Louie Vito with partner Chelsie Hightower during
Round 1 of Dancing with the Stars

Louie Vito made his debut performance on Dancing with the Stars last night. Fearing some wacky dance outfit that was going to look painfully awkward, I felt relief seeing Vito looking dapper in his his Foxtrot approved suit. His partner Chelsie looked damn good and I rate his overall performance as damn good as well. High hopes that Vito's natural athleticism will carry him through to finals! Congrats Louie!

Check out the video recap here and for some good blog quotes on his performance read Tedo's breakdown here.

Rome SDS T-Shirt Design Contest

Since the beginning, a key aspect of the Rome SDS has been talking with and listening to other riders, everyday riders, to have fun with snowboarding. Whether it s our team, shop owners, shop kids, Rome reps, or anyone who emails in, this is the Syndicate.

And as with most parts of snowboarding, different riders have great ideas when it comes to designing a dope t-shirt. One of the best tees in the line this season came from Andrew Clingenpeel, a shop kid from Darkside Snowboard Shop out of Ludlow, VT. When he sent in boxes to Rome, he would do this bad-ass art work on the boxes. When Rome designer Shawn Dumont saw them hanging on the wall downstairs, he knew he was looking at a banger tee and Andrew s art became the Disorders Tee, http://www.romesnowboards.com/product/tees/disorders/.

Along the same lines as working with everyday riders to create t-shirt art, Rome is kicking off the You Are The Syndicate T-Shirt Design Contest. Here s how it ll work.

- Design a shirt that contains the word Rome, the Rome logo, or both (downloadable from http://www.romesnowboards.com/downloads/category/2)

- Keep it to two colors maximum

- Submit your entries by October 15tht.

- Send your entries to winner@romesnowboards.com in jpeg format along with your full mailing address in case you re a winner.

Once we choose the winner, we ll produce a limited edition shirt. We ll print 100 of the winning design and put custom-print serial numbers on each one. Then we ll hook the winning designer up with shirts 1 through 10, and the remaining 90 shirts will be given away to shop kids, consumers at events and via online contests throughout the winter.

The winner will be announced by November 1st.

Start designing.

www.romesnowboards.com

Weekly guitar shred... this girl from the Netherlands makes all us Guitar Hero wannabes look like punks. Tween heavy metal sensation...an inspiration.

Pat Milbery, Rob Kingwill and Rene Biedenkap along with the rest of the Arbor Collective welcome Chelone Chilly Miller to professional snowboard team.

Click here to find out more about this New Hampshire native, brother of Olympic medalist, Bode Miller and Snowboarder Magazine Super Park 13 Most Valuable Rider as he prepares to compete in the 2009/10 Dew Tour, US Open, Grand Prix and for a possible trip to the X Games and the Olympics.

Also, find out how he plans to kill it all season long on a quiver of new Arbor Snowboards, and read about his plans to film a part for one of the top snowboard movies. Click here to get to know Chelone Chilly Miller.

The best of Surfer Poll - Kelly Slater & well, you
know - Photo - James Sullivan

Once a year surfers gather to recognize greatness, remember past glory and rejoice amongst friends. It is The Surfer Poll Awards.

Held yet again at The Grove Theater in Anaheim, California the 2009 Surfer Poll Awards did not disappoint. Beautiful women, lots of choice cocktails and enough frothy surf footage to stoke out even the crustiest waveriders.

The Surfer Poll Awards attracts more than just
accolades for pros. Photo - James Sullivan

Surfer Magazine has long been the leading voice among surf publications. Its history, authority and class are epitomized at the Surfer Poll Awards - bright lights, red carpets and eye candy for miles.

Freddy P. hosts the 2009 Surfer Poll Awards before a
full house at the Grove. Photo - James Sullivan

Giving the boardshorts and sandals crew an opportunity to adorn pressed shirts, closed toed shoes and smiles symbolic of surfing's unique and amazing lifestyle, the awards showcase professional prowess, upstart potential and plenty of proverbial pats on the back.

The night brought first timer revelry and familiar results that, like surfing itself, combined a sense of past with the present while also looking ahead.

Ian Walsh, Benji Weatherly and Pat Towersey. Photo -
James Sullivan

Kelly Slater claimed his 15th Surfer of the Year Award while Brett Simpson grabbed Breakthrough Performer of the Year. The guard changed for the women as Stephanie Gilmore earned top spot among the ladies.

Newcomer Irish filmmaker Joel Conroy saw his film about surfing in Ireland rise to the peak of the documentary heap with Waveriders, while longtime cinematography legend Thomas Campbell returned to the top with The Present.

Taj Burrow and Jordy Smith each won with their high-flying abilities with Best Maneuver and Best Web Clip of the Year, respectively, while a more grounded individual, Dr. Dave Jenkins, received the Agent of Change award for his work with SurfAid International.

Todd Glaser with his picture of Greg Long - Photo of
the Year. Photo - James Sullivan

Greg Long and Todd Glaser shared the spotlight in front and behind the lens with Best Photo of the Year while Best Movie of the Year went to Billabong's Jarrod Tallman and Enich Harris for Still Filthy.

Though still a bit filthy in his own right (despite the hand washing) Nathan Fletcher was smiling bright with his Coors Heavy Hitter Award from Lavese Los Manos with fellow Californian Skindog Collins celebrating getting a clock cleaning of his own via Best Wipeout.

Even through all the celebration of life and liberty inherent in the Surfer Poll Awards, the crowd took time to remember those lost in the last year, most notably Dick Baker who will long be held high in the annals of surf history.

Freddy P., Andy Irons and Corey Lopez have it rough.
Photo - James Sullivan

Freddy Pattachia did fine work on stage as a host with notable help from Sal Masakela, Benji Weatherly and the man at the helm, Surfer Editor, Joel Patterson.

Much thanks to Surfer Magazine for hosting a great event and congratulations to all the winners. See you next year!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL GALLERY