Canuck Chucker: Who Will Land the Canadian Embassy?

After my own version of testing gravity this morning during my routine old man session over at Arlington Skate park. Eamonn from Convoy let me know Jason Choi almost landed the 21 stair at the Canadian Embassy. While it's not El Toro it's becoming well known for tossing anybody who tries to skate away. I can't say if it has been landed or not but it seems that nobody has rolled away from it in a long time, if ever.

Adam Turrisi was there with a few cameras to capture Jason's attempts. The resulting effect was Choi getting bucked Jake Brown style with his shoes flying off. Bobby Worrest is another local who came close. So it makes you think ... who will get the job done?

Saturday Night Special or Ryan Sheckler Not Nude

So I talked to Colin Bane and he dropped the info that some insane percentage of traffic to his blog on BNQT.com comes from the search term "Ryan Sheckler Nude". In other Ryan Shecker not nude news he won Bust or Bail today up in the Bay. Check the video. Yes, Sheckler remains sick but Andrew Reynolds still made it look effortless. Just sayin...

Suck it Trebek!

Oh, how I loathe that Smarmy Alex Trebek. With his weeeee beady eyes and "I'm so smart and Canadian" attitude. Seriously, hosting a TV show doesn't make you smart. The re population of low brow culture with touch of society...that makes you smart!. Oh how I love the Simpson's. The picturesin the last skatebook was just shy of brilliant. Now IASC and Skatebook are teaming up to sell off the prints from Bart's "famous spots" adventure in the latest Skate book. Check out the flyerto the right and go buy that shit son!

Ballard, Salman, hook a blogger up!

Weirdin' Out in Commercials

Rarely, if ever, will I call something out for it's general weirdness or straight up goofy factor but this has to be mentioned. This video has been making it's way around from the Slap message boards to the blogs that matter like Skate Daily and You Will Soon. So now along with skater, radio host, actor, director, sex tape star and TV Host Bam Margera can add European commercial star to his title. You'll have to make your way to Finland to find out what they are actually advertising when you get back let me know.

Before anybody cries sell out lets celebrate the glory of just how weird this video is. We have Bam as some type of angel or Christ figure, a grim reaper figure and they are clearly playing a high stakes game of tic-tac-toe. I can see the pitch meeting now:

Wacky director #1 "Should we have the angel be the o. Maybe his motivation is to be X?"

Wacky director #2 "Of course he should be an O. The product is shaped like an O!"

Some where along the way Bam loses his arms to the reaper and then pulls out some Hong Kong Kung Fu high wire back flip to win the game, walk on water and then surf the open sea. I can't make this stuff up. Now, it's no secret that actors do commercials in Europe and Asia all the time because lets be honest if somebody is offering you 5 million to shill soda pop in Taiwan. ...you're going to take it. Only recently has this been bleeding over to action sports. That's right Bam isn't alone. Danny Kass Stepped up for Budweiser at one point in time...check the ads below...

Smells Like Mumbo Sauce

Well, it has been confirmed that youth is no longer wasted on the young. This is probably the groundbreaking update of staggering importance you were waiting for in reference to the all important Palace 5ive shop video dropping in DC. "Not really" should be the more likely answer but we make do with what is served up hot and fresh like a Route 1 tasty Krispy Kreme at 3:37 in the morning. But, it can be said with certainty that youth is fully embraced by those down on the U Street corridor.

Upon rolling up to Palace 5ive early in the evening I was greeted by the familiar sounds of skating. Greg and the guys pulled together a night that provided plenty of good times. The crew had a flat bar and launch set up. later the Red Bull Jersey barrier came out and as the movie was set to roll. There might have been a back tail, there might have been a try at a front board but there were certainly a lot of sacked attempts. Everybody was well fueled on Red Bull, fried chicken and of course ... D.C.'s very own Mumbo sauce. Eventually the silver bullet came out courtesy of a certain store on Florida Avenue. Hand offs of the adult juice boxes were made to Bobby Worrest and few others enjoying the location. Finally after all the giant women who were screaming about skaters getting served in their "hood" were cleared from the parking lot it was time for a movie.

Let me paint you a quick picture: one white bed sheet supported on a brick wall by two wooden boards. Yep, it's 2008 and we're getting hi tech in D.C. But, when your premier is in a parking lot you take what you can get. The PA was hooked up and the movie projected from the back of pickup. First up the was 29Films next installment of behind the Griptape: Van Wastell. Between the shots, the lullaby from hell, Rick Rattler and an amazing lack of nudity. All I can say is go to 29Films.com and check it out. Perhapses (yes I wrote perhapses) Rory will get around to posting it over the next few days. Needless to say it was classic and chock full of good times. There might be some actual skating in there that will make you scream like a 14 year old girl.

Finally, the opening sequence and Angelo Lee opens it up with some amazing sequences. While Zach Lyons only had a quick trick in there Daniel Kim closed down the video and while hanging out with a pretty blonde lolly-dolly on his arm Zach confessed that Daniel's ender was his highlight. I gotta Agree with Zach, Daniel has style for days and it was nice to enjoy the serene scene with the Chocolate City landscape showcasing some amazing skating. More must sees are Shaun Gregoire, Brendan Cathcart and Wes Bell all dropped amazing parts. I wasn't let down. Seeing something new blew me my mind just a little bit that night and like all great videos, it just made you want to go skate. The crowd stuck around to watch the video a second time through. Some cold drinks, a cool breeze and the soothing sounds of bustling D.C. nightlife made it for an experience that's not easily forgotten.

Back to the topic at hand: youth not being wasted on the young. Standing in a crowded lot of skaters, boozers, bums, sneakerheads and fixed gear nerds was fairly new. Being in hibernation for 30 months plays tricks on the mind and it's easy to get jaded. Thank god these young'uns coming on the heels of the latest skate rising plan on killing it, getting it done and doing it DIY if necessary. Good looking out Palace 5ive. Now when's the next video dropping because Daniel's part is already on the youtubes...

Burton 2009 Shop Series

Here comes some interweb mythology. Are these real are they fake. Guess you'll have to wait untilthey do or do not hit your shop. But my source dropped this hot potato in my lap last last night. Here's the rundown on Burton's midseason winterd elivery...


The Burton Hero and Lip Stick Shop series decks
The ConDOM, HERO and Lipstick. The ConDOM comes with Burton's Freebase and the Lip-Stick come swith Burton's new v-rocker. The HERO has both. Technical Mumbo jumbo at the end. Giddyup.

Skate Paparazzi

For some Non Dew Tour lets go behind the lines and into the hidden lives of today's skaters. Yep, pretty much looks like a weekend with some friends. Once again proving skating is more about fun than anything else. Jockin' out on the dew tour may get you big bucks but it won't get you the high life. Mmmm high life.

Don't act like you wouldn't crusha root beer flaot right now. You know this.
Jason Adams enjoys the high life.

See, Braydon enjoy Playboy and fine American Beverages just like you.Maybe I shouldn't have given Bobby that silver bullet outside of Florida liquors.
Adelmo and Zach, high on life at Woodward.

Danke O'Dell, Rodent, Gareth, Tappers & Lambert



Greco moment brought to you by Skate Book

Battling the Crapconomy

August is a beastly month in the mid-atlantic. No matter where you go the dreaded inconvenience of summer's end is constantly propping it's head up. At your local shops all the winter gear begins pushing summery goodness and lazy days aside while massive cardboard boxes roll in. At work everybody is snagging their fleeting days of vacation so nothing gets done. Meanwhile, out on the roads, the school bus driver training is in effect and those giant banana colored-diesel swilling-turds clog up the roads in doing so they will inevitably slow down traffic to a screeching halt. Hooray the kids are going back to school. Yes, back to school is every retailers wet dream and every 20 year old paid by the hour flunkies worst nightmare. welcome to that time of year when Mothers hand over their credit cards and kids begin their hunt for something, no anything that will set them apart from the crowd, But, these all important purchases will still somehow allow them to blend in seamlessly. Think stepford wives but only with Pac Sun, Zumiez and that debacle of a store Hollister instead of 50's kitsch. Not this year though. No, for the first time in many, many a year back to school sales are down in most areas and flat in those not heavily hit back the economic crunch. Loosely translated: People aren't spending money.

So what's next? What happens now? Well, the answer is simple really. Retailers will sit on lots of gear until it goes stale and eventually they decide to mark it down. Another option is they can extend sales and try to drive feet in the door while pushing product out. The smart ones will have purchased accordingly in their due dilligence they forecasted correctly. The consumer side will be a bit different. Consumers now are going to flock to the web looking for free shipping and already reduced markdowns. This is where we get to the heart of this post. Where are you buying online? After doing a little sniffing around It's safe to say that most tractions are coming from a few areas. We'll call them the big three, no four!. I think it's worth while talking about them because honestly...nobody else is. That being said if this is where you all are spending your money then it should be discussed. What does this mean to the core skateshop . Not a whole lot but the game is changing and if you want to stay in business you better figure out how your customer base is changing as well. Now lets look at who's doing what out there in interweb land to keep the people geared up for less.

Skate Park of Tampa
Now, I'm not just saying this but "I heart Skate Park of Tampa". Now that we have my unprofessional bias out of the way lets talk about how smart they are. Not only do these guys use the web to show off photos of all the great places they get to go as part of SPoTlight productions but they use it to push merchandise non stop. For their back to school sale they simply pulled together the most discounted stuff in the list and pushed that out to their front page. Considering they get more traffic than god how do you think their sell through rate went? I'd say it was probably pretty fucking good. Lesson to all you core shops: Get an e-commerce system up and running. If you are not selling online then you are an idiot. Who cares if a kid in Nebraska buys your Huntington Beach shop shirt. You just made a sale. All you penny pinchers. Check the link.


Ebay
OK, in the past week I've found several retailers who are selling through ebay stores. Also, all the f*cking sneaker heads must have had two year adjustable rate mortgages because there is some non stop sneaker dumping going on. I'm not sure who needs cash this fast. Nobody I know but, there has been a clearing house going on for Nike SB, Lakai and a few other brands over on the bay. If you are in need of new shoes this should be your first stop.

Backcountry, Dogfunk, Tramdock, Steep and Cheap, Whiskey Militia
Oh you silly funny Park City folk. I have no clue how this company is set up on the inside all I know is there have been a few purchases made on my part where these guys had to be losing money. On Any given day you can be surfing these sites and manage to find something priced a little bit too low.Vox Hewitts for $18 on Whiskey Militia or Steep and Cheap? Sure. Lakai's for $28 on backcountryoutlet.com ... hey why not. Funny, Lakai won't open my buddies shop but they sell their "core" shoes to backcountry.com. Totally core bro. Totally. Oh by the way that blinding white flash was sarcasm. But really, being very honest I love the fact that these guys a e out there.

Have a vendetta against anybody who is too core for school well...just buy here. later you can laugh when they're bragging about how they just paid $30 over MSRP at the local boutique shop. The best reason though is these guys can hook it up if you are really on tight budget. Bottom line the companies listed below are doing all of us with less dollars a big favor.
Backcountry.com
DogFunk.com
Backcountryoutlet.com
WhiskeyMilitia.com
SteepandCheap.com
Sacattack.com

The Targets
People can bash Shuan White till the end of time but I say "good for him" on going into Target. It's affordable, it's everywhere and hey if Shaun is getting paid that's fine by me. Maybe one day 'Blargin' will pay as good as being Shaun White. Not likely.

So what's the point here? My point is this: the economy sucks right now. Sure, it would be nice if all the companies out there selling product that support actions sports and lifestyle could get paid. But, gasoline is still near $4 a gallon, the price of food has gone up and the job market is shrinking. That doesn't mean you can't make your dollar work for you in a weak economy. That type of attitude will get you nothing but a van down by the river. Rough economic times are always interesting because those companies who are resourceful rise to the top and those who are not.... well, they never really mattered anyway now do they? Consumers will migrate to the best deal. So, as you head back to school or to work or to where ever you spend your day the information to tackle the crap-conomy head on is now in your hands. Dig it.

Fanning the F*ck Out

I really do love hearing pros talk about fanning out or random skaters. Mostly because skating is on of the few things that is built upon documented evidence (photos, footage) and myth (the always fun "I saw so and so do, say, etc this..."). So fanning out can be perceived as a good or a bad thing. Personally, I could give a shit less if somebody gets excited to watch a skater or meet a pro. That's good. Case in point: on You will Soon, Watson basically roadied for 4Star for a couple demos. The guys were all cool apparently and you can read for yourself over here.

Really, skating isn't brain surgery and we aren't curing cancer. Most everybody who skates either identifies with what skating represents, they do it for fun or a combo of the two. When I see amazing skating ... I get excited. I want to tell that person. I actually appreciate what they just did. Occasionally you get to do this with soem fo the best skaters out there. I'll side with Watson on this one how can you not get exited. Plus you end up with photos of Koston like this.

VIVA SKATEBOOK

Every time somebody comes over to the pad they end up picking up my copies of Skatebook. The always amazing publication is now entering a new phase of it's journey and guess what...it's going global. Not really, the truth of the situation is Skatebook is available to the masses.

Check it out on Skatebook.tv.

Issues #1

Issues #2

Issue #3

Are all available on Skatebook.tv. Use the promo code $aveslap! you get 15% off you order for a limited time.

Mid Week Fresh Part 1: Vans X In4mation Half Cab

Middle of the week is the best time to catch up with all sorts of droppage. Now in the plethora of shoes that are floating out here mid month Nike is unleashing a few quickstrikes and I'm sitting on the photos of Emerica - Etnies for spring 2009 but I have got to put out the big one for the Vans collab. some collabs are a bit half assed with a lame colorway that has no general tie. Others try a bit too hard and are so far over the top the message gets lost in the medium.

Not the case with the Vans X In4mation Half Cab. Taking denim and giving it an inside/outside treatment, splashes of herringbone and it's all grounded with the gum sole really takes a classic and gives it a new feel. I actually ma having a hard time trying to remember if anybody has cut this shoe before. I'm happy to be wrong but lets not mince words. This half Cab is just unique, clean and fresher than a four pack of spitfire F1's fresh out foof the wrapper.

Stay tuned...Emerica and Etnies Spring '09 are coming next.

Remember Mumbo Sauce Next Weekend

Hints, rumors and allegations have all been pointing to this film finally dropping. Sure, 'Ride the Sky' owned this summer from a hype standpoint. But, The last time a video came out of D.C.it was Chris Hall's 'Get Fam' and that video might not have introduced the world to Darren Harper and Bobby Worrest but it certainly reminded everybody that skate talent extends beyond New York, San Diego and Los Angeles. So it'll be exciting to see what's on film read the world from the Palace 5ive crew and start blocking off your schedule.

We're doing this one a little differently than we've done other
premieres. This time we're doing it extra big. We'll be grilling and
skating in the parking lot next door to Palace 5ive around 6PM. We're
going to have the Red Bull Jersey Barrier and some other stuff to
skate. Red Bull will be there again, & Palace 5ive's going to be
grilling some food for you as well.

THEN when the sun sets the party's
really gonna get started! Starting at 9PM we're going to have not one
but two World Premiere's for you. First up DLXSF & TWONINE Films
are bringing you the premiere of "Van Wastel's Behind The Griptape."
Then on to our main event for the evening, The World Premiere of Elite
Boardshop & Palace 5ive's first video offering "Mumbo Sauce."

This
is going to be one for the record books kids! Truly a once in a
lifetime event! Palace5ive will be closed during the premiere, but we
will re-open afterwards to sell the video. We're really excited about
this, and we hope you can all make it out to Palace 5ive.

P-Rod to Release R&B Album

Watson has the best fake press release skills of anybody out there. I'm just sayin'.

Where Did the Weekend Go?

Sooooooooo ... what the hell happened this weekend? For starters we had Banks Jam and Manny Mania. Unfortunately all my plans to travel fell through at the final moments, only to be revitalized and then...well fall through all over again. It was a roller coaster of emotions with highs and lows of epic proportions. Not really, to be honest being on the road for a month can drain you.

Enough of that crap though I'll stick to my original story. Blarghin' ain't paying the big bucks so we'll call this a choice of financial serenity. While I might not have got to the places I need to get to I assure you the information is coming. In the meantime you'll have to settle for Napoleon Bonaparte who was sent by Plan B to attend all these f*ckin' awesome events I did not get to attend. yes, that is somebody dressed up as Napoleon.

The record breaking clip posting goes to the iPhone wielding heads over at the Know Skateboarding Project. These guys managed to sneak out three Banks Jam clips and as always it looks amazing. Aside from watching these guys skate you can see just about every other person has an amazing video camera so I'm sure more footage will surface in the coming hours.

On the other hand I did manage to roll out west ward here in the Old Dominion for one of those fancy Krux kickflip challenges. the highlight? Stephen Jefferson dropping 107 kickflips in about the same time it takes me to land 10. This is where the satisfaction of tracking the locally grown skating comes in. Stephen was effortless and had miles of style to boot. All the other contestants: Dylan Anderson, Austin Stephens, and the kid skating for convoy who I am blanking on ... they are all on the come up. Solid all the way around and all your industry heads out there should keep your eyes open.

So New York City I'll see you in September. More to come ...

Late to the Game

I know it's old but I still enjoy this video...

Birdwell Britches: Cue the Laughter

Occasionally I stumble across something that is a little hard to believe it actually happened. I typically place this stuff under the "good joke" file. But, I found an old co-worker started a blog out of consumer frustration. Once I read through the e-mail chain I wasn't just laughing from the sheer lunacy of it all but the confusion as well. So the manufacturer/retailer in question is Birdwell Britches. But, lets tackle the first thing since most of you out there are right now saying: "who?"

Birdwell Britches is an old brand of boardshorts. every few years, Esquire or Outdoor life makes their list of 50 things every guy should own and these classic board shorts make the cut along side brands like Zippo lighters, a flask with your name on it and Blundstone boots. Think of the list as a more outdoorsy version of the Sharper Image. Do you need any of it? No. does the premise trade on the reputation of solid brands for many years to create credibility? Yes. Which is why I was confused at the customer service behavior service of Birdwell Britches. One would think that a simple: "please resubmit your order" would be fine. On the other hand if I were the customer I would have walked away and got something a bit more functional and how shall we say ... "updated". You can go out and buy anything that hasn't been updated in many years but that doesn't mean you're going to enjoy it. In looking at skateboards and snowboards from the 80's I certainly enjoy their graphics but compared to what's available today they pale in comparison. Unless you're one of the Daggers. Regardless, Birdwell Britches should realize that at minimum putting a couple hundred bucks into their website to make life easier for everybody (including themselves) wouldn't hurt. Sounds like this is a common occurrence.

I can't do the full thread justice but I have this down as recommended reading for your Wednesday afternoon. Trust me ... comedy will ensue.

Check out Birdwell Britches Buyers Beware!

Your Banks Jam Reminder

Get Your ass to New York City this coming weekend...

Quiksilver's All 80's All Day

You can thank Brink for surfacing this gem. the best photo is with Eddie Reategui. yeah check the jank- ass ramp he's managed to find himself on top of. Praise jeebus that takes some muscle to make that shit happen. That reminds me of how the 80's actually was. make sure you head over to Brinks site and check out the jump ramp sequences.

So What Was Good About the X Games Any way?

This photo of Eric Koston getting dunked on by Kobe.

Yeah so Eric told me..."get Kobe in the picture" and then proceeded to bust out the pose. Yep, some people keep skating and life fun. Thanks Eric and sorry I dropped a Celtics reference or twelve.

The Randoms of the Skate Wrap

So it took me approximately eight days to feel like I could write again. Yep, last week there was a wee bit of travel. Los Angeles for the X Games. Back to Washington D.C. and then off to Phoenix and back. Somewhere in all that and being back home I drank approximately enough adult Pepsi to pickle and elephants liver. It's hard work being me. But, now that I've put on enough weight to officially be classified as a hippo why don't we talk about some of the finer things happening out there.

I was sleeping under a rock for the first part of the summer and so busy writing for a few different companies that I never got to make it down to Duke St. in Alexandria when Zach Lyons and the Organika Tour rolled through on their build a nation tour. Lucky for me these guys are on it and I can catch up on what I missed out on by heading on over to the You Tubes ... it's on. I remember the week they were rolling through and hot it wasn't just hot but flat out oppressive it was like the Heat Miser was shoving you back into a house that had air conditioning when all you wanted was some freshy air. With all of Organika roots movement vibe and exceptional team is Organkia the new elements and does that make Zach the new Reese? Just sayin ...


Finally, after reading about it on TheForgottenCity.com for months it's about to premier. Mark your calendars and save the date... Mumbo sauce is dropping on 8/23/08. Festivities begin at 6 pm over at Palace 5 and the film goes on not to long after. All the important details are on the promo. What's even better? You're going to catch the premier of the Van Wastell Behind the Griptape. Rory Sheridan is back at.

"Fuck Yeah World"

So after more adult bread sodas and a day of work I care to forget we finally found our way to the Olympic ceremonies. "Fuck Yeah World" was all that was said. It was well stated and the Olympics are here. I could give a crap less if skateboarding is in there. It's a spectacle to behold.

and in the words of my man Hitch...
"Free Tibet Bitches!"

Ubiq's ?uestlove AF1 Release

I typically don't stray to far into the sneaker world outside of skate stuff. Also, considering most of my sneakers are either blue or black ... I can't really call myself a sneaker head. Pending your point of view that may be a good or bad thing. Recently, the guys at Ubiq Life up in Philly hosted a the release of ?uestlove (of Roots fame natch) Air Force 1 drop. The man behind the kit, the tables and who's been in the studio with the almighty Al Green showed up to make an appearance. He even showed up at 3 am to bring those guys in line donuts and milk.

This release was pretty interesting a massive chunk of the production run went straight to Ubiq and of course they sold out. The best part of it all? ?uestlove picked up the tab on the last five pairs of shoes. Admit it. Who cares about the shoes. The guy does a collab. He attaches his name to a product. Shows up to promote it and make it a memorable event for everybody willing to put their hard earned dollars into it. then throws down his own money for the last five people in line. yeah, bad ass. Read all about it over here on the Ubiq site.

Updated: On the Road at the X Games

Update 8/3: Vert Winners: Big Trouble on Little Ramp

Sheckler Locks up Street

Vert Update

Inside the DC Gold Standard

Update 8/1: Wow, Danny Way.

Update 7/31: Hello Los Angeles

7/30: A quick heads up. Starting...now. I am on the road at the X Games. So if you are looking for X Games updates Surf on over to Fuel.tv and follow along. Enjoy the action sports circus for the next few days.

Everything else can be found right here....same bat location. Now, I give you a random Shaun White commercial.