Nalu Underground announced a sticker design contest for students at Waimea Canyon School on its career day in January. Each student who participated was given one week to design what they believed to be a cool sticker for Nalu Underground. The winner would receive 100 of their own stickers to pass out to whomever they would like.

We at Nalu Underground were very impressed with all of the submissions we received and it was hard just choosing one design, so we ended up choosing two. The two lucky winners were Justin Molina and Shawn Tavares.

Justin Molina is 13 years old and was very excited to hear that he won Nalu Underground’s contest. He loves to draw, and from the stickers it shows that he is a very good artist. Justin also loves to hang out with his friends and play football and basketball. When asked what his aspirations are in life, Justin said he wants to finish high school and go to college.

Shawn Tavares was also excited to hear that he was choosen for the contest. Shawn is also 13 years old and a wonderful artist. He loves hunting, fishing and any type of sport. He also wants to graduate high school and attend college.

Both students did an amazing job and Nalu Underground is proud to present Justin and Shawn’s talent on the newest NU stickers. Thanks to all who participated, and good job boys!

Get the Grades, Get the Goods

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jon Dobson
Phone: (808) 955-7433
Email: jon@upandriding.com

Up and Riding Team Riders

SURFER-OWNED COMPANY, UP & RIDING, SETS FRESH TONE FOR YOUTH SURF/SKATEBOARD CULTURE (Honolulu, HI) November 19, 2006 -- Hawaii surfing and skateboard company, Up & Riding, launches their “Get the grades, get the goods” campaign, stirring excitement and igniting academic goals among kids. Up & Riding has shops at Ala Moana Center and Pearlridge Uptown where an A on a report card can be exchanged for hip, name brand clothes. They credit kids $3 for an A, and go all the way up to $15 for kids earning five or more As. Report cards can be brought in from the current report period during the month of January to receive the credits. Their kid-friendly shops have massive fish tanks, Play Station videogame setups built into the walls, and huge flat screen televisions airing surfing and skateboarding footage. Their brand new online store (www.upandriding.com) and two Oahu shops sell kid and baby wear by all of the leading surf and skate brands. These items are limited or unavailable in other retail outlets. Adorning shop walls are high-tech, kidsized surfboards shaped by Hawaii’s cream of the crop shapers. Quiksilver’s vice president of sales, Dave Rosenberger, recognized Up & Riding, saying, “[It’s] a beautiful retail store that promotes our sports and supports its young athletes in an authentic way, and at the same time promotes the importance of education.”

Up & Riding owners, Steve and Shyrah Maurer and Jake Mizuno, also own the Honolulu Roxy and Quiksilver Youth stores at Ward Center. They are young entrepreneurs, surfers, paddlers and parents. They grew up in Hawaii surfing, skating and wearing clothes from companies like Quiksilver and Billabong. Now that they have small kids of their own, they enjoy seeing them styled out in the same type of clothing that they continue to like wearing, and the laidback yet active waterman lifestyle that it conveys.

Up & Riding owners aim to set a clean yet core image for young surfers and skaters; and in conjunction with the “Get the grades, get the goods” campaign, will be bringing professional surfers to speak at schools in coming months. “By doing this, we really want to promote getting good grades in school, good values and staying drug-free,” said owner Steve Maurer. In the past year, since their 2005 opening, they sponsored school events and surf contests, and started up their own youth surf/skate team. The Up & Riding team consists of competitive surfers and skaters, ranging from 8 to 16 years old, and includes some of the state’s top grommets.

The traditional surfing and skateboarding countercultures have been associated with shades of delinquency. The two sports are currently shaping up, establishing more legitimate contest circuits and PG scenes for kids. Communities are building skateparks, retail companies are catering to kids, and the surf and skate media are providing a great deal of coverage of the many new young stars. Surf heroes of old may have been dropouts, but today’s young bloods include 4.0 scholars such as Carissa Moore, Coco Ho and Kekoa Cazimero. Recent levels of grom surfing in Hawaii Amateur Surfing Association (HASA) and National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) contests are rising and kids are gaining significant corporate attention. Top companies, Quiksilver, Billabong, O’Neill, Hurley and Volcom, sponsor kids’ events and individual young surfers and skaters with clothing, travel funds and coaching. Due to popular demand of surf and skate wear, these companies just dropped their clothing sizing all the way down to infant. The Up & Riding Oahu shops and their recently launched online store are the main distributors of the cutting-edge apparel in Hawaii. “We don’t see ourselves as competing with other surf/skate shops, but rather we offer product that’s never been given a chance to be retailed here in Hawaii,” said owner Steve Maurer.