New Jack: David Reyes
Words: Rob Brink The Skateboard Mag, December 2009
Imagine you get called to the principal’s office one day and get told that your estranged father, who you hadn’t had contact with in years, has died. Then, a few years later, find out he’s trying to contact you. It happened to David Reyes. Isn’t that reason alone to continue reading about him?
If you need further coaxing, consider that David carries a dictionary with him at all times. He likes to look up words that he doesn’t know when he reads or hears them. The number of skateboarders, or even people in general, who actually do that can most likely be counted on three fingers. And no, Dictionary.com on your iPhone doesn’t count.
Contrary to much of what we see in skateboarding, you don’t have to go to great, contrived, labor-intensive lengths to be an individual. Sometimes it’s the little things that provide a world of differentiation. Here’s your chance to get to know a little more about David and a few more of those “little things.”
So Leo Romero is one of your favorite skaters?
Definitely.
I heard he just took you to Disneyland.
Yeah! Me and him and Julian Davidson went. It was my first time. So sick!
Flick: Flip’s Extremely Sorry
Words: Rob Brink The Skateboard Mag, December 2009
I lost track of how many times I’ve been asked: “So what did you think of the Flip video?” since it premiered four days ago. And, to be honest, most of those people are only inquiring so they can reply with their opinion anyway… the quintessential segway into “Well I thought it was…”
Reviews; critics; opinions… does skateboarding really need ‘em? It is bettering skateboarding? Is some “writer’s” sophomore year-esque term paper about Extremely Sorry going to change whether or not you’re going to rush out and watch it? Probably not… and rightfully so. Guess what? That very writer busted his ass to get a ticket to the premiere or an advance copy and rant about it before anyone else anyway.
Should we be thinking less analytically, yet more creatively about skateboarding?
When a 12-year-old comes up to me at the Johnny Romano Make a Wish event asking if I'll check out his 'zine I say, "Hell yeah!" I certainly wasn't this ambitious at 12. Probably would have jumped started my career way better. 'Lil man even got a Sieben interview! Nice one, Rye!
"I've spent my entire life in radio. And out of all the guys I've ever met who were in charge of things... and I've worked for hundreds of guys... I'd say maybe two knew anything that I could even respect. Like... guys that kind of had interesting thoughts on radio and how it should go down... two."
I was lazy this weekend and shot two sequences. Luis Tolentino made it easy for me. I only aimed the camera at him twice and both were makes. Conserving megabytes for sure...
Wrote this piece on/with Mike Manzoori and Sharon Tomlin about their work on Boxton Square and it got shut down by etnies... resulting in my inspiration and writing of the Legend of Boxton Square fiction that ran in the mag. If at first you don't succeed...
Anyway, thought someone out there might be interested in reading... so here ya go.
The Story Behind Boxton Square
By Rob Brink
“There were supposed to be clouds made of corn starch packing peanuts, but there just wasn’t time. I’m pretty gutted about that… they would’ve been awesome,” says etnies Skate and Create art director, Sharon Tomlin. “But Mike [Manzoori, director] did a pretty good job of reminding me to keep it as simple as possible—otherwise I'd still be barricaded in the etnies TF making overly detailed buildings, cityscapes and sniffing glue. I'm amazed we made as much stuff as we did in the time we had.”
“To be honest, my heart was not into this project at all until the concept came together and got me sparked,” says Mike Manzoori, “Having done Skate and Create with Emerica last year, my main goal was to create a dream world that would be easy to configure around the skateboarding that would occur when the etnies team (Sean Malto, Mikey Taylor, Kyle Leeper, Tyler Bledsoe and Davis Torgerson) rolled in.”
After talking in circles with the crew at countless creative meetings, Manzoori turned to Tomlin for a bit of inspiration.
I didn't know this was happening while doing the Fletcher blitz last week, but coincidentally, he just had this little part come out... and from the looks of some of the etnies he was wearing, I can easily confirm that some of the footage is over three and four years old while other stuff is pretty recent. Fuck yeah, Fletch!
