Bob South, owner of an outfitter and retail shop called No Boundaries, has lived and played in northern Michigan for over 10 years, meaning he'll whop your butt on a bike, boat, or board anywhere near Boyne. "My wife and I moved here from Indiana specifically for its outdoor opportunities," says the avid cyclist, who can be found exploring the area with his three kids and two dogs. "We just love the woods and water in our little slice of paradise. Northern Michigan provides year-round fun..

Alyeska Mountain services manager Brian Burnett is no stranger to all things Alaska. He's lived there most of his life and learned to ski at Alyeska way back in 1963. Growing up alpine racing, he traveled the world as a ski tech with the U.S Ski Team for about 20 years and then returned to work at Alyeska, where he gets up to 150 days a year in both in-bounds and in the region's vast backcountry. When the snow melts, you can find him either paddling or hitting the local trails on his..

Congratulations to Rafal Bogowolski of Nevada for winning the Etnies Planet is Your Playground photo contest!

While Etnies received plenty of worthy photos from exotic places around the world, including Fiji, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Kazakhstan, Bogowolski's winning shot was from right here in the good ol' U.S. and A. in Lake Tahoe, which sits on the border of California and Nevada.

"Lake Tahoe is one of the few places in the world where you can do almost every activity..

In the following video mountain bike freerider Sam Pilgrim immerses himself in Japanese culture as he makes a pilgrimage to share his perspective on freeriding with the local Japanese mountain biking community. Click play to watch.

For four days Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco was an action sports paradise, as over 200 athletes competed for the Dew Cup in skate, BMX, and FMX disciplines at the Dew Tour Toyota City Championships. Numerous athletes and fans shared their experiences of the event through their Instagram accounts, and this edition of Insta-Awesome is a compilation of their best shots. Click the photo above to view the gallery.

Messenger bags are often no-frills beasts of burden. Timbuk2's new Especial bag, however, defies convention. This thing brims with cool features that make it easier to use, more resistant to crap weather, and even safer (by making you more visible at night). We're just scraping the tip of the iceberg here. Check out the video for more.