Billabong does right by the world and they were awarded accordingly by the Foundation for Social Change and the United Nations at the UN Plaza Hotel in NYC last week.

With programs like Design for Humanity, it's commitment to SurfAid International, the Platinum X Recycler Series, their involvement and initiative to raise awareness of ocean issues with Dave Rastovich and the TransparentSea voyages.

It's no wonder they were recognized and hats off to this most beloved Co. for the well deserved recognition.

For more info read Press Release below:

Billabong has been handed a major international award for having a social conscience. Chief executive Derek O'Neill accepted the 2011 'Leaders of Change award' for Billabong at a ceremony held at the United Nations in New York Thursday. Billabong was one of 11 recipients described by the Foundation for Social Change as 'visionary, inspirational leaders' who 'engage in initiatives that solve social problems'.

The company has been at the cutting edge of a number of environmental initiatives and is understood to be the first Australian company to receive the Leaders of Change award. A spokesman for Billabong said social and environmental considerations were 'culturally important to our market'. 'It's great that our efforts are being recognized through one of the United Nations partner programs," the spokesman said.

The awards recognize companies that are making efforts to find real solutions to everyday problems. Other recipients of the 2011 award included Marks & Spencer, Philips and Unilever. UN spokesman Roland Rich said the aim was to recognize "the creativity, technology and resources that the private sector brings to our collective efforts in solving social problems".

More than just a three-hour tour, follow the art/film/music filled voyage of Dave Rastovich and his crew for the TransparentSea campaign, "an awareness campaign aimed at highlighting coastal environmental issues" with focus on whales and dolphins.This trip of surfers, actors, artists, and musicians head down the coast of California to Baja, Mexico, tracing the southern migration of the California Grey Whale.


Check out the first episode below and their next stop will be On Sunday, October 16, 2011 he'll be at the Ocean Institute,Dana Point Harbor. Click here to buy tickets

It blew minds away at its premier in Hollywood last month and "Minds in the Water" is a must see for anyone and everyone who lives on this planet. It follows Dave Rastovich, a committed activist and surfer on a 5 year journey through Australia, the Galapagos, Tonga, California, Alaska and Japan to inform and educate the globe on the conservation of marine mammals and the oceans we all share.

The film also has special appearances by celebrities and athletes like Kelly Slater, Hayden Panettiere, Joel Parkinson and Jack Johnson among the few.

I can't promise you it won't break your heart like "The Cove" but it will give you the chills and a warmth in your heart of a "WOW" and a gratefulness to say "WOW". This is a most definite. On The MUST SEE list. See press release and Dates below for all you West Coasters.
Go See This Film!

Started @ La Paloma Theater on September 21, 2011

San Diego, CA - Following its sold-out Hollywood premiere as the opening film of the Artivist Film Festival last month, Minds In The Water will engage a limited West Coast tour at selected venues along the Southern California coast in September.

"Having the opportunity to screen Minds In The Water and interact with audiences about the important issues highlighted in the film is exactly what the vision for this project was all about," says Minds' director Justin Krumb. "We are absolutely stoked to see it come together after such a long process of making this film."

The Minds In The Water screenings work in tandem with Surfers For Cetaceans (S4C), a registered 501(c) 3 international oceans' advocacy group co-founded by Rastovich in 2005. Proceeds from ticket and merchandise sales help to fund S4C initiatives such as the Transparentsea sailing campaign scheduled to kick off at the Santa Barbara screening, September 29th.

Rastovich, along with fellow surfers and filmmakers will be touring with the film and will lead an audience Q&A immediately after selected showings.

Scheduled tour dates:

Sep 21st La Paloma, Encinitas

Sep 22nd Pepperdine University

Sep 24th Duke's, Malibu

Sep 29th Santa Barbara, TBA

Oct 2nd San Diego Film Festival

More info go to: www.mindsinthewater.com

"By beginning our film tour in our backyard beaches we hope to stoke out our friends and fellow surfers while conveying a key concept that we all share these special Pacific waters," says Minds' writer and co-producer Steve Barilotti.

"Dave's story show's that for the gift of surfing and living near the ocean there's a bargain struck that says that one day the ocean will call on you. In Dave's case, he listened. Our hope is that his story will inspire many more like it."

Surfers for Cetaceans is committed to activating ocean-minded people everywhere to support the conservation and protection of whales, dolphins and marine life. It's through compassion, awareness, education, media and dedicated interventions that we will accomplish this goal. We seek to be a human voice for and defender of cetaceans worldwide.

Taylor Steele is sporting a beard these days. While a hairy face can be the ultimate expression of repose, he's had zero time to relax during his whirlwind tour of Castles in the Sky. As you'll see, Steele's latest opus is a feast for the eyes and senses that, in this writers opinion, only somebody with scruff could produce.

Steele's taking an entirely different approach from the one he took the world by storm with in the early 90s. Back then, looking back was the last thing he and his cast of hilarious misfits would be caught dead doing. They were running full speed at the future, eyes radar locked on progression, and the explosive brand of surfing Steele championed in his videos became a movement, called New School, which they said was taking over...and they were right.

Remarkably, it's been almost two decades since Steele ushered in Gen Slater, most of whom is either retired or (gulp) the oldest of old school today. So with that in mind, it's hardly a surprise that Steele is smelling the roses when he's not sipping on jetstreams. He's been searching for something bigger than the next big punt for years. Somewhere along the way he decided to start nabbing images of everything else he spotted along the way.

Castles in the Sky is a beautiful mosaic of his exotic travels: the sights, sounds, faces and places of waves near and far, past and future, are sure to detour you to wonderful corner of your mind far removed from your daily grind. This, along with state of the art surfing, is Steele's preferred method of inspiring today...and if you've been around the block enough you're likely to be as moved as ever by Mr. Steele and his crew.