December, 2007 - February, 2008
LA, Vegas, Woodward, Hawaii, Whistler, SLC, CO, NYC
Every time I feel like things are starting to slow down, they blow up again. The holidays and the new year were no exception. My wife and I found out we are having our first baby, which will be my first girl! This was not spontaneous or romantic by any means; it was the fruit of a full year of fertility treatments, dozens of shots in her stomach and hips, hope, worry, and tireless disappointment. Modern medicine is amazing… and expensive. But it works! We can’t wait for our June baby.
I have been skating non-stop while waiting for the First Response results every few weeks. So has Riley – he is an amazing street skater, better than I ever imagined. I hope he’ll teach me switch flips soon. Here is what else I’ve been up to:
•-> Presented the City of Compton with the check for their skatepark during a city council meeting. They were most appreciative, and I still can’t believe we raised $60,000 in a matter of minutes. We’ll have to hit the proposed park on SST4.
I've never been to a city council meeting, but I was glad they did our presentation first judging by the pace.
•-> Attended the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards. I flew in, handed out an award, and flew home. I was in Vegas for only a few hours. It was a most uneventful trip to Sin City.
•-> Released Huckjam Bikes. With the invaluable help of Rooftop, we have brought the legitimacy of BMX bikes to affordable prices. BBHJ is in full effect.
Huckjam Bikes, hot off the production line.
•-> Spent the New Year in Kauai with my family and The Underhills. It has been Ray’s dream to take a helicopter tour in Hawaii and we made it happen. It rained most of the time, but it didn’t stop our kids from surfing Hanalei every day. Kilauea is incredible even when it’s pouring.
The only way to truly see Kauai.
FNew Year's Eve, tourist Luau.
The trail to Secret Beach. it's only a secret because it's such a hassle to access (unless you live there).
Poipu Hyatt Regency Rowing Team.
Spencer takes a long walk off a short pier.
This dog's mom buried him, no joke. Keegan helped a little. Olivia was concerned.
•-> Went to Whistler, BC for one day at the request of Benji Weatherly and his film project. I managed to get the one day of sunshine in two months of miserable weather there. We rode powder all day with Todd Richards, Shane Dorian, Jake Burton and Tosh Townend. I flew home the next morning.
Powder posse: [clockwise from left] Tosh, Todd Richards, TH, Benji, Jake, Dave Downing and Shane .
Keoni Watson jumps a ghost.
Jake Burton shows why he's in the snowboard business.
Why do they call it Powder Mountain?
•-> X-Dance in Salt Lake City. One of the “offshoot” film festivals of Sundance, X-Dance celebrates action sports filmmaking. Our SST3 DVD was accepted into the mix this year. I went along with JP and MH – who both submerged themselves in this production way after the tour was over – but we came up short. I was at least hoping for a nomination…
(L) Accepting Athlete of the Year at X-Dance. (R) SST4 post-viewing Q & A .
•-> X-Games in Aspen. Straight from SLC to Aspen, I went to do an autograph session at the Jeep booth. I didn’t realize that it was an indoor/outdoor setup until it was too late, so I didn’t dress accordingly. My hands were trembling so bad by the end that my signature started looking like a forgery. L and I stayed that night to watch the ski halfpipe competition and flew home the next morning.
•-> Mia Hamm Celebrity Soccer Challenge. Being a founding member of Athletes For Hope has opened my eyes to many [other] charitable causes. Mia asked if I could join her cause to register potential bone marrow donors by playing in a soccer match with other celebrities and professional players. I have never played a real game of soccer in my life, so it was a bit intimidating to be out in front of thousands of people my first time on the pitch. Mia was the captain of one team and her husband Nomar was the captain of the other… mine. It was more fun and way more work than I had assumed. I nearly scored a couple times, but Ty Pennington and Adam Sandberg shut me down. It was clear that they took their soccer serious. Rivers Cuomo was one of many on my team that also took it seriously, but it seems that he takes EVERYTHING seriously. The best thing about our soccer game in comparison with FIFA is that people actually scored. We lost 12-13 which was almost poetic. The most rewarding aspect was seeing the bone marrow donors and recipients meet during half-time. Mia’s event brought them together for the first time.
I felt more comfortable signing stuff at Mia's event than I did playing soccer.
"Well, I'm gonna go out there and kick the ball as much as possible. I just hope it goes the right way when I do."
As long as you're running, it looks like you're playing. Nice legs.
That would be yet another goal going in that I didn't block. At least I was close to the action.
•-> Bar mitzvah in NYC. Scott Greenstein is the head of Sirius Satellite Radio and the main reason that I have a show there. He is also the reason that Howard Stern left terrestrial radio to create two channels of programming on Sirius. Scott invited me a long time ago to his son’s bar mitzvah at the Natural History Museum in NYC. L and I made it a partial family trip by taking K along for his first visit to The Big Apple. I had heard Howard talk about the event on his show and how he would send money in lieu of his attendance, so I was surprised when Bam and I saw him on our way to find a restroom. I have been listening to his show for years, so I made Bam (who has been a guest on his show) introduce us. He knew about me and my show on Faction, which was very exciting. The only bummer was that I listened to his show the following Monday and he mused that the bar mitzvah must have cost a fortune to have guys like me and Bam there. For the record, I paid my own way (and my family’s) in order to be there, and Bam drove in from PA on his own accord. L.L. Cool J was the surprise musical act which seems random for a 13-year-old, but he got everybody jumping (including our unborn baby). In any case, K and his buddy Ethan loved the city and were more excited to ride the subway than almost anything else.
We may have paid for our own trip, but we got to keep the party glasses.
Me, Lhotse , missy and Bam in attendance.
Upon closer inspection, the carriage ride didn't seem so wondrous.
Not sure if we were allowed to climb these.
Kev, Ethan, Keegan and Lhotse nibble the Big Apple .
Liberty Island was freezing. This is the best view we got before running inside for hot chocolate.
They particularly liked the empty cars .
Keepin' it real in the subway. The best quote of our trip was made by Ethan when I told him we were looking for the subway: "I don't like eating at Subway!"
Keegan takes a rest in Central Park .
On to the next adventure.
Toys R Us, Times Square. That T-Rex is huge and it moves like it's alive.
Truffle making at Soho House (thanks to Sarah). Yes, they look like turds.
•->www.shredordie.com is going off. We have created a bunch of new content and getting new user uploads every day. I interviewed Danny Way recently about the history of the MegaRamp. Check it out if you haven’t already, and sign up and send me a message while you’re at it.
•-> Mammoth Mountain. Snow, snow and more snow. So much that we got stuck an extra day… but we didn’t mind.
He's no angel.
Big boys break out for a run: R, me, and Kev .
Bus stop waiting for Canyon Lodge. We are standing on the street.
Me and my boys: R, S, T, K, ready to shred.
Ethan and Keegan shredding on their own after only two days.
Spencer goes big in the backyard.
•-> Shooting new trick tips for a special edition DVD. Riley, David Loy and Andrew Reynolds and I have already shot some new stuff for the more advanced skaters interested in learning more tricks. We have more pro’s lined up to teach their techniques as well.
Riley, me and Spicoli during the Trick Tips Special Edition shoot (coming soon on DVD).
That’s it for now. I am typing this while on a flight to St. Petersburg, Russia for the 2008 Laureus Awards. It will be my first trip to Russia and it sounds extremely cold. My visibly pregnant wife is trying to make herself comfortable in the seat next to me as we glide towards another adventure. Life is good. and hectic.
