If you thought entrepreneurship was a scary prospect, imagine balancing a start-up with training to compete in the most prestigious kiteboarding contest in the country. It’s a daily reality for 25-year-old Sensi Graves, a Hood River, Oregon, native in the midst of designing an eponymous swimwear brand while simultaneously preparing for this summer’s Triple S Invitational in Hatteras, North Carolina—arguably the toughest contest for freestyle kiteboarders, in which Graves has placed third overall for the past two years. Short for “surf, slicks, and sliders,” the contest is a three-part event wherein kiteboarders battle it out on a series of obstacles like rails and kickers to score points, all set against the famously windy backdrop of North Carolina’s Outer Banks … More
Watch James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto battle during the main event at the sixth Round of the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross in San Diego, California.
Dear Olympics,
Sup? I’m Bren. I’m sure you’re super busy right now, what with the Winter Games and all, but I figured I’d give you a holler. Hopefully you can find some quiet time in that swanky Sochi hotel room of your’s to take a minute and digest what I’m about to say. I’m here to talk to you about surfing.
Here’s the thing: surfing isn’t an Olympic game. And here’s why that’s a thing: biathlon is. Biathlon, a sport which involves skiing around and shooting off rifles like a redneck on vacation in the Alps, is an Olympic game. So is table tennis, trampoline, racewalking and probably bingo. All beautiful recreations in their own right, but more beautiful than surfing? I think not. But I’m not here to argue … More