Hurley is really stepping it up in the boardshort department (like that's a surprise). For those hard core beach bums Hurley has a new line of super stretchy, water repellent phantom boardshorts just waiting to get wet.

Ryan Villopoto's victory in a recent Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series event was good for three reasons. First, the 20-year-old demonstrated that his month on the sidelines stemmed from a viral infection, not something for serious or permanent. Second, Villopoto captured his first crown at the top level in his hometown of Seattle. Third, Ryan Villopoto demonstrated that a rider other than Bubba Stewart or Chad Reed can an AMA Supercross event.

Stewart and Reed not only have been hogging the AMA Supercross winner's circle for a long time, but it's also usually a one-two show with the other finishing second. Furthermore, the third place finisher and his followers often are quite distant. Many fans are really enjoying the Stewart-Reed rivalry, but is it good for AMA to have two individuals so superior? In golf, for example, even Tiger Woods wins "only" one out of every three tournaments he enters. Supercross and motocross could benefit from a wider range of true contenders.

Ryan Villopoto is a small (5-foot-5, 135 pounds) but fiery rider who is seen among the heir apparent, with 31 Lites victories on the supercross and motocross junior circuits. His father, Dan Villopoto, and his grandfather both are dirt bike enthusiasts. Ryan was 5-years-old when he took his first ride and soon he was competing. Dan Villopoto says that at first it was "just a hobby" to help father and son bond together and that, "I never knew it would become as big as it is today."

Does Villopoto's Seattle win portend that Bubba Stewart and Chad Reed will face more challenges? It's difficult to judge. The Seattle track was so poorly prepared that Chad Reed skidded out at the start, and had to struggle mightily to recover for seventh place. Meanwhile, Bubba Stewart apparently decided to play it safe in the Seattle "sand" and settle for second, seizing the season points lead from Reed.

But now that Villopoto is healthy and with some experience, maybe he can start to transform the sport's Big Two into the Big Three.

SOURCES
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2009078582_supercross18.html?syndication=rss
http://www.racerxonline.com/article/450-words-seattle-supercross.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Villopoto
http://www.racerxonline.com/rider/ryan-villopoto.aspx

What up party people! If you're around Oceanside this weekend and looking to cause some trouble (or partake in it) then get your party pants on for Vestal's Summer Blast Off Party. Vestal is hosting the jam with RVCA and Brixton down at Surfride in Oceanside on Friday from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. The Drowning Men will be playing so you can rock out (with your watch out?) all night long. And don't forget to check out Vestal and Brixton on the site, just in case you need an upgrade before Friday night. With Zappos' free shipping you can wait 'til payday and still get your stoke on when Mr. Delivery Man shows up with your fancy new gear just in time for party time. And all I have to say is I'm jealous of those of you who get to go...I've never met a Vestal party I didn't like!

Macbeth rolled up to the Zappos Rideshop Expo in their rockin' Macbethmobile stoked full of their new styles inspired by Mike Dirnt from Green Day, Tom Delonge from Blink 182, and their 100% Vegan shoe the Eliot inspired by, well, Vegans.

Check 'em out!

Element Skateboards have been in the industry for nearly two decades and in its time has seen the likes of so many of the best skateboarders in the world. Kirk Dianda dives into the Element story in his latest documentary which will premiere on Element's website on August 1st. The documentary has an immense amount of legit faces who contributed to the story, all whom had memorable experiences with the Element team. Kirk has an in depth interview with Johnny Schillereff who is the founded Element Skateboards. Johnny shares his story of the brand’s creation and how the brand brought meaning to the skate industry.

In the waning moments leading up to the premier, Kirk will be updating his blog with various material pertaining to the film. Elementrecently put on the‘Make It Count Contest’ out in LA to help promote the upcoming video.

Element also released two ‘Make It Count’ shoes (Darrell 2, Tim Tim) which are hitting stores now.

"MAKE IT COUNT" - official trailer from ELEMENT SKATEBOARDS on Vimeo.

"MAKE IT COUNT" - official trailer from ELEMENT SKATEBOARDS on Vimeo.

Well fear not my friends, Spy is here to save you from a week of work (hell?) and get your game face on with a fun little week in Southern California paradise they like to call Boot Camp.

Spy is gearing up for their 7th annual Boot Camp that will get you out of THERE (refer to above image), and into So Cal for a solid week to bro down and ride with some of Spy's top action sports athletes. Seven Grand Prize winners will win a six-day, five-night all-expense paid trip to San Diego to surf, wakeboard, and ride with Spy’s elite professional athletes, including seven-time Supercross champion Jeremy McGrath.

Too good to be true? Just wait, it gets better. After you and Jeremy and the rest of the Spy team become homies, Spy will hook you up with VIP treatment at this summer's X Games 15 in Los Angeles. You'll also be hittin' up the after party with everyone from Spy, as well as athletes, celebrities, and the Fuel TV crew.

There's one more week left to get in on this, so hit up the good folks at Spy www.spyoptic.com/contests and tell them in 50 words or less why you should be the lucky one. If you don't win that sucks, but you still have a chance at being one of their 25 runner-ups, which receives a dope gift pack from Spy and other industry partners filled with all kinds of goodness.

This could turn out to be the best summer of your life.. get on it!

If the saying you are what you eat is really true (or somewhat true?), can that same analogy be applied to a Sports Illustrated cover model's signature bikini-if you wear her suit you'll look like her? Her being Bar Refaeli and the bikini being Refaeli's collaborative efforts with Hurley and Boarding For Breast Cancer (B4BC) to produce a limited edition piece that is not only the perfect little bikini, but also helps support a good cause. What could be better? (other than being Bar Refaeli herself)

Refaeli's experience in swim suit modeling gave her an upper hand in designing her perfect little bikini, and with Hurleys expertise and successful background in swimwear, this was pretty much a match made in heaven. Now add some B4BC love in here, and you'll be even more stoked to know that you're supporting a good cause and rad organization, since part of the proceeds from the suit are donated to B4BC.

The collaboration suit is only being sold in a select number of boutiques throughout the US, but if you're lucky enough you can snag one from our Rideshop before some other hot chicky picks it up. It's ok to be that girl at the beach this time, because if you're not, you'll be wishing you were.

Boarding For Breast Cancer is a non profit organization that is rooted in the action sports industry and works to create awareness and educate younger women about breast cancer through early detection and active lifestyles. For more info. on B4BC or any of their upcoming events, check them out at www.b4bc.org.

Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg is the king of step-up and one of the most naturally talented freestyle moto-x riders of today. He makes the most technical moves look smooth and easy, despite the fact that he was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome at age five. His first shoe with Etnies (The Twitch) was off the chain, so he has come up with an update that will most definitely keep the moto heads hyped, the Twitch 2!! Obviously designed by Twitch, this shoe features a padded tongue and collar with a hidden stash pocket. And it wouldn't be an Etnies shoe without splashing in some tech features that include an STI Foam level 2 cushioning footbed and a 400 NBS rubber outsole with an internal EVA midsole. Get your Twitch 2 on from the Zappos Rideshop !!

Emerica introduces one of the cleanest technical skate shoes to date, the Reynolds Cruisers. If you don't know who Andrew Reynolds is by now you need to creep out of that rock you've been hiding under. With this new style Andrew Reynolds wanted some ultra-slim, low profile boat shoes to skate and chill in, and the Cruisers were born. The clean, simple exterior hides a high-tech, super protective STI Foam full-length System G2 footbed inside a vulcanized outsole. And don't forget the classic 70's logo on the tongue. I'll leave you with a quote from Andrew Reynolds "You need to buy this!"

If you're planning on hitting the beach this summer make sure you're rockin' some Reefs. Check out a few product descriptions on this years hottest Reef fashions direct from the Zappos Rideshop Expo.

Emerica has teamed up with Brooklyn Projects for a unique "Las Vegas" colorway of Braydon Szafranski's pro model. It reps Vegas hard with a large V-Shaped side panel and craps table insole art, casino carpet graphics and those bright neon colored signs that we all know and love so well. Standard features on the Braydon include a ventilating mesh upper. Padded tongue and collar. Triple stitched toe cap for added durability. Full-length polyurethane midsole. System G2 impact absorbing heel pad. Molded STI Foam footbed cushioning. To top it off it comes with an angular grippy tread pattern which adds to the flair to make the Braydon one hell of a solid skate shoe. Don't forget to check out our full range of Emerica shoes from the Zappos Rideshop!

Zappos Rideshop

The C1RCA team recently introduced to new members to the sqaud, Ryan Gallant and Walker Ryan.

Ever wondered what it would be like if you removed the padding from a SK8-Hi™? Well the footwear engineering genius' over at Vans have fulfilled your fantasy once again. Introducing the Vans SK8-Hi™ Deconstruct. This shoe combines the existing features and benefits of the SK8-Hi™, but now with a little more steez (and less padding of course). Standard features include an environmentally conscious canvas upper. Triple stitching on the collar and toe box. Traditional rubber outsole with Vans' trademarked Waffle Grip and a clean vulcanized construction. This will most definitely be a hot ticket item for fall, so get em' while they last! Available in 3 colors from the Zappos Rideshop. While you're at it, don't forget to check out the full range of Vans available from Zappos.com - HOLLA!

http://www.zappos.com/vans

This Fall Vans has released the "Off The Wall" pack which is a throwback to the Vans original skate line as introduced in 1977. Back in the late 70's when these styles were introduced, they were the first shoes in the world designed specifically for skateboarding. These styles have since evolved into the classic favorites that you can only get from Vans. Now, 30 years later, they are re-introduced in their original colorways, available from Zappos.com

The "Off The Wall" pack comes in these different styles available at Zappos.com - The Era™, The Classic Slip-On™, and the The Mid Skool '77 (truly a throwback!). And don't forget to check out all the other Vans Classics available from Zappos.com

David Gravette and the rest of the boys over at VOX, are putting on a sick contest that will have you grindin' and face planting your way to some cool prizes. Contestants will be judged in three different categories and winners from each will recieve a Gravette package which includes the new Vox Trooper - Creature Colab. Follow the instructions on the below flyer and win yourself some new gear!

Mike Alessi is living, but out-of-action, proof that injuries are a big part of motocross and supercross racing success.

After turning 21 years old on May 19, Mike Alessi placed second in the season-opening motocross meet on May 23 at San Bernardino, California. He followed with his first-ever victories on May 30 in Sacramento and June 6 in Worthen, Texas.

Then, two days later, Alessi broke his kneecap in practice, of all things. He says it was a freak accident in which he suddenly found himself on grassy terrain and took a nasty spill.

Mike Alessi still has a bright future, but his route to the AMA 2009 motocross season championship has been short-circuited. He simply hopes to return before the 12-meet season closes on Sept. 5 at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pa. Steady veteran Chad Reed slipped into the season points lead after Alessi's mishap.

Mike Alessi, half Italian and half German in heritage, is a tightly-packed 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds. He is especially known for his daring fast starts, leading to "Holeshot" as one of his nicknames.

Alessi started riding motorcyles when he was 3 years old and was a popular Loretta Lynn's youth amateur champion. In fact, Mike Alessi won 11 junior races to tie a record established by none other than James "Bubba" Stewart. Alessi then turned professional at 16.

This isn't the first time that a practice injury has sidelined Mike Alessi. He broke a collarbone early in 2008 while he was warming up for a supercross event.

After the collarbone healed, Alessi suffered his only major in-race injury. In a July 2008 crash, he broke both shoulder blades and a rib, bruised a lung and suffered a severe concussion.

The summer motocross circuit now has lost three of its biggest names. Ryan Villapoto, Alessi's up-and-coming peer and former youth amateur rival, has a torn knee ligament and Bubba Stewart is sitting out the season.

Mike Alessi still has star potential, but he has to learn to stay upright on his bike.

SOURCES

http://www.alessiracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=64

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/events/raceschedule/2/mc/2005_ama_chevy_truck_us_motocross_schedule_and_results.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_alessi

http://www.myspace.com/mxmike800

Join the IPATH crew with friends Innes and Osiris on June 21st as they do their part to help celebrate the worldwide phenomenon, Go Skateboarding Day. Call in sick, cuz your gonna have to meet up at Bishop Skatepark in Oceanside California to hang with the pros and grab some free stuff.

Whether you’re on your board or in your car, you never know what you’re going to see on Skate Day...

I know you're all dying to know what kind of trouble we're causing and fun we're having out here in Vegas, so we made it easy for you and set up our Twitter account. You can spy on us and follow us each and every day at http://twitter.com/Zappos_Rideshop. We'll be posting some cool info and letting you in on our deepest, darkest secrets. Ok maybe not that much, but we will be filling you in on local Rideshop events and updating you on the latest and greatest that's going down with us, our brands and the industry. We all know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but if we happen to twitter it out who knows what kinds of good stuff you'll find out. Everybody's doing it, so join the cool club and hit us up!

-love... your local Vegas Rideshop peeps

Have you ever dreamed of designing your own shoe colorway? The good people at Lakai Footwear have realized this dream and made it come true for two lucky contestants in their "Lakai My Way" Colorway Contest. Lakai took two of their most popular styles, The Manchester Select and The Telford, (which is the first installment available for purchase here at Zappos) and used them for the project. In just over two weeks, they received thousands of entries for both styles. When the gavel finally dropped, the judges ruled decidedly in favor of New Jersey's Lucas Lamb (Manchester Select) and Chicago's Aaron Hatch (Telford).