We’ve got the second single from Guards for you to listen to and download. “Coming True” takes a simple new-wave riff and builds layers upon it, reaching cinematic climaxes, reminiscent of past projects we’ve worked on together…

Guards is a trio made up of Loren Humphrey, Richie Follin, and Madeline Follin of Cults. Together, Element and them have collaborated on countless projects, including the FUTURE NATURE and MAKE IT COUNT soundtracks, a ton of commercials and shorts, along with the music for the MAKE IT COUNT Contest Series, including the 2009 series that was set to Richie and Loren’s band, Willowz.

Guards are closing out the year with an East Coast tour (dates below), and the full-length album ”In Guards We Trust” will be out February 5th. For more info on Guards and past Element projects, including the music video to “I See It Coming”, check out THIS blog post.

GUARDS TOUR DATES

11/29 Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
12/01 Washington, DC @Black Cat
12/07 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
12/08 Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
12/09 Hartford, CT @ Arch Street Tavern
12/11 Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
12/12 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk
12/13 Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt
12/15 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory

Photo by Olivia Malone

Over the past year, we had 45 MAKE IT COUNT events in 30 different countries, with one goal; to get the most dedicated skateboarders from around the world for a life changing experience.

On August 11th, 23 finalists flew in for an all expenses paid trip to California for one week, and to compete in the global finals at Element YMCA Camp.

During that week, we went to San Diego and skated the Transworld park, hung out at Element headquarters, and had a day all to ourselves at The Berrics. In addition to skating, we hiked to the natural waterslides at Stony Creek, launched in Lake Sequoia, and saw a slew of wild animals in the Sequoia National Forest.

In the end, it was Jon Cos who took first place and a year’s sponsorship from Element, while Dustin Blauvelt came in second, and Nate Greenwood finished in third.  Some left with trophies and prizes, but everyone went home with something much greater; friendships were forged, and our Element family grew bigger.

Thank you to everyone who contributed in making this series an experience of a lifetime.

For more info, to see the finals video, and to see the #elementmakeitcount instagram feed, go HERE:

Evan and Levi

Kershnar displaying an American cannonball

Boo, Nick, Evan and Todd at the Berlin Wall

Evan hopping over the wall

Evan and Nick

Cole

Cole, myself, and Todd

From Top Left to Bottom Right: Evan Back Smith, Nick & Madars, Van Life, The Homies

Can’t wait till next year.

Element Founder, Johnny Schillereff has announced the winners from the Element Tree Logo Contest, and we’ve got all the details HERE.

The top two picks will be turned into an Element T-shirt, and win a special package from Element. The honorable mentions will also have a hand-packed box, delivered straight to their door. And, every single entry in the Element Tree Logo Contest will receive a special thank you letter and gift from Johnny himself.

Thank you everyone for participating in the first of many online contests from Element. And please follow @elementusa and @johnnyschillereff on Instagram for more details.

Element Advocate, Loren Humphrey and his band Guards are going to SXSW, and playing a jam packed schedule (listed below). And while you’re there, don’t forget to check out the Thrasher Death Match with live bands and a mini-ramp. The event’s sponsored by Converse, so our very own Julian Davidson will be there. If you’re in town, enjoy the music and mayhem, and we’ll see you there.

Loren Humphrey (Guards drummer) originally wrote and recorded the song “I See It Coming” for MAKE IT COUNT, The Element Story (chapter 4). Guards then reshaped and rerecorded the song, including lyrics written by Richie Follin. The song became one of the top singles on the band’s first EP, and was their first official music video. The video was shot in a mortuary, with an orchestra playing the live instruments which were originally multi-tracked. The end result is nothing short of amazing.

Guards are Richie Follin and Loren Humphrey of Willowz, along with MGMT‘s James Richardson and Madeline Follin of Cults. Loren has worked closely with Element for years, creating all sorts of exclusive music, including the MAKE IT COUNT soundtrack, the music for the FUTURE NATURE and RISE & SHINE trailers, a slew of commercials and look-book videos, and all of the music used for the MAKE IT COUNT Contest Series for the past three years.

For more information on Guards, visit them HERE, you can even download their EP for free.

And when you have time, check out their live performance on MTV HERE, with Loren and Richie rocking some Element Emerald gear! The two later came by the Element Emerald launch party at Saturdays in New York, as seen below with Johnny Schillereff (Element Founder).

Guards on the SXSW schedule, and details below.

Tuesday 3/13 WHITE IRIS PARTY 8:45pm @ Parkside 301 E.6th St.

Thursday 3/15 SMALL PLATES / ULTRA 8201 PARTY 2:15pm @ Lovejoys 604 Neches St.

Thursday 3/15 DEATH & TAXES PARTY 6:00pm @ Cheer Up Charlies 1104 E.6th St.

Thursday 3/15 WINDISH AGENCY SHOWCASE / PURE VOLUME HOUSE 9:00pm @ ND Studios 501 North IH-35

Friday 3/16 FLOATING FEST / HYPE MACHINE PARTY 10:00pm @ Hype Hotel 504 Trinity St.

Saturday 3/17 BROOKLYN VEGAN / PARTISAN PARTY 5:00pm @ Hotel Vegas 1500 E.6th St.

Saturday 3/17 CHEVROLET SOUNDSTAGE 11:45pm @ 612 E.6th St.

Photo credit: Amber B Dianda

The Element “Make it Count” 2012 International contest series is scheduled to kick off on Jan. 7th, 2012 in Orlando, Fl at Midtown Skate Park.  Entry fee for the contest is one canned food item that will be donated to local food banks.  The overall winner of the contest will win a trip to California for the Finals and get a private session at The Berrics with the Element team for the summer of 2012.  Element special guests Nyjah Huston, Levi Brown, Evan Smith, Donny Barley and Matt Fink will be on hand to help judge the contest.  See you in Orlando for Stop #1!

For more information on the contest check out our events page or click HERE.

On Friday, December 2nd, Element and Elemental Awareness teamed up with the WLCAC in Watts, CA for a day of art and skateboarding.

Element Advocates Mike Kershnar and Todd Francis were there to help the kids create their very own hand painted board which they were able to keep. Afterward,  Element team riders Nyjah Huston, Mark Appleyard, and Ray Barbee skated with kids at the recently built skatepark.

Elemental Awareness would like to thank the WLCAC,  Create-A-Skate, Vitamin Water, and Kind Snacks for helping make this event great… See you next year!

On Friday, December 2nd, Element and Elemental Awareness teamed up with the WLCAC in Watts, CA for a day of art and skateboarding.

Element Advocates Mike Kershnar and Todd Francis were there to help the kids create their very own hand painted board which they were able to keep. Afterward,  Element team riders Nyjah Huston, Mark Appleyard, and Ray Barbee skated with kids at the recently built skatepark.

Elemental Awareness would like to thank the WLCAC,  Create-A-Skate, Vitamin Water, and Kind Snacks for helping make this event great… See you next year!

In in the end, Zach Payton (left) faced off against last years winner and defending champion Marcel (right) in finals. After a heated and very exciting final round, it was Zach Payton who overcame and now holds the Yorba Linda game of S.K.A.T.E. crown. Congratulations Zach and a special thanks to everybody who came out last night. We had a blast and can’t wait till next year.

The day after the screening at our Irvine headquarters, a viewing was held at The Berrics in Los Angeles, California.

A day later, another private RISE & SHINE showing was held at Transworld‘s skatepark in Carlsbad, CA. After a heated and sweaty session, fires were re-lit after watching the vid.

The next evening, we celebrated the opening of our new Universal Citywalk store with a premiere. The crowd was massive and kids were hyped.

To correspond with the release of RISE & SHINE, Thrasher posted a Hall of Meat clip featuring one of the nastiest slams Nyjah endured during the filming for RISE & SHINE. It’s never good when you bounce on concrete. FYI: Nyjah got up and got the back smith.

Strange Notes posted a vid of Nyjah warming up at his hometown park in Costa Mesa, CA before heading out to film for RISE & SHINE. I wish I warmed up like that.

Phew. Helluva week and helluva video part. Get yours HERE. Get stoked and go get some.

Hey International Customers! Here’s how to purchase movies through iTunes US in 5 simple steps!

Unfortunately not all International iTunes stores currently support video, and for some that do, there’s a delay in getting access to the latest movies and TV shows. The info below will get around this problem.

1. Set yourself up with a FREE iTunes US Account! Select either of the two methods below to make this happen- each should only take a minute to set up.

Tech Wired
Apple Support

2. Make sure there is a free app in your basket when creating your US account, this way at check out iTunes will not ask for a credit card and you can check the “NONE” checkbox.

3. You’ll get an email notification from iTunes to activate your account. If you don’t receive this email confirmation, follow up here with iTunes.

4. Buy an iTunes gift card for the US Store from either of the options below:

Maximus Music Cards
iTunes Express Cards

5. Log in to your iTunes US Free account and your redeem gift code.

6. Buy and enjoy!

Element Brazil teamed up with Sandro Soares and Social Skate, a non-profit organization from São Paulo, Brazil to celebrate “National Kids Day” in Brazil.  This organization teaches computer, art and skateboard classes.  They also provide food for the kids in the program.  To learn more about this organization, Click here.

Bucky Lasek found himself on the podium after a hard-earned performance at the Las Vegas leg of the Dew Tour. Check out the hilights HERE.

On September 24th 2011, Element and Beachworks joined forces to present the ELEMENT EQUINOX FESTIVAL. Set in Element’s own Orange County backyard, the festival included an amateur contest, team demo, team signing and a bevy of booths to keep attendees psyched. Two amateur contests were held: thirteen and under and fourteen plus. A total of $1,000 was awarded to the winners, $700 of which made its way into the back pocket of 14+ winner Edgar Barrera.

In addition, a free trip to Element / Ymca Skate Camp was awarded to the winner of the thirteen and under contest, Vinny Villani.

As impressive as the 14+ contest and demo were, the young kids contest really brought the stoke. Seeing the young’uns with decks as big them go for glory brought smiles to the faces of even the most jaded among us.

While not watching the skate action, attendees tie-dyed t-shirts, got henna tattoos, played skateboard wheel plinko to win free Element gear and checked out an array of animals on display from Inside the Outdoors.

For more photos from the event, visit our Flickr page.

DC recently wrapped up their Europe tour which brought them through Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Cologne, Helsinki and Malmo. Along for the ride were Evan Smith and Element Europe rider Madars Apse. Between demos and signings, they racked up some amazing footage at street spots along the way. A park designed by Element Europe rider Janne Saario in Helsinki was also sessioned.

In anticipation of the Nyjah Huston video, we will be releasing a new clip, once a week until the video drops on 11.11.11.

The inaugural clip is nothing short of death defying, as one wrong move, and your neck deep in pain. The roll up and ride away conditions are nothing to write home about either, but Nyjah manages to walk the line with a frontside nosegrind down the double set.

Click HERE to watch, and check back each Friday for a new clip of Nyjah.

Bucky was among the last three riders to go in the skate vert superfinals alongside Shaun White and PLG. But it came down to the last runs to decide the podium order. Bucky skated great going into the 10-man finals but his board got away from him a few times during the 5-man finals finishing third with an 87.75. Bucky remains in 2nd place overall in Skate Vert for the 2011 series.

> Get all the details and full report here

> View full Dew Tour 2011 standings here

Miss the finals? We’ve got you covered. Watch highlights from skate vert finals below:

As part of the Element Crossing Canada tour, the team stopped in at the capital of Ontario for a demo and signing at Ashbridges skatepark. Check out footage from the event brought to us by Push.ca!

Nyjah Huston is gonna be posted up at the Element Times Square store in New York City August 25th! The first five in line get a free Nyjah Board and the first ten get free tickets to Street League finals! The signing starts at 2pm.

Element Times Square:
1515 Broadway New York City

Click HERE for more info.

The Mattson 2 are performing tonight at Mollusk Surf Shop in San Francisco with special guest, skateboard legend, Tommy Gurrero on bass, along with Casey Mattson too. The show is all-ages and free, so get there on time, as you won’t want to miss this one!

They’ll also be selling their new album, “Feeling Hands” and T-shirts at the show. If you can’t make it, the new album is available on iTunes, CD, and even vinyl, or check out the Mattson 2 site for more info.

See you tonight!

August 23, 2011 (7pm doors open)

Mollusk Surf Shop

Music by:
Dirty Fences
“Haily Hallway Looker”
Facebook.com/dirtyfences
dirtyfences.bandcamp.com