Blue skies, offshore winds, and a pumping 4-foot swell welcomed stoked grommets to Halfway Beach today for the third and final stop of the 2008 Rusty Gromfest Series. Over 120 kids from all over Bali (and beyond) came out in force to enjoy a fun day at the beach, win prizes, and develop their competitive skills. With a heat draw bursting at the seams, organizers were eager to start proceedings and sent the first heat into the lineup at 7:30am. Spurred on by their peers, psyched groms waxed their boards furiously, itching to get their rails wet.

Round one kicked off as the Kuta bombie erupted on the horizon, triggering some solid sets which sent the kids into a frenzy. The under 16’s shredded the lengthy left-hander’s from start to finish, throwing fans of spray and committing to critical floaters on the inside section. Gazali Hamzah, Agus Frimanto, and Australian Alex Swadling were the early standouts. Organizers chose to run all the under 16 heats up until the final on the incoming tide to take advantage of the peaking swell and superb conditions.

At midday the tide filled in as the under 14 and under 12 division’s hit the water. The kids tore apart the waves with a great deal of flair, showcasing skills beyond their years. Ediana Putra, Luke Hynd, and Koko Mitsua Antara in particular impressed the judges with a combination of floaters and fin busts.

Rusty team rider and guest judge Marlon Gerber exclaimed, “The waves are flawless and the groms are going off! I’m stoked to see them take over for the day… They’re charging! ”

As the rounds progressed and the midday sun cooked Kuta’s stretch of white sand, competitors and spectators alike witnessed some awesome free surfing going down at the adjacent right-hand bank. Indonesian pro’s Pepen Hendrix and Made Adi Putra ‘Bol’ pulled into some amazing pits that sent?the starry-eyed groms into a wild moshpit of hoots and high-fives.

As the horn blew to signal the under 12 final, a large crowd of onlookers flocked at the water’s edge in anticipation. Koko Mitsua Antara, Kadek Yoga, Luke Hynd, and Komang Arip blew up but it was Koko, the Nusa Dua goofyfoot, who wowed the judges with flowing round-house cutback’s and sick fin-throw snaps. He won convincingly and in doing so also finished the series as overall under 12 champion.

The under 14 division final was a nail-biter, as series leader Ediana Putra battled it out against Ornot, Arya Wijaya, and Abi Azwar Anas. Today Ornot from Sumbawa took out the final with his razor-sharp power-hacks, but it was Lembongan’s Ediana Putra who won the overall U/14 series after a 2nd place finish in Keramas, a win in Canggu, and 2nd place again today at Halfway. Amazingly, Ediana is 12 years old and has been surfing in both divisions.

The under 16 final was a fitting climax following a long day of ripping. Gazali Hamzah, Agus Frimanto, Alex Swadling, and Darmaputra Tonjo paddled out as the setting sun dipped into the horizon. Alex Swadling surfed a smart heat, securing an early lead and consolidating on his score shortly after. He blazed a trail of golden spray down the line as he unleashed a series of tight vertical snaps and sweeping carves, leaving both Gazali and Agus in need of 8 point rides. In the end it was Alex Swadling who took top honors and was crowned the Rusty Gromfest Halfway Champ!

With the absence of series leader One Anwar, and the first round loss of rival Putra Hermawan, Gazali Hamzah took the U/16 ratings lead and was crowned the overall 2008 Rusty Gromfest Series Champion. He has been awarded a chance to compete against the best international junior surfers at the 13th annual Rusty Gromfest held at Lennox Head, Australia in July 2008. He will also be granted wildcard entry into the 6-star ISC Rusty Rumble In Da Jungle event at Sanur in May 2008.

Watch the Video from Gromfest Halfway! Go to:

Gromfest Halfway Results:

Under 16
1. Alex Swading
2. Agus Frimanto
3. Gazali Hamzah
4. Darmaputra Tonjo

Under 14
1. Ornot
2. Ediana Putra
3. Arya Wijaya
4. Abi Azwar Anas

Under 12
1. Koko Mitsua Antara
2. Luke Hynd
3. Komang Arip
4. Kadek Yoga

Overall Gromfest Series Rankings:

Under 16
1. Gazali Hamzah - 5350 points
2. Agus Frimanto - 4583 points
3. Putra Hermawan - 3833 points

Under 14
1. Ediana Putra - 6100 points
2. Arya Wijaya Blerong - 5000 points
3. Ornot - 4175 points

Under 12
1. Koko Mitsua Antara - 5183 points
2. Komang Arif - 4083 points
3. Nyoman Satria ‘Blacky’ - 3833 points

From their About Page:

Azriel Clothing started with the idea to make sick clothes at an affordable price all the while helping others less fortunate. Founded in Bend, Oregon Azriel is a socially conscience company with a deep rooted belief in helping the community and others around them. 10% of everything Azriel sells goes to children’s charities. Along with this Azriel is currently working on a shirt project to financially aid the family of Tyler Eklund, a 14 year old snowboarder who was paralyzed at a competition this last year.

However, they also stated what and how they support Team Eklund:

Tyler Eklund, The Bend, Oregon 14-year old paralyzed in a snowboarding accident in Nevada is now recovering at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Hospital. Tyler suffered an injury to the C3 section of his vertebrate in a snowboarding accident this last winter. The nerves in his body are not healing like doctors had hoped. When he injured these nerves, the damaged extended downwards, and while lower body nerves such as ones of hands of fingers can heal themselves, the nerves in the spine cannot.

Doctors say he will only be able to use the top 2 segments of spine and his head. Theses sections do not include control of his extremities or lungs. Chances are he will need a respirator for the rest of his life and a home to accommodate his immobility.

75% of every shirt sold goes to the Eklund family to help in aide the construction and renovation of their house to make it accessible for Tyler.

I’ve been working at boardriding industry for about 5 years, make a lot of good connection, get to know the industry better through industry reports until i left my (corporate) work last month. The picture of the industry in my head is full of fake corporates, jocks and ignorance. That’s how i left anyway.

So it’s a very nice feeling everytime i find a cool company in the industry exist not only for the money and sh*t (who don’t like money anyway, i just want to continue to have money with style…) but also for a good cause. Which is rare to find these days.

Check Azriel Clothing here, a very good web design as well!

I would love to see more professional athlete make the use of internet to make the most of their career. From what i see, professional athlete in my country is too lazy to do this. Most of them think that having a MySpace account is enough. Pity. They should learn from Sean o Brien.

You should check out Sean O Brien’s blog and his tour diary page.

Priceless! Cool!

More info here.

RUSTY GROMFEST SERIES BALI 2008 - KERAMAS
February 17th, 2008

Blue skies, offshore winds and grinding 3-4 foot waves welcomed stoked grommets to Keramas Beach this morning for the first stop of the three-stage Rusty Gromfest Series 2008. With a heatdraw bursting at the seams, organizers were eager to start proceedings and sent the first heat into the lineup at 7:30am. Spurred on by their friends and families, the kids waxed their boards furiously, itching to get their rails wet.

In the under 12 division Putu Eka, Koko Antara, and Ediana Putra surfed impressively but it was Japan’s Hiroto Ohara who became the crowd favorite after pulling off a combination of critical floaters and vertical snaps. Hiroto also surfed in the U/14 division and won his heat convincingly. The first round in the under 16 division saw a few familiar names progress - Gazali Hamzah, One Anwar, and Putra Hermawan - no strangers to junior competition in Bali. This trio were the standouts on the ISC junior tour in 2007, but only one of them could claim the inaugural Rusty Gromfest title.

Guest judge and Rusty team rider Marlon Gerber remarked, “The standard of surfing today has been amazing. The groms are taking full advantage of the empty lineup and perfect conditions. I wish I was out there getting pitted and launching off those ramps.”

Soon after, his wish came true as he joined fellow pro surfers and guest judges Betet Merta, Tipi Jabrik, Garut, Mega, Agus Perr, Tole, and reigning ISC Champ Lee Wilson in the lineup for an expression session. Starry-eyed groms high-fived each other as their heros danced over Keramas’ black lava reef, throwing buckets of spray and pulling off the latest aerial variations.

After the 45 minute expression session it was back to business with the quarter finals, semi’s, and final. The waves continued to break with consistency, walling up all the way to the wedgy inside section. Hiroto and Ediana advanced all the way to the finals in both the U/12 and U/14 divisions. Today Hiroto’s polished style and flawless top-turns won the judges over, as he was crowned champion in both divisions. At just 11 years of age, this composed Japanese unit is already surfing beyond his years. Amazingly, Hiroto won 7 out of 8 heats today and surfed his finals back-to-back.

The under 16 division was a more evenly matched, with One, Gazali, dark horse Putu Anggara, and Japan’s Kaohe battling it out in the final. Gazali surfed on rail with an abundance speed and power, Putu strategically picked off the best set waves, and One wowed the spectators with a radical combination of fin-busts and gouges. In the end One took top honors and was crowned the Rusty Gromfest Keramas Champ! This result further solidifies One’s reputation as being Indonesia’s grom to beat, after recently receiving the 2007 ISC Rookie of the Year Award and finishing the year as overall champ on the 2007 ISC Junior tour.

Final Results:

Under 12
1. Hiroto Ohara
2. Koko Mitsua Antara
3. Edian Putra
4. Komang Arif

Under 14
1. Hiroto Ohara
2. Edian Putra
3. Arya Wijaya
4. Yogo Kawabata

Under 16
1. One Anwar
2. Putu Anggara
3. Gazali Hamzah
4. Kaohe

The overall U/16 winner will be awarded a chance to compete against the best international junior surfers at the 13th annual Rusty Gromfest held at Lennox Head, Australia in July 2008. This event has enjoyed a rich history that has seen the likes of Mick Fanning, Bede Durbidge,? and Julian Wilson crowned as champions. The overall U/16 and U/14 division champions will also be granted wildcard entry into the 6-star ISC Rusty Rumble In Da Jungle event at Sanur in May 2008.

nvohk™: The First Crowd F(o)unded Eco-Clothing Brand Signs Up 1,250+ Future Members within 2 Months

nvohk™ is The First Community-Managed, Surf-Inspired, Eco-friendly Clothing Company

Los Angeles – February 13, 2008 - Today, nvohk, inc. announces that it has signed up over 1,250 future members interested in developing and managing nvohk™ (pronounced ‘invoke’), the first community-managed, eco-friendly, surf-inspired clothing company. The Company began recruiting members via www.projectnvohk.com on December 4, 2007.

In addition, because of the enthusiastic and positive response from nvohk’s early adopters, the Company is accelerating its member activation target to 5,000 future members. novhk will continue to recruit and activate up to 40,000 members.

“nvohk’s model is about shifting power into the hands of consumers. So after receiving numerous inquiries from people wanting to know how they can get involved immediately, we decided to accelerate the model,” said Brendan T. Lynch, President of nvohk, inc.

nvohk combines the best of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding business models to develop and launch a new lifestyle brand that blends social responsibility and financial performance. nvohk is the first lifestyle brand to give consumers meaningful managerial power.

nvohk is recruiting 5,000+ members to contribute $50 a year to develop and shape the nvohk brand. Membership will be capped at 40,000 members. Members will make major business decisions including logo design, web design, product design, advertising, etc. Members will also receive an exclusive member t-shirt, 35% of nvohk’s net profits in the form of reward points that can be redeemed to purchase products, and 25% off all nvohk products. In addition, nvohk will donate 10% of net profits to environmental organizations selected by its members.

nvohk fills a critical gap in the lifestyle brand arena. nvohk will enable consumers to get involved and participate in business decision-making and environmental causes. It will provide consumers with an entertaining and sustainable platform for making a meaningful and positive impact on the environment by putting members in the driver’s seat and allowing them to drive the nvohk brand to a profitable venture that will contribute 10% of net profits to member selected environmental charities.

“nvohk has proven to have global relevance right out of the gate. With about 40% of future members coming from outside the U.S. to date, nvohk is a great example of how the internet and globalization are changing the business landscape forever,” said Brendan T. Lynch, President of nvohk, inc.

To learn more about nvohk or to become a member, please visit www.projectnvohk.com

About nvohk™

nvohk™ (pronounced ‘invoke’) is the first community-managed, eco-friendly, surf-inspired clothing company. The Company is recruiting, through www.projectnvohk.com, 5,000+ members to contribute $50 a year to develop and shape the nvohk brand. Membership will be capped at 40,000 members.

Co-founded by Brendan T. Lynch and Sergio Salas, nvohk combines the best of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding business models to develop and launch a new lifestyle brand that blends social responsibility and financial performance.

The company is based in Los Angeles, California.

More info at Go211 Events.

Smooth…Quiet…Fast..

.Ultralight…

The Perfect Ride!

Once you try it, you’ll never want to walk again…

 Source: Metro Board.