Date of Birth: November 16, 1985

Best Known For: Collecting modern clips

Local Spot: Gas

My Crew: Dino, Shorty, Joel, Seabass

Board of Choice: 6'0” x 18.375” x 2.25” Merrick MBM+ Squash

Dream Wave: Keramus

Rob, Ace, Yadin and Brett do some RandD on the Bukit Peninsula. Video: Tom Aiello

A few images from the annual gathering in Cabo. Photos: Kevin Voegtlin

SIMA's annual Surf Summit is many things to many people. For some, it's an excuse to surf for four straight days. For others, it's an excuse to tie on the bandana and take advantage of the all-you-can-drink bar. And for many, it's an opportunity to connect with others and learn something about our ever-evolving industry. But for the majority, it's most likely a little bit of all of these. Here are just a few Hurley photographic highlights from this past week in Cabo. Stay tuned for more as they arrive in our Inbox. 

Rob Machado closes out the event with a chat with 1989 world champ Martin Potter. 

Pottz, Fernando Aguerre and Rob. 

Yadin, Brett and Jim, Tracy and Brittany Heritage. 

Ace, ASG President Norb Garrett, our boy Saxon and Fisher King Paul Gomez. 

Right to left: Pat O, Web, Jenna, Yadin and some guy called Bootleg. 

Yadin loses, but still has a moment of brilliance at the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro. In other Lowers news, both Kai Barger and Joel Centeio won their heats. SOLID. Video: PK

The winner of our "Upgrade Your Boardshorts" Event No. 2 is announced at Surfside Sports. Photos: Beau Roulette. Video: Edd Flynn

Two in, three to go. That's today's talk around the water cooler as 26-year-old Chris Palombo bought the lucky pair of Phantoms with Nike Flywire at Surfside Sports on Saturday. The second of our "Upgrade Your Boardshorts" events, Surfside Sports proved to be another great venue for food, folks and Phantoms.

Rob Machado, Brett Simpson, Bob Burnquist, Yadin Nicol and a slew of other Hurley family members were on hand, as a few hundred attendees ate free burgers and dogs, customized boardshorts and tees, won free prizes at the Phantom Fortune kiosk and tried their luck at the grand prize: a trip to Kandui Resortwith a friend and the Hurley Team.

Even more people anted up for this event, with a solid pack of people hanging around and waiting for the 6 p.m. announcement. Andre Genovesi pulled the card, Rob Machado read it and Chris Palombo, a registered nurse from Encinitas who bought his Flywires just 10 minutes before the cut-off period, threw a power fist. He was joining Chris Hardt as the second Phantom Sweepstakes winner at the Kandui resort. "Is this real?" he said. "There's no way this is real."

Yes, it is, Chris. Better get your quiver ordered. Because come October, you'll be splitting peaks with Rob Machado. In Indo. 

Three more events to go! Be sure to stay tuned to our "Upgrade Your Boardshorts" page for details on our upcoming stops. And be sure to follow our Phantom truck, which will most likely be coming to a neighborhood near you.

Solid surf and solid performances from our Aussies

Both Adrian Buchan and Yadin Nicol survived huge conditions at the Drug Aware Pro at Margaret River, WA. The sea was angry, roughly 8 to 12 foot with a few bigger ones!

The pair surfed the big conditions with ease, and dominated up until the quarters. Unfortunately, Yadin fell to current world no. 1 Taj Burrow and Ace went down to Josh Kerr. But it's still a solid result with this being a prime event. 

Big-wave tales and big results for Ace and Yadin. A great start to 2010! —MR

A photo gallery from the latest winter swell. All Photos: Michael Lallande