When Taylor Swift receives the inaugural Icon Award at the Teen Choice Awards in Hermosa Beach on Aug. 11, she’ll walk off the stage with a special trophy, thanks to surfboard shaper and Spyder founder Dennis Jarvis.
The Hermosa Beach-based retailer Spyder Surf was hired for the first time as the surfboard manufacturer for the Teen Choice Awards. There will be more than 20 of the boards handed out including Swift’s which features a photo of the superstar’s cats.
Swift’s Scottish fold cats, Olivia Benson and Meredith Grey, have become celebrity felines thanks to her 120-plus million followers on Instagram and more than 80 million on Twitter. The singer recently added a new feline to the fold: a kitten she named Benjamin Button.
Swift also landed a role in the feature film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Cats,” which will be released in theaters this December.
The surfboard trophies Swift and other winners, including the Jonas Brothers (Decade Award), will accept are trimmer versions, to make it easier to cart off stage, said Jarvis.
The real, ride-able boards come later.
“Each recipient will get their own custom board made for them,” Jarvis said. “So the ones I’ve made are just for the show because they have to have something to walk off the stage with.”
Because each board is unique, Jarvis said it might take up to a year to finish all of the boards because the orders will come in intermittently.
Jarvis, who has a history as an actor, director and producer, is billed as a co-producer of the Teen Choice Awards. Jarvis helped connect Producer Bob Bain to Hermosa city officials to bring the family-friendly show to the beach city. It will be the first time the Teen Choice Awards have been held at the beach.
Bain, from Manhattan Beach, founded the Teen Choice Awards 21 years ago. A move to a beach location was a natural, since surfboards have been handed out since the beginning to “capture the Southern California beach lifestyle,” according to Bain in an interview with The Beach Reporter.
Jamisen Jarvis, a local teen singer/songwriter, and Dennis’ daughter, will also take part in the event as an invitee to walk the red carpet.
How to get tickets for Teen Choice
Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach residents will get first shot at the free “locals only wristbands” when they will be available first come, first served, Thursday, Aug. 8 and Friday, Aug. 9, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the east side of the Hermosa Beach Community Center at 710 Pier Ave.
The local wristband holders will have access to a preferred “locals only” standing area to view the show.
A city spokesperson said they expect demand for the locals-only wristbands to be high and a Friday distribution may not be necessary.
An adult must be present at the time of the wristband pickup and have proof of residency. There is a four wristband limit per adult. The four children do not need to attend on the distribution day(s) to receive the wristbands.
Organizers said as they are expecting a large crowd for the Teen Choice Awards, they hope parents will accompany younger children to the event.
Through Monday, Aug. 12, public parking lots, city streets, the pier and the Strand might be impacted with the movement of equipment and infrastructure. Residents should also expect street closures and traffic detours on Sunday, Aug. 11.
Who will host and perform?
The Teen Choice Awards are co-hosted this year by actress and seven-time “Teen Choice” winner Lucy Hale and digital star and TV personality David Dobrik serving.
Producers also promise a special appearance by Lil Nas X. The rapper’s song “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, recently spent its 17th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100‘s chart.
Co-host Hale is best known for her role as Aria Montgomery on the Freeform series “Pretty Little Liars.” Dobrik is a YouTube personality known as the de facto leader of the popular ensemble The Vlog Squad.
Celebrating today’s hottest stars in TV, music, film and social media, the star-studded two-hour live event airs for the first time from the beach in Hermosa Beach on Sunday, Aug. 11. The telecast airs tape-delayed at 8 p.m. on Fox.
Additionally, Grammy Award-nominated band OneRepublic will perform its single, “Rescue Me,” along with a medley of other hit songs. Multi-platinum pop/R&B star Bazzi will perform his summer anthem, “Paradise”; Blanco Brown will perform his chart-topping song, “The Git Up”; pop singer Mabel will perform her hit single, “Don’t Call Me Up”; and Jordan McGraw, with special guest Sarah Hyland, will debut “Met At A Party.” Latin pop boy band CNCO and U.K. pop singer and nominee HRVY will perform, as well.
“L.A.’s Finest” star and nominee Gabrielle Union and WWE Divas Champions The Bella Twins are scheduled to appear, joining previously announced celebrities, including “Avengers: Endgame” star and nominee Robert Downey Jr., “L.A.’s Finest” star and nominee Jessica Alba, singer Madison Beer, “Good Trouble” star and nominee Maia Mitchell, singer/songwriter Lauren Jauregui, “Marvel’s Runaways” actor Gregg Sulkin, “The Flash” star and nominee Grant Gustin, ten-year-old skateboarder Sky Brown, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” star and nominee Noah Centineo, “Fuller House” actress Candace Cameron Bure and “Fuller House” executive producer John Stamos.
