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…

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