PHOTOS – ANDRE BOTHA & Ben Hall

Photos by: James Kelly Dawson

Savoji created the most passionate board he could think of. With his love for lizards and passion for wave riding combined brings the birth of his new Empire LTD board models.

EMPIRE JOSH GARNER PRO MODEL 2011

Newest team member Andre Botha shows off his North Shore quiver

Empire Bodyboards is proud to announce the signing of Maui’s Jonah Romero! Get read for the Jonah signature board arriving in early January!

1. Name: Jonah Romero
2. Nickname(s): J-Rizz

3. DOB: 5/6/1987

4. Hometown: Waiehu, Maui

5. Local Spot: Churchez, K-harbor, Ledge, OTW

6. Prone/DK Ratio: 90%prone, 5% dk, 5% freestyle
7. Favorite Spot: refer to question 5
8. Favorite bodyboarders: my favorite bodyboarders are the guys paddling out with the same passion and love that they had for the sport when they first started. I just think nowadays we are so blinded by “what he has” or “what he’s getting” that we really forgot about why we do it. for the LOVE.

9. Favorite Food: day old refrigerated pizza hut pizza (prefferably pepperoni and onions.) Either that or a Subway veggie D.
10. Sponsors: Empire bodyboards, 662mob, Ally fins, Hi-Tech surf sports, and Maui Thing clothing.

11. First sponsor: Hi-Tech surf sports Maui
12. Bodyboarding influences: growing up guys of the OG maui militia: Chado, Hutaff, Kaiwi, Kayama, Kaaihue, & Ervs…also the Hubbards, REX-DOUBLE-X, and my brothers Jake & Josh.

13. Influences other than bodyboarding: The man upstairs, my mom and pops, Chad Nish, and my beautiful mixed plate momma Rusti Julia Nikitta Kamaile o na lani P.

14. Favorite move(s): Reverse air, Angry Dragon, and Birthday Sex.
15. Contests or Free Surf: Both, it’s always good to get the competetive juices flowing.
16. Phrase: “I respect that”

17. Top 5 Bands on Ipod: well the top 5 artists are: T.I, Leona Lewis, Eminem, Rihanna, and lil Wayne. be dea!

18. Top 5 Movies: Iron Will, both Transformers, 4 Brothers, A walk to Remember, and Happy Feet.

19. Board Specs: 39 inch, full crescent, single stringer. PP core.
20. What do you do besides bodyboard? work full time graveyard gangsta, hit the gym a few times a week, swim, run, sleep, and once in a while you’ll find me at the Racquetball courst at 24 smoking guys.

21. What would you do if you didn’t bodyboard? probably a fitness trainer, or a teacher.

22. What else are you a fan of besides bodyboarding? I like to watch the NBA (Lakers) and the NFL (Broncos)
23. If you were in a movie, what would you play? The bad guy turned good guy…that eventually falls in love with the most beautiful girl in the world and we’d both live happily ever after.

24. If you had unlimited money for 24 hours, what would you do? Buy every person in the world a bodyboard and fly em to the ocean so they can experience just for a little while the same Joy and Love we as watermen are so fortunate to experience on a daily basis.

25. If you were a comic book character, who would you be? Iron Man, because he’s just a human being that tries to do good with the resources given to him.

The Nick Ormerod Model! Hot damn the thing looked good, so we made a few calls and got the following confirmation from team manager Gregg Taylor:

“Empire Bodyboards is a youth driven brand from the USA, founded in 2006 and focused on bringing the rider the finest quality bodyboards possible. Empire is 100% committed to the growth of the sport and is very proud to announce the signing of Nick Ormerod. In addition to the Empire young guns Josh Garner from WA, Leif Emberg from the Goldy, and Anthony Savoji from the states, Nick O will now be the leader of the Empire bodyboard brand. Nick is a future legend in the sport on a mission to make a serious impact worldwide. Empire and Nick O share the same goals involving the growth and globalization of bodyboarding worldwide, making this partnership a perfect match. He’s on a mission this year having already gone on three trips since his low profile signing with Empire one month ago. After finishing uni last year, Nick can now put 100% of his time into the sport we all love. He’s been working with shaper Glenn Taylor from Turbo Surf Designs and his new signature range of boards will be available from September. Ask your local shop whether they have ordered the new Empire Nick O model and learn more about Empire by visiting the Empire Bodyboards website“.

Riptide Magazine also managed to sneak a few words from Nick O himself about the new sponsor deal.

“I’m really stoked that it has payed off to wait for a good sponsorship deal, with a company that I’m 100% proud to be riding for. Good support, good team, good ideas, and good handcrafted boards with good materials, to help me and the team push these boards in OZ and worldwide. I’ve had some amazing waves lately to get the ball rolling with Empire and my surfing is feeling the best it’s been. Stoked!”

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Leif Emberg

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