Alek Parker
Sponsors: O'Neill, Freestyle watches, Ocean and Earth, Timmy Patterson Surfboards, Slow Surf board graphics.
Favorite food: Thanksgiving with Great Grandma and Grandpa.
Influences: Roy Powers, The Hobgoods, Timmy Reyes, Cory Lopez.
Music: Grouch and Eligh, Living Legends, Gorillaz, Social Distortion.
Quiver: Timmy Patterson's.
Waves: Indo, Hawaii, my hometown.
Movies: Anchorman and Wedding Crashers.
Words to live by: Treat others, as you would like to be treated.
Florida's Gulf Coaster Alek Parker is a freak and we love him because of this. He has an uncanny ability to pull off the sickest moves. Spinning inverted three sixties, huge double grab airs, and tail slides without end make him a truly entertaining surfer to watch.
He is photogenic and gifted at the same time. The one thing he is not is bashful. Get Alek in-front of a camera and his true personality comes to life. His humor will have even the most up-tight person laughing out loud. Alek is a cross between Derek Zoolander and Rubberman. The guy has a personality that extends beyond surfing. In most cases he might be considered the class clown, but when you get him in the water it's all about ripping and pushing the envelope.
Alek made all the grades as an amateur and was a solid standout in the NSSA. As a pro he divides his time by going on photo trips, shooting video, and creating his own video projects. Alek has the entrepreneur attitude which will always keep him in the selective media's eye. He is always on the move and can possibly coming to surf spot near you.
The Hunt: Texas
Alek Parker continues his hurricane chasing adventures. Hunting down Hurricane Alex, the first hurricane of the 2010 season. Good friend and East Coast legend, Cory Lopez, joins Parker in the great state of Texas.
Following the Southern Hemi
Cory Lopez and Alek Parker go from the first Hurricane swell of the season to a solid southern hemi.
O’Neill and the Mauli Ola Foundation Team Up
This past weekend O'Neill and the Mauli Ola Foundation teamed up on the Surf Experience Day for Cystic Fibrosis children in Santa Monica. The purpose behind the event was to have Cystic Fibrosis children experience the sport of surfing. Salt water has been proven to be a natural treatment to Cystic Fibrosis, helping to break up the mucus build up in the lungs which is caused by the disease. O'Neill pro surfers Alek Parker and Noah Erickson were in attendance teaching the kids the basic fundamentals of surfing and pushing them into a few waves. Huge smiles all around were the norm from kids.
The Mauli Ola Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 2008 to promote awareness of genetic disease and support for patients. One of the Foundation's programs is Surf Experience Days, which pairs professional surf instructors and novice surf students who have Cystic Fibrosis to introduce them to the healing properties of exercise, ocean air, achievement, and fun in a supportive environment. Hypertonic saline (which is prevalent in the ocean air just above the water's surface) has been shown to be a natural treatment for people with Cystic Fibrosis.
O'Neill Supports Pipeline to a Cure
O'Neill, Newport Surf Camp and Wahoo's teamed up this past weekend to help kids with Cystic Fibrosis grab a few waves in the fight against Cystic Fibrosis. Salt water is a newly found natural treatment for Cystic Fibrosis, a degenerative disease that causes mucus build up in the lungs and makes it difficult to do the simple act of taking a breath. The idea behind the event was not only to get Cystic Fibrosis kids into the ocean, but also to help to raise awareness for the upcoming fundraiser Pipeline to a Cure in Huntington (July 31st).
Pro surfers Timmy Reyes, Cory Lopez and Alek Parker took a hands on approach in the fight against CF, partnering up with children and pushing them into a few waves. The joy on the kid's faces was truly remarkable, making the surf experience a huge success not only with the kid's but with the parents as well. Visit www.pipelinetoacure.com if you are interested in joining the fight against Cystic Fibrosis.
O'Neill's Alek Parker and Collin Harrington on FUEL TV
"TUNE IN"
"FUEL TV PRESENTS MISSION: CARIBBEAN" On
Monday, May 3, 2010
Airing Monday, May 3, at 8:00pm ET/PT in Meet & Brotatoes, and re-airing several more times over the next month, FUEL TV will showcase "FUEL TV PRESENTS MISSION: CARIBBEAN."
In this one of a kind special, we join three of the world's best wakeboarders with four of the world's best surfers, on an eight-day surf and wake exploration of the Caribbean . We hop aboard the Tiki XIV, chartered by the family of pro wakeboarder Collin Harrington, to explore the relationships between wakeboarding and surfing, in an epic journey not only for pumping waves, but also for some of the most pristine waters ever shredded. With the likes of WCT veteran Ben Bourgeois, Hurricane Hunter Alek Parker, and the most renowned wakeboarder of all time, Parks Bonifay, and all-around waterman Collin Harrington, it's sure to be a groundbreaking trip in and out of the water.
Summer is Coming
Alek Parker and Luke Davis shred the Lowers lineup with the rest of the O’Neill grom crew.
Alek Parker's New Video Project
Alek Parker on the road documenting cold fronts
I am currently down in Puerto Rico shooting for a new project I am working on with Carmen Vicari… I've had this idea for a while now, but it took some time for everything to line up and start the production… In a nutshell, my goal is to make a video web series documenting the life of a cold front as it brings harsh weather and epic surf from West to East across the country and Caribbean… Pacific to the Atlantic and down to the Caribbean, we want to give a very indepth look at these weather systems and the local surfers of the locations that these storms effect the most… With the giant swells that have been rocking the coast of California and Baja to the snow covered barrels of the Northeast and down to the beautifuly pristine Northwest swells of the Caribbean, this project will be as action-packed as it is interesting…
I'm very excited that everything is coming together, and I am able to start shooting… Carmen is a very talented videographer and as this trip continues I have learned that we work very well together and are equally excited for the outcome of the finished product… We have a long road ahead of us, but with every trip planned to be more diverse than the next, we shouldn't have any dull moments…
This trip down here to Puerto Rico has been better then we could have asked for… With Brian Toth getting one of the biggest barrels of his life at home to the talent of Gabe Kling, Asher Nolan, and Peter Mendia scoring one of the best swells of the year, we are psyched on the quality of footage we have been so fortunate to collect…
Not sure when we are returning to Florida due to another swell forecasted here for the weekend, but nonetheless, we are anxious and excited to continue on to the next leg of our journey…
I will be posting project updates and behind-the-scenes videos up here on my blog throughout the next few months, so keep checking back for a quick glance into our adventures!!!
Here are a few selects from the feature on Surfline from this past weekend, here in Puerto Rico…
Click this link for all the pics from the photo feature on SURFLINE.COM
1. Most embarrassing moment?
This one time...
2. Favorite quote?
"Shut your mouth, Sh sh shut your mouth, sh shut your mouth, now your just coming stupid..."
"I can taste it. On my tongue. Is that onion? Onion and... Onion and ketchup. Okay, now the tuxedos seem kind of f...ed up."
3. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate
4. Glass on fins or fin systems? Why?
GLASS ON's all the time if traveling with surfboards wasn't such a joke... So I use FCS on all my Travel boards... I use the TP1 fins its Timmy Patterson's template and he has been shaping my boards for the past 8 years so it is the same fin I would be getting if I was getting Glass On Fins...
5. Favorite surf destination and wave?
Secret Waves of the the world... haha
6. Favorite maneuver?
The craziest air I haven't landed yet... Going Fast.
7. Celebrity crush?
Petra Nemkova
8. What's in your traveling quiver?
Step up, step down, twin fin, and last but not least 2 of my best shred sticks.
9. Status (Married, single, whatever?)
DOGGIE
10. Favorite website?
SUPERSPECTACULARADVENTURES.com, MLB.com, NFL.com, ALEKPARKER.com...haha
11. Sounds?
BLORR www.myspace.com/blorrmusic
12. Biggest influence in your life?
MOTIVATION
13. Favorite Surfers?
DANE, Cory, CJ
14. What traits in the opposite sex are most attractive?
BRAINS, PASSION, DRIVE and BOOTY
15. Worst wipeout?
DUCK DIVE at second reef... not a good time...
16. Words to live by?
Karma is real.
- Where to put your volume and curves on a Fish!!!
- California
- July 28, 2009
Board Blog on Surfline.com features a little tid bit into the history and proper design of a fish… I love my Twin Fins… They bring me endless good times to every shred sesh I choose to ride one of them in. This is a cool write up and they chose a shot of me on my beloved Timmy Patterson Twin Fin Retro fish to show case the article on the home page… The writting is by Rusty himself but I don't care what anybody says Timmy Patterson makes the best Fishes out there… But I could never leave out the amazingly Innovative yet classic stylings of Fred Grosskreutz. He recently made me one of his personal models and it is one of the coolest and craziest boards I have ridden… Bottom line you don't have to be some "Trippy Hippy Rasta" type dude to have a blasty on any type of retro type fish shred stick… Just grab one and try it and I promise you will be hooked…