Press Release:
We are inviting skaters around the world to compete at the Razors P-Rail Youtube skate contest. Submissions must be posted as a reply to the video on Youtube.com. Deadline is August 1st, midnight PST. Edits should not exceed 30 seconds. Prize money paid to the person (youtube channel) that submits the edit. Any skater can compete and submit footage.
1st Place - $500
2nd Place - $300
3rd Place - $200

ENGLAND CLOTHING-
For this up and coming spring time we are re releasing new colorways of the Phone Box, the Foil Text T along with the new Oxford cut out. We are also in the process of adding someone to our team along with Dom Sagona for this 2008 season. Be on the look out for that!

50/50-
We have been finding little specs here and there on our new balance core frame and testing new color ways. We are also focusing strongly on our team which will include 3 new people to the roster… working with B Unique and some of their riders. No details yet! Other then that we are still focusing on our current 2008 lines and using different color ways for the spring time. More to come soon!

Havok-
The 2008 Havok Spring/Summer line is in the works and coming along great. Be on the lookout for it to drop at the end of this month.

Adam Armstrong from Empir3 Distribution:
As we not only grow as individuals, but as a company in the sports and apparel industry we are taking on new and exciting endeavors such as owning and operating boutiques, art galleries, as well as expanding in the rolling industry. As of late, we have started the transformation of collaborating within the industry to facilitate these changes and to find out what rollerblading can be as a cultural experience. In that respect, Empire is excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with artists like Eric Otto and others for the up and coming lines New Leaf, and D-S of San Francisco. Also, we have been getting a great response on the new Heat and Able spring and summer 08’ lines, and we are excited about the direction that these clothing lines are going too. In addition to that, Able will have pro frames for Fabiola, Cameron Card, and Soichiro that will be matched with our new flat hardware. The big news for our popular Heat wheels is that a new line will be coming soon. It is rumored that Tory Treseder, the owner/designer of Heat is feverishly testing new urethanes, working hard on the new line of wheels and has been scheduled to drop them later this year.

How do they differ now that they’re made by Powerslide?
There aren’t a lot of surprises with the new line. We have a good skate, but unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, a lot of people have not had a chance to experience it. There have been some hiccups in getting the molds transferred to the new factory, samples produced, etc. So, getting the line up to our standards and getting it out for people to enjoy must take precedence over any major changes.

Working with Powerslide has been really great. Matthias (Knoll) and I have worked together for years, and we have a great relationship. He trusts my judgment and I trust his, so the “decision by committee” that held up a lot of advances at Salomon has thankfully gone out the window. We all know our roles and we execute accordingly. Now that Powerslide completely controls Xsjado, we’re going to be able to pick-up the pace. Expect to see many more models available in the future.

What do you guys have in the works for ‘08?
We’ll continue with the same mold set in ’08 and produce models for Jeff Stockwell and our newest pro, Damien Wilson. Jeff’s skate should be available in the next few months. I just saw the sample photos of his Footwrap yesterday, and they look great. Damien’s Boot will be available some time this Summer, but we don’t have anything fixed just yet.

We’re also working on a new website. I don’t want to get tied to an exact date, so let’s just say it’s coming some time before the warmest day of the year.

Should we be expecting a Xsjado team video in the near future?
Not in the near-near future. With a brand like Xsjado, we’d have to do something extremely special, and I just don’t see the possibility of that with the lack of cash flow pumping through the industry right now. You have to remember, Powerslide purchased this brand from Salomon over a year ago — they’ve been paying a team of skaters, paying me, paying for ads, all the while not shipping any product. We need to get Xsjado functioning financially before we attempt anything like a proper team video. I’d feel bad — both for the team and for the skaters eager to see a video from us — just asking our guys to go shoot with their friends in Irvine.

A lot of people have described the Mook frame as revolutionary…do you plan on changing the frame or adding a different style frame?
The idea behind the Mook was to expose the irrelevancy of contemporary frame design and awaken new possibilities for grinding. We didn’t necessarily see our concept as the end-all be-all, but the idea was to stir things up. It’s exciting, not just to see the Mook still in strong demand four years later (with no redesign), but also to see other frame companies who have taken the idea and put their own spin on it.

We’ve discussed new frames — I have one idea I’m especially excited about — but we’re trying to see how it fits in to the whole Xsjado offering. What I mean by that is, how important is it on or “to do” list? There are a lot of things we want to do with Xsjado, and now that we’re back up and running properly, it’s time to choose the order in which we want to wage our battles. So no, no specific plans yet, but there is certainly no shortage of ideas.

We were all sad to see Mindgame close last year. Was that something you had been thinking about for a while?
Mindgame was always meant to be a company that challenged the conventions of the industry. I’ve always sought to make “core” companies and products that didn’t have to answer to the mainstream, and I saw Mindgame as the greatest manifestation of that intention. But Mindgame became really popular, really quick. We turned a profit in our first year, and tripled in size our second. It was kind of a fortunate/unfortunate position to be put in. We had the money to do the things we wanted, but somewhere, the message was getting lost. Soon, I started to see posts on the messageboards like “Why do they call themselves Trendkiller if all they do is make trends?” Well, the truth is, we never ever intended to make anything in to a trend — we just liked putting ideas out there and seeing how people responded to them and made them their own. But people have a way of institutionalizing things.

Eventually, people started to copy our aesthetic and our way of doing business. We were flattered, but our idea wasn’t to become this pillar of a brand so much as it was to be a thinktank for everything rollerblading. And our popularity made our job a bit harder, actually. It became increasingly difficult to differentiate ourselves from the other brands out there. And I don’t know, maybe we ran our course, or maybe it’s that I just got older and interested in other things, but I couldn’t see where we were going anymore — or what our purpose was. In my mind, Mindgame’s mission was to add value to the industry, and coming in everyday to make a new “hip” t-shirt graphic was not what I wanted the fate of this company — or my life — to be. In and that way, I had this increasing feeling that the company really owned me.

So, in mid-2005, I started working on an exit strategy that would lead us up to December 31st, 2006. The first plan was to have Dustin and Aaron take over the business, because we didn’t see any reason that Mindgame should totally go away. I’d hand over the torch, and they would create Mindgame Mark II. But as we got closer to the date, it just seemed so unrealistic. I mean, I worked virtually 24/7 365 days a year on that brand. We also ran a tight ship…Brian Ehrich and myself did everything, including Xsjado distribution in the US. There was really no way for Dustin and Aaron to step in and continue at our pace without our knowledge and experience. Plus, it’s not like there’s any money in all of this. Kids think that company owners are driving Beemers and buying houses. That may have been true circa 1998, but these days company owners are skipping their own paychecks just so they can pay their riders.

And honestly, that was the hardest part of letting go of Mindgame; leaving the team. I really felt like an asshole when I made those calls. It was like “Well, thanks for the memories…” It felt very selfish. But everyone understood…some even said they saw it coming. And to their credit, some saw it as an opportunity to relaunch their career. That was the message behind Accidental Machines in a way, actually. It’s like, people define us by our associations, our schedules, our output…and eventually we start to believe it too. For a company, it may be an aesthetic. For a skater, it may be a certain trick they’re known for. But as a free entity, you can choose not to accept those molds and just continue to follow your own instincts…your heart.

People who know me, know that I just love to create new things. And so I continue to seek out situations and environments that allow me to do that.

What have you been up to since then?
I moved to LA last year and took a job as Marketing Director at an auto enthusiast site called WebRidesTV. It was a good move for me — I learned a lot about the power of the web, and was also able to get some talented rollerbladers paying gigs, including Connor O’Brien, Brandon Negrete, Cuauhtzin Guiterrez, Drew Bachrach, and Billy Kostka.

I left WebRides last October to take a position at quarterlife.com as their Director of Project Development. quarterlife is a web show and a social networking site for creative people. I really love what I do, but we’ve had our ups and downs. We made history by being the first internet series to be picked up by network TV, and then we made history by being one of the fastest cancellations in NBC history. After that, we had to make some cuts, and unfortunately, I had to layoff some of my friends — friends I had actually brought on to the project.

Right now, we’re reconfiguring the model here, and are much more focused on the social networking aspects of our site. We offer content makers from all forms of media; film & video, fine & digital art, music, photography, etc. a place to showcase their creativity and network with like-minded people. You could call it a cross between Myspace, YouTube, and DeviantArt. We offer a very specialized space for creative people that are looking for a more integral experience than what is out there right now, and I’m optimistic about our future.

I’m also optimistic about rollerblading. I look out there and see the efforts being put out by people — skaters, companies, brands, shops…people I have known and worked with for years — and then I look at rollerblading itself, and I think it’s nearly impossible that this doesn’t have a larger effect on the world someday. There are just too many talented, passionate people in and around it to be eternally overlooked. It is a really special community, and I am grateful to be a part of it. I mean, like anyone who’s had a successful business in skating, I’ve been accused of being in it for the money. Well, I don’t have that business anymore, and I have a good job outside the industry that pays me well, so I ask you then: Why am I still here?

Those who want to connect with Shane can reach him at http://www.quarterlife.com/shane

Arriving in April
This complete skate features:
- doubled stitched Kevlar Style Material for added durability
- upgraded cuff system with expanded buckle protector
- available in half sizes starting at 8.5 through 13.4
- newly designed extra comfortable Vicious liner
- high end Ground Control Formula One frames
- high velocity 608ZZ Abec 5 bearings
- Nimh 58mm/90a wheels.

The Remz 08two’s are available here