Kelly Slater Wins the U.S.Open of Surfing.

39 year old Kelly Slater captured the U.S.Open of Surfing title in Huntington Beach. Slater pocketed the $100,000 first prize at the event sponsored by Nike 6.0, Hurley and Converse. Slater last won in H.B. in 1996. He bested Aussie Yadin Nicol who barely registered a wave in the final due to a flawed strategy. Sally Fitzgibbons (Aus), 20 topped the ladies field. Brazillian unknown Felipe Toledo won the Jr.Open Men's and 16 year old Cali Girl Lakey Peterson won the Jr. Women's. See Kelly's winning waves in the vid. below.

U.S. Open of Surfing, it's GINORMOUS

Huntington Beach is Surf City.  For 50 weeks out of the year HB is a pretty quiet Orange County burg with a super-phat beach vibe, perfect weather and plenty of surf.  During the first 2 weeks of August, HB is transformed into the center of the surfing universe as over 500,000 (most in bikini's) people hit the beach to join in on the action.  It's the biggest event in surfing.  All the athletes and all the brands are here to shred, to floss and to recreate.  It's all good clean fun.

The U.S. Open of Surfing occurs hot on the heels of X Games.  It's a 10 day celebration of surfing that takes over Huntington Beach. The whole thing is sponsored by Nike and their sister companies Hurley and Converse. International Management Group (IMG) organizes the show.  Additionally there are skate contests, BMX sessions, fashion shows, movie premiers and a full schedule of free music.   All this take place at the Surf Stadium near HB Pier.  The entire industry converges on HB for the biggest event in surfing.

We are sharing these photos courtesy of  U. S OPEN of SURFING.  Click to watch the live-stream.  Photos: Derek Bahn.

Local Talent. HB homie Brett Simpson shoots for a 3 peat in the 2011 U.S. Open of Surfing

 Surfing Legend Rob Machado still ripping at U.S. Open of SurfingBeach Babes dominate Huntington Beach for the U.S. Open.The Crowds are huge in HB. Sensory overlode..Friends on the beach.2010 Champ Carissa Moor looks to repeat last year's glory.

Cultural Icons and Broken Bones at X Games.

Shaun White shows the stoke momments after winning SkateBoard Vert. Photo Tomas Zuccareno / ESPN ImagesAction sports used to be called extreme sports, they used to be considered counter culture...deviating from societal norms.  ESPN's X Games franchise is no longer a sub culture...it is THE culture.  Huge crowds flocked downtown to L.A Live, Staples Center, Nokia Theatre and the streets of L.A. to see Skaters, BMX Bikers, Rally Racers and Moto X Riders compete at their chosen sport.   With Official partners like U.S. NAVY, FORD, BF GOODRICH and RED BULL; action sports and X Games has officially become THE OLYMPICS of Action Sports. The X lifestyle is about pushing the limits, living the dream, going bigger, faster and with more style.  Everybody wants to be the next breakout star and X Games is the place to do it.  These guys are athletes and daredevils.  Some of  'em use meticulous preparation and training...some just throw it down.  The athletes, their fans and the passion for action sports was palpable during X Games 17 in Los Angeles.

Click for AspenSpin's "sick pix"  X GAMES 17

Bethany Hamilton, Tony Hawk and Anna Sophia Robb at The Jimmy V. Kickoff event. Click for more pix from AspenSpin."It's what we do" explained one high profile competitor who wished to remain anonymous,"it's how we make our money".  He continued " this is the BIG stage, the whole world is watching, what else am I gonna do? drive a truck like my dad?"  The pressure to, earn sponsors, to break out, pushes many of these modern day warriors to new heights, faster speeds and disastrous crashes.  In case its not obvious, action sports has a high degree of difficulty.  One slip at speed can result in terrible consequences.   The danger of going BIG is real.  These guys risk it all...every time they compete. They lay it down every time.  You can't be tenative or unsure of yourself when you're launched 50 feet above the mega ramp.  Broken bones are the price you pay for greatness.

The X Games has become a well oiled machine, a far cry from the original idea conceived during a coffee shop brainstorming session in 1993.  X Games combines competition with culture.  It combines attitude with athleticism.  While the events are often best watched on TV, attending live defies description.  The courses, the ramps, the spectator areas...its an unbelievable a set-up.  The top action athletes have morphed into cultural icons.  Shaun White who threw down a phenomenal run to win Gold in Skateboard Vert (see previous post) is one of the best known and highest compensated athletes in the world...he's 24 years old.  Jamie Bestwick is a dominating force in BMX Vert just as Garrett Reynolds is in BMX Street.  The motor heads represent on their bikes and rally cars, and always push it to the limit.  Nate Adams, Twitch, Brian Deegan and Travis Pastrana may not be household names in your house...but they are superstars all over the world.

The photos displayed below were taken by ESPN's pro's... the best shooters in the business.  We're thrilled to be able to share them on AspenSpin.  The photos we snapped are more about the lifestyle and the people, you can see them by clicking X GAMES 17. 

To see all the coverage, results and awesome video highlights click into ESPN's site:

ESPN's X GAMES HIGHLIGHTS.

Nat Adams went upside down for GOLD. Photo: c Van Hanja /ESPN images

The Streets of L.A. were set up for Rally Car Races. Photo: Eric Lars Bakke /ESPN Images.Steve McCann sent it on the 80 ft Mega Ramp taking GOLD. Photo: Matt Moring / ESPN Images.

Shaun White explodes to claim Vert Gold at X Games 17

Shaun White, the biggest "brand name" in Action Sports proved that he is also the hardest worker. It was obvious that Shaun had put in the practice time on the vert ramp (and the gym...check his guns) as his run was clearly bigger and more stylie than the the other competitors. White had a fierce look on his face the entire time as he bested his friend,chief rival and defending 3-peat Champion ..Pierre-Luc Gagnon (PLG) in dramatic fashion on the final run of 12 minute jam session. Shaun had the power and the arsenal of tricks to complete his transition from the snowboard to the skateboard. He laid his claim to GOLD in both Summer and Winter X Games...and he had a blast doing it. The vid says it all.

BMX Bad A$$es and BIG BOB goes BIGGEST.

BMX Park Rider Daniel Dhers got back-to-back Golds, and 4 total. His Mom and Brother were there to support him.Jamie Bestwick went huge to 5 peat in BMX Vert.BIG BOB Burnquist claimed GOLD in Skateboard BIG AIr. Photo: Matt Moring /ESPN IImages.