Kustom Footwear 'Shoot the Moon' Contest

Kustom's 'Shoot the Moon' Air Contest Lands in Cronulla

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 18 August, 2006 : - -    Big aerial maneuvers will be the order of the day this Sunday at Cronulla as the Kustom Footwear team rock into town for the Kustom 'Shoot the Moon' Demo Day. 

The demo day will allow locals the opportunity to watch Kustom team riders, including ASP WCT star Joel Parkinson, show off their aerial skills. Following this, local surfers will get the chance to show their own aerial prowess in a free expression session format contest where the best airs will be judged by the Kustom Judging Panel. 

Along with the bragging rights of boosting the biggest air, there will be plenty of givaways and incentives on offer for the surfers to go big. The Kustom 'Shoot the Moon' Demo Days are all part of the Kustom 'Shoot the Moon' aerial quest, a quest for the biggest documented aerial move landed this winter. 

The incentive for both surfer and photographer to capture the footage is massive with a prize purse of $10,000 AUD going to the surfer completing the best aerial maneuver, along with a return air ticket to Hawaii courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines. The person who captures the footage will take home $3000 cash, a Panasonic video camera and an air ticket to Hawaii. 

Talking to Kustom team riders and air pioneers, it’s clear they are wrapped on the prospects of where this” Shoot the Moon” challenge will take surfing. Coolangatta’s Josh Kerr, innovator of the trademark move the Kerrupt (An aerial 360 rotation) says  “There’s absolutely no limits to where air surfing is going next, flips, grab rails it’s the future and when it comes to straps it means surfers can do what ever they want, pushing surfing to new heights”. 

Joel Parkinson : photo Kustom Footwear

“There are a lot of crazy air surfers around the country. I’m really excited just to see what they’re going to come up with to take out this competition”. Questioned on what other sports influences him Kerr said “I really like watching snowboarding and skating, they’re always doing super crazy stuff. Compared to what they are doing surfing is lagging and I think this competition will definitely push surfing forward to new levels.   

While Sunshine Coast’s aerial forerunner Wade Goodall, Inventor of the “Passion Pop” a move made famous by the self named movie “Passion Pop” released by Billabong last year, said: “In order for any sport to progress you need to look at what’s going on outside your own sport".  

"There are influences coming from everywhere. You look at a lot of the sports like Moto cross, skateboarding and snowboarding, Aerial surfing is a blend of all these. It’s time surfing steps up. It’s definitely on! And Kustom’s WCT surfer Joel Parkinson already sees aerial surfing as the next big thing in the sport. 

“When I free surf I like to sometimes just go for it, Do a couple of flips. Mostly I have no chance of making it, but if somehow I get the right bit of wave and go for it. When I land it it’s such a buzz. There’s nothing like it. Progression of airs are coming out so quick, any time a new one comes out, I am totally baffled”.

“Like the Kerrupt, when I saw what Josh Kerr was doing, I couldn’t believe what was going on. But these guys just run it over in their minds so often before they pull it off. Where those guys are going to take is going to be unbelievable”.   

The Kustom “Shoot the moon” competition kicks off on the 1st June, is a 4 month quest to capture the biggest, most innovative aerial maneuver. Ending on 29 September, entrants will need to capture a surfer completing an aerial maneuver either on video or stills and send their submissions to Australia’s Surfing Life magazine for judging. 

The rules are simple in that the surfer has to ‘land’ the aerial maneuver for it to count! 

Jet-Ski assisted submissions will be considered. “We want to uncover the next big aerial maneuver in surfing, and give surfers some decent incentive to go out there and push the boundaries of progression.” Says Kustom’s International Marketing Manager, Brad Bricknell. 

Entrants and surfing enthusiasts can follow the progress of the competition online at the Shoot the Moon website. All entry details, rules & regulations for participation can also be found on the web site. To Download the entry form, go to www.surfingnsw.com.au  

The Kustom “Shoot the Moon” Experience is proudly supported by Hawaiian Airlines, Panasonic, MTV & Australia’s Surfing Life Magazine. 

www.kustomfootwear.com/shootthemoon

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Peter Hunt

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