BACK FOR SEASON 3: ‘ROB AND BIG’ Ladies and gentlemen, place your seats into their upright and locked position and hold on tight…Rob and Big Black are back for season three, with Bulldog Meaty and mini-horse “Mini” also starring in the fifteen new episodes. The season premiere kicked off on January 8th, 2008 and new episodes are on every Tuesday night at 10:30pm… Tune in Tuesday nights to watch what goes down: from the bachelor pad known as “Three Layers of Heaven,” to Rob and Big throwing a Super Sweet 14th birthday bash for their beloved pooch Meaty, to a road trip up the Central California coast for a horse show for “Mini”…the list continues. Watch for Rob rocking his signature sunglass the Haymaker in the new flashy white and black brocade print. In March, be on the lookout for Big’s special Limited Release “BB Edition” of Spy’s popular Wilshire sunglass. Stay tuned for the final drop date of the BB Wilshire! Its gonna be huge!! SPY OPTIC SPONSORS FIVE-STAR EVENT; O’NEILL SEBASTIAN INLET PRO PRESENTED BY RON JONS: LOSNESS TAKES SECOND Spy kicked off the New Year in surf as the official eyewear sponsor of the O’Neill Sebastian Inlet Pro Presented by Ron Jons Surf Shop at Sebastian Inlet, Florida. Now a five-star ASP World Qualifying Series event, the contest ran from January 4-11, and offered a cash purse of $110,000, the second-most prize money offered by the WQS tour. Mike Losness finished a strong second behind winner Patrick Gudauskas. In his qualifying heat, Losness beat out Spaniard Gony Zubizareta and local favorite Asher Nolan in the quarterfinals with a score of 11.26. Mike dominated his semifinals heat against Sterling Spencer and made it to the finals against Gudauskas. Although unable to claim the SI Pro title, he was less than a few points away. From his interview with ASP, “This is definitely one of my best results of my career,” Losness said. “I was unlucky not to find the better waves during the final, but congratulations to Pat. He won the event even with an injured leg and not many guys can say they’ve done that. Stoked with my result though and the next stop for me will probably be Brazil.” Surfers Ben Bourgeois, Nathan Carroll, Magnum Martinez,Wesley Desouza, Kilian Garland, Noi Kaulukukui, Wesley Larsen, Cody Thompson, Zander Morton and Oliver Kurtzwere on site competing and cheering on fellow Spy riders. The SI Pro awards ceremony was held on January 11th at the kick off party of the semi-annual Surf Expo Tradeshow in Orlando, Florida. For more information and complete results visitwww.oneillsipro.com . WINTER X GAMES 12 IS HERE Spy Optic’s top twelve athletes will be competing for gold amongst the world’s elite in the prestigious annual Winter X Games 12 in Aspen, Colorado. This year Buttermilk Resort will be hosting the Games and festivities January 24-27th. In snowboard, young pipe slayers Iouri Podladtchikov (I-Pod),Louie Vito and Brad Martin will be competing in the SuperPipe. Joining them in Aspen, Priscilla Levac and Mark Frank Montoya will take on the monstrous Slopestyle course. As for Spy’s selected skiers, six athletes will be in competition at this year’s Winter X. Canadian young gun Charles Gagnierwill be competing in Big Air and Slopestyle. You’ll be seeingSean Decker and JF Houle on Slopestyle and Kevin Connollyon Mono Skier X. Spy ski SuperPipe riders Stefan Thomas andStephanie Sirianni are prepping for the games with less than a week to go. Also on the Spy roster, last year’s SnoCross gold medal winnerTucker Hibbert is back competing in this year’s Games, looking for another gold. Spy Optic's crew is excited to represent in Aspen. With such a strong field of riders from a variety of backgrounds and experience, this year promises to be one of our best yet. Be sure to tune in live to ESPN to watch Spy’s athletes take on the fierce competition. Visit expn.com for more information. SPY OPTIC AT MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS ANAHEIM I Spy held its first annual “Win a Trip to AMA Supercross Anaheim 1” sales contest. Two lucky winners plus a guest of their choice were flown out for a two night stay in Carlsbad, California and were fitted with their favorite Spy sunglasses and premiere seating at the first Supercross of the season. The contest was open to all of Spy Optic’s moto dealers in the US. Store employees who sold at least ten pairs of Spy goggles or sunglasses were randomly picked for the grand prize. Hector Ortiz, 26, from Motorcycle Mall was jet-setted out from New Jersey to claim his grand prize along with his girlfriend Diane De Almeida. Neither had been to California before, so Spy made sure they had a memorable trip. Katie Giesick, 20, from Motorworld in El Cajon brought long-time friend Bret Griffits as her guest. Spy sales managers and crew shuttled the winners in the infamous Spy van up to Anaheim. They went straight to the “pits” to kick back and party in the Monster tents, meet premiere athletes and get hyped up on energy drinks. The winners watched the race from the club level, where Monster provided VIP hospitality suites stocked with endless food and drinks. Hector, Diane, Katie and Bret had nothing but huge smiles on their faces by the end of the night. Luckily the rain had stopped earlier that afternoon and the drier conditions followed by partly cloudy skies allowed for an exciting night of Supercross racing for the first race of the season. Katie Giesick, the MX sales contest winner said, “You only hear about other people winning big contests like these. I never imagined it would happen to me. The whole thing is surreal. Here I am at the Supercross with Spy, one of my favorite companies. It feels like a dream. Pinch me.” WHO IS ELIZA? ASK CONTEST GRAND PRIZE WINNER MATTHEW SMITH! First and foremost, thank you to all who submitted an entry into Spy Optic’s “Who is Eliza?” Contest. We received a wide range of entries full of creativity, with cool fictional and real life stories, essays, photo slideshows and more. Spy loved that all of you made sure that whoever Eliza was, she wasn’t bound by traditions or others, but was always herself. Matthew Smith and girlfriend Seton Hildebrandt created an elaborate fashion photoshoot of the fictional Eliza, posing it up in her daily life and making everyday venues like the laundromat and her bedroom totally glamorous. Check out the full Eliza slideshow here. Seton will be collecting her killer prize package, consisting of: four Spy Optic Eliza sunglasses in cool colorways, a $100 shopping spree with Swell.com, a DC Girls pair of shoes, purse, wallet and belt, a Matix clothing outfit, and a year subscription toFoam Magazine. Second-runner-up Ashley Miles will receive a brand new Eliza sunglass of her choice. Ashley’s short story flipbook is based on her true-life story! Third-runner-up goes to Daniel Wagner. He will receive a brand new Spy Eliza sunglass of his choice to give to one lucky lady. His essay was well written, creative and ended with she “lived stylishly ever after”! Here are some of our favorite excerpts from entrants that define “who” the real Eliza is: Industrial LVM: “She’s got that ‘I-don’t-need-anything-from-anyone” attitude—until she has no money and has to ask mom for some!” Linda: “Eliza doesn’t THINK about what she’s passionate about, she DOES what she’s passionate about.” Callista: “She’s been in the music biz, even if that just means beating Guitar Hero 2 on expert. No matter how Plain Jane someone may think that they are, she makes it a point to those she encounters that they’ve got something that no one else has; their own thoughts.” Sara: “She’s wearing flat boots for walking in the city…but she’s got her stilletos in her Coach bag (her nod to the bourgeoisie). She does a lot of walking…on movie lots and through airports all over the world.” Eliza: “(She) enjoys offshore fishing, is a girly girl, but not too prissy to clean her own catch…Her goals are to get a masters in business and become a manager of Ford models in NYC…dreams sometimes come true!” Watch for Eliza to evolve…she will be the lady that has edge, sass and lots of class! CONTESTS of the MONTH - Omatic Snowboards and Louis XIV Giveaway! The snow has arrived! To celebrate winter upon us, Spy is going to be giving away an OMatic snowboard signed by teamrider Todd Richards and his signature Spy snow goggle. Who wants to take these two for a ride? It could be you! The Spy OMatic contest ends January 23rd. Through February 12th, Spy is also featuring an exclusive enter-to-win new LOUIS XIV album and prize package. The grand prize winner will be fitted with two pairs of Spy Optic sunglasses of their choice, “Louis’s new album,“Distances from Everyone to You,” an autographed vinyl EP, “Slick Dogs and Ponies” a 12” vinyl release with bonus CD and a Louis XIV Tee! Spy is doubling your chances of winning some goods this month, so get off your couch and enter today at www.spyoptic.com. Good luck! PRODUCT OF THE MONTH - ZED! With fresh pow nearly everywhere right now, are you prepared? The Zed goggle is ready, with sleek dramatic lines and Spy’s Scoop® ventilation. Equipped with a cylindrical dual-lens system that says good bye to fog, this goggle will keep your vision crystal clear. Available in seven cool colorways, each Zed goggle comes with an extra free lens. Snatch ‘em up at your local retailer while they’re hot! ATHLETE OF THE MONTH! Iouri “I-Pod” Podladtchikov Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and currently residing in Zurich, Switzerland, this nineteen-year-old pipe slayer has more skills in his quiver than just pipe jockey expertise. A member of the Swiss national snowboard team, Iouri Podladtchikov--or “I-Pod” to those who find his full name a mouthful-- still manages to get in his fair share of backcountry and park riding. His current Volcom ad backside five over a 120-foot gap, and his invite to the infamous Air and Style in December ’07 are proof of his varied skill set. In I-Pod’s first event of the season in November, he walked away with the win at the Saas-Fee World Cup stop and is hoping to carry this momentum through to Winter X-Games 12 at the end of January in Aspen, Colorado. Tune in to ESPN to see what bag of tricks I-Pod unleashes upon the world… SHOP OF THE MONTH! Longtime shop owners and local San Diegans Milo and wife Julie Myers have built two Hanger94 boardshops that have become staples for action sports enthusiasts in the San Diego regions of El Cajon and La Mesa. The newer location in La Mesa features a two-story 14,000 square foot store that carries a huge selection of hardgoods, softgoods and the full line of Spy Optic sunglasses and snow goggles. Hanger 94 buyer, Mike Wise says, “Spy is crushing it. The image of the Spy brand draws the customer in and the quality of the sunglass keeps them coming back for more. The design and quality of the sunglasses are fantastic.” Mike also comments about the shop owners and staff at Hanger94, “We are in the business because we enjoy the lifestyle. We love what we do.” Be sure to check out the two Hanger94 locations the next time you’re in San Diego. Visit Hanger94for more information. COLLECTION of the MONTH! From zebra to brocade, to paisley, Spy’s newest prints are made for the unafraid. Glamorous and posh zebra for Eliza, Corniche and Richelle, brocade on the Haymaker and Hielo, and exquisite paisley on Touring and Hourglass make a one-of-a-kind look. SPY BUZZ!!!!!!!!!!!! SURF BUZZ... This year’s ASP/ WCT season ended with a bang for the Australian "Coolie Kid" Dean Morrison. Going into the final contest of the year at the world renowned surf break Banzai Pipeline, Dean was holding on to the fifteenth spot in the overall WCT ratings. Pipeline is one of Dean’s favorite waves, and he rode that excitement into the finals, taking home second and simultaneously boosting his WCT ratings into ninth place overall…. North Carolina nativeBen Bourgeois ends this year on the up-and-up-- trying to re-qualify back into the WCT by surfing the grueling WQS tour, Ben has found himself back on the WCT. Congratulations Ben on your hard work and brilliant surfing! MOTO BUZZ... Grant Langston started the AMA Monster Energy Supercross with a fourth place finish in the mud of Anaheim 1. Coming off of an outdoor motocross championship and US Open of Supercross win in 2007, Grant is well on his way to make 2008 another brilliant season… Finishing directly behind Langston in fifth was Supercross veteran Kevin Windham on his Torco Racing Fuels Honda 450… Other notables in the Premier class were Andrew Short and Nick Wey in eighth and ninth giving Spy the majority of the top ten riders in these harsh conditions... Dan Reardonproved his worthiness in the Lites class, leading many of the first laps and eventually finishing fourth in his first ever AMA Monster Energy Supercross race since coming to the states from Australia. Round 2 in Phoenix on January 12th had an exciting night of racing in the Lites class with Spy’s Jake Weimer and his first win at Chase Field. Check out his interview with Racer X. WAKE BUZZ... While most lakes are frozen right now, the Spy wake team is still able to get some work done... Shane Bonifay just returned from a two week Liquid Force trip to the United Arab Emirates. There to help with some clinics and demos going on, Shane’s Arabian exploits were documented by Wakeboarding Magazine, so be sure to check out upcoming issues to see photos and a story on the trip… Melissa Marquardt was spotted at the first Supercross of the year in Anaheim, California cheering on some of her Canyon Lake neighbors and rooting for her Spy team mates... Parks Bonifay is slated to be back out on the water early this spring after recovering from his second blown knee in less then two years. Parks has been rehabbing and says his knee is really starting to feel strong again. That’s it for wake until things warm up. SNOW BUZZ...The snow is falling around the northern hemisphere and the winter season is getting into full swing once again. DCP and Darrell Mathes are collecting some serious air miles looking to get a jump on shooting for Mack Dawg’s next HD project…Iouri Podladtchikov and Brad Martin are both coming off strong early season results in the pipe contests. Iouri was crowned champ at the Sass-Fee World Cup event in November, while Brad finished sixth at the first stop of the Grand Prix series in Breckenridge ahead of some of the biggest names in the biz….Erik Christensen will be based in SLC again shooting with the infamous Bozewreck crew this winter and with the new Euro 'Pirate Productions' that has caused quite a stir with its last two releases… On the topic of Euros,Kareem El Rafie is continuing to collect footage for the film Forum has been working on for the past two years… Marco Feichtner will be bagging footy for Absinthe's next release on this side of the pond for most of the winter…. Also on the long-awaited Forum project is SLC's rail phenom Stevie Bell. Hoping to expand his horizons, Stevie has also been overheard discussing spending more time in the Utah backcountry. Check the Forum flick in Sept 2008 to see how he does….Meghann O'Brien is coming off a strong season filming for 'La La Land' and is looking to travel more and collect bigger and better shots for her parts in the next all-female production from Runway Films....The winter is here and the snow team is busy getting s&%$ done!...are you? SKI BUZZ...The season is off to great start all across North America and Europe. French upstart Rich Permin landed on top of the podium in a stacked field in the season's first major big air comp, Stockholm Sweden's King of Style. Rich's patented cab seven double tail grab brought him a gold medal and $10k Euros... Ahmet Dadali,Mike Hornbeck, and Tom Wallisch just returned from a two-week urban shoot in the midwest, grabbing images for mags and video shots for the latest Level 1 movie… JF Houle and JD Zicat took advantage of early season snow and spent two weeks deep in the Quebec interior, also shooting for the new Level 1 movie and taking urban jibbing to the next level… Rookie sensation Wiley Millerhas been holding it down in the Montana backcountry shooting with Teton Gravity Research....See you on the slopes…