While MTV’s new reality show, “Jersey Shore,” has drawn much media attention (and criticism), another series chronicling East Coast beach life quietly premiered this week. “School of Surf” follows a group of high school surfers from Ocean City, N.J. as they hunt for elusive waves and advance through a surfing contest that takes them to California. There, a golden-haired team of Malibu surf kids awaits.  Produced by VBS.TV and airing on MTV2, the series runs six episodes, and the narrative is split between the East and West coast teams.

The show’s creator, Jake Burghart, a documentary filmmaker, grew up surfing in Florida and said he was originally drawn to the Jersey kids because they’re underdogs. “The surfing industry is out West, they get better waves. In the northeast, surfing is still a subculture,” Burghart said. “The kids in Jersey have to make a choice to be a surfer; they have adverse conditions.”

In the first episode, after a snowstorm blankets Ocean City, the kids brave frigid temperatures to surf the big waves created by the squall. It’s a moment that defines both the two coasts, and the edgier character of the Jersey team. “In Malibu, you’ll get a swell and you’ll have waves for two weeks,” Burghart said. “On the East Coast, those moments are rarer. The waves are here and gone. You have to be an amateur meteorologist to figure it out.” As a result, Burghart said, the Jersey surf community is a “tight-knit” group with fierce Jersey pride. ”They’re freaking out over this other show on MTV,” Burghart said, referring to “Jersey Shore.”

Burghart sees “School of Surf” as a documentary, rather than reality TV, a term he finds “a bit of a jab.” “We never coached the kids to do anything,” he said. ”We shot, at the most, with two cameras, vérité style.” The camera follows both groups of kids home, but much of the action is centered on the waves. Burghart does admit to visually heightening the contrast between the coasts. “We wanted Malibu to look sunny and oversaturated and Jersey to look cold,” he said, adding, “We didn’t have to do much to pull that off.”

photo by Jake Burghart

original story by wall street

If you’ve ever dreamed of creating your masterpiece on a canvas as big as a VW bus, Kona Brewing may be giving you the chance of a lifetime. From now through December 31, 2009, Kona is issuing a call for entries for artists to submit their best interpretation of Aloha to paint on the company’s 1970 Volkswagen bus. The winning artist will be awarded a $250 painting contract and Kona will pay for all materials to complete the job.  Winning artist or team of artists will also receive the glory of seeing their designs rolling up and down Pacific Coast Highway next summer as well as basking in the limelight as the guest of honor at an unveiling party in February 2010.

To be considered, artists must first download a VW PDF rendering from the Kona site  and depict how they would cover an entire VW bus with their designs if awarded the contract. Professional surfer and Kona rider CJ Kanuha will head up judging the week of January 4, 2010.

The bus is located in Orange County, CA and painting must occur at its Tustin location over two weeks in January 2010. All the contract details, rules, regulations, entry forms and PDF renderings are located at the Kona site here: konabrewingco.com/VWAloha.

Artists submitting designs to Kona Brewing for the contest are not required to live in California, but they must transport themselves, at no expense to Kona, to the venue to complete the painting in January, 2010. Kona Brewing plans to send the bus to surf contests and awesomely fun events in beach towns in Southern California throughout the year. This contract award is the first of its kind for the company.

Entrants may visit the site at konabrewingco.com/VWAloha for more information and for the downloadable VW template, or email the program administrator at: submissions@konabrewingco.com.

Below is a note from Parko to Mick, check it out Parkos site.

Mick, well done mate. As kids who would have thought we would be doing this! We always wanted to be surfing on the world tour and here we were today gunning for number 1 place. It’s been an amazing year, and your persistence paid off. So with that said, raise your glasses to Mick Fanning everyone!

Secondly, to all my fans I have met along the way through Twitter, my website and around the world, my friends and family, thanks so much for your amazing support throughout the entire year. This isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning.

See ya in 2010… Parko