A brave new world?

Get yourself along to this..Rip Curl Rail Sessions

...Skullcandy are running the after-party and Dot Inc's Helgason Bros are riding. Looking forward to a cracking start of the ISPO week.

Rip Curl Rail Sessions presented by Renault: top riders at the start
Finest rail riding at Munich’s Theatron • After Show Party at the Club Ampere



At the Rip Curl Rail Sessions presented by Renault on the 2nd of February 2009, some of the best rail riders in the world will rip the Theatron at Munich’s Olympic Park. On two ten-meters rails, they will show tricks and moves you normally only spot in snowboard videos. The entrance to this spectacular contest that takes place during the Munich sports trade show ISPO is free. Snow-safety is ensured by a delivery from Austria’s Kitzsteinhorn: 70 cubic meters of snow will be brought from Salzburg County to Munich.

24 invited pro snowboarders will show their best rail tricks on the impressive ten-meters down rail and the ten-meters flat-down-flat rail that will be erected on the stairs of the Theatron amphitheatre. Under the floodlights of the Theatron and with the legendary buildings of the Olympic Park as an extraordinary backdrop, the spectators will experience riders like the young Icelanders Halldor and Eiki Helgason (ISL). The brothers have taken the snowboard world by storm with their progressive rail sliding and great video parts in movies like “Pony Tale” and “Notes”. They’ll meet the third of the Crans-Montana Champs Open 2007, Rip Curl rider Nils Arvidsson (SWE), and Louif Paradis (CAN), who is known from the Transworld video “These days“. Gulli Gudmundsson (ISL), Max Legend (CAN), Victor Delerue (FRA) from the Rip Curl team as well, and a surprise guest will complete the list of the seeded riders. The qualification will see starters like Alex Tank (GER) and Peter Koenig (AUT).

The best of the best will show their rail slides and 270s at the finals where they’ll fight for a € 10,000 prize-purse and wild cards for the TTR event Crans-Montana Champs Open from February 4th to 8th 2009 in Switzerland.

After the prize-giving at 10 pm, the party will continue at the Skullcandy ISPO Party at Munich’s Club Ampere/Muffatwerk where DJ Kid Sid will send riders and spectators into raptures.

The Rip Curl Rail Sessions by Renault are part of a series of four events. Les Deux Alpes/FRA, Modena/ITA and Lausanne/SUI were the other locations. These events offered rookie riders the possibility to gain contest experience and to qualify for the Crans-Montana Champs Open. The Munich edition is the last session of the series and a pure pro snowboard contest with a strict invitational character.



Key facts Rip Curl Rail Session Munich:

What: International snowboard rail contest
Where: Theatron, Olympic Park Munich, Germany
When: February 2nd 2009
Entrance: Free!
Prize purse: € 10,000 & Wildcards for the Crans Montana Champs Open by Rip Curl
Sponsors: Rip Curl, Renault, Kitzsteinhorn

Schedule:
04.30 pm Doors open
05.00 - 06.30 pm Qualifications session (90 minutes)
07.00 - 08.30 pm Main session (90 minutes)
08.30 - 09.00 pm DJ set with DJ Kid Sid (30 minutes)
09.00 - 09.45 pm Finals (45 minutes)
10.00 pm Prize-giving

After Show Party:
What: Skullcandy ISPO Party 2009
Where: Club Ampere at Muffatwerk (Zellstr. 4, Munich)
When: Monday, February 02nd 2009 at 10 pm
DJ: DJ Kid Sid

Seeded riders
Number Last Name First Name Nation Sponsor
1 Helgason Halldor ISL DC
2 Helgason Eiki ISL Rome
3 Arvidsson Nils SWE Rip Curl
4 Legend Max CAN Rome
5 Delerue Victor FRA Rip Curl
6 Gudmundsson Gulli ISL VANS
7 Paradis Louif USA Salomon
8 tba

Skullcandy Europe appoints KAOS for Pan-European Role

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 19.01.09

Skullcandy Europe has appointed action sports and music integrated agency KAOS following a four-way pitch. KAOS will be focused on Pan-European PR for core/action sports, music and lifestyle digital and press media. KAOS’ action sports marketing and creative resources were also a factor in the appointment.

‘KAOS provide us the perfect avenue to action sports and lifestyle media across Europe’ says Skullcandy Europe MD, Anders Håkansson. ‘We needed an agency that had affinity with Skullcandy and understood how to express our message credibly and effectively. They are emerging as one of the most forward thinking and creative agencies out there and we are excited about working together.’

Paul Knipe, KAOS Managing Director said; ‘Having Skullcandy as part of the KAOS family is a great buzz for the agency. It’s one of those brands with immediate appeal to those interested in action sports and pretty much anyone that cares how they look and the quality of their sound when listening to music. We’re all going to work really hard to help keep building Skullcandy and spread the stoke amongst their media partners and consumer audience.’

KAOS’ appointment commenced from January 2009, coinciding with preparations for the launch of the ’09 product line at ispo in Munich (1st – 4th February). Over the course of the next 8-10 months Skullcandy will roll out several new products and continue to unveil artist collaborations that notably included Metallica in 2008.

New board anyone?

NEW YORK — Like the artist and designer who inspired the new collection, Louis Vuitton is heading downtown for its new Stephen Sprouse collection.

This week, the company’s boutique on SoHo’s Greene Street will be transformed into a Sprouse destination in time for the collection’s arrival.

“SoHo is a special place for the entire launch of the Sprouse collection,” said Daniel Lalonde, Louis Vuitton North America president and chief executive officer. “It’s in the proximity of where Stephen Sprouse hung out, so we are going to give the entire store a Stephen Sprouse feel. It will have a lot of reminders of Stephen Sprouse. We will be giving it a new identity.”

For instance, the company is wrapping the store in vinyl and spray painting neon graffiti all over the facade. The window display will feature a 6-foot neon light installation in Sprouse’s Rose motif. The store’s interior, enhanced with black brick wall facing, will also be sprayed with the neon graffiti.

The collection will launch in its entirety at the SoHo boutique on Thursday. The complete worldwide launch will follow on Feb. 2, though the Rose pieces will be available at Louis Vuitton stores worldwide starting Friday.

For the launch, the luxury goods company is also creating two limited edition pieces, which will only be available at the SoHo location: a Stephen Sprouse graffiti skateboard replete with a hard case monogram skateboard trunk, and a Stephen Sprouse “Roses” T-shirt. The company hopes to sell three graffiti skateboards with trunks for $8,250 each, and 70 T-shirts for $250 each. “I don’t expect them to last very long,” Lalonde said. “By Friday, there probably won’t be any more left.”

Proceeds will benefit Free Arts NYC, which provides underserved children throughout New York City with special arts programs. Vuitton is also making an undisclosed donation to the Sprouse Estate, as well as the Stephen Sprouse Memorial Scholarship Fund at the National Academy for Design here.

Sprouse became known in the Eighties for his graffiti art and fashion designs. In 2001, Vuitton artistic director Marc Jacobs collaborated with Sprouse and created an instant must-have accessories collection with the Monogram Graffiti collection. Sprouse died in 2004, and Vuitton made its first donation to the fund in 2006 when Jacobs created a scarf in Sprouse’s honor, using one of the collaboration’s leopard prints.

Vuitton will honor the late artist with three events this Thursday. The night will kick off with cocktails at the Vuitton boutique on Greene Street, with a simultaneous event at nearby Deitch Projects’ Wooster Street Gallery for the opening of the “Rock on Mars” Sprouse retrospective. Afterwards, Vuitton and Jacobs will host a bash at the Bowery Ballroom, featuring a performance by Sprouse’s friend Debbie Harry, followed by DJ Jus Ske. The venue is expected to have a Sprouse feel, with a special graffiti-and-neon decor.

“It’s something new from Vuitton to start the year off,” Lalonde said of the collection. “The product, design, and expression are uplifting and rejuvenating. That’s the feel we try to provide for the evening and for the collection.”

KAOS takes to the world of dance

Enjoy