This year’s Pier Pressure event attracted some serious talent. Besides top national talent, juniors from Hawaii and Australia, touched down in Huntington Beach to compete for $20,000 cash prize and to score valuable points in the four star event. 

Day One’s most anticipated round, featured two capable Hawaiians: Kai Barger and Kiron Jabour against Julian Wilson of Australia, and Bruno Rodrigus from CA. The action went down with wind-affected conditions and some messy but decent swell rolling through.

Kai surfed aggressively, slashing his frontside turns and getting vertical. Kiron and Kai flirted with elimination, switching between 2^nd and 3^rd place down to the last few minutes. Kai stuck a solid wave, impressing the judges enough to move into  2^nd behind Julian Wilson. Both Kai and Julian will progress to the next round.

Watch the live webcast at http://www.nike6pierpressure.com/

In a showdown of insane talent and down-to-the-wire intensity, Nat Young won the Open Men’s Governor Cup Champion, winning his first national title and bringing the gold back to the west coast.

The final heat of Open’s Men’s was stacked, showcasing the top amateur’s in the nation. Granger Larsen, the heavily favored, killed it all week with his fast and powerful surfing. Kalohe Andino and Tanner Hendrickson rounded out the talent pool.

Out of the gate, Nat caught a set wave on his backside, slashing his way down the line, getting vertical to score a 9.5. The round was punctuated with set waves followed by 4-5 nail-biting lulls, where competitors had no opportunity to improve their scores. Granger surfed a solid two waves in the first 10 minutes, leading with two 8’s.

Nat caught a second wave, again, getting vertical and throwing tail. Nat scored an 8 and slid into first with four minutes to go. The conditions bonked, and a five-minute lull turned Trestles into a lake until the buzzer. 

The crowd went bananas, swarming the waterline, to congratulate Nat. Friends shook energy drinks to spray, parents hugged Rosie, and camera flashes were like lightning. Nat was carried on shoulders over to the announcer stand by friends, while the entire beach swarmed him for high fives.

Last night, at the awards banquet, Nat thanked mom, Rosie, for all the support, garnering a huge applause for all the Rosie fans out there. Nat took home a check for $5,000 and tons of street cred in the surf world.

Lil’ Fella, Koa Smith took home two first place trophies that were easily as tall as him for Open Boys and Explorer Menehune. Koa scored the only perfect 10 at the NSSA Chamionships. Koa was Koa at the National’s Banquet, wearing a floor-length cheetah jacket and thanking his cat “roundpigking” in his acceptance speech.

Monyca Byrne-Wickey placed 2^nd in Explorer Women’s, Kai Barger landed 2^nd in Explorer Juniors, and Evan Gieselman placed 2^nd in Open juniors with Andrew Doheny taking home the gold.

The final day of NSSA Nationals was locked and loaded with 6.0 riders. Final heats for all divisions were going down and a national title along with $5,000 and tons of street cred were on the line.

Koa Smith started christened the day with the Open Boy’s semi-finals heat. The lil lad slayed it, claimed it, and moved on to the finals. In his last heat of the day, Koa pulled a floater and an air, driving down a set wave to score the only perfect 10 in the entire contest.

Other highlights include Nat Young’s first wave in Open Men’s, where he went completely vertical on his backside, scoring a 9.5 in a heated final against Granger Larsen and Kalohe Andino. The Open Boys were destroying it, with high scoring waves, and insane manuevers. 

Evan killed it in the Open Junior Finals, and Monyca qualified for Explorer Women’s Finals.

While the talent in the water was white-hot today, the on-shore action was ridiculous. In between finals, the athletes lined up for a head to head 6.0 Guitar Hero tournament.

  Heads were rocking, guitars were flying, fingers were picking…it was on!! Thirty-two athletes strummed away for a chance to win $1,500 in travel vouchers. Several rounds of elimination left two rockstars to battle for the prestigious Guitar Hero Title.

Tanner Kahl hit 100 notes in a row, followed by a string of 50 correct notes to take the title. His secret to success: Homeschooling. Yep, it takes a dedication and a flexible schedule to dominate in the realm of Guitar Hero. Congrats Tanner.

NSSA Results will be announced tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned. 

http://www.myspace.com/alkalinetrioBand: Alkaline TrioAlbum: Agony and IronySong: Help Me

Today was a day of 6.0 gastronomic greatness and a showdown of surf team talent. Here’s the day of 6.0 highlights.

9:15 Nat Young’s first heat in Open Men’s. Slay’s it with his signature backside slashes to win the heat.

9:30 The scent of Nike 6.0 Waffles fills the air. Groms, like moths to light, swarm the wafflemaker begging for mutant waffles. 6.0’s shred-proven recipe once again fill’s the bellie’s of future stars.

10:30 Pranksters ziptie the event photographer in the port-a-potties, who kung-foo’d his way out.

11:30: The 6.0 chefs light up the barbecue and grill to perfection burgers and dogs for all the competitors. These guys even toast the buns on the grill, they’re that good.

12:30 Next hour: Evan Geiselman win’s his heat in Open’s Men, moving forward to the next round.

1:00 Sign-ups for tomorrow’s Guitar Hero begin. Expert class, head to head. Winner takes home $1,500 worth of airline vouchers.

2:00 In the hottest heat of the Day, Monyca goes up against Courtney Cologne and Coco Ho. In the last 4 seconds of the round, Monyca catches an epic backside wave, pushing her into second behind Courtney and progressing to the semi finals of the Women’s Open.

4:00’ish  Nat is at it again, wowing the crowds, and finishing second to move into the semi finals of Open Men’s.

5:00 The California sun finally comes out for a bit as the event ends for the day.

Hawaii
6.0’s very own Dusty Payne (Lahaina, HI) continues being recognized for both his free surfing ability and solid contest results. Spectators will be looking for Payne to liven things up with his usual onslaught of huge airs. With a combination of back-to-back trips and contests keeping him busy for the past several months, Payne will be looking to claim a solid contest result at this event to back his fourth-place at the Trestles Oakley Pro Junior. Also watch for fellow 6.0 ripper Kai Barger (Maui, HI) and Kiron Jabour (North Shore, HI)

Australia
Out of Coolum, Queensland, Australia, 19-year-old talent Julian Wilson has been building an impressive resume after claiming several junior titles, breakout video parts and gaining respect as one of the world’s best new progressive talents. He enters the Nike 6.0 Pier Pressure coming off a recent win at the 2008 O’Neill Mission. The unique event allowed fellow surfers, including Cory Lopez, Jarrad Howse and Michel Bourez, to vote for the winner, making this title particularly fulfilling. Current No. 1 on ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series Stuart Kennedy (Lennox Head, NSW, AUS) is another to look for.

Florida
The ASP North America Pro Junior Champions from the past two years, 2007’s Adam Wickwire (Satellite Beach, FL) and 2006’s Eric Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, FL) will both be on the hunt for big points. Both, now in their last year on the ASP North America Pro Junior circuit, are chasing a second title and entrance into the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships. Travis Beckman (Vero Beach, FL), now ranked second on the ASP North American Junior ratings, is another to watch for.

California
Ventura, California’s Cory Arrambide will be leading the effort for the West Coasters. Sitting in first-place overall on the ASP North America ratings, Arrambide has already racked up two wins on the circuit this year, including the Billabong Pro Junior Sebastian Inlet and Arnette Pro Junior Newport Beach. Known for being a tough competitor, Arrambide’s goal is to take home the Billabong ASP World Junior Championship this year. West Coast standouts and 6.0 riders Nat Young (Santa Cruz, CA) and Riley Metcalf (San Clemente, CA), along with Jason Harris (Huntington Beach, CA), Andrew Doheny (Newport Beach, CA) and Brent Reilly (Carlsbad, CA) will also be on the hunt.

WaveWatch.com Forecast
WaveWatch.com has predicted good conditions and contestable surf for the two-day event. For the event start on Sunday, the SW swell (200-220) and NW windswell will bring lots of waves in the chest-shoulder high+ range with some inconsistent head high and slightly overhead sets sneaking through on the lower tides. Shape will be mostly scattered peaks and occasionally sectiony lefts pushing in next to the Pier.

As an ASP Grade-4, the Nike 6.0 Pier Pressure presented by Jack’s boasts a $20,000 prize purse and major points. For this reason, the event will have a massive impact on the Pro Junior ratings and who will ultimately make it to the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships. First place will receive $3,500 and 1,500 points, which is the equivalent to winning three Grade 2 events. Hurley has further upped the ante for first place by offering an all-expense paid trip to the Hurley Bali house including a guided surfing tour with Hurley pros and a photo shoot with Surfing Magazine.

In conjunction with the event, title sponsor Nike 6.0 will be working closely with presenting sponsor Jack’s to launch a new collaboration with punk band Alkaline Trio. The limited edition shoe and messenger bag will be available exclusively at Jack’s from June 27 to July 11, after which the product will be distributed nationally.

The live event webcast will air at nike6pierpressure.com and will feature all the daily surfing action, blow-by-blow live scoring and drop-ins by special surprise guests. The webcast will be hosted by industry icons Dave Stansfield, big-wave surfer Pete Mel, former World Tour great Pat O’Connell and Surfer Magazine Editor Chris Mauro.

The Nike 6.0 Pier Pressure presented by Jack’s is supported by Nike 6.0, Jack’s Surfboards, Hurley, Red Bull, Surfer Magazine, Surfing Magazine and WaveWatch.com. Look for complete event details, a live webcast, daily updates, online giveaway and results at nike6pierpressure.com.

Nike 6.0 is bringing the 2008 NSSA Nationals to the whole word via the 6.0 webcast. The action is going down at Trestles,  Tuesday June 24^th through Sat, June 8^th. The three-day webcast kicked off today and will continue through Saturday. Watch the young guns rally for national glory on the live webcast at  www.surfingthemag.com

The webcast will include coverage of all rounds of the Open Men’s, Open Women’s beginning with Round Two, Open Junior’s beginning with Round Three, as well as, Open Boys and Open Mini Grom beginning with the Quarterfinals.

 Saturdays coverage will include the National Explorer Championships, National Airshow Championships, National Open Championships and the California State Parks Governor’s Cup Finals.

In addition to live action, scoring and results, webcast hosts including Surfing Magazine Editor Evan Slater, Dave Stansfield, big wave charger Peter Mel and Saxon Boucher, will provide expert commentary and insights.

The Nike 6.0 Surf team held it down today in the chest-high waves. Conditions were a bit inconsistent, but some decent sets came through in the afternoon. 6.0 surfers progressing are Nat Young, Evan Gieselman, Kai Barger and Monyca Bryne-Wickey. Also surfing tomorrow is Koa Smith. 

Support the 6.0 team and tune in to  www.surfingthemag.com

This past weekend was one to remember for the British mountain bike contingent of 6.0. Josh Bryceland and Sam Dale blew up the spot at the Junior UCI Mountain Bike World Champs in Italy with a phenomenal one-two finish. Check out Dirt Mag’s coverage to get the full scoop.

But for the inside story we now turn to the riders themselves to hear how it went down in their own words. Here’s Sam breaking it down:

“The event as a whole was pretty strange. To me it didn’t feel like the World Champs until I was sat in the start gate for my final run. We had 3-minute gaps in between each rider so they could get plenty of footage on the TV. That 3 minutes felt like forever, so many thoughts running through my head. The 30-second beep went off and I thought to myself all I had to do was ride to the bottom of the hill, the same as any other race, so that’s what I did. I was riding down thinking I could go a lot faster but knew I had to save my energy for the last few rough straights. When I got to the bottom I got into the hot seat and was there until Josh came down, Josh took the hot seat with one rider left to come down the hill. We were both watching him ride and he was going too fast, in every section he was out of control, a few turns later he crashed and it was a Nike 6.0 / British 1st and 2nd. Awesome! Josh and I were so stoked we had been talking about it for ages and for it actually to happen is rad.”

Photo Credit - Victor Lucas

Now let’s get Josh’s take on his monumental victory:

“Saturday was the big day and practice went perfect and my new line was rad, bike felt amazing after a few tweaks and it all just fell into place. Next thing I know I’m on the turbo trainer listening to my psyche up mega mix! I was so confident; I knew I could do it. “There’s a rainbow jersey waiting at the bottom,” I kept telling myself. I gave dad a hug and it was on. Got straight into it pretty good, nailed everything hardly even had a moment. It was so smooth I didn’t feel that quick but I knew I was doing the right thing, before I knew it I was pedaling to the finish; I went 8 seconds up on Sam. Remi was pushing hard, I could see he was taking risks and then near the bottom he went down. I had done it. The rainbows were mine. The next half hour was madness with interviews, photos and urine tests. It even took a while to sink in. When I got back to the pits there was a bottle of champagne waiting for me with everyone and I was so happy I was overwhelmed. I had done it, all the hard work had paid off. That night was pretty funny, what I remember of it anyway! I had some fresh Nike 6.0’s on when I went out but now they are filthy. Thanks so much to all at Nike for your work and support, it means so much and I’m so stoked.”

Photo Credit - Josh Knox

The AST Dew Tour is a massive production, delivering the top action sports, entertainment and, of course, Ryan Scheckler to hundreds of thousands of fans. Besides the events and the free t-shirts, there are tons of things going on behind the scenes. We started thinking about this and thought it’d be cool to give one of the Dew Tour fans a pass to experience all of this on their own. Hence, the 6.0 Golden Ticket.

The 6.0 Golden Ticket is given away to two kids on both Friday and Saturday of every Dew Tour event, granting the winners unlimited access to all the action behind the scenes. This means Bucky’s autograph, VIP lounges, cameos on TV, going backstage with the bands, eating with the athletes and getting decked out in 6.0 gear. Winners are escorted by their own private bouncer, FMX’er Torin McIntyre. This guy is rough and tough and not afraid to push to the front of the lunch line or snag an autograph from Nate Adams.

Will Dean and Evan Womeldorf won the Baltimore 6.0 Golden Ticket for the first day. First stop, the product room where they were outfitted head-to-toe with a Nike 6.0 kit.

Will and Evan then went to the VIP lounge to watch Sheckler, Ortiz and P-Rod  nail their runs in the skate prelims. If that wasn’t close enough to the hottest names in action sports, Thorne led the way to the exclusive athlete lounge, where the athletes hang out before and after their events.

Nike set up iD booths where athletes could design custom shoes, choosing all fabrics, colors and labels on the shoes. Will and Evan created some killer dunks.

Next on the list, Fuel TV’s Dew Underground house, where the duo got to be in the audience and broadcasted nationwide, while Bucky Lasek was interviewed. Bucky stuck around for a few autographs and Thorne insured the Orange Tix winners were in the front of the line.

Saturday’s winners were 7th graders Hunter Alving and Logan Dana, and Peter Gilday.  Highlights included:  hanging out on the Nike 6.0 Ill-Mobile to man the machine and throw out fluorescent orange shoe laces to fans.

 Other highlights include standing behind the Life of Ryan posse, in the friends and family section, for the Skate Park Final, where Scheckler took the title. The crew also recieved a first-hand tour of the NBC compound, to see how the events are produced for television.

Each stop of the Dew Tour will offer a Golden Ticket to a winner and his/her friend on both Friday and Saturday. So make sure to check back here to learn how to win backstage passes. Stay golden.