brohammas

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Jack of All Trades: Rowing Blazers

Jack is a lot of things but what stands out is his friendliness. He is unassumingly nice, open, and I believe it. He could afford not to be. He could afford it because this guy has a PhD from Oxford, was on the U.S. National Rowing Team, and founded a lifestyle brand that was featured in Target stores, but above all that, he is just kind of, well… nice. I like that. The Emcee of the book talk…

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Happy Battle surf shop

Happy Battle Surf Co. 4958 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego I didn’t see any Quicksilver, Billabong, or Tommy Bahama. What I found instead was locally shaped boards of varying lengths, a boom box playing cassettes, and best of all, was Mark. Mark Polintan was taping bubble wrap around a board when we popped in. He didn’t ask us if we needed help, he asked, “Did you surf today?” I sheepishly told him…

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Cruising on Celebrity beyond

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E.T. Surf

904 Aviation Blvd. Hermosa Beach When I got out of my car there was a shaggy blonde headed guy with a squirt gun hiding behind a trash can apparently waiting for someone to come out the front door. We gave each other a nod as I scooted past in silence. Once inside I could see that there was no one anywhere near the door and for all I know that guy is still there waiting. There was a man behind…

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Chukkers with the Will Rogers Polo Club

What does one wear to a polo match? I assume this is everyone’s question, as it was mine, when faced with the possibility of attending an actual polo match. Not water polo, not a Polo outlet store, but actual polo. With horses. The answer, as to what to wear, is a solid, “whatever you want.” Which is somehow disappointing considering my only real relationship to the game is a shirt. If you want…

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Isn't a shed with bird's in it usually called a coop: Bird's Surf Shed

It is indeed a giant shed 1091 W Morena Blvd. San Diego The place has been around since 2011 but the guy who owns it, “Bird”, has a story that goes back a touch further. https://birdssurfshed.com/bird-huffman-story/ You can find Bird hanging around the shop, which doesn’t matter all that much if all you want is to look at, or buy, boards, because they have plenty of stuff to look at or buy.…

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Los Angeles Step Show

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Rugby Sevens in Los Angeles

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BDDW by Tyler Hays

New York, London, LA 1032 N. HIGHLAND AVENUE, LOS ANGELES, CA I first learned of BDDW through a friend of mine in Philly. That was more than a decade ago and it was instantly evident then, and is true now, that they simply make cool stuff. I chose the words “cool” and “stuff” carefully. To say BDDW is a furniture design shop would overlook the house bottled liquor. To say it is an art gallery…

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SOLE FOLKS

SOLE FOLKS 4317 Degnan Blvd Leimert Park, LA The Leimert Park neighborhood is generally considered the heart of the conscious Black community in Los Angeles. It is also incredibly cool. Some might say those two are the same thing but in that world of cool, SOLE FOLKS is the coolest of the cool. Sole describes itself as a design incubator rather than a shop, and they are true to that, but what…

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Students for Fair Admissions Inc. has NEVER been about fairness.

For nearly 178 years it was legal for colleges to racially discriminate. In 1954 the supreme court ruled that racial discrimination in schools was unconstitutional but did not set a firm timeline by which discriminatory policies must end. Most colleges did not begin making efforts to integrate till the mid 1960’s. In 1978 the Supreme court ruled that setting racial quotas for college admissions…

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Anti DEI legislation is a direct attack on racial and sexual equality in America

Over the past two years 24 states have proposed or passed anti DEI legislation. I have read 12 of these proposals and in each case their justifications rely on mischaracterization and/or outright lies regarding what DEI offices do and make unfounded conjectures about what effect their closing will have. Each insinuates that DEI programs are the source of division and inequality and that outlawing…

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Stewart Surfboards

Stewart 2102 S. El Camino Royal, San Clemente, CA Bill Stewart shaped and or painted surfboards for Ocean Pacific and Hobie, before opening his own shop in 1978. Since then his Stewart brand boards have spread around the world. You can buy them in almost any used board shop, online exchange, or even at his shop which has been in its current location for almost 30 years. The rafters of the shop…

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Good Feeling Surf Session

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Rugby World Cup

Ireland was ranked #1 in the world and the All Blacks came into the tournament looking not just vulnerable, but disappointing. Irish fans flooded Paris, singing their songs so loud that the sound drowned the haka out. New Zealand found a way to scrape out a win in the final minutes and crushed the hopes of a million smiling eyes. France, having beat the All Blacks in the tournament’s opening…

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Mowgli Surf

Mowgli Surf 1942 Riverside Dr. LA At Mowgli surf you can purchase, cosmically painted surf boards- the sort that evoke yoga and acid. You can also get clothes and accessories, but I think the main attraction is the art gallery in back stocked with the works of Luke Pelletier and Ashley Dreyfus. They pair well together in way that feels like two 80’s kids started drawing on Trapper Keepers and…

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15th Street Surf Supply

103 15th Street, Newport CA 15th Street is not a big chain filled with brand names that you could find in any surf shop, or every shopping mall. It is small, local, and appears to be ok with that. My understanding is that there are two locations, and perhaps over there, they have a big row of new boards, but there was no such thing here. There was a small selection of used boards, still covered…