Well, let me start by saying I'm very jealous of all of you that received The Hood River News on your doorstep and had the pleasure of seeing and laughing at 'Fashion Boy Ike' on the front cover. For those of you that do not receive Hood River news, our very own Nimbus cinematographer hit the runway and dropped his Dragon 'Rob Machado Experience' shades for a peek at the crowd and landed himself a cover... I'm pretty sure Pollard taught him that walk and look, but it's hard telling not knowing.

Anyways, Ike was strutting his stuff for his wife's (Nikki) new clothing company and store 'ICONIC'. So, head out today and get your very own Iconic gear before it's all sold out... And make sure to keep yours eyes on the runway. There's no telling when Fashion Boy will make his next appearance.

The South Swell has finally manifested it's death (unfortunate, I know). So, we decided to go for a little inner island adventure to some waterfalls. This was the first time ever doing anything besides surfing on a trip to Hawaii, and I have to admit, it was well worth it... Cool cliffs to jump, rope swings, massive surrounding jungle, and a fresh pool of water to wash your pits. Here are a few pics from my last days here. I will be departing Wednesday and heading straight to Whistler, B.C. for COC [Camp Of Champions]... Hopefully see some of you there. Cheers - CB
Photography by: Chris Benchetler

General Motors in shambles...

Entering the jungle.

Panda Express...

Less artsy, more fartsy...

No fly fishing in this river... 

The falls.

I wish my shower had that much water pressure.

Lake wannago.

Gecko rock...

Tarzan and Jane testing vine durability. 

In case the vines are too prehistoric.

Fresh Papaya. Yumm (Cafe)...

Tarzan would have a field day in here.

Leaving mosquito bite ally (self proclaimed)..

Shocka bra...

New Rob Machado Dragon sunglasses. Somebody's [Mr. Pollard maybe] jealous...

East trade winds... Very fun.

The last of the South Swell...

Renegade surfer...

King Kong's head...

I am currently over in Hawaii where the waves are 6-10 foot Hawaiian, with the occasional 12 foot set. Basically I shouldn't even be in the water, but I've been doing my best to catch waves. I've even been held under so many times that I've developed a sinus/ear infection. Lovely I know... It's definitely something you want while on a vacation spent solely in the water. I haven't taken too many photos, mainly because I'm spending most of my time scratching for the surface, but I'll keep you guys posted with the happenings (as long as my standing heart rate stays high enough to report them). Aloha- CB.
Photography by: Chris Benchetler

Surfs Up!

Blowhole for anyone who forgot to shower.

Old sugar cane plant.

Tropic Thunder.

Checking waves.

Clif Bars hot off the dashboard oven..

Turtle getting barreled, or duck diving, hard telling...

High surf advisory.

Yesterday, professional snowboarder Kimmy Fasani and I, took the rope out to a new
zone (for us) here in the Sierras. I'm starting to get the feeling that I can do a different
climb everyday this summer and never have to repeat a route. It's awesome... Only,
unfortunately, I don't have the skill or even close to that many free days to climb.
Just the magnitude of this entire area is simply dumbfounding, so I thought I'd share...
Peter Morning once again joined us to take some more awesome photos. Enjoy...
-Photography: Peter Morning -Ameteur Climbers: Kimmy fasani, Chris Benchetler

The whole Nimbus Independent Crew (Eric Pollard, Chris Benchetler, Pep Fujas, Andy Mahre, Justin Wiegand, Ike Smith, Erin V. Pollard, and new comer Blake Nyman) just met out in Oregon where we cut and blocked our segments, as well as filmed interviews for our final movie 'Contrast.' I can't wait to see the finished product... As usual, Eric is a visionary genius and has some great ideas brewing. Make sure to check out the movie this fall, it's going to be a doozy...

Photography by: Chris Benchetler 

The crew hanging in the white room...

The stance of a confident interviewee...

Quiet on the set!

Wiegand GTS-ing (Getting The Shot)...