etnies surf crew. Not a Dasani commercial, I swear.
If this shirt wasn't for toddlers, I would wear it.
A half a second after this lame self portrait was snapped, Dustin (confidently walking in the background toward the balcony) belted out what soon became the most epic quote of the week: "I wonder what the bro level in the jacuzzi is right now."
The wireless internet at the Honolulu airport.
Ford was pretty much over the photo shoot and broke the fuck out...
Homemade graphics dude...
Elissa and Lindsey being girly.
Brett Simpson... sober. Drunk video to come...
Jamie O'Brien sat on the phone for most of the photo shoot. He wasn't feelin' it. Life is rough sometimes... you know, living in Hawaii on the beach, being paid millions to surf, having to shoot photos for an hour...
More Jamie. Phoneless this time.
Dave Boehne is my new favorite surf TM and golfing partner.
I took Elissa and Lindsey to dinner on etnies' dime, so they went all out and even got dessert. I'll probably get busted when I submit my expense reports.
More yard junk art faggotry.
This is the chick from Blue Crush. She lives next to Jamie O'Brien.
So I went to Hawaii with the etnies surf team to do some website stuff, catalog stuff, whatever stuff. etnies hosted a party for Jamie O'Brien's signature sandal and Ima Robot played. Then Don Brown and CJ Kanuha hit the umbrella beer bong dude!
I dunno. Lots happened. So many random skaters were in town. Stefan Janoski, Elissa Steamer, Omar Hassan, John Cardiel, Chris Haslam, Paul Machnau, etc., etc. Who cares about details? Photos are better, right? So ya, here's me chilling with pro surfers and shit.
Always dope to have some human shooting photos of you while you're licking your asshole, right?
Elissa Steamer gets some ass!
Hawaii is gangsta!
Skatepark puppy.
This is Dustin's janky hotel room video setup.
This is Alex Ebert. The Ima Robot singer dude with his lady, prior to the show.
This is Alex Ebert during the show.
"Tony" from Life of Ryan jumped off the balcony into the crowd. Then got kicked out.
This is the CobraSnake dude at work. I saw his girl's nipples when she dove into the hotel pool and her top fell off. I was stoked.
This is a post-show art faggotry guitar shot.
The Hellcaminos!
The guitar player from Ima Robot got Hawaii fever and rocked this afterparty getup.
As usual, Don Brown got drunk at the after party. See video above.
Then Stefan Janoski popped up! WTF? He was on vacation.
This was our view from the hotel room.
This is most likely the only time you'll see me with a longboard of any sort.
This is some tourist protecting himself from the rain. He didn't feel like coming under the roof.
This is Jamie O'Brien's dog.
This is Jamie O'Brien's yard junk.
Ford Archbold.
CJ Kanuha!
More CJ Kanuha!
Eric Geiselman is a pro surfer and skates tranny better than me.
Teammates.
Evidently, Mason Ho is like Hawaiian surf royalty. I liked him 'cuz he smiled a lot.
Ryan Carlson sitting on a skateboard.
Brett Simpson basically nailed it by getting totally shitfaced one night and being the funniest dude ever.
Jesus... what the hell is going on? Steve Berra,Marius Syvanen,Guy Mariano! Wristguards for days! How long 'till kids across the world start wearing 'em for no reason?
In the wake of Fully Flared, Eric Fletcher rocked a few tribute tricks last week. For example, the "all-the-rage" smith to kickflip out, and this total kickflip grind super combo to revert.
So over it...
When all else fails, flip your board off.
Second board of the day... first one got focused and this one ended up in the drink.
Two gnarly slams. Hyper extended elbows. Two ruined setups. No real footage. Still smiling. Gotta love it.
After five days of watching Fully Flared via the ripped Quicktime copy I got for free... and then going to the skate shop last night and happily paying $30 for the actual DVD, I've concluded that Lakai just took a huge shit on everyone and everything that's gone on in the last few years. Like, seriously, what the fuck is gonna happen now?
I'd be really bummed f I had to film or make a skateboarding video at this point. In fact, with the exception of maybe Stefan Janoski or Rick McCrank, I might even be real ashamed if I put out a video or video part this year prior to November 16. I'd name names, but fuck, I've actually forgotten about anything prior to the night of the Flared premiere. Of course, there's the chance that Fully Flared might actually inspire people to make better videos... but then again, shouldn't Mouse or Questionable or Video Days or Virtual Reality or Shackle Me Not or Hokus Pokus have done that?
Before Flared:
Free DVD = "We're hooking you kids up! We don't want to make you pay for skateboarding videos! Buy a deck or pair of shoes and get one free! Better yet, check the podcast! The days of paying for skate videos are over! DVDs are dead! Someone's just gonna leak it to YouTube anyway!"
After Flared:
Free DVD = "We are too lazy or not good enough/committed enough to make a video worth buying or to trust that the skateboarders of the world will support it by buying it. We feel guilty charging you for this one. It's just throwaway or tour footage so you don't forget about us. A proper video may or may not be in the works."
P.S. Are there weak links in Flared? Sure. Perhaps nothing can ever be a new Video Days or Questionable. But hell, it's not like I hear anyone raving about Jordan Richter or Ryan Fabry's parts these days, ya dig?
Storefront: Sk8 Skates
By Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag January 2008
A skate shop is lucky to make it three years these days, much less 20. Hell, I bet many of you reading this haven't even been around 20 years.
But Sk8 Skates in Winnipeg, Manitoba has, and they've figured out a formula for two decades of survival despite harsh Canadian winters with temperatures dropping to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, multiple changes of ownership, the tragic loss of an owner, eight or nine shop relocations (which is suicide for many shops), no snowboards, wakeboards or gimmicks, no online retail, and all the peaks and valleys the skateboard industry has seen since 1987.
What is it? Well, they just do the right thing.
Put simply, Sk8 was opened with $4,000 by Steve Harnish and Klaus Hoffman in 1987 because Winnipeg needed skater owned and operated shop. The logic was if the store took a dive, they could at least skate the stuff themselves.
A few years later, in the early '90s, Sk8 was sold to Jai Pereira, Alex Man, Scott Rankin, and Chris Larson. "Four skaters for skaters," was their motto. Pereira established Sk8 as one of Canada's most well-known and reputable skateshops and kept skating alive in Winnipeg before his untimely passing in 2001. After which, the shop was taken over by the current owner Genico Aiello, with the help of many of Sk8's existing staff and family.
Through it all, the "skaters for skaters" mentality has remained.
"I don't think anyone thought we'd be around this long," says Aiello, "especially with the ups and downs of the skateboard industry. It was the loyalty of Sk8's clientele and our commitment to skateboarding and our city that helped us weather the storms over the years."
Sk8 just relocated a stone's throw away from the 44.000 square-foot Plaza at The Forks skatepark. They were involved with some of the initial planning for the Plaza and are currently responsible for its' staffing, programming and maintenance. Sk8 even has a kiosk in the skatepark so you can buy a deck or whatever other hardgoods you need—on the spot. Obviously being so readily accessible to their clientèle in one of the best skateparks in the country is amazing for business—something most shops could only dream of.
With the recent influx of skateparks, Winnipeg is seeing a resurgence in skateboarding's popularity.
"Because we're a relatively small city (750,000), our core skate scene is pretty tight so everyone knows everyone," says Aiello. "Sk8 is the only real skateboard focused shop in Winnipeg and the surrounding area so our involvement in the scene is evident across the Province. Staying committed to skateboarding and keeping our scene healthy has always been the goal. The skateboard community feels a sense of ownership in Sk8 so they're on our case if we're not being legit."
Sk8 also started the Winnipeg Am (WAM) amateur contest this year (or in 2007 depending when this prints?) with a $20,000 cash purse. They were instrumental in forming The Skateboard Coalition of Manitoba. They run three weeks of skatecamps at the skatepark and sponsor a variety of local concerts and art shows.
Aiello believes that the Sk8 Skates family is what makes the shop stand out from the rest. "Treat your staff, team, and loyal customers like family and they'll help you through the hard times and stay committed to your scene," he says. Although he and the shop have admittedly made "too many mistakes to list," Aiello acknowledges their longevity and retaining a family vibe as their greatest success.
Sk8 is currently working on a follow up to their Third Try video, but this time it's a documentary about their first 20 years.
"It's an opportunity to pay homage to the many people that have been involved and look back on how skating has changed from '87 till now," says Aiello. If you don't give a shit about your skate scene, don't do it. There are better ways to make money. The reward is the people, so get involved!"
So Chris Cole took a shitty slam right onto his knee at Bling Fest a few weekends ago. The dude is a beast and this was actually one of the harder slams I've ever seen him take. I snapped a few photos of him shaking things off and it dawned on me that I basically had a Fallen ad in the making!
Me and Jena totally went on a movie date after the interview.
Missbehave issue 6 has dropped, featuring my Jena Malone interview. If you happen to be a fan, get the mag and stay tuned here for the piece and unedited interview soon. In the meantime, have a tease:
What's the craziest rumor you've ever heard about yourself?
There was a forum on IMDB that said that I was dating Michael Clarke Duncan.
The huge black dude from The Green Mile?
Yeah! The rumor was like four years ago, when I was nineteen and he was like forty or something. I was like, "Wow, that's amazing, I've never even met him." I actually prefer that rumor than like, me and some Hollywood heartthrob.
Ever end up dating a fan?
I dated this one guy but didn't know until later that Donnie Darko was his favorite movie. He had a shrine in his house. I saw it. I was a little freaked and I didn't call him anymore [Laughs].
Damn, he blew it. I would have played it smart and hid that shit.
I know, right?
