Killer Dana Board Society

Photo: Chris Tietz

Photo: Chris Tietz

Photo: Chris Tietz

Thanks to SoCal Skateparks for all the images and info on the park.

-Teddy
Alley Skate Shop

After a long day of sellin product, cleaning up the shop, and getting things ready for the week; nothin sounds better than a good night of skating.

Unlike the majority of the work labor within this area, I work on Sundays. However, I have one of the best jobs… Just recently, I have become the new Store Manager for Alley Skateshop. I found this place to be the only core skate shop within this area. Surfing does not, I repeat does not take up the majority of the store. In fact, we don’t even allow any such surf-influenced product within the premises. We leave it up to our good-old neighbors, Killer Dana, to take hold of that Market.

So back to the point of this special feature… Every Monday, I am goin to feature a park within the greater area of Orange County, so I can hopefully get all you skate junkies off the couch, out the door and on your board to potentially push your board to new limits. And what better way to find a park within your area that has all the essential tools to get your adrenaline goin. There is nothin better than after a horrendous day of work or countless hours in the classroom of day-dreaming to actually go out and skate.

This Sunday evening I treated msyelf to a evening sesh @ the Volcom Park in Costa Mesa. A great all-around park for those tranny lovers and street gurus. The park has a great flow and a traditionally good-old vibe that sets the mood for a good session.

The park features a vert bowl, mini peanut bowel, street course with a euro-gap, ledges, couple challenging yet fun rails, and obstacles to make you go home with a smile.

Details: City: Costa Mesa, Orange County
Address: 970 Arlington Drive
Lights: Yes
Gated: Yes
Terrain: Vert, Street, Tranny
Hours: 9am-9pm. Tuesdays park opens at 3 pm due to maintance.
Extra Notes: No staff, outside concrete park, Free Admission, 20,000 sq ft. Rules: Pads and Helmet required. However, you can get away without wearing safety gear. Police appearances are random. Skate at your own risk.

Stop by the shop and say what’s up when you’re in the area… I’m always down to hook you up with stickers or sweet deals.

-Teddy

Meet Mr.Nolan Houghton, he’s an 8 year old ripper from Placentia, California! You’ve probably seen him shredding at his favorite skateparks in Brea, and San Clemente. He also skates in Morrow Bay, Costa Mesa (the Volcom park), Vans at the Block, Fullerton….pretty much anywhere he can get those little wheels to roll!

Nolan’s been zipping around on a skateboard since the day he could walk, and watch out cause he’s movin up in the Skate World (next stop, Pro Status). Just recently Nolan won 2nd place in the 8-10yr old division of the San Clemente Open… and next year he’s shooting for 1st!

Every Monday we like to hook you guys up with some rad stickers. This week we’re representin Alley Skate Shop, and wanna give you a mix up of shop stickers. Who’s down?!!

All you have to do is send us a link (from Youtube or something) of your favorite skate video… we’re gonna pick the best one and put it up on Alley’s Facebook this week.

That’s it! First ten people win.
(Free shipping for U.S. residents only)

In honor of the most amazing holiday ever, Halloween, we’ve teamed up with Alley Skate Shop (located behind our Dana Point Store) and decided to give away this rad Creature board… The Riprider!

Here’s what you have to do to win it!

1. Impress us with your stupid skills (eating tons of candy, stringing spaghetti through your nose while doing a skate trick etc.) while wearing a ridiculous Halloween costume!

2. Post up a photo or video comment on our Killer Dana Friend page (facebook.com/killerdanarocks) or the Alley Skate Shop’s page (facebook.com/alleyskateshop) showing us your fun useless skills…

3. Leave us a comment this blog letting us know you’ve completed the above steps.

You have one week do complete these steps (Wednesday Oct. 21st- 28th). On the 29th we’ll narrow it down to the top two or three or something and let our Facebook Friends pick the winner!!!

Free shipping to U.S. residents only…

This is your opportunity to get as weird as possible so don’t hold back!

Here are some of the contestants thus far!

We all knew it was time. Something fresh in our skate department needed to go down. What better way than to welcome a new member to the team?

Enter Alan Young, an insane all around skater. From street to transition to vert, Alan pretty much handles it all with impeccable style. Tweaked grabs, critical transitions and technical prowess all come together in his skating.

When we finally got some time to head down south to shoot, Alan was ready to get it done. First stop was a pretty sick park in O-side that suited Alan’s versatility. After tearing a couple lines through this concrete paradise, it was time to step it up a bit at the Birdhouse warehouse.

Alan Young from killerdana on Vimeo.

We packed it up and headed over with refreshments for the boys (too bad they were all in meetings). Alan; who used to skate quite a bit of vert in his earlier days and has recently picked it back up, proceeded to launch himself into a flurry of tweaked indy, stalefish and tail grabs while showing his tech side in the street section.

It was a pretty impressive first impression and for a couple hours of shooting, he nailed some solid clips. Definitely check back for more sessions with the newest addition to the Killer Dana skate team. Peep the clip.

We just got some new Skate stuff in today! Check it…

New decks from Anti Hero, Krooked, Real, Toy Machine and  Foundation…

New wheels from Spitfire and Bones…

And new Bones bearings as well…

All these items will be going to the Alley Skate Shop this afternoon, so get excited! To find the Alley, go to our Dana Point Shop, and we’re right behind it… in “the alley”

-Alley Skate Shop

I guess she’s the kid you would like to have, and at the same time the kid you would have liked to be: she’s a cutie, she’s a lil’ ripper who surfs, kite surfs & snow kites… and she’s only 10!

I first met her while surfing my favorite reef break in Moorea (yeah, the one where I nearly drowned a few months ago): she was in the water on her bright pink surfboard, her dad pushing her in the waves (so cute!), and I was impressed by this tiny little thing who was charging every wave coming through, surfing them from the beginning to the end, with great style and with a big smile on her face. She was so cute, so fresh and so happy that just watching her surfing made me feel great… and even though I didn’t know the kid at all, I was proud of what she was doing.

I definitely wanted to know more about this little girl named Kailea, daughter of Titaua Ropiteau (former France’s snowboard champ) and Guillaume Chastagnol (www.chasta.info), snowboard and snowkite world champ. So when I got to hang out with her parents, I just listened carefully to their words every time they talked about their precious little thing.

The least you can say, is that Kailea is a little mermaid: born in Tahiti, she started swimming in the waves with her dad and learned to surf at age 5, in Huahine, her mom’s home island (located about 100 miles north west of Tahiti). Pretty impressive for a kiddo, when you know that the only waves she could surf over there were reef breaks!!! No wonder she rips… Better yet, she first went snow kiting at age 1, all bundled up in her dad’s backpack (!!), learned to ski at age 3 and finally started snow kiting on her own this past winter, in France.

Of course, curious as I am, I couldn’t help checking out her blog (www.kailea.over-blog.com) to learn a bit more about her, and it turns out that Miss Kailea is also a pretty good skater & kite boarder; for her very first kite boarding session this summer, she did really well: please watch the video, and if you know a little bit about the sport, I guarantee you’ll be amazed by her accomplishment.

Kailea’s life is one of endless travels, going from lands of snow to ocean countries, following her dad’s pro schedule as a pro snowboarder / snow kiter / kite boarder. Despite this “busy” schedule (wish it were mine!), the whole family still spends 6 months a year in French Polynesia, between the beautiful islands of Moorea and Huahine, to reconnect with friends and family (yeah!!), and to enjoy the great waves and wind our islands offer year-round.

All the things that I saw and heard about her made me reflect on parenting and life as well. Being a mom myself (yeah, who knew?), this is the kind of life I wish to offer to my “mini me”: one of countless travels, experiences and discoveries, one life that would allow her to expand her horizon as much as possible and to see the beauty of the world she lives in. I strongly believe that being a parent is all about giving your kids the opportunity to be the best person they can be, to teach them that there’s no limit but the sky, and that they can make all their dreams come true if they really put their mind to it.

My little one is only 3, and I already took her swimming in the waves, bodyboarding, and kiting with a 1.5m kite (don’t you guys worry about her, I always make sure the conditions are safe for her): she loves to play with the elements (just like her mommy, yeeaahh!) and it’s a lot of fun to share those moments with her and to see everybody around us smiling when they hear her laughing and yelling in the water!

Through all these, I also want to teach her that we are lucky to live in a world that has so much to offer, and that we should always be respectful and thankful for what we have and experience every single day.

Needless to say, I also teach her that going to school is very important and that life is all about finding the right balance that works for you.

In that sense, Guillaume and Titaua are doing an incredible job with their life and their kid, and there’s no doubt Kailea the little mermaid is happy, with a great future ahead of her.

Keep ripping sweetie, we love you!! 

Vainui