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Posted on August 12th, 2008 by factor54 | |
Photos by: Toby Sharp..fiatsurf.com
The crew from Monrovia Avenue, rolled in to Rudy’s Newport to kick off summer proper with their “Freaks of the Night” party to blow off some summer steam, honor the company’s local retailers and promote a season chock full of upcoming events. We just wrapped our first Skate film, and our annual “Freaks of the Peak” summer surf series at 54th street is coming in late July. One insane highlight was the epic giveaways F54 was throwing out. Typically it’s just cheap swag. Not this time. Killer giveaways from Oakely, Vestal, Becker, Surfside Sports, Green Room, Main Street Surf Shop, Elm, Pocket Pistol, Indie 103.1, Futures Fins insured everyone took home a prize. All kinds of gear was being passed out to all the rowdy’s in line, so no one went home empty handed.
Thanks to everyone who made it possible…much love to you!!
F54 wants to give a big shout out to Pete and Mattie B at Decked Out for giving us the store front window of Andrew Thompson!
Thanks you guys rock!
F54 would like to invite you to their 3 annual Summer bash at Rudy’s in Newport beach. Tons of giveaways, dj and dancing…so come get your freak on!
See you there!
Gnarly Charlie Grom Surf Series Kickoff event
F54 was on Jax Beach Florida, Saturday June, 7 2008, to witness and sponsor the Gnarly Charlie Grom Surf Series Kickoff event. Over 50 kids entered the Gnarly Charley, all under the age of 16. There were glassy lines in the morning around 2-3 feet, then it turned semi chop for the after noon times, but remained decent all day. It truly was a rad event for kids. One girl that was competing couldn’t have been surfing for more than 3 years, because she was only 3 year old! Another kid was smiling all day after a good heat as his dad said “were from Ohio and we just moved down here 2 years ago and he’s never done this before!”
Of course there were also the local beach youth crew ripping all day. This is it. The cream of the crop of the north Florida area of young surfers! Competitors can snag hundreds of pics at gnarlycharleysurfseries.com. Big shouts to Gnarly Charley for keeping the kids and parents hyped all day.
Thanks to Garrett at Sunrise Surf Shop, Jax Beach for keeping us in tune, and to Paco for helping pick out a hat at Sunrise!
Next event is June 21st at JAX Beach Peir. Be there! F54 will be. Adios.
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Posted on March 11th, 2008 by factor54 | |
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 CHAMP: San Clemente High’s Doug van Mierlo catches some air en route to his victory at the NSSA state high school championships.
FRED SWEGLES, SUN POST NEWS
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Monday, March 10, 2008
By FRED SWEGLES
SUN POST NEWS
San Clemente High has a new surf hero.Doug van Mierlo, a 16-year-old junior, came out of nowhere Sunday to capture the 2008 NSSA state high school men’s surfing title at San Onofre’s Church Beach.
“Best result I’ve had – pretty much ever!” he said.
It was his first victory ever in an NSSA contest – not that he hasn’t surfed solidly. He is No. 11 in the NSSA Open Men’s standings this season, out of 91 competitors.
At Saturday and Sunday’s tournament, wave selection made the difference as van Mierlo picked off long, reeling waves that allowed him to show what he could do, busting the tail frontside and lining up one vertical crack off the top after another, backside.
“I was really patient,” he said. “My dad was telling me about patience. So I just wanted to wait for the good one. After that I was just thinking, ’start to finish … don’t fall!’ “
San Clemente’s other top honorees:
Jason McIlwee: For the second year in a row, took the state collegiate shortboard title.
Troy Mothershead: As a college freshman, captured the state collegiate longboard title. He’d taken the high school title a year ago.
Ian Crane: For the second year in a row, won the NSSA state middle school boys’ title.
Melina Smith: Won the state middle school girls’ title.
Shorecliffs: For the second straight year, took the state middle school title.
At the high school level, defending champ San Clemente had a rough weekend, finishing fourth out of 12 schools.
“It wasn’t our talent. It was our wave selection,” said John Dowell, the coach. Huntington Beach High won the title, earning 108 points to 82 for runner-up Carlsbad. San Dieguito Academy was third.
San Clemente started out strongly enough, advancing four of its six shortboarders out of the first round but losing the top-rated Triton surfer, Chase Brady, on a pair of interference calls that team members questioned. In Round 2, three of the four shortboarders went down, leaving only van Mierlo, who said the Brady interference incident gave him more of a motivation to excel from there on out.
“He had a check of a run,” Dowell said. “His confidence level hasn’t always been there. His talent has been there. The confidence hasn’t let him excel. With the crowd behind him – with the support he had on the beach – it allowed him to step up and take that leadership role. I’m so proud of him. Hopefully he can use this as a springboard and continue on with that success.”
Dowell said van Mierlo’s victory put a positive mark on what had been shaping up as a disappointing weekend. Scott Brandenburg’s fourth place showing in longboarding was the team’s other highlight, but van Mierlo taking the premier title at the conclusion of the two-day tournament gave the team a mental lift.
“He turned it around for us,” Dowell said. “Coming back (to school Monday), they were just all fired up. There’s that confidence level again.”
The Tritons still have the ISF State Championships, NSL’s The Game and NSSA Nationals this spring.
MIDDLE SCHOOL RESULTS
Shorecliffs dominated, racking up 138 points to just 77 for runner-up Sowers Middle School of Huntington Beach. There were 10 teams. Shorecliffs’ second team placed third.
Five of the six boys’ shortboard finalists were from Shorecliffs – Crane, Josh Giddings (third), Breyden Taylor (fourth), Trevor Thornton (fifth) and Wyatt Brady (sixth). Carpinteria’s Parker Coffin (second) was the only non-Seahawk finalist.
In longboarding, three of the six finalists were from Shorecliffs – Zach Stabley (second), Andy Nieblas (fourth) and Mason Klink (fifth). In girls’ surfing, Smith won and teammate Emmy Lombard (fifth) was a finalist.
COLLEGIATE RESULTS
San Clemente High graduates McIlwee and Mothershead captured two of the three available individual titles. Both McIlwee and Mothershead are back-to-back winners of NSSA state titles. McIlwee is two-time winner for Saddleback College. Mothershead won last year for San Clemente High and this year for Point Loma Nazarene.
Triton grad Chris Smith was a finalist in two divisions. He placed second to McIlwee for the state collegiate shortboard title and finished fourth in longboarding, a division he had won a year ago. He attends Cal State San Marcos.
Mothershead combo’d nearly all his rivals.
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Posted on February 27th, 2008 by factor54 | |
A big congrats goes out to F54’s Kent Nishiya and Bobby Okvist for getting 2nd and 3rd at Volcom’s Seaside Reef Event Feb 23, 2008. These two guys are in just about every final they surf in and are looking for a big result in the VQS Championships in Newport Beach later this Summer.
Click on the link below for more on the event:
http://www.volcom.com/crusty/EventArticle.asp?EventiD=516&SeasonID=19
