The var was getting lonely with 3 homies gone, as we trekked it north toward the Grand Canyon.  We arrived at night during a new moon, and every star in the night sky seemed visible.  We stopped in Bedrock to hang out with the Flinstones, and then attempted to get lost on back roads and paths to acquire a good car camping spot.  We somehow ended up driving through some brush fires and camped on a big rock hill in the middle of nowhere.  The next day we went hiking into the canyon and looked at millions of rocks basically.  At sunset we realized we could make it to Vegas just before midnight, and decided it was the best place to spend our Saturday night.

styled bridge

Flinstones know whats up

upgrading to a bedrock trailer

hi 5 fred

40 minute exposure under the stars

officially lost

deep thoughts

grimy

getting technical

big canyon, little jero

wheres waldo

nature can’t stop the power of facebook

long long way down

mule train

rock stacks

legs felt this trail for the next few days

fall colors

when you gotta go…

loner tree

yep, still in the same clothes all week

love this place!

lunch spot

abby’s flying

sunset

vegas!!  my hoody matches the MGM grand

TIEN!!

VIVA!

We drove through the desert for hours, and happened upon a nice little fireworks shop. We stocked up with explosives, added another speeding ticket to our collection, and cruised into Phoenix. Our good friends James and Gretchen were more than hospitable as always, and we spent our days at some great skate parks, having roman candle wars at night, and of course frequenting the famous Revolution Skate Shop.

desert sky paintings

our rude annoying non bribe taking friendly highway patrol buddy

blue blue skies

yikes

train wreck

cacti

cotton fields and ghost driver

everybody make spontaneous hand gestures

hippy

best motel of the trip

weird walls

2nd amendment issues

butterfield motel lampshade texture

everything screams weird

harsh

here we go!

goldmine

JAMES!!!  Hanging at Revolution Skate Shop

Fish’s pro jean freshly in stock.

Gretchen putting in the hours

armed

trouble makers

notice the LMS koozie.  Thanks Joey!

blowing up cacti

Emma shining!

run for your life

war

plotting

can’t resist with sparklers

four letter words are easier… we tried!!

savage ferocious beast

Last minutes with Tien and Emma.  Was a great time, we miss and love you guys!!!

Scrapping the schedule and route we planned, we pointed south and started a caravan with the Vibralux guys. We made a stop in Wichita to skate a bridge park, and rolled into Dallas sometime after midnight. Sorry I can’t post up all the photos from the contest here, as I have to save them for print. But hey, its your own fault for not going in person!!

After the contest madness, we parted ways with our good friend Rob as he went onto Atlanta. Tien and Emma stayed along for the ride and we drove across the giant boring state of Texas and into New Mexico. Ghost stories and ufo myths passed the time as we drove through dark desert highways on the way to Carlsbad. What’s in Carlsbad New Mexico exactly? Well, a hold in the ground … literally. This national park is a giant cave almost a mile deep that makes you feel like you’re on another planet.

Arlo’s museum in the Park

Vibralux intern making everybody’s life that much easier

Relics

Edward’s shattered helmet

B Bell!!!

Olympics?  Yeah.  Hooray for 96

Giant Roosters!

do I always need captions for these pics?

Intern whipped up some high class vegan hotdogs

Tien discovering the road trip art known as “pee in bottle”

horrid gas station food options

i’ll pass

deer corn?

stowaway!

if this doesn’t sum up Texas I don’t know what does

oh ok, well maybe this too

not just big oil anymore

ghost town

bit of trouble with the waffle maker

Tien definitely won $50 first try and I dont think he ever cashed it in

The new Rangers at Carlsbad!!

simple

descending

down the rabbit hole

what planet is this?

sweet curve ledge in the cave

mid-hike lantern lunch

ladder of doom

dunna dunna dunna dunna dunna dunna dunna dunna BAT CAVE!!

GUANO!

ok lets me a little more dramatic shall we

don’t you forget it!

the crew

ancient cave bathroom

number 3

wasp lair

long desert roads

cartoon mountain sunsets

lights and the star of El Paso

in search of authentic Mexican cuisine near the southern border.  Not exactly the closest place to Alaska.

Driving through the night, we got into Lawrence Kansas at sunrise.  It’s always refreshing to come back to my old home and catch up with everybody.  Tien got to meet up with his new sponsors, and we put the finishing touches on Robs interview. We were supposed to continue west and go to Denver, but decided to take a sharp detour south.  The annual Hoedown contest was going on in Dallas, so we turned off our Alaska route and started a new journey.

having some coffee with the Morris family

Jeromy’s new Kendama promo photos

we call this “opal in crates”

Tien getting nostalgic at old skate spots

searching for airfare … where are we going next?

hitting the town

tien, nick and I at harbor lights

the guys

the gals

Rob taking the double Jimmy Johns challenge

skate session in KC

fall time at Liberty memorial

Alex and J-Mo

Alex putting the vespa to good use at this lauch spot

Team work blading:  Driver, skater, photographer, road-watcher, and behind the scenes camerawoman

Abb and Emma staying warm in the var

PBR happiness

ancient Broadway coffee collumn

Maybe we shouldn’t have left the overhead lights on and run the battery down?

Dredded blader-fan jumper cable savior friend to the rescue

Sampling new mystery yellow spiky fruits

no babies in the bucket

KC train texture

more kc train

Broadway coffee does not appreciate muffin touching

checking in on the dot dot dot gallery

Yuri getting back from France with awesome stories, artwork, and a new oddly shaped Japanese instrument

Nick and Opal lounging

garage de love

checking out the Spencer museums graphic posters exhibit

cat got your tongue?

well done

Opal showing face for her fans

Little rock star

Wonderfair gallery screen printing my hoodie

Warhol photo exhibit

uh oh

robs gift to the busboy

giant shoebox for the smallest pastry

Time to leave NYC and start heading west. The var (half car half van) is PACKED with bags and 5 brave souls: Abby from Alaska, Rob G from San Jose, Tien and Emma from Australia, and yours truly from New York. We chose the magical traffic hour of 5pm on a Friday to start our journey. First stop, Pittsburgh PA.

Out with the old and in with the new

Out shooting till sunrise for Rob Gs BeMag interview the night before the trip.  Found this sticker in Brooklyn

Cars packed up and ready to go

Sad goodbyes

The first of many tickets

Tien getting some last minute Kendama in

Leaving NYC in gridlock

Driving through K town

Smog chamber

Into dirty Jersey

Kirin Cam snaps

Somebody brought crabs

Seaweed / Crab collage / boredom

Met up with Colin Sander in Pittsburgh, and feasted beyond belief at Little Nippers

Woke up and shot some photos with Zack Yourd for the KendamaUSA site.  For some reason we decided that shooting it a hundred feet up in a tree would be a good idea.

Some Pittsburgh locals getting introduced to the Dama

Abby helping assist while we went shooting

Colin Sander doing what he does best

And Zack doing … whatever it is Zack does

The pre-skating stretch routine

Boys skating, girls gossiping

Rob meets mural

Everybody finding their ghost double

the building that guards “the beast”

leaf cut-out monsters

Pittsburgh door art

cemented

thanks buster

Last night in Pitts

We stumbled upon this skatepark at 3am just off the interstate heading west

Abby in Ohio

hi!

dangerously high ladder

Tien and friend

mega stores

all the water in this hotel smelled like poo.  shame on you Super 8

Postcard #1. Getting stupid at the St Louis arch at 4am

Pulling into Lawrence, Kansas early in the Morning

Wow… where to start.  So much has happened over the last year.  Traveled to some amazing places, met lots of great new people, moved to New York City, and I’m back on the road at this moment.  My last post in 2008 was about an Alaska trip, and I’m happy to say that I’m on my way back again in 2009.  This time it’s by car instead of plane, and today is the halfway point.  We’ve been on the road for almost a month now, and still have a few thousand miles to travel through Canada, the Yukon, and into Alaska.  This post will be the start of many new updates to come.

greetings from Seattle,

-jero

I can’t say enough about Alaska.  It’s one of the most inspiring and majestic places on this planet.  Last summer I got to make a trip thanks to Revolution Skate Shop, and I met one of James’ long time friends named Jaime.  I was invited up to shoot his wedding, and was more than happy to make the journey.  I had just returned from the Arizona trip, and had to pack up in about 24 hours.  The flight had about 4 connections with an overnight layover in Seattle, and I hadn’t slept in over a day.  I was completely delirious until the captain announced we were descending into Juneau, and I looked out the window to see the mountains engulfing us.

I spent the first week with Jaime and Mindy as they prepared for the wedding.  The whole family was very welcoming and there wasn’t a dull moment in the days.  We went hiking with his friends, out on a boat ride with Mindy’s brother, and out to dinners with the family.  There is a very kind, calm way about the people that live in Alaska that has always left me with a deep debt of gratitude.  The wedding itself was wonderful, and easily the most photogenic ceremony i’ve ever been a part of.

the newly weds

family dinner

mendenhall hillside

hike #1

first black bear sighting

screaming porcupine

some useful facts

this is mindi’s brother and his boat, he took us out for the day around auke bay

in Alaska i’ve learned it’s really easy to die

this was the wake up goodmorning view

first haircut in a long long time

bride and groom foosball battle

getting some lunch at the harbor

some serious fishing equipment

some serious bachelor party dodgeball action

captains chair

bachelor party crew

wedding day!

really, really nice chapel

reception sunset

After the wedding, Jaime and Mindy were on the first plane to Hawaii. They were kind enough to allow me to stay a while longer and roam around Juneau. Originally I planned to leave Juneau and take the ferry to some other cities, but the more I hung out with his family and friends, the more I wanted to stay in Juneau. His dad showed me all sorts of hiking trails, and his mom and grandmother showed me all sorts of different native Alaskan artwork. Even after my computer crashed with all the wedding photos (and I nearly had a heart attack), his cousin took it under his wing and was able to recover everything. James Johnson’s dad took me out fishing for a day, and I spent a lot of time roaming around the Mendenhall Glacier.

Towards the end of the trip I rented a Kayak and got dropped off at the end of the road. You can only access Juneau by boat or plane, so at the end of the road there is a launch ramp into the water followed by hundreds of miles of wilderness. It’s not the smartest idea taking a solo journey via kayak, the rental company made this very clear. I’m either too curious or too stupid to talk myself out of it, and I started paddling out into the ocean.

great mode of transportation

It’s really an amazing thing to be out there, tough to even describe in words. Paddling past a coastline untouched by civilization, watching sea lions and whales breach the surface, and pulling over to camp where ever you see fit. Alaska is the only place i’ve been woken up multiple times by whales swimming by. They’re loud!!

Here is a collection of photographs from my 2 Alaska trips, most of which i’ve included in a new book I recently finished.

marine texture

camping dinner

driftwood fire

my pathetic excuse for a tent

great trail in juneau

trail danger reminders

bringing the grill to the beach party

James’ Dad Frank brought me out fishing for the day

Alaskan Driveway

more hiking pics

iceberg patterns

glacier fossil

more comforting reminders

i stumbled upon  a party at the end of the road with all sort of interesting characters. This girl was casually walking through the fire.

This girl was casually sitting down

Alaskan graffiti

some additional photos from the 2007 trip

Tlingit indian tree carving

Hiking around Haines

My sis along for the trip

July 4

kayak trip

sea lion visitors

camping on Benjamin island

sea lion spot

on the tracy arm cruise

hiking up the mendenhall glacier

must be the coldest water on earth

mountain goat blocking the trail

hiking around the base of the glacier

rapid melting

bears hanging out in the trees

recession

whale spotting while kayaking

angry bird

relaxed bird

national bird

some found rockstacks

more bears

more hiking pics

ok that’s it for now!

I flew to Arizona directly from the last tour stop with the Canadian crew.  Vegas to Phoenix is more of a road trip distance, so the flight time is extremely short. I managed to loose my new ipod somewhere between the hotel, cab, or vegas airport. Nooooo!!! That’s 2 pods down the drain now, so i’ve been in the process of rebuilding the music collection again. I had shot once in Phoenix already last month, and their new rider was coming into town and they really wanted him to get some coverage. The scene is really healthy in Phoenix, and Revolution Skate Shop always makes the trip enjoyable. I had met Joey a few times, but this would be the first time working with him on an extended shoot.

This is James and Gretchen and their dog Shea inside Revolution Skate Shop

the new NIMH skates came in so we took some product shots

this lady was trying to escape the arizona heat

revolution skate shop hosts weekly skate sessions. this was a park out in prescott, az, where chad was flying all around the park

broken neons

the az heat burning everything up

breezy working on the mobile kendama skills

jon jenkins is always filming but still has some tricks up his sleeve

some random street art downtown phoenix

it’s perfectly normal for Joey to be bleeding from one of several wounds at any give time

Hanging out at the French Brothers place, always living life 5 minutes at a time

This was the stunt Joey decided to try first.  No warm up, brand new skates.  Very very talented skater.

the last day of the extra air flow model

These shoes were a gift from Shannon in TX.  The ran their course, and Jon gave me a replacement pair which happened to be an old hand me down from Mike French.

clearly labeled danger

we took a trip out to california and stumbled upon this crazy spot in the middle of the desert.  some guy built it as a memorial to the human race for future visitors of our planet. it was a really bizarre, complete with engraved marble sculptures, a pyramid, and a church on the hill… oh yeah and a 50+ stair rail.  google “center of the world plaza” to see more about this cult … i mean… community

very symmetrical

?

feel like a cult yet?

this is damien and his mom

casey vs. a parked semi truck

Damien’s pro wheel

Jon doing fake tricks for his myspace page

James and the giant Beast

ruins

the guys checking the footage of Joey’s last stunt which ended up being the Revolution ad you see at the end of this post

clean energy!!!

We ate Roberto’s at least once a day

When we stay at Damien’s we always crash in this RV

Jon hanging out on the yard couch getting fleas

James making some updates on an early morning bucks stop

Damien gave us a tour of where he works. His company makes custom fittings for all sorts of law enforcement vehicles.  Police, SWAT, FBI, Riot Control … it’s a pretty wild place.

Joey hanging out in one of the police vehicles making some changes in the system

This thing slides out, unfolds automatically, connects via satellite, and plays a mean Xbox 360

Tour of the mobile command station

these are some of the custom cases he’s built

damien’s a smart guy

i have no idea where I shot this but it looked crazy so there you go

I love trying new foods, and I finally found something I absolutely cannot stand.  Saladitos have to be by far the most disgusting thing my taste buds have come in contact with.  It amazes me that some people might actually consume these.  If you ever get the chance, get a pack and see for yourself.

The Rat-Tail Distribution warehouse full of new NIMH skates

Floor to ceiling, great work guys

nimh, fully skater owned and operated, the way it should be

new prototypes?

random knife we found while skating some ditches

Joey and Damien about to get beat badly in beer pong

EXTREEEEEEEMMMEEEEEE

Santee built the worlds most intense potato gun known to man

Casey should never be armed…. ever

yet another robertos stop

The guys led us on a mission to a “hidden spot” way out in the middle of nowhere, crossing rattlesnake territory to get there.

hey, snake skins… GREAT

this was the spot we ended up hiking to and it was the worst thing EVER.  then Nick mentioned if we keep hiking further, he knew of a pool we may be able to go skate.

Sweet pool Nick

toxic sludge?

finally leaving the failed mission

can somebody tell me what this is supposed to mean?

perfect cali days

we wanted to get some shots of joey at the ocean, and almost got him swept into the pacific in the process

These hills weren’t made of solid rock, but rather millions of huge rocks and boulders

more crazy boulder mountains

There was a lot that went happened on this trip that I didn’t have a chance to get photo’s of, or that I shot but can’t post on here because they were for a client. The 2nd day into the trip we got held up at gunpoint which was pretty intense. Things worked out ok, just the wrong place at the wrong time. Ironically, it happened exactly one year since the last time I got held up at gunpoint, and each time I had my ipod lost or stolen the day before… weird right? Joey ended up shooting somewhere around 18 print worthy photos in the coarse of the 10 days, and I was really impressed with how much he’s progressed over the years … and also amazed that he can skate like he does with some of the slams he takes on a daily basis. Hmm what else… Mike Leaf met up with us one day, and on his first trick the rail shattered into 3 pieces and impaled him in the side. It was unreal. We hiked through the desert in the pitch black to shoot portraits of Casey and saguaro cacti. Santee was a really fun time, I never know what to expect going in, and they’re always going strong 110%. All in all it was a successful trip with lots of good times. Big thanks to James and Gretch and Revolution Skate Shop. Here is a preview of the first ad from the shoots from ONE Magazine V3#3.

Richie told me about the road trip a year ago. An annual adventure straight down the west coast from Canada to Mexico in an old conversion van, with no set plans or schedule. Each day when we wake up we decide what we want to do, and whatever happens happens, the only goal being to have as much fun as possible. I think Richie was a little skeptical when I told him to count me in 100%, but I knew from the beginning that this would be something I’d better not miss.

I touched down in Spokanne Washington sometime after sunset. When the van pulled up, people jumped out and surprised me, full of energy. Video and photo cameras were out, everybody was excited. The guys had already been road tripping for about 2 days from Canada, and apparently crossed the border without any ID just by flirting with the female border guard. I climbed into the van, Dan cracked a beer for me, and we drove off into the night exchanging all sorts of stories. Right away I felt lucky to be there.

the general direction

Threading the needle through an alley in Spokanne

Richie at the wheel paying close attention

Our first stop was Pullman Washington. We had no place to stay, and ended up parking behind an Architecture building at the University and crashing in the van. 6 people plus bags proved to be quite a mission, but we slept pretty well despite the sardine style accomodations. Even when the police found us at 4am and saw how rediculous we looked, they just laughed and let us be.

hotel pullman

luxury

make yourself at home

So much happened every day, there is no way i’ll be able to put it all on here.  Pullman ended up being a great spot for skating, even though we only went to some really generic spots instead of all the unique exclusive spots that made us want to come there in the first place.  The Canadian guys have a love of drinking but a fear of police that ended in some hillarious police chase scenarios.  I watched in amazement as these guys were leaping into the bushes and woods to hide, or running up hills just to get caught by another officer.  They would always get caught, but somehow always talked their way out of it and never got in trouble. 

filming lines

Alf

found on campus

portals

These babes were watching us skate from their window and summoned us up.

 Richie on his only skate day before hurting the ankle

texture found on campus

The guys discovering american beer

On the third day, a snowstorm moved in, so we headed to Portland Oregon. The drive was amazing. It was my first time seeing this part of the country. Giant rolling hills and rivers, some really amazing scenery. Everybody was in good spirits.

bridge crossing

constantly changing weather

somewhere in washington

richie brought this book to inspire him for las vegas.  later we changed the tour name from “the no-plans tour”, to the “fear and loathing tour”, and i think by the end we agreed it should be the “beer and loathing tour”

pitstop

roadside scenery featuring devon

richie

alf

After hours of driving, we arrived only to find the entire downtown shut down and deserted. It was really bizzare. Eventually we found one street with humans, and it was filled with swat vehicles, undercover police cars, and any other sort of law enforcement vehicle you can think of. Curiosity got the best of us, so we roamed around to figure out what was happening. We snuck around some barriers and climbed a parking garage only to discover a mad on the building next to us threatening to commit suicide.  It was a really intense scenario, especially the more we learned about it. He had been up on the balcony all day, through the rain and hail. We all wished there was something we could do to help, but at the same time it feels so helpless. They called his parents and projected it through the PA system that echoed through the streets. It was really eerie. We stayed for a few hours hoping to watch him come down, but he didnt’ budge, and eventually we had to leave. The next day we checked the news and found out that he did come down afterall. Good choice buddy.

arriving in portland

all sorts of police vehicles closing off the streets

view from our parking garage hideout spot

getting the stare down from the swat team

this guy had been up threatening to jump since 8am.  this was shot at sunset.

it started raining and hailing on him while he balanced on the edge

into the night

It was a really interesting day. I remember how nice the drive was, and shot a photo of Jessie reading a newspaper in the van while the sun was shining on the word life. There was such a contrast from a rich sense of life one moment, and then into a scenario staring into the face of death the next. The scenery, the mood, and the experiences kept transitioning as we continued down the road to see what would happen next.

The next day was a long Journey along the west coast. We wanted to get on the 101 and take the coastline all the way till San Francisco. Until this trip, i-70 through Colorado/Utah had been my favorite drive, but the 101 raised the bar in my book. We had complete freedom to do whatever we wanted, so we would pull over and wander on mountain tops, or explore random dunes, overlook the coast, and watch the lanscape change dramatically the farther we went.

prime real estate

green engine

weathered vessel

just off the road, 5 minutes of a great view before the rain came in

spielberg

from lush forests to the sahara

did i mention everybody got hooked on kendama?

this thing will make it right?

We spent the night in a random town just a few hous drive from the Redwood forest.  We were all really excited to spend some time there, and it didn’t let us down.  We followed the old 101 right down the avenue of the giants (thanks to a quick call home for some mapquest help).  The road winds through the forest, then along the coastline, then back into the forest.  It’s such an unreal place.  It was completely deserted except for 2 random hippies we saw tripping out of their minds and nice enough to show us the way to a trail.  We hiked around a while, but the weather limited us from going very far.  If you get the chance to visit the Redwoods, GO!

an oldie but a goodie

made it!

paul bunyan and babe welcomed us

big roots, little alf

shot this 5 seconds before the light surrounded Dan and he ascended into the clouds

scale

some bark thats been alive twice as long as i have

misty

ok so the famous “drive thru tree” actually requires a pretty tiny vehicle.  The van wasn’t really cutting it.

on the road again

rainy day in the forest

yellow tomato?

portable dj

everybody overlooking the pacific

epic coastline

no pirate ships?

this place brought out the ninja in us

dan n richie

panoramic of our hidden beach

We left the forest and the coastline in awe, and headed for the next best thing on the map, San Francisco.  For a lot of the guys it was their first trip there.  We planned to skate a legendary park the first day, and once we drove out we found it soaking wet with fresh rain.  Despite the hiccup, SF is home to plenty of other amazing spots.  A few stayed with our friends Pat,Adam, and Nick while the others slept in the van.  There were competitions each night to determine who would sleep where.  We hung out at D-Structure a bit, and took some trolly’s around town, had an amazing meal at the wharf, and really let ourselves be toursits for a day.  We found all sorts of things to skate, and met up with old friends.  I can’t even remember how many days we stayed in SF.  It seemed like we kept extending it another day because of how good it was. 

Closing in on SF

Shattered Dreams

SF hills

oakland sesh

trying to get dressed and brush teeth simultaneously

barrier spot thanks to nick

rooftop view

most generic SF photo, why am i posting this?

100% tourist

downtown park

wig factory?

Ivan, Rob, Jon, and Pat came out to Oakland for a session.  Here they are watching a clip back.

Loudest sea lions ever at the wharf

the most appetizing burger ad

rusty blue

Some texture from a fellow road warriors vehicle

The Cali-School entrance

senor devon

out with the old

on the way to d-structure

sneaky throwing down a few tricks at sunset

alf ripped this spots to shreds.  backslide on a piece of skate history

We left SF in hopes of getting some good skating done in LA.  There were some famous schools that proved to just be bust spots, so we spend a lot of time just driving and wandering around.  I think we also managed to get banned from motel 6 for a year, due to some disagreements about why we couldn’t lounge around in their pool after checkout.  Anyhow, we were gaining miles on the border and booked it to San Diego.  We got some bad news about Mexico however.  There was a drug bust unprecedented in size in Tijuana the previous day, and a huge gun battle broke out.  Everything was really unstable and we decided not to get mixed up in it all, so we just kicked it in San Diego for a while.  Jon and Brian were on their way to China to work on their skate mold.  I forget why, but we stayed less than 24 hours and decided to hit the road again.

meet nimh

i can’t believe my hair in this photo

the whirlwind that followed us 

Backyard camping Jon Elliot style, complete with electricity and appliances

We had one more major stop before leaving California, probably the most random of all stops on the entire trip.  Alf was related to the wife of this pro wrestler Goldberg, and his mansion was somewhere in the hills nearby.  Alf called her up and we stopped in for a visit.  Our van struggled just to make it up the hill, and we got lost on his property trying to find his house.  Even his garage is the size of a 3 story house.  I wonder what he thought as this van full of grimy skater kids pulled up to his door and piled out.  Anyhow, we stayed for a while and chatted it up, but couldn’t really get past the fact that he was wearing this bright neon fanny pack.  It was one of those situations where you try not to laugh because you know the guy could crush you like a fly, but its just too hilarious.  He was rocking this thing hard, in his own kitchen nonetheless.  We were hoping to get the invite to stay overnight so we could roam around the mansion more, but it never came, so we got back in the van and pointed towards Las Vegas.

as if the trip actually needed the chaos of vegas

spotted this doggy outside a gas station while we bought our convenient store dinner

no no no, YOU rule

one of the best art pieces in vegas

fake france

the new bridge being built at the hoover dam

We were pretty low on cash to live it up in Vegas properly, but we still made the most of it. Enough crazy stuff happens just walking around to stay entertained. It’s a state law that whatever happens there stays there, so unfortunately I’m unable to go into any more detail than that. The last big finale was a poorly planned journey to the Grand Canyon. We left late, spent 6 hours driving there, just to arrive right at the end of sunset. We soaked it in for 30 minutes and then drove the 6 hours straight back to Vegas. Even a 12 hour mission is worth it just to stand at the edge and gaze.

days of being on the road, and eventually things like this happen

if driving gets boring just put all your focus into kendama

30 minutes… 

no caption necessary

The fast paced whirlwind trip came to a screeching halt the next day, as everybody packed up and hit the road for a 30 something hour straight shot to Canada with a detour through Glacier National Park. I had to catch a flight to Phoenix, and just like that it was over. This is up there for one of the all time best road trips. This whole entry just scratches the surface of all the good times, hilarious random encounters, and memories packed into those 2 weeks. It’s nice to take an extended vacation in the middle of April.  Same time next year?

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

While I was in Florida, the first shipment of Kendamas arrived in Kansas. If you aren’t familiar with Kendama, check out the official website at www.KendamaUSA.com

either a genious investment or a huge mistake

everybody at the house mentioned how cool the boxes looked, with all

the japanese kanji. when i showed the photo to my friends in Japan they

informed me that this is actually a toilet paper box.

Jeromy Morris mailed a box to Atlanta so I could start filming a commercial with Doug Urquhart. I suppose it was a good thing our trip got cut short, since all the rain days gave us time to repaint his studio wall and spend some time working on the commercial. When I was living in Atlanta, it was always fun collaborating with Doug on projects. It’s great to see his studio doing so well, you can see his website at www.upthink.tv

Doug Urquhart at the Upthink Lab in Atlanta

Painting the cyc wall White

Tricks of the trade: the Lazy Susan at IKEA makes for a great rotating platform

The Kendama in Action

Photoshoot Stacking

Our Online Shop website