Notes Of A Greasy Young Man: Blowing Up Spots.
Mr. Greasy. Photo: Bandy
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 a city that may or may not rhyme with Baguna Leach has had many of their spots blown-out so badly that all of their hills are beginning to get banned. With some resident skaters pointing fingers (or “the finger”), the situation may not change? But that’s okay—I say ban the hills! If you‘re smart about it, it’s totally possible to skate any hill without over-exposing it; banned or otherwise. Read More
Notes Of A Greasy Young Man: High Schoolin’
Mr. Greasy. Photo: Bandy
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 and are probably sitting at home on Facebook procrastinating on that project due tomorrow. Good thing I turned my project in this morning! Now, I’m chilling with the homies, headed to a beautiful part of California for a little R&R. It’s actually pretty easy to pull this off; more and more high school students are taking time off school to pursue “extra-curricular activities”. Below are some tips to kicking back, but not slacking. Check it: Read More
Notes Of A Greasy Young Man: Minding Media
Mr. Greasy. Photo: Bandy
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 two. Read More
Notes Of A Greasy Young Man: NorCal Style
Mr. Greasy. Photo: Bandy
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, like water. There were some things I noticed during those sessions that I would never forget. If you’ve seen em skate you know what I mean: Read More
Notes Of A Greasy Young Man: West Coast Assault
Mr. Greasy. Photo: Bandy
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 the following: skate, film, go to Maryhill, take some photos with this old pro-skater-burnout named Marcus, grease on the bitties of some treasured California beach towns, and go to NorCal to chill with Cliff Coleman. All of the former worked out quite nicely, maybe except for the bitty part. . . Read More
