Wrongboarding in the ramp with Dylan

Blunts

 Every session with Dylan, he seems to pull something else out of his bag of tricks. Luckily I had my camera close at hand, and got some flicks.

Now the only question I have left: What can't he do on a skateboard?

In case Noah was wondering why his ride was looking so beat up.

Four Minutes of Your Life from Regular Underground Boardshop on Vimeo. 

and a month of mine.

Its everything you ever want in a skate video, the same move over and over again, epic scenery clips, an interview and a stolen catchphrase.

Trailer for Gnar as Frig

Dylan Campbells a destroyer. check his footwork.

Frig yeah!

Some shots from a day at the proving grounds with a couple of the Team Gnar as Frig boys. Edit will follow.

The grassroots, The IDF, and Buttboarding

Having read through the IDF Articles of Association (yawn, nothing new here, any worldwide non profit sports organisations constitution reads pretty much the same). I can't help but wonder why classic luge continues to be a race category. When luging was the primary downhill sport it made sense, it gave new riders or riders in a bad financial position a chance to enter the sport. But when you have less than a dozen street Luger's racing a whistler, why take runs away from the skateboarders so people can butt board down the track? It would make far more sense to either abolish the classic luge entirely, or add a second entry level skateboard category. (top mounts, cast trucks only, no lipped wheels, w/e). which would allow many younger or less financially backed riders to understand your gear makes very little difference. Of course, as I'm writing this I've realised that Skatehouse has already asked these questions and received some sort of general answer. which I've quoted below.


5. I read the FAQ. It says that some events will continue to have luge, but nothing about classic luge. Why is there a separate racing class for inferior equipment? Can we get a special class for all-wood skateboards, no metal or composite decks allowed? If not, why does luge have a separate class for wood boards? -Max Dubler
The IDF FAQ used the word "luge" to refer to both street AND classic luge. We're certainly having a debate right now about how and why there are two luge classes but only one skateboarding class, and this issue will be explored extensively over the coming year. I'm sorry to all those budding Penny riders out there but there will only be one class of Downhill Skateboarding. -Lee Cation 

I think my main worry about the IDF is that there is going to be yet another abandonment of the grassroots downhill scene, and history has shown us that approach simply won't work. Downhill skateboarding is simply one facet of skateboarding in general, the non skating public doesn't see any difference between a racer and a park skater, the vast majority of kids that are into downhill right now will move on with their lives as they grow up, and the next wave of 14 year old kids that financially power skateboarding might find themselves into another form of skateboarding. The corporate sponsors that flirt with racing right now will move on, just as they did before. When the top tier of the skateboarding world becomes inaccessible to the grassroots, the interest will die off again. We need to keep the independent events alive that generate the next wave of die hards, or we risk losing the epic race venues that we are currently bless enough to have. 

Of course, the counterpoint to this issue is that as things stand now, Race organisers have very little in the way of support, and races tend to simply disappear when the organiser can't handle the work or financial burden of said race anymore. (Shredder and Something Fishy are two local examples) So the IDF can hopefully provide a support network for race organisers and find replacements when someone who has run a great race for a few years doesn't have time to continue it anymore.

All in all, the 2013 race season will be an important one for many of us. And I for one, and just hoping to get as many runs down Whistler as we typically do at Britannia . (hint hint, fuck off with the GPS armband thingamabobs.


links: http://www.internationaldownhillfederation.org/profiles/blogs/skatehouse-q-a-round-2 questions for Lee Cation from Max Dubler (both people that know more than me.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J9G_Q9Y6jmAxsFl4DqMK8S6EpJ9pjTeZC0l6_XEtWjw/edit IDF articles of association (constitution)

http://www.internationaldownhillfederation.org/page/idf-membership-1 IDF membership page. (thirty bucks that will be well spent hopefully)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIl7d1VVwOc unrelated awesome.

Flashback

My first summer in BC, the shitvan was still realllllly shitty, the switchback guys called me bobble head when I wasn't looking and I was still faster than Sloat.


Cody Welner Edit and Film

Hilarious

In possibly the funniest thing to come to (the internet) longboarding since these pre bent trucks with reverse coned wheels showed there face. I now leave you this link. I think they're serious, but this might also just be another product made just for trolling purposes, like trantuala trucks, or skate brakes. http://www.indiegogo.com/GH0ST-Wheels?show_todos=true

also, someone appears to have given them money.

The Governor General's Invitational was hectic

Kurt escapes the massive Ben

Friendly touches

Oh yeah, and there was a pole in the middle of the alley

Mary, Mandi and Me

Marital Bliss on Maryhill from Regular Underground Boardshop on Vimeo. 


So Chris Mcbride was awesome enough to bring me his extra luge for the weekend. (and doubled up on that awesome by lending it too me till the spring freeride.) so yeah, this was the second most fun you can have lying down with your wife.

The 67th Annual Governor General's Invitational

Hectic doesn't even begin to describe this one.
Everyone grouped up at Brendan's to be told the first one to push there gets a Shit Van t-shirt. Dale Tuckface upholds his title for the strongest push in Victoria.
When everyone finished arriving at the spot, we got things underway by revealing the "Wheel of Deal With It", which added special rules to our 1on1 heats like switch runs, no hands allowed, bonus Brendan, choose new opponent, and fooseball start. I guess I should've gotten a picture of that. I'm looking forward to the next time we use it!

Finals were intense. Brentwood versus Brentwood.

To say that this alley is greasy is a major understatement. There were so many leaves, about 87,000 different kinds of pavement, and a huge rock wall. Needless to say, everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly, and only a couple people got maimed.

Oh, and we broke the fooseball table.

More pictures will be out over the next couple days!

Thanks Regular Underground for the support and Heavy in the streets for T-shirts, again! Hev's the man for that shit, he must be printing them off using slave children in his basement or something, cause every time I ask for shit, he provides.

Levi and Keenan! Famous in south afrika!

I think this translates to "this weekend is fucking shit" but i could be wrong. pulled it from facebook.

If anyone doesn't remember, Keenan was in first place in his heat, Levi was second, their closest competitor was literally thirty seconds back, First round of racing. Well, as Keenan is quickly learning, its first or last on the island, Levi went for the pass and ate shit, they both crossed the finish line on the bellies and were elimated, because for some reason, North America's fastest race doesn't play by Man rules.

Props to Keenan for stumbling onto this, and Andy Russell for a sick picture. and whoever put red font on it, I Guess. 

For the record, any South Island Skate race you come to, your always welcome to crash past the line.