchin'!!!!!!

The Pacific Ocean is looking at a SERIOUS, SERIOUS SWELL for the upcoming week. On a scale of 1 to 10 it's shaping up to be an 11 and let's just say the big wave surfers of the world are all booking tickets to Hawaii to see what happens. Currently The Eddie, The Jay, and The Todos Santos contest are all hold waiting for waves big enough to run them. This swell could deliver those waves and we could have a few epic weeks of big wave surfing coming up! Now the word on the street is that La Vaca Gigante (spanish for big wave contest) is set to run Monday in Spain. I don't think there is a webcast because the website is all in spanish and well I don't spanish so good. If there is, and I find out about it, I'll let you know. I'll also be keeping an eye on this story and I'll let you know what's up. I got my fingers crossed, The Eddie and The Jay were epic last year but a grade 11 swell could make them even better this year.

Keeping with the big wave there check out Down with the Ship!!! A FREE full length video from Derek Dunfee, the 2009 XXL paddle in and 2010 worst wipeout award winner.

We're in the shop all weekend, if you need anything swing by and see us. Waves and snow midweek and skate session daily!

2011 Lost Boards

M. Moran / B. Nevins GITV

Well gang, I hope your arms weren't to sore from all that shoveling yesterday to surf this morning because the waves were fun! The shot above says it all, super fun, super clean. This storm was the real deal!!! If you had it in you to make the drive north yesterday then you know it was pretty damn good in the mountains too. Pow days are the best, I'm pretty sure they're the key to World peace.

B. Nevins at the Kittens

Check it out, new Lost Surfboard catalog HERE. Lots of new stuff for 2011. Uber Planks, Scorch-its, Twin Fuselage Technology, Black Sheeps, Drivers and more!!! Lost just keeps making surfing more and more fun!!! The hardest part is trying to keep up with mayhem and all his new shapes. Good news is... that just got a little easier, Mayhem now has his own blog. Check it HERE and now the only thing left to do is try and decide which board to ride... I'm thinking asymetrical sub-scorcher w/ twin fuselage technology, you?

Taj and Mayhem have been working on a Firewire/Lost pro model for Taj. Here's some footage from Trestles of Taj testing a couple. They sure do look like the work!

Next chance for surf/snow is early next week. Stay tuned and stay stoked!

Skate session at RYE tonight, come shred!

WAVES!!!!!!!!!!

OBX p. Lusk

Well gang, we're back in business!!! After a two week flat spell the Atlantic is cooperating and giving us our belated New Year's gift. I surfed the wall this morning for two hours and found some fun one. The surf was waist to chest at the beach with occasional head high sets. Nothing epic but after 14 days out of the water it felt great to just be paddling around. It's kind of crazy how your body loses all those surf muscles after 14 days without waves. I spent the first half hour getting used to paddling and catching waves again, brushing the rust off so to speak. The waves should stick around most of the day and I'm hoping for a sunset session! The upcoming week looks promising too as a nor easter heads our way Wednesday with waves and snow!

Eastern Exposer from SURFER. East coast photographer Matt Lusk chases swell accross snow covered coastlines. Lots of great shots from the banks and from Jersey. Check it all out HERE.

Thrasher/King of the Road episode one!!! The most ultimate skateboard trip/scavenger hunt EVER!!! I'll post the rest as they become available.

This is where I learned to skate. Holden, MA. Just $50 and you had a pass for the whole summer. I was really stoked to find this photo, lots of good memories from my younger days hanging with the Indy Posse. I heard they're trying to build a new one, hope it works out.

Enjoy the day and go get some surf!!!!!

Cutbacks and Pow Turns for the Weekend???

It seems like it's been flat FOREVER!!!! The good news is the run of flatness should be ending! Waves and snow starting Friday!!! Stoked!!! Things get moving Friday and continue into Saturday. At the moment we're looking at 3-6 inches of snow and some waist plus waves cleaning up Saturday midday.. It isn't much but it's a start.

In surf new Steph Gilmore just bummed me out.... She just left Ripcurl and signed a contract with Quiksilver. Kinda lame, but she probably couldn't say no to their mountain of money. On the upside Ripcurl just signed Tyler Wright to a five year contract. If you've seen her surf then you know how good she is. In my opinion, Quik is betting on a losing pony, Tyler is the next step in women's surfing, she's going to come blazing into her rookie year with a ASP title for 2011. That's the prediction, we'll have to wait a full year to see if I'm wright!!!!

Dave stopped by the shop the other day and kicked it with Steve and I for a while. He told us some crazy stories about driving 1600 miles for a couple hours of skating and his plans for next fall. He also gave us some insight into his new pro shoe from VOX that should be dropping just in time for back to school. If you see a Bachinsky Think board or some Bachinsky Hubba wheels you should buy them because Dave is the man and he deserves your support! Here is a quick video of Dave at the Boardwalk.

So Good!!!!! Pool Party with Pedro Barros in Brazil. Brazil is on my list of places to go and I can't wait to get down there!!!

Here is a quick community update/request for your help. One of our friends Chris, a Pioneers loyalist, is really trying to do something good. Something that gives back to the Seacoast community. Chris, along with his partner, is planning to open an art/music/restaurant space in Portsmouth. You may be saying to yourself "doesn't Portsmouth already have that stuff?" and the answer is yes but not really. Chris's vision is for something better, something more grass roots that is focused on a space that presents and supports contemporary artists and their work in order to stimulate the artistic community and creatively engage and educate the community at large. Think live music, surf photography, and locally grown food all in building!!! I'm stoked for this space and I'm voting for 3S. You can too, check out 3S on Facebook HERE and for more info read THIS article from Seacoast Online. Help 3S win the $50k grant they're up for!!!

Enjoy the rest of your day and keep your fingers crossed for snow and waves!!!!!

We'll see yo in the water!

2011....

Welcome to 2011 and your first blog of the New Year!!! 2010 was a good year for a lot of reasons. The waves seemed non stop all year long and we had one of the most epic summer I can ever remember. I got hitched to my old lady and got my husky pup, Piper. I got to spend a ton of time on my skateboard and all of our team kids had quite a year placing top ten in events around the country. Steve and I got to meet tons of people here at the shop for the first time and get them fired up about surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding. We've made some great friends this year and we banked some amazing memories that we'll keep with us for the rest of our lives.

I probably don't do this enough but I just want to take a quick minute and extend a huge thanks to everyone that supports Pioneers and the the things we love. So to everyone who surfs with us, skates with us, shreds with us, reads the blog, comes to our beach clean ups, shops locally and supports Pioneers we thank you from the bottoms of our hearts. We had a blast in 2010 and we're looking forward to another stellar year in 2011!!!

p. GITV

As I said above our skate team had a hell of a year as did my favorite website Get In The Van. I was so beyond stoked when I jumped on GITV this morning and saw the new Looking In piece on what I see as the future of women's skateboarding, Nora Vasconcellos. Brian spent a considerable amount of time with Nora for this piece and we can't be more excited for how it turned out. So please without further adieu CLICK HERE to Get In The Van and go for a ride with Nora. And on a side note congrats to GITV for their ESM Website of the Year award. Make THE VAN on of your daily internet haunts.... it's the best!!!

The guys you don't usually see on this side of the lens...

Joe Carter, Brian Nevins, & Nick LaVecchia

On our skate team theme this is the newest video from Michael Sander featuring Pioneer rippers Nolan Monroe and Zac Rose. It's crazy how good these kids are getting!!!!!!!! Michael has a handful of videos all worth watching just click HERE to check them out! If you like what you see we have Michael's full length NH surf film, One Hour Parking, in the store now!

Just for fun this video from Jib Jab highlights some of the political B.S. that surrounds our existence.

Here's to another year, let's hope it's gonna be as good as the last!