Tuesday July 3, 2018

Surf Flick Classics!

 

 

FIVE SUMMER STORIES 1972

Summer has arrived and it’s time for another round-up of great sport flick classics. The beaches are beckoning and the Best of Surf is the theme of this collection. If you can’t make it to the shore, surf’s up at home. So queue up the DVDs and get ready to paddle out, drop in and ride those waves! As always, click the image for a preview trailer.

Let’s lead it off with “Five Summer Stories”, heralded as one of the finest surf movies ever made. This classic features all the great surfers from the 70’s like Gerry Lopez, Shaun Tomson, Jeff Hakman, and Margo Oberg. Filmed against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the Nixon years, the movie portrays a young, outlaw sport at a strategic point in its creative evolution. Read More

 

Monday June 25, 2018

Love Means Zero

 

 

Even if you don’t follow tennis, the name Nick Bollettieri and his tennis academy likely rings a bell. Now on Showtime is “Love Means Zero“, the documentary which tells the story of this legendary but controversial coach, through both his own accounts and many of the players with whom he worked. Colorful archival 80’s and 90’s tennis footage (Fila, Ellesse, and Oakley fans delight!), combined with the weathered, or should I say leathered, 86-year-old Bolletieri’s braggadocio, makes for a captivating documentary anyone will enjoy.

Over the course of his career, Bollettieri coached such top players as Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, Boris Becker, Serena and Venus Williams — but none is more famous than Andre Agassi, the primary focus of the film. Their 10-year partnership brought both player and coach tennis stardom, yielding Agassi his first of his Grand Slam wins at Wimbledon in 1992. Bolletieri shocked the world following that victory, however, immediately terminating his relationship with Agassi. Read More

 

Wednesday August 16, 2017

Decks of Art

 
 
ROW 1: GEORGE CONDO, SHEPARD FAIREY, KEHINDE WILEY, KAWS X KROOKED, KEITH HARING, ANDY WARHOL;  ROW 2: MARILYN MINTER, ANDY WARHOL, KENNY SCHARF, DAMIEN HIRST, DAMIEN HIRST, JEFF KOONS; ROW 3: NATE LOWMAN, ANDY WARHOL, KEITH HARING, JULES DE BALINCOURT, JOSE PARLA, GEORGE CONDO

 

Andy Warhol to Keith Haring, Jeff Koons to Damien Hirst, Jose Parla to Shepard Fairey – many of the most influential up-and-coming and established contemporary artists have turned the skateboard deck into their sporty canvas. The parameters of its oblong shape create a constant that contained within are playful decks of art, often referencing some of these artists most important works. 

For many of contemporary artists whose work started on the street, and who are often skateboarders themselves, it’s a way to stay connected to their roots. For the blue chip artists at the top of the contemporary art world, says collector and art advisor Glori Cohen, “the skateboard provides a unique cool factor at a low price point — and it’s a really fun way to collect art!” Many of her clients buy these skateboard decks for their children’s rooms. It’s real art their kids can relate to, that’s still collectible too.

Read More

 

Wednesday June 7, 2017

A Cavernous Journey

 

THE GATE OF SON DOONG CAVE 

 

I’ve known fashion photographer Kelly Ryerson since the beginning of this millennium, and first worked with her at Women’s Sports & Fitness magazine, where we journeyed on many an outdoor adventure. One of our most memorable was to photograph some bathing beauties in Goldbug Hot Springs, a hidden gem of a natural hot tub, bubbling along the banks of the Salmon River in the mountains of Idaho.

Hiking has always been a source of joy and solace for Kelly. As kid growing up in Austin, Texas, trekking through the woods and trails was simply the way to get to whatever watering hole she and her friends decided to cool off in that day. When faced recently with the emotional wallop and pain of a divorce, it was to hiking that Kelly returned, finding comfort in both its physicality and serenity.

Last March, Kelly embarked on an epic 5-day journey to Sơn Đoòng Cave in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, Vietnam – only just recently discovered – photographing it in these majestic images shown here. This is the story of her cavernous adventure…
Read More

 

Thursday May 4, 2017

Surf Shack

 

 

“A surf shack is not built around what you think you need, so much as understanding all the things you don’t”, says writer Nina Freudenberger in the introduction to Surf Shack:Laid-Back Living by the Water, a beautiful new coffee table book that takes us inside the bungalows, trailers, cabins, and beach homes of those lucky enough to call themselves surfers. 

Surfing is a way of life reflected in the homes of those who live it. Freudenberger moved from New York City to Venice Beach, California in 2012, and became so enamored of this relaxed and easy going lifestyle she traveled to 18 cites in 4 countries to bring us inside the homes of such lifelong surfers and dedicated newcomers as: Blake and Heather Mycoskie of TOMS; hotelier Sean MacPherson and family; Jawbone founder Yves Behar and Sabrina Burell; and longboard pro Kassia Meador.

“Surfing is a natural filter for life’s nonsense”, says Freudenberger, and what these homes have in common is a style that prioritizes “ease over elegance, good vibes over any grand vision.” They are less about impressive architecture and more about cultivating truly authentic spaces that embrace the life spent in between surf sessions.

With vibrant photographs of design details and bright beaches — from Malibu to the Rockaways, from Japan to Australia — this book captures the soulful milieu of a lifestyle we all aspire to, in and out of the water. 

 

Tuesday February 16, 2016

Sunday Night Sports Flix: Best of Ski

 

 

DOWNHILL RACER 1969

It’s time for another installment of Sunday Night Sports Flix. With many of us skiing over the long holiday weekend and the winter Olympics going full force, we thought the “Best of Ski” would be a timely theme. So here goes our top five — click image for preview!

Astonishing alpine locations, action-packed photography, a young Robert Redford and the gorgeous Camilla Sparv, are just a few of the visual splendors of Downhill Racer. Redford plays a ruthlessly ambitious skier competing in Europe for Olympic gold and Gene Hackman is the coach who tries to temper his narcissistic drive for glory.

 

Glen-Plake

BLIZZARD OF AAHS 1988

From from famed ski film director Greg Stump comes this iconic 80’s documentary featuring the pioneers and rockstars of extreme skiing, most notably the young mohawked Glen Plake. Most of the footage is shot at Chamonix with other main segments at Telluride and Squaw Valley.

 

BLOG_6496291_75233_38504481_ap

ASPEN EXTREME 1993

A goofball classic but popular favorite, Aspen Extreme is the story of two ski buddies who abandon their blue-collar world to become ski instructors in Aspen, Colorado. There they discover the playground of the rich and famous. Seduced by the skiing, wealth, and lifestyle their friendship is put to the test with surprising results.

Screen Shot 2014-01-02 at 1.56.14 PM

VALHALLA 2013

Valhalla is a modern day hippie classic. Described as “the tale of one man’s search to rediscover the freedom of his youth. Feeling the distant heat of its fire still burning in the mountains of the frozen north, he goes in search of those tending the flame—the untamed, the wild, and the outcast dwelling on the fringe.” An appropriate naked skiing sequence is one of the highlights of the movie, in addition to all the spectacularly filmed backcountry skiing.

 

FZ5.6_MC1MCCONKEY 2013

McConkey is a memoir of Shane McConkey, one of the most inspirational and influential athletes the action sports world has ever known. McConkey’s daredevil feats combined BASE jumping with skiing, but in 2009, he died while skiing in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. After a double back flip off a cliff on skis, McConkey intended to glide away in his wing flying suit, but unable to release his skis, he was killed. Filled with incredible action, his story is told through his peers, friends and family, and most movingly by his wife.

CLICK TO CHECK OUT LOTS MORE GREAT SPORT FLIX!

 

Friday October 30, 2015

Girl, 17, Cycles Across U.S. in 3 Weeks

 
RUTH ORKIN IN 1947; THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT PHOTOGRAPHED BY ORKIN IN 1939

 

In 1939, a 17-year old girl living in California decided to embark on a monumental bike trip across the country. The World’s Fair in New York City was her destination. That girl was award winning photojournalist and filmmaker Ruth Orkin (1921-1985).

Orkin grew up in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s, and at the age of 10, received her first camera, a 39¢ Univex. She began by photographing her friends and teachers at school. Obsessed with traveling after three cross country train trips with her family, she took a job as a teenager at a travel agency in 1937. When a pamphlet for American Youth Hostels arrived in the mail one day at work, offering cheap lodging and cooking facilities for travelers journeying by foot or bicycle, the call for adventure was too great to resist.
 

BikeTrip10

BikeTrip4Orkinscrapbook

BikeTrip6.Manhattan

PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY ORKIN AND PAGE FROM THE SCRAPBOOK SHE MADE DOCUMENTING THE 1939 BIKE TRIP. ALL CAPTIONS HANDWRITTEN BY ORKIN

 
At 16, Orkin took her first Youth Hostel trip to San Francisco, and the following year somehow convinced her parents to let her bicycle across the country. Multiple newspapers carried the story of this 17-year old on a cross country tour of U.S. Youth Hostels. While she had actually hitchhiked from LA to Chicago, and then Chicago to New York – equally adventurous and kind of crazy — Orkin later wrote in her book, A Photo Journal, published in 1981, “The bicycling was done while I was sightseeing in each city: Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Boston. I also biked the smaller distances between the four eastern cities and while hosteling through four New England states. All in all I biked a total of 2000 miles during those four months!”
Read More

 

Monday August 17, 2015

Surfing Andy Warhol

 
ART ADVISOR GLORI COHEN WITH 5 OF THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION SERIES SURFBOARDS,
PHOTOGRAPHED IN HER ART FILLED DEAL, NEW JERSEY HOME

 
In 1967, Andy Warhol moved to La Jolla, California to make the movie, “San Diego Surf”, his homage and twist on the classic surf films of the late 1960’s. Surfboard shaper Tim Bessell was then just a kid, living down the street.

Fast forward to the 1980’s where Bessell was invited to New York by film producer Gary Binko and by chance met Warhol at the opening of the Playboy Club. As it turned out, Warhol and Bessell had a mutual friend, another surfboard shaper named Carl Ekstrom. Famous for his asymmetrical surfboard designs, two had been used as props in the movie. Ekstrom told Bessell if he ever ran into Warhol, tell him he said hello. Little did he realize he would have the chance to do just that!
 
WARHOL -SURF-1

ELVIS, MARILYN & MICK

 
Spotting him at the opening, standing with a group of models, Bessell introduced himself on a dare. Warhol didn’t surf, but was obsessed and enamored with surf culture. Taken with Bessell and his friends, Warhol invited him to hang out at The Factory and the offices of Interview magazine.
Read More

 
 

BACK TO TOP