magazine
68east
i s s u e 0 1
Garret Gardiner Salad to Fakie P. Mason Burke
7.9 square feet of habitat can be lost in the production of a single magazine...
support digital media
contributors.
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photo. Mason Burke, Mason Drover, Michael Thibeault, William Baker, Michelle Corbett, Aaron Parsons, Kris Rambeau, Craig Moore, Jon Burke, James Sarson, Adrian Spencer, Mike Waterburg, Josh Drapeau, Jacki Fletcher, Ryan Mansfield, Nick Khattar, Papa CotĂŠ, Alex Taylor, Joshdale, Dru Kennedy, Tom Bateman, Stefan Curtis, Charles Beals, Marc Gagnon, Alex Jessome, Ced Girouard, Phil Taylor, Joel Mackenzie
text. Mason Burke, Craig Moore, Rob MacLeod, James Sarson, Adrian Spencer, Evan Banks, Jon Swinamer, Jacki Fletcher, Ryan Mansfield, Nick Khattar, Jeremie Landry, Logan Landry, Ryan Macarthur, Joel Mackenzie, Shaun Hanlon,Dru Kennedy support. IPATH, Shear Clothing, S’NotRags, Entity Boardshop, Mount Saint Vincent University, Zopilote Surf Camp, A1 Boardshop, Urban Butter Creative Group Inc., Lake Wake Boardshop, Splatter Island Paintball, Victory Credit Union
edit˚ Welcome to the first issue of 68 East Magazine. Over the last several months we’ve been planning this issue, going over and over how to make our big debut, and designing and re-designing these pages and our new website. After all this, we can only hope you like what you see; at the very least we can sleep easy knowing we’ve done our best to bring Atlantic Canada the very best magazine we could. Our aim in all of this was to connect Atlantic Canadian riders with each other, and expose the talent we’ve been producing, literally, for generations. Exposure for Atlantic Canadian riders, photographers, and writers has been a long time coming, but hopfully this way, with 68 East, we’ll make our own exposure, and do it our own way. These are Atlantic Canadian riders, they’ve been shot by Atlantic Canadian photographers, at Atlantic Canadian writers have documented their stories. We hope you enjoy the magazine, we know we enjoyed putting it together.
Nick Editor nick@68east.ca
SETTING
6
features.
TWO
UP SHOP
CANA DIANS
LIVING THE
AMERICAN D R E A M
Features. September 09.
P. Mason Burke
photographers.
Mason Burke When I first started taking photos 3 years ago, it was a total joke, I was the kid who bought a camera because it was the cool thing to do. But it has become so much more than that for me now, photography is my passion and what I want to do for the rest of my life. I am by no means strictly a skateboard photographer, I choose to spend my time taking skateboard photos because I am in love with the sport and the best people I know are the guys I skate with. I know this bio kind of sucked and sounded kind of cheesy but it’s my honest opinion, thank you very much to my friends for still letting me come on sessions and being total bros.
Kyle McGuigan: Ollie. Sydney, NS.
Mike Fahey: Blunt. Glace Bay, NS.
Bobby Clements: 50|50. Sydney, NS.
Richard Macdougal: Ollie. Port Hawksbury, NS.
sponsor-me contest winner...
www.shearbrand.com
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=101297060194&ref=ts
www.entityboardshop.com
Mason Drover
Your Your Shots. . s t o h S Michael Thibeault
William Baker
Discover for yourself what the Mount is really like.
OPEN CAMPUS DAY: October 30, 2009 EXPLORE THE MOUNT DAY: March 5, 2010 msvu.ca
Michelle Corbett send your shots to nick@68east.ca
Aaron Parsons
Kris Rambeau
68 East TV 68 East & Craig Moore Whose behind Surf Donkey? SurfDonkey was created by myself (Craig Moore) and my brother (Lance Moore). We collaborate on future show themes and then look ahead for the best upcoming swell to shoot for the episode(s). How long have you been surfing in Nova Scotia? I started surfing way back in 1988 and Lance about the same time. My surfing dropped off a few years later due to school, work, relationships, etc, but Lance continued on and has been surfing consistently since then. Lance has surfed al over the world (Fiji, Hawaii, California, France, Costa Rica, etc.), and been in the World's Surf Championships as part of Team Canada. When and how did surf donkey begin? What has it become? I run Spider VIdeo and am constantly developing show ideas to produce episodic content and "branded entertainment" shows. Lance has been developing and pitching a broadcast show or film based on the unique experiences of his life around running his surf shop. I said that these ideas he was trying to pitch could work as a online web show and as we talked it out more I had an "Ah ha" moment where I felt that his stories, the local surf footage and the surrounding culture and friends would serve as a great formula for a show. We agreed to follow the formula and start production. The first episode of SurfDonkey launched in August 2008 and has grown to 12 episodes spanning 14 videos. We have a growing audience from around the world including Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Europe, Sweden, Germany, Florida, California, New York, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and (of course) the Maritimes. In total we have close to 80,000 views and more than doubled the web traffic to the main server that it's hosted on (SurfDonkey is a microsite Dacane Surf shop's main site). In the time it has been up we have had well over a million hits. We are building our music network as well and have even had Canadian Hip hop star Classified let us use his track "Trouble" for episode 10. So how did you come to be featured in the Coast and in a Spanish surf film festival? What was the reaction in Spain to Surf Donkey? We put out a media release with episode ten and essential humped the media agencies as we believed in the unique success of our story. Shortly afterwards we were asked to participate in the Surfilm Festibal in Spain so we put on an additional media push including that information
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and our story got picked up by the Coast as well as the Chronicle Herald. For the film festival, I had been in contact with one of the organizers late last year (2008) when he left a comment on our website as well as I had seen a crossposted link incoming from our backend stats. At the time I did not know he was involved with the festival and he mentioned that he simply really liked what we were doing. So then a few months after that he dropped an email stating that the Surfilm Festibal would love to see a submission from us to their Short Film section. We were honored of course so I had an episode I had not released yet and edited it to fit the festival rules and sent it in. We were accepted and would have gone over but it was a bit late for budgeting or sponsor partnerships to enable the production to go to Spain. Next year I hope we can make that happen for sure. The episode was screened to a packed house to great fanfare. The submissions for the short film section were submitted through a screening on Dailymotion (a online video site) here: http://www.dailymotion.com/ surfilmfestibal7 . There were 61 submissions. 20 selected for screening in Spain (us being one of them). With 4 final winners. Are you getting a pretty big following around Atlantic Canada? I'd say yes. We hear that people are always waiting for the next one to come out. It has been positive so far (at least what we hear). We never reveal where we are surfing or name spots so that helps out I think. We also have a great following all over the world too. As part of my web-video speciality I figured out how to connect with a worldwide audience and it's a fun show with real grass roots appeal. What's your association with Dacane? Dacane Surf Shop is Lance's store. We are brothers and that dynamic works itself into the fabric of the show. I originally started surfing first but shortly afterwards lance got into it as well. I lagged off and he kept with it
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to the point of opening up a surf store and traveling all around the world to surf. He is definitely one of the top subject matter experts when it comes to surfing in Nova Scotia. The store occasionally serves as a backdrop to the show and it definitely one of the key advantages in generating content for episodes. Lance inhabits the surfing world everyday and that was one of the factors that I felt would enable long-term development of content over time. That being said the store and the show are separate business entities. Do you have any big plans for Surf Donkey's future? The show is ever evolving for sure but we have several key goals in the future. Now that we have a basis of viewership and statistical traffic we are starting to pursue sponsorship and advertising for the show. As episodic web shows go, this production model is a bit labour intensive. We shoot for a half day (or more for a road trip), it's about a day of editing for me and then the distribution is a half day plus continual comment maintenance and conversation management. So it has a hefty backend. I believe that this demographic is an ideal fit for some of the sponsors and has a great ROI for them. Most good online video shows have sponsorship and advertising tied to it. It's how it works. Also I see a few road trip and tours ahead. I think a great series would be a cross Canada SurfDonkey tour. Maybe even some charters to warmer climates too. Expanding our available merchandise would be cool too. As we grow with the production I plan to get a camera in the water and a longer lens camera on the shore. Who knows maybe Sony or Canon Canada wants to step in with a sponsorship deal. We'll see. I can also see bringing on someone to manage the web property and doing some editing as well. Where can people watch Surf Donkey? Our main site can be accessed at http://surfdonkey.ca and I have it everywhere on the web. Youtube, Dailymotion, Metacafe, Viddler etc. but that's what I do. I don't think surf donkey was much of a real term before we stared and now if you do a Google search you can expect about 800,000 results now.
www.zopilote-surfcamp.com
A1
http://aoneboards.blogspot.com/
boardshop 6166 Quinpool rd. 902.423.1470
SETTING UP SHOP In the past few years Nova Scotia has seen an explosion of new shops across the province. Where you might have once had to drive a few hours to your nearest shop, have a look at what they had in stock, and maybe even have them order what it was you really wanted, you can now be pretty sure that there’s a shop near enough to your home that you won’t have to spend $40 on gas getting there and back; you can also be pretty sure that at least one shop carries that core brand you didn’t think you could get in Nova Scotia. The thing is, not everyone knows that these new shops exists - we’ve even heard of people who live not 5 minutes away from a new shop and they’ve never heard of it, let alone gone in to have a look around. To make a long story short, its time Nova Scotia’s new shops had a proper introduction. We’ve sat down with the owners of seven of Nova Scotia’s newest shops to find out what they’re all about, and in the following pages you can read what they had to say. Have a look, you just might be surprised what Nova Scotia has to offer riders these days. Opening up a new shop is a lot of work, and not everybody was able to get back to the mag. We weren’t able to get an email back from If Only surf shop, but the last thing we want to do is leave them out. Click here to check them out for yourself.
ENTITY IMPACT LAKE WAKE LIMITLESS PROGIRL/UPTOWN HY JACK’S OLLIE AROUND
Interview with Rob MacLeod
1270 Bedford Hwy Bedford, NS B4A 1C7 902 406 3449 (phone) 902 444 3875 (fax)
What is Entity all about and where can people find you? Entity is a rider owned boardshop focused on the life style clothing for surf skate and snow for ladies and gents and hards goods for snow ski and snowboards and skate. What is the skate scene like around Bedford and how have people been responding to the shop? We’ve had lots skateboarders of all ages respond to the shop really positively. Lots of people have commented on how they’ve been waiting for something like this to come to Bedford.
Are you all riders at the shop? Yes everyone is part of the scene. Are you guys doing anything to support the scene? Yes I have been helping out local skate comps, with donations for prizes and helping run an event with HRM in sackville park. What do you see in the shops future? To become more and more part of the community and local scene in all sports, winter and summer.
Matt Allen Halifax Commons P. Jon Burke
Interview with James Sarson 139 Portland Street Dartmouth, NS 902 405 3510
What is Impact all about and where can people find you? Impact is about promoting skating in a positive way. Part of the reason I wanted to open this shop was to support the scene in Dartmouth and help it grow. A lot of people see skateboarding as a negative thing and it’s not. I want Impact to be an advocate for the sport, a shop run by someone who is involved and invested in the local scene and wants to give back to that community. Impact is located in downtown Dartmouth at 139 Portland Street. It’s a neighbourhood shop that provides a place for skaters to meet up and find out what is going on in town. You can also find us at www. impactboardshop.ca. What is the skate scene like in Dartmouth? Dartmouth has always had a strong skate scene. Even with all the parks that have been popping up in nearby communities in recent years, the scene is much larger than most people realize. So far there isn’t a skatepark in the Dartmouth core but local skaters have petitions going to try and change that and just down the street from the shop in the parking lot of a vacant building there is a make shift skate park full of ramps and boxes that skaters have made themselves. The home made park is broken up constantly but it doesn’t matter, the skaters will just keep rebuilding it. How long have you been skating in Dartmouth? I have been skating in HRM for 22 years, and will keep skating for as long as my body can handle it. Are you doing anything for the scene? Impact is still getting off the ground so right now we’re helping in small ways, doing what we can. The shop is supporting the petition that local skaters have initiated for the development of a skate park for the Dartmouth core. It takes a lot of time and effort to learn to skateboard, and the more places available to skateboard the better. Impact also has a used equipment drop off where old equipment can be donated to kids that might otherwise not be able to afford to skate. Other than that right now it’s just about trying to connect and encourage local skaters and provide a stable foundation for the next wave here in Dartmouth, and as I’ve said to try and get people to see skateboarding as more of a positive thing. What are your plans for the future? Future plans......anything is possible, life if full of surprises. What I hope for the shop is that it will become a downtown Dartmouth fixture that will be good for the local skate scene and the downtown Dartmouth area in general. And it would be nice to grow enough to be able to throw some events/ contests in the near future. Right now I have to have my fun by ‘sponsoring’ impromptu games of skate when I’m out at the local parks with a shop t-shirt or two in my bag.
What is Lake Wake all about and where can people find you guys? Lake Wake is all about being different. It’s a small wake shop that also does lifeguard rescue and competition equipement. We are all about being small and having brands that aren’t as well known. I wanted to start a shop to serve the towed watersports community along with anything else wet. I go out of my way to help everything from summer camps to swim teams. Whose behind the scenes at Lake Wake? Behind the scenes is mainly me, it’s small deal. But I also have slot of support from my friends. My buddy Luke who got me into Wakeboarding does all my website stuff and graphics, and all my buddies just help out spreading the word and doing what ever they can. My girlfriend Cindy also keeps me going and covers shop time when I’m in a pinch. Are you guys doing anything to support the scene? The last two summers Lake Wake and my crew have hosted wakejams and this summer we are fully supporting wakerocknovascotia with all the events they want to do. We have also taught everyone we know how to ride. I also sit on the Nova Scotia Waterski Association as wake chair. So we are more interested in growing the sport than growing the shop. If the scene doesn’t grow the shop will never go anywhere. So we are really looking to just get people on the water. Whats your history in Wakeboarding? My history in Wakeboarding started in 2002 when Luke (my graphics guy) got me out on the water. We hit the Luke’s lake 3 times instead of studying for grade 12 provincials. I instantly took too it since I grew up
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waterskiing. Then I was away from the water for 3 summers till I bought my own crappy boat and me and my good friend Dave had no idea what we were doing, we just bought gear and hit the water. And this is where the shop began. We hated shipping stuff in from the states so after doing that for 2 years I just decided nova scotia needed awake shop.
Interview with Adrian Spencer 3124 HWY #2 Fall River, NS
Where is the sport of wakeboarding in Atlantic Canada right now? It’s hard to say where it is. There are really all these little pockets of riders all over the Atlantic Provinces, but no one really gets together. The comp scene is non existant for the most part. It’s growing, but slowly. I really hope this summer with wakerock we can change that some and start to bring peole together. Where do you see Atlantic Canadian wakeboarding in 5 or 10 years? In 5 to 10 years I see wake sports bring pretty big here, bit still not on level with the rest of Canada, but I think that will be a healthy position. I could see some real quality talent come out of here, I mean look at our snow scene we have some serious rippers here, even though we have lousy winter some years, but Maritimers seem to thrive off harsh odds. So I think if we start to see some of the surf/skate/snow crews cross over it’s going to be a very creative scene. We have an unreal amount of water here to use and with the population it will be sick! No over crowded lakes like ontairio or alberta, which means alot more opportunity to really go hard and not wait around for oportune days.
Interview with Evan Banks Greenwood Mall. Greenwood. (902) 242-RIDE
How did Limitless get started? Something I've wanted to do since I was in Jr. High. My Eye sight basically sucks so I knew I'd never become a pro without a ton more work than I'd ever put in. I never stuck with much durring high school or ever, but skateboarding is something I always have loved. I heard you already moved the stores location, how did that come about? Well I didn't get the location I wanted to when I first opened so when it became available again I grabbed it and was able to open the shop I wanted, more space and a cool shape. Business has been steady and climbing since the move definetly a better spot for my shop. Whats the skate scene like in the Annapolis Valley and where can people find the shop? The scene is good and has snowballed since the shop has opened. We have started alot of new skaters and had some old ones return to the sport. The scene seems to be running alot stronger with the shop, better comps and way more of them. The shop is located in the greenwood mall 963 Central Ave. Greenwood N.S. The # is 902 24-2-RIDE How long have you been skating? I have been skating since I was 13, I am 27 now. Are you doing anything for the Valley scene? Heck Yeah Limitless sponsors skateboarders and snowboarders, we have a pretty sick team. Also put on comps and help the Town with their comps. Limitless is currently working on getting Greenwood a concrete park. Jason Keddy: Handplant, Backside Air, and surf shot. P. Mike Waterburg Wesly Noras: Boardslide. P. Josh Drapeau Evan Banks: 5-0. P. Josh Drapeau
What are your plans for the future? Ride the concrete park... have Limitless as well know a name in the Maritimes as Pro Skates. I always Loved going to Pro and I want people in my area to have the same feeling when they shop at Limitless. Are you just carrying skate gear, or some other things as well? Mostly skateboard and snowboard hard and soft goods, alot of the shoes and safty gear can be used for bmx too.
Pro Girl 240 Blowers St (90s) 405-3535
Uptown 6070 Quinpool Rd. (902) 406-4006
Interview with Jon Swinamer
How long has Pro Skates been behind skating in the HRM? We've been down for skating in Halifax for about 23 years, either by hosting or supporting events, including several Sportwheels events in the late 80s, Vans contests in the 90s, DC Nationals in the 2000s, and our own annual Bowl Jam. Whose behind the scenes at Pro for those who don't know? Are you all riders? The people behind the scenes are the same guys in the front lines, skating as much as possible. If you mean owners, it's Zach Tovey, Rob Bell, and Jon Swinamer. Where did the ideas for Pro Girl and Uptown come from? Pro Girl came about after years of having a small offering for girls, but never having the space to have a really good selection. While girls complimented us on what we did have, there were also complaints about our lack of sizes and selection. A great space very close to us opened up and we jumped on the opportunity. Amazing staff and customers have kept it going for four years now.
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Uptown came about for a few reasons. We had just gotten the park, we were itching to do something new again, and then as we were talking about the new shop, the skateboard industry was changing a bit. The owners remember a time when skateshops were full of huge decks, neon wheels and plastic parts, 100s of stickers that would some day become tattoos, and 5 or 6 pairs of shoes to pick from. We wanted to bring a bit of that back, and it was a perfect time in skateboarding as old school stuff was coming back, and core brands were getting core again. A space became available close to the park, and again we're at home on Quinpool. Where are the new shops? Pro Girl is located at 5240 Blowers St, about 100 ft away from Pro Skates home base. Pro Skates Uptown is located at 6070 Quinpool Rd. It's a one minute walk from the Commons skatepark, and only a few minutes from the original location 23 years ago. Have you had a good response for both the shops? We've had a great positive response to both. They were each opened to address certain markets or ideals, and each is working to achieve that and more, for it's customers. Have you got any plans to expand even more? There are burgs of HRM that we could see other Pro shops in the future, and areas of the country or even world for that matter, but we've got lots on our plate right now. We'll see what the future brings for Pro.
Interview with Jacki Fletcher
Who is behind Hy Jacks and how did you come to open a shop? My partner in this shop is Heather Young and I am Jacki Fletcher, hense the name HY for her and Jack for me. Heather came up with the idea of a sports shop a few years ago when her sons started hockey and there was nowhere here in Chester to get equipment. When the Skatepark was being built here she shared the idea with me and then we just ran with it. Most of our first meetings were held in her car on trips to Homegrown Skateboards in Lahave. We opened in December knowing the winter would not be the time to open but we knew there would be others in the area with the same idea and we had to beat them to the punch. We have started out small but are expanding our stock line steadily and hope to carry hockey, ski and snowboard equipment in the fall. At this point we carry skateboards and accessories as well as t-shirts and hoodies, soon BMX bike accessories. My son, Eric (16) and 3 of his friends are our employees and man the shop for us. They help us pick our stock too. Where is the shop and what are your hours? The shop is located at 226 Duke Street, Chester just around the corner from the Skatepark. We are opened Tuesday, Thursdays, Friday, Saturday and Sundays. Our hours vary depending on when our customer base are here and weather pending. Now that the tourist season is here we will be expanding our hours somewhat. Are you guys doing anything to support the riders around Chester? We just took part in our Skatepark Grand Opening last month and are on the Skatepark Committe which will be hosting competitions and demonstration in the future. We do hope to sponser some skaters or bikers when the opportunity arises. Has the scene been growing in Chester since they built the park? Yes the scene is growing it was normal to see 50 or more kids here at the park on any week day after school and now that summer vacation is here the numbers seem to be growing with people coming from Halifax and points farther. What is the future of Hy Jacks? We hope the future for HYJack's is a rosy one with us stocking our own logoed boards and clothing as well as homegrown and other brands. As I stated above we do hope to become more involved in sponsorship and possibly forming our own team from Chester as well as branching out in other sports. Really the sky's the limit and we are quite small but growing as we speak.
Dan Cameron (Team Rider|Employee) Nollie Frontside Flip P. Mason Burke So how old are you long have you been working at Ollie Around? Im 20, been working at the shop for 7 years, since the opening in 2002
When did you open up the latest shop? How many do you have now? The Sydney Shopping Centre Shop opened up March 2008. That brings the head count up to two.
For a lot of kids owning a shop, especially at your age, is really the dream. What advice would you tell kids who are still in school who want to make it to be entrepreneurs? Stay in school dont do drugs? LOL Business is all about risks and getting yourself out there, waiting for something to come to you isn’t always gonna happen, but be able to take help from others.
You guys doing anything for the Cape Breton scene? We do everything we can for our scene, sponsor the rippers, host all the events, and now we are working on putting out the best videos of our island. If people wanted to give you guys a call, pop in one of the shops, or check you guys out online, where could they do all that stuff? www.olliearound.ca is a good place to start it out at, all our contact info, maps to the shops, and videos of our antics.
Interview with Ryan Mansfield Sydney Shopping Centre Prince Street (902)562-1671
North Sydney 256 Commercial Street (902)794-1082
TWO LIVING
CANA DIANS
THE
AMERICAN D R E A M WORDS AND PHOTOS BY NICK KHATTAR
Dear Atlantic Canada, Today is April 23rd. We have been in the USA now for almost two months. I turned 25 just over a month ago when Marc Magee and I left on this shred pilgrimage. On March 4th the two of us, packed in a 1991 Ford Ranger, rolled into Reno Nevada to the tail end of a weather system that had dropped over six feet in five days around the Sierra Nevada’s. Have we ever had six feet of snow over a season in Nova Scotia? Anyway, in Reno we met up with Ben Harmon, the owner and mastermind behind Sentury Snowboards. Ben’s a former NASA engineer, ex MLS soccer player and general doer of cool things. We also met up with Prashanth Manickaraj (Prun for short), Karen Mcnab and Damian Watson of the Canadian Sentury team. The team had flown down from Calgary for a ten-day film trip and product test. “Kayter you dirty dirty man!” says Prun to me, with open arms and a welcoming ear-to-ear smile. We tell of our journey from Whistler to Reno and the team gives us updates from Banff. Our first evening in Reno went something like this: (the following is an excerpt from an email from me to my brother)
“…driving around in circles screaming in frustration, eventually meeting up with Alex De Roulet, Marketing Manager for Sentury. American beer, pool, and smoking ensue. We crashed early, staying at Ben’s new house, which seems to have formerly been a rats’ nest; I guess a meth den…it’s way out in the desert…surrounded by trailer parks. Tell mom and dad all is well.
-Nick”
Day two in Reno: we all wake rusty eyed and excited. We head to a place called Mt. Rose. It’s the closest mountain to Reno and had a tone of new snow. The drive reveals a chewed mountain/desert landscape covered in a foot of snow. This part of the American landscape is completely foreign and alien to us Canucks. I marvel at the Tumbleweeds covered in frost. Eerie. On the hill we immediately find ourselves a quiet little corner and start going to town. Nothing but pure clean virgin powder for us to slash and cartwheel through. Sorry no shot’s, too much fun. On day three we head deeper into the heart of the Sierra Nevada. We pass through a spot called Donner Pass. The snow is ten feet all around us. We pick the spot that looks the least tracked: Donner Ski Ranch, a splendid little gem atop Donner Summit. The place is 790 ft high, with over 500 acres of shreddable terrain and receives an average of 396 inches of snow a year The main chair takes you right up and over a section of 20ft cliffs. We immediately begin sniffing out lines, take offs, landings etc… From first drop the crew scrambles like a loose pair of rogue dice. Everyone drops in hot as hell and goes for it! Karen goes left, I go right, Ben is gone before sight and Alex is “Ricky Shaking” his boots into the woods. “Yeeeeehaw” Alex shouts, sounding like a surfer pretending to be a cowboy. Magee spots a little hopper and gives er a lil “how she do”. He boosts a tail grab and lands up to his waist. EPIC. Eventually we built a little/big jump up in some bush that sent you (with some good wu tang) 50 feet onto a ski run. Old Greg nailed a lawn dart front lip off of er and a mystery shred went for a double backy but pulled one and a half into some trees. Magee picked a line off the front-side cliffs and broke his thumb. We shredded and filmed in the day and at night the team explored the Biggest Little City in the World: Reno.
Like a half-assed version of Vegas stuffed into a small old western town, Reno is a constant mind boggle of complexities. The casinos are everywhere, and many people are constantly gambling and getting filthy drunk. But where the casinos aren’t, such as around the university, and around Old Reno, which sits on the Truckee River, people are doing other things like: wine walks through the old part of town, Kayaking in the constructed kayak park on the river, and playing music on the streets. Indeed, Reno is not such the shit hole that the TV show “Reno 911” depicts it as.
On the 9th of March the whole team packed into a 15 person rental van and drove to Mammoth Lakes to meet up with Chris Pye and Ladelle Preston from the MFC- Mammoth Family Cings- crew, who are known for wrecking sleds and heads around those parts. We arranged a cozy suit at the Edelweiss Lodge The man who runs the spot, Keith, shoots interesting photography called “Garbage Art”. Check it out sometime. Things were pretty windy first day in Mammoth, a common occurrence, so we went and checked out June. The place was as deserted as the ghost towns we passed on the way there. It was amazing. We literally had the whole hill to ourselves to do what we pleased. Thus we slammed brews and shralped. The park at June was built out of old crap the hill had collected from the town of June. Things like old water tanks, wrecking balls and giant satellite dishes were signature features. Second day in Mammoth, the wind died down a slight bit, so we decided to go explore Mammoth Mountain. Mammoth is as the name suggests- big and hairy. However there is certainly something for everyone. When wind and avalanches aren’t shutting down the upper portion, there are some very very sweet chutes, bowls and cliffs to get bad on. I suggest the Avalanche Chutes, which are named for good reason, but if you get em on a good day, you can do about 150km/h through some hairball lines. The Mammoth trip was short but sweet. We got some good shots and made some good friends. Mammoth Mountain’s lower park was super fun for huge park sessions with a big crew. When we got back to Reno the team was going back to their real lives in Canada, while Magee and I were staying behind to live the America Dream. When the team left Magee and I took a few days off to explore our surroundings. We spent time hanging out in the Sentury factory, watching the magic happen. We also spent a few days around Truckee and Donner Pass looking for urban features and sweet backcountry terrain. We found a lot…of both. Truckee gets pounded with snow, but has a tendency to warm up soon after. So when you scope something there, you have a three or four-day window to get er done before she either melts, or gets poached. However, around Donner Lake and Donner Pass there is an unfathomable amount of handrails, and easily accessible backcountry terrain. It is literally like dying and going to snowboard Heaven. The lake is surrounded by a 7,000 ft high mountain-pass that includes sled country and highway accessible hike terrain. “This is actually the best place in the world,” I would tell Magee every time we shredded there.
The first days up around Donner, Magee found a crazy 36 stair down rail with a fat gnarly gap in it. The rails separated around the 20th stair, and due to the pitch of the rail required a good foot high ollie up onto the next rail. It was hairy and out of my league. There wasn’t enough snow to hit it right then, so we put it on the agenda. Two days later we came back to Donner to set up a 100ft flat rail we found next to the lake. We set it up for a few hits on it, like a flow line. I ate it on a front board and rocked my back off the support rods, thus re-aggravating an injury and ending my season. Magee was still on it and eventually dialed a 60ft backside 50-50 to back lip on the lower half. We celebrated with a case of Natty Ice next to the lake. After a week or so of me recuperating on the couch, we went back to the Donner area. It had been sunny and hot for weeks now so we weren’t sure what we would find. Fortunately a few feet had melted around the south side of the lake and revealed a dozen new handrails. Magee found a sweet 20 stair wooden down flat close out rail. The set up looked mint, so we waited on the clouds to part to get a good shot. “Lets crack a few Natty Ice and wait for them clouds to pass” says Magee. “We’re down to a case and a half; we might need more if you grease this first try- so take er easy” I replied. A few watery American brews later, Magee dropped in and greased it first try. It was a little bit squirrelly on the landing so I told him to give’ er again. He dialed another 50-50 on it, and was feeling good. The next two drops were not as smooth. “Yo you got this” I reassure Magee. Third try: he catches an edge going through the kink and scorpions off the rail. “OOoooh that was a heater!” I tell him as he lay there. He smoothes out the bite on the rail and marches to the top. Fourth try: He nicks the rail on the way up and slips out on the rail. He gets taco’d through the flat and somehow slides out on his chin and chest, avoiding the close out. “That one was a doozy” I say. “You ok?” I ask as he clutches his ribs and gives the ol “ooooo eeeeee”, trying to breath the pain away. Made like the bulletproof landings in Wentworth’s park, is Marc Magee. A few minutes later he’s back at the top for round 5: he drops in hot as hell and slays it, throwing a slow late frontside 180 out of the 50-50. We end it on that note.
Things began winding down around that time in April. Most in the hills in the area were getting ready to close within the next couple of weeks. We decided to spend the next week riding Boreal, Northstar and Kingvale. We wanted to try and get to all the hills around the Lake in that week, but time was limited, and we were kind of lazy. This place is pretty big, in case you didn’t know: Around Lake Tahoe there is nine resorts: Kirkwood, Heavenly, Mt. Rose, Northstar, Alpine Meadows, Sierra at Tahoe, and Squaw Valley. In very close approximation there is also Kingvale- a snowboard owned and run park, Donner Ski Ranch and Boreal. Kirkwood has the steeps and deeps and is generally less busy on pow days. Heavenly is a giant resort with lots of park. Northstar has good tree runs, pipe and progressive parks. Sierra at Tahoe is good for stashes and very large park jumps. Squaw Valley has it all- like the Whistler of California. Mt. Rose is the closest hill to Reno and is good for accessible lines, trees, and cliffs. Alpine Meadows has awesome open bowls, wicked top to bottom cruiser runs. Their park, known as the Shreadows, is always immaculately shaped and sculpted. During that last week of resort riding Magee and I crushed about 180 beers; maybe more. We were going through a 30 pack of Natty Ice a day. It only cost 16 US dollars for a case! What do you expect from a couple of Maritime snowboard junkies? By the end of the week we had taken to referring to Magee’s Ford Ranger as “Hot Garbage”. Holy cramoly!” I say one day, while we are loading up the truck. “It smells like straight hot garbage back here.” There was easily over a hundred beer cans, and about 50 Taquito wrappers and hot dog boxes back there.
Three days ago Kingvale hosted their annual 420 celebrations “Kingstock”. It was our last day on the hill in California and we made it count. We made a pact to leave the camera gear at home and just shred all day. We baked up some brownies for friends at the hill, and grabbed a couple bottles of 7/11’s finest malt liquor. What Eezy used to drink: Old English. We rolled to the hill by 10am and the place was jumping. The music was pumping, people were riding, and whole place smelled like an art teacher’s office. It was one of the best days of my life. I had a decent enough buzz on that I didn’t have to worry about my back. I sent my life all day on every feature in that park. The last thing I clearly remember is leaning on the shoulders of Danny Davis and Lucas Magoon and telling them to drop in with me on their back. I woke the next day with no injuries, so I assume all must have gone fine.
The day after Kingstock, the Donner area got a little snow. We went back to the gap rail. There wasn’t much snow, but there was enough. It looked skeeeeeeetchy, but Magee - a Maritimer used to the icy landings of Poley Mountain and arena snow for hand rails in January - eye balled er and saddled up pretty quick. I set up my HVX for the shot, and grabbed my Cannon 10d to get the photo. “Boy-oh-boys that’s a hefty little hop ya got there to get to the other rail,” I say to Magee as we set it up. “It looks sketchy I know, but I think I got it.” Magee replies. He drops in and bails before the gap. I was some nervous the first few tries he went for it. I wasn’t even so sure the bottom rail would support his weight. Anything could happen. He hits it again and again then finally commits to the hop. He makes it but comes off early. He gives the rail a little stare down and goes back for another. Next try Magee gets on the rail smooth as a ice, comes into the gap and gives er a perfectly timed nice little hop. He lands square on the next rail and greases it! We both scream as he skids to a stop across the street. We call it a day on that note and walk down to the lake to soak up the 20degree blue bird weather and rejoice with a case of Natty Ice. Yesterday was our last day of shredding and we spent it around Donner, soaking up the fresh beauty of it all. We drove around Lake Tahoe and said our goodbyes. It was a quiet and solemn day of reflection. Our time in California and Reno has been mind blowing and epic, but it has also been an eye opener. The USA is a beautiful place with beautiful people, even if they themselves forget it sometimes. It can be ugly, and dirty, and fat, and obnoxious, and excessive, in times and places. However, if you find the right spot, the perfect spot, you’ll understand why all that capitalism is necessary. But hey, maybe my experience doesn’t count; after all, I’m just a Canuck living the American Dream. Hope all is well back home. I guess the season has long since come and gone? Trying to miss you Atlantic Canada
-NICK
Richard Coté. Front Board. P. Papa Coté.
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Mark Taylor. Luc-E Cape Breton, NS. P. Alex Taylor
Harrison Forward 180. Moncton, NB. P. Joshdale
Ryan Rose. Pole Jam gap. Marble Mountain, NL. P. Dru Kennedy
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darkroom.
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Kurtis Shea. Melon. Fredricton, NB. P. Tom Bateman
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Shane Macintosh Tree Ride. London, ON. P. Batman
Harrison Forward Boost. Ahmerst, NS. P. Joshdale
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Marc Gagnon 50|50. Moncton, NB. P. Stefan Curtis
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Bobby Harry Front board|Nose|Feeble. Chester, NS. P. Charles Beals
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Jeffry Dawe Gap Front Board. Grouse Mountain, BC. P. Nick Khatter
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Stefan Curtis 450-Out. P. Marc Gagnon
David March Soul Grind. Coxheath, NS. P. Justin Stratton
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JEREMIE LANDRY
Front Board, Edmunston, NB. P. Alex Jessome.
Front Board, Sam’s Backyard, NB. P. Ced Girouard.
Where do you live? J’habite pres d'edmundston And where do you ride? Street et Mont farlagne Avec qui? T'as un crew? Non pas vraiment avec mes buddy d’Edmundston Are you gonna move after school? Tout va dependre de koi je vais faire et ou je vais etudier... je vais demenager surment dans un ville ou le snowboard est vraiment populaire! C’est qui ta héro de snow? J’dirais max Legend Pourquoi lui? Legend! Ces un francais et il na pas la tete enfler. I mean he knows he’s not a super star... I talked with him and he is a person like me and you Any last words? Bonne saison 09-10 see you guys in november for the Hotshots and Urban Butter rail jam!
Where did you grow up? Berwick, Nova Scotia out in the middle of nowhere. How did you get into surfing down there? I started skim boarding and got bored of that so I picked up surfing at 11 and went to the beach once a week to surf. And where has surfing brought you since then? Wow ummm the whole east coast, carribean, California, Portugal, Costa Rica, Panama, Hawaii. What's your set-up in Costa Rica? I spend about 3 months a year there and I have an apartment down there, it’s a pretty sick set up, a few beds, bathroom, tv room. What does it cost to live down there? It’s cheap if you can stay away from the American imports and fast foods, the few they have. What are you going to be doing with 68 East the next little while? A weekly blog that will be updated as much as possible, just kind of a behind the scence look at what goes on in my life and lots of surfing also featuring my travels and some friends along the way with some other thing thrown in the mix. Anybody to thank for getting you how far you've come? Ya a crazy long list well first my parents, Nico Manos, Jim Hogan, Raven Lundy, and anyone who has ever giving me some advice.
ill Taylor Cowbay, NS P. Ph
LOGAN LANDRY
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youngblood
P. Mason Burke
RYAN MACARTHUR What first got you into skating? Watching the older kids do it around town. Before we had skate parks. Did you have a crew when you started out? Not at all. Me and maybe two friends would skate off picnic tables at some old tennis court. And what about now? Yeah. I skate with a lot of people that are older than me. I am used to it now. My parents never used to like it but it just feels natural now. My parents don't even mind it anymore. How do you think skating with older skaters affects your riding? It pushes me forward because I have to skate the bigger spots that they skate. Have you got any big plans for your future in skating? I am filming for a video that Mark Hennessey is filming called "The Big Dirty 2" but other than that i am just looking forward to getting more exposure from videos and magazines. When and where could people find "The Big Dirty 2"? It probably won't be out until December or so. The premier is going to be played in the Empire Theaters in Sydney and Mark will be selling copies. And did you have a part in the first Big Dirty? No, Just a few montage clips. So is professional skater in the plans someday? I am hoping that I will get hooked up in someway somewhere in the future. Anything going on with sponsors yet? Not really. Me and Mark were talking about him bringing a video to Pro Skates to see if the could get it out there.
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Gloryhound is a rock band in its truest form. They’re loud, rigid, in your face, and from the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Live, the band commands your attention with a heavy, pulsating rhythm driven by two crunchy guitars and soaring vocals. Their presence will suck you in. Decked in leather and jeans, Gloryhound is a no BS-type band, molded from years of cranking bands like The Ramones and Iggy Pop. The band is no stranger to the stage, touring with Matt Mays and El Torpedo, playing with The Trews, and headlining several shows; including New Years Eve at the legendary Seahorse Tavern and performing with many renowned guests during the final night of the infamous Marquee Club in their hometown. The band has also torn through the Maritimes, turning heads at every show.
The band consists of lead singer, song writer and rhythm guitar player Evan Meisner, David Casey on the lead guitbox, Shaun Hanlon on the thunder drums and Jeremy MacPherson who rocks the bass. Together they specialize in bringing back the fun of rock and roll, and the need for timeless rock anthems. Their vibe resurrects the seedy underbelly that popular rock music once had. With one album under their belt, the band has dug in their heels and started work on a brand new rocker that’s sure to hit the air waves in a big way. Stay tuned and beware the hound. .....................................................................................................................................................................................................
How Howdid didyou youguys guysget gettogether? together? Evan, Dave and myself met through the conservatory’s RockCamp when we were first in high school which six months later lead to jamming and playing little bars which our parents had to supervise us for the liquor inspector. Jeremy came along not much after that and we’ve been playing bars since then. But now we’re playing our own songs, and our parents don’t have to sign a waiver. Have much of aoffollowing? Haveyou youguys guysfotgot much a following? I wouldn’t say that we move masses but the people who like us seem to really like us. The past two shows in Halifax were so much fun. It’s wild just having the stage sweaty and smokey and hot and loud, and people seem to have fun with it... and it makes you drink a lot of beer.
UPCOMING SHOWS Sept. 12: Coconut Grove October: Ontario Tour October 31: Seahorse November 5-7: Yarmouth for the Molson Canadian Nova Scotia Music Week
SHAUN HANLON Q&A
Whats your ever from a show? What’s yourbest beststory story ever from a show? Well, the best story that I can actually tell was down at the Cunard Centre in Halifax. We were opening for Matt Mays + El Torpedo during the Halifax Pop Explosion. It was just the two bands playing and we had never played a stage like that, but it was wild. Our set went super well and we got into the Booze backstage rocking out to the MM+ET set. During an encore song, they had us all switching instruments and they let us finish “On The Hood”. I’d never felt something so hot from all the lights and equipment and it looked amazing seeing the crowd of god knows how many people all screaming and smiling and jumping. Good night. Does the band bandgive giveyou youtime timetotoski? ski? The band guys have always been very good about my skiing and skating, but I know I’m to a point where a serious injury will mean no rent money. Not an option. I know to pick my spots, but go like all hell once I’m at the hill. Basically, I ski less, but love it more than ever. Your flying to play at some music festival and the plane starts going down, you crash on a desert island that somewhow has snow , you only have a few seconds to grab something, do you save the drums or the skis?
Hahaha, I like that one. I’m doomed because as a drummer and a skier I realize that I have WAY too much friggin’ shit to cart around. Thank god for Bessie III the van. She’s a godsend. But yeah, if there’s snow, I’ll save the skis and go strait Swiss Family Robinson and carve up a big, dirty drumset out of coconuts, driftwood and some yeti bones. What are forHave the future? Have you gotbig anything big lined up? What arethe theband’s band’splans plans? you got anything lined up? We’re finishing up our new album. It’s been a long time coming, but really worth it. All the people we worked with were amazing and we had way too much fun making it. Hopefully some touring through the fall and who knows from there. Hopefully get involved with a ski/snowboard event again someday like up at the 08 Red Bull SkyHigh at Poley. That was a crazy night. sometime soon,soon, or give listen online? Where could couldpeople peoplesee see you youplay playing sometime or you giveayou a listen online? Nothing is written in stone yet, but I imagine we will rig up something around downtown Halifax. (Seahorse, Tribeca, etc.) and who knows from there. Stuff can come pretty fast but the dates are on myspace.com/gloryhound.
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ME...
Name: Dru A. Kennedy Rides For: Fist Fulla Fives Mountain : Marble Mountain Food: Ah, French Fries Ok, first off, Nick asked me to do this and wanting to I said "Yes". Then he told me that I had to write and do it myself, being the first person to do this I gave it a shot. Here it goes! Hello everybody, my name is Dru Kennedy and I am From Corner Brook Newfoundland. At the age of 19 I'm the kind of guy that wishes for winter all year around, due to the fact that I love snowboarding. My local Mountain is Marble and I try to get up there everyday! However when it is summer I do enjoy skateboarding, dirt biking, camping, and being a Newfie "I Loves Me Fish'n". I try to tavel around as much as possible to for snowboarding as well like Martock for the PBRJ, Moncton for Hotshots, and Mammoth For the PBRJ championships. As much as I like riding mountians and hills I still like getting out in the streets hitting gaps, rails, and drops. In the summer I do take Mom and Dads Pickup and go to the rink for some ice shaving to set up a little sesson with the "Bys's". Anyways Thanks to Nick for this opportunity and I am looking forward to reading what the next person has to say who is in my seat in the next mag! Stay Shredding, Dru
Coming Next Issue ............................................................
Logan Landry in Costa Rica
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who is freddy
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