“You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh” sang Rihanna on the chorus of her multi-award winning 2007 chartbusting hit ‘Umbrella’, and now, thanks to those thoughtful individuals over at Santa Cruz, you too can stand under a premium umbrella, just probably not accompanied by Ri-Ri. Saying that, New York’s resident skater-turned artist-turned lobster botherer Shaun Powers was once rumoured to have given Rihanna shelter during something of a storm…though I’m not convinced there’s any truth in that, regardless of what the Slap Forum says.

As it happened, ‘Umbrella’s 10 week stint at the top of the UK chart – starting the week of May 14th 2007 – also marked the arrival of severe rain and flooding, leading certain factions of the media to speculate at the existence of a ‘Rihanna Curse’. A similar situation occurred in New Zealand too, where the charting of the single also coincided with the country being hit by some of the worst storms in the country’s history.

“Its large size means that if the rain starts falling when you’re mid session, you and a good few of your crew should be able to make a suitably dry passage back to your respective homes/vehicles/the pub”

Romania was also experiencing the hottest and driest summer since 1946 until ‘Umbrella’ entered the top ten, bringing with it the worst storms in Romanian history and record levels of rainfall. As the single started to make its way back down the charts, the weather gradually eased off. That’s all a bit strange, isn’t it?

Luckily, if the so-called ‘Rihanna Curse’ decides to try it on again, or if you just get caught a bit short during the long, wet British wintertime, Santa Cruz have got your back with this nifty ‘Dot Logo’ umbrella. Its large size means that if the rain starts falling when you’re mid session, you and a good few of your crew should be able to make a suitably dry passage back to your respective homes/vehicles/the pub if you huddle in closely. It folds down small enough to fit in your backpack and comes complete with a branded storage sleeve too, meaning you won’t get brollies mixed up with other umbrella sporting cohorts who are unfortunate enough to be rocking inferior rain deflecting products.

• SANTA CRUZ – DOT LOGO UMBRELLA
• RRP: £19.95
• SANTACRUZSKATEBOARDS.COM