SEAN TINER

Small Marketing Budget? Lofty expectations? No problem. Although the global recession is evaporating marketing budgets across various industries, it does not have to affect creativity and results. Recently, The Australian tourism board posted the Island Reef Job , a 6-month job living in North-Eastern Australia and blogging about the Great Barrier Reef. The evangelist job only requires 12 hours of work each month and pays 100,000 USD . Swimming? Snorkeling? Feeding Fish? Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, consider this short-term job more of a marketing opportunity for Australia. According to the website, the Island Reef Job received over 34,000 1-minute YouTube video applications. Imagine having over 30,000 individuals post a video on YouTube that passionately describes your organization, company or brand. ...And then sharing the content with their friends to increase their chances of winning the contest, promotion or job application. According to TargetCast , the average price...

(Renee Bargh, Stylized Portrait by Tiner). From walking the catwalk to providing commentary on the boardwalk, Renee Bargh is loving life. I met Renee earlier this year in Fiji while she was filming a surf adventure documentary. I enjoyed her energetic personality and humble outlook. I wish this native Australian the best with her future endeavors. Cheers!

(Enjoying life in Caines, Australia (2003)). In 2003, I was invited to compete in the Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia for water polo . This was year of the SARS global scare and consequentially the games were canceled. However, Australia still held a national water polo tournament and I competed with the team representing USA. We finished third and afterwards enjoyed a few days in Caines, Australia. I find this picture humorous, because my hair is so long, which is quintessential of my high school days and freshman year at Brown University.

(Bebe Durbidge (C) Tiner ) In 2006, after Durbidge upset Slater in the men's ASP Trestles final, I created this stylized portrait of him with images that I captured at the event. This was the first stylized portrait that I created. I wanted the composition to reflect Durbidge's athleticism and vibrant personality. At 6'1," Durbidge is one of the tallest pro surfers on the tour and is an inspiration to me as I take my 6'5" body out on a quiver . While Durbidge was in his home country of Australia, I was able to show him the portrait via Myspace.

(April 6, 2008 Screen shot of Seantiner.blogspot.com) I'm excited to learn that my blog now has trackable international readership. Alexa, a free global website traffic monitor, is tracking a split between Australia and The United States, with approximately 5% and 95% respectively. (I'm know there are friends in other countries viewing, it's just not tracked by Alexa, yet.) Thank you again for your interest in my artwork and creative ideas. NOTE: I am only investing my time and reaching a diverse audience through the power of Web 2.0 to promote my blog. (Driving Traffic Through Web 2.0 Diagram (C) Tiner) A special thanks to all my friends Down Under, especially the ones I recently met in Fiji! :)

(Tom Carroll & Sean Tiner, @ Ocean Beach, Northern California) As one of my good friends recently departed for a surf trip with Tom Carroll, I thought it would be a fun time to reminisce upon the two-time world champion's impact on the sport. From being the first million-dollar endorsed surfer to refusing to participate in South African surfing competitions during the apartheid era, Carroll has monumentally raised the benchmark for contemporary surfers. (Tom Carroll (C) Tiner) Carroll's love for the sport transcends his popularity and he genuinely connects with everyday fans. When Carroll and I were on a surf trip in Northern California, he shared his sincere passion with fans of all ages. I really enjoyed watching his inner-child appear has he connected with every day fans. (Carroll w/the next generation (C) Tiner) (Carroll (center) & fans (C) Tiner) Additionally, Carroll has been a major role model in my life. Only one day after his sister passed away, he won the...

(SL8R @ Trestles (C) Tiner, signed by Kelly Slater & Sean Tiner) Congrats to Kelly Slater for winning the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia. This is the year's second ASP world tour event and coincidently Kelly's second consecutive victory. If Slater continues this blistering pace, he will be on track to win his 9th world tour title. (The Life of Kelly Slater (center with Quiksilver hat) (C) Tiner) (Abstract SL8R Sequence @ Trestles (C) Tiner) (Kelly & Sean with Sean's artwork signed by the Quiksilver Team)

(Enjoying Life in Fiji.) Today is the longest day of my life. I gently woke at 6 AM in Fiji to the subtle chirping of my watch alarm clock. Quickly, I managed to finish packing and catch a boat with an Australian film crew to Namoto Island. The film crew is creating a surf documentary that highlights 9 global surfing destinations in 6 weeks (it will air in a few months) . (Reg Prasad (producer), Renee Bargh (commentator) & Sean Tiner) After photographing Wilkes Passage, I boarded a boat charter at noon, which took me to Nadi Harbor. To pass some time, I spent the day relaxing by a local hotel pool and soaking up my last moments in Fiji. However, I was mainly absorbing rain drops and not the cliché postcard sun rays, because it is still the wet season in The South Pacific. (The crew filming Renee parasailing.) As the evening hour approached, I taxied over to Nadi International Airport and boarded my 10:30 PM flight back to LAX. Since, the direct flight is only 10.5 hours and the tim...