Wave Warriors (Photo by Tom Servais)

To put it succinctly, perhaps Kelly Slater summed it up best when he recently wrote on his Instagram:

“#herbiefletcher pulled together another sick #wavewarriors group shot the other day. Hope he does it for another 20+ years. Good seeing the old guard and the new crew together in one place. Not many people could pull this shot off. Herbie sponsored my brother and I when I was 10yrs old. #legend”

Kelly Slater's Instagram of the Wave Warriors 2012

Nathan was invited to surf in this season’s Eddie Aikau Invitational. Not everyone can just register their name and expect to participate in this contest. To be included in the Eddie is like some rite of passage for big wave riders. It is no easy feat, and is actually quite a big deal. So we’re more than proud and stoked to announce Nathan’s invite, and want to congratulate him as well as the other elite invitees who have the honor to surf and compete in such a prestigious event. Go guys, go! Eddie would have wanted it that way!

Nathan Fletcher Invited to the Quiksilver Eddie

We’ve just got in our Astrodeck inventory for the season. We’re fully loaded with the 123 Nathan’s, the CF grips, the 949 Kolohe Andino’s, the OG Archy…

And now we’re super excited about our new 808 John John Florence Traction Pad. We’re sure that, both the black and white (with inner red), and the multi-color John Johns are gonna sell like hotcakes. And what great timing to get them in stock as the Winter Season kicks in?! The pads are multi-grid with a 45° to vert kicktail, built-in arch, and overall lighter weight.

(808 John John Florence Astrodeck Pads)

We’re also proud to announce the arrival of the new 984 Makua Rothman Astrodeck Pad. This traction is in a solid black color with orange highlights, and also has the 45° kicktail with built-in arch, The pad is lighter in weight, and you’ll feel that on your board while you’re surfing. (By the way, have you seen Makua surf? Do you know what he’s capable of at places like Jaws? He’s so plugged in - it makes us shiver!)

(984 Makua Rothman Astrodeck Pad)

So after you’re finished reading our kick-ass and informative blog, mosey on over to Astrodeck’s online store and order yourself some killer ‘deck - maximum foot grip from the original traction company! You won’t get better traction anywhere else. That’s a given.

In Part 2 of The D-Side with Makua Rothman, Oahu’s native son talks about tow in partners and bandmates, the chick conflict, how times have changed since he won the Billabong XXL back in 2002, and his opinion on women surfers. Haha, pretty good stuff. Check back for Part 3 soon.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the music you hear throughout the interview is Makua’s. Kid’s got some mean talent!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL4R0y3W0nQ&feature=youtu.be

The D-Side with Makua Rothman: Part II

Makua Rothman has always been full of aloha charm, and now it’s resonating into a growing musical career. Taking a cue from the old sounds of Hawaii and blending it with his own modern twist, Makua is making music - and he’s making it sound good as is evident in our D-Side clip here with his song “Sweet Sunshine” playing in the background. Not only can this guy ride the biggest, gnarliest waves, but he can wail on the ukulele, too! Part I of Makua’s interview with Dibi Fletcher for The D-Side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIOyKC6tCsI&list=UU0Wv9LTgYUpG-p-fpSpscvg&index=1&feature=plcp

The D-Side With Makua Rothman: Part I

Well, by now you’ve all heard that Nathan killed it during the Billabong XXL Awards. The event took place at the Grove in Anaheim this past May 4th, and all eyes were on shy, unassuming Nathan.

Nathan was nominated for three categories: “Ride of the Year”,  ”Men’s Performance” and “Monster Tube Champion”, and true to Nathan’s fashion, when Dave Grohl and his fellow bandmates (of Chevy Metal fame) announced the “Monster Tube Champion” as none other than Nathan Fletcher, homeboy was nowhere to be found.

Heads were turning, eyes straining, the attending spectators both hooting and whispering in hushed tones; everyone wondering where the (unofficial) Surfer of the Year was. For a second there, we at Astrodeck even thought that maybe Nathan ducked out of the whole scene and just decided to go back home to hang with his dogs Mr. Buzz and Boopers. Sometimes it seems like surfing death-defying beastly waves comes easier for Nate rather than being publically acknowledged by his friends, peers and fans.

As Chevy Metal heckled Nathan for missing out on receiving the award - funny and awkward - and Herbie got up on stage as a last-ditch effort to buy some time (”Where are you, Nathan?”), the audience erupted into cheers as Nathan finally made his way through the congratulatory crowd and all their pats on the back.

Up on deck, in front of the masses, as he hugged his proud pops, Nathan was at a loss for words, but still in his typical humble mode as he rattled off his genuine gratefulness to those who mattered.

And thus kicked-off the Billabong XXL Awards…

A big round of applause to everyone who was nominated and to everyone who won. And, of course, we’re especially proud of Nathan. Way to go, Nate!!!

SONY XPERIA “RIDE OF THE YEAR”

WINNER: NATHAN FLETCHER/$50,000 (San Juan Capistrano, CA, USA) at Teahupoo, Tahiti on August 27, 2011. Video by Simon Saffigna/$5,000)

SECOND PLACE: RYAN HIPWOOD/$5,000 (Gold Coast, Australia) at Cloudbreak, Fiji on July 12, 2011.

THIRD PLACE: GREG LONG/$1,500 (San Clemente, CA, USA) at Puerto Escondido, Mexico on May 19, 2011.

FOURTH PLACE: JEFF ROWLEY/$1,500 (Torquay, Victoria, Australia) at Jaws, Maui, Hawaii on January 30, 2012.

FIFTH PLACE: GARRETT MCNAMARA/$1,500 (Haleiwa, Hawaii, USA) at Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal on November 1, 2011.

Billabong XXL 2012: The start of the night.

Sunny Garcia

Makua Rothman and Mickey Nielsen

Nathan on the big screen.

Chevy Metal (or Foo Fighters. Kinda.)

Greg "Da Bull" Noll and a couple of Playboy Playmates.

The always charming Greg Long.

Not sure who the lady is. But that's Tony Hawk... as if you didn't know.

Bruce Irons, Keala Kennelly, and Christian Fletcher

And the winner is...

All these guys had a spectacular year!

Father and son: A proud moment.

So if you haven’t heard about it by now, you will be soon enough. Yesterday Herbie gathered together some of surfing’s brightest surfers to start production on his new and upcoming Wave Warriors film that will be released in late 2012.

This happened once before with the original Wave Warriors photo shoot back in the mid-80s, but since then nowhere in the history of surfing will you ever see these cast of characters together for a group pic. Everyone from Rob Machado, Danny Fuller, John John Florence, Bruce Irons, Christian Fletcher, Nathan Fletcher, Julian Wilson, Kolohe Andino, Buttons, Rory Russell, Makua Rothman, Alex Knoxt, the Gudauskas Brothers, and a slew of others got in on the act. Oh, yeah, and some guy named Kelly Slater - whoever he is, he was there, too, as was reknowned artist Julian Schnabel.

If you couldn’t tell by the elite list, this was an invite-only shoot of the best surfers on the planet, with loving acknowledgement and memory going out to Marvin Foster, Andy Irons, and Sion Milosky as well.

Past, present, future… we are the Wave Warriors!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se-kjVywe4I

December 12, 2011: Off-The-Wall, Oahu, Hawaii. Photo by Jim Russi

Years in the making, the one and only surf series that mattered and that started the whole surf film craze. Herbie Fletcher is back with never-before-seen raw footage combined with an insane character-driven soundtrack and the best surfers on the planet that you all know as the WAVE WARRIORS! If you think you’ve seen it all, you’ve been sadly mistaken. This movie is gonna make grown men cry and punch themselves in the neck from sheer awe. Wave Warriors VI: Coming soon!

Check out the WWVI teaser piece on our video section here:

http://www.astrodeck.com/_vid/videos.php?id=176

Gavin Beschen, Shane Beschen, Reef McIntosh, Makua Rothman, Matt “Archy” Archbold, Christian Fletcher, Nathan Fletcher, Kalani Chapman, Jamie Sterling, Danny Fuller, Timmy Reyes. Look at this roster. Team Astrodeck (or as some may call them, Team Terror) will be dominating much of the North Shore this Winter Season. No waves will be spared. No spot unridden. Other surfers will divert eye contact and question their manhood. Grown men will run out of the water, screaming and crying, wailing to God, “Why, Lord? Why can’t I surf like the rugged, brave hellion of Team Astrodeck?!”

Let’s face it. They’re the Wave Warriors. You couldn’t ignore them even if you tried.

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Nathan among the elite - men who ride mountains. Check out the invite-only list and Nathan’s profile for this year’s Quiksilver Eddie contest. (Speaking of Nathan’s profile, what’s up Quiksilver peeps? Nathan was born in June, not October. Don’t mess with the Gemini!)

If you can’t click the link, copy and paste.

http://quiksilverlive.com/eddieaikau/2012/profiles,224,Invitees.en.html

The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau: Nathan Fletcher on the invite list.