We now are all caught up and holding hands and you just looked over at me and winked. I wasn’t looking at you though as there was a silly looking man roller skating but you wouldn’t know the difference in my smile. were all good right?

We went to Vegas a few weeks back kidnapped a few people like Alex Yang from DC, Ryan from O’Neill, Jessica his wifey from Ezekiel. Anyways we went out to see a fight. It was a brawl between Jason “skater, mma, radio host” Ellis and Andy “none of those qualities” Bell. It went down at the Hardrock. That place rules!! good fighting.. girls fighting, guys in blind folds. girls fighting guys, the list goes on.

I stopped by the RAEN office a couple days ago on way back from a trip. I wanted to get the contract for the Feb CLASS @ ASR. Those guys are neato. Not only is RAEN killing it now but they have there creative agency called Libre Design. If you need to pretty up your program I would suggest you check em out libredesign.com ..

I was in a conversation with somebody a bit back and they explained that the biggest skate company in the world is Sector 9. I worked with Dwindle for a few years and I never really thought they would blow the doors down. well they did.

Dan Moylan and I fired down to Sector 9 for a visit. Those guys are pretty amazing. We got a chance to tour the whole set up with EG. check out some pics below.

Speaking of Dwindle. I Went with Skateboarder Mags Billy Deans for a visit to Dwindle this week. They showed us there new little baby in the warehouse. hmmm .. pretty little thing. you’ll hear more about it soon. They gave my son a Cheese and Crackers tech deck half pipe thingie. He hasn’t even peeped Backyardigans since I fired that thing in his lap.

No waves but I hope to get a bit wet tomorrow after I visit PT @ HSS in the boardroom. He’ll be there for a chat and a cup of coffee from 7 - noon tomorrow 11/14.  HYPERLINK “http://www.hsssurf.com/surfnsport/2009/11/chat-with-pt-at-hss/” http://www.hsssurf.com/surfnsport/2009/11/chat-with-pt-at-hss/

Speaking of PT. his seed Tosh is now on O’QUINN.. yaaaaaaa…

take care and talk soon.

Jim Shubin

ASRbiz.com

CLASSatASR.com

This girl is amazing. She holds the fort @ Sector 9. She is the mother hen of their Movenmber Program. hit em up.

In EG's office @ Sector 9 with Dan Moylan talking ASR. I Looooooove the velvet artwork above them..

EG showing one of the very first boards they made. Hand drawn artwork etc. pretty neato. EG told us a great story in Mikes office. He said they've always backed ASR and Surf Expo Tradeshows. He said right after the 911 craze when a few backed out he painted their booth RED, WHITE, and BLUE and did their thing. These guys are great.

a first in the Sector 9 print campaign. everyone I met on the Sector 9 tour was amped. all super happy. This was like walkin Zappos. the employees are pumped. After this Dan and I went straight for a quick surf and grabbed grub @ Wahoos which is part owned by Tal. Tal is a key part of Sector 9. When in La Jolla go there to eat.

Whitney does the marketing @ Dwindle. This is the new not-so-mini. Its perfect. Look at the ladders. I bet you Daewon has something to do with those. When I worked with Dwindle we had the Globe mini for a bit but had to take it down. Well they found room for an amazing replacement.

This mister was king neptune of the Hardrock Pool a few weeks ago. YESSSsssssss i say.

Hundreds of surf industry, family and friend gathered Sunday afternoon for Dick Bakers Memorial. Dick passed away in April of Cancer and it truly will not sink in for a while.
Pulling in the lot and walking towards the picnic area we had lumps in our throats, but as we left the beautiful ceremony and paddle out we left with smiles. We left feeling thankful we new Dick and that we are all a part of this industry we work in.

Industry leaders their families most with boards under their arms listened to some very touching memories of Dicks mark in their lives. And man did he touch many. Legendary PT moderated as we heard amazing stories from a few key people in Dick’s life. He was always a great mentor for us all as he worked with companies from Esprit, Tommy Hilfiger, Izod then blending into the surf world with OP and steering SIMA for almost a decade. Not to mention his involvement with many environmental / humanitarian organizations and community service. Dick was a big part of Surf Aid getting integrated into the surf industry. This is only scratching the surface of his achievements.

Until Sunday’s memorial I had no clue how many people Dick had helped, mentored, and inspired. He helped me on many occasions even if it was just an ear at his local Starbucks. He would digest a few of my random ideas, dice them up and set me straight for my next move. I have to admit one of my ideas which he told me absolutely not to do at the time. I went for it anyway. This was about 3 years ago. Long story short I should’ve listened to him.

The paddle out was an amazing scene. I will mention the water had dropped a couple points and a few of us could’ve used more neoprene but it was amazing. Dick’s wife Una and his two boys Ryan and Jack jumped in off a boat and gathered in the center of the circle as everyone splashed, threw flowers and yelled.

PT was one of the last in from the circle of hundreds. It was amazing to see him catch one in. He was on an original board from the movie Big Wednesday that Jack Barlowe surfed..

If you signed in Bakers books you took a peak at a few pretty incredible photos of Bakers life. If you didn’t get a chance to see them make sure you make it to Cabo for the next SIMA Summit as you might get a chance to check them out..

Thank you Dick.

Thank You Una, Ryan, and Jack for sharing your husband and father with us.
He was a remarkable person that was a true blessing from God.

- Jim Shubin

Gathered to listen to stories and achievements of a great life.

The paddle out.

PT riding one in on Jack Barlowe’s original board from Big Wednesday in “78”. Amazing moment.

The boys remembering Baker. Dan from ASR, the boys from AMBSN, Josh from TWBiz, and Sean Smith from SIMA.

Dick Baker’s greatest achievement. Una, Ryan, and Jack.