Have you seen the movie "The Day After Tomorrow", a sortof climatology armageddon story where the world freezes over?  Well, it's happening in Orlando, Florida, right now:  ice dripping off oranges, freezing weather, cold stares... and crampin' our style at what is traditionally the first party of the skateshow season:  Surf Expo.  Normally dripping with scantily-clad bikini models and European hipsters, this surf/skate/lifestyle trade show is the biggun for the East Coast and the place where some companies roll out new ideas and products.  Our longboad literati, the dreadly Malakai Kingston is there to send us back coverage.  He tells us the photos may be blurry, because the whole town is shivering like a freezing chihuahua dog...

 Surf Expo Reports: Day One

Welcome to Sunny Orlando!

Orlando, Jan.15th.  This is supposed to be a big show, and I'm already seeing people from FlexDex, Never Summer, Honey Skateboards and Concrete Wave floating around, but this first day of the Surf Expo is supposed to be just "resort, boutique, coastal home, swim, souvenir & gift only"... the skate and surf show starts tomorrow.  So, why the hell am I in this frozen wasiteland today??  Note the term "frozen" because it's not Florida.  This morning, I scraped ice off of things that should never be icy and the hoards of bikini models I should be dutifully recording for 'fishheads back on the site are covered in long coats and huddled together around cups of decaf, nonfat latte'.    What did I do to deserve this?

Anyway, my report from Day One follows, and I'll update it as I take more pictures and see more things.

The fliight in from San Diego was superb.  My seats were ready, and the stewardess (hell yes I say stewardess because she was hot in that uniformed, pantyhosed way) welcomed me to all the luxury a Silverfish reporter deserves.  "Free nuts?"  Smooth sailing all the way to Orlando and then I had a hell of a shock.  It was so cold getting of the plane I had to double check I even landed in right place.  Sadly, it was, and Orlando is in the midst of some kind of polar cold snap nightmare.  I mean, it's not that cold -- I've been places where it's actually cold, the ice storms in Toronto, frozen sleet in Virginia, garage bombing with the Mile High Bombers on a day where my wheels felt like fired ceramic and my fingers blued solid -- but it's waaay too cold for ORLANDO, FLORIDA!!  I'm telling you, it was 80 degrees when I got on the plane in San Diego and I'm south of there, now!

Okay, enough of this.  I haven't even been inside the building yet and I'm griping like a crazed sycophant that just found out Maryhill isnt' locals only.  Deal with it and I will, too!  Into the show we go... and I note the exterior looks like a giant warehouse.  

 I'm inside now, and will phone in updates and photos as I get them.

 Okay, that's what we've got so far from Kingston.  If you're in the Orlando area, drop on by Surf Expo and look him up!  He'll be floating around the Concrete Wave booth when he's not checking out new product, peeking through the curtains at the bikini booths or speaking on some panel presentation.  Oh, did we mention that? Ha ha!!  See below and check back for Kai's updates.