January 5, 2007
Insider Info: Natural Selection
By Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag February 2007
The back story:
A little over a year ago, when I first started writing for The Skateboard Mag, they asked me to write a piece about almost anything I wanted. I was pretty flattered that the best mag out there (in my opinion) wanted to run a feature on me. Then I had to shoot photos, and I have to say, I gained a newfound appreciation for the pros and what they have to go through to come up with a good idea and a good trick at a good spot, not to mention actually landing it and then hoping the photo looks good once all is said and done. At least the dawn of digital photos makes things a little easier, huh? About seven months after I wrote the article, Ryan Cropley and I shot the photos. Since I'm old with no real bangers under my belt, I had to take the artsy fartsy approach. So here ya go. Look mom! I'm in a magazine! And I'm not just the writer this time!
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Comments (8)
January 5, 2007
I'm not gonna name names...but if your skateboard company went out of business or "disappeared" at one point and then starts up again a few (or a lot of) years later, the years you were out of business don't count in your little press releases and marketing nonsense. We know you all wanna claim as many years as possible for credibility or for a reason to celebrate some sort of "milestone" or "anniversary" or some shit. Perhaps your company has always been around "in spirit."...
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January 4, 2007
Ronnie ponders a makeshift pole jammy
Here's the second installment of the never-before-seen manual article interviews! This time, manual technician, Mr. Ronnie Creager, speaks!
RB: What was your favorite place to do manuals?
RC: It's gotta be the Ramona two stair stage. It was the best. A bit tall but super fun. I called it the "Big Blue 2" and it was a dream. There was so much flatground skating, a small cement box to bonk, bike racks and yellow fiberglass benches. You could skate the side of the manual/stage like a ledge and it had two heights was painted blue, so it had a nice slide and grind to it as well.
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Comments (5)
January 4, 2007
Since I talk a lot of shit, the other day it dawned on me to just shout out the lamest thing of 2006 as a sort of year-end wrap-up thing. And this thing, hands down, in my opinion, has to be people who wear Bluetooth earpieces in public. I know you people think you are important, have stuff to "handle," are married to your job, are a "mover and a shaker" or whatever...but really you just look like a fuckin' douchebag. Especially on a Sunday while you are walking with your wife or girlfriend or kids in the park or the mall or at Disneyland. For real...tone it down a bit...your wife or girl isn't impressed...neither are we.
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Comments (10)
January 3, 2007
Ok, so a few years back, maybe 2001 or 2002, Strength magazine asked me to do a piece on manuals and interview some the manual champs on the subject. The article never saw the light of day, because Strength was headed towards its demise, but I did get to interview a lot of pros and will start posting them up here now, one at a time, for you to feast your little eyes on.
I shall start with Mr. Rodney Mullen, who concluded his conversation with me by stating, "This was fun!" Stay tuned for other interviews with Rob Welsh, Ronnie Creager, Tim O'Connor, Marc Johnson and I think I have stuff from Biebel, Henry Sanchez and Marcus McBride on tape that still needs transcribing...don't hold me too it though.
RB: What was your favorite place to do manuals?
RM: Schools with a bunch of different sized tables and benches, where I get the most freedom to piece them together every way I can think of. They're good for Casper, primo, and grind combos because they're so smooth, and they're tall enough to give it a little punch. That's the best part of skating to me: making ideas happen. Plus I can skate alone, or with a couple of random neighborhood kids that don't care about trying to impress anyone. Sometimes they're fun to skate with because they get joy out of doing basic goofy stuff, and it's fun teaching them stuff and seeing them light up when they do it the first time.
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Comments (47)
January 3, 2007
Another NJ winter indoor park sesh; another bunch of stoked kids who got to skate with/watch Timmy O'Connor. Isn't that special? Seems the new Blackberry Pearl takes a decent photo too, eh? Heading back to Cali tomorrow. So long, cold weather. Countdown to Tampa Am and ASR begins...now
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January 2, 2007
I think Sheck gets tired of me following him around with a camera sometimes.
Just uploaded a Gallery from Tampa Pro '06!
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January 2, 2007
Arto & Ronnie sign for a fan.
Check out the Gallery from the etnies & Active Hot Dogs & Hessians tour!
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