So Vermont is notorious for it’s spastic weather. Good thing it was bright and sunny for the Maven + Nikita bbq earlier this season.

There were drinks a-flowin’ and sales to be made. Here are some sweet photos from our east coast Nikita babe, Brooke.

And if you haven’t been to Maven yet…head over and say ‘hi’.

http://mavenvt.com/

151 Cherry Street
Burlington Vermont, 05401

Release July 2008

Nikita’s Iceland adventures for comp winners

Back in June, Nikita Snowboard Clip Contest winner Kasia Kwiecien from Poland and Zumiez sales supremos (US) won a trip of a lifetime, courtesy of Nikita.  They spent a few days exploring the Icelandic way with the ruggedly refined Ásgeir Höskuldsson, AKA Geiri, International Marketing Manager at Nikita Clothing and General Manager / Moral supporter, Runar Omarsson.  They were soon aware of the vastly contrasting terrain and experiences Iceland had to offer. 

Their journey began when they arrived at Keflavik Airport, about a 40 minute journey from Reykjavik town centre and Nikita HQ.  They were escorted to the geothermal seawater of the Blue Lagoon for some relaxation, taken on a caving and snorkelling trip by Arctic Adventures in Þingvellir (a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site), had a blast at snowboarding on the glacier and even donned some serious wetsuits to hit the Icelandic surf.   The girls also met with founder and head design Heida Birgisdottir and her design team at the Nikita HQ.  Here’s what they had to say about their trip;

Kasia Kwiecien – Nikita Snowboard Clip Contest winner, 2008

I won the Nikita snowboard clip contest so I got the chance of going to ICELAND!!  On the 16^th June, in the early morning I went to Warsaw’s airport.  I got my flight to Reykjavik through Helsinki.  I was tired but I got some extra power when I saw the crew and video camera on my arrival.  

Then we went to the Blue Lagoon in this big sport-utility vehicle (it’s amazing that most people in Iceland have them!!).  We were chilling and got some beauty masks.  Then I left my stuff in the hotel and went to the Nikita House.  We ate there, drank menthol vodka and hit nails into the big log of wood.J  Then we explored the beauty of Reykjavik through the night.  It was light all the time!!!  

In the morning (everybody was sleepy) and we went to a cave where Geiri showed us real natureJ.  After that we ate dinner ‘with’ the prime minister (*the national park they were in is also home to the summer residence of the Prime Minister of Iceland) and got into these crazy suits. We went snorkeling into this cold water (it was 2° Celsius), jumping from the cliff there.  We looked really weird but that was funny.  After that we spent a few hours in the car which smelled fishy (everybody except me and Shannon ate dry fishes with butter bleeeee), went to an outdoor swimming pool, ate dinner in a great fishy bar near the ocean and finally got to our hotel.  We then went to a party, which took place at the nearest campsite.  We met many funny people there:]  

Next day everybody was super tired!!!  We got into our snowboarding clothes and went to glacier!!!  That road was really crazy dangerous and the surrounding view was similar to that on the moon.J  We got to the top by snowmobile and had to use all of our abilities to get down. Later on we ate bad hamburgers, went for a walk (Runar saved us from some crazy birds) and got to the shore.  We dressed up in winter water suits (so we looked really sexy hehe), got boards and hit some waves!!!!  I coughed my first, and almost sank!!!  We took some pics and came back to the Nikita house. There we ate probably the best pizza in Reykjavik and I got the chance of choosing some Nikita clothes (Yeah!!!! Thanks a lot!!!).  After that I got my stuff and had to head home.

I am sure it was the best trip of my life!!!  I’d like to thank all the Nikita Crew, people who voted for me and my friend Aram who was patient while recording me;)  ISLAND BEST Í HEIMI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shannon Johnson – Winner for her super sales at Zumiez

The Iceland trip was amazing.  I honestly want to go back and share my experience with my friends and family.  It is soooo gorgeous there!  Everything we did was so so much fun but if I have to choose what my favorite thing was, it was snorkeling.  The water may have been beyond freezing but it was amazingly beautiful.  It’s crazy how clear the water is.  Not in a million years would I have thought I would be in Iceland snorkeling in water that is like 5 degrees!  

I also loved snowboarding.  I didn’t ride for too long but the top of the glacier was so rad!  It wasn’t too clear up there and Geiri described it best by saying it’s like you’re in a ping pong ball.  Haha he is totally right!  You could only see like 20 feet in front of you.  It was pretty intense.  When it cleared up about halfway down it was really cool to see the ocean and the beach.  Everyone we met was awesome.  Everyone was beyond nice to us.  I have never felt so welcome half a world away.  One super funny thing was when we were caving and Torfi (spelling?) described the end of the cave as kind of like you’re being birthed because you come out of this tiny hole in the earth.  So Geiri is the last one out of the cave and being the crazy guy he takes off his clothes and emerges from the hole with this fake cry.  Haha it was sooo funny.  He is quite the character. 

Jenn Huynh - Winner for her super sales at Zumiez

I thought Iceland was pretty much amazing.  I didn’t expect the actual countryside to be so desolate and beautiful.  Everyone at Nikita was so nice and welcoming.  Initially, I thought the language barrier would be an issue but I was totally wrong. Geri and Bjorn taught us some Icelandic phrases, helped us get acquainted with the Icelandic culture and cuisine and took us on some crazy adventures.  Snorkeling, caving and surfing in Iceland was certainly unexpected.  The boys showed us a good time and I just want to thank everyone at Nikita, especially Runar and Geiri for being so awesoooome!

You can watch a video of the trip at http://www.youtube.com/nikitaclothing and http://www.vimeo.com/1322040 - Just click on the Nikita Iceland Roadtrip 2008

A bundle of great images are also available from throughout the trip, check them out here - http://bjornrosdahl.net/stuff/arcticAdventure/index.html. If there are any you are interested in, just ask.

www.nikitaclothing.com

Tereza Olivovà and Jan Klavanà win Quiksilver Cheq/Slovak Champs. Tereza is a Nikita surf gal! Awesome time!

Check out the Surfersvillage website below:

http://www.surfersvillage.com/surfing/34932/news.htm

Olivovà and Klavanà win Quiksilver Cheq/Slovak Champs

Tereza Olivovà : photo courtesy Kevin Olsen Quiksilver Cheq/Slovak Champs Les Bourdaines, Seignosse France 24 - 26 June 2008 Tereza Olivovà and Jan Klavanà win Quiksilver Cheq/Slovak Champs Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 28 June, 2008 : - - For the past 4 days the Cheq/Slovak Surfing Championships were held in ‘les bourdaines’ (Seignosse) and the competition was blessed with excellent surfing conditions. The surf ranged from a consistant 3 feet for the ladies final on Wednesday to 6 feet for the Mens Open rounds on Thursday/Friday. This event had two main division this week being the Ladies and Mens Open. On Wednesday, the ladies in the final heat had surfed a total of 4 heats in one day and were physically finished after paddling-out and against the increasing swell size. With some of the ladies never surfing a competition before impressed both judges and fellow countrymen by being courage and strong. Standing-up to the currents and strength of the Atlantic ocean swells. In the end it was Tereza Olivovà who proved to be the strongest lady surfer and was crowned the 2008 Cheq/Slovak Surfing Champion. With never having entered a surfing compettition in her life and yet alone away from home, it was her past experiences in the water’s of Hossegor/Seignosse that paid off in the end for her. After the final Tereza said  “i am over the moon with todays result and still can’t believe my luck in these conditions. In that last heat (final) i just wanted to catch the biggest and longest rides to give it my best chance to win” Tereza scored 9.5 points in the final heat to win. Tereza also congratulated the other ladies finalists for putting up such a great show in the finals,but stressed the point that her win has to be supported by the fact that every summer she travels here to surf bigger waves and to gain more experience. Jan Klavanà : photo Kevin Olsen Runner-up when to Alexandra Cisàvovà with a total of 8 points out of a possible 20 and some solid surfing at the back, dropping into a couple great waves, but no managing to continue her rides with open face surfing. 3rd went to Tereza Dobrovoina, the former Miss Cheq, and in 4th was Basà Stevalova. With the swells getting closer to the 2m mark and more difficult for the mens surfers, it would be the fittest and the strongest surfers to advance heat after heat. The open mens division promised to be a cracker event with all the male surfers being well traveled and experienced, the men were always going to show us what’s possible. Quiksilver’s pro snowboarder and local to Hossegor, Martin Cernik, surfed through 4 rounds to advance to the Mens final along with his best friend Michael Meisner. The two other relatively unknown and quiet surfers in the finals were Petr Bavic and Jan Klavanà. In 30 minute final and the positions for first changing over and over again between Martin Cernik and close friend Michael Meisner there was always room for another surprise. Enter Jan Klavanà, a goofy footer surfing on his backhand for most of the event comes alive in the last 10 minutes of the Mens final with the best score of the event, scoring a well earned 9.5 for a combination of 3 well controlled off-the-lip smashes on one wave. His back-up wave was a 6 and Jan’s final overall score in the heat was 15.5 out of a possible 20 points. “I always knew i could perform at this event and i was confident in the final, but i was physically tired and it took me along time to get going” said Jan after the final horn had blown. Breathless and excited after the final he continued to say ” after catching that bomb wave with less than 6 minutes on the clock and a 9.5 score that motivated me to dig deep and find the energy- i am so stoked” So the new Cheq/Slovak Surfing Championship for 2008 is Jan Klavanà. Second place went to Martin Cernik, 3rd was Petr Bavic and fourth was Michael Meisner. The Quiksilver VIP team won the tag Team event and everyone had a massive party last night before having to return to their place of birth with no waves. www.quiksilver.com

Austrian team gal Sabine Doppelhofer sent in some photos recently. She had a nasty accident over the Christmas holiday and had to undergo a pretty crazy operation. She broke the upper part of her shin and the doctors had to take bone material from her hip to fill the break. Ugh.

It’s been 7 months since the accident and she’s managed to get back on her motocross bike again though it’s still difficult to jog and walk. Wowzer.

Here are some photos from Sabine~

Magalie DuBois has been coaching all summer for High Cascade Snowboard Camp. She sent in this photo of herself with a group of rad campers.

Stay tuned for more updates from this rad lady.

After a real bad crash our girl, Vanessa Waldenhofer, checks in on being able to snowboard again.

Here’s what her e-mail said:

‘ YEAHHH im soo glad to be back again!!!!

AND: girls please NEVER stop to believe in yourself!

it’s the most important thing in life, i learnt that in the close past, cause I had a really bad accident last year when hitting the kickers, and was close to land in a wheelchair… BUT a had BIG BIG luck and everything turned out to be good again for me in the end!

After a year with a sport break, including 3 months in a cast that covered my whole upperbody, 3 months of NO sitting.. (yep that can be pretty annoying to eat in the ’sleeping-postion’) and after a lot of therapy I started to ride in the beginning of spring again, first slowly and with a lot of panic to break something in my back again, but after a month or something I could even take part and win in some contests here in Austria, now in the summer months I had the luck to ride, as much as work and studies give me free time, at my beloved Dachstein glacier! I had one of the best summers in my life and enjoyed every minute of riding!!!! Cause now even better, how much we really should appreciate that we can do what we love so much!

So girls go out and have some fun!!!!!

and yeah: who ever has the chance… come to the Dachstein and join me in a great shredding day in fall!!!

Seeya out there, Vanessa

credits:

vanessa-redcast: I had plenty of time to color my casts…I had this red one, a green one, yellow.. Many people thought that this is a new Fashion!! No, its not an overall, no cute top – and imagine – one girl asked me at myspace.com where she could buy this!!

all riding pics (except the vanessa_tailpress have been made by Simone Unterrainer

HUGS, VANESSA’

Kristie Giles wrote in and shared a few photos from her summer so far. Sounds like she’s been having a good summer huh:

‘I have just been working 50 hours a week making chicken wings at a place called the Wing Coop and doing a little bit of kayaking.  I attached a couple photos from closing weekend at Snowbird.  I hiked up to a snow patch in the junk yard at Brighton a week or two ago and tried to set some stuff up, but it was like 90 degrees out and really flat, so it didn’t quite work out.’

Austrian Nikita rider, Petra Bernhard has been a busy gal. During the summer months she competes every weekend! Last weekend was the European Downhill Championship in Caspoggio/Vallmalenc near Bormio, Italy.

Petra got 3rd on Saturday’s qualifications and was confident going into the finals on Sunday.

The weather was stormy and grey for Sunday’s finals. A thunderstorm rolled through leaving the course and muddy mess. The finals  were almost canceled due to the nasty weather but instead they decided to cut the course in half and run with it.

Wet and muddy Petra had a blast running the course. She finished second with no crashes and is now the VICE European Downhill champion!

Way to go girl!

Here are a few shots of the outerwear for this coming season. Lots of looks, colors, fits and fun.  Ladies, get ready to play in the snow!

Maria Falbo (UK Nikita skate gal) sent a postcard in from the Big Apple. Awesome!