The much publicized decision made by ESPN to file a lawsuit against Quiksilver over the letter ‘X‘ (silly, isn’t it?) is a decision that will continue to find ESPN and the X-Games painted into a corner all by themselves when it comes to the action sports industry.

In short, the lawsuit basically states that Quiksilver uses a stylized “X” emblem on clothing, labels and accessories that is “confusingly similar” to ESPN’s logo for the series of surfing and biking contests.

Aside from the fact that the basis of this lawsuit appears to be petty and childish, picking a fight with one of the biggest brands in all of action sports isn’t going to do anything beneficial for the continually sagging ratings of the X-Games. For most of us, Quiksilver is a brand that is near and dear to our hearts and one that we would side with over ESPN in a heartbeat.

It has been a gradual decline for the X-Games, but ESPN seems intent on speeding up the process of seeing the games go by the wayside altogether. We just witnessed how well the ‘let’s drop Vert, the event that put us on the map and gave us our signature moment’ decision went over with the masses. Hint: the decision was quickly reversed. They are even going as far as to infuse Hollywood actors into the games and having them judge sports that they know absolutely nothing about.

The thought process being used by the decision-makers at ESPN and X-Games over the last few years is highly questionable. With the direction they’ve taken it’s hard to know what their intentions for the future are. Surely these aren’t the types of decisions made by people who are at all in touch with what makes their fan-base tick.

We were all wandering if anyone in the action sports world uses Twitter? Whether for your company or website or just for personal use. Twitter is growing unbelievably fast and while most of us at the 5ones staff think it can be more of a time waster than a powerful branding tool we have seen some really good examples from friends of ours on growing a blog or audience via Twitter.

As posted before we set up a twitter account for us, http://twitter.com/5ones

So go and follow us to keep up on news and events and to talk to us directly, or if you want to tip us on any news or things you would like us to cover.

I think actions sports people could be one of the coolest groups to twitter as we can post things like, “just got out of a raging session at blacks” instead of some of the more common things like I just ate a tuna sandwich.

Twitter could become a cool place to notify people of breaks that are going off, or skate spots where people are meeting up at or which mountain has the most powder.

If anyone out there is remotely interested in Action Sports and has a twitter account add your account in the comments so we can follow you and so other related readers can follow you.

And don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed via email or RSS reader

Group Y recently held their third industry panel discussion at Oakley HQ in Irvine . Having wisely made the decision to seize the opportunity and attend, I came away from the event very impressed.

They without a doubt know the keys to our hearts, as anytime you combine Wahoo’s, an open-bar, with 100 or so of the industry’s finest and put them together inside a batman-esque compound like that of Oakley, you have pretty much sealed the deal on making it an enjoyable evening . On top of the classy digs, it was just an all-around great opportunity meet the faces behind some of your e-lationships(just made that up, not even kidding), and learn from some of the best in the industry.

With representatives from Fox, Circa, Oakley, and Roxy all on stage it was fun to watch the card-holding that was going on as each wanted to be informative and helpful without showing too much. What was easily noticed is that the action-sports industry in general is still a ways behind when it comes to utilizing the web and tapping into a medium that Danielle Beck(Roxy) labeled as “untappable.”

Perhaps it’s not so much ‘untappable,’ as it’s just that many within the industry haven’t quite figured out how to fully take advantage of the massive influx of online opportunities to build and interact with their audience . With the correct web strategy there is no doubt that brands, riders, and online publications will see exponential growth previously unheard of. Fans and enthusiasts alike will be closer than ever to their favorite pros they emulate every day, as well as hear the stories behind their preferred clothing labels. The ‘untappable’ can become ‘tappable’, you just gotta do it right. The days of getting your message out once a month through print are moving behind us, and it is as exciting a time as ever for the action-sports industry.

A special thanks goes out to group Y, as well as Oakley for opening up their building. It was an incredible time and I strongly recommend participation in future events. April’s gathering is to be held in Carlsbad. With that being the location of the Factive headquaters (which isn’t quite as cool as Oakley’s) we are charged up to be in attendance and enjoy another informative evening with group Y. We are also going to be holding either a pre or post event party here at the office, so stay tuned. Cheers!

After recently posting the “Talk Radio in Action Sports” article I was soon made aware that I violated one of the rules taught to me by my mother many years ago- Never use words lightly. In the post, I used the phrase “With the first and only talk-radio program in the world that is dedicated to action-sports, its athletes, and the lifestyle” while talking about Todd Weatherill’’s action-sports radio show. I was soon reminded by two readers (both using very different methods of letting me know) that in fact I had erred when using the term “first and only”. I flubbed that post and am here to make a correction.

I’m stoked to see there are more outlets for the coverage and discussion of action-sports then I was previously aware of. Hopefully this can be a growing trend and there will be more opportunities provided for the millions out there who make it part of their lives.

Here are a couple of links to other action-sports radio shows. Both are solid productions and I recommend tuning in and checking them out…

Down the Line - Sunday morning, 8AM PST.
Extreme Scene - Saturday evening, 6PM PST

I’ll be attending the group Y Gathering and Panel Discussion up at Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch tonight. The topic, “Branding in Action Sports: Keeping Brands Relevant In Rapidly Changing Environments,” followed up with an all-star line-up of guests has me super excited and ready to bravely take on the infamous Southern California traffic on my trek north.

In an industry that has new brands popping up with every passing day (and possibly hour), finding a way to maintain relevancy and holding the attention of your target audience is vital to sustaining any level of success. The panel assembled for this group Y event all hail from companies who have found a way to keep themselves afloat over a period of time that has surely seen a countless number of brands rise and then fall before they even know what hit them. The action-sports industry is as fickle as any, but if you are able to captivate the minds of those you set out for there is no limit to how far you are able to take your brand. The line between success and failure is now as thin as ever before.

This sold-out event is providing an incredible opportunity to listen to and pick the minds of some of the industries finest. I am looking forward to posting a review tomorrow on what I was able to soak up. (Disclaimer: the phrase ’soak up’ refers to taking in the information provided by the panel and discussion, and is in no way a reference to the open-bar. With that being said, who doesn’t have a soft spot in their hearts for open-bars?)

Here is the panel for tonights event:

Pat McIlvain, Global Sports Marketing Director, Oakley
Jim Anfuso, Director of Marketing, Fox Racing
Danielle Beck, Director of Entertainment and Sports Marketing, Roxy
Carl Harris, Director of Global Marketing, C1rca
The discussion will be moderated by Sean O’Brien, Online Marketing & Communications Manager for Surf Expo.

The mystery surrounding the disappearance and death of Dane Williams has brought the case national attention and hopefully this will assist in bringing the investigation to a close. I was keeping an eye on a bit of the CNN election coverage this past week when the promo for the Nancy Grace Show made it known they were making it part of her nightly show. While I wouldn’t consider myself a Nancy Grace fan, I really thought she did a very thorough report. There is still so much that is unknown surrounding his disappearance and death, and it appears there has not been a lot of progress in finding any answers. Williams’ mother appeared on the show and made a heartfelt plea to anyone with information on her son to come forward. Here is to hoping her plea falls on the ears of any who have yet to come forward with any knowledge surrounding this loss.

Here is Surfersvillage latest information on the Dane Williams case-

Crime Stoppers, working with the San Diego Police Department’s homicide unit, is seeking any information regarding the suspicious death of Dane Williams. 23-year-old Dane Williams attended the ASR tradeshow at the San Diego Convention Center for Hurley on January 26, 2008. He was last seen at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning leaving a Gaslamp area bar.

A citizen discovered a body lying in the North alley of 5200 Landis Street in the City Heights area of San Diego on January 29 at approximately 6:30 a.m. The body was later identified as Dane Williams. The cause and manner of Williams’ death is still undetermined.

Anyone with any information on Dane Williams’ death is asked to call the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-TIPS. Crime Stoppers is offering up to a $10,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to a felony arrest in the case.

- Questions regarding the homicide should be directed to Lt. Kevin Rooney at (619) 531-2425.
- Questions regarding Crime Stoppers should be directed to Officer Jim Johnson at (619) 531-1500 or Deputy Adriana Uribe at (619) 531-1547.

For information leading to an arrest, you could receive up to a $10,000 reward and remain anonymous. The qualification of any person(s) for the reward and the amount of the reward for any person(s) so qualifying will be determined by San Diego County Crime Stoppers, Inc, in its sole discretion. The amount of all rewards given shall not exceed $10,000. Information must be received on the tip line, (888) 580-TIPS.

For all of those working in the action sports industry who spend countless hours behind your desk imagining yourself taking home X-Games gold or landing a mag cover with your dirtiest move, here’s your chance to let it all hang out.

The third annual Office Booyz snowboard competition is strictly for action sports desk jockey’s who want to get a break from the daily office routine and take to the mountain at Big Bear to throw down a little ‘boarding love. That’s right, the contest is limited to those and only those who spend their days working in the action sports industry.

The idea was hatched a few years ago over chicken wings and brewskies (isn’t that where all good ideas are created?) by a group of self-acclaimed out of shape desk jockey’s from Vancouver and has taken flight ever since. And even if your shredding skills weren’t what they once were, or could have been for that matter, Office Booyz offers quite the variety of categories in order to give the boarding-challenged a reason to participate in the festivities. We here at 5ones have already been sussing out the categories, and if anyone thinks they would have a better shot at snatching the Most Donuts/Coffee Consumed award from our grips, they have another thing coming.

The contest is being held Friday, Feb. 22 and anyone interested in heading up can register over at Malakye. Should be interesting, and will more than likely leave some over-zealous office boys in pretty bad shape.

The ASR trade show held in San Diego this past weekend was everything it promised to be and the event itself drew rave reviews from all who attended. Unfortunately and tragically a member of the industry and a precious human life went missing and apparently has ended up deceased.

According to a report published by CBS News, the body of Dane Williams, Huntington Beach local and member of the Hurley marketing department, was found dead in the City Heights section of San Diego, about 20 or so miles from where he was last seen. Dane went missing on Saturday morning around 1 a.m. after attending the ASR tradeshow. Dane was 23. The knowledge of his death comes as a deep shock to all. Going off of what has been reported so far; the disappearance and death seem fairly sketchy, however without a whole lot of information being released at this point it’s best to not even begin to speculate.

Our condolences and prayers go out to his family and friends as they go through this unexpected tragedy. Rest in Peace Dane Williams.

At the same time that all of Hollywood moves in to “grace” Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah with their presence for the Sundance Film Festival, the action sports industry throws their version of the event with the X-Dance Action Sports Short-Film Festival.

Launched initially in 2001, the X-Dance Festival has been working to continue the progression of action sports film-making while recognizing and celebrating the achievements of both athletes and filmmakers. X-Dance puts an emphasis on the importance of story, recognizing innovative work that pushes the limits of both style and narration.

Voting for the festival’s entries actually began on January 4th. Anyone who wants to view the entries and give their say on which films impressed them can do so by going to Nossatv.com. Once there, head over to the X-Dance 2008 channel to view and then rate each film on a 1-5 scale. It doesn’t take much time and by doing do you help decide this years winner of the X-Dance Short Film Festival. The winner is then given a fully paid trip to Los Angeles to meet with the industries top names. Last years winner, Constantine Papanicolaou, ended up with full financial backing to film “Show and Prove”, featuring Tanner Hall and C.R. Johnson.

The Grand-Prize winner will be announced at the closing party on January 23 at The Depot in Salt Lake City. The festivities should be off the wall and one lucky filmmaker will be the recipient of a career changing break.

and direct us to your website if you don’t have the actual product on there. It’s seriously annoying. I’m flipping through Surfing Mag right now and saw a Nixon watch I like. So I go to their website and I can’t find it anywhere.

What’s up with that? If you don’t have the product in stock then don’t advertise it in the mags. If you do have the product in stock then make sure it’s on your site. This definitely isn’t the first time this has happened either and Nixon isn’t the only guilty party.

Not only is it annoying to the consumer, but now your advertisement is worthless.

End rant.