21 Another shot of Whiskey (Hill, that is)
MANILA, Philippines - Initiated by the same people who brought longboards to our local shores, the oldest race in the country has a newfound popularity, thanks to the counterculture-seeking mindset that this generation has fostered. Enthusiasts and racers alike flock to the annual competition donning their best leather and helmets, descending from mountaintops at 80 km/h. Take a swig of Whiskey Hill downhill racing, because yes, it’s as exhilarating as it sounds.
22 10 years later and we’re still stoked for Stoked
Stoked Inc., in celebration of their 10-year tenure as one of the country’s first water sports providers, whips up its own, no-nonsense line of surfing gear, catered to its patrons and new surf enthusiasts alike. Carrying its signature colors along with the brand’s street cred, ride the waves in style — and get stoked by Stoked.
23 Riding the save wave
Never has purchasing power been this tech-savvy — or cheap. Pioneering a new platform for our local lifestyle scene are websites like Groupon Philippines, Deal Dozen, Ensogo, and Winila City, offering discounts on hotels, restaurants and more by virtue of collective buying. No more of that coupon-cutting business — now you can have your cake and eat it, too.
24 The mags just won’t stop coming
“Can you please tell this Dan Humphrey that, while I’m flattered, I don’t have the power to hire anyone. Print’s a dying medium,” said one New York Post reporter in an episode of Gossip Girl. It may be so in the concrete jungle where publishing dreams are a tiresome pursuit (unless you’re Dan Humphrey; then it can be solved by a call from your not-so-evil stepmother). The future isn’t as bleak here, though.
With the launch of magazines like Vault, a men’s lifestyle magazine from ABS-CBN Maven, whose maiden issue is already on the stands, and a rumored local version of Esquire, it’s looking like print isn’t about to die anytime soon. There’s nothing like fresh mag meat to spice up the local publishing scene and to induce a bit of a healthy competition — only, everyone’s winning. Let’s hear it for what? Let’s hear it for Manila.
25 Surfer girls as screen sirens
You’d think that having a shark swallow your arm whole would be enough to drum the idealism out of anyone. Soul Surfer is based on a true story, and a hell of a good one at that. People talk about things costing an arm and a leg, but for surf champion Bethany Hamilton, riding the waves literally cost her the former. Another tribute to the ocean is First Love, which won Best Documentary at the X-Dance Film Festival through its story on three Aussie surfers with far bigger dreams than their small town will allow. In the spirit of 2002’s Blue Crush, “You gotta paddle your little heart out. You can’t hesitate, you can’t pull back, you can’t hold back. No fear.”
26 Board shorts v2.0
Extreme sports buffs have some thing new to get excited about. This summer, Billabong introduces PX1 — a line of super-lightweight, extra-stretch board shorts equipped with the most advanced technology. “They say it’s like wearing nothing,” muses Luke Landrigan. “It stretches with me when I move with the waves.” The pro surfer and face of Billabong Asia knows firsthand just how much difference a pair of shorts can make while coasting the ocean waves. Pegged as the lightest pair of shorts in the world at 140 grams, PX1 shorts are created with gravity-defying ZG infinity stretch and H2 Repel technology.
