Best day of Surf ever!

The waves today were 2 ft, crumbly, and an on shore wind but I had the best session of my life and didn't even catch a wave.

Today my 9 yr old son Mason paddled outside and in to the lineup and caught his own waves! He has been surfing for 2 years but until today stayed in the safety of the shore break where he could "hop" onto the whitewash after the wave broke. Well my boy can finally say he is a surfer since he paddled out with me and caught his own waves. I'm one proud dad for sure!!

Here is a pic of him with his new "used" board that we picked up from the crew @ K5 a few months ago. (sorry for the poor quality I took it with my cell phone...)

Getting a new board!

Got these pics from John up at Cole Surfboards showing me a new board that Cole is shaping for me. There is a lot of cool new technology happening with surfboard shaping right now and this particular blank from my buddy Matt @ Prop Surf has a "quadrabolic" stringer meaning there are 4 stringers on the outside rails of the board as opposed to the traditional single stringer down the middle.



The idea behind this is that as you do a bottom turn you load the board with energy and as it comes out of the turn the energy releases from the board giving you more speed down the line. And speed is your friend when surfing! The energy transfer is very similar to the way a snowboard or ski will flex through the apex of a turn and then give you that pop as you come out of the turn.




So far this board looks amazing and I can't wait to try this thing out, Cole just needs to put his touches on the board and then off to the glasser it goes. Shouldn't be too long until it completed, Thanks Cole!

Hurley -"sound and vision" Vol 2

Check out this amazing video that the crew over at Hurley put together featuring non other than the Prince of Bali and Maku Lifestyle Ambassador - Rizal Tanjung.

Click here to see the Video

Riz is sponsored by Hurley and this is the 2nd installment in their Sound and Vision series. We'll have the videos up and available for viewing on www.makufurniture.com in a couple of days. In the meantime, ENJOY the sights and sound of Bali firsthand with Rizal

Welcome to 08, will this be the end of Trestles??

Wow, where has the month of January gone... Sorry for the lack of updates. A few good swells to start the year off, ramping the business up for the spring, and trying to stay ahead of the "recession" which the media keeps hyping despite GDP growing (albeit not as strongly as the past few qtrs...) has made this month just fly by.

Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not saying there has not been a slowdown in our economy. My daughter dragged me into a mall last week for the first time in years and it definitely was not bustling. But if you delve into the numbers and don't just listen to the over zealous media machine, the economy "appears" to be doing "o.k." Fortunately we are going into spring and a time that traditionally brings solid consumer spending, so we will know soon.

So what's new? Snow, snow, and more snow! There's lots of good snow all around the world; Europe, Japan, Canadia, and most importantly the good ole US of A all are having epic snow sliding seasons. Yet somehow this season I don't have a single day on snow for the first time in almost my entire life. Gotta change that for sure, can you say Spring Skiing!

The good news is all those watersheds that were dwindling in supply particularly on the west coast here will fill back up with the spring melt off!



One of the biggest environmental battles to face Southern California in years is the proposed 241 toll road right through the middle of our beloved Trestles and San Onofre' state park. For those of you not familiar with Trestles, it is the last remaining relatively untouched watershed and wildlife areas on the coast of So.Cal. And the waves aren't too bad either!

Set aside by President Reagan in the early 70's with a decree to never be touched and with a long and steeped history in the surfing community, many say that Trestles / San O' were the birthplace of west coast surfing. Spanning over 3000 acres of beautiful coastline and home to many endemic and endangered species that can now only be found here this area is certainly a place of solace in the hustle and bustle of So.Cal. Access is by foot, bicycle or skateboard so you truly feel like you are away from everything when you spend a day at Trestles.

On Wednesday Feb 6th @ 9 am the California Coastal Commission will be holding a meeting at the Del Mar fairgrounds and will be (once again) hearing arguments for and against this road. Every major coastal city in So.Cal has voted to against this toll road yet the TCA believes that paving over one of the last remaining coastal resources in California will all the sudden solve the traffic issues we face here.

Check out the Surfrider Foundation website for all the info on this project and how you can help save THE LAST remaining piece of undeveloped coastal So.Cal. by clicking here and sending a letter to the Coastal Commission

Early Xmas from Mother Nature!

The biggest swell of the year is currently making it's way down the coast from the Pacific NW and the waves are going to be macking in the morning! Yet another Big Wednesday here in So.Cal. The last time we had waves this size was Dec 21st, 2005. By the way, those "little specks" in that video are guys surfing....

I've got my 6'10" Rounded Pintail waxed up and ready to go but I might be undergunned on this swell. Anybody have a 7'6" gun they want to loan me...?

Here are some of the latest buoy and forecasts. For up to date info click here.

Do something good for yourself and the environment this holiday season!

Check it out, our good friends at 1% for the Planet are having an online auction featuring all kinds of cool stuff from a Maku Limited Edition Lounge Chair to Surfing with Eco Warrior and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and a bitchen bike from one of my favorite breweries New Belgium and the home of Fat Tire!

You can take a look and bid on all the items here

Make somebody's xmas that more special by taking a vested interest in our environment!!!

New Board Stoke!

Just picked up a new board from Cole. 6'6" x 19 1/4 x 2 1/2 rounded pin with future fins. Stoked and can't wait for that first solid overhead NW to roll in. Good riddance to summer of 2007 - crowds, no waves, and more crowds...



Here's the quiver -
L to R - 6'1" Bat tail Quad, 6'4" round tail X's 2, 6'6" Rounded Pin, 6'10" C.I. K-Step Up for the big days!

Maku in September Riviera San Diego

Just a quick image from Johnny’s Riviera San Diego debut.

Gillian and her team do an excellent job of giving company’s that are based locally or have a strong local tie some extra help.

Having lived in NYC for a number of years, in addition to reading more than my fair share of magazines due to the nature of my job, I can tell you the Riviera team holds their own with the best of them editorially and from a production standpoint.

Besides featuring a giant picture of infamous West family pooch Diego, the article also gives props to local retailer Grounded and the Maku's favorite shaper Cole Simler . If you've never checked out one of Cole's boards, do so. Real beauties that even kooks like the PR guy can appreciate.

BTW – Maku is in the Riviera SD version, not OC. The covers are the same and some bookstores carry both, so look out before you buy.

Riviera Magazine Had their 3rd Anniversary party a few nights ago at the JetSource Hangers at Palomar Airport here in Carlsbad. The party was off the hook! Gillian and crew definetly know how to rock in high end style - Ferrari 308 Spider Gt's, Bentley's, and of course what party would not be complete with out a $23 million Private Jet sitting off to the side for all the attendees to chill in... I figure it would take about 4 stops on that thing for us to get to Bali! maybe one day... :)

Here some pics taken with my cell phone, sorry for the poor quality.







By the way, HUGE THANKS to Gillian and her editorial staff for the profile of myself and Maku in their 3rd anniversary issues. It's on news stands now so go get yourself a copy. Autographs are free.... hahaha!