A few months back I had a chance to talk to some cool, funny, and inspiring skaters from Koreatown. Play City is ramping up a really cool skate event that is going to be super fun, not to mention community building for skaters and non-skaters alike.
So I thought it would be cool to share what these guys had to say about skate and their lives to get us excited for some of the cool stories to come:
There's going to be a lot of cool profiles of different skaters from all over LA, so check back for more like this as the LA Skate event takes off!
You may recall a post I made a few weeks back about The Land Of Plenty(LOP) foundation and their goal of supplying skateboards to skateboarders from at-risk neighborhoods. I contacted Greg Shewchuck about coming over to check out some of the artwork that they've collected over the years and he kindly obliged by arranging a visit.
We talked at length about our own personal skateboarding history and we clicked right from the get-go. Realizing at an early point of his skateboarding that he probably wasn't going to go pro or get sponsored, Greg found a way that he can keep being involved with skateboarding as well as keeping it strong and thriving in at-risk communities. The LOP was started and Greg was able to keep skateboarding in his life with a goal of keeping skateboarding in other people's lives.
Greg holding up board art by Steve Olson
Lakai LOP Colorway (not for production): LOP interns Han Su Kim, Alex Greening, and Danny Ugolick w/ Scott Johnston
I got to see some great artwork that some successful artists have submitted to LOP as well as special collaborations with Lakai Footwear and Girl Skateboards. At the time of my visit, Greg had already shipped out dozens of donated boards to needy communities and is already getting some things in the works for 2010. The conversation was so fluid and genuine that I didn't even really get a chance to write anything down.
Rosamond Rice photos from Apache Skate Blast 2007 San Carlos, AZ
One thing that Greg touched on was that the point of the Board exchanges and other events that LOP does is to simply keep kids skating. The reality is that it is easy to get in to bad things when you don't have a board to ride. For a lot of kids, skateboarding keeps them from drug habits, joining a gang, or just out doing destructive things. Foundations like the LOP keep these kids rolling and as Greg hopes, keeps them out of some bad situations.
The Land of Plenty website has been updated regularly and are always accepting donations of any amount so if you haven't had a chance to see it yet, be sure to stop by.
New York City's WinterJam 2010 just let out in Central Park, and it was one of the city's best events yet in the long-running WinterJam series.
Last year's WinterJam introduced a slew of open-to-the-public lessons and workshops involving every winter sport from snowboarding to ice climbing to the festival. Unfortunately, the decision to move into East River Park on the Lower East Side for WinterJam 2009 resulted in a muddy and crowded mess, as attendees pushed through narrow walkways in a park that just couldn't handle such a popular event. I'm glad to say that the Jam's return to Central Park resulted in a far more enjoyable and accessible event.
Even Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe took a run down the WinterJam ramp... he had a minor crash-up at the bottom, but he remained in good spirits! Check the video for the Commissioner's spill.
Snow sports have a pretty steep barrier to entry, especially for us city-dwellers-- there's expensive equipment, transportation out to the mountain, and a fifty-dollar lift ticket to buy before you can even get started. To top it off, the Parks Department has a back-and-forth policy regarding snowboards in NYC Parks. Each year, however, the WinterJam grows a little.
As street-oriented rail snowboarding becomes seen as a more 'legitimate' sport, our parks may see more snowboard traffic in coming years. With lift tickets and gas prices soaring, we might not have much of a choice!
Highlights from the railjam (including the Commissioner's ski run)
January 30, 2010. Bike Miami Rides, The Advisory Committee of Liberty City Youth (TACOLCY) and Emerge Miami came together for the first bike ride of the newly-created TACOLCY Bicycle Club which seeks to empower youth by teaching them how to ride a bike safely. Through several workshops, the kids learn bike maintenance and responsible riding skills. Last Saturday a group of volunteers took a group of kids, aged 6-11 on a ride to several areas in Liberty City including a cultural arts center & African Square Park.
The Belafonte TACOLCY center was founded in 1967 as a place for youth to be helped, heard, and involved. It is partly named after entertainer Harry Belafonte,(you might remember his songs from Beetlejuice!) who strongly supported this organization in the late 60s.
Guess what? The Superbowl's this weekend. Yeah, I know right, where did all the time go? Seems like just yesterday I was counting down to 2010.
Truth be told, I wouldn't have known much about this year's Superbowl had it not been for the 'round-the-clock press coverage of . . . the commercials. Yes, ladies and gents, we now live in an era where it seems our media is more fascinated by thirty-second multimillion dollar ads than the most coveted sports match-up in football.
But really, who's playing again?
I kid.
This year's commercials, however, have taken a turn for the serious. Talking E-Trade babies won't be grabbing post-Superbowl headlines. No baby. Instead, bear-guzzling, hot wing binge-eating viewers (<--say that 5 times real fast) will be met by an ad about abortion.
Get the popcorn ready kids!
In keeping with the Sports & Family theme, Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow is set to appear in an anti-abortion ad for Focus On The Family during Superbowl XLIV. Let's be clear from the jump, I purposely didn't acknowledge the phrase "pro-life" as indicated by many descriptions of the ad, because, as one tweeter tweeted this week:
Not to be outdone though, Planned Parenthood, released its own pro-choice video in response to Tebow's ad, featuring former pro football player Sean James and Olympic gold medalist Al Joyner. Check it:
What I appreciate most about Planned Parenthood's video is that it features men speaking out in support of a woman's right to choose, as opposed to what we often see; men speaking for women about choice. I personally wouldn't mind seeing more mainstream solidarity and alliance between women and men on issues concerning reproductive rights.
Nonetheless, I think these ad wars are a testament to the times we live in. Nearly every aspect of our lives is fraught with some sort of cultural and economic power struggle, and the implications that follow. We in the feminism business referred to this frautiness as "the personal is political." (Frautiness: noun/adj. form of fraught. I totally just made that up).
I'll be glued to the TV this weekend to see it all go down. Best of luck to all the competing advertisements during this year's Bowl of Superdome (Superdome: noun/adj. form of super; to the extreme. Just made that one up too). I'm sure all of that money'll be well spent as it contributes to even more egregious forms of consumerism.
