[Travel, (people!] skateboarding)

Three things I love: Travel, people, and skateboarding. Also, sentence fragments and sly imperatives.

Travel. 

Lets be honest. What would you rather do than to see the world? Whatever it is that you may enjoy in your day to day life, travel is an overarching theme that appeals to many. Sure, we all like to see new places and experience new things, but there is something more subtle inherent the act itself. Your mind starts to work differently. You not only explore uncharted to you areas of the world, but activate dormant neurons in your headspace as well. The mind starts to wander to areas previously left sans stimulation when you have only hundreds of miles of road to ponder. I highly recommend traveling alone, and with a goal in mind. 

People. 

People are good. I swear. Meeting new people not only grows your network of love; lets call it that, but also forces you to continuously check your own self against the convictions of others. The more people you meet, fully aware, the more you learn who you are by both your impulsive and calculated reactions. The most important thing to to constantly be aware. Of all things. 

Skateboarding. 

What's to say? If you skate, you know. The allegedly juvenile activity is firmly grounded in the previous two good things discussed here at the Kiln. It galvanizes people; lights a fire under the proverbial asses, to travel and explore cities in a way that, sadly, most of the others will never know. Skateboarding has a lot of money nowadays, which is great because it means that more travel is possible, and that people who enjoy the activity / art / sport can do it without the necessity for a "real job". Lets just all agree to remember why we started in the first place. 

Moses travelled with me to (you wouldn't guess that this is in greater, greatest?) LA

to visit a good old friend and a new one

Jason Park travelled to the very same LA, but from Hawaii, to film a part for Ilja Maran's upcoming video "Ground Control" - The video premieres in Long Beach on January 7th

Jason Park 360 flip

Jason Park Airwalk, film version is currently a latent image

Prime beachfront property

Oh just some beautiful man made things

Oh just some beautiful natural things

There's a girl in there

Ladies and gentlemen, the incomparable power duo of Lilly and Marcus

Dontcha know?

Intermission.

The following two photos are from Portland and made possible by Elliot Murphy. Thanks dude. 

Portland has a power duo as well; of Kyle Billups - Switch FS 180

And Erik Billups - BS Noseblunt Slide

Matt Lane BS Feeble, Summer 2011, as featured in the critically acclaimed Matt Lane ABDs Volume 3

Jason Ross FS Bluntslide Fakie - actually featured in the last TSM Photofile

Auby Taylor earlier this year at an LA School. I have literally no idea what happened to make this light leak, but I like it. 

Auby Taylor BS Tailslide (FS Shove out) You can see the sequence here.

Good Times

Photo Dump

Ok, here's how it's going to go: I'm going to not write anything interesting whatsoever, and post many many photographs that either already have or probably never will be printed. And you will look at them.  Goodbye!

Jason got all scabbed up skating the street in This classic part at 3:28

No respect

Jason Ross 180 SW FS Crook

Jason Ross 180 at another classic spot

There was more to this than meets the eye

Jason Ross FS Crook 180

Jason Ross Kickflip

Jason Ross Tailslide back on the east coast

Jeff Brewer Nollie bigspin

Joe Sudduth BS 5050

Joe Sudduth fs flip

Matt Lane 5-0 back east

Matt lane gap lipslide back east

Matt Lane Kickflip in Yonkers, NY: Printed in the latest Steeze issue

Matt Lane Nosegrind

This needs no caption

Matt Lane Varial heelflip in Boston: printed in latest Steeze

Moses Salazar 180 up

Moses Salazar BS Blunt back east

Moses Salazar FS FLip Wall St Gap: Printed in the latest Steeze with a little write-up I did. Pick up the issue on the east coast to heck it out!

Moses Salazar Polejam Tucknee

Nick Govatsos trashride back east

Nick Govatsos Hardflip 9

Nick Govatsos 5-0 back east. This was over a year ago, but I forgot about it. Fun fact... this one got made into a 5x5 foot print for a certain shop, and then got dicks drawn all over it. 

Oh, another jason photo snuck in... Nollie Heel in Providence

Oh, another Matt photo snuck in. Also an oldie from an NYC trip a couple years ago... Nose manual drop at Grant's tomb

Cheap thrills video ender. Quigz with a hill bomb in Woburn

Tony Potenti hardflip

Back from the days when I shot only film and made my life harder than it has to be. Waffle with a nollie BS 5-0 on a classic skate camera setup... fm2 w/ a 16mm ais 

Classic.

Things to be scared of

What shall go on this list... Let's keep it short and go with mediocrity. As I was falling asleep last night, the phrase "terrified of mediocrity" crept into my thoughts. The statement presents itself not as a plea for recognition, but rather as a motivation to keep on keeping on; to keep pushing for the things you believe in, and the things you know you are capable of.

Never Settle.

Now for the skate photos.

Jason Ross - Feeble pop over. After landing a couple of these, and being unsatisfied with the mediocre length of grind, Jason tried to go for a better one and got a glorious shinner by means of a skatestopper further on the rail. Nothing but a wrinkle in the day... the shredding continues. 

Jason Ross - Kickflip at a cutty ass, slightly skateable mediocre SF Spot that would likely be passed on by many others. It is a well known fact that the less skateable a spot is, the better of a photo it makes. 

Lee Goldberg - Ollie over a San Jose Bump to Hydrant. 

Tony Potenti - Rocket Air Fly out. Yes. This is a land. 

Kevin Leslie - Smith Grind. I shot this guy a couple months ago, and it was just featured in this month's photofile at the skateboard mag website. Check it while its hot!