I think a lot of people have their own opinion on what qualifies as a trend, and what doesn’t. From foot-stops to full-cut helmets, anything could be considered trendy. I think people grasp onto whatever it is the skaters they look up to are doing—be it the pros or just a local ripper. As long …

  If I remember correctly the first slide jam I attended was back in 2009 or early 2010. Times have changed since then and today slide jams are carried out pretty differently. I remember how a slide jam was considered bangin’ if it was 30 homies basically just skating a hill with maybe a couple …

For those of you that don’t know, LBDR stands for Laguna Beach Danger Riders. The meaning of LBDR is adapted from a crew of old-school downhill guys from the 80’s who used to rage the same hills we do now. Currently, the crew is made up of homies from Laguna, Northern California, and Brazil. The …

One of the first articles I wrote for Wheelbase was about Van Trips, and in specific, riding dirty in the infamous Mercado van. Since then I’ve done about 10-15 more skate trips of that nature; rolling deep with a heavy crew of rippers to different skate events. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about …

Haters are all around us, especially in skateboarding. Shit, I’m a hater sometimes. In skateboarding, everyone has their own unique style, and it’s easy to bag on others that are different from yourself or your particular crew. Go to youtube and type in Tony Hawk. Most of the comments will be straight hate—bet it doesn’t …

Recently, I got hit by a car while riding my motorcycle. When people tell me I’m lucky the accident didn’t take my brain or my life, I agree; yet I don’t feel very lucky. The time off skating, off my motorbike, on crutches, and in operating rooms doesn’t exactly feel like a blessing. Aside from …

Blowing up spots is an ever-present issue these days—or better put: Danger. Whether you are skating rails, hairpins, driveways, or stair-sets you can see it happening all over the place. I feel like more than ever, a new, younger, and generally more eager group of skaters is beginning to emerge. Not to name names, but …

I’ve been bombing hills all of high school—hitting races, filming videos, going on skate trips, and other adventures of that sort. For example, I’m writing this month’s Wheelbase column from the backseat of the PDX Skate Bus—heading to Santa Barbara on a six day skate trip. My other schoolmates have 2 days left until break …

I’ve been riding down hills on my skateboard for about 4 years now; various artists related to skateboarding  have had cameras rolling for about 3 of those 4. I’m not claiming a deep and understood knowledge of skateboard photography or filmography, but over the course of a few years I have learned a thing or …

NorCal style means a lot to me. It has shaped the way I ride and think today. Summed up in a few words it is: smooth, simple, and stand-up. I remember watching Rizzo, Duran, and Sakamoto bomb some hills right when I started skating. My mind was blown, nothing looked kooky, nothing was forced. Fluid, …

I arrived in Laguna Beach with a couple other buddies sometime in late July. Earlier that day Fernando Yuppie, my teammate and very good Brazilian friend, landed at LAX.  We met in Laguna Beach the same night and instantly knew some epic shit was about to go down throughout the next month.  Our plan was …

I recently went on a 10-day skate adventure to the province of British Columbia. In those 10 days I had some pretty interesting experiences. Here’s a Top 10 list of dopest things about the trip:

I turned sixteen recently and for my birthday I wanted to take two of my best friends down to beautiful Laguna Beach for the weekend. So we mobbed on down there one Thursday afternoon, with my dad driving most of the way. Little did we know the shit-storm that was about to come down on …

Andrew Mercado is notorious—Andrew’s white van is notorious—the shit that has gone down in that van is notorious. Andrew takes his large white utility van full of skateboarders all over the place. If you have been to any large race in the past 4 years you know the van, and have probably seen in wreaking …