Boardin' for the Cure!

Me legs and a skateboard. 19 miles. 19 miles along the coast. Santa Monica to Redondo. Pier to pier. On a skateboard. Statement, not a question. Yup, this was how i spent my most recent Saturday. 19 miles on a skateboard, pushin' along the boardwalk, all in the name of a fantastic cause: we were boarding for breast cancer...boarding for the cure!  I first heard of B4BC at Warped Tour a few years ago and now turns out that i work next door to the girls who work the traveling B4BC booth that spreads awareness and education. It's a great organization that encourages awareness of breast cancer and prevention through an active lifestyle, healthy diet and eco-friendly way of life (check out the website for more info if you're interested! www.b4bc.org). I fundraised a bunch online and included the link above if you'd like to donate...it will only be open for another week or so...any amount would kick!

The event day started out at an hour too early for my body to consciously recognize. But immediately upon rolling up to the Redondo parking lot, backpack full of skate survival supplies (ie snacks, helmet, water, blister kit), where we'd be bussed to the Santa Monica pier, the vibe was friendly and excited all over, which helped mask the drowsy lethargy hiding beneath in my 4 hours of sleep (see previous blog entry). Everyone was full of stoke from the onset...such a great vibe! A little anxious too though.... would we still be standing at mile 19 or on our knees pushing like a 2 yr-old? Serious issues to ponder. There were all types of wheels involved prepared to roll down the boardwalk: rollerblades, roller skates, bicycles, and of course, skateboards of all shapes and sizes. As we pushed off, i knew it would be an epic day. Clear blue skies, the sun shining, waves pounding, and a bunch of kids just as excited and smiley as i was.

And we didn't just haul ass through the thing...although, damn can some of those guys and gals push! Oh ya, did I mention that one of the sponsors was Red Bull (how do they manage to get into every sporting event really?), so some of the kids were hopped up on, oh say, 10 of them. Free, remember. There were a number of these "hydration-station" stops to refuel on drinks (yes, there was actual water too), energy bars, and the general goof off session vibe that's bound to happen with a bunch of skaters. Posing for pictures with skateboards raised high, replacing "cheese!" with "boooobies!" was all part of the day. i'd hear the ocean in one ear, the whir of skateboard wheels scooting through sandy sidewalks, and shouts of "save the ta-ta's!" in the other ear. Comforting sounds.

As I looked in front and in back of me I saw a winding snake of wheeling participants dotted along an incredible backdrop of sand, sun and surf. There was no better place to be that day. And as we skated across the finish line, hands held high (had to pose for more pictures of course) we knew we'd contributed to something awesome. We were indeed still standing, and smiling...just as ready for next year. (when we'd also be fit to walk again). I will now increase the cheese factor and say we put the fun! in fundraiser...but it really was the best way to spend four hours on four polyurethane wheels.  There were also fundraising prizes given out and I was completely blown away when I won a beautiful, brand new longboard. I still can't believe it! Thank you to all the generous contributors...it was all you! I can only hope that next time around more people turn out ( I will surely be rollin' up on that sweet longboard!) and raise even more money for a toootally righteous cause....

Tiger Army...

...never dies!! Friday night...in a season right for psychobilly...graveyards, skulls, bats and gouls...i rocked out to Tiger Army for the first time live. I encouraged a young friend who's never been to a punk show to join me. He's listend to them of course before and enjoyed the fast beats and slappin bass. We headed over to the Wiltern Theatre in Hollywood where we joined a bunch of other anxious kids, mostly dressed in tight black tees, 50s style slicked hair, sideburns, girls with fake roses in their hair, rolled jeans and boots. Psychobilly is a rockabilly/goulish punk meld.

well, we all stood and prepared for a thorough rockin. When Nick 13 and the crew came on stage thus began a raucus psycho session. I wasn't disappointed. We were off to the side of the stage at first and then i motioned towards the center (you can't hear anything anyone else is saying of course) and we squeezed through packed punks to get to the eye of the storm...the mosh pit.

We stayed to the outside of the pit for the rest of the evening (in my opinion the perfect place to be. Enough space to dance (even though you may get creamed by someone who breaks the circle now and then), a good view of the stage...we bounced around, jumped up and down there for a solid two hours. At one point Tiger Army started playing some of their older stuff and the pit was a riot...i mean, more than usual...and i literally got pulled into it...only fell over once before some massive dude picked me up and then another grabbed me for a go round....which was awesome... attached to a huge, strong dude to push others out of the way...i can usually hold my ground for a while by myself...key is to just move round the circle fast using momentum to barrel into people ( i'm sure this information will be very useful to all my readers) but when your head comes up to most of the dudes' shoulders, you're at a bit of a disadvantage. plus the fact that with my short hair i look like a 13 year old boy who's trying to act tough which doesn't help my cause. but after one go round the guy who was pulling me along just pushed me away and said "dude...you're on your own now!" thanks. let's just say i'm still sore from that night (big fat dude literally falling into me and then on top of me was the kicker). i kept checking on dylan to make sure he still had a smile on his face and wasn't pleading for escape...but the smile remained that whole show. when you're all sweaty and amped up...nothing matters but the energy (see it's all in good fun you see...really it is...note that i was immediately picked up upon hitting the floor) and the music flowing all around you. the connection you get with those kids rivals any high. they played some of my favorite songs and i'm pretty sure dylan enjoyed the new experience as well. maybe we'll get another smart punk on our side. awesome to finally see 'em live. tiger army, never die!