Apparently Skateboarding is a crime in Australia. Okay, maybe not skateboarding, but longboarding too fast on the highway is a fineable offense. Australian Aaron Salta learned the hard way when he was ticketed while trying to skateboard 2,000 kilometers across Australia to "raise awareness about depression."

According to news.com in Australia, "Geelong musician Aaron Salta was shocked after a South Australian motorcycle police officer yesterday fined him $108 for riding a 'toy' on a road that has a speed limit greater than 50km/h."

Salta expressed his disappointment, stating, "I'm completely devastated. I've put over $10,000 of my own money into buying a van and all the stuff needed for this trip."

Here's an idea for the Australian police force: instead of accepting his $108 dollars as a traffic fine, donate the money to his cause.

Supermodel Kate Upton has recently made a debut in the realm of action sports and we couldn't be happier. Her appearance in Zoo York's commercial featuring the skate brand's infamous "talking" cockroaches is an odd but wonderful fit. The ad has stirred a fair bit of disapproval, already being deemed too risque for network television by MTV and Adult Swim.

Expect to see more of Kate's work as she signed a multi-year deal with Skullcandy to become their official supermodel ambassador.

Check out Tim Brodhagen's weekly show, Dose, where he properly breaks down Kate's impact on the industry.

Over the past few months, rumors have percolated that the Dew Tour would be slimming down. Then, on Monday, April 16, those rumors were confirmed as Alli Sports announced that the 2012 Dew Tour would be comprised of three "large-scale, premium, 'grand-slam' style events."

In conjunction with a renewed four-year partnership with Mountain Dew, Wade Martin, President & CEO of Alli Sports said, "The action sports landscape has grown and changed dramatically since we launched the Dew Tour in 2005."

Yet Martin's reasoning that the growth of the action sports landscape would lead to a shrinking tour seems counterintuitive. A more accurate conclusion might be that the industry is in fact shrinking during the recent hard economic times. "The multi-stop series format was what the industry wanted and needed then." said Martin. "The Dew Tour changed the industry forever, taking the sports to a whole new level. The new Dew Tour, which will include three major events across beach, city, and mountain venues, represents what the athletes and industry want and need today."

However, the slimmed schedule is drawing mixed reviews from competitors in both the summer and winter sports. Seth Hill, a pro snowboarder who has competed in all of the Winter Dew Tour events for the past two years said, "I loved the three tour stops. If they are only going to do one winter contest, it has to be big, like X Games big, and it's just a bit early in the season for that large of a contest."

Paul Rodriguez, pro skater and Mountain Dew athlete, looks forward to the change and commented, "Bringing the events to venues that have such a strong history in skate will step up the level of competition, and I'm looking forward to seeing it all come together."

It will be interesting to see if the new condensed format will help or hinder the progression of action sports. Less contests means fewer chances for athletes to showcase their talents to the mainstream, which may cause a decline in the number of sponsorships available. However, a smaller competitive schedule gives riders a bit of a reprieve from the overly saturated contest circuit, which may help them to perform better at other events.

Here are the dates for the 2012 Dew Tour Schedule:

Beach: Ocean City, Maryland- August 16-19
City: San Francisco, California- October 18-21
Mountain: Breckenridge, Colorado- December 13-16

How fast would you progress at skateboarding if you had your very own park built to hone your skills? Just ask Chaz Ortiz, who recently built an indoor pro-level skate facility in Chicago where he is able to work on new tricks for the upcoming Street League season.

Ortiz hopes his new level of commitment in skateboarding will translate to winning contests in 2012. We've already seen it pay off for him in Tampa where he finished runner up at the Tampa Pro. And his quest to for the Street League championship will continue in Kansas City on May 18.

Here's a glimpse at one of his training sessions with a few select friends:

Very few promo videos are worth watching these days, usually filled with brand messaging overload. But the latest clip from the crew at Anti-Hero Skateboards delivers a unique promotional message.

Team rider Frank Gerwer goes on a psychedelic adventure through the streets of San Francisco with his new best friend, a mythical eagle who happens to be a main fixture on the company's logo. Set to the sounds of Steve Miller Band's 'Fly Like an Eagle' join Gerwer on his strange trip.