Thursday, January 14, 2010
I Hate Snowboarding!!!
Yes it's true...I hate it because I love it so much and I can't go!!! My current financial situation is such that there is no expendable income for me to go. 2009 wound up to be a bummer financially speaking and the end isn't in sight. I know...boo hoo you can't go snowboarding suck it up. I have sucked it up but I'm still pissed about it. Hitting the slopes now a days with 2 kids, lessons, gas, food and lift tickets it's a $500.00 day! It's insane when I think about it. Being around snowboarding for so long I made allot of connections from getting discounted equipment to free or discounted lift tickets. I was single nothing to hold me back...really jaded for awhile. Now that I'm a weekend warrior like the majority of working class America I have to pay to play and it sucks. I'm actually starting to feel like a schmuck complaining right now as thousands of Haitians are going through a living hell right now. There will always be something worse going on to put a certain amount of perspective on ones trials and tribulations . In hindsight I apologize for continuing to be so jaded...I've had enough days on the slopes to last 2 lifetimes. I obsess over snowboarding and obsessions are NOT healthy. I'll be looking forward to the next time I can take my family and go shred when ever that may be...in fact the longer we wait the better it will be when we're there!!!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Special Sauce 15 Year Anniversary
Last night witnessed a milestone in Long Islands skate/snow/surf retail history...Special Sauce is 15 years young! I've had the pleasure of hanging around the sauce dudes since inception back in 1994 and I'm so proud of the legacy these guys have built for themselves.
From the humble beginnings of an idea to the leap of faith of actually taking that idea and making it a reality. With just a few boards and some T-shirts with a business savvy guy in the background and a creative dude with an ear to the streets in the front and a host of ultra passionate kids along for the ride was the foundation. Using guerrilla marketing tactics sitckering up every street sign from Long Island to Vermont word of mouth grew and they forged ahead. 15 years later Sauce is an iconic symbol well recognized and respected throughout the industry...not bad!
Congratulations to Chris, Pete, Vanessa, Josh, Justin and everyone else who had a hand in making Special Sauce what it is today...keep it up and we'll see you at the 30 year!
From the humble beginnings of an idea to the leap of faith of actually taking that idea and making it a reality. With just a few boards and some T-shirts with a business savvy guy in the background and a creative dude with an ear to the streets in the front and a host of ultra passionate kids along for the ride was the foundation. Using guerrilla marketing tactics sitckering up every street sign from Long Island to Vermont word of mouth grew and they forged ahead. 15 years later Sauce is an iconic symbol well recognized and respected throughout the industry...not bad!
Congratulations to Chris, Pete, Vanessa, Josh, Justin and everyone else who had a hand in making Special Sauce what it is today...keep it up and we'll see you at the 30 year!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Crash and Burn...BMX style
So...here's another inherent problem with being a "seasoned" participant in "extreme" activities...you sometimes forget your not 18 years old anymore and pay dearly that lapse of memory.
Some of my fondest memories as a young teen was spent zipping around my local BMX track. BMX was my first introduction to "extreme" sports and was how I met my crew of like minded individuals who I'm proud to say remain my closest friends 25 years later. BMX stopped for me right around the time I got my drivers license. The only reason I stopped in retrospect was some little fucker stole my prized and expensive CW race bike and I was crushed.
Fast forward 23 years and I find myself back at the track showing my 8 year old and his friend the finer points of BMX racing. I'm not one to live vicariously through my offspring so of course I'm also racing on a cruiser and loving it. Well...last practice lap before racing starts I decide to push myself just to see how fast (or slow) I am comparative to the track pro gated to my left. Riders ready...watch the gate...go! I negotiate the first step up perfectly getting a great pump of the back side and I'm hauling ass! Next obstacle is a very large camel jump...just over 5' high and around 20' in length. You either suck up the tranny and pump through or if your good enough you clear the whole thing. I lost focus and paid the toll. I glanced to my left so see how far away the local pro was. To my surprise he was only a bike and a half length ahead which indicated I was indeed hauling ass. Well before I knew it (b/c I was paying attention to the pro not me)I was airborne and not at all prepared for it. It happened so fast but I landed front wheel over the frontside of the camel jump and my back wheel on the frontside ( the worst scenario) which meant I was catapulted from my bike going about 20 miles an hour. The first thing I noticed was how high I was off of the ground...about 8 feet...I knew it was going to be brutal! Shoulder first left side upon impact resulted in a loud snapping sound. I tucked and rolled which I believe staved off a worse injury. I was able to collect my self and bike off of the track so I thought I was OK. It was after I sat down I realized the damage and then the whole tunnel vision cold sweat I want to pass out thing started. Short story long I dislocated my collar bone and contused a few ribs for good measure...4-6 weeks before I'll start to heal BUT no surgery which is a win in my book! Dr. said I was lucky as he personally knows a person who hit a curb on his bike and is now paralyzed...Yikes! Obviously there is inherent risks involved in any sport especially on the "extreme" side of things. Lesson learned...I'm not 18 anymore and I do not posses the skills a trained professional has...I was hauling ass though wasn't I ;)
Some of my fondest memories as a young teen was spent zipping around my local BMX track. BMX was my first introduction to "extreme" sports and was how I met my crew of like minded individuals who I'm proud to say remain my closest friends 25 years later. BMX stopped for me right around the time I got my drivers license. The only reason I stopped in retrospect was some little fucker stole my prized and expensive CW race bike and I was crushed.
Fast forward 23 years and I find myself back at the track showing my 8 year old and his friend the finer points of BMX racing. I'm not one to live vicariously through my offspring so of course I'm also racing on a cruiser and loving it. Well...last practice lap before racing starts I decide to push myself just to see how fast (or slow) I am comparative to the track pro gated to my left. Riders ready...watch the gate...go! I negotiate the first step up perfectly getting a great pump of the back side and I'm hauling ass! Next obstacle is a very large camel jump...just over 5' high and around 20' in length. You either suck up the tranny and pump through or if your good enough you clear the whole thing. I lost focus and paid the toll. I glanced to my left so see how far away the local pro was. To my surprise he was only a bike and a half length ahead which indicated I was indeed hauling ass. Well before I knew it (b/c I was paying attention to the pro not me)I was airborne and not at all prepared for it. It happened so fast but I landed front wheel over the frontside of the camel jump and my back wheel on the frontside ( the worst scenario) which meant I was catapulted from my bike going about 20 miles an hour. The first thing I noticed was how high I was off of the ground...about 8 feet...I knew it was going to be brutal! Shoulder first left side upon impact resulted in a loud snapping sound. I tucked and rolled which I believe staved off a worse injury. I was able to collect my self and bike off of the track so I thought I was OK. It was after I sat down I realized the damage and then the whole tunnel vision cold sweat I want to pass out thing started. Short story long I dislocated my collar bone and contused a few ribs for good measure...4-6 weeks before I'll start to heal BUT no surgery which is a win in my book! Dr. said I was lucky as he personally knows a person who hit a curb on his bike and is now paralyzed...Yikes! Obviously there is inherent risks involved in any sport especially on the "extreme" side of things. Lesson learned...I'm not 18 anymore and I do not posses the skills a trained professional has...I was hauling ass though wasn't I ;)
Friday, October 9, 2009
My first snowboard experience...
So around 1985 give or take a year my buddy somehow convinces his Mom to pony up the cash to buy a Burton performer. It was wooden with metal skegs on the back with a rubber bootie in the front and a large rubber band where you back foot would go. We traded back and forth among 3 or 4 friends bombing down lour local hill off of a parkway which provided about 50-75 feet (once it was ice) of excitement. We were hooked and some of us took the DIY approach with high school shop made snurfers or our skate decks (which were over foot wide at the time) stapling a tire tube on the top for support and going for broke. If you could actually link a turn you were hot stuff...grabbing for a suitcase method was legend status!
Luckily for us on the east coast my man Jake Burton ( a year or two after out first sideways slide) convinced a handful of resorts to let snowboards on the lifts and the rest as they say is history. Big shout to Mohawk mountain in Connecticut who had the foresight to let some knuckledraggers shred before most had a clue!
Luckily for us on the east coast my man Jake Burton ( a year or two after out first sideways slide) convinced a handful of resorts to let snowboards on the lifts and the rest as they say is history. Big shout to Mohawk mountain in Connecticut who had the foresight to let some knuckledraggers shred before most had a clue!
Hello...you crabby old bastard!
So here's the situation. I consider myself an avid participant in most things shred. From snow to surf to bikes (self propelled) I love it all and I am somewhat obsessed as most participants tend to be. Now I know I'm not alone out there but if all you did was pay attention to the main stream media it kind of makes me feel out of place. That is if your a middle aged family person with a hefty mortgage, wife, kids, pets, dead end job and little more (okay maybe alot more) around the waist that on the average snowfamous gung ho pro that dominates the mags and the videos. Even the old guard so to speak (for now nameless) seem to cling onto the latest next big pro to keep relevant. Listen I know I sound like a crabby old bastard but my hucking days are over and if i can't land a double corky cork backside 9000 I can't hang???
On the other hand it's hard to relate to my "peers" as our musical preferences and leisure time activities for the most part are night and day. Hanging out at the little league field and PTA meetings has me convinced I'm way cooler than the next dad (at least their kids think so) so I feel like I'm in the middle. Now I don't REALLY think I'm cooler than the average dude my age...maybe a little BUT I will still golf if asked and even go to the Def Leopard concert if you really have no one else to go with (it actually wasn't horrible)
So from my vantage point its getting harder to relate to the kids out there and even some adults so I'm reaching out to the more "seasoned" participants in all things shred to say hello, rant, rave, share pics...you know whatever bloggers tend to do and yes I'm new to this whole blog thing further distancing myself form the youth of today(there's a song in there somewhere) so please be kind at first. Once I get the swing of things then we'll let loose. My first post is "my first snowboard experience". Let me know your fond memories as to when you got hooked on the most incredibly, prohibitively expensive recreational sport known to man and why you'll give up your first born to do it!
On the other hand it's hard to relate to my "peers" as our musical preferences and leisure time activities for the most part are night and day. Hanging out at the little league field and PTA meetings has me convinced I'm way cooler than the next dad (at least their kids think so) so I feel like I'm in the middle. Now I don't REALLY think I'm cooler than the average dude my age...maybe a little BUT I will still golf if asked and even go to the Def Leopard concert if you really have no one else to go with (it actually wasn't horrible)
So from my vantage point its getting harder to relate to the kids out there and even some adults so I'm reaching out to the more "seasoned" participants in all things shred to say hello, rant, rave, share pics...you know whatever bloggers tend to do and yes I'm new to this whole blog thing further distancing myself form the youth of today(there's a song in there somewhere) so please be kind at first. Once I get the swing of things then we'll let loose. My first post is "my first snowboard experience". Let me know your fond memories as to when you got hooked on the most incredibly, prohibitively expensive recreational sport known to man and why you'll give up your first born to do it!
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