Here's a couple of photos and a quick clip from some recent happenings. Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been keeping to myself and reading hella books; good for my head but not the dopest blog fodder. Last week I got out of the office and into the streets for a few days to work on a video project for ESPN skate. Be on the lookout in October for a video feature filmed by RB Umali that's a sort of skater's guide to NYC. Here Pepper gets mic-ed up to talk about KCDC's place in the Brooklyn skate scene.
At the bowl, we had a good session and some great stuff got put down on film. Zered is seriously amazing. He put down a never been done that made some jaws drop. Stay tuned for that one. We had a weird session at The Banks too. It's the only time I've ever showed up there and literally no one else was already there skating or riding bikes. It was almost eerie. The dudes put it down though and then the end of the session deteriorated into a funny manny contest where everyone tried to taildrop into manuals on the shitty quarterpipe, across the flat bottom and then across the ledge (everyone except me that is; my feet aren't that smart). Manny Mania title belt holder Eli Reed ("I got the belt at home! I could go it it if you want to see it!") had this gimmick down pat.
And finally, here's some footage from the past month. In order of appearance: Kyle Nichols, Anthony, Philthy and me.
Some recent footage and photos of the bros and broettes. This bro was at the Dinosaur Jr. show in Central park. I know the band is growing older so maybe this guy is an OG fan. Wonder if he's old enough to have seen them on the "Bug" tour? Benny Benny Brosefson. With special brodacious background brops from Ben Felton.
OG Broette Lindsay BroBaker. Littlest bro, young Willy with a helmet to protect his brull in his bread when he's getting browdy. And finally the broest of broskis, Kyle and Cards shredding at Brottery park and on a Jersey Brarier.
I went to Boston. I went to California. I worked astronomical hours. I got one skate session out west. Then, back east, I explored the corners and pockets of New England, spent time with family and friends. I turned 31. Here's a quick video with some footage from California, Cape Cod and Connecticut. The last clip is the homie Josh. He gets the closer since his boneless is the coolest looking thing in this.
This is what happens when some drunk white dudes start trying to sing along to Korean pop songs while Korean girls laugh at them a lot: Watch the Video
In an effort to avoid work I'm doing a post because I haven't busted out some Awesome in a while. I've actually been doing a lot of thinking about our world's incessant consumption of media and just how much information is out there with so few filters to it. And i think that's one of the reasons I've actually been posting less and taking fewer photos; when everyone and their dad busts out an elph or a g-10 or a Mino to capture the exact same moment for the blogosphere, I sort of recoil. The art gets lost in the newsprint. Twitter is probably the best (worst) example of this. We're to a point where one can spend hours, days even, sitting in front of a computer screen reviewing the mundane details of strangers and associates that we rarely, if ever see in person. Knowing what kind of Kashi Ashton Kutcher likes or what records are in a Facebook friend's current top five of the day, is bullshit information.
I'm well aware of the levels of irony that spouting off about technology's proliferation of too much info on a personal blog has. But I do think there's a marked difference that I'll try to explain here. This blog like many others, and like the newspaper, zine and magazine columns that preceded them, has a loose focus. It's updated on a less than regular basis and only when I feel like something awesome enough has happened that I want to share it with friends in a semi-public forum. This may be a feeble argument but what are we if not the people defined by the principles we build around ourselves? I guess I'm just calling for a little more thought and restraint. Remember when people took the times to do things right. Craftsmanship is a dying art.
So with that spiel out of the way, here are some photos of things I want to remember: good times and cool images, the stuff of life and inspiration. A more discerning eye may be needed in these media-saturated times and I can't claim that my lens has a better focus than any other. But it is my lens and it's focus is family, friends, skateboarding and good times: the stuff that makes the art of my life.
On a quick trip to the Cape, Little Will gets a skate lesson. He's got great balance.
Harry and Jesse have some story time while Gran reads the paper.
My nephew Taylor came to visit NYC and we did lots of the tourist stuff. I made sure he bought some sunglasses before we headed to Washington Square Park so he could ogle the college girls (he's going to Cornell in the fall) while still being subtle and looking cool.
We took a ride on the Staten Island Ferry which is an official member of the SOA (see photo). It's also free, with a cool view of Lady Liberty and you can purchase $3 tall cans of beer on board to turn your commute into a booze cruise. You stay classy, Staten Island!
Now that's one classy broad. Hey Statue, you single?
We also witnessed the definition of Diversity according to the great Ron Burgundy:
"Well, I could be wrong, but I believe diversity is an old, old wooden ship that was used during the Civil War era."
We also took it to the Met to get our art on. The roof garden has a pretty intense sculpture called "Maelstrom," up this season.
Normally I wouldn't take a photo of a table but this was pretty cool. This table, which is pretty nice (beautiful craftsmanship and the kind of thing I'd love to have but will never be able to afford) was crafted and built in the tiny little burough of Rose Valley where I grew up. Considering the burough isn't more than a two or three square miles max, I thought it was pretty cool to see this thing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Sphynx was chillin.
And yes, I've been skating. There's been more rain this Spring than there's been in a century so we've ended up at the bowl and ramp more than I'd like but I can't complain too much. Jay's lien to tails are looking proper. Here's some footage of Jay and Cole shaking the plywood.
Here's a quick post with some old photos from the NYC skate weekend a few weeks ago. So because there were two major contests in NYC a few weekends ago, everybody and their mom from California came out. It was a good time for bro-ing with some old friends. This dickhead is Chris Bywater, Art Director for Skateboarder magazine and a lifelong cynic that I'm slowly converting into an optimist. Behind him, some broad tries to flirt with Mehring unsuccessfuly.
California pals (though two thirds are East Coasters at heart). Kurina, Jaime and Bywater.
Christian Senrud and Caswell Berry: Brothers from different mothers?
Jaime with the king of Wednesdays, Giovanni Luigi Reda in a rare moment when his mouth is shut.
And the man of the hour at the Zoo York video premiere, Cape Cod's own Zered Bassett who had the curtains. Nice work Dr. Z.
At Back to the Banks, the homies came out in droves. Delaware's finest: Willy Akers and Brannon John.
Fiveboro's Dan Pensyl was in a great mood as usual. Coda's Pat Smith, maybe a little less so.
And finally, we have South Carolina's favorite skateboard sons: Jack Sabback and Jaime Owens.
Damn, been a minute. Probably nobody reads this anymore huh? Oh well. It can still be my journal of the goods as they occur. Here's a couple of quick clips into the recent adventures.
Jaime suggested I need to own this cruiser. I'm inclined to agree with him.
Friday we all cut out of work early and did a full office rollout bike tour. Sorta like a booze cruise but with more pedaling involved.
This the was the "bike tree" we locked up outside of one of our destinations. Dude at this house had the sweetest dog.
Made it to the Prospect Park and did the loop then kicked it on the hill with covert beverages. I climbed a really good tree right here high enough that I could see over the rest of the treeline and out over some of Southern Brooklyn.
And this photo is from the weekend prior while out covering the annual Back to the Banks event at Brooklyn Banks. My old friend Keir took this photo with some serious skate history in it. Left to Right. Hopps' Jahamal Williams give the shakka. Josh Freidburg, Josh Stewart, DC's Jimmy Pelletier and myself.
