Wet & Dry...

Love how this was shot..!

Come Hell or High Water... Changing lives...

After the Australian release of Come Hell or High Water Patagonia Australia received this heartfelt message from Coffs Harbour based parents Greg and Donna Edwards. Kyan, their 8 year old son has autism. After watching the film their lives were changed forever.

I would like to share our little breakthrough and in some small way, say thanks for making Come Hell Or High Water film possible.
Come Hell Or High Water has changed our lives.
Put simply, our 8 year-old son Kyan has Autism. We have had a very difficult time bringing him up and up until last week, we had given up on the idea that he would ever be comfortable at the beach. The bright sunlight, sand and wind create a ‘sensory overload’ for our little boy and most often he will scream and scream when we take him anywhere near the ocean. My wife and I both grew up surfing and we feel completely at home in the water. Some days, the two of us have wanted nothing more than to be able to take our kids down onto the sand and swim.
Last week, we watched Come Hell or High Water and were so touched by the story of Don and Beau King. The footage of Beau diving under the waves was an inspiration. We watched the film a couple of times and so did our two sons. Kyan was absolutely spellbound by the beautiful images and by Beau King’s smiling face. When we turned the TV off, we noticed him running round the house with his arm outstretched. He started to imitate the surfers he’d seen.
Kyan has limited language and he finds it very difficult to talk. He was walking around the house yelling “Don’t cry Beau…”. He ended up running towards his mother saying “beach… surfing”. I think it was the next day that we all decided to go down to the water and just see if Kyan’s enthusiasm remained. Sure enough, he ran down onto the sand without screaming. He ran out into the water and he began wading out toward the waves!! We were still pulling our fins on when we noticed him (in disbelief I might add). That day, and every day since, have been remarkable! Our son has discovered the ocean. He now feels at home in the water. His confidence is growing and he is catching his first waves!!
We can’t tell you what an incredible gift this has been. We can’t tell you how grateful we are. If it all ends tomorrow, so be it — we have had an amazing week with our son. We pray it continues and that this new-found enthusiasm becomes a life-long passion. We have enclosed a few shots of Kyan out in the surf. There’s one shot that’s particularly blurry, but you can make out his smiling face as he races down his first wave!!
I would love it if, somehow, this could be passed on to the filmmakers of Come Hell Or High Water. Just so that we can say thank you!
Yours faithfully,
Greg and Donna Edwards

For more information on Don, Julianne and Beau King check out their award winning movie, Beautiful Son and the Hawaii Autism Foundation.

MAVERICKS - Mark Healy.

Last week Nav posted a shot of Twiggy at Mavericks, then i stumbled across this one of Healy.
Awesome photo!

Fish Oil - Nutra Sea

This is one of the supplements i take with me on the road (capsules).
I've found them to be the best quality - plus they are a 1% For The Planet member.
Just letting you know in case you were wondering which are the better brands.

Dan.

Omega 3:
- Promotes cardiovascular health
- Reduces inflammation
- Supports mental focus & cognitive function
- Supports positive mood & emotional well-being
- Promotes brain, eye, & nervous system health
- Supports healthy immune system function.

Music.. tell us what you like and if we feel the same we'll post it!

Artist: Bon Iver
Song: Skinny Love
Album: For Emma, Forever Ago

Lyrics

Come on skinny love just last the year
Pour a little salt we were never here
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer

I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in the moment this order's tall

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines

Come on skinny love what happened here
Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full; so slow on the split

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
Now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines

Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?

Barcelona Longtailing...

Just love the tune...

Bruce Irons Opens Up About Brother Andy...

July 21, 2011 |  ASP International
SYDNEY, New South Wales/Australia (Thursday, July 21, 2011) – The Irons family produced perhaps the most potent sibling force the surfing world has ever seen. While it was younger brother Bruce that would see competitive success early as an amateur, it was Andy that would fuel his own fire and rampage to unprecedented heights, dethroning King Kelly Slater and claiming back-to-back-to-back ASP World Titles. The events of November 2, 2010 sent shockwaves throughout the sporting world, but nowhere were they felt as hard as upon Andy’s family. Sam McIntosh of STAB recently caught up with Bruce on a boat trip to the Mentawais to get his first impressions on record since this tragedy. This…is their story…

WARNING: May contain inappropriate language.

Stab: Describe how you’re feeling right now?
Bruce: Fucking – without the f’ing – really good. I’m actually doing really good right now. Here. Happy. I’m in a good spot. I couldn’t say that about a week ago. Well, y’know what, I have uh, I guess I was a little lost after my brother passed away. I just didn’t want to believe it. It’s still hard for me to believe. Feelings are a hard trip to deal with.

Stab: When I saw you at Pine Trees for Andy’s service, you looked like you weren’t even in your body.
Bruce: Oh, hell no. I think back to those first couple months and I can’t even remember any of it. I had no feelings. I was trying to numb it. (Aggressively) It’s just a…fucking… I didn’t want to believe. I just thought, “Nah, he’s coming back from a trip.” My brother was everything. I looked up to him, followed him, did everything. Then, all of a sudden… it’s hard for me to even say the words. When I do stop and think about it now, I kinda go into depression. My whole life I never dealt with my feelings. Me and my brother never talked to each other about feelings. We never sat there and said, “Are you alright, brother?”.

Stab: Where were you when Andy died? Who told you?
Bruce: That was the worst day of my life. I was at home and it was two weeks after the thing we did at the Canaries (Bruce did a trip with Stab to the Canary Islands last year). I remember we went to the fair the night before – me, Mia and Kaimelia (wife and daughter) – Halloween fair and my daughter was all psyched. I was at home. I was in a deep sleep and it was about seven in the morning and I heard Lyndie at the door screaming. I came out of a dead sleep and as I came to it (Bruce snaps his fingers) – I instantly knew it. I heard her voice at seven in the morning, very pregnant, and it that split-second, I knew it. I knew instantly it was what it was. It’s a fucking trip to wrap your head around it. Lyndie was very pregnant and I was trying to calm her down and it just didn’t register. I had to call the coroner. It worked me. It tweaked me out. I was frantic and then it was, like, “Aha, no way this isn’t happening.” I was calming Lyndie and she was very, very pregnant and I was trying to make sure she and the baby were alright. It was horrible.




BRUCE IRONS FLARE SHOOT from STAB on Vimeo.

Taiig "BOMBING" his local hill.

Taiig Ross having a go and learning the art of "Bombing". Not bombing graffiti style and deafently not bombing military style but "Bombing" a hill on his skatey.
If you've ever skated then this little number will bring back some memories of the young days and the art setting a line and trusting in your own ability.

SK8 & Fly...

Dan Ross with nephews Jaspur & Tieg, who've made their own skates!!!

Can't wait to see some footage of the boys bombing the....

Here's some inspiration boys...

Race helmet used by Patrick Switzer, currently ranked #1 in the world for downhill skateboarding. Patrick is taking the flying fish to new frontiers along with some awesome airbrushed maple leafs.

Patagonia Dan Ross Surf Camp Wraps Up at Casuarina

Dan Ross with the camp participants

Dan Ross executes his skills in the surf

(Wednesday June 29, 2011, Coolangatta, QLD): PROFESSIONAL surfer Dan Ross (Yamba, NSW) played mentor to a mixed group of junior surfers at Surfing Australia’s High Performance Centre (HPC) over the weekend, with his Patagonia Daniel Ross Surf Camp wrapping up. Kids from all across the country were all smiles as they asked Ross about his life on the tour and his personal training tips. Participants were put through an extensive HPC program which included; warm up and preparation strategies for heats, physical training programs, video analysis of every surfing session, and heat simulations and strategies. Ross, 30, is renowned for his superior fitness and competition strategies that give him the edge in close competition. He has coached the Red Bull team including Julian Wilson and Sally Fitzgibbons and his training programs are known to help surfers to achieve their best competition results. “I guess one of the aims of attending the camp is to pass on the knowledge that I have learnt over my surfing career to the next generation of junior surfers,” said Ross. “I remember when I was a young surfer, I took every chance I had to have a chat and learn from pro surfers. Even if just one bit of information I give the camp participants sinks in, that information can be used for the rest of their life.” “Most of the principals that we have discussed during the camp the surfers will be able to apply to their surfing straight away and hopefully begin to grow as a result.” “I am stoked to have the opportunity to work with the next generation of surfers at my own surf camp. All the participants were at such a good level, especially the girls. They were really pushing their surfing out in the water and I was really impressed”. Participants of the Patagonia Daniel Ross Surf Camp included: Arree Fielding (QLD) Chris Zaffis (NSW) Duke Nagtzaam (WA) Noah Sievert-Kloster (QLD) Keely Andrew (Qld) Tyrone Reynolds (Qld) Michael Baker (Qld) Luca Rauvenheimar (Qld) Dane Fox (NSW) Jasper Hancock ( NSW) Alex Byrne (NSW) Sam Poncini (Qld) Laura Poncini (Qld) Chiana Ireland (Qld) The Patagonia Daniel Ross High Performance Camp was proudly supported by Surfing Australia, The Australian Sports Commission, Suncorp and Patagonia. Each camper also received an individual goodies pack supplied by Patagonia for attending the Patagonia Daniel Ross High Performance Camp. For all camp bookings and further information please contact James Eggington (HPC Manager) or visit www.surfingaustralia.com. Phone: (02)66749868 Email: james@surfingaustralia.com Media Contact: Jake White, Surfing Australia, M. 0422 987 069 E.jake@surfingaustralia.com

Sand Mandala...

I had the pleasure of watching one of these amazing creations being skillfully made by Tibetan Monks at the last Splendour in th Grass at Byron Bay a couple of years back...

This too shall pass...

Peace

On this Day...

At 11:30 am on 29 May 1953, Edmund Percival Hillary (New Zealand) and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest...

Did you..?

Why are funniest things often the most true..?

Planets align of Friday the 13th...

Astronomy, Astrology and superstition all come together tomorrow before dawn, as Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter all share the same spot in the Eastern sky, weather permitting.

The last time this happened was in 1910.

Read more: Sunrise, Friday the 13th: four planets to align over Sydney | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/sydney/play/planets-align-over-friday-13th-sunrise-191814#ixzz1M7isJU7q

Remote Control...

Get me one...

All of a sudden that hill I've been eyeing off for weeks looks so much more bomb-able...

Child's Play...

Life's too short... Watch, listen, fold & ENJOY!

Peace of paper 8-)

Insight... Blind man can see..

My wife works at a High School around the area that has one thousand students and covers an area about one square mile.
She came home two days ago and told me about a student that enrolled from outa town. The boy was born with no eyes and has never ever had the chance to see this beautiful world we live on.
I don't know his name, but the story my wife told me has absolutely blown my mind.
The boy was taken to school and lead around every corridor, every room, every part of the school grounds for four hours total, not four days, not four months, four hours!
He went to school the next day unaided and was able to remember the WHOLE SCHOOL and to this day has no problem getting himself to class.
Imagine trying to get yourself safely around your home for four hours without the privilege of being able to see. Just the thought of it gives me a brain freeze and makes me think of how many special people are out there just doing their thing.

Thought this was worth sharing......... Get busy living people and have a good time doing it.... Nav