Choose a better 2012

“One thing is sure, a great change of our psychological attitude is imminent, that is certain…because we need more…we need more psychology, we need more understanding of human nature because the only real danger that exists is man himself, is is the great danger, and we are pitifully unaware of it, we know nothing of man, far too little,. his psyche should be studied because  we are the origin of all coming evil.” _Carl Gustav Jung(German Psychologist)_Choose a better 2012

Tanner Hall Apology Video/Blading reference.

http://www.theskichannel.com/news/skinews/20100113/Tanner-Hall-issues-apology-following-baffling-rant-about-park-skiers

I am just learning about skiing, but Tom just sent me this link from the president of Nordica ski’s, concerning Tanner Hall (one of the best skiiers I’m told) and an apology to the public for aparently down talking park terrain skiiers. I thought it to be extremely admirable of him to do so. We all make mistakes, but t…o admit to those mistakes (especially big ones) takes alot of courage. The person who wrote the article is actually a blader, and sheds some light on the use of his quote ” the park skiing pioneer essentially slams those who “rollerblade” their way through terrain parks”

Here is a quote from this article from the writer who is defending the difficulty and hardships of Rollerblading.

“Additionally, for many years I was a seasoned rollerblader, something to this day I largely credit with helping me overcome the physical and mental hurdles associated with breaking into park skiing. Those who continue to slam the sport ought to try falling on concrete after dropping 12 feet out of the air. Let me tell… you first-hand, falling on snow from that height is a little bit softer.”

Hearing Tanner’s apology gave me a newfound admiration for his person. New not only because I have never known of him, but because his courage in apologizing to the public for the downtalking of his own people. Admitting you are wrong is a very hard thing to do, and being able to do so when you are at the level of notoriety that he has achieved is acting as positive example for others to follow not just as skiiers but as human beings. The act of admitting one is wrong and working towards a change in person is a highly noble one. Cheers Tanner.

“Draft’s”

This has been sitting my “Drafts” folder for a couple weeks now, because I was in Atlanta writing at the time when I had the leave the coffee shop I was typing it in. Might update it. It is what it is.

 

I have been on the road for what feels like FOREVER.  Technically it has been since like mid August when I left to Holland on a Euro Trip, and since then I have only gotten to be “home” for a week. Life has been up,  and life has been down, but as Hip Hop guru Aceyalone once said “I’m healthy, I’m alive, I can’t complain.

D&G on the Colorado Roadtrip 09'

I have been staying with Kevin Dowling for the last week and a half and it has been a much needed “vacation” of sorts. I’ve been able to actually grocery shop (at wholecheck’s aka wholefoods which I LOVE) and buy all my favorite foods. Lot’s of Real Talk has been going down, as it usually does when I’m around Kevin. The vibe we share is a rare one these days. A vibe from the good ol’ days of AOL blade chatrooms that wen’t down back in the mid to late 90’s, a big difference compared to what is happening between what bladers talk about on messageboards and forums these days.  I remember for the most part those days being very positive, and if someone didn’t like something they just simply didn’t invest their time and energy into it. Now a days I see a world of forums where if you dislike something, you make your “hate” known to the world, and form “hate” groups which take pride in bringing down other bladers. Black on black crime? Quite possibly.  I’m not saying that I enjoy and like everything blading that is on the internet. What I am saying is that the more energy efficient thing to do is spend your time(money) elsewhere if you don’t like something, instead of spending it on knocking another blader down.

Anywho, as I was saying, I have been spending the last week and a half with Kevin Dowling and have been partaking in his 365 daily clips with GREAT enjoyment. I have seriously been having more fun on blades then I have in a very long time. It has rekindled a fun factor that rarely enter’s my world anymore these days.  They days when the only reason to strap on the blades was to have fun. Fun has brought me to where I am at today, and far too often I neglect this factor that should be at the forefront of my life in all situations. yes There are things that need to be done that aren’t “fun,” but all work and no play makes Rob a dull blader.

I am always analyzing and breaking everything that occurs in my life. It is a curse at times, but it is also very fun for me to be able to look at the multitude of  events that happen,  and see all the different variables that come together to make up anything that happens which has a profound influence on it. Doing these 365 clips was one of those events. After my first few days skating with kevin, it felt like I was liberated from all of the worries, fears, and judment’s I put on myself while on my blades. It didn’t matter what we were skating. It didn’t even matter what we were doing.

The goal Kevin has set forth for himself is such:  It doesn’t matter where he is or what he does, as long as he has his blades on and he does “something,” he has achieved his goal of getting getting a clip a day for 365 days straight.  Zero rules, zero regulations. He just out to push himself in anyway his creative mind can come up with. So far he has gone 131 days blading each one of those days. I have seen him get clips at weddings, birthday parties, and boat cruises. If this isn’t dedication to rollerblading then I don’t know what is.

Before I arrived in ATL, I was on a roadtrip from New York to the Hoedown in Dallas Texas shooting photos with Jeremy Stephenson. Here are some photos from that trip, but mostly from my stay in Lawrence, Kansas. I love Lawrence, and I love the friends I have there. Thanks for letting us Crash A.J.!

Phillipino roadtrip princess warrior....FABI!

Columbus Ohio College town graffiti

Jero gives praise to the coffee Gods...

I love the Taylors. Me, Fabi, Adrian and Lindsey Taylor

Jimmy John's Slogan

I love Jimmy John's soo much, that I had to get a photo with the makers of the Rad Veggie Deli Sub I ate

 

Controlled Accidents Num. 9, Fade Nation blading, Shock Vid/Interview, and stuff I’m into

A couple weeks ago,  San Jose blade legend Jayson Reduta came and stayed with me in Costa Mesa for a couple weeks. He came down to look for work, visit his lady, and hang/blade with me. The weekend he came we made a trip to stay at John Starr’s house in LA and blade with Lonnie Gallegos for his new video Fade Nation 3 “Green.” I don’t get to see him very often as I have been traveling and he has a 9 to 5′er, but whenever we do there is guaranteed clipage going down. I love filming with Lonnie because even when I don’t think that I am looking that good on my blades, he will come up with the sweet angle to make me look tight. Definitely a plus to have a dude like that on your side. Not a plus when you have to worry about how the other person is doing their job. Kudos Lonnie.

Here is a picture of me at Jayson Reduta’s Graduation party. Little did I know that I was going to be called to give a speech. When they called me up, I grabbed the nearest glass of champagne (which ended up just being spilled everywhere during my nervousness) and went up in front of Jays entire family and friends. I ended up just telling everyone how much I loved jay, how better he was at blading when we first met, and how much I loved Filipinos and Filipino culture. I also said I was more Filipino than he was. (I also told Jon Julio this at a Valo premier, and he also agreed with me.)

The edit above contains the clips from the cement park we went to to warm up at. I love warming up at skate parks. Not a lot of impact, and it allows your body to properly warm up for ultra body shock street blading.I don’t really think your body likes to warm up on a rail which shoot you directly into the ground, totally shocking the joints in your knees and vertebrae in your spine. If you read my Stab yourself in the face Interview,  I talk about how my body has been feeling as of late, and what one needs to do in order to prepare themselves to blade once they reach my age (28). As a result of hucking myself off of roofs and slamming my legs and wrists over and over again while eating taco bell and burger king in my younger years, my body is pretty sensitive to all forms of impact. If your young, and your reading this and live this way, you will know what I’m talking about soon enough. Mua ha ha ha haaaaaa……

Peep the Stab Yourself In The Face Video Suplement.

In other stabyourselfintheface.com related news, a few days before Kevin and I had our interview, we had a brief conversation about how we were going to do it, and just other stuff that was on our minds. A kind of stream of thought conversation I thought Ya’ll out there might enjoy. So…enjoy.

Yesterday
11:39pmKevin

yea for sure. you have to do that. but some of what you say will resonate with other people
11:39pmRob

yeah but I dont like coming off like a “guru”

ha!

also because im not always on the ball with what I say

as in flowing
11:40pmKevin

haha.
11:40pmRob

or as in…the pattern of flow

cas that is my flow

not being in flow

hahahahah

sometimes
11:40pmKevin

yea i know what you mean.
11:40pmRob

or actually..the perception of my “flow”

cas often that is waht gets in the way of “flowing” for me

and the only thing

being to hard on myself at times…judging the flow

my flow
11:41pmKevin

blading has turned you into a philosopher
11:41pmRob

more like an overanalyzer
11:41pmKevin

its similar to doing philosophy
11:41pmRob

slash overly self criticizer

hahahah

“doing philosphy”

are we “doing philosophy” right now?
11:41pmKevin

yep
11:42pmRob

yeah

i like doing philosophy

“”

ha!

can this be in my thing?
11:42pmKevin

yeah i liked it so much i almost stopped skating to focus on it

your interview?

sure
11:42pmRob

ive thought about that at times…going back to school. I once even signed up and everything….then a travel took me elsewhere

i mean..sorry for assuming you meant going back to school but…

making it a “job” like nick riggle is what I mean

t
11:44pmKevin

oh, yea i think you could do philosophy but I think you would be better in religious studies

or eastern / asian philosophy
11:44pmRob

yeah..there could be a fine line there depending on how far you go within each religion

right…want to hear a fantasy of mine?
11:44pmKevin

yea sure
11:45pmRob

go to japan…live in a dojo/monastery…do whatever requirements that are needed for me at the dojo/monastery…and then skate skatepark in my off hours.

well not my off hours…but…just have it be a part of my routine….would be sweet if it was a place where I did martial arts and skating…combining the two
11:47pmKevin

Yea that sounds amazing. sign me up. I am actually thinking of going to Japan to teach english and film a skate video all there with the japanese kids
11:47pmRob

whoa dude
11:47pmKevin

yea I have been thinking of doing this for a couple years.

The only thing thats been holding me back is my desire to get the most out of SF before I leave it

on blades especially
11:48pmRob

that sounds amazing. Keep me updated with that…I love watching japanese blading. Soichiro is seriously one of my favorite bladers right now. The 450 Royal he did in that one edit was amazing.

I see…dont feel like your done yet
11:48pmKevin

yea. I have been skating with soichiro.

he lives here now
11:48pmRob

whoa! where?
11:49pmKevin

with azikwee

he hits me up every other day to skate!
11:50pmRob

thats tight

Right this minute, I am sitting in the Staff Lounge at Lake Owen Camp. Its a rainy day which is really sucky at camp because you can’t skate everything, and in the new inside gym that you can skate at, it is usually crowded. SOO…I am in here doing updating my blog…which I am FINALLY updating. Sorry everybody.  What I have been doing tho is running almost every day for a couple miles with my girlfriend.  Been pretty good with the stretching before blading and after running as well. Haven’t been super great with the camp food though haha. Eating at camp is probably the hardest thing for me. I’m not accustomed to eating 3 meals a day, and I’m definitely not accustomed to the food that is provided. I mostly get down with the soups and salads, and croissant sandwich day is definitely my favorite, but some days the fat kid in me (or juventooth pronounced “hoo-ven-tooth” as a select few know me by) takes over and all is game.

So yeah, I’m at camp and will be here until the 3rd blading with and filming the kids for the next Lake Owen Rollerblade Section. The kids that come to Lake Owen are usually some of the Midwest’s best, and some of the most down to earth kids I’ve ever met. There are a lot of rippers here this week, including Colorado Blade Legend Adam Bender. The Vibralux team is supposed to get here tomorrow which I’m excited about. They are all my buds and fun to blade with.

One of those Midwest rippers and all around awesome dude that grew up at Lake Owen Camp is Micheal Garlinghouse. He has been going to camp for as long as I have been coming here, and I have seen him grow up and turn into one of the coolest dudes I know. The day before I came to camp, my lady and I  stayed at his spot where he took us to cool food spots and bike rides along lakes. Thanks for the hospitality G house!  Michael just put up a park edit recently. Peep it!

Kevin Dowling is on a mission to get clips every day for 365 Days. This is very inspiring to me, and I love seeing what moves he comes up with. I believe he is on day 20 now, and is going real strong. On day 18 he skated with Jamie Olmstead and Walt Austin at  new skate park in Atlanta Georgia. The biggest suprise/treat/blessing  from this edit was seeing clips of Walt Austin. Hist style never seizes to amaze me, and he seems to have only gotten more smooth and more relaxed with age. I hope to see more of him in Kevin’s edits to come. Stay updated with Kevin Dowling ninja moves at his Youtube Site.

Billy O’neill belongs to a class of bladers I like to call the “great white ninjas.” His section in this Mindgame video was my favorite, and he is still one of my favorites to watch today. I put this up because I have been watching alot of conference footage of him lately in Europe looking sooo proper. Cheers to you Billy, and your what seems to be a beyond full recovery from your injury.

I have been taking trips to Pismo Beach to film with Juan Mosqueda quite a bit lately to film with him and his fancy Panasonic camera. During one of those trips, we did some previews for the different Rollerblade Solo skates that are being sold on Inlinewarehouse.com. I’ve never done anything like this before, so of course I sucked at it.  There were A LOT of takes, a lot of line forgetting, and a lot of laughing at myself way too much. I hope you laugh as hard as I did.

Here is a photo of Tom Hyser before he was my Manager/friend/brother/mentor/comedy com padre. I can’t remember where I found this, but it was taking in 1997 and was in Daily Bread Magazine. Little did I know, but Tom was influencing me even when I was a youngin unknowingly by moving to San Jose many many years ago and influencing Jon Julio and John Starr (who’s influence trickled down to me).  Even before that time though, him and Andy Kruse had a big influence on my friends and I growing up. As you can tell from the style in this photo, he was a good aesthetic influence to have.

Here is an edit an old friend made of some members of the legendary “408 Crew” a.k.a. “DGU” aka “Dirty Green Underwear” Unless you are from my generation of Bay Area bladers, you will have no clue who any of the dudes in this edit are aside from Jayson Reduta.  We were a pretty well known group of bladers that prided ourselves in style, shit talking, and Hip Hop. The movie “Friday” was our bible, and we cited scripture daily. We were rediculously hard on each other and things like putting your hand down, landing in the dirt, or having any rapid movement while grinding were instantly ridculed. Sounds pretty rough, but I am happy for the perfectionist personality it has given me…sometimes.

See ya’ll Next time!

OC All Day: Order out of Chaos

I’ve been living with Ariel Surun and my Girlfriend in Orange county for the last 2 months. Lots of blading has been going down. Not just “aggressive” blading, but also some freestyle rolling…as in just taking off on your skates not knowing where your going, or just having an idea that starts you somewhere then ending up somewhere else. The latter is what happened in the story and pictures I’m about to show you, and this particular adventure ended up sparking the desire to embark on a long distance voyage to Venice for the LA Allday Event.

When there is free time in the day, Ariel and I sometimes blade to the beach from our house. It takes about 15 minutes to get there, and once there we just cruise the cement strip along the beach and check things out. There’s usually lots of people out, and when its sunny its just nice to be out by the beach. On this particular day, we decided not to go to our normal route to the beach, but to just keep going down this one main street which I can’t remember the name of. At one point we ended up seeing this hilly street and decided to bomb it. Bombing hills with the Fusion x7 frames and skating in general on 90mm wheels flat is probably the funnest time on blades you will ever have. It takes you back to what rollerblading used to be and feel like. Makes you feel like a kid again.

At the end of the hill, we ended up at a apartment complex with no through street. We were already going fast so we just kept going right into the complex, weaving around the sidewalk path. After doing this and jumping some speed bumps, we couldn’t find our way out of the complex so we hopped a fence which led to a park with a cement trail. We followed the cement trail until it ended and a dirt trail began as well as a drainage ditch. We immediately jumped into the drainage ditch and followed it down until it turned where there were some cement trannies built by what it looked like bikers.

The banks were pretty steep and abrupt, but finding something like this on accident was just a really cool feeling in itself so we just played in this ditch for a while. Ariel was getting air out of it and stalling on this tree which was lying next to the ditch. We didn’t get any pictures of me in here because I got into the photo taking zone and just wanted to get shots.

After we played in the ditch, we decided to continue down this dirt path, as we thought it would be a faster way to the beach from where we were. This actually turned out to be pretty awesome because the dirt was hard enough for our wheels to roll on. We rolled on this path for probably a mile before it dumped us out on a street which led us to this overpass with another cement path underneath it for bikes and walkers which went straight to the ocean.

This is a photo of Ariel pointing to where we came from. Over the hill he is pointing to, and a few more miles or so past that is where we began. We started in Costa Mesa/Newport area, and ended up on the boarder of Huntington

Once we got to the end of the trail and saw a “Huntington Beach” sign, we decided to head back in the direction of our house. On the way back we skated past an area that looked familiar to me. As we came up on a set of stairs, a stream of old school video clip memories came to mind. The names Jake Elliott and Bruno Lowe came to mind.  The t-dog instantly came out and I got juiced. I had to skate it. I had to do something on it. I didn’t have normal frames on so I couldn’t do any frame tricks but I did have a big soul plate, Soooo………

I decided to rockio the shit out of it!

I also training wheel’d the shit of it. This photo came out fuzzy but I still thought it worth posting. This was the last spot we ventured to before blading 5 or so more miles back home. The day was very…lively. I use that word because when you go off somewhere and really don’t know where your going, yet somehow find a path of experience, it makes you feel alive. I like when order comes out of chaos. “Chaos” being the decision to take an unknown path, leading to the  “order,” of  all the cool stuff that happened that day.

And even though I got a sweet pic of this sunset to end the day…the day didn’t end. While we were going back up a hill on the way home, this older dude on a beach cruiser went by us while I was taking a picture of the ground and said “you guys aren’t stopping so I can catch up are you?” We started to follow this dude, and then went into the street to pass him because the street was so smooth. He seemed to take it as a challenge and started to speed up, so Ariel and I sped up too until it became and all out race! Beach cruiser vs. Tom cruisers. We smoked him of course, and he stopped on account of his “chain breaking.” Ariel things he was lying, but either way it made for a funny and random moment.

Here is what I was taking a picture of on the ground while blading up the hill which ended in the epic race and victory.

This is a picture of Ariel and the dude we raced, right before it began.

To end an amazing day of freestyle rolling, my beautiful girlfriend had an amazing pasta dinner waiting for us. Eating good food after a long day of physical activity is one of my favorite things to do.

Here  is an edit of all the clips I got from this day. The song I chopped up (“The Funeral” by Band of Horses) is one I have been listening to alot lately after I watched a section with a dude on a trial bike  I think its called, do things I have never seen a dude on one of those bikes do. It actually inspired me so much that I’ve been listening to it many times over. You know that feeling when you watch a section of your favorite blader dude, and after you find the song that was in the section and put it in your ipod to get amped. This section did that to me, and its always awesome when I can get inspired by people who are expressing themselves whether they are on a bike, blades, skateboard, etc.. Were all trying to get to that place that makes us feel good and right. The only difference is what we use to get there.

Here is that section. Some of the stuff this dude does just blows me away. The ammount of control he has with his bike is unbelievable.

So….that is that. I will have another update in a few days about my 50+ mile trek from Costa Mesa to Venice for the LA all day event which went down a couple weekends ago. Lots of pictures and other stuff to come. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

Ah it has been forever since I have updated!!!!!! alksjdf;klajsd;flja;lskdjfklasjdfklasjf  This is my mind right now. It’ state. At a cafe right now trying to pump this out so that I can go to V’s house and hang out with him and Carl sturgess and maybe help film a short film. Maybe. I live in SF right now and STILL adjusting to the idea of being in one environment for longer then a few months. If you know my past life patterns then hearing that I am living in one spot, witha  girlfriend, dog, and having a cell phone sounds unheard of. It still sounds unheard of to me as well.

So the edit above is made from the 2 days of skating that Tom hyser and I did while  visiting the skateshops Aggressive Mall and Rollerwarehouse to show them the new Solo Skates. We first met up with Jayson Reduta at the Sunnyvale skatepark which is a freeway exit away from Agressive mall. We had a great time doing some lines on the quarter pipe and Tom worked on his filming skills. Tom was also shredding with some blading skills as well on the second obstacle in the lines.

Me and Tom after the session.

Me eating an amazing veggie wrap my girlfriend made for me. I love avocados!

My brand new Solo Estilos I started riding that day fresh out the box. I love skating skates fresh out the box, everything slides so fast. The plasic on these skates is incredible, and the size of soul plate and frames make locking grinds super easy. I know some people may say this is “cheating,” that is, when a skate makes doing grinds easier, but its really an absurd thing to say when you think about it.  Skates are just the vehicle for you to use to express the movements of your body. It is the forms of movement that the body makes which is impressive and what makes rollerblading fun and stunning to the eye, not so much what the skates are doing, so why not have a skate that best helps you do that? In the end what seperates you from another is not difficulty but individual style of movement. I should actually say that individual style opposed to difficulty of “trick” is what appeals to me the most in someones blading. I want to try and be careful not to make any grandiose statement about what rollerblading “should” be.

After we went to the sunnyvale skatepark, we drove over to Agressive Mall to show Justin Hertel the new skate and have him try them to see what he thought. Although he wasn’t impressed with the initial look of the skate, it did not stop him from lacing trick first try one after another for over an hour straight on the practice rail in the back of the shop. Others who were at the shop who had the opportunity to try the skates did just the same. I noticed that all of them were skating to the rail with great speed, something that the 72 mm wheels make you do. Speed give you confidence, and it was definately the first thing I noticed when I first started skating the skates as well. A new found confidence with more efficient movement because you don’t need to use as much energy as you normally would skating smaller wheels. Not to mention that your locking ability is not compromised at all due to the size of soul frame matchign the size of frame holding the 72mm wheels. They really are amazing blades and I think alot of the un-educated opinions which are running rampant on the internet will be deaded once they are actually skated on.

Here is the description of the new skates Tom and I filmed with David while at Rollerwarehouse. As you can see I kinda just stand there while Tom describes the blades, but that is because  Tom designed them himself and knows all the specifics of the blades, and does a great job describing all the simplistic additions which make the skate so advanced while at the same time appearing as a throwback to the dirk skate. As we are learning about many areas of rollerblading right now, moving backwards and fixing some minor simple details is the key to moving forwards. If you were to apply this equation to other areas of rollerblading which “need to change” you would see it apply.

In other Roller Warehouse related news. David came out to SF to film a little interview about the cover Kevin Dowling and I shot for 09′ Catalog. We ended up skating this spot for over 3 hours, and initially didnt plan of filming any skating until about an hour and a half after we were already skating. I was actually pretty tired for some reaoson and had a pulled abdomanal muscle which was bugging me, but when David asked if I wanted to get a clip for the interview as well I couldn’t say no. So much like most pains go away when you start focus on the manuevers at hand and not the pain, so did my silly little aches and a line formulated. And it formulated pretty quick and easily as well. It did not take too long, although i got stuck in a bit of a vicious circle after landing one of the lines but coming off the last trick in an unsatisfactory manner…SOOO….of course I said the every dreaded phrase “one more time,” which as you know for the most part usually means a hundred more if you even end up landing what you were trying before getting soo frustrated because you could have landed it but desided to get a bit lazy at the last moment.

Wow, sorry about that. That topic just turned into a serious rant about my past experiences with saying “one more time.” Guess I still have some unresolved emotions involving that situation. hahah. I suppose this blog is also simotaneously a therapy blog.  Anyways, this line above did not end even close in such a dramatic scene, but was landed shortly and cleanly after my first failed attempt. Hooray. People do change.

Here is a random picture Kevin Dowling shot of me against this wall in Downtown Atlanta while on our 6 mile trek back to his house.   After a hip hop show he was shooting photos for, we failed to get a ride back and decided to just hoof it…at about 3 in the morning. It was definately a spiritual journey. At times kevin was somehow able to walk and sleep  (and I think even sleep talk) at the same time. There were points where he would just say random things, and upon asking him what he was saying, he would reply with “what…I was talking?” The comedy/insanity just made the trip that much more worth it. I love you Kevin. Can’t wait to come out to the ATL again on some official D & G business.  “D & G” is the crew consisting of Kevin and I, and is in regard the the voltron like team work which occurs when we are in the same environment on blades. It really is uncanny what gets achieved on blades and behind camera when we team up. We some how balance the vibe blading had back in 98′ with the business blading side of things and come out with the biggest smiles and best times as a result. It is truely a rare connection I fully appreciate.

Another friend I can travel back in time with and do some business blading with is Lonnie Gallegos.  Above his the trailer for his and Brandon Negrete’s Fade Nation 2 or “Too Faded.” I was lucky enough to be in the Los Angeles area hook up with Lonnie as well as J.C. Rowe and Kevin Gillan.  Before this day I did not have any clips for this video, and it would have been the first video of Lonnies I had never not been if I didn’t meet him this day, get in the zone, and handle some business. And I did just that. Suprisingly the first line I did, I ended up doing first try which is pretty unheard of. Well, it is more unhear of as Lonnie will know from his past experiences filming many sections with me. I almost jinxed myself ont he last trick on the line because it was going so well. I for some reason have this self destructing habit of messing myself up via my thoughts right before im about to finish or complete a task of any kind. And it came up like the great wall of china, but I relaxed and busted right through it looking up at lonnie after with a face of astonishment at what had just occured. He had the same face as well and was in utter disbelief at what had just happened. Thank god too, because chances are I would have probaly said “one more time,” which would have resulted in serious frustration not only on myside but im sure lonnies as well. Or actually mostly mine, Lonnie is actually a really good sport when it comes to skaters taking hours to do just one trick. Thanks for all those times you were patient while I got lost in my mind and all the vicious cyclic patterns I ahve been known to go through.

I am now going to end this blog with an old Blog entry I recently found on my Old laptop. I wrote this because at the time I was in atlanta, I was talking with Justin Eisenger about doing a “Blade Life” journal entry type deal for 7 or so days. We lost contact about the situation and I didn’t get past the first entry, but I thought it was an entry worth seeing anyways. It was fun to write, and is a little glimpse into my mentality and how I choose to observe myself and thought process.  Enjoy.

“Today seemed sort of a bleh day. Wasn’t too really pumped on anything. Maybe its because I’ve been drinking a lot of milk lately? Hahaha. I don’t know. I havn’t drank milk since I was in highschool, but lately I have been drinking it a lot. Different environments yield different patterns, I have learned. About myself anyways. So Brian Sandford, Tom Hyser, and myself skated this park today with this curvy C ledge. Immediately after I had heard that it was a C ledge I became excited. I love C ledges. I can skate them all day long just doing the same tricks over and over. Something about the gravity of them that keeps you in them surfing for days. I love them.

When we got there though, I immediately became not as hyped. There were hella people there, as the ledge was at a baseball field, and games were going off left and right. The ledge was at a playground where kids were running around all over the place, and I thought it might be a for sure bust cas it was next to a “snack shack.” I admit it, I immediately took the negative stance in the situation, do to my prior outlook on the day in general. I brought the mood to the park, and I have learned that your moods do not always reflect reality. I immediately was discouraged by the crowed, and sat down on a bench in a mopy mood until Tom and Brian began to blade.

By the way, this is random but I’m drinking a New Castle and listening to 2mex. I just got back from a dinner with Tom after he taught skating lessons at pikneville skatepark, and I played hockey in the hockey rink with some kids. After Tom’s lesson he also joined in. We played 2 on 2 with some 13 year olds. I love playing hockey. I used to play almost everyday with the next door neighbors kids when I was living with Lonnie Gallegos in the Westminster house filming for Feet.  So yeah, today these kids had extra sticks so we went all out, and it was a lot of fun.

But the real reason I brought up 2mex was because there was a track he had with Awol One, and I went to a Awol One/Josh Martinez show with Kevin Dowling Last week. There was probably a total of 10 people there including me and Kevin, and yet they still put on a dope show. Some other dudes and myself took advantage of the empty dance floor and cut it to shreds. If you know me, and have seen me out dancing, you know how I do. For those who haven’t, well…when my dad gets down he calls it “doing the funky Guerrero,” and those who have seen me believe this statement I’m sure haha.

But back to the session, Brian happened to be set up in the jungle gym playground and catch this sequence, and seeing it today for the first time actually brought a smile to my face. It brought a smile because the day felt so down for me, and to see that I actually at least did “something,” is satisfying. Whenever I have those sort of “down” days, I tend to be extremely critically and over analytical of myself, and bring myself more down then I need to be.

Also, I had been nursing a hurt knee that I got the weekend before. I hurt my knee filming with Kevin Dowling at this kinked ledge For Lonnie Gallegos’ and Brandon Negrete’s new flick “Fade Nation.”. The day had also started pretty weak, but once Kevin And I started skating, it was like I had taken a time machine back to 1998, as Kevin and I have been boys since at least then, when everyone that was in the know used to get together in the aol chat rooms and talk for hours. Those were the days when the internet used to be used for the good of blading, and not the ridicule of any and everything which arises in blading whether good or bad. Trash talking on the internet is truly the Cancer of the day. Everyone talks about wanting respect and getting recognition, when we can’t even respect each other, and what each other is doing. We are holding each other down, no one else. Believe that.

On the Brighter side of things,  I did get a pretty sweet line, with a new trick I have never done before. I sure hope Lonnie uses it haha. I know how picky he is, but I also have been in every single one of Lonnies Videos with at least a section, so I’m sure he will. I Also will be In Atlanta for another week and a half, so I will have more opportunities to film, especially this weekend, as Kevin says Walt Austin will have the Camera and will be ready to blade. That’s right people, I said Walt Austin. Believe it.

So yeah, I havn’t even described my present reality. I use the word “reality” because when you were in Atlanta, everthing is either a reality or a delusion. Comedy is key in Atlanta, and if you don’t know the language, then well you may never know. I’m staying with Tom and Erin Hyser, and have been here since superhick helping out with watching the kids and what not. Tom’s Daughter Bella and I shred up the front yard on the blades. Tom, the gunius that he is, rigged up some fisher price skates with some senate wheels so we get down. I will have to get some sequences or something for the next entry…Until then…HOLLLAAA!”

And now, I am off to eat at one of my favorite veggie restraunts in San Francisco. Hope you enjoyed another late and lengthy installment of Controlled Accidents. Happy Holidays!

Controlled Accidents Num. 7, Eastcoast to Westcoast.

So the last time I updated my blog I was deep into my Puerto Rico Trip, and had about a week to go before I went back to New York. This picture was taken the night that I went out to this hip hop Lounge. We decided to have some Mexican food and by some drinks here before going to the lounge because it was cheaper. From left to right in this photo is Ariel, Ian, and Katia. for the last week or to we stayed at Katia’s house which was like living in paradise. Pool in the backyard, and an Avocado Tree which dropped avocados to the ground every day. This was a dream to me because Avocados are my favorite. Needless to say, we ate Avocados in every meal, and sometimes they WERE the meal. It was about this time that the funds were almost fully depleted so this fruit helped out immensely in my overall survival. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH Katia and Ian for your hospitality and kindness . You saved us on soo many levels.

This picture right here was my breakfast every morning during my last weeks in Puerto Rico. Avocado, plantains, and Tea.  Just looking at this picture is making my mouth water and stomach grumble. It is also having theses effects on me because I am on day 3 of the “Master Cleanse.” This is a cleanse where the only thing you consume is a drink  comprised of nothing but water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup.  I have never done this for 10 days, but have had friends who have done it for 10 days and even longer. So far so good.  I haven’t experienced much hunger pain (aside from what I just experienced looking at the above picture) but I have been quite agitated and irritable. Getting a 60 Dollar parking ticket today in San Francisco didn’t help that either….

Here is some of the Crew I would roll with when we skated Moisty’s Skatepark. Moisty’s is a Spark in PR that is on the top of a Mall parking lot. It is a fun park full of a bunch of local rippers. The girl skate scene in PR is pretty big too. All of the girls I have seen at the park skat just as good as the boys do, and there doesn’t even seem to be a noteable difference. Whether girl or even skateboarder, everyone seems to have fun together seemlessly.

I also got the opportunity to visit a little gallery in Old San Juan. I can’t remember the name of this artist, but he was a friend of Tato’s.

Here is another one by the same artist.

This one I think was done by a different artist, and I liked it because it reminded me of a wandering sage mountain hermit.

From Puerto Rico I went to New york to meet Tom Hyser and Julian Bah for a week of blading, autograph signing, and the Last Man Standing contest at the Brooklyn Banks. This photo and the following ones below were taken from the autograph signing that Tom, Julian, and myself attended at Blades skateshop in NY. We went there for a meet and greet to promote the new Solo Skate which comes out In January 09′.

Ray asking me some questions about blading while Tom takes photos.

Rah, Victor Callender, and John Ortiz came out to support.

Tato and Black Sam were there too. I can’t remember why Sams name is “Black Sam.” I think it was to distinguish him between Sam Grim, another legendary NYC ripper.

Here is the posse of kids that came out strapped in to their blades straight off a NYC session. Thanks for comin out!

After the autograph signing/meet and greet we went to a production after part that Ray’s boss was having. It was an open bar and there were highclass snacks as well as people. We definately looked out of place with our street clothes as well as all of our luggage. We definately stood out once we hit the dance floor as well. Here is Ray Mendez and Ariel Breakin it down.

Here is the crew gettin loco  in the back of a limo on the ride back to the bronx.  After price configuring, we realized it would be cheaper to all get into a limo and take it back instead of taking seperate taxi’s, so we got krunk and balled out of control…or at least acted like it.

Ariel looking proper before a night on the town.

Daveeeeee Blair gettin ready.

And Jon Ortizy lookin steezy.

The next day was the Last Man Standing Contest at the Brooklyn Banks. I had a fun time skating this contest. I did realize that I have a hard time saving my energy for the actual rounds I’m in. Usually when I get to a contest or jam session I’m so juiced that I just start skating and end up doing everything I want to do within the first 45 minutes.  I ended up making it to finals doing some of the tricks in this edit, but ended up getting stuck/broke off on a full cab disaster true mizu on this box thing. After I did a disaster half cab top soul I was feeling good, but then I just got stuck on the true mizu.  It sucked cas I got pretty broke off but, overall the day went good and skating was fun.

I read a comment from Angelo Ferrer asking someone to give me some photos he took of me, so I went to his Angelo’s Flikr Site to grab em and put them on here. Thanks for the sweet Photos Angelo!

In this picture I did a fakie full cab alyoop unity. I havn’t done this trick in literally over 5 or more years. So long ago I can’t even remember but in this moment for some reason I knew I could. Just had to pull it out of my old files and dust it off. Its nice to know I still have it when I want it.

I think this was an alyoop Top porn to topsoul.

Half Cab Disaster Top Soul. I got super juiced after this and got a little ahead of myself which resulted  in my busting my ass multiple times trying fakie disaster true mizu. Afterwards I felt I should have tried it to royal first to get used to the motion. Sometimes when I get super hyped I try to jump to far ahead and try something I’m not ready for. This was definately one of those moments. Thanks for the Photos again Angelo!

After New York I came to Atlanta for a week and a half to film Rollerblade stuff with Tom and Julian. Julian, David, and I went out to this skatepark and ended up getting some cool stuff. All three of us did some sweet lines in the bowl, and David and I got a back to back line which is in the edit above which turned out really good. Skating with David is fun because his juice levels are always high, and he brings me back to that young energy I used to feel when I was his age.

I havn’t seen any skating from Julian in a while, but I was thoroughly impressed by this edit and what I saw in person when we went skating.  The gap he did over the sign was first try and the first thing he did in the day. It was crazy to see him size it up, then just go for it and lace it first try. Every clip I filmed of him he landed either first or second try. His last clip in this edit was ridiculous, especially because i have tried to do the same thing and getting to the rail from the ledge is super hard.

Here is a me doing a Royal in Atlanta. Nothing really else to say bout it aside that it was shot by Brian Sanford.

While I was in Atlanta I got to stay with Long time AOL friend and Dirty Show companion Kevin dowling and shoot some photos. Here is one we shot at one in the morning after a long night of skating downtown Atlanta. I got many great photos with Kevin, one of them which will be on the cover of the next Roller Warehouse. Check other photos out ohter sweet photos on Kevin Dowlings Blog.

Kevin had to go to a Hip Hop show to shoot some photos for his friends so I tagged along and had an amazing time. I got to meet this girl Brittany Bosco (to the left of me) who gave in my opinion the most uplifting performance of the night. Also to the left of her is Alex Goose who I met that night as well who used to rollerblade and is from DC. He actually produced Brittany’s beats, so check both of them out and support rollerbladers doing their thing up proper.

After Atlanta I flew to Long Beach and then road tripped it with my girlfriend to Norcal which is where I am writing this from right now. I am officially a resident of San Francisco and loving it aside from the parking ticket I got yesterday for 60 dollars. Having a car is sweet. Having a car in the city is not too sweet.

Here is an edit  Norcal/San Jose legend Jayson Reduta just made for his design class at the Art Academy in San Francisco. As  you can see he is still handling the streets even though he is not in the spotlight like he once was. To see more footage of Jayson when he was one of the best in the Bay, check out these edits.

BFTV

Elements 2

Perspectives

Smell The Glove

Peace out from SF!

Puerto Rico Trip Update Part 2, Box Jam Edit

Gilbert Marrero and his daughter (photo above) From Waves and Wheels Skate Shop hosted a box jam session and Tato made this edit out of what went down.  It was really cool to see all the people show up and bust.  Here are some photos from that day…

It is super hot most the time in Puerto Rico so most of the time I go shirtless. Shirtless is the way to go obviously because it keeps you cool, but also makes shirts wearable for more then one day which is really hard to accomplish here.

This is me of course just about to put my skates on. My energy levels were pretty high for the first 15 minutes and then they kinda faded and I lost focus. During that time I was able to get a clip in the edit which was the alyoop P-Star to soul. I had never done this before, but thought about just trying it because I have been doing my AO P-Stars with out moving the direction I was looking. Doing this and coming out forward feels really cool. I was trying to spin out 360 the opposite way as well but was having a hard time with it.

These are the only photos I have from that box jam session sorry…BUT I do have plenty of photos from my trip to Old San Jaun which I made the other day…

Here is me at the Cemetery right next to  El Moro.

And another photo of the cemetery as well as El Moro in the background.

Here is a a “witches” grave that Abdiel Colberg showed me the last time I was here. He knew more about it, but I can’t remember any of the story so…wa wa wa. If you ever go to old San Juan and get to go to the cemetary near El Moro I suggest you check it out. If you are facing the entrance of the cematary, then you would go right and at the end of the corner, if you look over the wall  you can see it

And this is me getting my Karate Kid Crane stance on at El Morro.

Me next to one of the walls at El Morro. There is crazy history behind this fort which I don’t remember the half of, but it would be good to look into its history as well as San Juans.

Ariel and I at El Morro looking off into the distance. There is a bowl in La Perla that he is trying to show me where its by.

Here is Ariel at one of the corners of the fort. Where the water is at in this photo is also supposed to be one of the deepest parts of the Ocean and one point on the Bermuda Triangle. This is what I remember Christian Rodriguez telling me the last time we came here, so it might not be EXACT information, but its something like that. I should start paying attention to details. And street signs. And just names of things in general.

If your really want to get into some Gangster Sh*t, you can walk further down and hang out in La Perla. I wouldn’t advise it though unless your with some people who are familiar with the area.

This is a Street in Old San Juan. Above it it has a picture of Saint Francis of Asissi. Saint Francis was the man. I read a biography about him once. There was also a street called San Jose but I didn’t get it. Boo hoo.

Another extremely hospitable Puerto Rican was Rafy Cruz. This is a picture of some of the crew chilling and eating fruit on Rafy’s family farm. The farm was way deep in the mountains and had horses, chickens, and all kinds of fruit trees. When I woke up in the morning, there were Mangos, Cacao, and other fruit I didn’t know the name of that Rafy Gathered that morning for us to eat. The mangos here are some of the best I have ever had in my life and whats best is that they were fresh. I’m used to paying like 2 dollars for my mango addiction at whole foods, so this was truly a blessing.

While I was cutting a mango, I heard a bunch of screaming and saw Acho Papi running away yelling. They said they saw something running across the grass. I was hoping it was the legendary chupa cabra, but it was actually this Iguana. Or at least I think this is an iguana. Either way its a big dinosaur looking thing and after scaring everybody it ran up this tree and decided to chill.

After our farm experience was over and we were driving back to Tato’s, we stopped on the side of the road to take this picture of Me and Ariel as well as some others…

Last time I was here I went and stayed at Abdiels house deep in the jungle/rainforest I got a picture of myself doing a headstand, so this time I decided to get another one and this time Tato joined me.

Here is the original Puerto Rican Posse from my last trip. Tato, Ariel, and myself.

And now I will leave you with this last photo. It’s not a photo from Puerto Rico, but a photo my friend Megs sent me in New York. I thought it was pretty sweet and simple.

SO….stay tuned for more updates as my trip progresses. I am here for 6 more days and then it’s off to NY for an appearence at Blades, as well as the contest at the brooklyn banks on the 20th. Hope you enjoyed all hte updates..I’ve been updating for like the last 3 days and have logged I don’t know how many hours on my computer.

Holler at a player when you see me on the streets…

Controlled Accidents Num. 5 & 6, and Puerto Rico Update…

So I haven’t updated my blog in FOREEEVVVERRRR (insert sandlot voice here), and decided to do so while I sit in a hammock in Puerto Rico. Since The last time I updated this, I have been at Lake Owen camp filming Gymnastics and Rollerblading. I made a gymnastics DVD for Lake Owen last summer, and was asked to make this years, as well film and edit the Rollerblading section for the skate side video this year. Prior to filming the gymnastics video last year I hadn’t had much experience filming and zero experience editing so it made me very excited to have the opportunity do both for what I love to do the best…blading.

Here is a group of kids that came to camp. I told them as a group of rollerbladers to yell something and they came up with “Fruit Bootin 4 life!.” It’s definitely going to make it into the video. Rollerblading was only 3 weeks this summer, but all the kids that came killed it. It was super awesome to film so many kids that were pumped to bust out. And bust out they did. The edit should be off the chaiiiin!

This is me and Tim the Tool Man Saylor. Hes been coming to camp for 3 or 4 years now and has matured into quite the ripper. I sold him this Black Fabric T-shirt like 3 years ago and he still rocks it to this day. Props Timmy.

After 6 weeks at Lake Owen, I then flew to Colorado for long friend of mine Adam Bender’s wedding as well as the Colorado Road Trip. I Don’t have any pictures of this…or wait..yes I have a few…hold on a sec….

This is me and some of the posse that were on the road trip…

And some more road trippers…

Here are a couple of my favorite dudes. Stockhouse is on the left, and yes believe it or not that is East Coast Blade Legend Jeff Laretto. I hadn’t seen him in years and it was truly awesome for him to come out to Lake Owen, as well as be on the Road trip. I gave him my old Point 8’s and he loved them. His style is still buttery smooth. He’ll have a couple bangers in the Lake Owen Blade Section.

Here are some more of my favorite dudes. We were taking photos  on my computer and sending them to Julio. This one is of Ross Kuhn, Tory Treseder, and Jeff Stockhouse. I call Jeff Stockhouse now because TJ Weber started calling him that, and I sweat TJ. These dudes came on the trip as a part of the Heat Tour. They laced.

Oh yeah, I forgot I had this picture from the Colorado Road Trip. This was taken at the first spot we stayed at. Just as everyone was putting up their tents and getting ready to start the fire, a furious storm of apocalyptic proportions hit is. First with thunder and lightning, then rain and hail. Everyone made the mad dash to their cars, and after it was over I fashioned this rain suit just in case it go crazy again. I also Decided to eat my salad I got earlier at the grocery store. I think Carl Sturgess took this photo after.

After The Roadtrip, I then flew back to Wisconsin to begin the logging process of 20 something odd tapes of Gymnastics and Rollerblading footage. I spent a week at Camp Timber Lee near Milwaukee with my boy Joel Hager whom I met at Lake Owen this year. Here are some computer photos of us goofin…

A friend of mine took a picture of herself while doing a headstand so of course, I had to outdo her. This is me doing a headstand on a swivel chair. It was hard because I kept spinning, but I got er done.

This is how I felt after looking through 3 hours of footage, logging it, and labeling it. Sometimes logging footage is fun, but when your doing it late night and your body is telling you it wants to shut down its not the funnest thing to do in the world.

This is me and Joel Rocking out at like 3 in the morning.Nothing else really to say about this.

This is the first Tie Dye shirt I have ever made/worn. Thanks to Wilson, it came out pretty tight. I didn’t take this picture at the camp, but this T shirt is tight so…yeah.

After Rocking out in Milwaukee which included lacing “forgot about Dre” at a local karaoke bar, I was off to New york to hang out with Ariel Surun for a few days before departing to Puerto Rico. We basically just hung out until it was time to leave.

BUT…we did go to a birthday at a Karaoke Bar in NY which is where this photo was taken, and…I did manage to kill it on the dance floor. So much that most of Ariel’s friends didn’t know what to make of me. If you have seen my theatrics on the dance floor then you know what I’m talking about. If not…well then you just have to be there.

I love hanging out in New York and especially love being around the people there. Most of the dudes in this photo are Rollerbladers. Smoothy, Ariel John Stephenson, and some more in the background. Every time I go to NY I stay with my boy Ariel Surun DEEP in the Bronx, and every time I do go I pick up at least one new slang word. One of my favorite things about being around my friends in New York is listening to them talk. They really know how to express themselves honestly and in a way that is unlike anywhere I have heard before. Words it seems sometimes are made up on the spot.  Here is a list of words I picked up during my last stay in the Bronx.

1.  “Folded”: Pretty much getting broke off, hurt, messed up. This word was used by my homie David to describe what was about to happen to him while he was charging a 60 foot rail. “Yo, I’m bout to get folded son.”

2.  “Sweatin the (a) bullet”: This is pretty much sweating profusely. A twist to the popular “sweating bullets”

3.  “Nipsy Russel”:  This is kinda like saying its nippy outside or “cold.”  Another popular word for cold in New York is “brick.” “Yo its mad brick outside son!”

All of these words and many more which I can’t remember right now came out of the mouth of David who is a Bronx native. I love to just hang out with and around this dude and listen to him talk. He’s dope.

Oh yeah, I also went to Philly for a week and stayed with Mike Johnson as well as Jimmy Shuda. We bladed, danced, and mostly just chilled illadelph stylee. I hadn’t seen Shuda in years, and he literally blew me away with how good he still was. It was like nothing changed in his skating at all over the years. If anything he has become even more solid with age.

After my east coast stay was over, Ariel and I were off to Puerto Rico.  I have been here in Puerto Rico for approximately 2 weeks today. Basically we have been doing  lots of chilling, eating, and blading. Here are some videos and pictures with descriptions to show you whats been goin down in this tropical paradise…

The skating you see in this edit was done at the end of a beautiful day. We went to the most amazing waterfall I have ever been to in my life. Well, I think it was the only one I have been too but, probably the most amazing one I will ever go to. You couldn’t jump off of the top of it, but at the bottom of it was like a pool, with some side walls like 13 feet high that you could jump off. I definitely hucked a classic misty flip off of it. No pictures of that sorry, but, y’all know what a misty flip looks like.

Here is me, Acho Papi, and others getting ready to jump in pool at the bottom of the waterfall as well as play in the waterfall.

This is the “Tarzan and Jane” photo that Tato took. The next few Photos were shot by Tato aka Hector Gonzalez. I became really good friends with Tato the last time I was here 2 years ago and stayed with him and his mother. Every day I was there, there were beans and rice made on the stove, and our clothes were cleaned and folded. Puerto Rican’s are some of the most hospitable people I have come across in my life.

Here is Tato, his mother, and I at his mothers apartment a few nights ago. We stayed there a couple nights but since then have migrated to another living situation involving a pool, internet, and an avocado tree. Speaking of fruit, I love it. And it is funny, because it is either really easy to find here, or really hard.

Here is me choosing a papaya.  I got super excited when I saw this fruit stand on the side of the road, so we made a quick stop and picked up some fresh produce. Avocados and mangoes are my favorite so we definitely got those. I have been eating them whenever possible. We also bought a big watermelon, which the dude cut right there on the spot. I think these fruit stands are one of my most favorite things about Puerto Rico besides the Beautiful culture, people, and of course hospitality. Tostones and Plaintains come next after that  of course. My consistent breakfast for the past few days has been plantains cooked in olive oil with cinamon along side of fresh avocado off the tree with sea salt.

The first place we really crashed was “Acho Papies” house in Mayaguez West.  Here are some photos…

This is the house we were staying at for about a week and a half with Ariel standing in front of it. Jayson and Acho Papi who live here are students and were kind enough to let us crash there. Aside from the shower breaking and having to use a hose for a shower, as well as having to mop up the floor,  our stay was amazing. Little things like that are nothing to sweat over when your vagabonding around riding the rhythm.

Here is some of the posse I’ve been chillen with in Mayaguez West.

Alright this blog is turning out to be ridiculously long due to my lack of updates, so I’m going to cut it right now and make a part 2 to my Puerto Rico trip which will include a box edit, and some pictures from a day in old San Juan as well as anything else I might like to add so stay tuned…

Controlled Accidents Num. 4, Rollerblade Solo Testing, Mizu Blading

This is me testing out the new Rollerblade Solo Skate which hits stores January 09′. After my first grind I fell in love, then immediately started filming not even 10 minutes after I strapped them on and put little grooves in the Soul Plates. During this session alot of tricks that I used to do back in 97′-98′ began to come back naturally. Switch Torque was the one I was most excited about. I did a switch torque then fakie 270 front torque line which was not shown because I didn’t like the way my right foot came off, but you will be seeing more of them in the future. True torque comeback? New info soon to come on the New Rollerblade Solo, my experience with them, and other torque news.

I was going to start this paragraph off with “It’s weird how you stop doing tricks you used to do back in the day,” but as soon as I said that I understood what that description. I personally stop doing things sometimes because after I do it, I don’t want to repeat the same thing, I wan’t to do something new. Something I did however many years ago is labeled “old” to me, but I am slowly realizing that this is a very ignorant and limited way of thinking. I should do all the maneuvers I desire regardless of how “old” or even “new” they are.

You see Rollerblading to me is a moving artform much like dancing or martial arts, and I appreciate those who move with this distinct flow or water like form. This to my eyes is the most appealing and enjoyable to watch, and those which exhibit this are my favorites. The most recent name I can think of after watching a Youtube section of his is ironically Chiaki Ito. It does not surprise me at all, as being from Japan it is embedded in his genes to be so. I hope one day to visit Japan, and be influenced by its fluid rolling nature. Here is An examply of that from a video called “Bloodstained Concrete”. Much respect Chiakisan!