Quiksilver and the water dancer

The Water Dancer is a series of short films in which Quiksilver ambassador and world champion surf Stephanie Gilmore meets and has a conversation with premier dancers to learn what inspires and drives them and how dancing relates to her passion of surfing. here are their stories.

Join the conversation! Share your inspiration and you’ll have the chance to win a Quiksilver product each week! Click here to enter now!

the epic final day of the Quiksilver Pro France!

Today was the last day of competition for the Mens competitors of the Quiksilver Pro France in Hossegor (FRA).

All the Quiksilver team was there to support their champions, even through the morning fog! the final was epic thanks to the battle between Gabriel Medina (BRA) and Julian Wilson (AUS) until the final time was over! Everyone stopped breathing until the announcement of the final score for the last wave of Gabriel Medina few -unlasting- moments after the end of the heat, and the the crowd started to clap their hands to thank the two challengers for their performances!!

Gabriel Medina wins the Quiksilver Pro France 2011 after a faultless stream of performances throughout the contest. After impressing the judges with non stop airs and strong maneuvers, Gabriel picked up the points to take the title in one of the most closely seen battles of the Pro France.

Today we crowned a first time WCT event winner at the 10th year anniversary of the Quiksilver Pro France!

What a day guys!! If you missed the competition, you can watch the review here.

the final is on!

the final is on!

the 3rd place competitors Taylor Knox (USA) and Jordy Smith (ZAF)

the 3rd place competitors Taylor Knox (USA) and Jordy Smith (ZAF)

Julian Wilson (AUS), 2nd place

Julian Wilson (AUS), 2nd place

Gabriel Medina, winner of the contest

Summer Stories Book In Stores Now!!!

We are pleased to announce that our “Summer Stories” book is now available in stores!!! Enjoy a light summer read and pick up your copy today!!!

Since summer holds a very special place in our heart, we asked our fans to submit a poem, photo or store that best illustrated and defined what this season means to them. After carefully selecting our favorites and having our loyal fans vote on their picks, Quiksilver brings to you our very first volume of Summer Stories.

Inside this book you will find submissions from all around the world, with each entry displayed in its original language followed by its translations.

Quiksilver hopes this book will inspire you to go out and create your own summer memories! And when you do, be sure to capture the moment through lens or pen so your summer story will be remembered year round.

** Books are available at selected retailers -Good on Women’s product only-

FRANCE

Anglet, Quiksilver Store, 51 rue Léon Laporte

Capbreton, Boardriders Quiksilver, 36 boulevard du Dr Junqua

Hossegor, Quiksilver Store, Villa Baya, Avenue de la gare

Marseille, Quiksilver Store, 63 rue St Ferreol

Paris Bercy, Boardrider, CC Bercy Village, 17 cour St Emilion

Paris Champs Elysées, Quiksilver Store, 30-32 avenue des champs Elysées

Paris, Quiksilver Store, 136 rue de Rivoli

Toulouse Gramont, Quiksilver Store, CC Gramont, 2 chemin de Gabardie

Toulouse Purpan, Quiksilver Store, CC Carrefour Purpan, 36-54 route de Bayonne

Toulouse, Quiksilver Store, 7 rue de remusat

SPAIN

Barakaldo, Roxy Shop, C.C Max Center, LC A51

Bilbao, Styling Women, Plaza Emilio Campuzano 3

Oviedo, Maluca, Calle Melquiades Alvarez 4

Pamplona, Roxy Shop, C/ Zapateria 12

San Sebastian, Pukas Surf, C/ Mayor 5

UK

Summer Stories Voting is Now Open!

Help us choose the Fan Favorites by voting for your favorite four entries on our Facebook page once a day! Voting ends May 9th, 2011. Remember each contestant has a chance for their summer story to be published and the chance to win clothes from the new collection!

Go to our Facebook page and click on the Summer Stories tab to start voting!

A Summer Stories Submission…

We just recieved this inspiring photo and story

for our “Summer Stories” Contest from our brand ambassador Ela!

AMAZING!!!

«Summers are all about sandy beaches, palm trees and coconuts. Growing up in the heart of the Swiss Alps meant that I either had to spend my summers dreaming of the Maldives or learn how to cope with the situation. Surprise or not, it didn’t take me long to realize that there is nothing as nice as going for a hike on a warm summer day, enjoy the quietude of the alpine highlands only interrupted by cow bells and cool yourself down at the end of the day by jumping into a freezing cold mountain lake… As nice as summers at the beach may be, there is simply no place like home.»

Photo: Ela Boner

Submit your own “Summer Stories” on our facebook page for a chance to be published and win clothes from the new collection!

A Summer Stories Submission…

This photo was taken a couple of years back on a warm September evening as the sun was setting over Porthtowan beach, Cornwall.  I’d been doing a beach clean with an environmental campaign group called Surfers Against Sewage and a team of volunteers.  After the beach clean we had a well earned surf, then sat outside the beach side bar drinking and chatting whilst the sky took on these gorgeous hues.  You’ve got to believe me when I say I haven’t altered this photo in Photoshop at all, this is exactly what the sky looked like that night. If you look closely at the waves you can spot a couple of people still surfing in the very last of the day’s light.

Enjoy!

Photo: Ruth Carruthers

Submit your own “Summer Story” on our facebook page for a chance to be published and win clothes from the new collection.

www.facebook.com/quiksilver-women

A Summer Stories submission…

We just recieved this inspiring photo for our “Summer Stories” Contest from our friend Arantxa, girlfriend to our Quiksilver team rider Aritz Aranburu.  Arantxa is one of those lucky girls who can travel the world together with her other half following the world surfing tour and chasing the perfect waves… Hawaii, Brazil, Australia, Morocco… and this time, New Zealand! Thanks for sharing this beautiful moment with us guys!

Photo: Aritz Aranburu

Are you inspired yet?  Submit your own “Summer Story” on our facebook page for a chance to be published and win clothes from the new collection.

www.facebook.com/quiksilver-women

My Summer Story

I’m a summer girl! I grew up on an island in the south and summers were magical. Days at the beach, nights under a big oak tree and dinner on a screened in porch.. it was PERFECTION! So here is my summer story.. a peek into a day as an island girl.

Peaches and Screened-in Porches

My skin feels tight and dry, sand covers and sticks. The sun has been traveling through the blue and from the looks of it, the day is fading.

I dust off, grab my towel and head back to the beater that is my first car. It’s the south and the air is humid and heavy. The car cranks to life and the non-existent air conditioner blows blasts of hot air. Roll down the windows and I take off down the sandy road, turning up the radio dial I begin to sing along to some summer tune. My hair, beach blown and salty, swirls and dances around me.

I take the highway and make my way over the bridge back to the mainland.. my view is breathtaking.. the ocean surrounds tiny islands and the sun makes a show on its dance floor.

Down the bridge I spot my favorite fruit stand, I pull onto the gravel drive, keep the car running, jump out and run up to the baskets brimming with fresh picked fruit. “What can I get ya?” drawls the boy in overalls. “A bag of peaches” I sing back. The fattest peaches you’ve ever seen make their way into my bag and I thank the farmer and head back to my car.

Home is around the bend, I pull in the driveway, hose off the sand and run in the house. Cold, created air hits me fast and I shiver from the shock. Up the stairs, I shed my bathing suit, hop in the shower, clean off my day in the sun and towel dry quickly. I grab my denim shorts and a loose tee and skip back down stairs.

My mom has rinsed the peaches and they sit in a bowl on the counter, I grab the prettiest and open the door to the screened-in porch.

Instantly my t-shirt sticks to my skin and my hair begins to curl in the humidity, I plop down on the rocking chair and take the first juicy bite.

Juice slithers down my arm. Peering through the screen I see the tide has washed over the marsh, a breeze kisses my pink cheeks, and the sun begins to set. I smile….this is summer.

Submit your own “Summer Story” on our facebook page!

No Lights, No Lycra

This is the time of year when people start trying to ‘shape up for summer’, which for a city dweller like me usually involves going to the gym; a building I’ve not entered since 2004.

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I find gyms boring, I’d much rather be riding my real bike, swimming in the sea or sliding sideways down a mountain. And more recently I also think gyms are a massive waste of energy with all those rotating treadmills, blinking lights, TV screens and heated pools switched on all day and multiplied across the world. That has to rile Mother Nature a little bit, surely?

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In a column I wrote for HUCK last year I explored the idea that “here in the West, we eat so much that we have to go to a gym just to work off the excess calories by using a machine that eats energy too. We need energy to burn energy that we didn’t need in the first place. I mean, how crazy is that?

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Gyms are great for fitness, training and recreation, but when I look at them from an energy perspective, they seem ridiculous.”

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Plus, going to the gym usually involves purchasing specific ‘gym clothes’, which often includes synthetic shorts, vests and trainers. And the production of these items can put added strain not only on your pocket but on the environment too, through the consumption of the Earth’s natural resources and pollution from manufacturing.

So lately I’ve been on the hunt for a way to stay fit in the city, whilst reducing my impact on the environment…

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The answer comes in the form of No Lights, No Lycra (NLNL) – a weekly dance jam in the dark that takes place at the local art school.

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Sounds a little strange, doesn’t it? However, NLNL is now so popular in Melbourne, where the craze started, that there are now two sessions held every week. And dancing in the dark has also taken off in Berlin, Sydney, San Francisco, Brooklyn and now Glasgow, Scotland.

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The concept is simple: Make up a killer playlist (requests welcome), find an empty space, invite some friends, switch off the lights, hit play, dance any way you want for an hour or so, feel good, go home, come back next week. No lights, no crap music, no set dance routines, no dress code, no lycra; it’s just “dancing for the love of dancing.” Oh, and with minimum electricity used and no special clothing required the environment benefits too. Even better!

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I have to admit, it did feel a bit strange the first time I went, I’m not used to dancing around in the dark at 6pm on a Thursday night, but after about 10 minutes I really got into it, and now I’m addicted, as are my friends.

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From now on I’d encourage everyone to ditch the treadmill or your aerobics class and check out your local NLNL, or start a NLNL night of your own if there’s not one in your city already.

In the words of songstress Lykke Li, “Dance, Dance, Dance”…

http://www.vimeo.com/1857259

A Summer Stories submission…

We just recieved this beautiful photo for our “Summer Stories” Contest by our very own brand ambassador Alexi Panos. Alexi, we dont know where you travel to on your summer vacations but next time we want to go!!! AMAZING!

Photo: Alexi Panos

Such a perfect picture to put anyone in that summertime beach mood! Are you inspired yet?  Submit your “Summer Story” on our facebook page for a chance to be published and win clothes from the new collection.