A week spent surfing, sliding down muddy trails, and being bitten by mosquitoes in Nicaragua with Brendan Buckley, PJ Raia, Zack Humphreys, Tommy Ihnkin and Brian Pollack.

All footage shot and edited by Phillip Mansfield

The Team and the Trophy

Will Slashing

Jason and the Prizes

Jason Snapping on his 5′6 Beaker model

Steven Ortiz enjoys driving his 2000 Porsche Boxster S to and from school. But, put off by the $150 oil changes and other maintenance costs, the 17-year-old from Glendora, Calif., is looking to trade it for yet another ride — once again via the bartering section at Craigslist.
Ortiz started out with an old cell phone and eventually traded up to that sweet convertible, according to a story by Rebecca Kimitch in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. It took two years and 14 swaps at Craigslist to reach this point. She wrote:

He traded that phone for a better phone, which he then traded for an iPod Touch. He traded that for a series of dirt bikes, a MacBook Pro, and a 1987 Toyota 4Runner.
At the time, Steven was just 15 and unable to drive his new acquisition. So he quickly swapped it out for a souped-up off-road golf cart, another more valuable dirt bike, a street bike, then a series of cars ending with a 1975 Ford Bronco. He spent a few months enjoying each acquisition before determining he was looking for something else.
He eventually swapped the Bronco, desired by some collectors and worth about $15,000, for the Porsche, worth about $9,000, Kimitch said. “It was actually a trade down, one that we can’t really fault him for — everyone needs to own a Porsche at least once in their life,” wrote car enthusiast Ben Wojdyla on Jalopnik.

Bartering on Craigslist is, in fact, very popular these days. People who don’t have money usually have something they can trade for the things they want or need. For instance, the guy who traded the Toyota for the MacBook “is a musician who really needed the computer for his band,” Kimitch wrote.
Ortiz seems to be the anti-Kyle MacDonald, living a normal teenage life, except for the five or so hours he spends each day checking out Craigslist for excellent deals. He is inspiring. “Although Ortiz’s story isn’t the first time we’ve seen Craigslist-swapping writ large, it’s the first one we’ve seen that doesn’t include any outside help,” Wojdyla wrote.

“This is the story of enterprise in hard times,” penned Chris Matyszczyk at CNET News. “It is the story of a teen who dedicated himself to improving his lot. It is the story of how one young man turned an old cell phone into a Porsche. Without any money changing hands.”

Posted by Karen Datko

With the Willabong only a couple of days away, we had to make a roster change. Due to a prior engagement, Chris Abad and Cheyne Magnusson had to pull out of the Willabong this year. Apparently they are going on a romantic getaway with their lovely girlfriends to Lake Havasu. That left us scrambling to fill their voids so we can once again take the title this year. With a chance at a 3 peat we rallied long time friends and Chemistry supporters, Todd Prestage and Austin Ware. Todd and Austin will join Jason Bennett and Willie Smith on the Chemistry squad.

Coming in all the way from Gerringong, NSW, Australia, Todd is fresh off of his board riders club (Werri Beach Boardriders) win over Snapper Rocks Boardriders Club in the Jim Beam Surf Tag. Todd is a former WCT competitor and won the coveted Rookie of the year award when he was on tour.

Austin Ware hails from Solana Beach and is currently slugging it out on the WQS where last year he was very close to qualifying for the “Dream Tour”. When he is not jumping around the globe chasing important QS points he is usually training or the guy you see annihilating Seaside Reef.

CONTEST FORMAT
EACH TEAM WILL SURF TWO 15 MIN HEATS(EACH TEAM MEMBERS HIGH SCORE WILL BE KEPT)
WE WILL ADD YOUR TEAM TOTALS FOR BOTH HEATS AND THE TOP 2 TEAMS WILL SURF ONE MORE TIME IN THE FINALS.
*Rules-
-Team must be comprised of at least 2 active employees for every heat
-No interferences(since you are surfing with your team not against)
-You can sub team riders in for you second heat
-Water starts will be allowed and you can paddle out at the 5 minute warning
-2 horns signify start and stop to heats; 1 horn signifies 5 minute warning

We at Chemistry are proud to announce the completion of our showroom and factory. We started in a office and showroom the size of a kids bedroom and now have grown to 1000 sq ft of everything Chemistry. Jason and Will had the amazing help of Chemistry Collective Artists Scott Seiver and Miki Collins to make the vision come alive.

Within the showroom we have a bunch of boards on display, some of which are for sale. We also have a great selection of accessories from Creatures of Leisure, Famous, FCS, Future Fins, and Gorilla Grip to compliment your brand new Chemistry Surfboard. Also in the showroom is our latest in Chemistry Apparel and accessories. On display beside all the great gear is a bunch of art and photographs by Chemistry Collective artists and friends of the brand.

The factory has become a full board building center with the exception of not doing any resin work on site. There is two full size shaping rooms one of which is occupied by Jason Bennett and the other by Encinitas up and coming shaper/surfer Ryan Burch. Besides the two shaping rooms there is a board packing station, showroom extension for board overflow, used board rack, and an area dedicated to Chemistry Collective custom surfboard art.

If you are in our area please take time to stop by and check out the new setup. If not stay tuned for our grand opening party scheduled for early August (we will post the fine details soon). Should be a great time!
We are located at:
3205 Production Ave, Suite B.
Oceanside, Ca. 92056
760-757-1432

All photos coutesy of E.Warner

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The factory has become a full board building center with the exception of not doing any resin work on site. There is two full size shaping rooms one of which is occupied by Jason Bennett and the other by Encinitas up and coming shaper/surfer Ryan Burch. Besides the two shaping rooms there is a board packing station, showroom extension for board overflow, used board rack, and an area dedicated to Chemistry Collective custom surfboard art.

If you are in our area please take time to stop by and check out the new setup. If not stay tuned for our grand opening party scheduled for early August (we will post the fine details soon). Should be a great time!
We are located at:
3205 Production Ave, Suite B.
Oceanside, Ca. 92056
760-757-1432

All photos coutesy of Scott Seiver’s IPhone.