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The following is an excerpt from the travelogue of Sanuk surf teamrider, Torrey Meister.

I was really looking forward to traveling and checking out New Zealand. This year, there was a 6-star WQS event in Gisborne, so I knew there were no excuses not to go. My Mom and step dad also have a place in New Zealand and they always rant and rave about how beautiful it is with fun uncrowded surf. I was really excited to go down there with them and get the New Zealand experience.

The first part of the trip was a bummer. I showed up to Auckland, NZ with no boards or bags. We ended up staying the night in there waiting for the bags but they did not show. The airline “promised” us that the bags would be transported to the house we were staying at in Gisborne (a good 6 hour drive from Auckland) the next day.

With the contest starting in just two days and the promise we were given, we decided to start our long journey down to Gisborne hoping the bags would show up. Unfortunately, they didn’t they didn’t show up at all while we were in Gisborne. I had to borrow a board and a wetsuit from a local New Zealand guy so I could surf my heat. I ended up losing and we left Gisborne the next day on our way up to Bay of Islands, which is where my mom and step dad have a house. It’s an 10 hour drive to the Bay of Islands from Gisborne and we had to pick up my luggage in Auckland on the way. We spent all day and night in the car arriving to the house in the wee hours of the morning.

This is where the trip got good… I had a week to spend with them before I headed up to Western Australia for another surf contest and we took full advantage of the time we had. Surfing fun beach breaks every morning with no one around watching the sunrise and set everyday on the beach, I remember just being in awe of how beautiful this place was. We went on hikes in rainforest that had more different shades of green then I thought possible and we also hiked to a big waterfall and the best part about it was there wasn’t a soul around

We checked out a few historical sites where there were Maori canoes that were 70 years old. They were carved with all kinds of faces, animals, and symbols painted with reds and blacks. The Maoris reminded me a lot of the Hawaiians so I guess I felt right at home in New Zealand.

The last day the waves got really good which was just an exclamation point on how much fun we had in the Bay of Islands!

Smile…pass it on!

Ladies and gentlemen, we’d like to introduce a very special guest. Please welcome, Sanuk teamrider and New Jersey’s own, Brendan Buckley.

Born a man, but raised by a small pack of rabid wolves, Brendan isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. It’s no secret most surfers possess a pretty minuscule vocabulary (i.e. dude, bro, gnarly). No offense, Spicoli- but nowadays, finding a shredder armed with the ability to draft a coherent sentence is harder than it seems. Good thing Mr. Buckley isn’t just another pretty cutback.

Call us crazy, but we’ve decided to give him a spot as a guest contributor to the Sanuk Blog… Fair warning, folks. The following words are from the Jersey-ian, himself.

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MTV Chopped Down my Cherry Tree— An exposé written by Saunk Teamrider Brendan Buckley.

Regardless of what those ghost hunter TV shows lead you to believe, a conscience is the worst possible thing to be haunted.  When your conscience is haunted, your brilliant world dulls.  When your conscience is haunted, nothing matters as much as it should.  When your conscience is haunted, Aunt Jemimah could whip you up a tall stack of pancakes, and you would hardly even enjoy them.  Now let me tell you something, ghost hunters- there ain’t no door slamming floor creaking poltergeist capable of sabotaging fluffy buttermilk goodness made by the esteemed hand of the queen of breakfast herself.

My conscience is haunted.  And when I say “my”, I mean New Jersey’s.  My home state hasn’t really had the best reputation in popular culture.  I recall being young and being told that New Jersey is the armpit of America.  Rude!  That state slandering bully must have come from the (possibly tribal tattooed) biceps of America.

Facing adversity in the form of verbally abrasive bodily comparisons, my state stood strong.  Proud even.  Armpit?  Whatever.  At least we’re not the grundle (That means you, Nebraska).  So as the armpit, we drafted on in the glowing allure and splendor and grandeur of New York City.  And as the armpit, we coasted along in all of the many great things that Philadelphia has to offer.  Sure, we may not be NYC or Philly, but at least we’re close.  So we stood strong, proud, strange, and mostly insignificant, like a Minor League baseball pitcher with an compulsive obsession for canned corn beef hash.

Speaking of compulsive obsessions with canned corn beef hash, then SHE came along. Yes… Snooki.  What you don’t know can’t hurt you.  Unfortunately, you know her.  Obama knows her.  I know her.  And I hurt.  I hurt because I am from the Jersey Shore.  I hurt because the cast of “Jersey Shore” basically did to the Jersey Shore what Borat did to Kazakhstan.  If you think about it, the colors of incest and general cultural inanities that Borat uses to paint us the picture of Kazakhstan basically parallel the behavioral patterns displayed on the Jersey Shore.  Move over, Nebraska.

The Internet has no rules.  Hence, I hereby declare myself King of the Internet.  And as my first order as King of the Internet, I appoint myself as the Official Spokesperson of New Jersey.  I quote.

From the desk of the Official Spokesperson of New Jersey:

“Please do not judge the coastline of New Jersey by the heathens whose television show bear it’s common name.  I assure you that New Jersey is a beautiful country, and that the real humans from there are nothing like the ones on the show.  Furthermore, it can be assumed that Snooki’s nether regions smell like a Polish meat locker and that Paully D is, in fact, fantastically insecure and that he sobs himself to sleep most every night.”

I had to get that one off my chest.  Now that you know the truth about my country, you can book a trip to Kazakhstan and stop in New Jersey along the way.  If you cross paths with Aunt Jemimah during your travels, please ask her to get in touch with me. Please.

Sincerely,

Brendan Buckley
King of the Internet
Official Spokesperson of New Jersey

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“I-Survived-this-Post-and-all-I-got-was-this-stupid-shirt” Shirts coming soon.

For more Buckley-ness: www.embracethegoose.com

Quick- What’s the first thing that comes to mind when we say the word… Canada?

Maple syrupy? Wayne Gretzky? Grizzly Bears? Those burly Mountees with their strange pants?

All very valid. But, what if we told you Canada’s got insane surf? That’s right, surf.

You know, like waves and stuff…bro?

Well, it’s true and our very own surf-shredder, Balaram Stack, went on trip to see what all the hype was abOOT. Have a look, eh?

At the most recent stop on the ESA Surfing Tour, Sanuk’s Chris Tucker bagged a BIG 1st place finish in Open Mens Division and 2nd in Junior Mens Division. Tucker was hungry to stake his claim atop the podium.

According to posting on Transworld Surf, Chris stayed focused with a barrage of “vigorous, dynamic slashes, tailblows, and air reverses in the diminishing knee-to-waist-high peaks” – Skeptical. Ha. Just take a gander at the visuals.

(photos: via TWS/Bielmann/SPL)

Chris’s motto for the contest- if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. From the pre-heat rituals to the stretches on the beach, Chris stuck to a routine that worked like magic. He even wore the same shirt and boardshorts everyday of the event…

Chris on going for the grunge: “They’re starting to stink pretty bad, but it’s working so I’ve just stayed with it.” Congrats, Chris! Job well done. Now that the events over, you might want to find the nearest laundromat.

The ESA stop saw a dominance Sanuk teamriders on all fronts. Sanuk wondergrom, Stevie Pittman, took 2nd place in the Menehune Division. Alex Fawess snagged a 2nd in Men’s Longboard.

What are we feeding these shredders, you ask? Gummy worm. Lots and lots of gummy worms.

(photo: Surfline)

Few things in the surfing world can rival watching young surfers do what makes them smile. When it comes to surfers (most of the time), the ones with the biggest smiles are the youngest ones in the water.  Young surfers, or “groms”, as they’re affectionately titled always manage to keep the good times- well, great.

Sanuk surf grom Ashley Beeson has been setting her sights high in the WSA surfing world. Recently, Ashley competed in a Western Surfing Association (WSA) contest at Ponto down in San Diego County.  In the Girls Under 12 event, Ashley took the 4^th place spot.

“I only had one good wave and didn’t get a second.” according to the little shredzilla.

But, in Girls Under 16 Division, Ashley looked in form as she stuck a 2^nd place in her Semifinal heat AND took 2^nd in the Final!

Ashley is looking to keep the momentum rolling at the next WSA stop!

For our Sanukified Bio on Ashely visit: http://bit.ly/c0YC0s