skatesgiving.

Skatesgiving. Give thanks, go skate.

Hope my poison oak has subsided enough by tomorrow for me to compete.

My poison oak trials and tribulations could fill a blog. If you need cures, just ask.

the captain & cannon.

The Captain & Cannon stopped by the fun factory today.

The captain feeds his dog, indy, hamburgers for lunch sometimes. Told me today, “Almost stopped and got him one along the way.”  Indy is stoked. Anybody who feeds their dog hamburgers is OK in my book.

The Captain, aka Casey Zelinsky, might be known from a number of his musical adventures. Current bands that he bares arms for include: 30 Years War, Manzanita and The Crutch. But nowadays he’s started a skateboard website dedicated to his side favorite brands that that spread the stoke – brands like Independent, Santa Cruz, Loser Machine, Brixton, Nor Cal, Think and Creature.

check em out:

http://captainssk8.com/

Right after the excitement of all that, Creature Lee dropped this on my desk.

Something fresh and new, straight outta the creature r&d development labs. spring 2010? summer 2010? When will this shit be ready for the youngins’ to , errr…

I’ve been told it grinds your kind grinds.

So get at it.

Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.

fakie to fakie.

Hot off the presses……

Fake to Fakie issue #1 launched today.

Above is my 1st submission.

Marty Duvall, NHS web/graphic extraordinaire is the mastermind at the helm of this zine. The first NHS employee generated ‘zine with many more to come. Contributions from Lee Charron, Mark Widmann, Ron Whaley, Ramon Alatorre, Renos, Joel Ellis, me and many many more.

Checkout issue #1.

Get ready for issue #2.

Heads will roll.

blood shed in santa cruz.

On Friday the 13th of November, Hesh Law and Blood Shed Premiered in Santa Cruz.

Stopped by to pickup this dude and he serenaded me with his latest and greatest.

This was on the wall – along with a salvador dali print, an autographed guitar from mick jagger and a vintage photo of dog the bounty hunter.

Even his surfboards are loc’d out.

Mar Mar Studios was in the house for Hesh Law Santa Cruz. For some reason Marty in the stalker face mask beanie really creeps me out. It’s just perverted and comical at the same time, I dunno…

Ran into this dude wandering the streets after the premiere. “I’ve just been sitting in my car, listening to music,” he said. He had seen Hesh Law on wednesday night at the Roxio in San Francisco and was super stoked. Don’t miss your chance to get Hesh Law and Blood Shed when they come out November 23rd. Blood Shed is the best pool/horror 16mm film you’ll ever see and it’s got some insane performances from Cranston, Eman, Heddings, Gravette, Navarette and Hitz. Plus, the blood sluts are fantastically eye appealing and horrific all at the same time.

Checkout the trailer below. Don’t miss these skate films. Great Premiere as usual.

hesh law arcata.

Made my way up to Arcata for the Hesh Law premiere.

First stop in Arcata – Greenhouse boardshop.

This place is awesome. surf, skate, clothing, organic juice bar wise – they’ve got you dialed.

Monty owns Greenhouse and is always super cool. Little known Creature fact – John Ponts first shop sponsor was none other than, Greenhouse boardshop.

After some awesome food at Greenhouse (thanks Monty) we went over to the Arcata Skatepark. The Hesh Law premiere we were doing that night partially benefited adding on to the park. This place is funky, but really fun. Weird, tight transitions, but wonderful flow. Definitely worth checking out.

Ampt Skateshop was integral in making the premiere happen. That’s Ampt skateshop owner, Kelly, with her back to me. The other guy is wearing a Creature Fargo flannel and you should be too. Flannel is soo hot these days.

board wall wise at Ampt. Ruling it.

Arcata Theater Lounge. Hesh Law on the marquee. Fuck yeah holmes.

Craig from Satori sighting. Thanks for coming out, Craig.

Band wise, Fall The Giants really brought the thunder after Hesh Law. Nothing goes better with Creature than following it up with an instrumental metal band. These guys killed it.

Kevin was the warranty dude at NHS back in 1985. Small world. Dave Friel sold him his 1st car. Thanks for coming out guys.

Kelly from Ampt and some Humboldt County rippers.

Surfwise, it was kinda going off in Humboldt Bay.

Hesh Law Arcata was a great success. 200 heads in attendance, almost $2,000 bucks raised for adding Phase II  to the Arcata skatepark, tons of stoked groms, a mighty metal band played, The Eureka skatepark is close to completion. Skating is alive and well in Humboldt County. Someone told me it was the first time they can ever remember having a skate premiere in Arcata.  Good times indeed. Thanks to everyone for helping make it happen – Kelly and Mark from Ampt, Nick, Chris, Andrew @ Central Skateboards, Creature Lee, Monty @ Greenhouse, Arcata Theater Lounge and the whole Humboldt County skate scene.

creature hesh law arcata premiere.

Making our way up north next Friday. Make your way to downtown Arcata. Creature’s illest feature skate film ever is premiering at the Arcata Theater and it’s gonna be a doozy. Live performance by Fall the Giants. Product tosses, celebrity sightings, hippies, death metal, mary jane, satan and skateboarding. Come see Navarrette, Gravette, Hitz, Heddings, Partanen, Stu Graham, Tay Tay Bingaman and the rest of the Creature Crue on the big screen in Humboldt County. Come one, come all – pure hell on the big screen.

curtis woodman goes to the beach.

In between bites of organic, gluten free vegan treats you can find Curtis Woodman with a smile on his face and quietly killing whatever terrain you might put in front of him. A seasoned professional snowboarder at the ripe old age of twenty three, Curtis has been a predominant force in the Tahoe snowboard scene for many years; many many years that definitely circumvent his youthful age. He showed up on saturday and had an inkling to go surfing. I set him up on an Ozzie 5′8″ and we were ready to roll.

Checkout Woodman’s part in this years, “Get in The Van”.

Teaser for another film Curtis appears in this year, Vaca Films, “So Much To Say”.

Curtis is waiting for the snow to fall, the backcountry to fill in, and will be ready to deliver pizza’s to your door and get the sled gassed up bright and early the next morning. Curtis, here’s to another season of crushing it. I think he’s got the surf bug now too, Mavericks look out.

skateworks valley fair grand opening.

Skateworks grand opening in San Jose at Valley Fair today.

Right next to Macy’s.

You ever seen a legit board wall that faces Macy’s? I think not.

Stop by and said “hi” to Jason Strubing. Dude just built a 12 foot half pipe somewhere in the woods.

First UPS shipment.

Tons of Creature, Santa Cruz, Independent, Nor Cal, Nike SB, Vans and yes, they have Extremely Sorry.

Stop by Valley Fair in San Jose and get your shop on.

Then go skate Roosevelt.

half dome: you are not ready.

through the trees

You’re lucky if you can make it to the top of Half Dome in under 10 hours. That is unless you’re running. There happened to be one of these high-powered mutants along the way, a Thoroughbred of a rare type. Drenched in sweat, he barreled down the mountain trail, on his way back. I wondered if he even saw us. I couldn’t tell. He had sunglasses on; the kind that are built for speed, small and razor sharp. There was no time for talk. He careened down the winding trail. “Because it was there, and I could,” I thought as he passed. What other reason do you need? If you need to convince yourself otherwise, this is not for you.

the mist trail

It became very clear about 15 minutes into the hike this was to be no stroll through the woods. I already felt like I needed a break. The sun hadn’t even broken over the valley sky and I was looking for good places to sit down. Beautiful and brutal, Yosemite’s crown jewel stood, imposing above us, quietly assured.

It’s old, it’s been taken to task and could not be broken – not by some human, anyway.  Teddy Roosevelt made sure of that. John Muir and Roosevelt blazed these trails. Roosevelt called it the “most beautiful place in the world.” True grit. Plenty just like theirs have come up and down these trails since. Mine was about to be tested.

Yet, Half Dome felt  alone and content with it. It didn’t like me. It wanted nothing to do with me. It wants nothing more than to see me fail. It’s enticing and dangerous. The trail to the top winds on for hours, zig-zagging back and forth, up and down. I thought about that a lot. When you’re walking for hours there’s plenty to think about. Mist Trail is a 2.3 mile fork versus the Muir Trail which is a casual 4.7 mile hike. We took Mist up and Muir down. Be prepared, Mist will test the body. The trails eventually converge and it’s another four miles to the top.

vernal falls

Hours pass. We walk. We get lost in our thoughts coming back to reality when the trail gets tricky or to take a break. There isn’t much to talk about, but you’re all in it together with the same thing in mind. Yet you don’t feel any closer than when you started. Then the trees clear.

ants

You’re going up. Straight up.

going up?

Well nearly.

Surprisingly the most intimidating aspect of the hike is also the most relieving. Going up the cable can be laborious on a crowded day just like traffic on a freeway. Be bold, though. Taking the outside lane passes the crowd, though there is a certain security in it. Looking up, down, left and right is rock and the great wide expanse of space. It’s liberating and constricting all at once. I let go for a moment and I experience free flight for 15 seconds. Whether it’s a feeling the goal is near or your life is literally on the line, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. The feeling of finality is tangible.

the devil's diving board

Then you’re at the top. Just like that. Nine, almost 10, hours have passed and this is the pay-off. There’s no combination of words that can really describe the feeling you experience at the top. Accomplishment would sum it up if you didn’t feel like the mountain had just done you a favor. Be gracious. You still have to make it back to camp.

the long road home

After walking nine hours, the last thing on your mind is walking nine more. Luckily we made it back in five. It was downhill and the Muir trail is a nice break with some of my favorite views of the day. Perhaps it was the sun shining on the face of Half Dome as it set behind El Capitan. We walked switch-back after switch-back gradually back to the valley floor. There was plenty to talk about, plenty to be proud of.

My knees ached. Instinct kicks in and your mind focuses on nothing else. I was running low on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and salami and half-way through my last water bottle. I focused on dinner and a comfortable chair.

sweep the leg

The mind wanders elsewhere.

The sun sets but the sandwich and salami are going strong. The legs are pumping. Things become familiar again. The place where the trail meets the pavement; it’s going to bring me back to camp, back to dinner. Back to reality.

I’m exhausted, but driven by the desire to eat. Food will come and so will rest. Doing anything else is out of the question. Tomorrow’s going to be a task in and of itself.

stormy seas.

Remnants of Typhoon Melor.

And Another great day at the beach. Maybe we’ll get some good sand bars out of this.