Tuesday, April 30, 2013

SUMMER BIKINIS

Lots of swimwear in for all your Summer adventures.

Friday, April 19, 2013

BeachJazz

As friends were painting on and around the shop, I would run out from working the counter and quickly shoot a little video on my phone. So here is a tiny video I made showing some of their creativity!

Enjoy-

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Kai comes to SF and drops in a bunch of guys- luckily no one was hatcheted!

Kai who helped save some innocent people from a psychopath (Click http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/02/23/2485966/man-who-stopped-crazed-tacoma.html from the back story) came by the shop.

Mr. Bill Hickey

Brief summary about the new mural on Leon's old BBQ shack above our surf shop. A motivated art student by the name of Alejandro came to me wanting to do a piece. I asked him to look into the history of our neighborhood a little, and relate his piece to that which interests him. He came back a couple days later excited about one of our local legends, Bill Hickey. Alejandro is inspired by Bill's surfboards which are functional art, beautifully and expertly made by hand! So Alejandro's piece aims to communicate the creative force that emanates from one of our favorite Sunset people- Bill Hickey.
Oh yeah order a board from Bill, you will treasure it! Contact him HERE

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Plight of the Torpedo People

Book signing with Keith Malloy:

This Friday night at da Patagonia Store @ 770 North Point Street- Doors at 7PM, event 7:30PM.

Plight of the Torpedo People is a collection of bodysurfing photographs, frame grabs and personal essays documenting the making of Keith Malloy's directorial debut, Come Hell or High Water. The film's coverage of the sport, culture and purity of body surfing garnered Best Film and Best Cinematography awards on the festival circuit.

Join us for the film, slideshow + book signing, free beer, popcorn and more. Director Keith Malloy, photographer Chris Burkard and bodysurfing legend Mark Cunningham will all be here.

Admission is free, but space is limited, so come early to get your spot!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Board Art Benefit was of course- FUN!

I have not been able to update the blog much lately as our Sloat shop got broken into and besides a van load of inventory da crooks took all of our computers. So we have been trying to rebuild all our lost data as well as repair all the physical damage that was done. CROOKS YOU REALLY SUCK!

Now back to positive stuff. I had a great time with last week's Board Art Benefit. At my house, I hosted a bunch of rad artists that came down from Olympia and Portland, they got my mind off of retail and fired up about being creative and taking off on adventures.

The art I created for the event.

I worked with buddy Matt Beard to organize this art benefit/party for Surf Aid International, along with Anthony and Camille of Driftwood Salon Art Gallery (You might remember Anthony from the shop as he worked there for a long time), Emily and Saya of Surf Aid International, and all the SF and North of SF artists- all of us worked incredibly well together and this event was one of the smoothest I have helped produce in a long time. It was nice to be able to relax when the event opened to the public instead of running around trying to fix various things. The gallery looked great with all the art installed, The beer from Kona Brewery tasted great, Likwifi played awesome sets of music, and best of all was the H A P P Y vibe from everyone there! Thank you to all the nice, grounded people that came to the show- you made me a little less jaded about humans.


Surf Aid put up a great summary of the event with lot's of great pictures. CHECK IT OUT HERE!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Board Art Benefit June 9th at Driftwood ArtSalon!

Where:
Driftwood Salon art gallery
39 Isis St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
(near 12th and Folsom Streets.)
click here for map

When:
One Night Only!
Saturday June 9, 2012
6-10 pm

What:
Art makers & Board shapers working together to benefit SurfAid International.
Live Music from Humboldt County’s Likwefi!
Kona Beers.

We are stoked to work with fellow artist Matt Beard and Surf Aid International to put together a rad night for a good cause!
Come and enjoy a night of artwork infused with the clean lines of master craftsmen from the surfing world, set to the infectious rhythm’s of live music from Humboldt County’s Likwefi. Enjoy a Kona beer while taking it all in at the Driftwood ArtSalon art gallery in the heart of San Francisco.

Building on our collection of boards from our previous event held in San Diego (over half of which have now sold to collectors) we recently invited well over a dozen new artists to team up with shapers of their choice to create unique objects of art with the surfboard as the common substrate. With styles of art ranging from pure abstraction to gritty realism, from surreal visions to the honest captures of a camera’s lens, with narratives both visual and verbal, we are excited to present to you perhaps one of the most unique quivers of contemporary collectable surfboards ever assembled for a single cause. Many of the boards in this collection have significant values of their own, just by virtue of the hands that crafted them. The artists we’ve invited bring their lifelong skills honed in creating one-of-a-kind works of art to the boards, resulting in boards that just can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

This will be the only chance for Bay Area collectors to catch a glimpse of these incredible boards in person before they are taken to Southern California for an Auction Event that SurfAid International will be hosting later this year. All of the boards will be available for purchase at pre-auction prices with at least 50% of each sale going directly to SurfAid International to support SurfAid’s humanitarian efforts on the Mentawai and Nias islands in Indonesia. You don’t want to miss your chance to see these boards in person and meet many of the artists and shapers who will be in attendance, learn more about SurfAid International, and have a great time. We hope to see you there!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

The Bold Italic interview

I had been coming to Aqua Surf Shop for years to load up on bars of wax and to talk boards and wetsuits with the co-owner Aleks Petrovitch, but this was the first time I had ever broached the topic of his artistic projects. “ There’s only so much room for creativity in retail,” he told me one day as he was sticking price tags on tubes of sunscreen. “So you have to make room for your own. ” Aleks interprets that to mean creating children’s books. And surf horror movies...

Nice interview about the shop, Aleks, and his other projects such as Gnomie on The Bold Italic. Thanks to Mark and Andria for putting it together. Check out the rest HERE and enjoy-

Friday, December 16, 2011

When we surf da web we surf Korduroy TV

Korduroy TV is one of our favorite Surf Blog/mags out there on da interweb, now Reis and Cy need a little support.

"In the the two years since the launch of Korduroy.TV, we have given you over a thousand blog posts and videos without the help of investors or sponsors. We are about to launch Korduroy.TV 2.0, taking us from a simple video blog to a full-fledged interactive website with all kinds of new things to geek out on when your boss isn’t looking. But cool new websites aren’t cheap so we need to raise $18,000 USD to help cover the cost of producing our videos in 2012.

Not only does your contribution ensure that you’ll be watching even more insane stuff on Korduroy next year, but you’ll also get your choice of offers and gear that are really cool and limited edition."

so help da boys out!

visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/korduroytv/korduroytv-2012-shows

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Innersections II

A very mellow film screening.
This Thursday eve will throw up da OLD film screen and project the NEW surf film INNERSECTIONS II. So come by the Sloat shop a li’l before 7:30 pm for a mellow screening of Taylor Steele’s newest film. You will be sitting on da wood floor so bring a yoga mat/etc if you would like.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Come check out-

Opening Reception for "THE WATER PHOTOGRAPHY OF ROB BRODMAN>"
Friday, November 18 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm at Aqua Surf Shop at 1742 Haight Street

Come see new imagery from Photographer Rob Brodman at our Haight location- " I've been swimming with my camera a lot lately. Really enjoying it and feel like I found a way to make all the images I've been seeing for years surfing." So come grab a drink and check out Rob's new work at the opening reception- Friday, November 18th at 7Pm till 9pm.

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

2012 Winter Wetsuits at Aqua

As we enter our Winter season it is time to anticipate good waves but also COLD WATER! These are the three wetsuit brands we are proud to carry through the 2011/2012 season and are CONFIDENT that they are well-built, functional- and they are built to help us evolve in our own surfing, keeping us WARM and PROTECTED from the elements!

Be on the look out for in-shop demos and talks from the reps as to why these brands are special.

ISURUS
The local company ISURUS delivers one of the most unique and well-made performance suits we have ever worn! We have found that these suits take a bit more time and care to put on than you're average wetsuit, which is because they are the most form-fitting wetsuits ever! They feel like a second skin, not something that's going to get in the way of your surfing. SUMMARY (again) this is the best performance oriented suit we have used! Isurus suits are well made with premium closed cell neoprene, plenty warm, very light and fair priced. Come check them out!

Learn more HERE

I-ELITE 4/3/4 $499.95

I-EVADE HOODED 4/3/4 $549.95


PATAGONIA
Everyone knows Patagonia's commitment to building the best equipment possible, in the new R3 wetsuits, it is evident in their attention to detail.

"It takes about 6 hours and 45 minutes to make a Patagonia full suit. That’s about twice as long as it takes to make most wetsuits. (We know; we make ours in some of the same factories as our competitors.) Quality this good only comes with time and care."

What we found from using the new R3s last January, was confidence to enter those chilly water and wind conditions we have here mid winter in SF. Unlike other suits, where after a two hour session you start to really get cold, the R3's merino wool lining kept us at a more constant warmth from the beginning to the end of our sessions. Also we were happy to find the suit did not feel as heavy or thick once surfing as we previously mis-assumed. SUMMARY- an incredibly well made (the cleanest/strongest stitching we have ever seen), well fitting, WARM, functional wetsuit. Also a huge plus is the drying time. These suits will almost completely dry overnight in room temp, which is obviously nice to put on a dry suit on those cold mornings.

Learn more about the R3 and see a video about Patagonia's new wetsuits made by Chris Malloy and Jason Baffa HERE

R3 $550

R3 W/HOOD $575.


XCEL
Xcel continues to make some of the best wetsuit products on the market. The Drylock wetsuit has won wetsuit of the year for 3 years from SIMA!
SUMMARY- Xcel is our best selling brand, we've been using and selling them for 12 years now, and they only get better. Xcel's booties are the best we've used- functional, and warm, as well as their whole line of wetsuit accessories!

"We're excited and proud to be honored by our industry once again," says Xcel president Ed D'Ascoli. "Our focus on delivering the best possible product ensures that our wetsuit innovations and technologies are constantly evolving in terms of warmth, performance, stretch, and beyond. So it's a real honor having our peers recognize the INFINITI DRYLOCK line as it's evolved from year to year."
more about Xcel HERE

SLX 4/3 $150
XZIP 4/3 $325
XZIP2 5/4/3 $360
DRYLOCK 4/3 $450
DRYLOCK 5/4/3 $475

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Bali Hi-Fi is Back!

We are stoked to get this party back together and give BIG mahalos for all your help and support, looking forward to seeing you there!
Aqua Surf Shop SF, San Franpsycho, and Another Planet Entertainment are proud to bring ya the triumphant return of Bali Hi-Fi.

Bali Hi-Fi @ The Independent
Wednesday November 2nd
http://www.theindependentsf.com/event/70349/

Featuring: LIVE PERFORMANCE BY SEE-I
“feat. members of Thievery Corporation”

And DJ Morale

SEE-I
From touring with Thievery Corporation’s Live band and the Chuck Brown band amongst others, See-I has grown into a nationwide touring phenomenon with their unique blend of classic roots reggae mixed with a good blend of funk and soul. This 8-piece group have created a popular sound that have rocked dance floors from coast to coast, and are now considered one of America’s premier Reggae party bands. Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation even said, “They’re unique musically and I think that’s why people gravitate to them so much”.

Check em out here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19S9kkBIxgs

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
The Independent
628 Divisadero
San Francisco, Ca
Doors at 8:30 show at 9PM
$15
Get Tix: http://www.theindependentsf.com/event/70349/

For all the show info visit
http://www.aquasurfshop.com

With Support From Surf for Life, and Sustainable Surf.Org and SPY sunglasses!

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Merle’s View- Judging criteria for the coming surf contest

An Op-Ed piece by Aqua Surf Shop reporter Merle.

After a long frustrating paddle out the other day to surf lackluster waves (big surprise), it got me really thinking about the upcoming contest at The Beach. I mean these are world class athletes, but a lot of times The Beach gives you only a couple of waves in a two hour session. Besides being ripped all the way down The Beach only to have a 20 minute walk home, and your privates royally chafed from walking in your full-suit. All the questions I've been overhearing in the shop like, "What do you think about the contest?"; "How are they going to get enough scoring waves in a 20 minute heat?"; "What if the current rips competitors out of the contest area?"

Finally I got inspired to log on to the official contest rules website, for some real information- and low and behold, I found out the competitors will actually have their scores influenced by what 90% of our local surfing is anyways- PADDLING!

Check it- from the "Official Rules Site".

With a number of enhancements being activated on the ASP World Tour this season, the ASP Judging Criteria has been refined to reflect the moods of each uniquely different surf spot on the tour and how each competitor shows progression and synchronicity with each break's strengths. For example: Tahiti is known for its hollow barrels, therefore barrel rides would constitute the central judging criteria. Ocean Beach San Francisco is notoriously famous for its fierce currents and challenging paddle outs, therefore competitors whom show progressive talent in this skill can expect to see potentially crucial dividends paid to their individual wave scores during the heat.

The Ocean Beach SF Judging Criteria for 2011 is as follows:
Surfers must perform to the ASP Judging Key paddling elements to maximize their scoring potential.
*Judges will analyze the following major[criteria] when scoring waves:

-Innovative and Progressive paddling Maneuvers- That show experience in working with and around the current instead of fighting against it.

-Commitment and Tenacity- Even though judges want to see competitors flow instead of fight the current, they are also realistic about Ocean Beach's currents and will reward competitors for both paddling physically at 100% while also maintaining a 100% positive mental outlook ("YES, I will make it to the outside!").

-Combination of duck-diving Maneuvers- Judges expect to see flowing duck dives at varying depths that show positive momentum once the surfer has breached. Mixing up knee with foot duck-dives or other tricks that show accomplishment in this unappreciated art.

-Balancing the length of the ride with the amount of difficulty it will take to get back out- Was it worth the beating to get back out to take that massive floater on the inside? vs. Yes, that was a nice bottom turn and hack but two turns and out...really? Commitment along these lines will be recognized as taking courage and showing strength.

-Staying inside of the designated contest area- Surfers will be docked points form their final score if they allow themselves to be taken out of the designated contest area by the current, and will be rewarded points if they appear (through hard paddling negotiations) to be unaffected by any currents and stay in one general area.

* It is important to note that the points will not be docked for victorious double armed claims once the surfer has finally succeeded on making it out, but do try to keep it classy! Minor style points will be rewarded for making the trying paddle look easy. Minor points will again be awarded in the case of an extremely rare dry hair paddle out- no style points for this however, as nobody likes seeing dry hair in the lineup.

*Also rewarded is innovative and committed kick-outs- A wild arms and legs akimbo kick-out is a crowd pleaser at any surf event and here at OB it will place competitors at a significant advantage over those who take the alternate quick escape off the back route.

So this all really makes sense now, and it seems the ASP and Rip Curl really understands what makes The Beach so special and will reward competitors accordingly. I really look forward to seeing whom the best paddler on the Dream Tour is! I'll see you all on The Beach.
Aim all your shakas high!-Merle

Illustration by Merle's buddy Petro

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Recycling Surfboards Rerip / Reduce – Reuse – Reride

We will now start to collect used and broken surfboards at our Sloat shop location (2830 Sloat Blvd) for the Re-Rip foundation.

Re-Rip Boards are collected and inventoried depending on their current state; unrideable and broken boards are used in recycling R&D efforts and by local artists to create unique art pieces; or being mulched to add as a filler in concrete- "Surfcrete".

Rideable boards are repaired and sold through Rerip’s online board shop. Some are given away to schools, non-profits, and people in need. We asked Tobias C. Schultz of Re-Rip and the founder of the Sustainable Surfing Coalition to give us a summary of the program.

"The mission of Rerip San Francisco is to design and implement solutions which improve the sustainability of the surfing world, focusing on our core practice on promoting the reuse and recycling of surfboards. By providing the best means for the reuse of surfing equipment; offering ideas and opportunities for recycling; spearheading sustainable solutions which are based upon critical analysis of social and environmental impacts; and by giving back to the local San Francsico community through education and fundraising; Rerip San Francisco is inspiring stakeholders and finding new ways to reduce waste and other practices which are harmful to the environment.

The Problem

The surfboard industry’s manufacturing ecosystem is flawed. The number of surfers worldwide has grown to approximately 23 million in the last 50 years (Future of Freedom Foundation, 2006). This exponential growth has created a multi-billion dollar industry, and as the population of surfers continues to grow, so do the number of surfboards that surfers own. Many avid surfers go through dozens of boards a year, the production and use of each one accounting for greenhouse gas emissions of as high as 450 lbs of CO2. These surfboards are made from resins containing toxic chemicals such as methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, and foam cores whose production requires the use of toxic diisocynates and benzene. These chemicals have known to cause cancer and other health problems in workers, and their use has led to plant closures by the US EPA. Today, surfboard production is shifting from local suppliers and shapers in the United States to overseas manufacturers in countries such as China and Thailand, where poor environmental regulation virtually guarantees these toxic chemicals will affect more workers, poison more environments, and lead to even larger greenhouse gas emissions (Surfboard Cradle-to-Grave, 2009 & 2011).

In San Francisco, a burgeoning surf culture means a rapidly increasing number of surfboards being used, at the same time local board production is very limited. This leads to a doubling-up of environmental impacts; imported surfboards with high associated production impacts, which have few places to go at the end of their lives but garages, backyards, and eventually, landfills. And with no viable surfboard recycling programs in place in the area, there is little or no way to mitigate all of these impacts for most surfboards. While surfing’s “dirty little secret” of problematic environmental impacts has been increasingly well known in recent years, Rerip San Francisco knows there are ways to tackle this hypocrisy, by taking advantage of every surfer’s desire for clean oceans and beaches. We believe that surfers have great potential to contribute to the sustainability of the world, if given the right information and opportunities.

The Solution

Rerip San Francisco aims to mitigate the industry’s production and end-of-life issues through two main programs:

1. First developing reuse and recycling options for discarded board materials in San Francisco, and eventually, the rest of the Bay Area. On a small scale in Southern California and in a nascent program in Hawai’i, Rerip has been able to divert hundreds of boards from the landfill through its recycling efforts, artist programs, R&D efforts, and through its online board shop. These efforts have helped prevent the use of toxic chemicals in surfboard production, and have mitigated the emission of tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Rerip is working with the Sustainable Surfing Coalition with the aim of eventually aiding in the development of long-lasting design and process solutions for surfboard production. The Sustainable Surfing Colation, also HQ’ed in San Francisco, is researching the full environmental impacts of surfboard production in the Surfboard Cradle-to-Grave, and has also developed a set of Sustainable Surfboard Design Standards to aid board designers in reducing their impacts.
Rerip and the Sustainable Surfing Coalition have a long-standing relationship in which they have worked together to streamline surfboard recycling programs and improve the sustainability of surfing around the world.

The Facts About Surfboard Recycling (from the webpage of the Sustainable Surfing Coalition)
Surfboard recycling is an excellent way to reduce surf-related environmental impacts. By diverting surfboards from landfills, and into the hands of other people, environmental impacts will be avoided, at the same time you make another surfer stoked. You can expect to avoid the emission of up to 450 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere for every surfboard you recycle.
To aid in the effort, just find a drop-off location near you; in San Francisco, Aqua Surf Shop is the pilot program. Ask at the desk and drop your board in the bin, and you’ll have done your part!

After drop-off, surfboards are collected and inventoried depending on their current state; unrideable and broken boards are used in recycled R&D efforts and by local artists to create unique art pieces; rideable boards are repaired before being donated or sold through Rerip’s online board shop. Rerip San Francisco expects to start operations collecting 10-20 boards per month from Aqua Surf Shop, with more locations (and boards) planned once viable storage options are secured.

There are several routes of donations which are done with surfboards once collected. Old boards are distributed them to charities and non-profits (such as Surfer’s Healing and Life Rolls On), or simply to groms in need. R&D focuses on exploring recycling options for surfboard materials, as well. Rerip San Francisco always gives the re-use of old surfboards a priority, as it is always best to re-use an old surfboard before it is recycled, as this takes fewer resources and will result in fewer environmental impacts."

RERIP Part I from RERIP.org on Vimeo.