BL!SSS Magazine | July 2013 | #71 by Blisss Mag

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EDITOR-IN-CHI EF nick kalionzes nick@blisssmag.com

EDITOR

joey marshall joey@blisssmag.com

CREATI VE DIR EC TOR mark paul deren : madsteez madsteez@madsteez.com

A SSIS TANT EDITOR spencer pirdy spencer@blisssmag.com

EDITOR AT L ARGE liz rice mcCray liz@blisssmag.com

SKATE EDITOR chris ortiz chris@blisssmag.com

SNOW EDITOR jon francis jon@blisssmag.com

MUS IC EDITOR max ritter max@blisssmag.com

ADV ERTISIN G ads@blisssmag.com

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jason 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, Bryce Kanights, Arto Sarri, Anthony Acosta, Cameron Strand, Brian Fick, Deville Nunns, Gage Thompson, Derek Bahn

CONTRIBUTOR S

Matt 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, Kelly Shannon BL!SSS Magazine 413 31st Street

JULY 2013

Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.blisssmag.com 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 expressed in this magazine reﬂect the opinions of their 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 reﬂect negatively on 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.

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The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Nixon is under license.

There’s nothing ghetto about this Blaster.

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NIXON BLASTER

Nixon is always thinking ahead, and this time they’re parlaying into the world of mobile speakers. Luckily for us, they’ve hit the ball out of the park and created The Blaster. The Blaster is a lightweight, mobile bluetooth speaker with moisture and shock-resistant construction, made for people who live an active, on-the-go lifestyle. The Blaster is perfect for bringing big sound to the beach, snow, or skate park… all without wires or strings attached. It’s a simple, highquality speaker that’ll follow you wherever the journey takes you. The Blaster is something we’ll all be bringing with us wherever we go, and we suggest you do the same. Look for the Blaster at all ﬁne retailers or visit nixonnow.com.

VOLCOM FOOTWEAR Without a doubt, shoes are a challenging feat to master, no pun intended. But when Volcom unveiled their new footwear line to us we were blown away. The shoes themselves are unlike the majority of other foot brands out there and carry with them distinctively ﬁne Volcom taste. Built in a wide range of styles and colors, and for both men and women, Volcom footwear offers your feet multiple avenues of expressing themselves. Be it the relaxed slip-on look, the newly fashioned boot look, high tops or your standard pair of low-top sneakers, Volcom will deck you out. Footwear is key and now Volcom has the perfect ﬁt for your feet no matter what you have in mind. Check them out in a store near you or at footwear.volcom.com.

BLIND’S DAMN Blind’s newest full-length film Damn… is freshly out and flying off the shelves as we speak. The film was produced and directed by Mike Manzoori and Bill Weiss, featuring over two years of banger clips captured on location in LA, Barcelona, Toronto, France, Texas, North Carolina, Amsterdam, Brazil and Sacramento. Ronnie Creager, Kevin Romar, Sewa, Filipe Ortiz, Morgan Smith, TJ Rogers, Cody Mcentire and Yuri are just a few of the all-star cast members involved that you’ll witness sticking unthinkable tricks. It’s a sign of where skateboarding is headed, and Damn… is a flick that you’ll always want in your DVD library. So, head over to your local skate shop or to blindskateboards.com to own this instant classic.

CHANT BLUETOOTH and portable come to mind SPEAKER Simple when we think of the House of

STOPNICKS X ELECTRIC Electric has recently announced that the Stopnick brothers will be waving the ﬂag in and out of the water as esteemed brand ambassadors. Scotty and Turkey are known to encompass all that is California surf culture and then some. They tackle all that is surf, skate, music and motorcycle and do it with a distinctive style that many attempt to mimic. Yet, there is only one Turkey and one Scotty, and the Electric crew sure is pleased to have them aboard. Expect to see plenty of eye-popping edits, collaborations and other nifty notables soon from Electric and the Stopnicks. Keep in the know at electricvisual.com.

Marley’s Chant portable Bluetooth speaker. The speaker easily travels with you to deliver your favorite tunes when and wherever you want them. It works with your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, as well as hundreds of other Bluetooth-enabled devices wirelessly. And not to worry, if your audio device doesn’t have Bluetooth technology, you can still plug it in just as you would with any other normal speaker. All Marley products are earth-friendly and engineered to perform, plus a portion of sales go to helping those in need. Superior quality, eco-friendly, with a great cause behind it is something we all here at BL!SSS are deﬁnitely backing. Visit the Apple store or anywhere House of Marley products are sold to purchase the Chant today.

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RAEN X POLER

Raen Optics just announced a collaboration with friends, Poler Stuff, an outdoor lifestyle brand that offers camping essentials and adventure equipment. A natural ﬁt for a timeless collaboration, RAEN and Poler Stuff share a keen eye for design sensibility and an adventurebearing consumer. The collaboration has brought three new ﬁnishes to some of Raen’s most solid styles. Featuring polished black and grey crystal acetate with a unique metal logo applique, these frames are sure to draw in anyone with vision. To top it off, the RAEN x Poler Stuff collaboration boasts Optics by Carl Zeiss polarized lenses. If this all isn’t enough to make you crave these shades, then you’re truly doing your eyes a disservice. Check your local retailer and raenoptics.com for more of their Poler Stuff collaboration.

KARMA TEQUILA We love hearing stories from our dear friend and BL!SSS supporter Reef McIntosh. He was just in the ofﬁce talking story about his last run-in with the recent mega swell at Teahupoo. Unfortunately, he injured himself during the monstrous swell and has been spending way too many hours in Orange County with Dr. G. and is swiftly on the road to recovery. Anyway, he was kind enough to drop off a few bottles of Karma Tequila, which his wife Jessica is repping, and we’ve been sipping Karmaritas just about every afternoon since the delivery. Man is this stuff delicious, smooth as can be and gets us to that happy place. Everyone deserves a little good Karma every now and again!

COMUNE’S REED BOOT Inspired by the timeless look and feel of high-quality boots, Comune has ventured into the realm of producing a pair of their own ruggedly reﬁned man’s shoe. What they came up with was the Reed Boot, a polished, all-purpose boot that would make James Dean blush. We’re talking ﬁne leather, subtle accents and exceptional craftsmanship. They put the Reed through the ultimate test drive in the streets and back alleys of south Los Angeles. In the end, the streets bowed to the Reed as it strolled off into the sunset. Basically, the Reed is one badass boot and we are anticipating its in-store release in the fall. To keep up to date on the status of the Reed and all other Comune news, head to thecomune.com.

RVCA EKOCYCLE CIVIL THE FINER THINGS Collaborative minds are joining forces with the legendary Teddy Monney (a.k.a. T$) and Tim Roberto of DWNTWN to launch “The Finer Things.” The duo came together with an idea to produce fun, classy accessories for every human being. With stylie socks for your hoofs and fresh hats for your dome, keep an eye out for The Finer Things at ﬁner retailers and direct at theﬁnerthingusa.com. 38

RVCA just came out with a snazzy new pair of trunks that aren’t just fashionable but eco-friendly, comfy and durable for surﬁng as well. They’ve become Makua Rothman’s goto board short and they go by the name of the Ekocycle Civil. The Ekocycle Civil trunks are 91% post-consumer recycled polyester and 9% spandex, forming the ultimate four-way performance stretch board short. This board short is a must have for summer, and you’ll be feeling even better about yourself knowing that approximately ﬁve 20 oz. bottles were used in making each pair. Less bottles on land equals a cleaner world, and that’s why you should head to the store today to pick up the Ekocycle Civil or visit rvca.com.

randoms SHARK LEASH Freestyle would like to welcome you to the Velcro Apocalypse, otherwise known as the return of the Shark Leash. This is a replica of the original Velcro band that ignited Freestyle Watches in the late ‘80s and they’ve brought it back better than ever. The shark leash’s velcro closure system is modeled after an ‘80s style surfboard leash, and it is ready to get radical all day and all night. The Shark Leash comes stocked standard with digital features like time, date, stopwatch, countdown timer, alarm and night vision backlight that reveals the shark ﬁn logo. Like all Freestyle Watches, The Shark Leash is water resistant to 100 meters and backed by a limited lifetime warranty. Check for this Velcro throwback and all other Freestyle Watches at your local shop and online at freestyleusa.com.

LATITUDE DIGS Jonathon and the crew over at Latitude Supply Co. have been pumping out some fresh, eye-catching attire lately. They sent us over a couple of items to try out, the first being their Boathouse Trunks. These bad boys have an eye toward quality and class from the minutest detail up and carry LSC’s signature style. They take great pride in their trunks and you’ll be able to feel and see the difference. The other item they sent us was the ever-dapper Bayclub Blazer. This blazer is full of insouciant charm, selfconfidence, and good breeding. Use this as your go-to for a big night out or a casual get together. We highly suggest you get your hands on some of these finely crafted clothes. For more info on Latitude Supply Co., go to latitudesupplyco.com.

SAMMY THE SHREDDER

PARTY WEIRDO There’s a new tee shirt company on the block that’s making all types of waves in and around the party scene. If you’ve been out and about you may have noticed the Party Weirdo gettin’ weird at some of the same parties as you. The lovechild of Mike De La Vegas and Albert Sameth, there’s no mistaking the X-ed eyes of the smiling character that symbolizes simple enjoyment in the face of tough economic times, war and global uncertainty. And don’t forget, where’s a party, there’s a weirdo.

Longtime BL!SSS contributor and dear friend Tawnya Shultz teamed up with Brian Allen and illustrator Jennifer Jeffries Ryan to release their first kids snowboarding book named Sammy The Shredder. The first installment has Sammy waking up to bluebird skies, fresh powder and learning from his big brother how to snowboard. It goes through the basics of first-time snowboarding and even has a snow slang definition for youngsters to understand what’s going down on the mountain. They’re not stopping with Sammy The Shredder either, as there are already plans for Alley The Gator who shreds on a skateboard. We’ll keep ya posted.

OLLOCLIP There’s now a way to set your iPhone photos apart from others as far as crisp quality and unmatched attention to detail goes. Thanks to the minds at Olloclip, the possibilities are now endless when it comes to the capabilities of your iPhone camera. Olloclip is a quick connect lens that gives you three lenses in one. In a matter of seconds you can attach the lens and choose from ﬁsheye, wide-angle or macro, depending upon the image you’re trying to capture. Olloclip works with all of your favorite apps and comes with a microﬁber carry case that doubles as a lens cleaner. The Olloclip is hands down one of the most convenient, user-friendly products we’ve come across in a long time, and they even have a Quick-Flip case and ProPhoto Adapter available to easily turn your iPhone 5, 4 or 4S into your own professional photo studio. Make sure to check these guys out at olloclip.com, and grab your own personal Olloclip for next-level photography today.

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SMITH LOWDOWN Smith Optics just came out with the Lowdown, a shade that has instantly become a favorite sunglass of ours for multiple reasons. Let’s start with the frame itself, which has a simple, retro look with modern accents. Then, there’s the high quality of the lenses, which are offered in a polarized option and are what we recommend for optimum vision in any conditions. The shade uses Smith’s patented Evolve material, which creates an ultra-high comfort level. The Lowdown comes in ﬁve diverse color ways and is at the top of our list of must-haves for summertime accessories, so make sure to visit smithoptics.com or your local retailer to snag a pair.

SICK DOPE KOOZIES Sick Dope is a concept our pal Joe Frizelle has had in the works for quite a while now. You may have seen stickers, artwork or other whispers of Sick Dope ﬂoating around town. Sick Dope transcends surf culture and the enjoyable lifestyle that it goes hand-in-hand with. To our enjoyment, Joe recently came out with Sick Dope koozies that allow you to keep your party beverage ice cold, and, at the same time, add some extra laughs to the situation. We have to admit the koozies are pretty classic, with funny taglines that’ll let you claim or subtly call out anyone you’d like. So far these koozies are being sold at select surf shops and liquor stores in Newport. Be sure to keep an eye out for these party time enhancers so that you can wrap them around your next cold brew. Visit sickdope.com for more info.

HEX X HAZE Hex has enlisted in the help of one of New York’s original street artists Eric Haze for a new collaboration that just came out. The collaboration represents a balance between art, design and product that Haze has been striving toward in the past few years. Hex’s sophisticated line goes well with Haze’s applied pattern work and geometry. The Haze artwork is on a wide array of Hex’s bags, cases and backpacks. Basically, the already superior bags and accessories that Hex puts out just got even more irresistible with Haze’s badass work on all of them. Purchase a piece from the Haze X Hex collaboration at your local retailer or by visiting shophex.com.

STICKY BUMPS MUNKEY WAX Our good friend Jason Kenworthy turned us onto quite possibly the best wax we’ve ever had the pleasure of putting our feet on, Sticky Bump’s Munkey Wax. Now, Sticky Bumps has long been regarded as one of the premiere wax makers in the world, but the latest wax they’ve been dishing out is simply mind blowing. Munkey Wax will keep you planted in the most critical of situations, but it doesn’t overdue it with an ultra-gummy feel that’s over the top. The wax smells heavenly, as all wax should, and comes in a wide variety of water temps, allowing you to utilize this wax on domestic surfs or on dream trips abroad. Visit your local shop or go to stickybumps.com for this magic Munkey Wax and more. 42

PANDA Our pal Blake Peters, founder and shaper of Panda Surfboards, is quickly setting himself apart from the rest of the pack with interesting new designs that are proving themselves in the water. Blake sent us a couple of boards to check out for ourselves. The first was a weird and fun little creature called the Doinker. The board kills it in the small stuff and will get you up and flying faster than any other board in your quiver. The other board we were intrigued by was Ford Archbold’s signature model – the Synthetic Sally. Ford likes to ride his boards short, fat and a little different from everyone else’s boards, and it shows in this design. The board comes with a low beveled rail, flat deck and beaked nose making it just as unique and enjoyable as Ford himself. To order a board from Blake or to check out more Panda models, head over to pandasurfboards.com.

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PRESENTS

THE FORMULA FEATURING DAVE BACHINSKY august 2013

C O S TA M E S A , C A

Interview: Liz Rice McCray :: Photo: Bo Bushnell

Will you please introduce yourself to our readers – a little synopsis if you will … My name is Bo Bushnell and I co-created/co-directed/executive produced The Art of Punk. I produce television shows, documentaries, and Web series. Most recently I produced the feature documentary “Heart of the King” that’s now on Netﬂix, and The Ben Baller show with Ben Silverman/Electus for their premium YouTube channel Loud. This is my directorial debut, which was a lot to take on. You are one of the creators of The Art of Punk. How did you get involved with the show/ documentary? The Art of Punk is a series of documentaries for the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art’s premium YouTube channel MOCAtv (YouTube.com/MOCAtv). The series documents and dissects the art and artists behind Black Flag, Dead Kennedys and Crass. Our goal was to focus on the art and how it has inﬂuenced the world, rather than get into the band politics. I think we succeeded at that. Black Flag (Raymond Pettibon), The Dead Kennedys (Winston Smith), and Crass (Dave King) are a few of the bands and artists featured in The Art of Punk

series. Who are some other band members and notable artists that you feature in the show? The Black Flag episode features Raymond Pettibon, Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Henry Rollins and Flea. The Crass episode features Dave King, Gee Vaucher, Penny Rimbaud, Owen Thornton, and tattoo/fine artists Scott Campbell. The Dead Kennedys episode features Winston Smith, Jello Biafra, Steve Olson, and artist Tim Biskup. How many hours of filming and editing did it take to compile the first episode? The first episode (Black Flag) took almost a year to complete. We probably shot 15-20 hours of interviews for it, which we had to cut down to 22 minutes. It was extremely tough to edit down because the band has so much history and so many stories to tell. It took a year because of availability of Rollins, Flea, and Pettibon. I flew to NYC with my partner Bryan Ray Turcotte, with no official interview locked in with Pettibon. We went back and forth with him for months. He would say, “Yes, I’m available, let’s do it,” and then he’d disappear. He’s very busy. We were in Brooklyn interviewing Scott Campbell, and Pettibon called Bryan to say he was ready to be interviewed. Scott Campbell looked at us and said,

“Go! If you don’t go now, you’ll never get him.” We spent two hours with Raymond in his SOHO studio. He drew the Black Flag bars for us for the first time in about 25 to 30 years, which was epic. We then drank gin with him and played baseball for an hour. He has a pitching machine set up on one side of his studio and two trashcans at the other end filled with 1930s baseball bats. I will never forget that night. Out of all the The Art of Punk documentaries, which do you connect/relate to and enjoy most and why? I really like the Black Flag episode because that’s who I listened to growing up. They left such a mark on the world and have such an amazing story. All of the interviewees were so supportive, nice, and intelligent. It was probably one of the most memorable times of my life. When you are not making films about legends what are you doing? Obsessing over anything and everything counter culture/subculture related. I’m really into the history of motorcycle clubs, gangs, secret societies, and lowrider clubs/art. I also take photos and am doing a show with Amanda Demme and Estevan Oriol later this year. How did you get linked up

with MOCAtv? My partner Bryan Ray Turcotte brought me onto the project. He wrote and published the book Fucked Up + Photocopied, which sold over 100,000 copies and won multiple awards. He also has the largest collection of US punk rock art and ephemera. MOCAtv approached him because people kept telling them about Bryan and his collection. I was the only person he trusted to do it with him. I give Bryan all of the credit for The Art of Punk. Without him, it would not have happened. Bryan is the nicest and most generous person I know. Emma Reeves and John Toba at MOCAtv have been so incredibly supportive and have given us way more time on this project than we probably deserved.

When does The Art of Punk premiere? The Art of Punk premiered on MOCAtv (YouTube.com/MOCAtv) on June 11th, starting with Black Flag. Crass was released on June 18th, and Dead Kennedys premiered on June 25th. Any last words? I just want to thank Bryan Turcotte, Emma Reeves, John Toba, and everyone at MOCAtv for allowing me to be part of this incredible project. It truly was life changing.

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WATER RESISTANCE

Frame grab : Daniel Russo : The only man on earth able to tread water in the impact zone of Teahupoo while holding an 20 lb red cam above his head and dodging 40-foot backless beasts. Interview: Spencer Pirdy

Amidst the maelstrom of deathdefying waves at Teahupoo in midMay, no one surfer experienced a dichotomy of extreme emotions quite like the young Koa Rothman. As you know, Koa rode a wave that has been dubbed by many as the ‘new millennium wave.’ The wave basically bitch slapped every other wave that came in that swell. Koa’s partner in crime Eli Olson was there charging alongside and bore witness to the horror and astonishment of Koa’s feat firsthand. Below, the two recount their life-changing trip. Tell me what it was like plotting that trip? Koa: Yeah, there were a few of us that got together. It was me, Eli, Nathan and Ivan Florence, and John was going to go too but he was still rehabbing the ankle. Eli: Yeah, John was trying to get the green light from the doctor so he could go, but last minute he couldn’t. Koa: I actually just barely got to because I had a broken collarbone. That was my first real session back. Eli: We just knew from the swell models that this one was going to be really huge. Koa: Yeah, remember I was saying that was the biggest one I’d ever seen on the maps? Eli: Yeah. What were your expectations like? Eli: We were definitely thinking we were going to get some bombs, but we weren’t expecting something that big and gnarly. What was the dynamic like out in the lineup with all of the skis and carnage going on? Koa: People were just getting hurt. Eli: I saw some pretty sketchy guys out there. It was kind of like a paddle pack, but with everyone all on skis and guys were jockeying for position and getting really aggressive. You’ve got to watch everyone’s ropes and stuff. Was it the first session when Makua got hurt?

Koa: We surfed the first day and the second day was getting big and we started off paddling. Makua caught like three waves and I caught two. Then, Pete Mel came up to me on the ski and was like, “Hey your brother just hit his face and they’re taking him to the hospital. You want to go?” And I was like, “Yeah, take me in.” I got to the beach and stole Russo’s car, went to the close emergency room and Makua was just sitting there with a napkin holding his chin together. They were sending him to another hospital because they couldn’t do anything for him there. As a concerned younger brother what were your thoughts? Koa: I was thinking that my trip was over and I needed to help him, and he was catching a taxi to the other hospital. So, I told him that I’d go with him, but this was right when the waves were getting big and Makua’s like, “No, just go surf and get one for me.” So, I went back and got a ride out on my ski with my tow stuff. Laird asked me if I wanted to tow and I caught like four waves and then I caught that bigger one. I pretty much came in and went straight in to check on Makua in the hospital. What were you doing at that point, Eli? Eli: We all didn’t really know how bad Makua’s injury was, but when he didn’t come out we all realized that it must’ve been pretty heavy. Nathan and I were getting our tow stuff ready and it was just a mix of emotions of adrenaline and concern. What’s it like getting whipped into a wave at Chopes? Eli: Once you let go, you’re going. It could be a ten-footer or could be like Koa’s wave. They all look kind of the same when you’re going. My first wave ever towing, Garret whipped me in and I was so psyched from watching Koa so I told Garret that I wanted a bomb. Then, I realized, “oh shit” maybe I shouldn’t have told Garret Mcnamara that I wanted a bomb. Garret whipped me in deep inside of everybody, and right when I let go I knew I was too deep and I front-flipped over the falls. I was

tripping. Koa: You get this feeling when you’re towing in and you come down over the ledge and you’re trying to set this line and then see this thing building in front of you. It deﬁnitely depends on your driver out there. Eli: Yeah, Laird proved how good he is on the ski with Koa’s wave. Take me through Koa’s bomb. Eli: Laird had already whipped Koa into a few. As soon as that bomb came Laird was driving out while that wave was coming, and Laird turned and had probably 10 seconds of set up time. Koa: Yeah, I don’t even remember what happened. Eli: Laird was just screaming at the top of his lungs, “I’m going!” And they were the furthest ones in towards the channel. He was yelling to Koa, “You’re going!” And from there you have no other option. Koa: Laird was like, “You better fucking go! This is your wave!” Eli: I was on the boat watching and I knew it was huge and everyone was screaming. The wave kept on going and the wave ate him towards the end. Everyone was cheering and stuff but I was watching because it’s basically my brother in there and he didn’t kick out. No one was paying attention and I was whistling for Laird and luckily he was the one who went in after him. They found him in the lagoon. What was the experience like for you Koa? Koa: I didn’t know how big it was until I saw the photo. I knew it was big, but then when I knew it was bigger than most of the waves I’ve ever caught was when I was sliding on my back looking out of the barrel and up the lip. The Surﬂine video makes it seem like that was the whole wave, but after I go out of view is when the wave really threw. I didn’t make it and it sucked me up and made me feel like I was freefalling for 30 seconds. It was so violent and gnarly. Underwater I was just holding onto my vest because it

was shaking me so violently and it was my collarbone that I was worried about. It wasn’t healed all the way at that point. I came up and I thought I was going to be over in a bad place at the right so I just started scratching to get out of there. Then, I realized I was in the channel staring at the channel marker. I’m super lucky. Somebody was with me on that one. So, you must’ve been on a huge high for the rest of the week? Koa: (Laughs) I barely even surfed after that session. I was watching perfect waves but I just didn’t want to get greedy. Eli: There was a lot of crazy paddling going down later that week from Nathan, Hippo, Healey and other guys. They were pushing us a lot. That wave is moving so fast, the whole time you’re paddling in you’re just getting sucked up the face. Koa: Anybody can tow in. Paddling is different. Eli: Yeah, some of the tow guys are really sketchy. And then those same sketchy guys, when you’re paddling, do you see them out there? Koa: Not a lot of them. At least half of them aren’t out there. So, do you feel like Teahupoo can handle bigger waves than what you caught? Koa: Yeah, that place can handle as big of a wave as a swell is going to throw at it. The only thing I was thinking is that there might not be enough water on the reef. A big one might just suck all off of the water off of the reef. Koa you’re only 19 and Eli you’re only 20. What’s the future hold for you two? Eli: Ever since Koa and I were little we knew this is what we wanted to do. These next few years are going to be so heavy with how hard everyone’s pushing it. Koa: We’re all going to be pushing each other. We’re deﬁnitely testing our luck. I mean, how many times can you fall on a big wave and not get hurt?

LIMITED EDITION ART POP UP

Photo: Derek Bahn Hurley, Agenda, and BL!SSS Magazine have joined forces to create a few energy centers for the arts. The centers will be temporary homes for a team of artists, a Charles Brand etching press, Graphic Chemical ink and some dead-stock Colby blanks. Starting in early July, you can visit the Hurley Printing Press in two locations: on 31st Street in Newport Beach (@ BL!SSS headquarters) and in Huntington Beach at the Livery Design Gruppe, 220 Walnut Ave. There, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll ďŹ nd limitededition art prints and tees curated by the legendary CR Stecyk with help from BL!SSS Magazine and the crew at Agenda. Look for more details on featured artists throughout the month at #hurleyprintingpress and the Hurley, BL!SSS and Agenda social channels. Should be a colorful summer.

“ I would like the place where I was born to be a place where I can go to relax and be with friends and family.” Photo: Joe Brooke Mark Gonzales is considered to be the father of modern street skating. Mark, commonly known amongst his peers and fans as ‘Gonz’ or ‘The Gonz,’ has been named the most inﬂuential skateboarder of all time by Transworld Skateboarding Magazine. His imaginative and spontaneous style was one of the key founding forces of street skateboarding and today still turns the inconceivable into reality. Not only is Gonz an incredibly talented skateboarder, but his everyday life could be considered an art form in its own right. His works of art, poetry and videography express his unique imagination and color his day-to-day life. Mark Gonzales has been a member of the Adidas Skateboarding family, inspiring,

developing and nurturing the skateboarding program for 15 years. This past month Adidas and the Gonz celebrated with The 15 Years of Gonz and Adidas Exhibition, which was held at The HVW8 gallery in LA all of June, and the exhibit is now touring the globe. Watch out for the New York event and others to come. You have lived in so many places and have friends that live far and wide. Where is home? What makes a place home? I’d say home is the birthplace in which I was born. My idea of what makes a place a home is not so easy to explain. I would like the place where I was born to be a place where I can go to relax and be with friends and family.

Which is your most memorable photograph from The 15 Years of Gonz and Adidas Exhibition and why? The one Benjamin took where my pants are ripped and my board is broken is a pretty memorable moment! I can remember trying to get in a positive mode, but everything was negative. Firstly, I ripped my pants, then I broke my board… but eventually I was able to pull what I was going for. Ultimately, it was memorable because it was both good and bad. What was the drawing factor to becoming part of the Adidas family 15 years ago? I just like the history of the brand and the athletes who have endorsed their shoes throughout the years.

Mark Gonzales has had an influence on every single skateboarder out there, whether they realize it or not, and to many has influenced the way they see things on a day-to-day basis. “His creative and free mind, to do whatever he wants to do with a board, a brush or whatever he comes up with has been a great inspiration. In my opinion, that’s what makes him so genuine in all he does.” – Sem Rubio, Skate Photographer “He has influenced me since the very first time that I learned about who he was. As a child I wanted to be a grown-up pro skater just like him. As an adult, I want to be a child just like him.” – Brian Gaberman, Skate Photographer

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Photos: Jeff Divine Peter Townend, surfing’s first-ever world champ, is receiving SIMA’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Waterman’s Ball this August. Every year they put out a calendar project that highlights the honorees, but his year they’re unveiling a book instead. Legendary photographer Jeff Divine was enlisted to contribute photos of the champ, and while sifting through some of PT’s golden images a few timeless gems emerged. Divine used his uncanny ability to pick the best of the best and honored the SIMA request with 15 photographs that embody PT and his contributions to the sport of surfing. When PT first caught a glimpse of

the images he was elated, to say the least. PT put the photos on Facebook to let the general public decipher which images had greater appeal, so that the SIMA crew could pick the best. However, that’s where the problem arose, as the images were all equally spectacular in their own right. There’s the shot of a dwarfed PT dropping into an offshore towering peak at Sunset in the mid ‘70s, a shot of him rushing down the face of a second-reef Pipe bomb, and a Waimea drop from the infamous 1974 Smirnoff Pro on Thanksgiving day, just to name a few. The images speak volumes to the well-rounded skill that PT possessed and bestowed on the surﬁng world. From two feet to

25 feet, PT was blowing minds. The overwhelmingly majority of people that chimed in voted Divine’s photo of PT throwing down a layback hack at Off the Wall as their favorite image, but for us it was an across-the-board tie for each jaw-dropping photo. The special part from all of this is that PT was unaware that Divine had these photos or that half of them had even been taken in the ﬁrst place. Divine and PT’s relationship all started back on the North Shore with a session out at Velzy Land. From then on the two were friends and have continued to work together and share good times over the years. Some of the boards PT’s riding are hand shaped

by himself, some are Tom Parrish Lightning bolt shapes and all of the boards are being pushed to the absolute limit. There’s a lot to be said about careers that have truly altered the course of surﬁng as a whole. Peter Townend’s has done this in an extremely positive way and his legacy continues to be a shining light on the culture of the sport. As PT puts it, “Your career is a body of work.” And as evidenced by these 15 photos, he’s got one damn ﬁne body of work. When looking back on the monumental shots, he replies in typical PT fashion, “Fuck, I guess I was alright.”

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I did not “get into it,” because there was no “it” to get into.

Interview: Liz Rice McCray Your work seems to be a combination of renaissance classicism and modern day street art. How would you describe it? Fundamentally I consider my work very contemporary. It deﬁes the conventions of modernism, and therefore draws a lot of people to it. I do believe that our century has made a monumental mistake by discarding the tradition of classicism. Musicians manage to preserve their classical heritage while creating new contemporary forms as well. The visual arts has a “slash and burn” relationship with its past. It preserves individual works, but not the creative process. Where do you take scenes to draw from? When I have free reign on the subject matter, I often like to create compositions using famous themes from European art and music history. This invites a comparison of my work to earlier artists. Perhaps I do this for myself, as the number of people in my audience who can understand

the thematic references is probably small. Now that I am older I enjoy using themes that appeal to children, as they are the most consistently enjoyable members of my public audience.

at the base of the work. Unlike traditional anamorphic compositions, such as church ceilings, the viewing angles were very wide, and I started to use a curvilinear ﬁsheye lens to document the compositions.

How did you get into anamorphic street painting? Three-dimensional street painting is my own invention. I did not “get into it,” because there was no “it” to get into. While studying in Rome, I was invited to climb the scaffolding in several churches to see the frescos up close during the restorations. I even touched the Sistine Chapel ceiling. On some of the baroque ceilings I noticed that the ﬁgures were elongated to appear normal from the ground. I was aware that my street paintings were subject to similar viewing circumstances – people looked at the work from an angle rather than straight on. I started creating my particular perspective geometry by adjusting the proportions of the painted forms to accommodate the viewpoints of the spectators standing

My own geometry is different from 17th century anamorphism, and I have not published it. It combines a logical use of linear perspective with a projection outward from the human eye. Other artists that emulate the three-dimensional pavement works use a more traditional geometry called “quadratura” that does not involve complicated calculations. They do not understand that my geometry is unique. What mediums do you work with? I work in a wide variety of media, including pastel, oil and water based paints, sculpture, ceramic, and even do architectural design and decoration. I have worked in all the visual arts media that an artist would traditionally employ for large works, as well as incorporating new

technologies such as digital imaging. How long does it take to create a piece? An average work of pavement art takes about a week to design and a week to execute. Some of the works are very large and can take longer. Are your pieces always legal? In the early years the works were created spontaneously and the legality varied from city to city. Now the works are commissioned and highly publicized, so I always have the appropriate permissions. Where can people check more of your art? The best places to look further are my website, kurtwenner.com, and my book Asphalt Renaissance. I am working on a blog that will update the website and provide a more intimate view of the works as well as some technical information for artists. There will also be print editions for purchase. I hope to launch this in August.

KIRON JABOUR WEARS THE HD3 FLUXUS BOARDIES FIND OUT MORE AT ALPINESTARS.COM/HD3

Photography: Dominic Petruzzi :: dominicpetruzziphoto.com // Model: Alexandra Abercrombie :: PhotoGenics Models

It’s not every month that one of the editors from your favorite mag actually goes on-location to play photo assistant for the monthly Supertaste spread. Dominic must have been desperate, as yours truly was sent to hold reﬂectors, carry water, assist with hair, oil and sand, and put in my own two cents. Needless to say, I was all smiles upon returning from the shoot – it was exactly what we were looking for and I think the spread speaks for itself. Alexandra is a babe and a pleasure to work with, Dominic nailed the shot and of course my assistant skills were spot on. Hope you enjoy the outcome. Assistant: Joey Marshall // Retouch: JasonSchorle.com

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Words & Photos: Bryce Kanights Mike Barnes is one of those underground, blue-collar skaters that shreds heavily and lets his skating do the talking. He’s traveled around the US through road trips, skate demos and contests over the years and migrated from Florida to the West Coast a couple of years ago. While he appreciates all types of skateboarding, his love of skating bowls, pools, pipes and transitioned wooden structures is where he really gets down and dirty. Over the past year he’s been sidelined from a severely injured right ankle. In truth, his foot was backwards and he required a heavy surgery. To see this action, check out the opening segment for Bacon Skateboard’s Footloosed video online at vimeo.com/42712407. Brutal. But undeterred and determined, he’s pressed on through the taxing pain of physical therapy and is now out there again doing what he loves – ripping and rolling on his shred sled. So have a look and dig in on the skatecentric realm of Mike Barnes. He’s in it for the good times and the long haul. What are your stats? I was born Michael Barnes in Manhattan, New York City, in 1989. Do you have any siblings at all? I have a brother two years younger than me. Does he skate also? He did for a little while but didn’t stick with it all that much. Surfing is more of his thing actually. Growing up in Manhattan, how did you discover skateboarding? My cousin, who was 10 years older than me, skated and he had a couple of boards lying around. I traded him a pair of Air Jordan’s for one of his skateboards. He was over skateboarding a bit and was up for the trade. He was primarily a street skater and he couldn’t even drop into a mini ramp. I definitely started out street skating more than anything else, since there weren’t many trannied skate spots around the city. How did it blossom for you from there? What was your introduction to the larger picture? That wasn’t until later. I was just kind of skating around with friends. I didn’t even know about the skateboarding world, contests, or sponsorships or anything. So when did you first learn of the skate magazines and videos back then? My cousin had a few older videos, which included Plan B’s Second Hand Smoke and Virtual Reality. Those were amazing and influential videos that I watched regularly. Also the Bones Brigade Video Show had a big impact on me early on. So from that point did you skate around in Manhattan seeking out all kinds of terrain? We moved to Florida in 2003. So yeah, prior to that, I skated for two years in New York City. I remember in the wintertime it was pretty brutal. So I would go over to New Jersey and skate an indoor skatepark at the time called Rex Plex. It was a weird, fun plex with paintball and arcade games, along with a vert ramp and a mini ramp and a little street course. And the Lopez Brothers, Rich and Sanford, skated there all the time and they were definitely a big influence with my skating then. So you learned some of your chops there, so to speak? That’s where I first earned to drop in on a mini ramp. It was my first introduction to skating transitions really. My first axel stall, first rock ‘n’ rolls and all of the basics happened there. It was the only indoor park to skate in the wintertime. I went from skating the four-foot mini ramp straight to dropping in on the twelve-foot tall vert ramp - nothing in between. So it was kind of brutal. And the Lopez brothers pushed me to do it. I remember seeing Jim Murphy skating there. I remember seeing Andy Kessler skate there, Pat Smith too, when he used to live up that way. Dan Pensyl was a

regular. It was pretty epic, although I might not have realized it at the time. Between you and me, I think the place was probably some sort of mafia drug front, being in New Jersey. It was situated right next to Newark airport – right across the freeway there next to the big IKEA. It was a weird place. So who were some of the first skaters that you’d met besides the Lopez brothers? Well, so there were those guys at Rex Plex, but there was also a skatepark at Chelsea Piers on the west side of New York City, which was downtown and closer to my home. It had a vert ramp and I’d skate there sometimes too in the summer when it was nice outside. I remember skating with Darren Menditto there. He was a pretty rad influence too. He would come and skate with me on his lunch breaks during his residency, as he was in medical school. He would show up in his scrubs, change and put on his pads, skate vert and then go back to doing brain surgery or whatever. It was pretty amazing, yeah. He was a rad dude. So then you moved to Florida. Which region? And what was the skate scene like there? We first moved to Palm Coast, Florida. It’s not a very well known town, but uh… it was actually pretty harsh. It was a culture shock in reverse for me. I had just moved from New York City with epic stuff and skate spots all around me to a beach town with dirt roads. That’s a big change. It was and it was weird. We had one skatepark and it was a crappy metal setup with fabricated ramps painted purple, just to add insult to injury. It was made of sheet metal, which became super hot in the summer. But it was like 15 minutes from the beach. So I began hanging out at the skatepark and everyone kind of surfed so I started surfing too. Then, finally when I turned 16 I got my drivers license and that’s when it kind of opened up some doors since everywhere around there you had to drive. And that’s when I started exploring and traveling a bit to Kona Skatepark, Stone Edge Skatepark, St. Augustine Skatepark and a lot of the better concrete parks. So was Bacon your first sponsor? Yeah, it was my first sponsor besides the help from the little mom and pop surf shops in the area. But yeah, Bacon was my first legit sponsor. I was actually on Bacon before Tim Johnson, believe it or not. Even though he turned pro for them, it all started with the Florida Bowlriders Cup and it was the first big contest that I’d entered and I won some of the first few of them. And Benji had won the pro division, so things just kind of clicked between us and we were homies. So he started giving me boards and I was stoked. I remember emailing Colin, the owner of Bacon, introducing myself to him and letting him know that Benji was hooking me up with boards. And he emailed me back, “ Who the hell are you?” (Laughs) Ah, I thought that I was on Bacon. Damn. And then it was all cool since then. It was like Tim Johnson got boards shipped to him and then there would be one or two decks for me. But Colin thought that Tim and I lived in the same town. I actually lived two and a half hours away. Tim lives in Southeast Georgia and I lived in Daytona Beach. So I would have to drive to pick them up. But it was cool because it made us meet up and skate together. Overall, how was the Florida skate scene for you? Initially, it was kind of harsh, but it got better as I started to meet people and travel to skate different parts of Florida. It definitely got rad and then obviously I started to get sponsored and traveled around.

B.S Smith Speaking of travel, where did you travel to through skateboarding? I’ve traveled around most of the USA but not much internationally. I went to Denmark and Sweden during the summer of 2011. You’ve been living out on the West Coast for a couple of years. What prompted you to move out of Florida? I preferred the better weather in Southern California and better skate spots and pools specifically. We have good pools in Florida, but they are few and far between really. Yeah, I don’t know, the move up to Portland was definitely fueled by Bacon being headquartered up here and I have many friends here too. It doesn’t rain in Portland as much as they say, right? Yes and no – I’ve been hearing that it’s a dry winter, but I’ve still been soaked. What are your favorite spots to skate in the Portland area at the moment? Burnside… always and anytime. And Brooklyn Street has been a fun leg warmer. Pier Park is always fun on a sunny day. We try to get the vert thing going. I’ve definitely been stoked to skate vert with Willis Kimbel, Alex Foy and the other guys that are down to charge the bigger stuff. That’s been rad. So what else takes up your time on planet Earth besides skateboarding?

Work. (Laughs) Yeah, just making pizza mostly. What other interests do you have? I’ve been trying to mess around with the bass, but I’m not trying to claim that I play bass because I haven’t gotten that far yet. I definitely have fun with it though. Video games take up some of my time and fry my brain. And then there’s record collecting. That definitely takes up a big majority of my free time, browsing record stores and such. Going into a record store and finding something that you’re stoked on and getting the album with the artwork, the liner notes and the whole package is awesome. Digital download is void of that experience really. So let’s talk really quick about your injury. You’ve overcome a serious injury to your ankle while skateboarding close to two years ago. Tell us what trick you were doing and how it happened. Yeah, I took a little spill. I guess I don’t really know what to call the trick - perhaps the rewind boneless. It’s basically a fakieto-fakie boneless. It looks like a frontside boneless being played backwards. And um, yeah, it’s a unique trick that I’ve had for a while and I was skating the gummy bowl at the Klamath Falls Skatepark during a Bacon demo and we were filming. So I put one down and when I reached the flat bottom my foot slipped off of the board and the next thing I know, my foot was backwards.

Fastplant What do you think that you’d be doing in your life if you never discovered skateboarding? That’s a weird one… Fuck, I don’t know. I don’t know that I’d even be around. Who knows? It’s such a weird world if you don’t skate. I don’t even know what the regular people think about. I could still be in Florida, still be in New York, still stuck somewhere. Stuck… not moving forward, not cruising, that’s for sure. What is your dream skate session and whom would it be with? I think it has already happened actually. The only time that I skated Bucky Lasek’s backyard bowl and it was when the bowl had just been built. It was the right place, right time and I had been hanging out with Josh Borden. He got the call for the sesh and I was kicking it with him at the time. The bowl was just ﬁnished and the decks hadn’t been poured yet. The coping and tile was brand new all the way around too.

Have you gone back to that trick to get it out of your system or are you over it? I’m over it. That injury set you back over a year or so. It’s good to see that you’re back on your board ripping again. Yeah, it’s been a lot of work rehabbing, but it deﬁnitely paid off to skate again. While you were injured you traveled to Europe for the ﬁrst time to attend the Ultra Bowl event in Malmö, Sweden, thanks to John Magnusson. That was very hard for you I’m sure. Yeah, I owe a huge thanks to John. It was a weird trip. I’m happy that I got to see a portion of Europe. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But, it was hard not to skate and it was kind of a weird time trying to rehab and stuff. In hindsight,

maybe I should’ve stayed home but at least I had a good time with the homies and I got to see everyone rip, and many of them did really well in the contest. You can’t “not” have a good time in Europe. It was my birthday and everything. Definitely no regrets, that’s for sure. So, what’s on your plate these days and what are you working on? Just getting back on it and relearning tricks that have been on the back burner and trying to learn new ones of course. Trying to plan some trips too. It was a bit of a financial strain just moving from coast to coast a couple of years ago, so I’m just kind of on the rebuild and working and saving up money so that I can take more trips. Just trying to make it here in Portland. Hopefully filming for a new Bacon video that is supposedly in the works.

that were there. I know that many skaters my age or younger kind of feel that they missed it. They at least can now see what it was about and appreciate it and learn from it. For me personally, maybe skating that style just always stemmed from skating with a bunch of older dudes. (Laughs) In closing, who would you like to thank? Colin Sharp, Ethan Bettencourt, Joey65Pack, Rob Washburn at Bones Wheels, Paul and Nukes at Cal Skate, Cody Lockwood, DEVO, Q-Man, Joe Storm, Don Routly (Solar Bowl), Tom Groholski, Andrew “Smitty” Smith, Jeremiah Risk, Eric Staniford, Buck Smith, Rick Burns, Martin Ramos, Peter Grebe and John Partytime, and of course you, BK, for hooking up this interview and taking me to skate some epic spots!

I remember pulling up and then following Josh to the bowl, MTV Cribs style. There’s the house and the BMW. My mind’s blown. I remember that we walked up the hill and it looked like a job site at the time with construction tape everywhere. We got to the top of the hill and saw the massive hole in the ground, the biggest private bowl that I’d ever seen, and I look over and I see Chris Miller, Bucky, Omar Hassan, Peter Hewitt, Kevin Staab, Tony Mag and others. It was an epic lineup and I remember my mind was blown. That was rad, just being able to skate with all of those dudes. At the time nobody had skated a bowl of that shape and size yet, so it was really cool to experience and watch. That was the dream session right there for sure. Since we’ve been shooting this interview, I’ve noticed that you like to rip with some classic old tricks mixed with some of the newer stuff. Do you think that those tricks and skateboarding history matters? I feel that it’s really important. It’s sad when it gets forgotten. A lot of the older stuff is what paved the way toward the future. Personally, I think that those tricks are more fun. I think that it’s extremely important and it’s rad that Jeff Grosso does the Loveletters to Skateboarding online. I like that a lot of the older photos and footage is resurfacing on the Internet through various people

Hand Me Down

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www.thecomune.com www.change-comune.com instagram@comune

Words: Richard Olivares :: Photos: Courtesy © ASP The Volcom Fiji Pro is known to be one of the best stops on the ASP tour. In and out of the water, Fiji provides the warmest hospitality on earth. This year the contest had a lot to live up to, as last years’ mega swell was still fresh in many minds. Fiji has so many different variables that anything is possible. This year the boys got everything Cloudbreak and Restaurants had to offer, and this is how it all went down. First off, Volcom ramped up the VQS World Tour this year and added a Global Champs to be held down in Fiji. The turnout was unreal; they had nine surfers from different regions that qualiﬁed to compete. The surfers were treated to proper 4- to 5-foot Cloudbreak. It was interesting to see those guys surf and hang out at such an iconic location. Each heat was a full paddle battle for the $10K, but in the end

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it was Slade Prestwich who took the win. This event deﬁnitely broke the grounds for the VQS Tour and look out for more to come. The top 34 surfers spared no time between the VQS as they took lead in the water. Cloudbreak held clean and fun conditions for rounds one and two. Day one saw a slew of upsets, as many of top seeds went down. Local wild card Aca Lalabalavu was charging but was taken down by Miguel Pupo as he moved on to round two. Kelly did a no-show for his round one heat, but then he took down the local boy Aca when he did show up. Returning wild card Mitch Coleborn was feeling solid after coming off his win at recent ASP Prime event in Brazil. Mitch claimed the ﬁrst perfect 10 of the event and walked away with a total heat score of 19.33. Freddy Patacchia made his way back to competition after a serious ankle injury. The veteran looked sharp, as he took down Jordy Smith and Sebastian Zietz in round one. Parko was another to miss his round one heat. “I was pretty bummed to miss the heat, but I was even more bummed that I missed out on waves like that,” he said. “That was

pretty perfect Cloudbreak. There were some absolute bombs out there and the boys got tubed out of their brains all day. But I guess you’ve got to be philosophical about it. You’re never too old to learn a lesson, and I’ll definitely pull back a bit on the fishing during events.” Day two of competition was relocated to the flawless lefthander Restaurants. If you know John John Florence, you know he is one of the best backhand tube riders out there. He got things started real quick by posting a 10-point ride followed by a 9.80. He then moved on and took down two-time Fiji winner Damien Hobgood in round three. Nat Young was another standout for the day. You would have never guessed that this was his first time in Fiji, as his forehand was flawless. Parko showed up to his round two heat and delivered an amazing performance as he took out Dusty Payne. The Volcom Fiji Pro returned to Cloud Break

for the finals days of competition. Mother Nature put all the pieces together and it was now up to the surfers to show what they could do in flawless Cloudy. I can keep going on how each surfer performed but it was obvious and clear that Kelly Slater held no grudge and swept everyone! The 41-year-old, 11-time World Champ got his momentum going and there was no stopping him. The guy made history in his quarters by getting a total heat score of 20. He then kept his rhythm going by taking down John John in the semis. The final came down to Mick Fanning and Kelly. Unfortunately Mick’s backhand performance wasn’t enough to stop Kelly from taking home another win. Following Kelly’s win was a raging celebration on Tavarua Island. The crew danced and drank gallons of Kava ‘til they hit the floor. If you missed any of the action don’t fret as The Red Bull Signature Series on NBC will be featuring the Volcom Fiji Pro on July 7th for an hour-and-a-half special at 1:30pm (pst).

Slater

Chief Druku

Parko

Fanning

John Florence

Taj

Jordy

Kerr

Nat Young

Parko

surfer: Jason Rhodes photo: Rj Shulenberger

*Quantity limited to first 100 entries

Words & Photos: Danny Fuller Sixty thousand visitors from around the world attended the inaugural 2013 Art Basel in Hong Kong. Before having the brand name attached it was called the Hong Kong Art Fair. A few people referred to it as the Fortune Cookie Fair because everybody thought that this emerging market would bring many new collectors with big pockets and all the premiere galleries jumping on the bandwagon. It wasn’t actually what everyone had presumed it to be; it was a much more difﬁcult sale. A lot of the top galleries were going to be pulling out of the fair, but having Basel attached to it helped

to support and promote the event as one of the premiere art events globally. Aside from that, for me, that was my first time in Hong Kong. Known as the gateway between East and West, Hong Kong ranks among the world’s most dynamic international capitals. A 21st century metropolis, it is a port city with a vast skyline rising above bustling Victoria Harbor. Amongst all the art and culture of this incredible city, I find myself at the 79th floor above Hong Kong attending the special pop-up show for the master himself Keith Haring and Retna,

presented by PM Tenore and Andy Valmorbida. The presentation was phenomenal and the work was very well curated. Thank you PM for inviting me!

broad range of work, but at times these events can put you in art overload. It takes quite a bit of time and often a few days to digest everything.

I’ve been to quite a few fairs myself, and I’d have to say that from my own personal experience the work that was featured at Basel was deﬁnitely in a whole other realm from other fairs. I’d just come from Frieze in NYC, and Art Basel Hong Kong had everyone pulling out their really high-end blue chip gems, to say the least. It was a pretty incredible experience with such a

Art overload it was! With over 2,000 artist known and unknown from Asia and around the globe, works ranged from paintings, sculpture, installations, photographs, video and mixed media. There were so many magniﬁcent works throughout the entire fair. Yayoi Kusama’s brightly hued monstrous plants and ﬂower sculptures were a major standout amongst the thousands of

art basel

works featured. She had a big retrospective showing at the Whitney about a year ago, and there were quite a few galleries that were featuring her work. There were quite a bit of Warhol and Basquiat as well, but from my understanding, not too many of their works sold. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure whether Asian culture is more conservative than the western world, as far as their purchases, or maybe they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to have some multi-million dollar Warhol piece and have the Triads catch wind of it and come to their house and collect. Whatever the reasons may be, one thing is for sure, Art Basel Hong Kong was nothing short of impressive.

art basel

Pants – Hurley hurley.com Shirt – Nixon nixonnow.com Hat – Brixton brixton.com 88

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Jacket – Hurley hurley.com Pants – Comune thecomune.com Beanie – Hurley hurley.com Sunglasses – Dragon dragonalliance.com

Shirt – Vans vans.com Shorts – Hurley hurley.com Bracelet – Connie Archbold

Jacket – Comune thecomune.com Pants – Volcom volcom.com

Shirt – RVCA rvca.com Bikini Bottom – Tavik tavik.com Watch – Vestal vestalwatch.com

Bikini – Volcom volcom.com Hat – Brixton brixton.com Bracelet – Connie Archbold

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Jason Webber : Knucklehead

In our industry there are plenty of photographers who excel in their respective genres of skate, surf, motorcycle, fashion, lifestyle and landscape imagery. That’s a wide array of categories there, yet only a select few can effortlessly cross back and forth from these disciplines with distinctive style and ease. One such photographer who seamlessly weaves diverse subject matter into subtle masterpieces is Mark Choiniere.

culture, leaving the viewer with a unique and, at times, nostalgic perspective. His life is that of a secret agent, his camera being his weapon of choice. He’s embedded with some of the world’s most interesting and talented characters. One day he’s winding down the Amazon River drenched in sweat, and the next he’s bundled up in the middle of a bitter cold Irish winter. It’s life on the road and it comes with a price at times, but the experience and beneﬁts make it all worthwhile.

Mark’s work runs the gamut. He covers every end of the spectrum in our

Here, we present to you just a snippet of the eye-catching work Mark puts out. Enjoy!

Lanna Lyon

Alex Knost : Hawaii

Brianna Falcone

Jack Fardell : Elenora, Gold Coast

Boatman : Indonesia

Lanna Lyon

Wil Thomas

Alex Knost : Swamis

Ivan, John John, Greyson & Nathan

Jason Jesse

Scotty Stopnik : Oceanside, CA

Lanna Lyon

Rob Machado : Cardiff, CA

Greyson Fletcher : Gold Coast Evan Geiselman : Ireland

Alex Knost : Single Fin Quiver

Children of Haiti

Yadin Nicol : Costa Rica

Turkey Stopnik

Max Schaaf : Oakland, CA Kassia Meador

Rob Machado & Jay Nelson

The Amazon River

Interview: Marsea Goldberg of New Image Art I met Nunca (Francisco Rodriguez) years ago through my friends Osgemeos when they were all painting murals on the Winward Walls of Miami one December during Art Basel... Or maybe I met Nunca in LA just hanging out, I’m not sure really! Somehow I feel like I have known Nunca a very long time. He is deep and warm and part of my Brazilian family of artists and friends. His dynamic linear murals have been recognized for years now. Lately, he is charging and rising to an even more mature level of expression and the world is his oyster. It has been my pleasure to be chosen to interview Nunca. -Marsea Goldberg

and passing trough many different situations has been very important for my growth as an artist. São Paulo is so intense like a big city and in many ways all of the bad and good things that you see in your daily life affects you in so many different ways, that nowadays I see the city and the country where I grow up as the main inﬂuence to me. But most of the modernist Brazilian artists from the ‘20s and the Tropicalia “movement,” the indigeous graphics from different Brazilian tribes, artists like Hélio Oiticica, antropologists as Darcy Ribeiro and some pop artists from the ‘60s was very important for me to have a clear understanding about what I want as an artist.

Where and when did you paint your first public mural? When I was about 12 years old I started to go out to paint graffiti, but it wasn’t really murals but more traditional graffiti like tags, throw-ups and this kind of thing, and it totally gave me the basics to learn how to use spray cans and the whole politics of graffiti in São Paulo. The murals and big-scale walls came a little after it when I got the skills to use the spray as a tool and incorporate it to the work I developed since the beginning when I started to go out to paint.

What are you working on and what are your future projects? I’m working on going to many different places to paint big murals until the end of the year, and I’m working on studio to paint canvasses and other materials. In September I will participate on a group show in a museum in Frankfurt, and now in July I will have some pieces done for a show on the Museum of Contemporary art of Oaxaca in México. In the meantime I have a personal project I will be bringing different artists to Brazil to develop big murals around São Paulo in the downtown.

Where are your favorite mural installations? What city and what location? Berlin is like a playground where you can see a lot work of different artists in different spots of the city, and it’s really one of my favorite places to see mural installations with amazing and different techniques, concept and styles. Did you study art anywhere? Not at all. Always find what I need to get references and inspiration by myself. I don’t think that an art school can teach you how to be a good artist, but give you the knowledge to use materials and the history of art. Something that for me came from a very humble economic background was impossible to have, so the only way of knowing what I wanted to know was going to a pubic library to study and talk with different kinds of people around what I wanted to know. What artists have influenced your growth as an artist? I think that more than specific artists the environment of the city and the country I live and the friends I have been sharing ideas

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How is your mural project we talked about with many international artists coming along? It’s going to start very soon this year. I’m very happy for that ‘cause I will be able to bring artists I always like the work a lot, and many of them have inspired me so to see all this creativity in São Paulo being done by so different and amazing artists will be very pleasant. What things in life inspire you as an artist these days? Traveling, paint murals and produce my work on studio has been the main

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inspiration, but it always have something else here and there that catch the attention as a surprise and becomes inspiring.

What do you like to do when you are not making art? Organize myself to make it when it’s the time to make it happen.

How did you learn to draw so well? Liking it too much. For me, drawing is the basics for having an idea and bringing this idea from the concept to reality, and even being something very simple at the same time. It’s very powerful and it’s so simple that all you need is a pencil and a sheet of paper. Perfect to learn without spending thousands a month on art schools.

How many girlfriends do you have now? Funny question, but can’t handle more than one at a time. What is going on in Brazilian art that we should know about? Have you seen the paintings of Juliana Cerqueira Leite? She’s super dope. The same for the installations of Henrique Oliveira.

nunca

nunca Tell us about what you are presently doing in LA? The LA environment and energy is quite similar to São Paulo. For the moment I will paint a wall in Venice Beach and some other ones in Downtown LA. As I never has done murals in LA I cant wait to start it as soon as I can. What is the climate like for art in Brazil that is different than the US and other places? To be an artist in Brazil always was an underground way of life by itself. If you do it without any link to the academy or never went to art schools by the lack of interest that people that are not collectors had on it, so the street art “wave” and all the interest in it in a way brought the opportunity for anybody that wants to be an artist become an artists with an already open market without being an academic artist. As the art market in Brazil is still

growing, it has been an option for many artists that want to be seen and jump on the market quickly. I understand that it looks like a common sense in different countries where public art have a big inﬂuence on people’s life. But on a place where art just begun to be part of people’s life on a different and bigger scale, like in Brazil, where the same people a few years ago wasn’t into art so much, it looks like the normal process to become a public artist nowadays before an artist shows in institutions and galleries. What are you doing in LA now? Visiting friends and painting smaller murals. Any lasts words? Joyful participation in the sorrows of the earth.

Words: Derek Fukuhara “We’re all exposed to success in the media. What we don’t see are the people behind the scenes that put them into the public eye. Mikendo is one of these people. With the assist count of Steve Nash, he’s helped many of today’s professional skateboarders get to where they are now. His independent debut, “Amateur” (2002), blessed VCRs with the skating of Don Nuygen, Rodrigo TX and the pre-musician Matt Costa. He followed up with his indie classic, “The Filmbot Files” (2005), which is still used to get skaters stoked for their daily skate missions. His ability to bring passionate hardworking skateboarders together parallels RZA’s vision of WU-Tang.

Years later his résumé is as dense as his passport. A triple threat that can shoot, ﬁlm and manage a skateboarding team, he’s got the brains to create behind a computer and the balls to trespass and tote camera gear around the hood... all while displaying endless amounts of patience with a giant smile behind that mustache. Mikendo’s creativity and his passion for traveling will continue to capture moments on and off skateboards. You’re born and you die, in between you can do whatever you want; so get out there, get inspired and inspire... before you expire.”

Matt Berger : Kick Flip Crooks

Matt Berger : B.S Over Crooks

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Derek Fukuhara : F.S 180 Nose Grind

Derek Fukuhara : Nollie Flip

Mark Frolick : Ollie

Loui Barleta : Nocomply

Maxim Rosenbaum : Kick Flip Fakie

Derek Fukuhara : Switch Ollie

Oli Tielsch : Ollie

Lee Berman : 5050

JF : Varial Heel Flip

Marty Muraski : F.S Crooks

MICK FANNING MANSFIELD |

EVAN

OWEN

MACHADO

MATTE BLACK

@dragonalliance

KNOX

DORIAN

BEAU

Words: Austin Stephens In a fleet of brightly colored Jeeps filled with surfboards, skateboards, music equipment, art supplies and crates of Carlton Dry, the RVCA Caravan made its way from Byron Bay to Sydney. It was a two-week adventure that brought together a group of multifaceted RVCA advocates to inspire each other creatively and just go where the wind blows. The Caravan was loose, and the crew was an eclectic and eccentric group who don’t normally find themselves on the same program: surfers Alex Knost, Makua Rothman, Ford Archbold, Ellis Ericson and Dino Adrian; skaters Josh Harmony, Kevin “Spanky” Long, and Julian Davidson; artists Kelsey Brookes, Dmote, Benjamin Jean Jean and Mark Alsweiler; female advocates Ashley Smith and Margaux Aaramon Tucoo. It was a group of people coming together from different backgrounds and various places in the world to share their passion for life, adventure, art and music. As soon as the RVCA Caravan arrived in Byron Bay and checked into the rental houses, it was already obvious to everyone that this was going to be a truly unique trip. The first five days were spent in and around Byron Bay, surfing, skating, cliff diving, making art and spending a small fortune at the organic café The Top Shop, which was right across the street from where everyone was staying. The houses became a type of RVCA commune. At any given time of day or night you could find guys playing music together, collaborating on paintings in the garage, giving tattoos, drinking beers on the balcony, sharing stories, ideas and adventures. Staying within walking distance from surf spots like the Pass and Watego’s provided an unusual opportunity for some of the advocates. Spanky got to try surfing for the first time, while Ashley Smith got her own one-on-one surf lesson from Makua Rothman. Josh Harmony bonded quickly with Ford, Alex and Kelsey and was soon surfing with them nearly everyday. Ford also seemed to enjoy hanging out with the skaters and even came along on a couple of street missions. It was a great start to the trip. The last evening in Byron everyone got together at the Art Park gallery for the RVCA exhibit and celebrated with a local barbie, side sippa’s and live music by Josh Harmony, Tomorrows Tulips and Makua Rothman.

Jimmy James :: Photo: Tom Hawkins 116

Dmote :: Photo: Keegan Gibbs

The caravan got back on the open road and headed south to Port Macquarie for a skate jam/ demo at the local park. The park is located right on the beach and the surf team came to watch and support the skate guys doing their thing. Everyone skated and hung out ‘til dark and then headed to the trailer park on the beach where they were staying for the night. The dining experience that night in town went to both extremes: some had amazing Thai food; others suffered through the worst Mexican food known to man. When everyone reunited back at the trailer park under a starry night sky, the same spirit and energy of creative collaboration and good times (and Carlton Dry) continued late into the night.

The next morning with more clear blue skies ahead, the Caravan headed further south on small 6.

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highways through farmlands, countryside and the occasional small town to Avoca Beach, where the same, almost circuslike scene poured out of the Jeeps and into the Tree Top Hotel to ﬁght over who got the ﬁrst hot shower. Then it was off to the local Mexican restaurant for another big party and more live music from Josh, Tomorrows Tulips and Makua. The caravan made it to Sydney late in the afternoon the next day, and there was an energy and excitement in the air and everyone fed off it instantly. The skate team spent the days in search of new and interesting spots while the surf team combed the beaches for waves. Another highlight of the trip was going down to Luna Park under

Photos: Bryce Golder, Keegan Gibbs & Tom Hawkins 1. Kelsey Brookes 2. Alex Knost and Ellis Ericson 3. Dmote painting 4. Makua Rothman 5. Josh Harmony 6. Josh Harmony and Kevin “Spanky” Long 7. Ashley Smith 8. Josh Harmony and Kevin “Spanky” Long 9. Ashley Smith 10. Dino Adrian 11. Dmote 12. Dmote 13. Makua Rothman and Ellis Ericson

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Ford Archbold :: Photo: Tom Hawkins

Kevin “Spanky” Long :: Photo: Bryce Golder

Ellis Ericson :: Photo: Tom Hawkins

Beacho :: Photo: Bryce Golder

the Sydney Harbor Bridge to watch RVCA Sport advocate Richie Vas do battle in the octagon and come out victorious. The caravan popped down a bit further south for a backyard barbie and music performance at a small board shop in Wollongong. The locals were more than stoked to get to hang out with some of their favorite skaters and surfers in such a laid-back setting, not to mention getting to see them play a live set. The artists also took a little side trip over to Melbourne for an art show. And Dmote hooked up with some old friends, gave a few of them tattoos, and also painted a few walls around town. The two-week RVCA Caravan in Australia ďŹ&#x201A;ew by, but by the end of it great friendships and creative collaborations had been formed that are sure to continue into the future.

Photos: Bryce Golder, Keegan Gibbs & Tom Hawkins 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Kelsey Brookes painting Benjamin Jean Jean painting Makua Rothman and Ellis Ericson Alex Knost and Ellis Ericson Alex Knost (sleeping) Keegan Gibbs art Ellis Ericson Ashley Smith Adam Bennetts

8. 9.

Makua Rothman :: Photo: Tom Hawkins

July 13-August 31, 2013

Opening Reception July 13, 7-9pm

Closing Reception and Panel Discussion August 24, 6-9pm

sponsored by Curated by C.R. Stecyk and Paul Frank. The exhibition explores a contemporary look at Kustom car, motorcycle, surf culture and related art from the traditions of Von Dutch, Big Daddy Roth, Robert Williams, Rick Griffin, Basil Wolverton, Margaret Keane, Don Ed Hardy, Billy Gibbons and others.

Presented by the Huntington Beach Art Center Huntington Beach Art Center www.HuntingtonBeachArtCenter.org 538 Main Street HB CA 92648 714.374.1650

Words: Derek :: Photos: Mustache I heard about Lake Mirage about a week prior to our actual mission out there to see dry lakebeds where the fastest land speed records are achieved. They feature dirt so compacted that you could ollie off of it. I was curious, though, wondering if tires of the fastest autos can ﬁnd

traction, why wouldn’t skateboards? It was a mellow drive out to the desert. Scott Decenzo and I were steady cruising up the 15. Before we even had time to take a break from catching up on life, we were in the middle of nowhere exiting toward

the lake. The barren desert has a nice kind of peace to it, if you can handle the silence. We skipped the park toll like a couple of badasses and hammered onto the access road to the dry lakebed. The imagery of water makes El Mirage quite the suitable name, to say the least. If I was stranded and dehydrated and saw this epic delusion of water, I would lose my shit. It’s incredibly believable. We met up with the rest of the crew about a mile into the center of the lake. With a full production ready to go we didn’t waste anytime unloading the ramps and getting down to business, with the half pipe being the centerpiece. I’ll admit I was a bit pessimistic about being able to pop off the clayish, dirt ground. I know it was hard, but I’ve been pampered with perfect Southern Californian concrete at this point. I mean, how compact could this stuff be?

Bachinsky

Hoffart

Turns out, it’s pretty damn hard. Once the visual trip of rolling on cracked, flaky, dirt subsided, the crew pretty much unleashed their whole bag of tricks on the flat rails and ledges. Filming lines and playing skate, it felt pretty normal after a minute but looked absolutely insane in the footage. The view was breathtaking. I’d often take prolonged breaks from shredding just to wander off and take in the surroundings and trip out on the ridiculous backdrop. One can’t help but feel really small and insignificant with surroundings so massive and pronounced. But like I mentioned before, it’s really peaceful if you can handle the silence. As a skateboarder, we get accustomed to noisepolluted cities, our iphones and constant distractions. Our brains are firing a mile a minute. It’s as though you have to retrain your brain to slow down and chill out before fighting off the anxiety of now not knowing what to do with yourself. Silence is deadly, but it is essential sometimes. After hours of filming lines while getting sunburnt and watching Bachinsky annihilate the half pipe we broke out the brews and BBQ for a much needed hydration break. A few of the crew took their cars out for some much needed high-speed test runs. Jeffery Moustache (the filmer in chief) had his VR6 VW and wanted to open it

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up in the lakebed. To be honest, I stopped paying attention to the odometer once we passed 130. But shit man, if you’re not first, you’re last. Upon cruising back to the camp we noticed a commotion in front of Cory Caberera’s Lexus. It turns out the half pipe is quite the distraction to local moto traffic as one kid managed to T-bone his dirt bike into the hood of Cory’s car while it was parked. He must have been going at least 25 miles per hour because his whole body was up on the windshield and dented the shit out of Cory’s hood. What an idiot. But luckily the kid was ok, peppered with a thick layer of embarrassment. Once the traffic accident got cleaned up we turned our attention back to the half pipe, partially because we were stoked to shred it but more so because

Tom Tom

we were stoked to watch Dave get back to fucking the coping off this bitch. Bachinsky is an animal. It doesn’t really register in my brain how a human can operate at such a high level at all times. He must have done five or six combo tricks I never even thought were possible in a matter of minutes. I felt like I was playing the best game of Skate 3 in my life. Just wait for “The Formula” mini-ramp video to drop from OC Ramps. Sucka’s brains are gonna melt. Mine included. Once Dave decided to take a break from making sweet love to the mini ramp, the rest of us stood on the top deck scratching our heads wondering what the fuck we were even doing out there in the first place. But after some dignity searching and locating our confidence, Tom Tom and Scoot got down to business and hammered out some Buck

Jones lines and I actually got a few runs in that might be considered “acceptable.” That night, Tyler “The Boss” Large saw an opportunity to clean his warehouse of all the wood scraps and brought a truckload of firewood to burn. With beers flowing, burgers flipping and an Osama BB gun target practice set up, we all basked in Dave’s glory of constantly steppin’ up the bar of shreddery. I trip out every time I think back to the mission and what an insanely rad idea it was to make a skateboard park in the middle of a dried-out lakebed. It’s absolutely genius… and original! Big shout out to OC Ramps and BL!SSS Magazine for making this all possible. I think it’s safe to say we all had a blast and it was definitely a memory for the books. Let’s do it again soon. Hoffart

Photo: Robbie Sell

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Interview: Jon Francis Hailing from the mountains of Lake Tahoe, California, Johnny Lazzareschi is not your typical kid, or just maybe he is. Lazz is extremely loud, contains next-level amounts of ADHD, is really immature, has the energy of a 10 year old high on candy, and he is really good at snowboarding. If I were a doctor I would diagnose him with a case of high personality traits and extreme snowboard talent disorder. In May, Johnny took home $10,000 in the game of S.N.O.W. at Mammoth’s West Coast Invitational, so I wanted to catch up with him and see how much of that money he has already spent, or if he has any left, and what he really thinks of contests. So last month you won $10,000 in the game of S.N.O.W. in Mammoth. How much of that money have you already spent? I’ve already spent most of it to be honest! I paid some people back, gave my mother a handful, and played with a grip of it to celebrate the win! But I have been living good lately, that’s for sure. How many contests have you won or placed in? Ah man, I have never kept track. I would say somewhere between 10-15 at least over the past 5 to 7 years. How much candy has been purchased in prize money from those contests? More than there should’ve been! Candy is so hard to pass up when you’re me and when you got a stack of cash in your pocket and you walk into the candy isle. Lord, please lead me from temptation! Zots, Rips, and Chocolate Coins are my jam baby! What contest has been the most fun for you so far?

I truly have always loved WCI because it’s always during my birthday, except for this year, and it’s always in Mammoth so I get to see all my homies that come into town for the contest and for my birthday. Grenade Games is another one of my favorites because they always got crazy games, and it’s a really laidback contest and it’s more for the fun than the win. Hot Dawgs and Hand Rails is awesome because it gets everyone together before the season and Bear Mountain always does a phenomenal job on whatever project they work on. You don’t really seem to be the contest kind, yet you’ve deﬁnitely done your fair share. How do you keep the balance of the two? I choose to do the contests that I enjoy doing and want to support the people/ companies that are running them. I’ve been doing contests since I’ve been a young grommet in the USASA, hucking my meat off of little jumps. Kinda sucks to say I did those but that molded me into being able to hang in the contest scene today and still be in the ﬁlming circuit. I want to do X Games, I want to see my friends and laugh and party afterward. And yes, I do want to win. Why not? It’s no balance, it just works out as the season rolls on. But I do have times when I’m on a rail trip and I miss a contest I want to do, such as the Holy Bowly this year. What is your true opinion on the contest side of snowboarding? I back it, but I don’t, depends on what contest honestly. It’s whatever, man. I don’t think negatively if people do triplecorks to win X Games or do doubles back-to-back in the pipe for the Olympics. I think it’s cool and great for snowboarding and puts people on the line to show the world what they can

Photo: Sean Sullivan

Photo: Robbie Sell

do! Do you prefer to film mostly then? Yes! Filming involves traveling with your buddies, long days, long nights, laughs, stress, boosts of motivation and lack of motivation, slams and hams, but overall it’s giving me more than I could ask for already and I can’t wait to see what I film next. Who are some of the riders that inspire you to get out in the streets and film? When I was young my heroes were Seth Huot because he fucked rails up with the most proper style, and JP Solberg because of his jumping style. And a lot of guys like Jeremy Jones the rail rider, Matt Hammer and John Jackson because of their parts in White Balance. And everyone that’s in the movie Happy Hour. But as of today, my friends Dylan Alito, Riley

Photo: Ben Birk

Nickerson, Derrek Lever and Forest Bailey inspire me to get out and ﬁlm in the streets. Who inspires you in the backcountry? Kazu Kokubo after his part in the Burton movie Standing Sideways. All I want to do in the backcountry is that stuff – straight-lining huge shoots and stomping natural jumps in perfect conditions. Who, besides a team manager, is most likely to motivate you to do a contest? My friends. If they aren’t into it, I won’t be. It’s a weird vibing thing, I don’t know. What has been your biggest standout moment in your snowboard career so far? Probably this last win! I’m very, very

Photo: Sean Sullivan

happy that I hold the title for the very first game of S.N.O.W. It’s a big win and I’ve been doing that contest since I was 16 and I finally won! I’m so hyped! Do you have a plan yet for next winter, any new film projects? No plans as of now. Currently I’m at Windell’s Snowboard Camp in Welches, Oregon, teaching li’l monsters how to rip. But as soon as fall rolls around I will be trying to make moves and plans to get my season lined up.

Where do you see yourself in ﬁve years from now? On the beach with millions in my bank account and lying next to a babe with a margarita in my hand. Why not think like that? State your sponsors and say thank you to your elders. Volcom, Arnette, Active, Celtek, Hobo Shred Wear and thanks moms and pops!

Photo: Ben Birk

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Words: Spencer Pirdy :: Photos: Ian Campbell, Kiyana Tehrani, Alison Bloom, Ryan Donahue & Brandon Guilmette // The Cosmonauts // Tomorrow’s Tulips // A couple of cuties // Jessica & Gabriella // Michelle, Devyn & Kellye // Christina Kee // Our girl Kristianna // No shortage of ladies at this event // All smiles for the camera // Fletcher // Shea & Ando // Gap Dream Gabe // Jade & Mark // Alex & Merry If you weren’t there, then you missed one fucking radical night. BL!SSS unveiled its 70th issue, which coincidentally happened to be the swimsuit issue with three different covers of smoking-hot babes. It was a reason to celebrate and pretty much the ideal way to welcome in the summertime. The party went down on Saturday, June 1st, at the Observatory, a venue that is pretty giant yet was somehow was packed wall to wall with a wide age range of die-hard nightlife junkies, industry big wigs, pro’s, ho’s, pro-ho’s and gorgeous chicks for as far as the eye could see. At one point drinks were ﬂowing so heavily that one might’ve thought the Hoover Dam had cracked. Heavy Hawaii, Zig Zags, Gap Dream, Tomorrows Tulips and Cosmonauts fueled the throngs of partygoers with their share of eclectic music throughout the night. Whether you were loose as a goose or just keeping it mellow, the good vibes

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were contagious wherever you went throughout the Observatory. The upstairs VIP area supplied everyone with a little legroom and plenty of great vantage points, while the stage front area was producing some psychedelic, mosh-pitting madness of the likes we never even knew existed. If you needed a breathe of fresh air, all you had to do was step out onto the patio, shufﬂe by Craig Anderson, offer a cheers to the crew from Zig Zags, squeeze through a six-pack of single blondes decked to the nines and…wait a second, I think we’re going to stay here and see what develops. All in all, BL!SSS’s 70th issue release party was a successful night where great stories were shared, new memories were made, ﬁne drinks were consumed and plenty of smart and dumb decisions were often simultaneously deployed. We’ll take credit for all of these and hope that you’ll join us next time, whenever that may be, for our next party. Cheers!

DAKOTA SERVOLD BLU NT SLI D E TRANSFER / LOS AN GELES, ca / ph oto: d ragon ette WWW.ACTIVERI D ESH O P.CO M

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6/18/13 11:25 AM

Photos: Alma Marquez // Chad Muska & Marsea Goldberg of New Image Art Gallery // Gold Finger // Supra team member Erik Ellington & friend // Braydon Szafranski & Paulo Diaz // Steve Olson & Chad Muska // Karen Bystedt & friend // Skater girl // I like your hat // Chad Muska and Brad Elterman // Arial view of the gallery // PBR time

New Image Art was pleased to announce “Transitions,” the ﬁrst solo show from professional skateboarder, designer, and artist, Chad Muska. “Transitions” opened at New Image Art Saturday, June 1, 2013. The show name of “Transitions” is a word that not only stems from the curved surfaces skateboarders ride on in pools, parks, and ramps, but it’s also a reference to the skateboard lifestyle, which is deﬁned by movement from place to place, and from one state of mind to the next. “Transitions” was a big hit! New Image Art gallery was packed by artists, professional skateboarders, and LA hipsters all coming to check out Chad Muska’s art. If you happen to be in Los Angeles make sure to go check out New Image Art or click over to newimageartgallery.com for more info.

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POCKET ROCKET

Performance Oriented Mini Cruiser Photo: Matt Smith

Words: Glori Reantaso :: Photos: Douglas Neil // Pre-party at Thalia Surf Shop // Blondes anyone // The scene at the Marine Room // Justin Ruttkay, Jordan Percy & Jeremy Heit // The Cosmic One & Justin Ruttkay // Santoros on stage // Dahga Bloom ripping up the Marine Room

RAEN has just launched their summer line for 2013, showcasing a new mix of vibrant prints and color ways. To ofﬁcially launch the collection, RAEN and Thalia Surf Shop teamed up to present Wax Ball, hosted at The Marine Room (Laguna’s oldest bar), where local bands Santoros and Dagha Bloom played to an eager crowd. With Santoros’ psychedelic garage band sound and Dahga Bloom’s high energy, they had the bar jumping all night long in celebration of the new line and ofﬁcial start to summer. If you were there you know it was a great night, and if not, there’s always next year.

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Words: Lauren Burke :: Photos: @PeterMorning // Johnny Lazz front boards a custom down rail // Johnny Lazz’s championship belt and $10k to boot // Dylan Thompson - front board thru the double-down // Dylan Alito - spinning thru semis // Local ripper Garret Warnick making a name for himself with the big boys // It’s not every day that Joey Sexton comes west // But the championship title lured him [Joey] to Mammoth // Eddie Wall judging & spectating // Bode Merrill wanted to #WearTheCrown but ended up with just a clawY

With $10,000 on the line, 16 of the world’s best rail riders, and a classic Mammoth spring day, the ﬁrst annual Game of S.N.O.W. was hosted at Mammoth Mountain. The event, sponsored by Snowboarder Mag and Monster Energy, brought the best in the world to face off in a head-to-head event to crown The Game of S.N.O.W world champion. The competition, a longtime dream of Snowboarder head honcho Pat Bridges, was brought to life in the classic Mammoth springtime sun with four shiny new rails, with DJ Matty Mo keeping the music ﬂowing on the tables. The level of riding throughout the day was insane, to say the least, with the likes of Louif Paradis, Dylan Alito, Frank April, Brandon Hobush, and Mammoth’s own Jaeger Bailey and Garrett “Worm” Warnick throwing down on both the down rail and double-down for hours. Rookie Worm surprised everyone as he knocked out Bode Merrill and Frank April, eventually falling to runner-up Dylan Alito in the semis, as Johnny Lazz took out Dylan Thompson to advance to the big show. Eddie Wall and Scotty Arnold held it down as the judges throughout the day and MC T-Bird, with the help of the Monster girls, kept the crowd entertained.

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As the competition heated up, the level of tricks kept getting more impressive. In the end, it was crowd favorite and Tahoe-boy Johnny Lazz who barely took out Dylan Alito for the $10k. Needless to say, he (and everyone around him) had a pretty good time at the Underground Lounge that night with a bottle or four of Jamo being passed around. Sunday began with a sluggish start as the riders pulled themselves out of their whiskey slumbers and crawled back up to Main Lodge for the fourth annual Eddie Wall Ride Invitational, consisting of a massive Outride by Mophie wall. The setup was simple yet the tricks were anything but. Perfect handplants from Bridges, 50-50 to fakie slides from Tim Humphreys, creative transfer lines from Jonah Owen and a goliath bag of tricks from the man of the day, Mitch Richmond, made this year’s contest one for the books. Mitch unanimously won the judge’s votes, backed up by Tim in second, Cody Boan in third and both Jonah Owen and Scott Blum taking home “Best Trick” awards. Big thanks to Active, Sabre, Mophie, Beats and Vestal for stoking out all the winners.

Words: Tyler Hosseini :: Photos: Matt Doheny & Driftwood // Concentration issues were a major problem at this year’s event // Babes showing love at the Fox hole // Vans’ legendary yellow Corvette // Tayler Giamarco on the rubber ducky // And you thought Mark Healy was the only one to ride Great Whites // Shakkas, K.O.B., that blue babe and broc-top // Thumbs up from Timmy Reyes & friends // Fyasko’s hole was so very moist // Golf cart shenanigans at their ﬁnest // Curtiss Alserson, with the only acceptable excuse to miss this shot

The Matsters – a tradition unlike any other. A golf tournament forged from cold beer, competition and camaraderie. What started as a way to bring friends together to play golf and get tipsy, has now, in its fourth year, become something much more: A charity tournament raising over $2,000 for the Blind Children’s Learning Center. With 11 sponsors taking part, there was something wacky happening on about every other hole. Vans had the coolest yellow ‘60s Corvette I’d ever seen on their hole. I think everyone Instagrammed a pic in that thing at least once. Fox drove their entire moto bus in and went full pamper mode on their hole. Cucumber eye slivers, fresh cocktails, massages… and all by babes of course. Billabong went Full Metal Jacket. They had an army-style obstacle course, a ridiculous card-pull challenge (resulting in hitting one-legged, one-eyed, no-legged… etc.), and Curly had some hair clippers to make things super interesting. Quiksilver and O’Neill went with the foolproof, the babes and beers approach, which is always a winner. Then there was Fyasko crew who really brought the pain. Truly from the mind of a 13 year old, they had about 35 squirt guns and 900 water balloons. Their mission was to make it as hard as possible to hit a proper shot. It was incredibly hilarious until it

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was your turn to shoot. …Lost had an epic luau scene ﬂaring with stiff Mai Tais and plenty of hula skirts wandering about. AMBSN, last year’s winner of our “Best Hole” award, came with a totally original “man cave” theme. Our friends at Pie-Not came through big time with some delicious treats and Australia’s ﬁnest Bundaberg rum. Tavik, one of the original supporters of the tournament, had a Slip ‘N Slide at their hole. Yes, a freaking Slip ‘N Slide! Surfside Sports was the presenting sponsor of the tournament and nailed it with a full DJ setup, kiddy pool and a pretty much non-stop dance party. I believe this is where one of the Don’t Care boys put a tee in his ass and had someone hit their shot from there. So that happened. And last but not least, there was Coors. They took on a task of utmost importance, supplying the entire event with ice cold Banquet Beer. We cannot thank them enough – it’s always great to taste the Rockies. Beyond that, let’s see… someone drove a golf cart into the lake. Someone else got a hole in one. And someone else got their motorcycle on the fairway of the 10th hole and did a wheelie. Yeah, it was a fun day.

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6/13/13 6:36 PM

Interview: Max Ritter :: Photo: Brock Fetch

Jon Barrett is an animal. You don’t really see anyone else with a Greco Guitar either. Japanese make the best everything. This thing is probably like the Toyota of guitars. Bass Drum Of Death’s new record is out now so go get it! You didn’t really grow up in a town that was known for the type of music you play. How did you get onto it? I started listening to Nirvana and Sonic Youth when I was 11 or 12, and when I got older and started playing in more bands I gradually found out about more stuff. And you know, it just kind of went from there. There was never anything around town I thought was really that cool. What is that blue guitar I have seen you play? That thing is sick. It’s a Greco. I don’t even know the make or model. I just know it’s from the ‘60s and it’s made in Japan. I can’t really ﬁnd them anywhere. How did you ﬁnd that one? Bruce from Fat Possum is a big guitar collector. He gave me the guitar when I signed to the

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label. It’s awesome. You were actually once an intern at Fat Possum before they put out your record? Yeah, I worked there. I got paid though (laughs). They released a 7” of mine a few years ago before I got formally signed. Around that time I started working there. You tour a lot which made it hard to make this record, correct? Yeah, I mean, we did a year and half of touring pretty much straight off the ﬁrst record. When I got back in August, people who work with me were like, “How is the new record coming?” (Laughs) I was like, “What the fuck are you talking about, I haven’t been home in like a year and half.” So yeah, once I got home and had some down time I got it all written and recorded in like a month and a half. We got it mastered and done in October and now it’s just coming out. I am excited to ﬁnally have it to where people can buy it. What did you try to do differently this time around with the recordings? You still

recorded it yourself, right? I didn’t really do much differently at all, you know. I used a couple of different pieces of outboard gear. I have bass lines on the songs now and that helps ﬁll out the low end a little better. Other than that, I tried to take what I already knew about recording myself and get a little bit better and make things come through a little more in places. My thing is when in doubt keep it simple and keep it to what you know, so that is what I tried to do. Why have you decided not to work with a producer? I haven’t had a lot of people reach out and express a ton of interest in doing it. And also, for me, if I am going to work with somebody on my stuff I want them to be able to take what I do already and make it sound that much better. I guess I am just fearful of getting in with somebody and bumping heads like crazy where the end result is I don’t like it as much as I like the stuff I do myself. I guess I just have to be sure and trust the person will keep the gnarly sort of grit I have in my recordings but polish it up a bit but not too much, you know.

What’s your favorite song on the new album and why? My favorite song is “Such A Bore” because it doesn’t really stick to the traditional verse/ chorus structure. There is not really a verse or a chorus, it just kind of goes and meanders awhile. It’s the jam-iest song I have ever recorded and I like it because it’s the most different from all the others. The favorite band you’ve toured with? I’d say Japandroids. That was a tour that matched well and everyone got along really good. It was fun every night, not only at shows but hanging with those guys. It was one of the most pleasant tour experiences I have ever had. Those guys rule and I still keep in touch with them pretty regularly. What’s next for you? We’re on the road. Record’s out. We’ll be on the road through basically December and then we’re going to go make another record! That’s it! Jon Barrett shreds and his band Bass Drum of Death’s new self-titled album is out now! Scoop dat.

BL!SSS Party Live Review & Photo: Max Ritter

The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA June 1st, 2013

Hopefully you didn’t miss our party because it was good times, to say the least. This guy Al Knost played some of his new jams and packed the house. Special thanks to all the bands that played: Heavy Hawaii, Zig Zags, Tomorrows Tulips, Gap Dream, and Cosmonauts. Oh… and the Observatory team rules. Best venue ever, thanks guys. ‘Til next time… Yew!

Reviews: Max Ritter

DEVO Hardcore Vol. 1 & 2 Superior Viaduct

Tobacco/Black Bananas Lipstick Destroyer/ Hey Rockin 7” Split Volcom Entertainment

Valient Thorr Our Own Masters Volcom Entertainment

V/A “The Velvet Underground & Nico” by Castle Face and Friends Castle Face

Now newly re-issued on vinyl, all the ﬁrst primitive 4-track DEVO recordings from 1974-1977, before Brian Eno produced their ﬁrst album. The demos of the kings of weird with classic cover photos from the famed photographer Moshe Brakha is now on wax for you, the postmodern man!

Some robot, baby-making madness by Tobacco, the side project of Pennsylvania native Thomas Fec, most notably know for his band Black Moth Super Rainbow. Lipstick Destroyer is the ﬁrst Tobacco song since his 2010 releases and it’s killer. The Tobacco track is complimented by Jen Herrema on the Black Bananas banger, “Hey Rockin.” Album art is by Nick Gazin.

Our favorite hairy Viking looking dudes are back with more face-melt party – now captured for your pleasure on slimy green vinyl. The Thorr clan is 6 LPs deep now on planet punk-metalparty-ass-kick, and they are still shredding and growing their beards and ripping.

For the 45th anniversary of the 1967 debut album of The Velvet Underground, Castle Face Records released an entire covers album of songs from their gang to pay respect. Contributors include the likes of Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, The Fresh & Only’s, White Fence, Blasted Canyons, Burnt Ones, The Mallard, Kelly Stoltz and more. It’s a nice spin for a Sunday morning.

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PHOTO : DREW MARTIN @ M AT I XC L O T H I N G

FA C EB O O K .C O M / M AT I XC L O T H I N G

Rider: Noah Beschen

Photo: Joe Foster

Live life in the bowl

www.banzaibowls.com

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Trim: 10.5” W X 13.625” H

Bleed: 0.125”

Layout Scale: 100%

I M PAC T READY 3 6 0 ° O F I M PAC T P R OT E C T I O N

N I K E S B A P P.CO M P R O G R E SS . CO N N E C T. R E S P E C T.