Dylan Kowalski has had recent success in Florida, the Outer Banks, Puerto Rico and now Hawaii after he scored an impressive third place finish in the Open Mens final during the first NSSA Hawaii contest of the ‘09-’10 season. Kowalski, a fifteen-year-old who hails from Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, has been making a successful transition to surfing in Hawaii. Kowalski advanced to the Open Men’s final where he finished third behind Kiron Jabour and Lahiki Minamishin. Dylan used much of what he has learned training with Ben Aipa in Hawaii to excel in the 2-3 foot surf at Straightouts on the south shore of Oahu. Dylan also advanced to the semi-finals in the Explorer Juniors division while running over to Ala Moana as he competed in the Surf into Summer contest where he narrowly missed the finals.
THE ARBOR COLLECTIVE RELEASES NEW KELLY SLATER SKATEBOARD
The 9x World Surfing Champion’s new swallowtail shape arrives in stores this summer.
Venice, CA – May 25, 2009 – The Arbor Collective is proud to announce the release of a new model created with friend and nine-time ASP World Surfing Champion, Kelly Slater. This follow up design builds on the foundation created by Arbor’s original Slater Model. The updated design provides speed down the line and the tightest turning available from any of Arbor’s carve oriented skateboards. “The new swallowtail design was inspired by some of the boards Slater has been surfing recently,” said Bob Carlson, Arbor’s cofounder.
Kelly Slater is arguably the best competitive surfer ever. He has won an amazing nine world titles, five of which were consecutive, and is showing no signs of letting up. “Kelly’s life is rooted in the world competitive surfing and all that comes with that path,” says Carlson. “This led us to work with Venice, California based artist, Jake Pickle to develop a graphic that highlights the important elements in Kelly’s life: surfing, music, travel, and friends.”
Kelly Slater is a Arbor skate team rider.
The new Slater Model, which is now more competitively priced at $179, is a 37” long tapered carver, with a concave profile that is 8.75” wide. A 26.30” wheelbase creates the stability and performance of large-radius turning. The Slater Model also features Arbor’s gummy 65mm, 78a durometer wheels for a smoother ride, and Gullwing 9” reverse kingpin trucks for tighter turn initiation.
The new Slater Model is built with a unique blend of materials that deliver a powerful combination of attributes, including: performance, an important amount of surf heritage, and a respect for the planet. “It’s the environment that makes a life of surf, skate, and snow possible,” added Carlson. “This awareness has always been important to Kelly and Arbor; it drove our design efforts ensuring that the new Slater Model is as friendly on the environment as possible.”
