“I’ve ridden for a few different companies in the 14 years I’ve been sponsored, I’ve ridden for little guys and I’ve ridden for the big guys. Most recently Sputnic, who opened a lot of doors for me and gave me my first signature frame. Although Sputnic didn’t work out I’m still thankful for everything and so stoked to still be part of the Sparkys family, riding for Shadow! I’ve learned over the years it’s all about friends, doing what you love and helping each other out to reach each other’s goals. I’m where I am now because of the friendships built during those years. Shadow, Almond, Dan’sComp, DeftFamily, FG and now my friends at DiamondBack have welcomed me in. I couldn’t ask for a better group supporting me doing what I love, I’m more motivated than ever to ride my bike every day and still; BMX is the most fun thing I’ve ever done. I’m so proud to say I’m close friends with everyone that works for each and every one of my sponsors, thus making the possibilities of good times an memories endless. Thank you Diamondback, Mike Hammond, Darin Read, Nate Berkheimer, Diogo Canina, Matt Closson and everyone else at DB for most importantly, expanding my bmx family. Good times to come!”–Ben

For more info, check out this awesome interview piece by ESPN Action Sports.

Taking showers at water-parks, driving onto trains, and endless face-shots are great ways to learn about other cultures: The TC Crew returns to Europe! Armed with rental RV’s and an endless supply of designer cheese sandwiches, the Euro TC Crew hits the open Autobahn in the midst of an epic two-week snowstorm.

An extremely dry start to winter had been plaguing all of North America when Will, Shane, and LJ Strenio (subbing in for Andy) headed to Europe for the second Traveling Circus overseas episode. While the news of recent snowfall throughout Switzerland and Austria had everyone’s fingers crossed for at least one solid pow-day, the initial plan for the twelve-day tour had been mapped with out some of Europe’s best terrain parks in mind.

The storm system over Austria and Switzerland made for all time epic conditions and after a short two days castle-jibbing in Austria the TC Euro crew realized that their planned week of park riding had just turned into a full blow pow mission fueled on magical Bavarian cheese noodles and only limited by wet ski boots and two-wheel drive rental vans with summer tires…

EMBED: http://bit.ly/w45xnC

Be a Fan! Facebook.com/LineTravelingCircus

Follow Us! twitter.com/LINE_TrvlngCrcs

ABOUT LINE TRAVELING CIRCUS:

Admission is free! No high-end production crews, annual movie sales, snowmobiles, or heli trips to AK here, just a couple of die-hard ski bums with a camera powered by more creativity, ingenuity & hyperactivity than a 3^rd grade art class. This band of misfit skiers are lead by Will Wesson & Andy Parry on a year round adventure criss-crossing North America and beyond in search of an angled surfaces to ski on.  It’s reality TV meets modern ski bumming, for comedy, adventure and skiing antics that proves reality is more entertaining than fiction. Each of the six episodes per season are watched tens of thousands of times online by skiers around the world. This popularity is the reason the Line Traveling Circus has been recognized with the first ever prestigious award of “Best Webisode” at the International Freeskiing Film Festival (www.IF3.ca).

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY:

Line Skis: Designing & building skis, poles and softgoods by any means necessary to make skiing more funner LineSkis.com.

Full Tilt Boots: Comfort, warmth & natural flexing ski boots that eliminates shin bang to keep TC on the hill. FullTiltBoots.com

Orage Clothing: Fresh new threads for Andy & Will to stay dry, warm & go weeks without doing laundry Orage.com

Vista, CA. – LifeCore Fitness and Raleigh America today announced that they have executed an exclusive global licensing agreement transferring to LifeCore Fitness operation of the Diamondback Fitness (DBF) division. Effective January 23, 2012, all operations of Diamondback Fitness will transfer to LifeCore’s Vista, Calif., headquarters.

LifeCore Fitness will continue to operate the Diamondback Fitness division with independent distribution, product development and present marketing strategies, much like they operate today. Dealers can be assured that there will be no material changes to either brands dealer network, product offering, pricing or programs as currently offered.

“LifeCore was our partner of choice,” said Steve Meineke, President of Raleigh America. “Under the direction of Roger and Traci Bates, Lifecore Fitness has a strong management team and solid reputation in the industry for providing a broad range of products, programs and customer support services. This new partnership positions well the Diamondback Fitness brand for an exciting new era by providing dealers with new & unique products that will build market share and expand customer offerings.”

Roger Bates, the President of LifeCore Fitness stated, “The agreement allows LifeCore to leverage the strengths of both companies to strategically position the Diamondback Fitness and the LifeCore Fitness brands in retail and light institutional fitness, and to combine efforts in a focused way that delivers unique global product designs, heightened quality and creative marketing initiatives, while at the same time supporting both brands by providing improved sourcing and operational efficiencies. We believe in the Diamondback brand and its complementary product range and price offerings. The licensing agreement will help us be a better supplier to our customers and provide greater opportunities for dealers to increase profitability.”

Brian Davidson will continue with LifeCore as its Director of Global Sales and Marketing. As DBF’s general manager, Davidson led DBF marketing, product development, sales and sourcing since 2008, resulting in new product innovation and consistent growth in a challenging fitness retail market. His responsibilities with LifeCore Fitness will remain the same.

All current Diamondback Fitness and LifeCore Fitness dealers should feel free to contact: Brian Davidson at bdavidson@diamondbackfitness.com or your LifeCore Fitness sales rep Garrett@lifecorefitness.com or Todd@lifecorefitness.com with any questions (760)599-4555

Cascade Designs, an industry leader in the design and manufacture of innovative, useful and long-lasting outdoor equipment, today named Hayter Communications as its public relations and social media agency to manage outreach for its seven brands: Therm-a-Rest®, MSR®, SealLine®, Platypus®, Hummingbird, PackTowl®, and Tracks®.

“Hayter Communications has achieved great success in the fitness, outdoor, winter sport and watersport industries and we are excited to have the agency take the lead on Cascade Design’s public relations initiatives,” said Kerri Dellisanti, public relations manager for Cascade Designs. “Hayter’s team consists of dedicated adventurers and practiced wordsmiths who are some of the most connected and well-liked people in the industry.”

Hayter Communications is a full-service communications agency representing a myriad of A-list clients, including Helly Hansen, Smith Optics, K2 Skis & Snowboards, Ride Snowboards, Raleigh Bicycles, Diamondback Bicycles, Line Skis, POW Gloves, Ural Russian sidecar motorcycles, Zoot Sports, Richlite, and Corvus Energy, among other renowned brands.

“Cascade Designs makes the world’s most innovative outdoor, watersport, and travel gear,” said Ryan Hayter, CEO and president of Hayter Communications. “Their product is designed to perform at a professional level and has played an important role in my personal outdoor adventures for most of my life. Cascade Designs has a great reputation and we are intent on showcasing its substantial growth in the coming years.”

Cascade Design media inquiries may be directed to Christina Erb at christina@hayterpr.com. Natasha Caldwell, natasha@hayterpr.com, will manage social media initiatives for each of the brands. For more information, visit www.hayterpr.com.¬¬

About Cascade Designs
For forty years, Seattle-based Cascade Designs, Inc. has led the outdoor industry in designing innovative, useful and long-lasting equipment, manufacturing the majority of products in their Seattle, U.S.A. and Cork, Ireland facilities. From the original self-inflating Therm-a-Rest® camping mattress to the first multi-fuel stove, Cascade Designs has developed products that explorers, travelers, adventurers, outdoor enthusiasts and weekend campers can rely on to deliver optimum performance in the outdoors through exceptional engineering and quality. For more information on Cascade Designs or links to our premium brands: Therm-a-Rest®; MSR®; Platypus®; SealLine®; Hummingbird™; PackTowl®; and Tracks®, please visit www.cascadedesigns.com or call us at 1-800-531-9531.

Through words and imagery, follow the journey of skiing pioneer Eric Pollard & Line Skis creating the perfect tools to progress freestyle powder skiing. Eric walks you through 10+ years of never released prototypes & pro models leading to his most recent masterpiece, “Mr. Pollard’s Opus”.  Line’s willingness to try anything is guided by Eric’s intimate knowledge of powder skiing formed by influences such as surfing, snowboarding and an undying drive to ski the mountain differently. Eric’s pro models and innovations are bi-products of this Decade of Ski Development. Enjoy the ride.

ABOUT ERIC POLLARD: Eric Pollard is a professional skier from Oregon. He has been with Line Skis for over a decade producing award winning film segments as well as award winning ski designs. 

ABOUT LINE SKIS: Founded in 1995 in Albany, New York Line has focused on the main goal of making skiing more funner. From creating progressive ski designs to producing the Line Traveling Circus Episode Series, Line has had 1 goal in mind since it’s inception, to make the best tools for the funnest fun skiing now matter what you’re skiing down. From AK lines to backyard jibs, we’ve got you covered.

Be a Fan! Facebook.com/LineSkis

Follow Us! Twitter.com/lineskis

The Ride/Cappel Outerwear team is stacked for 2012 with the addition of four new riders to the circuit roster. Now dressed in Ride Signature Style, Austin Hironaka, Alex Cantin and Silvia Mittermüller are welcomed as pros along with Yuki Kadono as the newest Ride rookie pro.

“There is a new movement rising up within the Ride brand and with it comes a whole new energy to an already explosive line up,” said Ride Team Manager Matt Sickels. “We have the tools, materials, product knowledge and style that continues to keep the consumer happy and this newly formulated team is dedicated to making proven product even better.”

Representing the Ride Pros, Cantin, Hironaka and Mittermüller will be joining Hana Beaman as Ride‘s elite Pro outerwear riders. “I’m stoked to go further with Ride and I’m proud to be part of the outerwear team. Ride is a really good brand who is pushing their products year after year,” said Alex Cantin.

Rookie Pros Brennen Swanson, Sam Hulbert, Megan Ginter, and Yuki Kadono ensure the future progression of the program while international and legendary team riders such as Cosmo Yoshizawa, Takashi Nishida and Nico Droz represent ideas new and established, stylish and functional.

Silvia Mittermüller shared, “To me, being a part of Ride means more than just being dressed in great looking, functional clothes – it gives me the chance to bring in all the years of snowboarding experience I have to help create the best outerwear I can imagine. It’s sweet to say a word and have it directly influence the pieces you´re wearing all season long!”

“I’m real hyped to be supporting all NW brands again!” – Austin Hironaka

We always look to Antenna for fashion advice, and more often than not our brands are fashionable enough themselves to get some notice from the keen eyes of the editors. Check out the 2012 Ride Capitol Down Jacket and Krochet Kids new Peru beanies in their Winter fashion wrap-ups and bundle up with confidence. I’ll also recommend the read on Kendrick Lamar for any beat-junkies reading this. 

Words by Kari Bodnarchuk, Boston Globe: “Ride Snowboard’s new Hi-Phy Boa Coiler boot uses a clever lacing system that lets you dial in the perfect fit, stash excess lace, and firmly tighten your boots — snow day after snow day — without tearing up your fingers. The Boa system has a relatively unobtrusive knob that you twist to tighten the thin, steel-cable laces. Pull the dial out to instantly loosen the boot and step out. These all-mountain freestyle boots offer a stiffer ride, meaning you get better control and rebound action whether you’re carving, landing jumps, or tackling the terrain park. The injection-molded Phy-Top material, which extends from the sole up through the heel and calf area, strips weight without sacrificing stiffness or durability (each boot weighs just 2 pounds). The boots come in black and a wild lime color (this year’s new black?). $260. www.ridesnowboards.com“

Helly Hansen announced today that its 2012 season is now open for registration. Fans of the series will see the addition of two of North America’s premier mountains, Vermont’s Killington Resort and British Columbia’s Kicking Horse, to its wildly successful Big Mountain Battle roster. Helly Hansen also added intermediate and 12 and under categories, making this event accessible to skiers and snowboarders of all levels.

“Helly Hansen’s Big Mountain Battle series has seen huge growth in just four short years. We’ve welcomed new sponsors, new resort partners, and our participation levels are nearing capacity,” said Marshall Rutman, marketing manager for Helly Hansen North America. “I am excited to have Killington and Kicking Horse on the schedule for 2012 and I’m confident that competitors are really going to appreciate the expanded categories we’re introducing for this season.”

Helly Hansen’s Big Mountain Battle is a unique event that challenges two-person teams to a three- hour-long, exploratory big-mountain course, consisting of designated runs, lift rides, one to two hikes, and hidden checkpoints. This season, each mountain’s ski patrollers will set the course, as well as the time to beat.

Helly Hansen’s technology partner, Flaik, will, for the fourth year in a row, provide real-time stats on each time with its real-time GPS tracking device. Race officials will monitor each team’s Flaik device as it transmits location, speed, and altitude information every few seconds to race officials.

Keystone will kick off the Big Mountain Battle series on Jan. 28; followed by Taos, Feb. 4; Fernie, Feb. 11; Squaw Valley, Feb. 18; Stevens pass, Mar. 11; Killington, Mar. 17; Kicking Horse, Mar. 24; and Park City, Mar. 24. The top advanced team from each event will win $2,000 in Helly Hansen gear, as well as free entry to the final Battle in the Bowls in Aspen/Snowmass on March 25.

Flaik, PrimaLoft, Contour, Smith, Dakine, Powder Magazine, and Outside TV support the Big Mountain Battle. Cost for the event is $90 per team and includes two Helly Hansen LIFA base layers valued at $45 each. For more info and to register online, please visit www.bigmountainbattle.com.

125 years have led Raleigh Bicycles through some pretty beautiful designs, but the visual appeal of the 2012 Clubman has generated awe from more gawkers than usual. Check out the feature at Coolhunting.com.

Besides the obvious anticipation for the first snowfall, the TC crew has been especially excited about the 2011-2012 season for the return of Garrett Russell. Garrett had been absent for all of last year’s episodes because of ACL surgery he had in October of 2010.

Unfortunately, in some sort of weird plot twist, Traveling Circus front man Andy Parry has switched places with Garrett on the disabled list this season, succumbing to the same terrible fate that sidelined Garrett last winter. Long story short: Andy blew his knee out this past fall, jumping over a fence. (See episode for details).

So Andy had surgery, we drove to Montana, slept in the base lodge. LJ ran a marathon, ate a spicy chicken sandwich, and went skiing – all in the same day. Ian came back to Utah for a bit, Thanksgiving was delicious, and we drove the van to Lake Tahoe to hang out with Garrett, twice.

WATCH: http://linetravelingcircus.com/

EMBED: http://bit.ly/rYUdOu

DOWNLOAD: http://yousend.it/uczIid

Be a Fan! Facebook.com/LineTravelingCircus

Follow Us! twitter.com/LINE_TrvlngCrcs

ABOUT LINE TRAVELING CIRCUS: Admission is free! No high-end production crews, annual movie sales, snowmobiles, or heli trips to AK here, just a couple of die-hard ski bums with a camera powered by more creativity, ingenuity & hyperactivity than a 3^rd grade art class. This band of misfit skiers are lead by Will Wesson & Andy Parry on a year round adventure criss-crossing North America and beyond in search of an angled surfaces to ski on.  It’s reality TV meets modern ski bumming, for comedy, adventure and skiing antics that proves reality is more entertaining than fiction. Each of the six episodes per season are watched tens of thousands of times online by skiers around the world. This popularity is the reason the Line Traveling Circus has been recognized with the first ever prestigious award of “Best Webisode” at the International Freeskiing Film Festival (www.IF3.ca).

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY:

Line Skis: Designing & building skis, poles and softgoods by any means necessary to make skiing more funner LineSkis.com.

Full Tilt Boots: Comfort, warmth & natural flexing ski boots that eliminates shin bang to keep TC on the hill. FullTiltBoots.com

Orage Clothing: Fresh new threads for Andy & Will to stay dry, warm & go weeks without doing laundry Orage.com

We are honored this month to have worked with Motor Trend Classic for their 2012 ski feature, which highlights new pieces from Helly Hansen, Full Tilt Boots, Smith Optics and more. If the automobile enthusiast in you strolls past a newsstand, be sure to pick up a copy while it’s on the shelves.

WENATCHEE, Wash. – The U.S. Forest Service is tapping into its creative side to address illegal trail building on public lands by announcing an official partnership with a newly released mountain bike documentary.

The hour-long documentary entitled “PEDAL-DRIVEN: a bike-umentary,” delves into the escalating conflict between mountain bikers hungry to ride and the federal land managers charged with protecting public lands. The growing trend of rogue trail building on public lands has become a national and international issue in recent years due in part to advancements in bicycle technology.

“Our primary theme here revolves around sustainability,” said writer/director Jamie Howell. “Mountain biking is exploding around the world and is forcing the development of new, cooperative approaches that both allow for it as a legitimate land use and manage it in a way that prevents the destruction of our precious and limited natural spaces.”

“This production documents the great things we can accomplish when we work together to solve problems,” said Forest Supervisor Becki Heath of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, whose forest is prominently featured in the documentary. “It also illustrates the challenges user-built trails can bring, including resource damage and public safety issues.”

The non-profit documentary film was created by Washington State production company Howell at the Moon Productions in affiliation with the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA). Major production support was also provided by bike industry stalwarts such as Shimano and Specialized (see a complete list of major sponsors below).

“This really is an international issue, and this partnership is a milestone,” said producer Jeff Ostenson. “Becoming an official partner of the U.S. Forest Service, combined with the active support of such major players in the bike industry, lends a great deal of credibility to the film as an advocacy tool for riding organizations here in the U.S. and public land agencies around the world.”

Centered on the small town of Leavenworth, Wash., the documentary visits communities across the West in search of organizations working cooperatively to find more sustainable solutions to the ever-growing demands for recreational opportunities on public lands.

PEDAL-DRIVEN is currently on a 250-stop world screening tour and has screened at more than a dozen film festivals, including being recognized as a finalist in the Banff Mountain Film Festival and taking Best Cinematography honors at the 2011 DOCUTAH festival. The DVD was recently released for sale online at www.pedaldriven.org. All net profits from the film will be donated to future sustainable trail building and land stewardship efforts.

Howell at the Moon Productions is: Jamie Howell, Jeff Ostenson, Oly Mingo, Chad Yenney, and Brian Abbey. For additional information or to obtain a screening copy of the film for review, contact Howell at the Moon Productions, 509-888-2212, or email info@howellatthemoon.com.

See the trailer at: http://pedaldriven.howellatthemoon.com/videostrailers.

Project sponsors: Specialized, Shimano, Clif Bar, Diamondback, Pyramid Breweries, the City of Leavenworth, Yakima, Timberland, and Stevens Pass Bike Park, with promotional support from Pinkbike and Bike Magazine.

Need a stocking stuffer, that hard-to-find gift for dad, or maybe just a new pair of sticks for yourself this winter? Check out the Revolt in Style Holiday Gift Guide for some great ideas on how to break back into the winter swing of things with tons of new gear suggestions!

If you haven’t caught up on your last minute holiday shopping, check out Sunday’s Fox and Friends, featuring the latest gear from Helly Hansen, Ride Snowboards, and Full Tilt Boots, makers of the expandable Growth Spurt kids’ ski boot.

We instantly fell in love with eMercedesBenz, an online publication dedicated to covering the Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and smart brands, and its coverage of week’s hottest new gear, the latest styles, and the world’s best places to travel. We declared ourselves officially obsessed even before they declared Helly Hansen‘s Winter 2011-12 collection to be as functional as it is beautiful.

In their own words:

“December is finally upon us, which means the holiday shopping season has officially kicked into high gear.  We know how difficult it can be finding the perfect gifts (both for yourself and for your family and friends), so to help make your decisions a little easier, we’re going to be bringing you some of our favorite gear throughout the month.  Style, food, gadgets, sports gear – we’ve got a little of everything planned, and you can’t go wrong with any of it.  Kicking things off, we’ve got some great early winter wear for you from one of our favorite outerwear brands:  Helly Hansen.

Here in the Midwest, selecting winter gear can present somewhat of a challenge.  Winter starts out cold, and then it gets ridiculously cold come January and February.  As such, I typically tend to have to two winter wardrobes – one for the cold, and one for the extreme cold.  For normal cold, I love the new Helly Hansen Chill Jacket and W Embla Wool Jackets.  They’re both warm and super comfortable, but they’re not too bulky either.  In addition to the coats, I’m a huge fan of the Helly Hansen Arctic Boots (to help withstand the cold and snow that’s just on the horizon), while for the women, the Stoneham Midlayer is a perfect compliment to the W Embla Wool Jacket.

Click here for a closer look at each product.