Wipeout Wednesday

Every Wednesday, a collection of the best and worst wipeouts that been caught by Six12 Media.

Life Rolls On: They Will Surf Again

Life Rolls On held their first They Will Surf Again (TWSA) event of the season on May 17, 2014 in Santa Monica. TWSA is an award winning series of surfing events that "empower paraplegics and quadriplegics to experience the freedom of mobility by riding a wave with the assistance of adaptive equipment and the support of hard working volunteers."   Over 200 volunteers, along with event sponsors such as Red Bull, gathered just south of the Santa Monica Pier on this Saturday morning to help make this go down in the books as one of the most amazing TWSA events ever. A huge number of people affected with spinal cord injury(SCI), both young and old, from all over southern California came out to surf the waves. Using specially designed surfboards and the guidance of expert instructors, they were able to experience the fun and excitement of surfing. With their family and friends, as well as everyone on the beach, cheering them on as they caught wave after wave, emotions ran from laughter to tears of joy.

Life Rolls On was founded by Jessie Billauer. It was 1996, Jessie was just 17 years old and on the verge of becoming a professional surfer when he hit his head on a shallow sandbar at Zuma, breaking his neck and severing his spinal cord, sustaining a C-6 complete spinal cord injury, which resulted in quadriplegia. After leaving the hospital, Jessie was determined to do two things: to surf again and to help inspire others to follow their passions, which led to creating the Life Rolls On Foundation.

This event starts off the 2014 Get On Board Tour, which will have eight more TWSA events in cities on both coasts, as well as a They Will Skate Again event in Venice Beach and a charity golf tournament in New Jersey.

Check out all the photos in the They Will Surf Again Photo Gallery. There's photo albums for each team color with over 400 photos total. Also check out the They Will Skate Again Photo Gallery for photos of the adaptive skate clinic and contest held in the Venice Beach skatepark last year.

Other event photo galleries:

Video: Venice Breakwater Surfing - Big Storm Swell Part 3

Filmed the first weekend of March 2014, when that huge swell hit the Los Angeles area beaches, bring waves hitting 30'. Many calling it the biggest waves to hit our area in decades. This is third of 3 video edits from that weekend. Most of the footage in this part was shot during the rain on Sunday.

 Previous blog post on this: Surfing the biggest waves to hit Venice Beach in years 

Saturday's Photo Gallery:  Venice Surfing 3-1-2014
Sunday's Photo Gallery:  Venice Surfing 3-2-2014

Part 1:

Part 2:

Video: Haunted Heats Surf Contest

Filmed back in October of last year, this is the Haunt Heats Surf Contest held by ZJ Boarding House.

Photos and the full contest write-up was posted back in October:  Haunted Heats Surf Contest

Video: Venice Surfing - The Big Storm Swell Part 2

Filmed the first weekend of March 2014, when that huge swell hit the Los Angeles area beaches, bring waves hitting 30'. Many calling it the biggest waves to hit our area in decades. This is second of 3 video edits from that weekend.

 Previous blog post on this: Surfing the biggest waves to hit Venice Beach in years 

Saturday's Photo Gallery:  Venice Surfing 3-1-2014
Sunday's Photo Gallery:  Venice Surfing 3-2-2014

Part 1:

2014 Z-Flex Jay Boy Classic

z-Flex riders Oscar Navarro and Malakai Monte

On Saturday, April 12th, Venice Skatepark hosted the first annual Z-Flex Jay Boy Classic, a contest for 21 & under unsponsored skaters. Taking place in the skatepark's pool, 40 skaters competed for the first place prize of a 1 year flow sponsorship from Z-Flex. Not only were there several skaters from states like Hawaii, Texas and New Mexico competing, there was also a little grom named Indiana from the United Kingdom.   Jay Adams was on hand all day skating, signing autographs, and tossing out free stuff. Along with Jay, a who's who of Venice skate legends were present, skating the pool, judging the contest, and having a good time. Christian Hosoi, Eddie Reategui, Aaron "Fingers" Murray, Tim Jackson, Aaron Scott, Pat Ngoho, George Wilson and Eric “Tuma” Britton who also was the contest announcer.

Here's a preview of the full contest edit that will be up soon:

After a morning practice session, the jam format contest started. Each skater got an intro run at the start of their heat. Z-Flez even brought in some bleachers for spectators to watch from, a first for Venice skatepark. From 40 skaters, 8 were chosen to compete in the finals. Highlights included Venice skatepark regular Hezekiah Seales unique stylish pool carves, which sent one of his shoes flying off a few times, Andrew Miller with a bunch of different blunt combos, and "Spacoli", who with his long hair, bandana, and flannel, resembled a young Jay Adams.

Christian Hosoi

"Spacoli"

Jay Adams

Hezekiah Seales

Eddie Reategui

Royalle Bernstine

Andrew Wallace

Andrew Miller

Results: 1. Andrew Wallace 2. "Spacoli" 3. Andrew Miller 4. Royalle Bernstine 5. Hezekiah Seales 6. Alex Vasques 7. Andley Lerma 8. Robert Baltazar

Jay Adams & the 8 Finalists

Aaron Scott

Dogtown's Hadden Mckenna

Malaki Montes

Andrew Wallace

Jay Adams & the 8 Finalists

With Nearly 150 photos taken, they all can't fit on this blog, so check out all the photos from the contest (146 photos total) in the Z-Flex Jay Boy Classic Photo Gallery. A video of the contest is coming up soon.

Bro fisting Hosoi

Ian Imes

On Saturday, April 5, Ian was skating with a buddy down the hill when he crossed into the intersection at 17th & Marine in Santa Monica and a car struck him. It was a 4-way stop, but it's unknown if the car stopped at all, since the driver took off after running over and paralyzing Ian. From the fundraiser page: "Ian Imes has been a huge part of the skateboarding community in Santa Monica, Venice, and Boston. He is an extremely respectful and friendly young man and it is very sad and unfortunate that such a tragic event took place in our neighborhood. He has eight siblings and incredibly loving parents. The family unfortunately does not have insurance and the hospital bills are going to be an astronomical burden on them. Let's work together to help pay for his hospital bills and pray for his speedy and full recovery." There is a Facebook page for updates: Ian Imes Support Group

Victor Blue at the Jay Boy Classic accepting donations from the crowd.