Aloha.

We’re revisiting another classic once again, giving praise to the honorable, late-great Duke Kahanamoku who’s considered a legendary figure amongst other highly recognizable Hawaii figures. Printed on an all yellow tank top is our graphic we ran on our previous Duke Kahanmoku tribute tee which features a crest on the back, Hawaiian flags resting in the center and a crown topping it off. Standing alongside is a custom Kansas City Royals dipped in green with yellow brim and white KC. Another perfect summer cool-out get up brought to you by your Fitted ohana.

Beginning this Friday 8/21 at 9am Hawaiian time the live webcast of the quarter finals and finals from the contest at Ala Moana Bowls will commence. Please log on (with above link) and support the Fitted boys Kekoa, Keanu and Zeke. Mahalo!

When you look at the results of the Red Bull Rivals voting and the Fitted surf team riders, you can almost hear Jay-Z’s latest single, “Run This Town,” in the background.

“Feel it comin’ in the air
And the screams from everywhere
I’m addicted to the care
It’s a dangerous love affair
Can’t be scared when it goes down
Got a problem, tell me now
Only thing that’s on my mind
Is who’s gonna run this town tonight…
Is who’s gonna run this town tonight…
We gonna run this town”

That’s because the popularity of the Fitted ‘Ohana – Keanu Asing, Kekoa Cazimero and Ezekiel Lau – was demonstrated with the peer poll results. Keanu Asing was the only surfer to be voted onto both teams, but is choosing to surf for the South Shore with Cazimero and Lau.

In addition, Kekoa Cazimero was the overall top-vote-getter of the poll and Town Team with 185 nods from his peers and the fans. Koa Boi is a heavily favored contender in this event because Sandy Beach is homebreak.

Red Bull Rivals is a one-day surf event pitting Oahu’s legendary shores (North Shore and South Shore) against each other. Top Surfers from each shore will battle it out in a head-to-head surf competition for ultimate island bragging rights. Besides bragging rights, teams will compete for a territory advantage in next year’s competition and the losing team has to give the winning team their surfboards (similar to “racing for pink slips”).

After weeks of voting, the Red Bull Rivals teams are set and preparing for the showdown between the North Shore and South Shore on Sept. 5 at Sandy Beach. The following rosters were derived from the Red Bull Rivals voting results:

We gonna run this Town tonight!
Watssup!

The Country (North Shore)
Jamie O’Brien
Kalani Robb
Pancho Sullivan
Kala Alexander
Liam McNamara
Rico Jimenez
Flynn Novak or Mason Ho (tied for votes)
John John Florence
Landon McNamara
Megan Abubo (although Coco Ho garnered the most votes she is unable to compete at Red Bull Rivals because it’s a non-sanctioned ASP event)

Town (South Shore)
Kekoa Cazimero
Jason Shibata
Joel Centeio
Jun Jo
Dustin Cuizon
Nick Mita
Sunny Garcia
Ezekiel Lau
Keanu Asing
Carissa Moore

We’d like to take some time out here to congratulate Ezekiel Lau for clutching the 2009 Quiksilver King Of The Groms which was held at his home break Kewalo’s yesterday with some nice 6 – 8 foot faces. Says Lau, “It feels good to finally win because I haven’t won over here in forever.” His prize? $600 cash and a trip to France. ‘Ata boy ‘Zek!

Releasing tomorrow, May 12th. We all know North Shore has some of the best country scenery, besides the East and West side; and everyone knows that we have the best surfing, bar none. It’s a testament to the real, untouched Hawai’i and definitely not as nearly over developed as it is in town. Almost everywhere you look, you can reach out & touch a piece of the old Hawai’i: from the historical scenery in old Haleiwa to the plantation fields sprawled across the many acres that covers the North Shore. Hidden amongst the many surf and trinket shops are some of the most amazing eateries. One of these being Storto’s Deli located at 66-215 Kamehameha Hwy. Many of their sandwiches correlate with the many major surf breaks scattered across the North Shore, which is why it holds such a deep seeded history in the surfing community ’til this day. Plus, the sandwiches are like no other. Don’t believe us? Try it out for yourself, and if you don’t plan on driving out to that side of the island any time soon, they’re opening their first town location this Friday in Kaimuki at 3184 Waialae Ave. Read the Advertiser’s article right here.

To commemorate the grand opening of the Waialae store and also pay homage to this remarkable deli shop, we’ve put together a shirt, flipping their logo with a side of Aloha served. Printed on a white tee with the sign graphic on the front and crown hit on the back. Support Local!

Many of you know of our surf team rider Kekoa Cazimero, son of the infamous Hurricane. The wunderkind has won numerous surfing contests and has a sick sponsorship lineup: FITTED, Hurley, Audi (yes, Audi!), Da Kine, HIC, Reef, Monster Energy Drinks and Hard Rock Cafe. If you ever see the kid at Sandy’s, tell him “What up!” and throw ‘em a shaka. Or two. Cheee pono! FYI: We’re releasing a special project with Kekoa, something you truly won’t want to miss out on. We’ll be leaking pictures in the coming days, so please keep it locked!

Not many people can say they’ve single-handedly changed the course of a sport. Fewer still have done so with all the casualness of a cat licking its haunches. Gerry Lopez not only made Pipeline the world’s most important wave, he made the tube the ultimate prize in surfing.

The Rubberman opened the door. Arriving amid a period of flux, he demonstrated that no limits exist beyond our imagination. He didn’t invent the shortboard; he just showed us how to ride it. No one had a greater influence on the way people surf — from the best in the world on down — than Larry Bertlemann.

Boards were plenty small by the ’70s, but surfers had yet to make sense of the new equipment. Ideas of what could be accomplished on a wave were changing with each passing swell. Staying ahead of this revolution meant paddling into every session with an open mind, an ability to erase all preconceived notions. The leading force of change was a pack of young Hawaiians, none more exuberant or spontaneous than the one they called Buttons Kaluhiokalani.

“The Sultan of Spit” – Gerry Lopez

“New School before you were born…” – Larry Bertlemann

“Mr. Spontaneous” – Buttons Kaluhiokalani