bl!sss magazine | june 2012 | #58

BLISSS_SU12_FUSE.indd 1 5/15/12 9:56 AM

D Y L A N R I E D E R

design unlikely futures / analogclothing.com

Blisss_AG_Dylan_June12.indd 1 5/9/12 9:11 AM

B A R R Y M C G E ET H E B A L A N C E O F O P P O S I T E SR V C A . C O M

B A J A S U R

LETS SOCIALIZE

June Ad-BG.indd 1 5/17/12 11:24 AM

jake

jake johnson / gravisskateboarding.com

Blisss_Gravis_Jake_June12.indd 1 5/9/12 9:17 AM

The all-new acid tortoise frogskins

2012 Oakley, Inc. 800.320.9430

Unnatural selection

Blisss May Acid Frogskin 21.5x14.125.indd 1 12-04-23 12:35 PM

0RVNRYDB$GYHUWB&RFR+RB36LQGG 30

RANDOMS // 32PRODUCT REVIEW // 38GREG BATMAN DAVIS // 40PAT PERRY // 42TIM HENDRICKS // 44DOUG GARTH WILILAMS // 46INSTAGRAM @OLSONSTUFF // 50SUPER TASTE // 54NIKE LOWERS PRO // 56VANS PRO-TEC POOL PARTY // 58VQS VOLCOMANIA // 60LAST NAME FIRST // 64THE ART OF BARRY MCGEE // 70RILEY STEVENS // 78FASHION // 84JUSTIN BENNEE // 92BARRY MCGEE AT PRISM GALLERY // 98SESAME STREET AT KNOWN GALLERY // 100RIVIERA CATALINA CLASSIC // 102ACTIVE BRO-DOWN SHOWDOWN // 104VOLCOMS ANTHONY AUSGANG PARTY // 106COMUNE PRESENTS OFFSET // 108ALLAH LAS // 110CD REVIEWS // 112GROMS // 116

Photo: Barry McGEE

TOC

2012 SHOT BYANTON RENBORGwww.wesc.com

C O M E S W I T H E X T R A S E T O FI N T E R C H A N G E A B L E A R M S

2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.

C O M E S C O M E S W I T H E X T R A S E T O FW I T H E X T R A S E T O FI N T E R C H A N G E A B L E I N T E R C H A N G E A B L E A R M SA R M S

2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.2012 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.

Bliss Mag Ford Archbold 21x13.625.indd 1 12-05-18 9:52 AM

ALL WE HAVEIS NOW

W W W . E Z E K I E L U S A . C O M

PRODUCED IN CALIFORNIA // UNITED STATES

SUMMER TWO THOUSAND 12 // ALL WE HAVE IS NOW

EZEKIEL CLOTHING CO X JAY DIEBEL

WWW.EASY-KILL.TUMBLR.COM

JUNE_BLISSS.indd 9 5/10/12 12:31 PM

Disclaimer: Although all best efforts are made to avoid the same, we reserve the right to publish unintentional mistakes and/or factual errors which may occur on a monthly basis. No responsibility is assumed by the publishers for unsolicited materials/articles/letters/advertising and all submissions will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright and/or appropriate licensing purposes subject to Blisss right to edit and comment editorially. The views and opinions expressedinthismagazinereecttheopinionsoftheir respective authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial team. Blisss Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter which may reect negativelyon the integrity of the magazine. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form [print or electronic] without prior written consent from the publisher.

If your favorite shop isnt receiving BL!SSS Magazine please contact [email protected]

JUNE 2012

EDITOr- IN-CH IEFnick [email protected]

EDITORjoey [email protected]

CREATIVE DIRECTORmark paul [email protected]

ASSISTANT EDITORspencer [email protected]

EDITOR AT LARGEliz rice [email protected]

SKATE EDITORchris [email protected]

SNOW EDITORjon [email protected]

MUSIC EDITORmax [email protected]

ADVERT IS [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSJason Kenworthy, Dominic Petruzzi, Daniel Russo, Toby Ogden, Tom Carey, Brian Beilmann, Jack Coleman, Andrew Mapstone, Adam Moran, Dave Nelson, Pat Eichstaedt, Julien Lecorps, Ryan Boyes, Zach Hooper, Tim Peare, Michael Lallande, Bob Plumb, Peter Morning

CONTRI BUTORSMatt Patterson, Willie Marshall, Daniel Russo, Jason Arnold, Greg Escalante, Nathan Spoor, Tom Carey, Travis Millard, David Choe, Kai Garcia, Mickey Neilsen, Peter Townend, Hamilton Endo, Tawnya Schultz, Mike Murciano, Geoff Shively, Casey Holland, Steve Stratton, Robbie Sell, Andrew Miller, Pat Towersey, Raul Montoya, Ian Dodge, Spencer Pirdy, Richie Olivares, Eric Meyers

BL!SSS Magazine413 31st StreetNewport Beach, CA 92663www.blisssmag.com

Cover Artist: Barry McGee

ALEX KNOST WEARING THE DORSET IN BROWN + WHITEThrough The Eyes of Jon Johnson

BLISS_Knost-DORSET.indd 1 5/22/12 4:10 PM

John John Florence

tNFUFSXBUFSSFTJTUBOUtIBOE+BQBOFTFNPWFNFOUt4UBJOMFTTTUFFMDBTFXJUIEPNFEIBSEFOFENJOFSBMDSZTUBM

OJYPODPN

QUAD_NEONORANGE_JohnJohn_RHP_BLISS.indd 1 4/24/12 10:09 AM

It seems like juice bars are sprouting up everywhere nowadays, but luckily wevefoundonejustdownthestreetfromourofcethatistopnotch.Ourfriend Mike is the owner of Extract Juice Bar and he gave us the grand tour of their new spot located right off of Balboa Blvd before 32nd street. The interior of the place is fashionably decorated with comfortable couches and a welcoming environment, but the real game changer came when we sippedourrst fewgulpsof thesweet juices theyrepumpingout.Thedrinks are epic and they offer the perfect remedy to help you feel great throughout your day. Its a perfect addition to the area and were excited to see another healthy option close to us.

32

In a true sign of how well rounded young John John Florence is, the Hawaiian just took out tour veteran Joel Parkinson inthenaloftheBillabong Pro in Rio de Jainero, Brazil. Florence, whos been seen tear-ing up every wall of water from Southern California to South America, is reallyonaroll.HecameblazingoutofthegatesintheBrazilnalwithhisrstwavenettinghima9-pointrideforafullrotationbackside360air,afterthatheneverlookedback,andParkowasneverabletondhimselfback into the heat. With John Johns versatility in any and all conditions and the fact that hes now ranked 6th in the world, we have a feeling that John has as good of a chance as anyone at taking the top spot by the end of the year.

Our good friend and world-class skater Andre Genovisi and his friend Vina, whos not too shabby on a skateboard himself, cameby the ofce tolet us know about a new foun-dation Vina started called Next Up. The Next Up Foundation provides kids with after-school and summer mentoring pro-grams that teach todays youth life skills through the power of skateboarding. The foundation is entirely grassroots and really focuses on giving back through a common bond and love for the sport of skateboarding. Kids are getting hands on mentor-ing from present day pros and legends alike, and we couldnt be more stoked to see Vina and Andre doing what they do best and helping the younger gen-eration to prosper. Tondoutmore about the foundation visit nextupfoundation.com.

Analog has been making some well-calculated moves lately. Theyve nallyrelocatedtheirofcestoamuchmorecentrallyconvenientspotin Costa Mesa, aka theyre closer to the beach, and theyve acquired young Floridian Oliver Kurtz as a big addition to their surf team. Oliver isknownforhisferociouscarvesandcommittedabovethelipsurng,andwethinkthatllmeshjustnewithlikesofChippa, Nathan and the other AG crew. MoysaandOliverstoppedbytheofcetoletusknowthatthingsarenowofcialandthatOliverwillbemakinghispresenceknown in SoCal over the summer months. Check out him and the rest of the Analog team at analogclothing.com for more action.

EXTRACT

OLIVER TO ANALOG

NEXT UP FOUNDATION

HAPPY BEACH

TWO JOHNS TAKES BRAZIL

Jack Colemanstoppedbytheofceto give us our own copies of his lat-est and greatest portrayal of some of surngs most animated stars,entitled Happy Beach. Summer is hereandHappyBeachwilldenitelyrevive your inner child and have you sprinting for the waters edge. This lm is a cinematic adventure fea-turing diverse forms of hedonism with the likes of Andrew Doheny, Ford Archbold, Josh Hoyer, Mr. Reynolds, Chippa Wilson, Ozzie Wrong and Al Knost. Make sure to get a copy for yourself and if theyre all sold out just look for Mr. Coleman to be parading along the shores of Newport with his moppy hair and camera in hand and were sure hell be able to lend you a copy.

Following the untimely passing of legendary surf shop owner, Rob-ert Russell Brown, the boys at Russell Surfboards have stepped up to the plate to keep the ship running. With owner JP Roberts putting a fresh spin on the timeless aesthetic of the Russell Surf-boards storefront and Ryan Reynosa managing and working in ev-ery area of surfboard production, the boards are looking as good as ever. Not having to subcontract the work is what keeps the prices low and the quality top notch. Top of the line and affordable wet-suits, leashes, traction pads and more have been added to the retail store menu as well. Stop in this summer as Russell celebrates 45 years of hardcore board building and great customer service.

Our friend Mike Vavak let us know about a demo day going down in Sunset Beach this month thatd be a great event for the whole family. Its called the Demo Day of Epic Proportions and it involves Body Glove Wetsuits, Lost Surf-boards and Future Fins coming to-gether to bring you all of their latest suits,boardsandns.ComedowntoAnderson St. in Sunset Beach on Fri-day, June 15th and try products from three of Americas favorite brands. The demo starts at 8am and ends at noon. All you need to shred is a valid ID. So make sure to make it down to Anderson St. for a test run of some of thenestgearandproductsthatthesurf industry has to offer.

While You Were Sleepingwasagraftiandpopculturemagazine started in 1997 by Roger Gastman. Well, after a brief hiatus from WYWS Roger is back to give the people what they want and he has compiled all of the best and worst of While You Were Sleeping stories that were published over the years for The Worst of While You Were Sleeping. These are stories, images and interviews that pushed the envelope to the other side of the room. Were talking inter-viewswiththebestgraftiandstreetartists,storiesonad-mirable serial killers and all the other inexplicably hilarious debauchery that WYWS is known for. The book is 496-pages of eye-popping madness and we cant wait to get our own. Rest assured this will be one that everybody will be talking about so get a copy before theyre gone.

Our friend Ira Daugherty came by the BL!SSS headquarters this past month to say hi and catch up with the boys.Helledusinonwhathesbeenup to and we wanted to let all of you out there in BL!SSSville know that if anyone is looking to train Jiu Jitsu, Ira is your man. Hes been training in martial arts for over 14-years and has competed all over the globe, from Portugal, Australia and even Ja-pan. He spent over a year living in Brazil, learning the history and origi-nal techniques from Jiu Jitsu masters and obtained his black belt over a year ago from Hawaiis legendary Kai Garcia. Moskovas got his back and so do we. For private lessons and to get more information contact Ira at [email protected].

BANZAI HB

WYWS

TRAIN WITH IRA

HFL HARDCORE

RUSSEL SURFBOARDS

HFL is returning to the stage after a seventeen-year hiatus. After the death of bass player Mike Bell and lead guitar player Joey Hughes, HFL decided it was time to light the torch in their memory by getting back together, writing a new re-cord, and playing some live shows. Check outtheirrstliveshowwithSmut Ped-dlers, Dissension, Love Canal and Rat City Riot. Youll be able to see the likes of Joel Bull, Jeff Bell, Pat Hall, Sam Marrs and Mark Blaster. Its all going down Friday, June 15th at the Observa-tory. All ages will be welcome and the show will begin at 7pm. Make sure to stop by and partake in what is guaranteed to be a night to remember!

34

DEMO DAY

brixton.com

TAYLOR BINGAMAN

BrixtonAd_Bliss-0612.indd 1 5/18/12 4:19 PM

Long time supporter and dear friend of the magazine, EG Frantan-taro, has just opened his new skate shop in Laguna Beach. Hand-plantislocatedonPCH,justsouthofThaliaStreetat1025SouthCoast Highway on the ocean side. With brands such as Sector 9, JSLV, Habitat, Alien Workshop, Creature, Independent, Su-pra and Project Canvas theres something for everyone. Not only a full-service skate shop, the store also dubs as an art gallery with a new artist rotating in every month. First up was legendary photog-rapher Jorge Salas and on deck is professional skater Kris Mark-ovich. Next time youre in beautiful Laguna Beach we highly recom-mend you stop in and check it out, you might even catch EG with a beer in hand telling shop stories.

OWEN MAXFIELD

Hurley has two events to kick start your summer with the bigger of the two being Blacked Out, is in conjunction with the launch of the Phantom Fuse Boardshort. Its a collective of drawings and paint-ings inspired by the Phantom Fuse, the newest generation of Hur-leys 4-time SIMA award-winning boardshorts. This free, one-night-only, all-ages event features origi-nal works of art, creatively focused on black and one-color designs as showcased on the Phantom Fuse. Big name artists with featured work include: Dalek, CR Stecyk, Vizie, Pose, Big Foot and many more. Blacked Out will take place at the Hurley headquarters on Fri-day, June 22 from 6-9pm. Next up, The Art of Noise, is a group show of photographers, painters, screen printersandcraftsmendeningtheface of music. This all-ages exhibi-tion will take place on June 7th at 225 Forest Ave in Laguna Beach, with the opening reception from 6-9 pm with live music and snacks. It will remain on display through August 5th. Make sure to start off the summer right by making it to both events and well see you there!

36

DEATH SQUAD

HANDPLANT

YOURIDING.COM

For the past few seasons, Mammoth Mountain local Luke Mitrani has been leav-ing quite a mark on the world of snowboarding. He blew minds in2011bypostingthehighestrecorded Dew Tour score ever, getting a 97 and winning the half pipe event all in one spec-tacular display of talent and hes backing it up every time he drops in. Being big fans of the 21-year-old, the folks of Vestal have meticulously waited for the right moment to bring Luke onto their team. Well, now its ofcialandLukewillbejoiningthe likes of Danny Kass and Eddie Wall as part of the elite Vestalsnowteam.LuketstheVestal music, action, fun culture perfectly and were sure to see the duo blowing up big very soon.

HURLEY ART OF NOISE/ BLACKED OUT

Long-time public relations su-per-stand-out AshtonMaxeld and his lovely wife Tammy wel-comedtheirrstsonOwen into the world this past month and are now among the ranks of the sleepless. Ashton cut his teeth at Quiksilver and spent the bet-ter part of a decade heading up public relations for Etnies before branching out on his own with Master Plan Communications. Now he really has something to brag about. A big congratula-tions goes to Ashton and his wife on their new baby boy Owen!

VESTAL SNAGS MITRANI

As most of you know, weve recently seen a huge crossover from action sports and the motorcycle world. Out of the dirt comes a company called Death Squad, who hasnt had to buy or fake their way into the motorcycle world. Death Squad is the actu-al 1% out there that knows motorcycles and can build a bike from scratch. Theyre also huge supporters of skateboarding and surngandhavebignameson their roster likeCorey Duffel, Bobby Worrest, and Gareth Stehr. Theyre continuing to grow theirteamwithguyswhoridebikesfastashellandttheDeathSquad mold. All their products are made in the good old US of A and they manufacture parts for almost all high performance bikes. Keep your eyes open for the Death Squad Doom Riders or check them out at deathsquadmc.net.

Analog: analogclothing.com Volcom: volcom.com Summer Teeth: summerteeth.com Hurley: hurley.com LRG: l-r-g.com Electric: electricvisual.com RVCA: rvca.com

LAID OUT

12TLD_CASUAL_REDSTRIPES-MCQUEEN_SINGLE 1 5/9/12 11:21 AM

40

In themid 1950s, at around 9-years-old, Gregory Davis began his fascination with the newly emerging TV show Batman. Greg mimicked the cape crusader at school and while on the streets in South Central. At that age, Gregory began getting the nickname of Batman for his resemblance to the character by bringing a towel wrapped around his neck to school as well as for histenaciousghtingskillsanddeanceof authority. Greg took a liking to the dangerous lifestyle - he saw older boys in his neighborhood living and closely followed the gang movement that was emerging prior to the Watts riots of 1965. In the summer of 1969, when his friend Raymond Lee Washington started the Baby Avenue Cribs, Batman became one of the rst original 10 members.The Cribs were modeled after the Black Panthers and the Avenues Gang and wore leather coats. By 1972 the Cribs were a legitimate street gang and Batman was right there in the thick of the gun smoke. The Cribs eventually came to be known as the Crips after a newspaper referred to them as young cripples and from then on the name stuck.

By the time Batman was 16 he had been expelled from almost every school in the Los Angeles Unied SchoolDistrict. Armed robbery, ghting andcruising the streets packing was second nature. Soon he was being sent away to JobCorps inUtahandnally,YouthAuthority in an attempt to derail his gangster aspirations but it was no use. One night Batman was picked up by a few crooked cops they attempted to get rid of Batman for good and dropped him off in a rival gangs neighborhood. Instantly, Batman was surrounded by 15 Bloods and was beaten to a pulp, leaving him with scars that are still visible from the incident today. For years Batman played chicken with the law, going from jacking cars to selling PCP or whatever the lucrative route at the time called for. He did some time, but for most of his bigger charges of assault and murder he was able to evade hefty sentences in the pen. However, Batman was forced to serve years at a time with the likes of the infamous Skid Row Stabber, Bobby Joe Maxwell, and even Charles Manson, who he interacted with at times. While Batman was in prison for weapons

charges, he caught wind that Crips co-founder Raymond Washington had been murdered. This was a big reality check for Batman, because he knew that if hed been out of prison he probably wouldve been right next to Raymond when the shooting went down.

Once released, Batman met up with a man by the name of Fast Eddie, the owner of a local steakhouse, who was convincing Batman to start a new life. Batman was getting older and guredhe might as well give it a shot. It was then that he met his wife-to-be, Karen Stewart, and became friends with ex-NFL player and actor Jim Brown. Jim opened up Batman to serving his community by participating in proactive panels that could help to steer troubled youths in the right direction. Batman spoke in schools and prisons nationwide and eventually went on to start his own non-protorganizationcalledLetsSavethe Babies. He married Karen and had the wedding in Jim Browns backyard in theHollywoodHills.Now,over40yearsafter the Crips started, Batman is still residing in Southern California, alive

and well, with plenty of exciting stories and wounds to show from his gang-bangin days. Its a life that hed at times rather forget, but he now uses his past experiences and wisdom to help others.

The life of a gang member, while usually short, can be extremely thrilling and rewarding. Women, money, cars, guns and drugs are just a few of the alluring gifts the lifestyle teases you with. But for the most part, gangsters follow a way of life that usually leads them into being stuck behind bars or their graves being dug much too soon. The future of a gangster is not a bright one, but sometimes there are those who seem to defy the norm, and in this case Greg Batman Davis has achieved just that. Batman is now looking at the brighter side of life. Of course, he still has all of the scars and police records to prove that he is and always will be one of the most notorious original gangsters to still be walking this earth today. For more on Batman and his tales check out Roger Gastmans Greg Batman Davis: Original Gangster.

46B4XLN(\HZHDU6LQJOH3DJHB%OLVVVB)HUULVB-XQHB[LQGG 30

Memories shape our thoughts, but even memories fail us over time and are eventually shut off forever. What is important now, for reasons of survival or pleasure, is not important indenitely. This blurs the importance of our days and questions thenormality of routine habits. Ephemera places all things on an equal plane. On an equal plane, paper, board, or surface, I bring together what has passed and soared abovetherigorousltrationprocessthisawarenessoftransiencehascreatedinsideof me.

With my paintings and drawings, I aim to pull an audience the same way I strive to pull myself. Pull them out of normality and transport them to an unfamiliar place in which they can experience wonder on a small scale. A place where memories can be an activator. I record and survey my perceptions through many different places and situations.Ithensharethemwithothersinhopesthattheyndtheserecordingseye opening and will be encouraged to revisit their own assumptions pertaining to how they measure importance. The nomad and vagabond do not believe in the secure object. In the way that Arte Povera challenged the settled order of things, somust the nomad in lacking to nd residence in facades of everyday life andthe institutional fallacies we all rely on. I value the process of life and of living, as Richard Long did when he went for walks. My art is only the documentation and survey of the experience itself. The real beauty is in the experience, and Ill attempt

to translate this beauty in hopes of making a real connection with my audience.

Wherever the particular place may be, and whatever the survey is focused on with each new body of work, the search goes on. My process starts out with lots of sketching, writing and photographing. These three activities are the main ways I can collect data during times that would be inconvenient to create a full, completed artwork. When beginning paintings, I work from this data. I combine these fragments of place or object with an allegorical vocabulary and patterns from my imagination. Whether using paint, graphite or ink as a medium, I combine imaginative subject matter with scenes and objects from everyday life to instill a balance of familiarity without the fallacy of assumption.

Ordinaryorextraordinary,insignicantorsignicant,thesedecisionsareforeachof us to make on our own. Too long have we apathetically let societal foundations overbearingly decide these for us. In deciding for myself and making it apparent in my artwork, I am promoting to restart the conversation. All is on an equal inescapable path to completion, and thus all place and feeling is equally worth interpreting. Finally, each person within themselves is equally worth interpreting it.

To check out more of Pat Perry go patperry.net.

42

Words: Pat Perry

.&())$'+"*/)%$")*/"$**$*%$*%*"*-%%"(03)%*%$()%#$3)%""*%$$"+)%+($-)%$)$)%("),#"##$/%""%$),""$,,()%"%(%&*%$)$/"!(/$/"!(/)*"+(&"(/$/"!(!+(&"(/(!+(&"$/"!%&&($/%(*%)%&&($(!(%-$%&&(

%(+($ *$/"%$*+($"*-*%"/(%$*/(%"$2&%"(0"$))#!)*)%""*%$)+**%#**""$)%*,)&%(*))-"")$*,")*/"

1

www.HOBIEPOLARIZED.com

"/(*(-($/

44

Interview: Liz rice McCray

My name is Tim Hendricks, Im a Southern California native that has pretty much always wanted to be an artist since I can remember. With the limited amount of time twenty four hours of a day allows, I try and create as much as possible. I tattoo, hand make tattoo machines, put together tattoo art reference books, draw, paint, run a small tattoo supply business, work on my lowrider, and surf as much as possible. Lately I have been working on tshirts and other apparel accessories.

It only seems natural that you would start doing your own t-shirts, can you tell us how it all came about? Have you been thinking about this for a long time? Ive wanted to make shirts for myself for such a long time, just aching to. Ive been designing for RVCA for a long time now and theyve been awesome and so great to work with, they give their artists such creative space. In recent years though, Ive realized that a good chunk of the drawing and paintings I create are too distinct of a style to be on any different brand of shirt other than my own. I looked at it from an artists perspective and said to my friend, Why cant we just put paintings on shirts, or my drawings? Why do they have to beconnedtoarectangularpieceofpaperor

canvas? And that is where it all sparked from. Im so sick of the same old stuff on shirts, I wanted to do something different.

How have the shirts been received? What has been the feedback? I know you have a crazy, cult fanbase following, have people caught on to your t-shirts yet?Yeah, I received a lot of great responses. Especially from the designs that are somewhat of unorthodox compared to the usual tees you see people wearing. If theres a cult following out there then bless every one of them! Im just very grateful people would want to wear my art on their clothes, let alone their bodies too.

You are well known as a tattoo artist and have been featured on such shows as Miami Ink. Personally, I have known you from your art career and not necessarily from your tattoo career, you do much more than people know. Youre a husband, tattoo artist, reality TV star, build one-of-a-kind tattoo machines, surf, sculp, create art and now a t-shirt line, how do balance all of these things? And where do you get your inspiration and drive from?I dont know about reality TV star, Im just

a bad actor who knows how to tattoo well, haha. I dont really balance all this too well, its a mess really, but there is a method to my madness and I have great help from great friends. My inspiration now just comes from life in general. Ive already milked all the inspiration out of my drugged-out, sad and lonely years, I am over that shit. If I keep myself open visually and mentally on a daily basis then there is inspiration everywhere.

I know you are a second generation artist, your dad, Don Hendricks, was a brilliant watercolorist. Would you say his workinuencesyours?Ifso,how?What

do you think he would think about your shirts?Yes, my father was an awesome artist. He inuencesmeonadailybasis,evenifIdontnotice it. Not only just in art but also in the way him and my mom taught me how to live life.Theygavemecondencetopursuethislife and not pay too much attention to what our society tells you is a safe path. I cant be certain what he would think of the unique artistic path I chose, but I can say he made it clear to me that he didnt care what I did in life, just as long as I enjoyed what I did and I was a good person he would be proud.

You have created thousands of paintings and drawings, how are you choosing the designs for each shirt? Are you going through your art chronologically or are the designs you have chosen symbolic?Sadly enough, a lot of my work has been sold or lost or given away long before I could get a photo or scan of it. So I am using images, paintings and drawings Ive been saving just for this moment. Some of them Ive never even made prints of. One of the designs we call Daily Habit is actually a drawing I made in the nineties in pencil, its on my oldest friends wall in his house. In fact, come to think of it, you have one of my personal favorite watercolor/pencil drawings on your wall, huh?

Yes I do! Thank you, and if you ever need to scan it, I think it would be amazing shirt. Thank you Tim for taking the time to do the interview, we are excited to see more of your shirts, where can people buy your shirts and check out your art?You can purchase the shirts onsaltwatertattoosupply.com and you can viewall my art and tattoos on timhendricks.com.

Photo: Steve Rogers

A M B I G A D D I C T E D A R T I S T S A S S O C I A T I O N

P H O T O _ B R I A N H A N S O N

F A C E B O O K . C O M / C A T P A R T Y M U S I CA M B I G . C O M

CAT PARTY

Doug Garth Williams is an eccentric artist based in the San Francisco bay area. His work consists of predominantly video-based explorations of both the fundamental properties that unconsciously direct human behavior, and the way those properties can be consciously manipulated to alter perception, sway opinion and achieve compliance. The work is nuanced and clever but easily accessible. Often humorous and unsettling in equal measure, it seems to appeal equally to art gallery regulars as well as lets say art gallery irregulars. It is uncommon and refreshing to see smart work that carries such a wide appeal. According to Doug, his favorite moment from his last show was seeing a pair of young children entranced by his mildly disturbing interactive installation. IfaveyearoldlikesitIknowImdoingsomethingright. Each time his pieces are installed in a gallery or museum setting, they seem to provoke a range of genuine outbursts, which frankly doesnt

happen nearly enough in those spaces. Whether its laughter, alarm, or bewilderment, they get a real response. In his own words, one of Dougs aims is to playfully confound expectations. As a result his work often catches us by surprise in unguarded moments. Along with an impressive number of single channel videos created over the last few years, his projects have included interactive video projects, multimedia installations, and public interventions. He is the recipient of several recent fellowships and awards including the Franklin Furnace Fund Award. He has also won jury prizes at festivals and has had 18 piecesshowninmorethan40exhibitionsandscreeningsingalleries,museums,andlmfestivalsaroundtheworld. Doug also professionally crafts music videos and other projects for hire. You can see much of his work and contact him at dougisfamous.com.

46

Still From : Four Generations

/ BEN BOURGEOIS wears the HELMwww.spyoptic.com

T H E J U I C E I S W O R T H T H E S Q U E E Z E

spy_blisss_ben_0812_FINAL.indd 2 5/11/12 2:09 PM

1.

2.

4.

5.

2.

3.

@blisssmag

50

Still got it // Atiba // My creator // Fake Scott Oster

Bubbles NYC // Spanky // Aron the Won Ton Don // Jake

Donny Wilson AKA my babysitter // Charlie Smith // Bruce Webber // Sad face

Atiba // Kenny A // Dick head // Son of A

Mad art // LSD

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

@olsonstuff

Instagram photos by:

Alex Olson

Photo: Dominic Petruzzi : dominicpetruzziphoto.com // Model: Kelli // Agency: Pinkerton: pinkertonmodelandtalent.com

Kelli is a welcome sight to see for those of you who have been patiently awaiting the coming of summer. Summer means a few months of basking in the sun, enjoying long days at the beach and hopefully meeting some scantily clad ladies like Kelli. Yes, summer is a time of enjoyment and relaxation. So, whether youre working a strict 9-5 job or living the free and easy life, be sure to reward yourself by indulging in the gifts that summer throws our way. So, heres to Kelli and what will hopefully turn out to be a memorable summer for everyone.

Hair & Makeup: Lauren Breedon :: laurenbreedon.com // Retouch: JasonSchorle.com

54

ThenalhornhasblownandGabrielMedinaisbeingcarriedupthebeachbyaslewofecstatic family members and friends. Many onlookers are smiling and applauding his feat for overtaking the worlds best during a week where Lowers dished out above picturesque, and at times excellent, rights and lefts for everyone from Freddy P to Julian Wilson to partake in.

But right about now some of the smiles and positive body language were seeing are masking dark inner thoughts. Deep down inside some of you are saying, Damn it, Miguel last year and Gabriel this year, really? Or like a good friend of mine cursed post Medina victory,Hedoesthesameefngthingevery time!Peoplearehatingandeverythingisnt as it seems. Unless, of course, youre from Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro or maybe you really are stoked for the young Brazilian. Most of you were pulling for Glenn though, the under dog, the Irish-Aussie who came virtually out of nowhere. Some of the other crowd favorites like Julian, who tactically self-destructed, went down early. Tanner and PatlookeddestinedtoseekrevengeonTannerssecondplacenishtoMiguelin2011,but it wasnt meant to be. So, it was Glenn Hall, carrying the weight of upsetting a young superstar on his shoulders. Hes been slugging it out for years and is a world-class surfer worthy of recognition. But this result mightve thrust him into the limelight that normally eludes struggling talents like Glenn.

So, why are you rooting against Gabriel? Do you see the Brazilian contingent as evil? Is it because you cant understand a lick of Portuguese? Or do you peg the whole nation as wave hungry heat machines that sit on fellow competitors? Whatever the case may be, wendanyexcusetorootfortheopposingside.AndwithalldorespecttoGlennHall,who surfed spectacular, the event was Gabriels for the taking from the beginning. Gabriel surfed his round of 96 heat like it was an expression session. He couldve easily racked up avideopartfromtheamazingmaneuvershelaunchedandpulledontheawlessLowerswalls. He was consistent from Round three all the way to the Final, with two heat totals in theeventabove19points(outofapossible20)andhislowestheatscorecameduringthenal,a15.67-anoteworthyperformancebyanystandards.Hedominatedthewholedamn event. Never mind the fact that hes not as adored by most Americans like Kolohe is, or by Australians like Julian is. He is Brazils biggest rising hope for a world title, and in a surf world full of rodeos and supermans as the norm, Gabriel brings all of that and the consistencyandcompetitivesavvythatIdaresaymirrorssomeofthegreatsofsurng.So, put aside your preconceived notions about Brazzos, stop hating, and start accepting that Gabriel was the man of the event and has earned the right to hold the Nike Lowers Pro trophy high.

Words: Spencer Pirdy :: Photos: Courtesy ASP/Rowland

John Florence

56

Gabriel Medina

Tanner Gudauskas

Dane ReynoldsGlenn Hall

Jeremy Flores

Pat Gudauskas Gabriel Medina

Rune Glifberg

Christian Hosoi

In life, people will sometimes offer up this cautionary clich, Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. The origins of this piece of so-called advice date back as far as Shakespeare, but the bard never had the chance to witness a little thing we call skateboarding. Of course, to those of us living in the present, the mere idea that there could somehow be too much skateboarding of this quality is ludicrous. That said, the eighth annual Vans Pro-tec Pool Party delivered every bit as much excitement and intensity as the prior seven.

In a scenario that could not have been scripted better by Hollywoodsnestscreenwriters,theMastersnalfeatured4 out of 6 of the famed Bones Brigade who are the subject of Stacy Peraltas latest documentary effort. Over the past fewyears,areunionhasbeenslowlybuildingasrstSteveCaballero, then Tony Hawk, and this year, Mike McGill, joined the ever-present six-time veteran Lance Mountain in a throw-down of legendary proportions. This quartet of renowned heavyweights would eventually sweep the top fourspots,ghtingoffthelikesofdarkhorseEricNashwhowassimplyonre,theeversmoothandpowerfulChristianHosoi, Tony Magnusson, Nicky Guerrero, and Lester Kasai. They also took advantage of a few uncharacteristic falls from thenormallyawless,6-timePro-tecchampionChrisMiller,who has taken six of the eight titles awarded at the Combi. Whenthedustnallysettledonthedecks,Caballerocameout victorious, in spite of a nagging shoulder injury. Stevie celebrated the anniversary of his signature Vans shoe in style andtookhome$14,000forhiseffort.Hawk,Mountain,andMcGill took second through fourth respectively. Mike McGill brought the house down with an authentic McTwist to kick off an incredibly seat-of-the-pants run. A special highlight of this years Masters event came in the form of one Eddie El Gato Elguera who returned to competitive skating and displayed moves he pioneered like the frontside rock and roll, frontside invert, and his signature Elguerial.

As far as the ever-explosive Pro division was concerned, anyone looking for someone or something to keep this thing hot was rewarded with multiple examples of the forward progression and expression of the rolling art. In addition to thetenheavynalists,thepreliminaryheatswerepepperedwith hot shoes and upstarts, mavericks and maniacs. Greyson Fletcher, Kevin Kowalski, and Charlie Blair skated well beyond the possessed mode, padless as well as fearless. Pint-sized pre-teen phenom Tom Schaar dialed in lines well beyondhisyearsanduncorkeda720inthesquare.Topthismix off with servings of Brad McClain, and Alex Perelson, with a side of Tony Trujillo, and youve got world war three evenbeforethenalsgotunderway.Thecuttotenyieldedaselectionoffamiliarfacesincludingreigning2011championPedroBarros,2010victorBuckyLasekandthree-timewinnerRuneGlifberg.Ofcoursethistrioguredheavilyinthehuntforpodiumspots,butconsiderationwasdenitelywarrantedfor the newcomer and winner of the recent amateur Combi contest, Austin Poynter, who regularly hovers more than

ten feet out of the bowl. Austins debut landed him in the nine spot in the pressure-cooker environment of the Combi. By all appearances Rune Glifberg was out for blood this year, and with Bucky Lasek back from injury after missing 2011,thetopthreespotsweregoingtobehardtocrackforanybody but a past champion. Andy Mac and Nolan Munroe campaignedhardbut fell justshortandnished in fourthandfth.BuckysuniquelinesandapproachincludingtricksYOU cant do, looked for a time as if it would hold up to the power onslaught laid down by Rune and Pedro. But deep into thenalruns,Runesimplypulledouteverythinghehadandheldthegaspedaltotheoor.Itbecameadogghtbetweenhim and Pedro, in which each scorching run laid down was answered by the next skater. It was Pedro Barros in the end, barelyclosingthedooronRunewithrstamassive,blind-side alley-oop indy air transfer into the round, and then a tailgrabvariantofthesamemoveblendedintotwoawlessruns.Pedrodefendedhis2011titlewithRunetakingsecondand Bucky taking the three spot.

In essence, all things have a shelf life, but for the time being at least, and in the foreseeable future, the Pool Party has yet to become stale. Something new? Always. Something old? Of course. Something borrowed? Occasionally. Something black and blue? Certainly Simply ask any number of the skaters involved. The Combi takes no prisoners, and no quarter is ever given. See you next year.

2012 Vans Pro-tec Pool Party Results

Pro Division 1.PedroBarros-$28,000.002.RuneGlifberg-$14,000.003.BuckyLasek-$7,000.004.AndyMacDonald-$3,500.005.NolanMunroe-$2,500.006.StevePineiro-$2,000.007.ZachMiller-$1,500.008.MikeOwen-$1,000.009.AustinPoynter-$1,000.0010.BenHatchell-$1,000.00

Masters Division 1.SteveCaballero-$14,000.002.TonyHawk-$7,000.003.LanceMountain-$4,000.004.MikeMcGill-$2,000.005.EricNash-$1,750.006.TonyMag-$1,500.007.ChristianHosoi-$1,250.008.NickyGuerrero-$1,200.009.ChrisMiller-$1,100.0010.LesterKasai-$1,100.00

Words: BLKPRJKT :: Photos: Ortiz

58

Pedro Barros

Steve Caballero Greyson Fletcher

Bucky Lasek

Tony Hawk

Nicky Guerrero

Lance Mountain

The2012VQSVolcomaniaWorldChampionshipspresentedbyMuscleMilk has come to a close and what an amazing event it was! This years event had epic matches that led to three days of beating, bashing, breaking and bruising! After the broken tables and chairs were cleared from the ring, the winners walked away with their Championship belts in hands and their share of the $30,000 prize purse,while the otherwrestlers walked away with broken bones and ring rash from the Battle Royal! Thanks to all the competitors and staff that made this happen, check out all the video highlights at Volcom.com.

HEAVYWEIGHT (Pro-Am)1.AlexSmithCA$5,0002.OliverKurtzFL$2,0003.ChaseWilsonCA$10004.CoryArrambideCA$500

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (Juniors)1.YagoDora-BRA$5,0002.TaylorClarkCA$2,0003.JordanLawlerAUS$1,0004.NatxoGonzalez-PR$500

CRUISERWEIGHT (Groms)1.GrifnColapintoCA$3,0002.ShunMurakamiJPN$1,5003.KanoaIgarashiCA$1,0004.AldricGodFRA$500

Electrics Maniac move of the event:YagoDoraBRA$500

VQS DIVAS (Girls)1.DemiBoelsterliCA$2,0002.QuincyDavisNY$1,0003.AmyNicholl-FL$5004.LeilaHurstHI$500

BOOSTERWEIGHT (Air)1.DanielSheaCA$1,0002.MitchColebornAUS$5003.ChippaWilsonAUS-$2504.YageAraujoBRA-$2505. Santiago Muniz BRA6. Torry Meister - HI

FEATHERWEIGHT 1.ColeHoushmandCA1,0002. Noah Hill - CA3. Micah Cantor - SC4. Dylan Franzmann - HI

Photos: Carey

Daniel Shea

60

Alex Smith

Santiago Muniz

Bobby Okvist

Carlos Munoz

Balaram Stack

Chippa Wilson

Kilian Garland

Alex Tiger :: Koa: Zebra

64

Words: Spencer Pirdy :: Photos: Kenworthy

When youre able to spot a zebra trotting along the shores of San Clemente one of two things could be happening. Either the San Diego Zoo has a runaway on their hands or the Nike Lowers Pro is in town and 17-year-old Koa Smith is rocking his newest wild animal inspired Nike wetsuit. Luckily, its the latter and with a Goodyear blimp circling overhead and consistent south swell greeting competitors, its a green light for the second day of competition. Koas been entered into the event as a wildcard by his mainsponsor,Nike,andislookingtoareup in his round of 96 heat that seems to be a considerably stacked one. With tough competitors Mason Ho, Michel Bourez and seasoned Euro Romain Cloitre, Koa is left in the dying moments needing a high score and tracks down a wave with opportunity. He generates speed off the bottom and right before his rst sure-to-be blistering top turn he digs a rail. Opportunity has passed. He continues down the line and then launches a stylish frontside grab reverse. Koa rides cleanly out, but its not enough to get him through the heat. Afterwards his older brother Alex meets Koa on the shore and a few words of encouragement are exchanged. Although disappointed, Koa knows this is just another experience to rack up. One thatmaynotseembenecialrightaway,

but hes in no hurry.

Back at the competitors area I chat with Alex as Koa collects his check. Alex is soaking up the Southern California lifestyle. With a backwards LA Kings hat on and a look of serenity on his face, Alex scans the Lowers line up. Alexs mix of progressively polished rail work would wreak havoc on the clean walls that peel in front of him. Instead of being annoyed with the other less-qualied competitors surng in theevent, Alex shows poise and knows that his time is nearing. Hes without a main sponsor right now, but not due to a lack of offers. He is exercising patience, something that few surfers of his caliber have. Alex has showed perseverance in the past. He suffered from lingering effects of mono on and off for almost three years and was sidelined and at times forced to watch his brother and friends surf all day. It was frustrating, but now Im completely on the other side of it and look at not being with Rip Curl anymore as a huge opportunity to nd a great t. Hes waiting for theright opportunity to pop up, one that is inevitably growing nearer by the day.

In the mean time, when hes not throwing hacks with the best of them, Alex is working on the design side of things with the folks at Globe, one of his sponsors, and is the brains and creator of his and Koas ever-thriving blog Lastnamerst.

tv. With the insight and help of their lmer, and in particular their editorDanTreanor, the boys have been pumping out consistent web gold for a little over a year now. I wish we could update it a little more, says Alex. I am always wanting to add in more content. But in a surf world where even the best of pros struggle to ndrelevantandworthywebfootage,theSmith brothers keep us waiting for their monthly installments that just seems to be growing better and better each time.

Less is, in fact, more. One of the latest episodes highlight the brothers after their winter long stint on the North Shore at the Nike house where they were welcomed with amenities like an in-house chef and a front row seat to some of the most perfectly challenging waves in the world. The editing, music and quality are superb. Young Koas tube riding and charging steal the show. This was Koas rst year offulltime North Shore charging and he did so in unique style that really took him to another level. Im just really comfortable in bigger waves and I love it, Koa tells me as we walk up the Lowers path. His comfort level showed. In particular with his backside approach that had a slight resemblance to a young Bruce Irons. Koa elaborates on his newly found comfort for keeping his back to the wall by saying, Frontside I feel like youre limited to style and how deep you can be. Backside, at a

certain point you can just hold on to your rail and really take off under the lip and knife it. Hes clearly plotted this surge out over the years of taking notes and has emerged on the scene now a key player in one of the worlds heaviest line-ups.

Later on I meet up with Alex and Koa at Captain Mauris, one of San Clementes healthier, local eateries. It just happens to be the spot where most of the surfers in the event are fueling up. After Koa and Alex exchange pleasantries with Michel Bourez, Mason Ho and Jay Bottle Thompson, we savor our fresh juices and smoothies and talk about how it all began.

After growing tired of the chilly winters that Michigan offered on a much too regular basis the Smith family relocated to the warmer weather and greener golf courses that Kauai had to offer. There they gave birth to three sons Alex, Travis and Koa. Neither my mom or dad surf, but my dads a really good golfer. Our uncle was Phil Mickelsons coach and growing up we played a lot of golf, says Koa. Alex has fond memories of being carted around the course and watching his dad play, but acknowledges that his youngest brother Koa has almost matched his skills behind the driver. Koas been playing pretty consistently lately, Alex bragged as he took a sip of his juice. The two sit on either side of me and exercise a well-mannered

upbringing; one that I came to ndwas full of support and encouragement from both of their parents. The brothers continued to golf, but then began to excel at surng and skateboarding.Hanalei pier was where the boys began honing their skills in the water, a place that has seen more than its fair share ofsurnggreatsdevelop.MorenotablyAndy and Bruce Irons were present in the boys lives from early on. We got to learn and grow up around Andy and Bruce from a very young age, says Alex. The boys utilized all of the strengths that growing up on a tropical island could offer.

Alex had a strong NSSA career and has made a name for him in line-ups around the world, but is more notably seen as an eminent threat out at the ever-challengingplayingeldthatisSunsetBeach. I love that wave. Just the lines that you can draw out there and the arcs that you can throw are amazing, Alex remarked. Hes gone on to make

severalnalsatSunsetandhe isoneof the unique few that knows how to harness the waves unpredictably shifty energy. Koa, on the other hand, started his career as the adorable little-fella ripper we all saw interviewing people backstage at the Surfer Poll Awards, still dressed in zebra print, but this time in one of his own custom made suits. My how time has passed, Koa has sprouted and with the raising of his height so toodidhislevelofsurng.Hesnowathreat in all conditions, big or small and not just on the red carpet.

One of his coming out trips was a strike-mission he went on to Tahiti a year ago. That trip was insane. Just big and perfect waves, he remembers. On that trip Koa grabbed the rope and towed into awavethatbafedeventhehardestofchargers. Koa was earning his stripes. Nike has now given him the opportunity to do everything hes ever wanted to. Theyre doing so much for me. Like getting me wild cards into events like

Koa

Koa

today, he says. At that moment Koa receives a text from his dad telling him that even with his losstodayhesacquired380pointswhichputshiminthetop160oftheworldrankingsandwillallow him to surf in the Triple Crown next year.

Then theres the middle brother Travis who is 19. While all three having been blessed with handsome genes, Travis has been capitalizing on his in the past few years. He has been living abroad in Paris and Singapore, starting a modeling career that has just inked him a large campaignwithVersace.Weusedtoghtalittleand not get along when we were younger, Alex says of Travis. But now we get along more than ever and were all best friends. But it was on one of Traviss trips back home to Kauai that Koa and Alex noticed something different in the demeanor of their middle brother. Travis was lookinghealthier,tterandwasntbeinghislazyself. He had adopted a new way of living and thinking. The boys noticed and soon inquired about his changed ways so that they too could reap the benets. Its just a whole differentway of living, being positive, attracting good things to come your way and setting goals that

Koa

Alex

Alex

hes shared with us, says Alex. We just try to always surround ourselves with positive people and never ever be negative, Koa adds as Mason Ho throws the boys a shaka as he exits the restaurant. Like him, Koa laughs pointing to Mason.

Alex and Koa are taking Traviss new-found way of living and using it to their advantage, to ease the ups and downs of contests and traveling and being away from home. Lately, Alex and Koa have been experiencing the world and all that it has to offer. Alex went on a life changing trip to Samoa where the waves were machine like, yet it was the unique people he met, the landscapes he witnessed and the feeling he got from being in a new place that caught his attention. Theyve also found inspiration from other walks of life outside the realm of surng. The boys have beenlistening to the new Kid Cudi album and have followed his journey from previous, more somber albums to a much happier and more upbeat

position that hes in today. Alex even sprayed down a fresh new quiver of DHDs with some Kid Cudi inspired artwork of his own. Alex has been getting into snowboarding as well and enjoyed a memorable trip to Sun Valley this past winter. Koa was recently sent on a Nike retreat to Idaho that covered sustainability throughout the brand. It was at this conference that Koa befriended skater Paul Rodriguez and theyve remained close, skating together regularly in LA.

The Smith brothers are not your average jaded surf stars. They see opportunity in even the gloomiest of days. I asked Koa about his earlier heat that day, if he felt like it was a missed opportunity. I can only take that experience and learn from it, I dont want to pound out results ontheQSandthengetontourandquickly get kicked off, he said. I want to be in my prime when Im on tour so that I can be winning

Alex

events when Im there. Alexs philosophy is the same, Were not going to be gym rats and just become all contest guys. We want to look to like-minded people in the action sports industry and make fun and interesting projects with them. With that our conversation came to a close and the brothers drove off down Del Mar avenue, off to their next project, session, adventure, partyorwhatever theysaw tobetting.They have plans to stay in SoCal for the majority of the summer, and in the next few days theyd enjoy the south swell that somehow continuously churned out waves. They pulled into throaty shore break tubes on Doyles, charmed the socks off of local ladies, skated with P-Rod in LA, had a full moonlit night surf session on Cinco de Mayo and Alex even had time to nab the heavyweight title for the Pro division at the VQSchampionships.All thewhileputtingout an infectiously positive vibe that lets anyone with any sense of rhyme or reason know that well be watching these brothers on center stage for a long time to come.

Alex

Koa

Koa

What brought you to the ocean Mr. McGee?My Skimboarder Magazine subscription had been converted to Action Now Magazine, a youth, music and all action sports inclusive format. A friend and I got excited one night and made skimboards.

What beach did you and your friend rstventure toandhowoldwere

you?Ocean Beach for its long and atexpansive elds of half-inch watermade it perfect for skimming. We were noolderthan15.Howdidyourstlandin the saltwater PM?

Eleven years old, moved here from the Bay Area, bought a $60 used checker board, Lance Collins, from the Frog House in Newport Beach and thats how the relationship started//Whoinuencedyou?

One afternoon my friend and I had maxed out on 360s and shin knots.A surfer was coming in near Kellys Cove, a darker skinned man with a red, pigmented single-n with a pulled-in tail and asked if he could try our skimboards. He showed us how to ride waves with skimboards instead of justcruisingtheats.Ithinkhedidasomersault instead of wiping out. It left a big impression.

At what point did you graduate to a surfboard and where was your primary surf break?I bought a 76 purple Local Motion single-n out of the used rack at theOld Wise surf shop on Vicente the following week. It was 3 inches thick. My friend bought a 7 Sea Trend with a Pink Floyd airbrush. We had to be 16 by then, as one of us was driving and we never got cold.

Who at the time were your early surnginuencesandwhatwould

bring you stoke?

It was not an easy path; there was a wooly pack of surfers that I was

fascinated with at this time at the Miramar jetty in HMB. This was before they recongured the jetty to thecrappy thing it has now become. They had bowl haircuts and did power snaps like Joey Buran. There was Bad Vibe Bob and Snappy; I watched them with awe at OB. There was also this weird dude who used to take photos and have slide shows. I think his name was Cort Mast or something. Lots of strong early 80simagesatFortPoint.Whoshowedyou the ropes PM?

NorCal was the polar opposite of Orange County during that time. I mainly hung around Mark Caffey. It was good times from what I can

Interview: PM Tenore

70

remember. What magazines did you take pages from to put on your wall?I think surfers are a pack of animals. Ocean Beach and the Northern California scene was more about solitude and black wetsuits during this period. My favorite surfer of that time was Kevin Reed from Santa Cruz. He pieced together surf and skate styles seamlessly on the last dying years of single-ns. AssoonasmyfriendandIguredout how to stand and ride we traded our 7 single-ns in forstate of the art 6 Bessel and Stussy quads. Our learning curve took a major nosedive. Your area

was littered with talent PM! I remember being fascinated with SoCal and Senor Lopez ponchos and No Bozzos stickers. That and the smell of Coppertone.

Bessel and Stussy quads, rad. Shaun Stussy shaped me my rst custom surfboardwhen

I was 14 out of Equipe in Laguna Beach it was hot pink and sherbet. At that time you could get the No Bozzo stickers at O-Zone Skate shop on Newport Peninsula. They were tragically everywhere // KROQ Pre-KNAC // What was happening during that time for you?

I think so many things were happeningintheearly80sthatas a youth you could walk in anydirectionandbe inuenced.Copying Suicidal Tendencies white collared shirts, muscle cars, Bob Haro BMX products - it was all happening. Rodney on the ROQ, New-wave, Nu Romantic,Thrash Metal, Glam. Any way you turned there was a scene or situation. I had some weirdo friends who were into old Vespas and Lambrettas and then one night this one older guy decided we needed tags.

100% agree. Your art shows are somewhat like the 1986

OP Pro riots // Although cars were being lit on re and

people were rioting I enjoyed the chaos // I remember my friend Scott Madison, aka Spides, was a bit rattled but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was chaos in a controlled setting like your art shows. Do you remember the 86 OP Pro riots and does it have any similarities to what you naturally do in museums and galleries?Yes, I remember the OP Pro riots. Honestly, I think that the surf industry is ready for another. Its a natural reaction for anything to snap that is

overweight and stretched beyond capacity. Bloated. Excess and overconsumption. I patiently await. Its not that complicated if you think about it. I honestly believe the same thing is happening now. I know you see youth as a saving grace, rejecting what is being offered and making their own mark in this exceedingly excessive climate.

Yes, the industry needs to change. Growing up did guys like Tommy Guerrero and the Bones Brigade

movies have an impact on you?It wasnt just one person or thing. So many factors play into it. Style was coveted. Painfully obvious with TG. Style with everything you do and make. Grafti was the same. Thesekids from Berkeley HEIST and RAKUS had the best hand styles. All youth can see that. Just fantastic tags in high-pressure locations, without a care in the world look. A backside snap, a stoner with no shirt and cut-off jeans who could do perfect tabletops on

a rusted BMX bike. There is so much information in good style. I think you know exactly what I am speaking of Pat.

At what age did you actually start writing and becoming a vandal? Do you rememberyourrsttag?

My rst tag was Twist. Theworst name ever. Shortly after I wrote DISARM and then MDMA. This was the 80s. We did it all. It was abit easier then. Its way more impressive what kids do now. The stakes and penalties

are so much higher now for just the ordinary vandal. I did some grafti. There areothers that did heaps more. Its more about masses doing it anyhow. Thats how I see it. Thousand of kids all doing something in mass to smash the status quo.

Access is much easier today with the internet // research is easier // does that take away or add to what is happening now?I mean what is the most radical thing you can probably

do in SoCal? Ride a bike? That is radical to me, yet kids are into bikes. Hispanic, Asians, whatever an entire infrastructure set up for the automobile and here are a bunch of kids riding bicycles. I love it. Doing the opposite of what is expected.

Im going to text you a few names or words // Can I get a few descriptions back from you? THR?The human race.

THR? (again)

This harsh reality. Im going to text you a few names or words. RVCA?

Balance of Opposites. Reynolds Yater?80yearsinthemaking.Masterminimalist sculptor.

Josh Lazcano (AMAZE)Other Peoples Money.

DFW?Down for waves.

DFW? (again)Down for whatever.

Mark Gonzalez?Bomb a hill.

Herbie Fletcher?King of the nose.

Tommy Guerrero?Growing old together.

Alex Knost?All areas handled with grace, power and extreme style. One in a million.

Buttons?Style master.

Joel Tudor?Blue Messiah.

Alex Olson?Alex taught me how to hug properly.

Kevin Lloyd Ancell?Santa Monica Airlines, more grey hair than me but much better style.

Its3:30am// letsnish

this after breakfast --->

Interview: Brian Lotti

ThersttimeIsawRileyStevensskatehemadea real impression. He strung together a fast line of back-to-back-to-lip tricks and airs in the main section of the Wily Channel Street Park, then ended his run with a huge Madonna that cracked like a sonic boom. He popped out on the deck with his board and started laughing. Riley is a solid, stylish, and no-bullshit skateboarder whose enthusiasm for skateboarding is highly contagious. Rob OConnell has said that Riley is classically trained, and people have been taking notice as of late. Be on the lookout for Riley, hell not only get you hyped to skate, but he might just remind you of why you started skating in the rstplace.

Whatwas therst thing thatgotyou intoskateboarding?My older brother and my neighbor James when I was a kid. They skated and there were always kids on the block shredding.

There were kids always skating?Yeah, we lived in a cul-de-sac and James was good friends with Lance Mountains son, so there were always kids getting radical, making rails and jumps next door.

Where was that and how old were you?In Glendora, when I was 8 or 9. James moved in

Crail :: Photo: Chris Whitaker

78

next door and I would always get my brother or my neighbors hand-me-down boards. I would skate the curb cuts in front of my house and skate back and forth and pretend it was a half-pipe. You would ride up the curb and just grind the edge or something?Yeah, I would ride up and grind it before I could ollie on to a 50-50.That curb is where I learned how to 50-50!

Whowastherstskateryousawthat could really rip?My brothers friend Clinton was really good and could skate everything. He also surfed. He rode for the Stix Shop in Monrovia. I though it was so crazy to be sponsored! I remember one time he let me ride a new board he had just set up and I fell and his

board went into the street and a car ran over it and he didnt even care. He said he could get another one. Clinton Chambers! He could do all kinds of iptricksreallyhigh,hegrindedshit,and could skate everything. He was my hero when I was a little kid.

What was the rst trick youlearned that got you really hooked on skating?Boardslides on my neighbor James slider bar.

Tell me about Arizona.I moved to Arizona when I was 13 and lived there until I was 18. Theres a ton of really good parks there. My cousin would pick me up from school and drop me off at the park at every dayat5.Hewouldpickmeupat10and bring a pizza. AZ is rad because all the parks have lights.

Ollie :: Photo: Chris Whitaker

Stalesh::Photo:MRZ

Eggplant :: Photo: Ortiz

Whats up with Chris Livingston?He taught a lot of us to shred and looked out for us at the park. Any time anyone got in our way, he would yell at them. He was down toghtforhisfriends.

Whats the raddest thing you saw Livingston do?Hes really good at backside disaster reverts and any kind of disaster trick. He does them all so fast with power and style. He pumps out of his tricks. What would you rather do, skate a perfect backyard pool barefoot with a couple hot girls hanging out or bomb a perfect mountain hill with ladies following you in a car? Bomb the hill barefoot?

No, the hill bomb you can wear shoes, but you cant have any pants on. Skate the pool barefoot or bomb the hill without any pants on? There are chicks following me down the hill?

Chicks are lming you at thepoolandchicksarelmingyoubomb the hill Which would you choose?(Laughing) Id rather bomb thehill!

(Laughing) All right, so how did you end up starting to skate Channel Street? How did you take a liking to that whole scene down there?My friend Aaron Court made me go down there because he was really gnarly. I had moved back to Sierra Madre from Arizona and he said, Lets go skate Channel under the bridge, and we went down there and it was better than any place

in Southern California to skate. I like to skate there and pools and whatever else is fun to skate.

Who is fun to watch skate these days?Ah,littleRob(Russo).ElijahBerleis killing it. Everyone at Channel is killin it. My friend Rob in Arizona is killing it.

What tricks are you into these days?(Laughing)Scrapingyourtailovera storm drain cap going real fast! No, Ive been into frontside bluntslides lately. And ollieing up to smith grinds from banks.

Whats a trick you want to learn in the next 6 months?Not falling.

No seriously, what about inverts? I can do them, I just gotta sack up and do it! I wanna learn to skate I dont know I just have to be there, you know?

What was the last trick you learned that you were super hyped on?Indy airs were fun. Back smith to backtails. Nosegrind backlips. Now Im thinking (Laughs) I wannalearn how to do a rocket-air back-tail! I do wanna skate rails more. For sure. I wanna skate some rails!

Any shouts to anyone?Yeah! Shout to all the SPSA dudes and everyone down at Channel. Everyone back in Arizona, Indy, Nike, Aaron Court, all my homies and my family, Brian and Laura Lotti, Bill and Agata Sargeant, my cousin Jake, and Buddy and Keisha at Transitions Skateshop in Carson.

Ollie :: Photo: Chris Whitaker F.S Sugar Cane :: Photo: Ely Phillips

F.S Boneless :: Photo: Ely Phillips

B.S Tailslide :: Photo: MRZ

Electric_Softgoods_Bliss.indd 1 5/16/12 11:18 AM

Bikini Volcomvolcom.comKimono Insightinsight51.com

84

Denim Jacket RVCArvca.com

Sweatshirt Oakleyoakley.com

Shorts Hurley hurley.com

Shirt Liraliraclothing.com

Dress Quiksilverquiksilver.com

Boots Stylists own

Shirt Smithsmithoptics.comSkirt Volcomvolcom.comHat Brixtonbrixton.com

Shirt Vansvans.com

Bikini Volcomvolcom.com

Shorts Volcomvolcom.com

Sunglasses Vestalvestalwatch.com

Sweatshirt Oakleyoakley.com

Shorts Volcomvolcom.com

Boots Stylists own

Where did you grow up?I grew up in Oahu, Hawaii. In a place called Laie.

What was growing up in Hawaii like? Did you get called a haole a lot?Yeah, I grew up being called a haole, which basically is a white boy. Hearing shit like we grew hereyouewherewasaregularbeing the minority. Kids liked to pick on haole boys growing up. But aside from that, Hawaii is a magical place. My parents lived there for 25 years and raised me my brother and sister there.

Did you surf as a kid?Nope, never got into it really. Still not really into it. Ive tried a hand full of times but for some reason I suck. My dad and brother could tear it up though.

How did you end up nding

snowboarding?Well, when my pops got a good job offer in Utah we decided to move from Hawaii. When we got to Utah the job got pulled out from under my dad so we ended up being broke most of my childhood and stuck in Utah. Seeing snow for the rsttimearoundage9wascrazy,I didnt try snowboarding until I was about 14 or so. My parents couldnt afford to set me up with all the shit to go snowboarding, but I was lucky enough to get some hand-me-downs from some of my older brothers friends, so I would go from time to time. My parents ended up getting divorced, and my mom remarried some asshole, he gave me a pair of wire cutters to clip passes up at the resort. I would hitchhike up there and wait until someone would let me clip their pass. And that was my way of getting away from the craziness at home, snowboarding was the one way I could escape from the trouble at home so thats all I wanted to do. But I couldnt as much as I wanted to because we didnt have the money.

Were your parents supportive of your interest in snowboarding? You said you used snowboarding as an escape. What were some things going on at home

you were trying to get away from?Well my stepdad was really abusive, physically and emotionally. He told me that I would never be good enough to become sponsored at snowboarding and that I wouldnt ever amount to anything. He even betme $100that it would never happen. With that said, I made it my life goal to prove that motherfucker wrong. Which I did... My dad was really supportive though, he let me go to school every other day so I could focus on snowboarding and took a job doing ski patrol so I could get a free pass. My mom was supportive when she realized that it was going to be my career but when I was taking school off she thought that I should be focused more on school and wasnt very happy that my Dad was letting me skip so much. None of them really knew how involved I was with it though, they were pretty shocked when I came home one day and told them I got sponsored. Ive kind of managed to make my career on my own without my parents involvement. Like I said, it was my escape, so I didnt have them taking me to contests or helping me make a stupid sponsor-me tape or any dumb shit like that. My stepdad is out of my life now, and I have nothing but full support from my mom and dad, they are very proud of me and are my biggest fans, but it wasnt easy getting here.

I guess you proved your ex-stepdad wrong.When I got my rst cover withSnowboarder Magazine my mom and stepdad had been divorced at that point, but she put a copy of my cover in his mail box and wrote some rather explicit shit on there. Something along the lines of fuck you or something. Now that is a true fan, I love my mom.

Haha amazing. How did you end up getting sponsored?Well, I was always doing little local snowboard contests with a few friends one year just for fun. During one of the contests this dude T-Bone from Milosport saw one of my runs, I guess he liked what he saw. So the next week he told the rest of the homies

Photos & Words: Bob Plumb

92

at Milosport, like Scotty Goodale and WIse and LJ. So the next time I went in there, Scotty told me I was on the team. It was pretty much the best day of my life. From there I picked up a few sponsors,justgettingoworwhatever,anddecidedIshouldtrytolmavideopart and really do this. You know, like actually make it my life.

Your rst part was in an old

Technine movie? How did you link up with those guys?I started nding street spots with myfriend Ian Rigby and just trying to make our own edit or whatever, not to make a sponsor-me video or anything though because I always thought that was lame for some reason. I guess I just wanted to do what I saw all my idols doing in snowboard movies. One day we ended up getting a shot that I thought might beworthy tomaybegetme in lmingwith someone. I had heard that the SIA tradeshow in Vegas was a place where all the people I need to talk to would be. So I found a ride there with Bozung inhopesthatIcouldndColeTaylortoshow him that shot, which I had on my camera. I got there and it was crazy, I just started asking random people if theyknewwhereIcouldndColeTaylor,after a while I found him. Super nervous and unsure what this guy is gonna say to me I just walked up to him and introduced myself to him. I pulled my camera out and asked if hed be down to check this shot out. He was down to let me go out with them and give it a try.AfterthatIlmedmypartinLivinProof with F.O.D.T. while going to high school,soIwaslmingacoupletimesa week at nights and on weekends. Cole Taylor and E-Stone brought me up in the game; those guys did a lot for me.

Thats amazing. What was the shot you showed him?Itwasthatkinkedrail,Ididabs50-50

on and landed in a little puddle. Matty jumped over the side off Redwood Road.

Is Cole Taylor a thug?Hell yea, Cole is gangster as shit; hes a good dude for sure.

Speaking of gangster, didnt somebody tell you to tone your style down, or something to that effect, because it wasnt cool anymore?Yeah, I wont name names but I was told that I need to stop being gangster because I might come across as intimidating or something. I wasnt even aware that I was gangster or whatever. But I just said its not something you can change. All I know is that Im just who I am.

So youre telling me there is no plans in the future for you to snowboard in jeans and get feather earrings?Not gonna happen man, that aint for me. But there is nothing wrong with that style, its just not me, I believe to each their own. People spend too much energy hating on what other people do. I dont care what style you have because Im positive that lots of people hate on the way I dress but I dont really give a shit about that. People should just do what they feel and dont take shit from anyone.

Do you ever read all the shit talking that goes on the message boards on the different websites?Yea, Ive seen some of that shit. I dont really spend too much time looking at that shit. I think its hilarious though, people get so heated talking shit on people. The funny thing is that most of the people talking shit aint shit, they are wasting their time hating when they could just be down and actually do something productive instead of being worthless piles, running their mouths in

a chat room. I just laugh, haters are funny.

Youre telling me youre not sitting at your computer all day waiting for the next epic web video to pop up?Ha, not exactly, theres more to my life than snowboarding. I love snowboarding, however, I feel that its healthy to be balanced. I dont spend much time on the web watching snowboard videos, its kind of a waste of time. I dont really ndmyselfbeingtooinvolvedwiththesceneor whatever you want to call it.

Its crazy to me how many kids watch those videos online. They will see a trick then just go out and copy it the next day.Yea, and I think thats good for a lot of people; its a great way to get inspired. Dont get me wrong, I watch shred videos but Im not on there all day keeping up with everything thats going on every second. As far as kids copying what they see on videos - that will happen with anything: music, art, skating. Whatever, its just how things go. I dont really care if people copy what I do. If someone is going to like something Idointherstplace,theyarentgoingtocareifsomeone else did the same thing. I just do what I feel and dont get caught up being worried about what other people are up to, that is weak.

Who were some of the people that inspired you while you were younger?Scotty Goodale - R.I.P., MFM, Scotty Wittlake, Gigi Ruf, Bozung, J2, Mikey LeBlanc, Ali Goulet, JeremyJones.Idontknow,thosearetherstones that come to mind. I loved the Kingpin movies when I was younger, nothing got me more geeked to snowboard than watching Revival or Destroyer. Those, to me, were and still are the best movies of all time.

Yeah, those are some legends fo sho. Its pretty crazy to think that you have gotten tolmwithmostthoseguys.

Yea, no doubt! I still trip on that, and I still look up to those guys, they paved the way for us youngins in the game. I denitely feel luckyto have been able to work with some of those people, I have learned a lot from them.

You got to share a part with most those guys in More. It was pretty much the whole BozWreck crew. That part came out then we didnt see anything from you for a year or two. Yeah, after that part I had a pretty bad back injury with a herniated disc and two bulged discs. It just progressively got worse as time

went on, to the point where I literally couldnt lean down to tie my shoes.Ihadprobablyvedifferentback specialists tell me that I would never snowboard again. One doctor even said I might consider a wheel chair. All they did was give me prescriptions to painkillers, which lead to an addiction to those as well. I wasnt for one second going to let some doctor tell me I cant snowboard ever again, that wasnt an option. I had to take a year off, not snowboarding at all, it was the worst year. I am healthy as can be now, which is a blessing that didnt come easy. I found a guy in Salt Lakethatwasabletoxmybackinjury in under six months with extreme deep muscle work, and on top of that an intense pilates schedule with my girlfriend, which was the best thing I could have done for my back.

Can you elaborate a little bit on how you got hurt and what dealing with an addiction was like?My back injury wasnt from anything specic, it kind of happened fromyears of at landings and impact.When I got hurt a lot of my sponsors got weary about if I was going to be able to come back from it, I lost

my board sponsor and fought to stayaoatwitheveryoneelse.Thatwas rough. I was in so much pain from my back that I had my own doubts but knew that I was gonna make it through. I got a pretty crazy addiction to painkillers, and it didnt start recreationally. I was in so much pain that I needed to take them. But after a while having doctors tell you that I just need to take them and live with it I was in so deep I couldnt see out. I was denitely hooked, taking aridiculous amount of painkillers on a daily basis. One day I just pulled my head out of my ass and looked at where my life was at and had to face the fact that I was an addict and injured. I had to nd a waytoxmyself, andhopefully ndadoctor that could make me able to snowboard again. I quit taking pills cold turkey, going through the mosthorricwithdrawalsyoucouldimagine. Im talking like no sleep for weeks, in constant throbbing pain every second of everyday, I cant even put in these words how awful this shit was. My brother had just come off a heroin addiction and told me to prepare for the worst few months of my life... He wasnt kidding. My girlfriend was huge for my recovery as well. She was by

my side through the whole process and basically got me through it, I couldnt have done it without her. Months later I was clean with no rehab, my back was starting to feel stronger and it was the start of the season. Coming back into snowboarding was so hard. Everything seemed so much crazier than before. I felt like I didnt know how to snowboard anymore; I hadnt done it in a year. My videopartintherstVideograssmoviewas that year and I somehow was able to pull something together but I dont think it was anything great. Finally, everything has come back years later and Im a stronger person having gone through that shit and showing everyone that I wasnt going anywhere. All I wanna do now is keep progressing and furthering my snowboarding adventures.

Your new VG part has more jump shots than you have had in a while. Is this where you see yourself progressing and your new adventures headed, the backcountry?Yeah for sure, I have so much fun riding powder. There pretty much isnt anything better. Although I have a lot of work to do, I cant say that Im super skilled in the backcountry. I mean, I can ride powder all day but as far as

Travis Riceing off a jump, there is some serious room for improvement. But Im ok with that, I just need to keep going out with dudes that are better than me and I will catch up eventually.

Didnt you go on a trip with Gigi and Nicholas last winter? What was that experience like?Yeah, we went to Norway and Sweden, the conditions werent ideal but we managed to make some things happen. Im not sure how I ended up on that trip though; those dudes are on a whole different level from me. Regardless, its always a good experience to see those guys ride in person. Those guys are the type of snowboarders Im driving to achievetobe,butwithmyownavor.They are such good riders its crazy, its really inspiring to watch.

Any shout outs? Big thanks to my family, my girl, Bobby Meeks and Nike, Jesse and everyone at LRG, everyone at Skullcandy, Tonino with Nitro, Neff, Lance and Mike at Ashbury, Celtek, Bob Plumb, Cole Taylor, E-Stone, Andy Wright, Justin Meyer, Sean McCormick, Shane Charlibois, White Owl, Milosport, SFK!, Ryan Kingman at Stance and Scotty Goodale, R.I.P.

Forthe10thconsecutiveyear,ActiveRideShopdraggedtheirtopplayerstoMammothforsomelateseasonfuninthesnowandsun.Playersweretreated to Oakleys poker night at Lakanukie and an amazing live performance by Ezekiels band The Fling at Hyde Lounge. By the way, they saved the party weekend because Neon Indian had to cancel last minute. Go Mark Willingham for pulling strings like a boss! Partied out Active heads arose each morning to Analog/Gravis prepared bagels and Mimosas and Sabre got down with Bloodys to put the pep back in their step, so heads could get out and shred. Another highlight of the weekend was the Matix Savage Games, which featured a brutal obstacle course of tricycling, pogo sticking, beer bonging and pie eating Oh yeah, these boys and girls snowboarder too. A huge thanks goes to Oakley, Matix, Spy, Ezekiel, Vestal, Analog, Gravis, Vans, Signal Snowboards, Sabre Vision, Mammoth Mountain, Forum, Special Blend, 32, Penny Skateboards, Volcom, Rome Snowboards, LRG, and Gnarly for making this trip happen this year.

98

Photos: Nolan Hall // Herbie Fletcher, Barry McGee & PM Tenore // Alex Von Furstenberg, Stavros Niarchos and Jessica Hart // Deanna & Ed Templeton // Aaron & Lucy Rose // Herbie Fletcher & Alex Knost // CR Stecyk, Jen Cox & Susanne Melanie Berry // The Marshall Brothers & Alex Olson // Casey Holland & Kesley Brookes // Deej Marshall & family // Makua Rothman & Kevin Ancell// Jeffery Deitch // Prism

REEMOPEAR

SON

FRONTSIDE HURRICANE

PHOTO:DRAGONETTE

ACTIVERIDESHOP.COM

ActiveJuneBlisss.indd 1 5/15/12 1:13 PM

100

REVOK, Shaun Neff & Oz // Mena Suvari // Chad Muska, Chip Neff & Alex Neff // Ryan Phillippe // Danny D // Samuel Rodriguez // MADSTEEZ // REVOK // POSE // Angel Cabada & Louie Vito // Caterina @ Aaron Levant // Emmanuelle Chriqui // Amy Smart // Taav & Tal Cooperman

The Sesame Street Art Show presented by Neff and The Seventh Letter was an incredible success. The entire weekend kicked off with a private show-ing of the Sesame Street inspired art collection to an invite-only crowd of art community supporters, celebrities and media on Friday night. With so many great pieces featured by artists like REVOK, MADSTEEZ, RIME and Mr. Cartoon, Known Gallery was completely packed for the duration of the night. The gallery doors exploded open for public viewing Saturday and maintained wall-to-wall occupants until the show ended Sunday night. All the paintingssoldwithproceedsbenetingCityofHopePediatricsDepartment. Tal Cooperman and Aaron Levant curated the event that hosted Nightly celebrity news show, Extra, and CBS Los Angeles to cover the event. Celebs like Ryan Phillippe, Amy Smart, Ian Somerhalder, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Laura Prepon, Dirt Nasty and many others were in attendance to view the all the amazing art that stirs up at least one memory from everyones childhood.

102

Photos: courtesy of Riviera // Catalina local Chris Arnold and a serious human payload // Ben Harper blessed a very fortunate crowd at Chi Chi Bar Saturday night // Mike Val-lely putting on another show in his 25th year of professional skateboarding // Racers coming into turn 1 or Wrigley Road during an early Sunday morning heat // Resource Distri-butionandtheirfriendsRandySealsandChipUptonpostHaypocalypse//ChrisPastras,NeilHendrix&MikeV//Humantrafckingwasallowedforonedayontheisland//Fourof the fastest female downhill skater about to get down // Full speed scrubbing with style // KillMumma, David Garcia & Cody Hager - just another day

In1977,asmallgroupofelitedownhillskaterstookoverthecityofAvalontoparticipateintheoriginalCatalinaClassic.A250-yarddownhillracecourse tucked in the hills of an exotic little island located just 26 miles off the coast of California, yet a world away from the rat race just across the channel. These skaters, along with this event have inspired generations of riders and largely contributed to the lifestyle synonymous with our part of the World. With a huge nod of respect to the originals of downhill skating Riviera Skateboards and our closest friends put on The Catalina Island ClassiconMay5th-6th,2012.Aweekendlongislandskateinvasionthatbroughtthisislandcommunityamini-rampdemofeaturingMikeVallelyofElephantBrandSkateboards,asecretshowatChiChiBarwithBenHarperand70ofthefastestmaleandfemaledownhillskatersfromaroundtheworldthatcompetedinaninvitationonlydownhillraceeventwithacashpurseof$5000!RivieraSkateboardsalsodonatedthemini-ramptothelocal Avalon skatepark for the kids to keep the good vibes going. The residents of Avalon, the spectators and all of the skaters helped to create what will hopefully stand as an annual event on one of the most beautiful islands in the world!

Forthe10thconsecutiveyear,ActiveRideShopdraggedtheirtopplayerstoMammothforsomelateseasonfuninthesnowandsun.Playersweretreated to Oakleys poker night at Lakanukie and an amazing live performance by Ezekiels band The Fling at Hyde Lounge. By the way, they saved the party weekend because Neon Indian had to cancel last minute. Go Mark Willingham for pulling strings like a boss! Partied out Active heads arose each morning to Analog/Gravis prepared bagels and Mimosas and Sabre got down with Bloodys to put the pep back in their step, so heads could get out and shred. Another highlight of the weekend was the Matix Savage Games, which featured a brutal obstacle course of tricycling, pogo sticking, beer bonging and pie eating Oh yeah, these boys and girls snowboarder too. A huge thanks goes to Oakley, Matix, Spy, Ezek

bl!sss magazine | june 2012 | #58

Documents