Deep in Vogue on Nowness.com.

Studies of Movement

SINGLE - STUDIES OF MOVEMENT FROM THE STEPHANIE GILMORE, SPIRIT OF AKASHA SESSIONS from Andrew Kidman on Vimeo.

You can get your hot little hands on this limited print Stephanie Gilmore -Studies of Movement at Andrewkidman.com

Via the NOWNESS.com

Break Line: Stephanie Gilmorefrom Todd Cole on Nowness.com.

Quiksilver Spring12

Quiksilver Spring 2012 Inspiration

Quiksilver X Hoffman

V O G U E. US June Issue...out now!!

How cool is this image of Phyllis O'donnell. 1964. First, ever, female world surfing champ. Style points beyond belief!!

Surfingworld magazine Issue 324

Stephanie x Micronesia x Ryan Heywood

Don't think. Just do.

QUIKSILVER INTRODUCES STEPHANIE GILMORE’S THE WATER DANCER

Inspirational Videos Bring Together 4x World Champion Surfer and New York City Dancers

NEW YORK (January 12, 2012) –Quiksilver brand ambassador and 4X ASP World Champion Surfer Stephanie Gilmore today announced her involvement in The Water Dancer, a series of short videos exploring the similarities between surfing and dancing, set to be released January 12th on quiksilver.com. Stephanie journeyed to New York City last fall for the project, where she met with three professional female dancers skilled in ballet, hip-hop and commercial dance. The women discussed the creativity, elegance and audacity of surfing as it relates to the splendor, power and beauty of dance. Stephanie sought to capture the dancers’ unique culture, breathtaking talent and exciting stories, while demonstrating the relationship between the art of dance and the sport of surfing.

“Quiksilver and I created this concept to shed light on the way surfing is described, in a way that truly shows how beautiful female surfing is,” said Gilmore. “I once read that surfing a wave can be described as a dance performance: 'The wave is your stage and the sun is a spotlight.’ I like to think surfing and dance have similar qualities like power, grace, improvisation, rhythm and most of all, performance. When I'm competing, the majority of my drive comes from the performance. When I'm surfing I want to be powerful, but perform with style and grace, similar to that of a dancer.” Thus where the idea came to light.

Famed choreographer Noemie LaFrance is one of the three dancers profiled in the video series. Her sensitivity to environment, muscle memory and improvisation were just a few of the many things that deemed Noemie a fascinating interview subject. She related her dancing to the way Stephanie rides a wave: both women understand the languages of the body and how far one can push their body. “It’s a constant adaptation,” Noemie said. “…a lot of times what is ‘improv’ is what is most natural and beautiful.” Each goes into their ‘dance’ with extreme structure and planning, but the two women connected on the need to let go and let the music or the wave take over.

Tiler Peck, the second dancer to take part in the series, is a determined and graceful New York City ballet principal. Very young for her level of success, the two women connected instantly on their early achievements and their being ‘thrown into’ a world of early stardom. Both Stephanie and Tiler acknowledge how their competitive drive enables them to put on a good show. "Every step is important, even the in between ones are even more," Tiler says.

The final woman partaking in The Water Dancer is Brooklyn breakdancer and musician Casandra ‘Defy’ Rivera. Defy sheds light on the female presence in a male-dominated culture. On breakdance culture, she remarks, “It is male-dominated and it takes a lot of strength. Girls are intimidated by it.” Similarly, men dominate surfing, and both Stephanie and Casandra agree on the importance of being aggressive while keeping femininity in their movements.

Speaking to dancers from varying backgrounds, cultures and genres of performance, Stephanie has achieved a unity between surfing and all forms of dance and movement. Both surfing and dance require determination, strength and creativity. The true essence of The Water Dancer is to teach women the importance of constantly seeking inspiration in all that you do.

For more information, please visit: http://www.quiksilver.com/waterdancer

The town of my birth has the coolest of cinemas. Go check it out!

Indian Feathers...and pleathers.

R.I.P Sean. One of the rare, genuine and most special people to walk this planet! I'll never forget the memories of great surf trips with you. Thank you for sharing your endless knowledge and such incredible wisdom with me. Miss you already. <3

Women want more time on '12 ASP tour

Shields/A-Frame

CoCo Ho is sitting on a porch on the North Shore of Oahu trying to keep still as a makeup artist applies eye shadow to her lids. Earlier in the day, she had watched from the same porch as 35-year-old Australian surfer Kieren Perrow won the final heat of the Billabong Pipeline Masters, a contest that's been staged in her family's backyard since 1971.

Since 1983, Pipeline has represented the final stop of the men's Triple Crown series. Last year, when the women's Triple Crown lost a sponsor for its Maui contest, a four-woman heat dubbed the Duel for the Jewel was held at Pipeline in its place. Ho surfed in that heat, which drew heaps of exposure and was won by eventual Triple Crown champ Steph Gilmore. But this year, the sponsorship dollars simply weren't available to support a women's Triple Crown. So, for the first time in nearly 20 years, Hawaii did not host a women's event. Instead of competing, Ho, who's grown up dreaming of winning a Triple Crown title and is currently the sixth-ranked surfer in the world, is filling her days with photo and video shoots. And she's tired of sitting still.

"This is the first time since I was born that there isn't a women's event in Hawaii," says the 19-year-old Ho. "It's sad to be home and wake up every morning with nothing to look forward to. It really sucks. Everyone knows women's surfing is the best it's ever been and Hawaii is the proving ground, so we're all bummed there are no women's events for us this year. I hope this has made everyone step back and think, 'Wow. The women are getting pretty bad treatment.' I think it's going to turn around next year."

Randy Rarick, executive director of the Vans Triple Crown series and a member of the ASP's board of directors, says he believes 2012 will see the return of the women to the North Shore. "We have two permits for contests at Haleiwa and Sunset next year and I'd love to reinstate the Triple Crown," Rarick says. "I have the vehicle. I just need someone to buy the tires so that I can drive it. We need somebody who's stoked on women's surfing to show that with their checkbook."

Rarick says that "somebody" could be anyone from the head of an endemic surf brand to a CEO from corporate America to a collection of investors. "Wyland, the local artist, said he would be willing to put up money to see the women back on the North Shore," Rarick Says. "I'm sure there are more people like him, advocates of women's surfing who want to see the women surf here next year. Maybe we could cobble together a compilation of sponsors to put something on."

But that "something" may not be the Triple Crown in its former three-contest form, a series that mirrors the men's, with previous stops at Haleiwa (Vans Hawaiian Pro), Sunset (Roxy Pro) and Honolua Bay (Billabong Pro Maui). Rarick believes in order to attract new sponsors to the sport, the women's tour needs to change. And that includes its year-end series. "This year, we proposed to the ASP to put on a specialty Triple Crown series where we would invite four- to six of the top women's surfers, pay them an appearance fee and put on exhibitions," he says. "The ASP said we had to put on rated events or nothing at all. I understand why they said no, that they were looking out for the best interest of all the surfers, not just those at the top, but I think that was a huge mistake on the part of the ASP."

At the moment, the ASP -- the Association of Surfing Professionals, pro surfing's governing body since 1983 -- is busy dealing with its own problems, which includes searching for a new CEO following the resignation of Brody Carr in November. "One of the goals of the new CEO will be to stabilize the women's tour," says Dave Prodan, international media director for the ASP.

"Since I started five years ago, we have the most marketable, talented and beautiful girls on tour, but it's hard to have stable events. We need to add a few more, but only if they perform at the same level as the men's events with the same quality webcast, prize money and waves. They have to be something the women want to shoot for."

And events fans want to watch and companies want to sponsor.

"The current formula for women's surfing is not attractive to sponsors," Rarick says. "Quite honestly, people don't care about the lower ranks. They want to see the very best, just like they want to watch Kelly Slater. There isn't enough support for the tour as it currently stands, but if we make some format changes -- maybe the tour becomes a mix of regional competitions and showcase events -- I think we can re-ignite the interest in women's surfing."

Five thousand miles from the North Shore, four-time world champ Gilmore is at home in her apartment in New South Wales, Australia, also tired of sitting still. With no women's events in Hawaii, Gilmore opted to stay home rather than fly to the North Shore to watch the men surf. "Hawaii is one of the most respected venues on the surf calendar and for women to not be represented there is a step backwards," she says. Gilmore agrees that bringing the tour back to Hawaii rests on the shoulders of the ASP, but says to do so will require changes from a business and marketing perspective.

"Perhaps our tour is not packaged well enough to be marketed the best possible way for companies to want to be involved," she says. "Cracking the magic code of getting men and women interested in watching female sports is a task across many women's sports. The talent on tour has come so far, but that's only half of it. The rest of the equation is business. This has to be a priority for the new CEO. People need to be held responsible and others need to be brought in to think outside the box. Their focus needs to be on quality, not quantity. Holding 10 events is meaningless if four are held like local club rounds," she says.

Currently, the 2012 women's world tour schedule ends with the Nike US Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach in August, just as it did last season. "We as athletes are holding up our end of the bargain," Gilmore says. "We're presenting ourselves well, breaking into mainstream press, surfing at a new level. It's now over to the brands and the ASP. If the 2012 world title is decided at Huntington Beach, we should all be disappointed."

Starting with fans of women's surfing.

Morning of the Mo www.morningofthemo.tumblr.com

Lennox 1970

Coming soon! Together with Quiksilver a project called 'Water Dancer'
Here is the first glimpse...

Love Gaga

I just can't get enough of Kilian and his style of skateboarding.

Marry me Prince! His solo starts 3:31

Dancing on his skateboard

Adele is such an incredible woman. Love this unplugged stuff.

This is one of my absolute favourite pieces out of the new Quiksilver collection! It wins the award for most compliments as well :) Click through to shop!

The sea turns trash to treasure

Sea Glass and Gordons Gin, washed up from a long way away.

KCRW with Liza!

Liza Richardson: Hi, I’m Liza Richardson from KCRW and I’m here with professional surfer Stephanie Gilmore who is a four time world champion. And today, we’re going to be talking about songs that have inspired her over the years as part of KCRW’s Guest DJ Project. Stephanie, welcome. How’re you doing?

Stephanie Gilmore: Thank you. I’m really good.

LR: Welcome, I’m glad you’re here.

SG: Thanks for having me.

LR: Tell us what you’ve brought for us today.

SG: I’ve brought, probably, my top five favorite songs. I picked out a couple that, you know, they make me think of good memories of surfing trips or stuff that I listen to maybe before heats to psych up or...just stuff that I love.

LR: Good, I want to hear about each one and the story behind each one.

SG: Alright.

LR: So, what are we going to start with?

SG: One of my all-time favorite albums, Tame Impala.

Song: Tame Impala – “Sundown Syndrome”

SG: The Sundown Syndrome song I love so much because, as surfers, I feel like we really, we get like sucked into this sundown syndrome thing all the time because you’re at the beach and…it reminds of being in Hawaii, where we hang out at the beach; you go surfing all day and then it gets to the end sessions where the sun’s starting to set and everybody’s just in the sand and drinking beers and having fun, and its just the perfect way to end a day. You really think about how spoiled you are to be a surfer and to live that lifestyle.

LR: You’re lucky.

SG: Yes, very spoiled.

LR: That’s Sundown Syndrome from Australian band, Tame Impala. So, ok, what’s next?

SG: The next song is going to be Grapevine by the Slits. Well, they’re a British all girl band, but they’re just, like, I don’t know…they have to be one of the first, all-girl kinda punk bands. And the fact that they opened for the Clash is just the coolest thing ever. Yeah, I don’t know, this song…I love the Grapevine song, the original one. It’s really groovy, but the Slits version of it is just the best. I put it on and go crazy.

Song: The Slits - “Grapevine”

SG: A friend of mine, she lives in New York and she’s from Australia, but she has lived in New York for about 10 years. And she has a fantastic knowledge of music and just the world. I’ve actually learned a lot hanging out with her.
I think we were in Puerto Rico. We were at a surfing event -- it was where I won my 4th world title. And, I remember driving around in the rental car, and there were like this crazy weather storms and so we spent a lot of time kinda chasing waves and trying find places to escape the weather. And she put this song on in the car and I was just in love with it. It was the best thing ever. And since then, I’ve really, you know, I’ve tried to get a hold of as much music of theirs as possible, but…that’s definitely my favorite song.

LR: So that’s “Heard it Through the Grapevine” and it’s the version by The Slits. It’s the choice of our Guest DJ, pro-surfer and Australian Stephanie Gilmore. So, thanks for that. Love that, love that band. Tell me what you’ve brought next.

SG: Up next is probably another of my favorite females in the world, I’d have to say -- Karen O. Just as a woman, as a performer, as a creative genius, she’s so cool. So yeah, this is the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and it’s “Date with the Night”.
I watched her play live. It was New Year’s Eve. The sound wasn’t that great, but, Karen just made the show. She was so flamboyant on the stage, she just brought so much color and just danced around. And “Date with the Night” is already one of my favorite songs. And I actually prefer their earlier albums, because they’re a little more raw and you know she’s kinda screaming more. She sounds like she’s having so much more fun. And, I mean, I love the new stuff too but it’s much more polished.
“Date with the Night” when that song comes on, I just want to head-bang with my hair out the window of the car, and…screaming. And just dance around and get right in the mosh pit. Best song ever.

Song: Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- “Date with the Night”

LR: That’s “Date with the Night” it’s by the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, of course. And tell me what’s up next.

SG: Tom Waits, and this song is “Gunstreet Girl”.
The album, Raindogs, was given to me by a friend at Christmas time, a couple Christmases ago. He’s actually my sister’s boyfriend and he’s kinda more rough, like rock and roll. And he just sorta said, “Oh you should listen to this album; it’s great.”
And I love the whole thing. It’s really creepy. The tracks are dark and creepy. And I mean, that’s just what Tom Waits is. But it’s so fascinating and, and he really is a genius. But I just love the Gunstreet Girl track because its…I want to be a Gunstreet Girl. That’s cool.

LR: What is a Gunstreet Girl?

SG: What is a Gunstreet Girl? I don’t know. I think about it a lot.

LR: But, it’s you.

SG: Well, I’d love…I just think it’s sexy, it’s cool. I think that’s also something that Tom is probably going, yeah, like, maybe, she’s a girl of his, you know, a girl out of his imagination, as a really sexy, cool rock-and-roll chick.

Song: Tom Waits -- “Gunstreet Girl”

LR: That’s “Gunstreet Girl”, it’s by Tom Waits. I salute you for trying to narrow your favorite songs to five. I could never do it. I don’t know how you Guest DJ’s do it. But congratulations and you also picked this last song…it’s like my favorite Radiohead song. So tell me what you picked.

SG: Really?

LR: Yeah, sorry, go ahead.

SG: Radiohead…

LR: What’s next?

SG: This song, “There There”, the actual, the bridge in this song, I pretty much will skip to the bridge and just play the bridge over and over again. And, I don’t know… it’s so magical…

LR: When it kicks back in…

SG: I just get lost…I get so lost in it.

Song: Radiohead -- “There There”

SG: I just remember when I was young, my older sister Bonnie, she’s about four years older than me. And she was in high school, trying to be rebellious and listening to Jeff Buckley and Radiohead and that sorta stuff. And I was kinda, not really understanding why she was listening to that because I was like, No Doubt and Blink-182, and all this sorta stuff. And Radiohead and Jeff Buckley were so much more complicated.
Like, Radiohead was the band that you’d go into the art-rooms and all the geeks would be sitting in there like all depressed and listening to Radiohead. And I was thinking, you know, they’re trying to…just, say screw the world and all that sorta stuff. But yeah, I actually caught onto it and thought, wow, they actually have really good taste in music.
But, yeah, I just found it on the album one day and and fell in love with it.

LR: So that is, “There There”. It’s by Radiohead. And it’s the final choice today of our Guest DJ, Stephanie Gilmore who is a passionate music listener. And sounds like you’ve got a lot more favorite songs out there, so, thanks for trying to narrow it down and sharing all these amazing inspirations and songs with us. Really appreciate it.

SG: Thanks guys. Hope you enjoyed it.

LR: Thank you. For a complete track listing and to find these songs on line. Go to kcrw.com/guestdjproject and subscribe to the podcast through itunes.

The Best

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music, Lady Gaga

Carving the Mountains from Juan Rayos on Vimeo.

Punk and Skating

This kid is SO rocknroll! Cracks me up everytime :)

Animal theme weekend.

Put yo hands up!