March Madness in Kansas May 14, 2008

After back to back trips over the last 2 years, I was set to be in Kansas for 4 weeks, the longest i’ve been home since sometime in 2006. It couldn’t have come at a better time, as the constant traveling eventually starts to take its toll. The first night back Yuri invited us to his friends place for a spring equinox party. It was a big contrast going from the city grids of LA into the backwoods in Kansas, and really refreshing. We were welcomed by some really nice people and a delicious dinner, and for me that night kind of set the tone for the next few weeks.

It’s not a conscious choice, but for the last 5 years I’ve always ended up in Kansas for Easter. Even before I lived there, I would just happen to be shooting in Kansas that specific week, and Jeromy’s family has always adopted me for the day. We kept up with the tradition this year, and got to catch up with everybody. Brian had just gotten back from China, and Opal was striking poses left and right.

Jeromy and Opal

AJ, Jenna, and Rob

Rob reacting to a case of Easter Dinner comatose

DDAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Quinn and miniature Quinn

An equally important yearly tradition is a little thing called March Madness. I’m not going to pretend that I’m a die hard college basketball fan, but I try to catch the games with everybody when i’m in town, but this year it was different. KU had an amazing season, and you can feel the anticipation around town. It was a legendary tournament, the kind that they make movies about. There was the underdog team from nowhere that had been going undefeated in David and Goliath battles. There was the showdown with KU’s former coach who left to coach another number 1 team. It was the first time in history that the final 4 was made up of the #1 team in each conference. In the final game KU came back from impossible odds to hit probably the most clutch 3 point shot in basketball history. The sport was invented in Lawrence, and I can’t imagine there ever being a more intense final tournament than what happened this year. KU came through victorious, and the celebration in the streets afterwards was bigger than anything i’ve ever seen.

the long version

the short version

the madness

Opal celebration

AJ house celebration

on the way to mass st. celebration

people climbing up street poles in front of granda celebration

super street celebration x 15,000

beer tree celebration

our friends + random people jumping in the photo celebration

happiest i’ve ever seen AJ celebration

After the KU victory it was time to get back to business. The first wave of Kendamas sold out, and the reorder came in, so I was pretty busy getting those online and getting the website up and running. We got our first edit up, which was pretty fun filming and editing. The response has been pretty positive. AJ brought some of the Vibralux riders in town, so we had a few photo shoots in KC and Topeka.

Jeromy Rockwell had an art opening at The Love Garden, a famous local record shop in town, and Novalus played a concert for it. I got some new lighting equipment and went back a few days later to work on some portraits with Rockwell.

Also this month I did a 13 day cleanse, something I had been wanting to do for 2 years but was never home for long enough to start it. The basic idea behind a cleanse, is that over time your body collects a lot of the impurities and un-digestable things that come from eating an unhealthy diet. I have spent plenty of time eating fast food, processed food, and all those delicious foods that have no nutritional value at all. Over time it builds up, and when your body is full of this stuff, it uses a lot of energy trying to digest these things that aren’t meant to be digested in the first place. The cleanse flushes out a lot of these toxins, and resets your body in a sense, using that energy for the body to function like its meant to.

I got a lot of mixed reactions from people, ranging from encouragement to hate, but I can easily say it’s one of the most positive things I’ve done in a long time. It’s not as difficult as it seems, and I felt more clear and focused than ever. It goes without saying that the body effects the mind, and vice versa, and the whole process helped both to function at a more optimal level. If you’ve ever thought about doing it, I would highly recommend it. Make sure you do your research before, and figure out what works best for your body.

the new kendamas

cheapest parking ticket ever

rashna hanging out in south park

jenna

brandon

erica

lola

slober dog

the portable photo studio

The wetlands on the edge of Lawrence. This place is constantly changing so it’s fun to check it out from time to time.

Novalus playing a show

Rockwells art opening

The Love Garden staircase

JR

KC wall

Alex filming for the first edit

Topeka Wall

Sign in Topeka

New woodgrain Kendama tests

The First Kendama Edit

Getting back home, one mile at a time. March 08 April 16, 2008

Your typical roadside Velociraptor encounter

Time was limited in Arizona to shoot with Spira, and we had to leave earlier than expected. Flying last minute the week of spring break was out of the question, so we left at dawn planning to catch a train in Albuquerque. The morning rush hour and time-zone switch put us there too late, and backup plan #2 meant I would ride the rest of the way to Denver and figure it out there.

if you speed in new mexico, this guy eats your soul … or was this one a herbivore?

noon moon

revisiting an abandoned car we stopped at in 05′

texture tube

Since we already had 2 Jeremy’s in one car, we decided why not meet up with Jeremy Gallegos in Albuquerque. We had all been on tour out west in 05′ (with yet another Jeromy then). We met up at a new skate plaza built within the year. The construction was amazing, the location horrid. We heard all about how people are always getting beat up there, and at night its strictly drugs. Sure enough an hour later some commotion stirred up and revealed a kid about 10 years old getting chased down the street by a mob of kids. Apparently he had tried to stab another skater. Police had installed an emergency call box at the park, but the “Help” button had been completely ripped out.

I don’t want to come off too negative, as I actually had a great time skating this place. The skate plaza’s are a new kind of park being built that combine ramps with common street elements for a hybrid style, legal place to roll around. It’s unfortunate that you have to risk your safety to enjoy it.

Jeremy Gallegos at about 9:30

14 foots deep, enjoy

the street skating / park skating hybrid

Jeremy Gallegos

Jeremy Spira

Jeremy sitting next to Jeremy, photo by jeremy

With plenty of open road still ahead, we made a short stop downtown, got some famous green chile for dinner, and got back on the highway. We got pulled over once, and Jeremy had to do all the DUI tests. He passed fine and got off with a warning about the speed. His apartment has one of the sweetest pull out beds’ on earth, and after putting up a rideshare request on craigslist, sleeping couldn’t have been better.

you know that feeling when you’re getting pulled over?

this bed made the trip worth it

I had never tried the craigslist rideshare, aka virtual hitchhiking, but was open to any alternative to Greyhound. To my surprise by the time I woke up I had several replies, and arranged to be picked up that evening. In the meantime we grubbed at Jeremy’s fiance’s health food store, and attempted to get some flicks to make up for lost time in Arizona. The very first spot turned into a 7 foot drop to the elbow, and the skate day came to a quick close.

practicing the aisle walk for this summer

a tree grows in denver, too

When I met up with the craigslist couple, I was really hoping for the non-psychopathic type. Everything went smoothly, on time, and we had some great conversation to boot. The couple was headed home from a cross country trip and wanted people to help pitch in for gas and help with the driving. After trying this firsthand, I think it’s worth giving it a shot if you’re trying to get somewhere cheap, or wanting to save some money and carpool on your own road trip. Sometime around 5am I finally got dropped off at my doorstep in Lawrence, looking forward to a few weeks of spring time and a change of pace. Nothing beats that first nights’ sleep back in your own bed.

worth a try right?

only …. 13 hours to go?

Arizona with Remz and Revolution. March 08 April 16, 2008

Kato, Geoff, and Connor showed up early to Chris’ place to start the drive from LA to Arizona. It was a talkative road trip, catching up with everybody, and the some usual “rollerblade industry” chatter that is bound to set in at some point. Kato has so much enthusiasm and heart for the sport, and it comes across in everything he does. He is originally from France, and started his own skate company (Remedyz, or Remz for short) based on his unique design of “freedom of feet”. He spent some years in Thailand developing the skate, and then moved to San Diego, CA to focus on Remz, making all his skates by hand, and has only grown since. I learn a lot listening to Kato.

Kato

Geoff and Kato with Tour Skills 101- making everything fit somehow

windfarms

desert sky

nowhere to go but up

connor o brien

pushing 90 to make it in time for Thursday night Skate

Kato’s infamous 1 chip workhorse, still in operation after several continents and years of abuse

The destination was Revolution Skate Shop. I lost track of time, but I think it was something like 6 to 8 hours on the road? That’s a rough guestimate at least. Over the weekend we spent a lot of time at the shop, and at the Arizona skate parks. A few sessions, mixed with a few demo’s, photo shoots for their next ad, and hanging out with kids at the shop. James and Gretchen are the owners, and run one of, if not THE biggest 100% rollerblading store front in the country. Those 2 continue to work so hard, and as a result have helped to cultivate the Phoenix skate scene into what it is. There are more rollerbladers at an Arizona “Thursday night skate” than in some major cities. The shop is the backbone. They are constantly opening doors to people in their home as well, and “generous hosts” would be an understatement.

James cooking some Alaskan Fried Bread for Breakfast

Working on the ad photo for next issue

Franky Morales and Gretchen in the shop

Franky Morales at a backyard bank spot

These 2 wanted a re-match from the last time I whipped them in Hold’em

James, cooking up another breakfast, still smiling

Hanging out at the shop

Remz

more remz

Franky

Nick

Geoff

Chris

The ultimate crowd pleaser: Free Pizza

Franky showing his Kendama clips on YouTube

Revolution Skate Shop, West Wing

James doing some blading

Connor winning some style points

The invincible mobile

Kato cruising

Spira’s smile lasted for the next .2 seconds

Franky fully addicted to Kendama

Spira at the Banks

Late night sesh

Tunnel vision

Change of plans: heading to LA. march 08 April 16, 2008

LA is actually one giant microchip

Lunchtime at Brandon’s on the last day of my SF trip; we were hanging out, having a bite, getting some work done before going to Tuesday night skate. I got a call from James down at Revolution Skate Shop in Arizona, who needed some photos of his team riders. Some of them were coming for spring break, and there was also a big Remedyz tour stop planned for the same weekend, plus the infamous TNS, (thursday night skate). I checked plane tickets, but everything was booked or insanely expensive due to spring break weekend. No trains went that route. Greyhound would take over 24 hours, something I’ve vowed never to do again. However, if I could find a way to Southern California, I could ride along with the Remedyz team on their drive to Phoenix.

I called around, and sure enough AJ, Alex, and Farmer were all staying at Haffey and Trudie’s to film for Vibralux and Chris’s “best of” video. I looked for a cheap flight to LAX, and there was just one ticket left, leaving in ….. “uh oh we gotta hurry”. A calm brunch instantly turned into a full on scramble to pack up and get out the door. Rush hour was in full effect, so Brandon gave me a crash course in the BART light rail stops, and we were out the door. After a missed train, a few connections, a guy almost hustling me for a shuttle ticket, and some brisk airport jogging, I barely made the flight, and the abrupt ending of the SF trip was opening up new unexpected travels.

10am: buy groceries

1pm: change flight reservations, pack as fast as possible, and rush to airport

6pm: flight counter pages you on the intercom and informs you that your bag is leaking and being held by tsa security…. oops

Driving through the city

Big thanks to Haffey for picking me up from the airport and letting me crash, especially after already driving the entire day, and also for letting me dry my rice milk-soaked clothes scattered around the front yard. I was only going to be in LA for about 24 hours, but the quick stop ended up being a really fun time.

We started the next day by going into Amoeba in Hollywood to music shop. Personally I prefer stealing pirated music off the internet, and haven’t done any serious music shopping since the BMG Music days of getting 20cd’s for a penny. This store was on a whole other level though. 3 times bigger than the Amoeba we stopped at in Berkley a few days before. Mike Mcmullen, a good friend from back in Atlanta, was working in Hollywood so I gave him a call, and he ended up being just a few blocks away and came over for a bit. I bought a few CDs for Yuri too, thus fully redeeming my years of downloading music on the internet.

musical mural

deceased parking meter

jimi

some new hipster band, probably won’t amount to much

With the new tunes purchased, we got down to business, roaming to skate spots around the city. All the guys proved why they’re professionals and bagged up a handful of video clips and photos in no time at all. Negrette came through and hung out for the day, and Fabiola and Becky came up from Costa Mesa or wherever they live. We passed 2 movies being filmed that day, one was a happy meal commercial who’s director was screaming at an assistant as we walked by.

a great source of daily news

we stopped in here to ask for directions, and i’m kind of fuzzy on what happened

after that. I think I blacked out but i’m sure it was nothing serious.

tarzan filming with adam johnson

first movie set we passed

the happy meal commercial with a furious director

fab and becks

brandon negrete and the mutant tree

mutant tree #2

rooooooooooooots

Since AJ had all the Vibralux Clothing samples in, we setup a shoot in a laundry mat to get the next few ads and all the product shots. AJ has a tendency to spring these loosely directed, impromptu photo shoots, but I’m glad it all worked out. While we were busy shooting, Trudie and Chris snuck out to get AJ a surprise birthday cake. The other people at the laundry mat were clearly confused about what was going on, but at the same time I guess I was too. I was supposed to be back in Kansas anyhow.

Chris and Fabiola

Alex Broskow and Kendama

Alex had one last spot he wanted to shoot, one of those “you always get kicked out unless you go Sunday night at 1am” kind of spots. Good thing it was Sunday at 1am. The trick was ridiculous, and ended up being my last shot that made the cut for photo issue. After this incredibly full day, we got to watch every video section Chris Farmer ever put out, while he did the audio commentary … (which ended up being too big to fit on the DVD afterall)

these fence things make it really annoying get inside

9 years of “pantz” controversy into 1 dvd

San Francisco: Wrapping up the Photo Issue march 08 April 15, 2008

This was our constant game of tetris inside Brandon’s trunk with all the gear.

During the Bittercold Showdown weekend in Ohio, I was talking to Be-Mag about the photo issue, and what we could do to make it unique for this year. Then during the contest I was watching Brandon skate the course, and it all just clicked.

Brandon Smith is from Northern California, and has been rollerblading for a decade or more. He went pro for a while, and then suddenly seemed to start flying under the radar. I later found out that he began studying photography, and picked it up in no time at all. With a natural eye for skating, and the technical skills honed, it’s no surprise his photos started showing up all over skate magazines and the internet. Recently I’ve been thinking of him so much as a pro photographer, it slipped my mind that he still had all the pro skating abilities. In Ohio he wasn’t even competing, but was still shredding the course to pieces, keeping pace with all the guys who ended up in finals and the winners circle.

We were already planning to give him a photo section, spotlighting his photography, but why not give him the feature interview as well and cover his skating? It was a last minute decision, but Brandon agreed to it, everybody supported the idea, and a few days later I was in Oakland under a bridge shooting photos of Brandon on a makeshift barrier.

I always ask for a window seat on flights, and it never gets old, especially out west. On the flight from Phoenix to SF, we transitioned from dry barren desert, to snowcapped mountains, to flat plains, rolling green hills, and just before landing in the Bay Area there were these crazy colored shapes that I haven’t figure out what they are. If you know please educate me.

What are these!!?!?!

Warm and sunny, with clear blue skies … re-discovering california

some leftovers found at the first skatespot

They make Photoshop in here, im glad this place exists

Gandhi’s hood

famous 3rd and army spot.

Walking around 3rd and Army, finding all sorts of modern ruins

nomad mobiles

one for the texture series

ess eff

the spot we were at earlier from the cookies photo

The situation was really interesting to me, a skate photographer shooting an interview on another skate photographer. I had just gotten to work with Philip Forstner in Europe, and had a really good time, so hopefully this would turn out the same. Brandon was amazing to shoot with, and looking back it was the quickest, most stress-free interview I’ve probably ever worked on. I was a little nervous at first, since I wanted to be on point with every little detail of each shot. If anything was messed up he would be the first to notice.

We pooled a lot of equipment, and shot mostly with my cameras and lenses, and his lighting setup. The communication on shoots went really smooth, since he understands the elements that go into a really good image. We would collaborate on lighting ideas, toss around angle ideas, and had really good luck with security. The bulk of the interview was shot in the first 4 days, with 6 more days to polish it up. The final product exceeded any expectations I had, and the issue should be on stands May 1st. If you want to see any of Brandon’s photography, check out his website at www.brandonsmith-photo.com

ONE ’s new billboard? Stepping it up Wes!

Ivan snapped this when I arrived in Oakland. A lot of people have asked if i’m rolling a joint in this photo, and if you look closely, you’ll notice the rolling paper is actually my small digital camera. Inhaling camera smoke is not recommended.

Cali has perfect skateparks to go along with their perfect weather

These hills are awesome, and one of the properties had llamas roaming around

Wood sculpture at a museum downtown

trees you don’t in kansas

Driving by a Star Wars battle that happened to break out at the moment

It was George Lucas’ inspiration

Wooden hombre watching us eat dinner

love it, hate it

Hanging on Brandon’s garage door

scooping up JJ for the session that day, coffee in hand

Stopped and visited Aggressive Mall, this contraption reminds me of something you would

find in Willy Wonka. It makes skate wax… and the occasional everlasting gobstopper

Christmas in March

what do you think that extra dollar goes to?

During our super low stakes bowling game, I joked with EG about how

I was really left handed and was waiting for the 8th frame to play

seriously. In reality I’m terrible at bowling, have never thrown left handed, and

on the 9th frame got my only strike of the game. Accidental hustler.

When we picked up Bailey, it was clear something was missing. The famous

contest winning mustache was no more.

the steepness

probably the best cup i’ve ever had. the hype was real.

street art everywhere in the mission

there’s also pigeon street art everywhere in the mission

Victor’s pre B-day dinner

Victor’s real party

the last page of a random book I found in Berkley

every college town has the go-to pizza joint. This is Berkley’s

up on the quarter of the face bowl with Brandon, shooting in socks.  See Brandon’s trick here in the next issue.

Brandon throwing a few tricks for Ivan’s video camera after hours at the park.

Soon after this, we got a really great shot, probably my favorite one I took for the next photo issue

On the go - blizzard drive to Ohio - Feb. 08 April 15, 2008

18 hours of prime visibility

I got back from Europe late on a Tuesday night, and immediately had to start getting ready to leave Thursday morning for the Bittercold Showdown in Ohio. Bittercold is another annual skate event, one of the biggest in the USA, similar to the Winterclash in Europe, and is also host to the industry’s biggest trade show of the year. It’s almost like repeating the trip I was just on; make a long journey, build a booth, work the trade show, shoot the contest, catch up with friends, and try to catch a wink of sleep somewhere in there.

BE-MAG sign in stencil form

screen printing studio

After having some inspiration from the booth in Germany, I got some design help from artist friends Jeromy Morris and Yuri Zupancic. Yuri set me up with a light-up plexi glass sign, and Morris drew up the blueprints for a booth. We also swung by Matt Ridgeway’s screen printing studio to whip up a few last minute shirts and hoodies that Rockwell designed a while back. We filled up the car along with a couple hundred magazines and our photo gear, and hit the road before sunup.

Morris sketching ideas for the booth

5am-ish leaving our neighborhood

one of the many accidents

hey big surprise, another accident

another one bites the dust

an extremely helpful sign

the snow is covering the other half of this super-mcdonalds in st. louis

oil check

13 hours into the drive i guess this was interesting

subtle?

snow mixed with some road

With a blizzard passing over while we slept, we started the drive in a few inches of ice and snow. What was supposed to be a 9 hour drive turned into a full 18 hour hydroplaning adventure across the midwest. Never able to get in front of the storm, our windshield wipers cleared enough room for us to see the dozens of cars on the side of the road whose overzealous drivers tried to push past 50 mph. The best wreck of all happened while we were watching Juno on the ipod (pretty good movie by the way) waiting for an accident to clear, and a truck from the other side of the highway lost control. He barreled through the median kicking up a tidal wave of snow , ran over a small car in front of us, and crashed into another truck that happened to be pulling 3 corvettes. I passed out within about 10 seconds walking in our hotel room once we finally reached Columbus.

Friday was a construction day, getting all the supplies for the booth, building, stenciling, painting … all that fun stuff. Worked all day until getting booted out of the park around 2am. Saturday was a complete whirlwind, putting the finishing touches on the booth just as all the kids were let in the door. They came in waves for 3 - 4 hours straight, while we tried to keep up with them all. It’s always a positive trade show, getting to meet a ton of people who are supporting the magazine, giving out free product, hearing feedback, as well as taking notice that the number of people has grown since the previous year.

anti-freeze

frigid

the lineup on Friday

getting the panels ready

stencils and spraypaint

intricate logos are lovely until you have to exacto-knife them out

ttssssssssssssss

piece by piece

making a mess

the booth before the chalk came out

the chalk begins

a few of the visitors

tradeshow mob

As soon as the chaos begins to die down, the contest gets underway and we switch gears from being behind the booth to getting behind the lens. Despite the frantic nature of trying to shoot contest photos, it’s always pretty amazing to have the worlds best rollerbladers all under one roof. At the end of the day, Alex Broskow took the win and pocketed a few thousand dollars to bring back to Kansas City.

a slice of the crowd

austin paz, 360

austin paz again, tts

standing here hoping cameron doesn’t miss and sweep my leg

Alex’s winning 540

Jeff going quarter to quarter

the booth at the end of the day

Sunday we drove back in half the time it took us on Thursday … Rob G jumped in for the ride and decided to live with us for a bit, and we saw an airplane on the highway that had to make an emergency landing … yep that about covers it.

the sunday morning olive garden takeover

95 more years till they re-paint this one

plane emergency landing on the highway

– interesting side note: when i just googled this to find a video clip of the plane, this article came up in the search results. A reporter interviewed me when we pulled off at the gas station but I never knew they used this until now… even though they spelled my name with a “v” and I live in Lawrence, not Kansas City.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/NEWS02/802260441
“I looked up and saw a bunch of people on the bridge taking pictures, and I was wondering what they were looking at, and then you see this plane, just idling in the middle of the road,” said Jeremy Stevenson, 24, of Kansas City, who was passing through Indiana on his way home.
“It’s certainly not something you see every day.”

I remember thinking the reporter was kind of lazy by not actually going to the scene, but instead simply reporting from a few miles down the road, and maybe I should have made up a wild story about how there was a huge explosion just after the pilot ejected, starting a brushfire that was spreading towards a small town whose main industry was chopping kindling and drilling for natural gas. I also seriously doubt I actually used the word “idling”.

And now that we’re on the subject of that gas station we stopped at, the cashiers name was Darlin’. She was really nice and has a pretty sweet name.

Kind of reminded me of a year ago when I was taking a rough Greyhound ride through the southeast, and found a gas station attendant in South Carolina named Boozer.

A valued investment / WOW a new toy!!! April 12, 2008

The entire Europe trip I regretted not having one of these, so problem solved. This should make these online updates a lot easier to manage.

Close calls in Barcelona. Feb 08 April 12, 2008

On the way to Spain. photo:forstner
I had a 2nd strong feeling of “I wish I had a small camera for snapshots” while on the flight from Munich to Barcelona. It’s a short flight, but you fly over some amazing mountains with a great view. Luckily Philip DOES have such a small camera, and shot the photo above when he flew the next day.

The plan in Spain was to get shots of all the Powerslide Pro riders; skating,b-roll, and studio portraits. I was skeptical on the productivity of the group, since typically when you have a group of 10 or more pro’s the lagging factor greatly increases. However, many of the guys had never been to Barcelona before, so they were incredibly excited and motivated to skate around all the perfect spots growing throughout the city. I think every skater naturally reacts this way when they experience Barcelona for the first time. The first day was one of the best days of shooting I had in months. I find the country to be incredible photogenic, and even the most basic places have lots of character in the details.

View from the Flat

Hanging out at a sesh

Skating Zone

Dominic and Philip

The 2nd day started off just as good, with a perfect bank ledge in a park near a school. We were looking for another place, got lost, and found an even better spot. Tons of kids got out of school and started gathering, and each time somebody did a trick there was thunderous applause, countered by ridiculing laughter anytime somebody fell.

The next spot was a disaster that changed everybody’s life in some way, and was all too close to being the most tragic thing i’ve ever witnessed. Billy O Niel, a good friend and pro skater from Staten Island was 180ing into a steep bank, and the landing fed into a parking lot next to a busy street. On all his warm up gaps, he was able to carve in the parking lot with no problem, but for some reason when he 180′d, he hesitated for a split second before carving. Realizing that there was a busy road in front of him and the window of opportunity to carve left was gone, he threw himself on the ground to stop his momentum, but his speed carried him into the street. As he looked up he was met with the front bumper of a car going about 30 mph. The whole thing is on video here, and it’s pretty intense so if you’re the sensitive type you may want to skip this one.

one of the most terrifying moments of my life

Bumper destruction courtesy of Billy O Neil

It’s crazy how time slows down in those kinds of situations. I was really close to the road and saw his face right before the car hit, and was positive that I just saw a great friend die point blank. It’s a feeling that is impossible to put into words, and one that I’d rather never experience again. As I rushed up to him, to my amazement, he was sitting up screaming, trying to pull his skate off. There was still a mix of fear and confusion, but also relief that he was even alive. Later we learned that when he saw the car, he swung his legs up and kicked the front bumper as hard as he could. This ruined his ankles and sent him flying back, but at the same time saved his life by taking the force of the impact away from his body and face. The more we checked and talked to him, it seemed that nothing was broken other than his ankle, plus some road rash and scrapes. An ambulance arrived quick, and even amidst his pain he managed to crack some jokes with the paramedics.

A few hours in the hospital and we was released by nightfall. The next 24 hours was a haze of replay’s in our heads, calming the nerves, and telling Billy about 10,000 times how glad we were that he was alive and sitting in the room with us.

Oli’s place looking pretty organized. photo: forstner

After the incident, it was back to business as usual, and we still managed to come away with some great images in our last few days. We spent lots of time in the car, and driving by so many interesting places I decided that as soon as I was home I would finally invest in a small snapshot camera. I got lots of good language practice, and kept a pretty good notebook of new spanish words and phrases I learned along the way. Oli and Cristina were really helpful in that area.

Quality Control. photo: forstner

Spanish girls reaction after realizing she was blocking the shot

The Forum Ledges

Philip and Jeff at work

Bent sign, bent tree

yep, it’s real

Dominic flexing the DJ abilities

an archive photo from Barcelona circa 2005

an archive photo from Barcelona circa 2005

an archive photo from Barcelona circa 2005

an archive photo from Barcelona circa 2005

an archive photo from Barcelona circa 2005

an archive photo from Barcelona circa 2005 … also including near death experiences

an archive photo from Barcelona circa 2005

This is what happens when a guy from England who can’t speak Spanish points to something random on the menu

driving by a monument that is probably really important and full of historical value … but we were on the way to go skating so obviously no time to stop. photo: forstner

Philip also came for the 2nd half of the week, and it was really fun to work with him on the shoots. He has been doing lots of other photography gigs over the last year, and is always willing to share the new things he’s learned. Plenty of hours geeking out with photo-talk. Enanoh was really busy with school but made it out a few times to hang out, he’s still on the DL with an injury. Oli held up really well considering he had nearly 15 people invading and trashing his house, and he was in charge of driving and coordinating each day. He gets a bad rap sometimes in the industry but in my opinion he’s a good guy.

I flew home on a Sunday morning, but everybody had been speaking highly of “Razzmatazz”, aka the best place on earth you have to visit on a Saturday night. Despite the need for sleep and the small cold I was developing, I gathered enough energy to visit this legendary place. Just the building is a sight in itself. It’s a full city block wide, and 5 stories high. Each story has a different type of music, and hundreds of people in each room. A lot of the music isn’t really my style, but the atmosphere makes up for it. I’d recommend visiting if you find yourself in BCN.

Another virtually sleepless night, straight into a full travel day wasn’t the smartest idea, but looking back it was worth it. This was the shortest Europe trip I’d ever been on, but the whole 2 weeks were so busy and fast paced it felt like a lot longer. Before I knew it I was on a plane headed home, and got to see Greenland out my window. I just happened to look out at the right time between the in-flight movie, and was glad I did. You can see lots of mountains, glaciers, and giant icebergs from the air. I’m not sure if i’ll ever get to visit it closer to sea level, but it definitely caught my interest… and yes, I was ready to buy that new camera.

The maze of Barcelona alleys. photo: forstner

leaving Oli’s house. photo: forstner

The Wombat Pull. Feb 08 April 12, 2008

welcome to the wombat

Getting from city to city in Europe can sometimes be a bit of a freestyle mission, and this was no exception. I had about 36 hours to get from the middle of Germany to the airport in Munich. The afterclash party left me with a solid 30 minutes of sleep before we started the drive, so I was a bit miserable on the autobahn. My friend Flo was driving, and Viola was along for the ride too. Once in Munich, I stumbled across the Mercedes showroom near Violas house, and dropped in for a look. I’m not a big car person, or much of a designer, but this place was really intriguing. The venture ended up with about an hour of me wandering around the place in awe of all the industrial design that went into it. Hundreds of cars all indoors, multiple levels, suspended in the air, on platforms connected with just stairs…I’ve always liked the German architecture. Around this time I started to wish I had a small camera for snapshots, so for now i’ve resorted to pulling images off other websites to give you a glimpse of the place.

On the way to get some dinner I was walking down the road there listening to some music and had one of those “wow life is great right now” moments. It’s hard to explain, but it’s kind of a reflection I’ve had several times before when I start thinking about the recent days, current situation, and all the factors that played out in order for me to end up at that particular spot, and then add an epoch song on the ipod at just that moment, and everything just feels right.

Well without getting too deep, I ended up in line at Subway, since everything else was closed on Sunday. It was a bit awkward being in line, asking to order in English. I’m far from the city center, nowhere near any tourist attractions, and you can feel everybody thinking to themselves “Is this guy lost or something”? Regardless, one of the “sandwich artists” spoke english and I had some dinner thanks to the recent Kendama funds. (for the record, selling Kendamas in Europe has been the only time i’ve gotten the good side of the dollar/euro conversion rate)

There was still lots of time to kill before my flight the next day, and we got a phone call from Jon Julio and the Valo Team who were in a similar “mid-travel” situation and staying at a hostel next to the center station. This was my first introduction to the Wombat. It was a nice surprise, since Alex, Erik, Oli, Jon, and Brandon are all good friends and there was some room in the hostel, and Jon threw me a free breakfast ticket … things were getting better and better.

The Wombat is one of the nicest hostels i’ve ever stayed at. The location is perfect, it’s affordable, and kept up very well. There is a lounge area with hammocks and giant pillows, plus they run their own bar, which doubles as a breakfast room … or maybe the other way around? I should have shot a little bit more, but I snagged a few of these from Brandon’s blog.

enter the wombat. photo b-smith
hammocks are prime. photo b-smith

nice rooms. photo b-smith

juice!

ze vinner of ze vinterclash vith hiz moneys

We spent some time walking around center station, which has people coming through 24/7. This was the first place I came to on my first trip to Europe, and have probably spent the most time here of all the stations I’ve been in. I went through the archives and found these old photos from the 2005 trip. These are all shot within a few blocks.

off to Europe for Winterclash. Feb 08 April 12, 2008

this was only time i’d ever see this place empty
Winterclash is the biggest annual rollerblading contest in the World, and I was really looking forward to this trip. The plan was to fly into Munich and meet up with a fellow Be-Mag photographer, Philip Forstner, and then drive up to Mullhausen for the event. I was a little broke, but took $20 and a box of Kendama’s and figured if I sold them all I’d have enough cash to make it through the trip.

We were a few days early so that we could prep and build the Be-Mag booth for the trade show which happens alongside the Winterclash. Philip drew up the designs, and we shopped around at the German version of Home Depot, and got to work. It took a full day to get everything up, and the base paint on, and then our friend Tim from Berlin came in to do all the artwork. It was the most work we’ve put into any of our past booths, and the final product really showed I think.

Getting the booth walls ready. photo:forstner

Philip Forstner at work

Tim starting to Paint. photo:forsner

The Finished Product

This was the booth of the Italian guys who made a really amazing
book / DVD called “Gli Anni Sprecati” or “The Wasted Years”. photo:forstner
The contest is always a really intense day, since we were busy with the booth, shooting photos of the contest, live updating everything on the web, and all with very little sleep. There are over a thousand people in the building, and lots of them I’ve met at one time or another at contests, or during travels to different cities. It’s has a festival atmosphere mixed with a reunion feel, topped off with the best skaters in the world all under one roof. Not something that happens everyday.

access granted

Sun Rays

This is Leon Humphries, a good friend from London. We’ve toured in the US before, and he’s usually our tour guide when I find myself across the pond. He’s also the best story teller i’ve ever met.

Mike Johnson with a crowd pleaser

This is what the park looks like during the contest.

This is Erik Bailey moments after the finals. He ended up winning not only the Winterclash, but the “winterstache” competition as well.

Here is a low quality video of Erik in the finals i found on youtube