Last weekend’s Skate4Cancer event at The Forks was a success, but it ended on a sour note for one local business owner and sponsor of the organized skateboarding demo.

The Green Apple Skateboard Shop had several of its promotional banners stolen, which were valued at $250 each. With the shop being fairly new, the last thing they wanted was to be out several hundred dollars right off the bat.

But thanks to a fellow business owner, the company had replacement banners made at no cost. Mat Pearlman of Green Apple told us that Ile Des Chenes-based HD Graphics stepped up and reprinted the banners. Kudos to them.

Image credit: Jody Morris

Skateboarding pioneer Andy Kessler dies in Montauk

August 13, 2009 By CARL MACGOWAN carl.macgowan@newsday.com

Photo credit: Getty Images | Andy Kessler, right, and pro skateboarder Tony Alva attend the opening of the “Lords Of Dogtown” Art Collection at The Lounge Soho. (June 2, 2005)

When Andy Kessler started skateboarding with friends in the 1970s, there was no legitimate place in New York City to ride their boards.

They risked police ire by skating in Central Park and propped up wooden planks to turn apartment complexes into makeshift skate parks.

Kessler, who died Monday after suffering a heart attack following an allergic reaction to a wasp sting in Montauk, became a kind of Pied Piper for the sport he loved – building skate parks in the city and on Long Island while mentoring young skaters.

“He was kind of known as the godfather of skateboarding in New York City,” said his friend, Moose Huerta, 30, of Brooklyn.

Kessler, 48, of Manhattan, was stung Monday as he worked on the deck of the cottage where he was staying, Huerta said. He died en route to Southampton Hospital, Huerta said.

Surfers plan to paddle off Ditch Plains in Montauk Friday night in tribute, friends said Thursday.

Kessler, who was born in Greece, was adopted by a New York City couple and raised on the Upper West Side. He was part of an underground community of graffiti artists and skateboarders who skated in playgrounds and empty pools.

“He’s the elder statesman,” said Tony Farmer, 40, of Brooklyn. “He’s the cat that was there the longest, and he was there at the beginning and he always stayed true.”

In a video on YouTube, Kessler said he dropped out of college because skateboarding was all he wanted to do. “We always need to step outside of our own limitations,” he said. “You see somebody else and what they’re able to do, and it’ll help you to push it one step further.”

Scott Byerly brings it home again this year with this sick 41′ bi-level wakeskate!

After allowing three cable riders (one of which was a pro) and two boat riders, one pro and one weekend warrior. We got some awesome feed back and HUGE props out the theByerly company for sending us this board to receive an honest TRUE third party review!

YOU CAN SEE THE COMPLETE REVIEW AT 5BOARDS.COM with video!
Out of the package this board feels a bit on the heavy side but once you start poppin it and flipping it all of a sudden becomes very light in the water because of the pefec construction of the bi-level giving it optimum pop and controlled kick. No one really had anything negative to say about this board

1. “Josh” Intermediate cable rider: ” I really like the feel of the concave and simularity of my skateboard, it felt a little heavy but I got use to it after my second run. Soo easy to land shove-its. First time riding a bi-level board and think i am going to switch when my old board wears out.”

2. “Alex” Intermediate cable rider that does awesome kick-flip variels:” I have been wanting to try this board and I am pissed they don’t sell it at the Rixen Proshop! But i’m not gunna lie this is exactly what I had in mind when i jumped on it. Full stability a ton of pop and sweet on the sliders.”

3. Pro Cable rider ()*%&^$#% “I think I might buy this board and sand it down so my sponsor wont know I am riding a Byerley. DAMN, Scott totally nailed it with this board… I can’t wait to try it behind Chris’s boat. Super soft off the kickers! “

4. Simba, weekend warrior boat rider: I like it, i like it alot. Especially the graphics, I am going to look bad ass in photos whith this now that I can go wake to wake. This board is sooo fast in the water and I have never been on a board with so much POP… when did this thing come out and why didn’t anyone tell me.

5. John C. the PRO: I know Scott and he is good people and his board are even better! I totally give this bi-level my stamp of approval. What will he come up with next?

E Core top deck
ABS sidewall
Composite bushings
Grip tape top
Compression molded base
Layered Glass
Limited lifetime Warranty
Feature

A blend of compression molding and wood core technology truly defines Scotts new wakeskate. Durability was a key factor in the design of the Blend. The top deck is constructed of a sealed wood E-core deck. This means all the feel and snap of a wood deck, sealed off from the elements with glass and a full ABS side wall, no more cracking, warping, or softening over time. The top deck is attached to a compression molded base that has all the features Scott was looking for. Molded channels tip and tail allow for a responsive edge into the wake, and the 3-stage rocker gives plenty of pop once your there. The base deck is finished off with a soft bevel so you don’t get hung up on surface tricks.

Get more info and buy this sweet skate…click me

Recently Kazore LLC launched the most bad ass iphonestand.com site to sell the most kick ass product yet for iphone users.

Platinum for | 3G | 3GS Pearl for iPhone 3G | 3GS Carbon for iPhone Original | 3G | 3GS

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This Product was rated thumbs up in the following publications:

iphonestand.com was designed by Full Spectrum Media

Nick Davies wins the Ten-80 WWA Wake Park Nationals and 2nd Stop of the WWA Wake Park Series at OWC presented by:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday – June 15th, 2009

It was a hot weekend on and off the water at OWC as the Ten-80 WWA Wake Park National Championships wrapped up yesterday afternoon. Nick Davies, Reed Hansen, and Maxine Sapulette would all repeat their performances from the first stop of the WWA Wake Park Series in March winning the Pro Men, Pro Wakeskate, and Pro Women divisions respectively.

Saturday brought out all the crowds with the Amateur divisions riding in the morning and the park open to the public until 2pm when the Pro’s hit the water. The Quarter and Semi Finals saw some great performances from all the top riders in the sport. Despite the shaky weather we saw some good performances and moved on to the 8PM start for the Obstacles Only division. Riders took the water in a 10 minute jam format with 4 riders on the water all at once. As it’s typically one of the highlights, the Obstacles Only division went off and the top 8 riders were chosen to move on to Sunday.

Sunday started off with the Amateur divisions Finals, and the morning also brought some surprise performances and upsets in the Pro Men Semis. The Obstacles Only, Pro Wakeskate and Pro Women divisions had perfect conditions as Hansen and Sapulette repeated their victories with stellar performances.

The Pro Men Top 8 went down to a head-to-head format, and it was the most exciting and close heats ever to be seen during a Wake Park contest in the U.S.

Nick Davies would take the win over Keith Lidberg in Keith’s first head-to-head final, and claim his spot as top of the ranks in the WWA Wake Park Series. The Series will continue on this year with three more stops in France, the Ukraine and Germany in August.

A special thanks to Ten-80, the Three Collection by Keith Lidberg, the Orlando Watersports Complex, Performance, Wakeboarding Magazine, the Wake Park Project, Three Olives, Cablewakeboard.com, Sesitec, and DropShop.com

For more information, stay tuned to www.thewwa.com on continuing coverage of the WWA Wake Park World Series and follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/TheWWA)

The World Wakeboard Association is a rider formed organization dedicated to growing and promoting wake sports worldwide. It is the leading source for riders, organizers, and competitive standards.

For questions and inquiries, contact the World Wakeboard Association at EventOrganizer@thewwa.com or +1 (407) 362-7841

Imagine if you could pull up a wakeboarding app to find out where the hottest wakeboard spots are in the world?  Well imagine no longer, 5boards.com is working on an application that you download on your iphnone or crackberry that will enable you to check your local cable parks and boat launch areas.   So now you don’t have to waste time looking for a board shop and you will .  If you discover a hot new place you will be able to fill in the info and submit it to 5boards.com and share your wake discoveries with others.

Now go to 5boards.com to get the real scoop