President and founder of Predator Designs, Matt Kelly went to the legendary Attack of Danger Bay race this last weekend, held in Pender Harbor, British Columbia.
Did you get a chance to check out our booth?
The groms are ready to go!
Look for Predator to be at the 2012 Maryhill Festival of Speed next month, June 28th to July 1st.
Follow flow rider Api Ihaia down the Mt Keira track in Wollongong, Australia during his second single elimination race heat. He is racing against Sector 9 Team Rider Louie Pilloni, Lachlan Carey and Liam Bemrose. Mt Keira is the 1st stop of the year for the 2012 IGSA World Cup Tour. Check the sweet double pass @ 1:05!
Api also rides for UltimateBoards NZ.
Predator Helmets are finally starting to drop in large quantities all over the world and its showing at this years Maryhill Festival of Speed. Tons of DH6 helmets are on the heads of plenty of am riders as well as the heads of some top pro riders. We had our booth set-up today and lots of people came by to check out the gear and also see some of the samples for next years DH6 color selection.
Team Rider Dave Price along with his old friend Andrew Mercado show their similar form though the infamous Cowzer Corner during a freeride run. Alan Silvestri Photo.
Kurt from Heelside Magazine puts his new helmet to the test. Good to know in case you’re wondering about the visibility and aerodynamics of your DH6 while doing a hand-plant on a miniramp. If you have never heard of Heelside magazine, check them out, they are killing it down in Australia with their mag covering longboarding and alternative skating for the massively exploding scenes in Australia and New Zealand.
The Atomic Bomb DH race happened a few weeks back in New Mexico as part of the SouthWest Series put on by Timeship Racing. Everyone said the racetrack was fast, tech, gnarly and they can’t wait to come back next year. Predator threw down a few helmets as prizes for the event.
Check out this video from the guys at SkateHouseMedia from the event.
We are proud to announce that we have collaborated with Sector 9 Skateboards on a limited edition 9-ball DH6 Helmet. If you were at the Maryhill freeride, Buffalo Bill Downhill, Ditch Slap or Danger Bay you probably saw one of these helmets on the heads of the Sector 9 Downhill Division Team and wondered what was up. Now its official and we are stoked to be working with a company that is committed to supporting the downhill scene.
Sector 9 Rider and SkateHouseMedia housemate Louie Polloni at Danger Bay rockin his limited edition S9 yellow DH6. Lori Dixon Friesen Photo Credit.
The only place to purchase one of these limited edition helmets is on the Sector 9 website. They are currently taking pre-orders and quantities are limited!
—–DELIVERY UPDATE——
The next order of helmets have cleared US Customs in Seattle and will be heading for our distribution facility in Blaine, WA by the end of this week. Because of the holiday weekend, all orders will be shipping out next Tuesday. Thanks for your patience.
Attack of Danger Bay is Canada’s biggest and one of it’s longest running downhill races. This year they will be celebrating their 10th anniversary and its shaping up to be bigger than ever. Predator is proud to announce that we will be sponsoring Danger Bay as a Race course sponsor.
Bricin Lyon, founder of Coastlongboarding.com and the main man behind Danger Bay had this to say about Predator getting involved with Danger Bay-”10 YEARS ATTACK OF DANGER BAY AND YOU KNOW WHAT WE NEVER HAVE HAD A HELMET SPONSOR. PARENTS WILL LOVE THIS IF YOU HAVE A BOOTH PROMOTING SAFTEY!!!” Predator owner Matt Kelley and Team rider Dave Price will be manning the booth to answer any questions you have about Predator helmets. We will also have a few demo helmets on hand if you want to try a DH6 on. See you on the track!
In other news, the latest run of helmets has finished production and is currently on a boat bound for our distribution facility in Blaine, WA. We know some of you have been waiting very patiently for a few months to get your hands on a DH6, we greatly appreciate your patience, the wait is not long now.
Also, if you are going to the Maryhill freeride this weekend, keep a eye out for a special edition DH6 helmet that will be released shortly. Thats all we can say about that for now!
Sneek peek of the improved DH6. Note the tighter tolerances between the visor and the shell as well as the new aluminum bolt and ratchet.
Awhile back we posted about CPSC testing the DH6 helmet. Those pictures were from the in-house testing and not from a official CPSC testing lab. In good news the DH6 is now officially CPSC certified. “I got the report back. All good. A pass. So it is CPSC approved now. Impact tests in different temperatures, chinstrap roll-off and strength test. Coverage area test. Check of labels and manual for correct details. Pretty extensive.” The DH6 is now the first and only helmet made for longboarding to have any kind of official safety certification.
If you are wanting to get your hands on one of those new DH6, the wait is not long now. Expect them to be in the US distribution facility by the end of April and in stores shortly after that.
In other news, Issue #2 of Heelside Magazine is out and making their way around the world. If you want to see the rest of the magazine you’re going to have to get yourself a subscription!
Dave Price got a chance to interview Matt Kelly, the founder and sole owner of Predator Designs. Matt gives his thoughts on downhill skateboarding, what got him motivated to create the DH6 and talks about his skateboarding backround growing up in Vancouver, BC.
Matt showing his whitewater game face in 1986. Check the early version of a Predator helmet he is rocking.
-Why risk something on a niche of skateboarding that most main-stream sport industry people would write off?
I think it all started with you, Dan from Colabo and Dan Matsuda who all contacted me saying our full face kayak helmet was kind of what downhill skaters would want. So, from there Dan Pape at first and you and I worked out the details to get the first batch out to riders. They went well so we made the improvements needed for the 2011 production we are waiting on now. It is a small sport, but all the big guys are ignoring it, so it seemed like a good idea for a small company like mine to take a shot at. In the end, you have to enjoy learning about a sport, reading about it, doing it. I have been lucky to hook up with Joe Lehm from Timeship Racing who is into promoting the sport and you for the insider knowledge of the sport and technical feedback.
-From your perspective as an outsider to longboarding, where do you see longboarding going in the next year, 5 years, 10 years?
There is a lot of growth potential in places like Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. There is a lot of concrete out there to be ridden. Continue reading
