Taking the Drive in Movie Theater experience to the next level, the Newport Beach Film Festival is screening the world premiere of 'A Life of Endless Summers: The Bruce Brown Story'. The film features a look back at the famous filmmaker, his career, his friends, family, and the art of surf film-making.
The event is scheduled for Thursday, August 13, 2020, 8:00 PM PDT. Doors open at 6:00 PM, showtime is approximately 8.00PM (sunset). The event will be held at  Fashion Island, 401 Newport Center Dr., Newport Beach, CA - on top of the parking structure at THE LOT Fashion Island.
The audio for the movie is broadcast through a Professional Grade FM transmitter (radio), so make sure you have a good sound system in your vehicle. If you don't have an FM transmitter in your car you can bring a battery-operated stereo with speakers to hear the movie. Tickets must be purchased online, in advance. Tickets will be scanned through car window when entering.
For ticket information, click here.

Six weeks after first announcing the tour’s postponement, World Surf League CEO Erik Logan provided another detailed message, letting fans know that competitive surfing has been put on hold until at least June 1 while officially postponing the Oi Rio Pro in hopes of running it later in that month. “Where and when we will run this year is still very much an open question,” he said. “But we will continue to work with governments, world health authorities, and our local communities on returning to the lineup.”

Logan also announced that 2021 will see big changes to the tour format, ones the WSL was planning to unveil in 2022. “Our pause due to COVID really allowed us to see that now is the time to accelerate these changes,” he said.

​Last year’s final at Pipeline, which saw Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina face off in the last heat of the year to decide the world title, was a shot of reality for the WSL – a scenario they’d like to see much more of as the engagement in that event was extremely high thanks to the ramifications. So the League won’t leave that scenario to chance anymore and will use a “regular season” of sorts to decide seedings for the final event of the year, a “surf-off” as they’re calling it, to decide the world title. They’re essentially creating a playoff format similar to other sports leagues to ensure titles are won in the water and at year’s end.

Beaches and parks in Santa Cruz County reopened Thursday as California and other states across the country began discussing plans to lift stay-at-home orders. Public spaces in California counties that have been harder hit by the coronavirus pandemic remain closed.
"We are, please, asking you not to congregate into groups, because that's going to force us to probably shut this down again," Santa Cruz Chief of Police Andrew Mills warned residents Thursday.

​Santa Cruz issued a one-week order before the Easter holiday to close county beaches, parks and other recreational spaces on April 8. The order expired after Wednesday, though the county's stay-at-home order remains in effect through May 3. Residents were encouraged to continue practicing social distancing and wear masks while in public, and spaces where maintaining six feet of distance between people is difficult—including basketball courts, skate parks and playgrounds—are still closed.

Ralph Dimarucut, principal management analyst with the City of Santa Cruz, said residents' ability to abide by social distancing guidelines would factor into the county's decision to keep beaches open. "If our community is able to follow shelter-in-place orders, we don't have to take that route" of reinstating closures, Dimarucut said. "We really don't want to. We understand how important exercise is to everyone's mental health, but we have to protect the health of our community. If people are gathering at a park or beach to a point where they can't practice social distancing, we may have to take those measures."

​California—which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said was first to report a case of community transmission—became the first state to issue a stay-at-home order on March 19. The order came shortly after Governor Gavin Newsom sent a letter to President Donald Trump projecting 56 percent of California residents would contract the virus within an eight-week period if quick action was not taken.

​San Diego County—which has the state's second largest number of cases with 2,087 confirmed and 63 deaths reported as of April 15—also issued its beach closures last month. In comparison, Santa Cruz had confirmed 96 COVID-19 cases and two deaths by April 15.

Newsom began discussing the state's options for lifting stay-at-home orders earlier this week. His plan thus far does not specify a timeline for returning the state to business as usual; instead, he said progress will depend on six key indicators, which include the state's testing capacity and ability to enforce social distancing.

​The nine-time world bodyboarding champion smashed his opponents in the final with a near-perfect 9.50-point wave backed up by a 7.17-point score. At the age of 56, Stewart claimed the 16th Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic title of his career.

The event ran its 44th edition and got 60 athletes competing in four-to-six foot waves and strong trade winds. Mark Cunningham, Dave Hubbard, Mark Drewelow, Keith Malloy, Kalani Lattanzi, and Timothy Hamilton were some of the names involved in the contest.

​Final
1. Mike Stewart, 16.67
2. Arthur Picard, 11.33
3. Chris Kalima, 8.17
4. Craig Watson, 6.13

Leaderboard | Top 10 (Four Best Waves)
1. Mike Stewart, 28.90
2. Dylan Biggerstaff, 27.24
3. Arthur Picard, 25.73
4. Craig Watson, 23.77
5. Todd Sells, 23.41
6. Chris Kalima, 23.03
7. Timothy Hamilton, 22.89
8. Dave Hubbard, 22.83
9. Kelly Slater, 22.50
​10. Joel Badina, 22.13

Surf companies sell exciting, idyllic, and adrenaline-fueled surfing experiences, and they're highly successful doing it.
The reason why surfing became a multimillion-dollar sports industry is that brands appeal to consumers' emotions and dreams in a very effective way.
Whether inviting you to "stay high" or "live the search," corporate surfing makes you believe "life's better in boardshorts." And it could be, as long as these giant conglomerates continue selling clothing, footwear, and accessories.
​
With the advent of Olympic surfing and wave pools, the sport of riding waves will likely continue to conquer new markets and segments of the population that have never had contact with surfboards.
The surf industry is what it is, and surfing wouldn't be what it is today without the innovations and technologies companies have developed during the sport's first century of existence.

Rip Curl, Quiksilver, Billabong, and O'Neill - also known as the Big Four - focus their marketing plans on selling clothing, i.e., t-shirts, jackets, pants, sweatshirts, flannels, hoodies, tanks, and boardshorts. Surf companies focus their operation in three major territories: America, Europe, and Oceania. That's where they get over 90 percent of their annual income. The majority of the world's wetsuits are made in the same place. Taiwan's Sheico Group produces two million wetsuits per year for the planet's most prestigious surf companies.

American multinational corporation Nike announced it has reached a definitive agreement to sell Hurley to Bluestar Alliance LLC. ​ Bluestar Alliance is a brand management firm founded by Joseph Gabbay and Ralph Gindi in 2006.

It owns, manages, and markets a portfolio of consumer brands including Bebe, Brookstone, Catherine Malandrino, English Laundry, Joan Vass, Kensie, Limited Too, Nanette Lepore, Tahari, and others.

In 2019, Bluestar Alliance is expecting combined retail sales of over $3 billion. "We have always admired Hurley. It has maintained its leadership role and premium positioning in the surfing world," noted Joey Gabbay, CEO of Bluestar Alliance. "We look forward to building upon the existing Hurley network and expanding to additional countries. We see the brand continuing to evolve into a 360-degree lifestyle brand, with action sports playing a key role."

The terms of the deal between both parties have not been publicly revealed. In 2002, when Nike acquired Hurley, the surf company founded by Bob Hurley had annual sales of $70 million.

Last year, Kathmandu announced the acquisition of Rip Curl, the New Zealand-based retailer took over the iconic Australian surf brand for A$350 million ($236 million). Rip Curl was founded in 1969 by Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick, in Torquay. The company has been in the hands of the duo ever since. Kathmandu aims to give birth to a "global outdoor and actions sports company" with annual revenues of NZ$1 billion ($626 million).

Although well known in Australia and New Zealand, the Kiwi camping gear brand hopes to take advantage of the synergies to conquer the European and North American markets. Kathmandu acquired 100 percent of Rip Curl Group Pty Limited.

Slater's latest enterprise would be part of the 400-acre Coral Mountain resort, which would include homes, a private club, multiple dining venues and adventure sports.

To realize this strange California dream, the 11-time world champion surfer teamed up with private real estate investment and development firm Meriwether Companies and Big Sky Wave Developments, founded by Michael B. Schwab, son of the brokerage pioneer Charles Schwab. The idea was to breathe new life into a destination that for decades was synonymous with golf.

"The Coachella Valley is dominated by more than 150 golf courses," said Noah Hahn, a partner at Meriwether Companies. "This is a radically different vision."

​The $200 million Coral Mountain complex, which is in the permitting stage, would have a 150-room hotel and up to 600 homes in the $1 million to $5 million range, The Associated Press reported. Access to amenities would be exclusive to homeowners, hotel guests, members and their guests. Dining would be open to the public through reservations.

The centerpiece of Coral Mountain would be the wave basin, which would hold about 18 million gallons of water. A golf course, by contrast, uses 1 million gallons of water a day, Hahn said.

The Coral Mountain wave would have room for about 25 surfers at a time — about five on the main wave and 10 each on the smaller waves at each end of the basin. It would feature waves for all athletic levels, Hahn said.

He estimated that Coral Mountain could break ground by 2021.

The WSL has announced that Sophie Goldschmidt “will be stepping down from her post” as Chief Executive Officer and that President of Content, Media and Studios Erik “E-Lo” Logan will be filling her shoes.

“Sophie has had a huge impact on the WSL,” said WSL-owner Dirk Ziff in the presser. “She is responsible for transforming both our business capabilities and culture in her tenure as CEO. With the converging trends in sports, media and entertainment, we mutually agreed it was time to make a change. Erik Logan is a proven leader and a world-class media executive with a profound personal connection to the sport of surfing. We are excited about what he will accomplish as CEO. We will always be grateful to Sophie for her contributions to surfing and we look forward to the WSL’s next chapter.”

“With the WSL now ready to become a more focused content and media company, the Board and I have mutually agreed it is the right time to make a change,” Goldschmidt said. “Having worked closely with Erik, he is the right person to lead the WSL into its next era. I am excited about what lies ahead for the organization.”

The Paris 2024 executive board just approved French Polynesia as the site for surfing in the 2024 Games. 
The official decision needs approval by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee. They will meet early next year to continue the conversation.
​Organizers were emphatic that the 2024 Games were not going to be held in a wave pool. It is only a short 10,000-mile jaunt from the opening ceremonies to The End of the Road and the Tahitian “Wall of Skulls” will certainly be an upgrade compared to the Japanese beachbreak this July.