Gibson has announced it is to support the inaugural Quiksilver Skins Contest which takes place in Newqay, Cornwall on August 23-25. Over three days, 32 pro surfers will be invited to compete in a high octane event. Surfers will go head to head until there is one winner where they will receive a Gibson Les Paul Goddess guitar and prize money of £700 after winning all of the heats. Nathan Phillips and Alan Stokes are just some of the U.K.'s surf pros to expect over the weekend.
Gibson's European tour bus will be parked up on Fistral Beach exclusively for The Quiksilver Skins event and will be the hub for impromptu gigs over the weekend. The Gibson bus has been specially kitted out for the most demanding of rock stars and will serve as a chill out area for surfers and musicians. The bus is a rock and roll experience in its own right and provides a taste of the heritage and prestige that Gibson Guitar represents around the world. Ben Howard and Surf Chixx are some of the guest artists you can expect to see performing over the weekend. The Quiksessions are designed to promote new and up-and-coming musicians from all across the U.K.
Local surfing star Spencer Hargraves is the Contest Director who came up with the Skins event. "The 2008 Skins event will be the first time Newquay has seen an event like this for a long time," he says. " It'll be great for the surfers and spectators alike and it’s good to be able to run this kind of event so the surfers can really go for it. It will bring surfing home to Fistral on the biggest weekend of the year.”
Fistral Beach will be packed out with activity from participating partners Gibson Guitar, Roxy, Starboard, and The Quiksilver & Roxy Newquay Surf School during the three day Bank Holiday Weekend. U.K. Roxy surfers including Sophie Hellyer, Candice O'Donnell, and Amy May Garvey will be on the beach throughout the weekend, providing demos and scouting for new female surfers. Instructors from the Quiksilver Surf School Newquay will provide surf lessons on the beach, so if you get inspired to try surfing for the first time, this is your chance.
On Friday August 8, the Quiksilver Boardstore in London is celebrating the arrival of its new women’s line into stores! The launch will be held at the UK’s flagship store in Regent Street, London. For this special occasion, Quiksilver are holding an exclusive live in-store gig, featuring the brand’s new ambassadors: Charlotte O’Connor, Ellie Lawson, Anna Leddra Chapman. The gigs start at 4 p.m. with VIP Guest drinks at 5 p.m. onwards. A selection of Gibson and Epiphone guitars will be prominently displayed in the Regent Street shop front windows.
For more information on the Quiksilver Skins event please visit: www.quiksilver-europe.com
View the new range of women’s Quiksilver surf clothes here.