Japan In February: Osaka Part Two

Most recent trip to Japan was only a month or so ago but in Internet time that's an eternity.
Osaka was extremely cold and rainy so the only skating that I did was indoors at the Pyxis Skatepark in Wakayama.

5 days in town, 2 sessions and that was it for the skateboarding.
The rest of the time was for chilling super hard in tourist mode.


Bike Nazi?
Nah.
In Japan they have this weird symbol that's the opposite of a swastika and they use it to symbolize churches or something.
This little bike is one of the four that Junji's girl Maizy owns. Oh and it's a fixed gear.
Contrary to popular belief, I don't have anything against fixed gear bikes, it's the cool guy fixed queers that are generally found on them that I dislike intensely.
The bike was super fun to ride and explore Junji's neighborhood with.


This little spot was at the entrance to Ogimachi Koen Park, down the road from Junji's apartment.
I'm hitting this up next time for sure.


Spent a little bit of yen trying to acquire a special Kamen Rider V3 can from this vending machine.
Didn't get it.
Kind of a bummer.


Junji got this little birdy for Maizy on her birthday.
It likes to talk.


My wife came from Tokyo a few days before she was my officially my wife.
Does that make sense?
It was her first time in Osaka so we took her to some mandatory touristy spots like Dotombori.


This banked gem is only about a minute walk away from Glico Man.
Would have loved to session it but I didn't have a board with me and besides the Treevisions dudes already done did it.


Everybody loves Osaka, it's impossible not to.


Takashi works in a restaurant too so we feel each other's pain.
However on this night we were celebrating the wonderfully delicious combination of beers...


...and okonomiyaki!
Osaka is famous for this and the restaurant where Takashi chefs it up at is also famous and very crowded.
Dude hooked it up though and he is seriously amazing on the culinary shit.
MECHA OISHIKATTA!


Posing outside with Chef Takashi, Junji and Junji's favorite pair of pants!


Junji's latest DVD LALALA Osaka is a officially a runaway hit, and we coincidentally just happened to see a window with this in it nearby.


Me and the Mrs. took a 40 minute side trip to Kyoto for the day to get some culture.


This place was gold, Jerry.
Gold!


Meanwhile, back in O-Town, there are trippy little spots everywhere.
Sessioned this marble deal before, not bad and there are a several of them in a row next to each other.


Tokyu Hands is easily my favorite store in Japan.
9 floors of everything and anything guaranteed to blow your mind.
This diagram of various facial hair patterns and their corresponding names was in the electronic shaver section.


These mustaches however are all about the party.


Possibly the best thing I bought on the whole trip.
Plug into your computer's USB port and this motherfucker does sit-ups!
Rocky, Apollo Creed and Clubber Lang from Rocky III!
Of course I got Clubber Lang, are you kidding me?


Hello!
Goodbye!

Osaka killed it as usual.

Public Service Announcement

This PSA on my Vimeo page is just a little something I whipped up for those who are still on the fence regarding that whole kook issue.



Definitely not for the squeamish but this skateboard shit is rugged and some people just ain't cut out for this life and everything else that goes along with it.
I'm not just talking about people like mister paddleboard here, dude is basically harmless.
He's definitely a kook that is incredibly silly looking and easy to clown on, but he's still pretty much harmless.

I'm talking more about fuckheads like BMX goons that block the way in the skatepark.
A couple of these dudes are not completely terrible and don't act like jackasses, but you would think that the majority of them would be cooler and more considerate about staying out of everybody's way at the skateparks, when you take into consideration the fact that they aren't even supposed to be there in the first place.

Or rollerbladers.
Don't get me started on these cunt waffles.
I find it hard to believe that in the year 2010 there are still dudes out there jumping around like fairies on inline rollerskates grabbing their ankles and copying skateboard maneuvers while they clog up skateparks all over the world.
Shit is hella easy too, that's gotta be why so many of them choose to do it.
Any skateboarder worth a shit could strap on fruit boots and get good enough to be pro in like a week if they wanted to.
You think rollerbladers are jumping on a skateboard for the first time and then a week later doing shit like flatground switch 360 flips and back lips down handrails?
Bitch, please.
Fuck outta here with that corny shit.
Even the lame-ass X-Games got rid of rollerblading, that's how wack that shit is.

Or even worse, dudes that actually skate and are just straight up dumb and clueless about everything from the most basic forms of common courtesy to overall skate etiquette in general.
Cut out the dumb shit.
If you're confused or have questions, do your goddamn homework, son!
Or like my man Flavor Flav said, "Read a book or somethin'...read about yourself, learn your culture, you know what I'm sayin'?"
Do something!
Lots of useless fucks out there taking up space.

Basically, people need to get back to regulating fools!
Nobody regulates shit anymore.
That's one thing that I envy about surfers and surfing in general.
Kooks get fucking dealt with!

We regulate any stealing of his property, and we're damn good too.
But you can't be any geek off the street, gotta be handy with the steel if you know what I mean, earn your keep...

I'm a real simple dude.
If you're kooking it, just stop it.
That's basically what the fuck I'm talking about.

Contrast Magazine Issue #3: Goin' Places

Technically their fourth issue, but who's counting?

The latest issue of Contrast Magazine came out last week and I must say the final product looks very impressive.


Cover photo taken someplace over Japan, I can relate.


Lyle interviewed Adrian Adrid and their conversation is a pretty cool look into the life and times of one of the North Shore's finest grown shredders.


Even though he lives in L.A. now Adrian still reps Hawaii super hard and he's nice enough to come back now and then and politely but thoroughly blow our minds.

By the way, the photos in Adrian's interview were shot by his homie Sam Muller.
Sam isn't on the Contrast staff, but he does now work for Transworld so he's definitely doing it big these days.

Sam's website has a bunch of pictures of Adrian, David Bowens, Jarold Webb, Ryan Spencer and many others that are worth checking out and I have added his site to the link section.
Also, his Flickr page is hot as well so peep that shit out, the work is pretty much top-shelf.


Back to the mag, and speaking of the back, this In4mation ad is on the back cover, Mikey Chin frontside flipping somewhere in the great Northwest.

All in all there is a ton of cool shit in the new issue, and whether you're into skate, surf, music, fashion, art or just all of it there will be something in this mag for you.

My favorite thing in this issue however is the APB ad of Jarold Webb that was shot by Mark Kushimi.


Just, WOW.

I was actually there when the photo was taken over Christmas break so the shock of seeing the trick itself (to me a backside no-handed nosepick is easily one of the top three tricks to ever go down on the lip in the long and storied history of A'ala Park) has long since worn off, but the photograph in and of itself is absolutely fucking incredible.

Thanks again for sending the picture Mark, I couldn't do it justice by scanning it because it wouldn't have looked near as good, and also you gave me a mind-melting new desktop background!

Congratulations, boys, the mag is still the top-level design and presentation standard that all other local rags try to mimic and keep up with but fall way short of every time.

Hawaiian Vibe Skate Footage From Soundboarding

My Osaka homies Junji Murata and Takashi Maekawa from the Soundboarding crew came for a visit last summer to skate and hang out for a week.

Definitely non-stop fun and shredding the whole time, everyone in the scene here welcomed them with open arms and Junji and Takashi instantly were recognized as honorary Hawaiians.

As I've mentioned before here Junji's newest DVD LaLaLa Osaka was released recently and his first batch of videos is damn near sold out, why, because the shit is hot.

Anyway, the week that Junji and Takashi spent here in Honolulu has been edited into a roughly 14 minute montage that is included in the bonus features of LaLaLa Osaka but now Junji has made it available for viewing on the Internet!



Super sick filming and editing as always and good to see all the local cats doing some scenic shredding.

APB Shop Survey On Crailtap

The lastest in the Shop Survey series is posted today on Crailtap and it is courtesy of the crew at your friendly neighborhood A'ala Park Boardshop.



Nicely written little piece, but me myself, I most definitely wouldn't have propped out Dog The Bounty Hunter.
I for one feel our great city is most well-known for many other fine things that are not faggoty and disrespectful white trash fake pidgin speaking convicted murderer kooks from Colorado.

Anyway, it's really dope to see this.
Thanks to the Crail dudes for throwing it up there today and mentioning Aloha Friday, also huge mahalo to APB for the Skate Nazi shout out!

Natural Koncept Cali Tour Photos and Story

Creeping on the Transworld website, I came across an article documenting the recent Natural Koncept Cali tour.
Our boys Chris Kays and Sean Reilly went to California for a week of ruckus and shredding, dig some of these photos I raked off of the Transworld site:


Reilly adds to his body canvas.


Reilly's tights are hella tight!


Kays buck wilding.


Chris kickflip backside disastered in Santa Cruz.


Reilly has a serious side when he's not in Bedpan mode. Varial heelflip over a gap.

Stoked to see the braddahs getting some coverage out there in the world!
Check out the whole article with the rest of the pictures over at the Transworld site, shit is pretty crazed, but then what did you expect from the Natty Kons crew?

A'ala Park Element Contest Video

Here's a little video sample of what went down at the Element Make It Count contest that was held on March 6th at A'ala Park.
I couldn't make it down there that day so this is the first I have seen of any of it, looks like it was a pretty big event and very well attended.

I guess it was a jam session kind of thing and the park was divided into three zones, and everybody threw down at the same time like in heats and then they judged who was the best on each separate section, and there was also an all-around winner for the whole day.

Congrats to Nate Nahina, Larry Upchurch and Steven Stinson for winning their respective zones and big up to overall winner Jason Park who scored himself a trip to go to Element skate camp to compete in the finals of this Make It Count series.

Anyway, lots of shredding in this little clip so peep it out:

Bedpan Productions Fixed Queers Promo

My man Sean Patrick Reilly just keeps pumping out the Bedpan videos!
His last film Attack Of The Killer Haole was not that long ago and that was seriously on some epic Gone With The Wind type shit.

This dude just keeps stacking all kinds of gnarly footage, you definitely know what you're getting when you sit down to watch a Bedpan production, pure mayhem and some skating sprinkled in with more mayhem.
The Bedpan series is definitely one of the longest running and easily most endearing local skateboard video productions in the history of Hawaiian shredding.

The full length video is being worked on but for now peep the short promo for Reilly's latest opus entitled Fixed Queers:



Incredible shit as always, and believe me as far as the name of the video goes, any similarities between the title and any living, breathing fixed queers is purely 100 percent intentional and most definitely aimed right at you.

Anybody with hurt feelings and deep emotional pain as a result of this can go cry into their big pillows, especially if you're riding that neat-o bike around town looking like an uncool anorexic alien girl version of Michael Jackson rocking fucking capri pants and a tight v-neck.
Yes homo.

Jordan deOliveira and Matt Chaffin on Crailtap

Lordamercy!
Yesterday on "tha Tap" there was a mini top 5 with Daniel Castillo which showcased his five favorite aisles in the Girl/Chocolate warehouse.

Now if you know anything about Lil' D himself it's that he's thick as thieves with a couple of our Hawaiian homies Jordan and Matt and they definitely roll deep at all times on some good buddy type shit.


This is them at the premiere of Nike's Debacle video last year.


Mugging it up at the 2009 Girl open house.

So anyway, D and them are super tight of course and Daniel was kind enough to give them props in his little top 5 thingamajig which was filmed at the warehouse where Jordan works.


Daniel's 4th favorite aisle at headquarters is anywhere where he can mix it up with Jordyclot, a valuable employee and all-around ripping kind of guy.


Here we see Shmatty in Daniel's fifth favorite place in the warehouse, and although it's technically not an aisle, Daniel is definitely about to see something technical happen in the newly renovated park they have there.


That sure was easy!


High five, nahsayin?
What trick was it and how perfectly was it executed?
Peep the video and find out!

Great to see our boys still doing big things in L.A.
Big ups and alohas to Ras Jordy and Lil' Shmatty!
Hawaiians always manage to represent and shine on no matter where they end up.

Fitted Hawaii Support Local Skateboarding Pack

Super stoked to see that the fruits of this long-awaited project are finally ready to be released to the public!
Tomorrow Cuzzo and the Fitted Hawaii fam are set to drop the Support Local Skateboarding pack which consists of a t-shirt, hat, and deck that prominently feature images of some of the most iconic skate spots that the island of Oahu has to offer.

Starting tomorrow there are 40 custom t-shirts which will be sold only at Fitted, there are 35 limited edition decks which were done in conjunction with APB, and will be sold exclusively at APB, and 100 custom New Era trucker caps which will be available for sale at both Fitted and APB.

Peep the merchandise:


Bad mother trucker right here!


Legendary spots under the bill, recognize fool!


The board comes in 2 sizes, 7.75" and 8", so jump on one and take it to one or all of these spots and throw down.


Lots of shredding has gone down at these locations over the years, 'nuff respect due.


The back hit of the tee is big, bold, and bursting with Hawaiian flavor so rock it loud and proud!

Now this pack is hot fire by it's own damn self already, but the real cherry on top is that all proceeds from the sale of these products will go towards helping out our brother Kenny Brimer in his fight against leukemia and all of the massive medical expenses that go along with this battle that he is currently in the middle of.


HUGE shout out to bone marrow registry donors!

Kennny luckily found a match incredibly fast and is in Cali as we speak, soon to undergo the procedure that will bring him back to 100 percent health again.

In fact, our boy Cuzzo recently conducted an interview with Kenneth himself to learn more about his situation as well as his plans for the future, check it out:

Words and interview by: Rene Matthyssen

1. So brother Kenny, you and I go way back, but for those who don’t know, please let everyone know how you first got involved in skateboarding.

I moved to Hawai’i in 1987 from Louisiana and I noticed that everyone either surfed or skated. Being that I can’t swim that good, I started skating.

2. You are one of the original members of the infamous A’ala Park Bastards. What does it mean to you to be part of such a tight knit group of friends?

It means everything to me. I was lucky to have met the crew a long time ago, so that made it possible for me to become friends with everyone on a personal level.

3. Alright, let’s get down to business. How did you find out you had Leukemia?

I had a little skateboarding accident that resulted in a fractured skull. I had blood tests done at the ER, and from those tests is how the doctors found out I had leukemia (CLL).

4. When you first called me on November 11th 2009 to tell me that they had found a match for your bone marrow transfer, I was stunned. I told myself ‘Kenny has gotta be the luckiest damn Irish man on the planet.’ And then you said there were over 300 potential matches, good things happen to good people. Tell us how you felt when you got the good news.

When they called me it was about 3 weeks into the search. People search for years for a match, and I was aware of this, so I had already come to terms with the possibility that it might take a long time. When I answered the phone and the bone marrow transplant coordinator said ‘You’re a very lucky man,’ all the doubts I had were gone. It was the first time I thought everything was going to be alright.

5. You are currently in California getting ready for your transplant. What is the process and when can we expect to see you rolling around on your skateboard again?

I’ll be in Cali until May or June as far as when I can skate or even go back to a normal life. That all depends on how my body takes the transplant. I could be fine in May or it could take 2 years for things to be back to normal. I’m shooting for May.

6. Personally, I have gained a few things from your experience. The first is a new found admiration for your amazingly positive spirit that has kept us all going and the second is to savor every moment that life has to offer. What is one thing you have personally gained from your experience?

When I was first diagnosed, the first person that I talked to was my friend Yong Ki and he said ‘Remember that the leukemia is in your body and not in your mind, stay positive and you’ll be alright.’ What I’m saying is the power of positive thinking is amazing and I didn’t realize that until this happened to me. Through faith, anything is possible.

7. Alright Mr. Kenneth Brimer. I’m gonna end on that note, as for you, please feel free to give thanks to any and all.

I just want to thank everybody who put their lives on hold even for just one second to help me and my cause. I have a new found love for the human race because of you. A special thanks to all my family and friends, I love you all!

Fuck yeah, big BIG shout to my man Kenneth and his girl Lily!
Keep your head up son, you got this shit no problem, now hurry up and get better so we can resume the shredding.

MUCH mahalo to all involved with this project!
Now please go out and support the cause by visiting Fitted and APB to cop these limited edition gems.

Treevisions Is Killing It Right Now!

Sorry I'm a little bit behind right now in terms of throwing new shit up here, the trip to Japan was so relaxing and awesome that I kind of got used to chilling super hard and not really caring about constantly updating things.

One of the radder Internet gems to pop up in the last couple of weeks is this little promo for the new Treevisions video.
Conor McGivern has been steady filming as well as shredding on the other side of the camera for a long time now, and he and the whole Treevisions massive is burning hot fire in more ways than one.

I gotta say that Conor is one the best if not the best guy out there right now filming in Hawaii.
Everything I have ever seen of his is super crisp and mad interesting.
Editing-wise, he's on another level.
This shit just makes me second-hand stoned just thinking about it!

Apparently Conor and the boys are working on a full-length video to be released on DVD in Conor's words, "when the trees are satisfied", and this roughly 20 minute teaser is a nice little taste of what is sure to be one of the upper echelon Hawaiian skateboarding videos that you'll likely see come out later this year.

HUGE shout out to the whole Treevisions posse: Conor, Riley, Taurean, Elliot, Silent John, Shota, Tohmi, Chris, Wataru, Dana, Mikey, Bryant, Danny, and all the rest of you little stoners I forgot that are affiliated!

Roll that shit, light that shit, smoke it!

Element Contest @ A'ala Park on Saturday

This Saturday there is a contest at A'ala Park put on by Town & Country and Element.
Now you know why the park has been so crowded with trainers the past week, gotta get those lines down you know.
Anyway, a bunch of Element pros are going to be there as well, and you might want to check it out so here's the flyer:

Japan In February: Osaka Part One

As always, when returning from a Japanese vacation I have to say
ただいま!
That means I'm back.
Actually been home for a little over a week now, but it usually takes me a minute to unwind and decompress when I cross the international dateline.
That, and I have this really serious condition of ultra-laziness.

Maybe you've noticed recently that updating this thing here is not exactly one of my top priorities.
Very perceptive of you!
Anyway, sorry for lagging.

Oh, and did I mention that I'm married now?
Yeah, I got married in Japan.
More on that later, but for now peep the first half of my trip.


Left Honolulu behind on a Monday afternoon.


Got to Osaka on a Tuesday night.
Posted up at my man Junji's new place with his girl Maizy.
At midnight it was her birthday, TANJOOBI OMEDETO GOZAIMASU!


Junji's latest Soundboarding video LALALA OSAKA is now out on DVD!
It's a super sick slice of Osaka shredding that is really fun to watch. The video features a ton of Japanese shredders and also in the bonus section there is a nice edit of all of the Hawaiian footage from Junji and Takashi's trip last summer when they came here.


Speaking of LALALA OSAKA, my boy Takashi Maekawa has the last part, and it's fucking DOPE!
Takashi busted his ass and really came through with this part, it's definitely rad to see him in action combined with Junji's vision behind the camera.
Shit came out SICK.


Throw shakas at the watch spot.


Takoyaki dude was rocking a funny little takoyaki hat.


Stopped by Fuzenna, the most hardcore skater-owned and operated shop in Osaka, but didn't realize they were closed on Wednesdays.
WHAT UP, KD-san??
Catch you next time!


Screaming finger on the street.


Me and Takashi returned to the scene of the McDonald's lobby transition experiment.
Didn't fuck with it this time but definitely pounded some Shaka Shaka Chicken!


Met up with Nobutoshi Ito, he also has a part in LALALA OSAKA, and he's not only a ripper but a super funny dude, like most Osaka skaters are.


Then we met up with Masashi Morioka and drove out to the brand new Pyxis Skatepark in Wakayama.
Here's Morioka peeking while Takashi chills.


Morioka has a super sick two-page spread in the new Transworld Japan mag, sixteen stair 50-50 grind, so huge that it can't be shown in it's entirety here.
This is a shitty scan, I know.
Sorry!


Pyxis is soooo much fun!
This is the main mini ramp, here's the small side of the spine where you can transger to the big side with the escalator.


And from the big side you can go up the spine or the banks to the small side, which is super short and has really mellow transitions.


Nobutoshi frontside flipped up the bank with ease.


Crewed up with the guys that built the park, amazing job dudes!


Then straight to OHSHO for a ramen/fried rice/gyoza set!
Pounded it.

Next day Junji and Maizy went to Kobe for her birthday and me and Takashi met up again for an instant replay of the previous day.


Went to a standing noodle spot, got separate seats it was so crowded.


This udon fucking KILLED IT!


Takashi was on the TV at the Element store, LALALA OSAKA is a hot seller up in that piece.


Venice-san from Dorcus Clothing and Mr. Shingo from Ca-She-Wa were sessioning with us.


Yuya Okamoto was there ripping, he's kind of like a super stylish little Japanese Matt Rodriguez.


Dude got these really nice photos in the latest RUA Magazine, which is a high quality print mag with super nice photography.


Huge posse at Pyxis on the second day, that's the homie Bug on the top left, he's from San Diego but lives in Osaka and runs his own english school as well as his own board company, Best Friend Skateboards.
WHAT UP BUG!
Do your thing, baby.

And those were the only two days I skated during my five day stay in Osaka.
It was raining most of the time, not to mention it was cold as fuck, so no street skating went down this time.
Hopefully next time I get over there Junji won't be so busy and the weather will be a lot better because they have a SHITLOAD of good street spots in Osaka.

Anyway, that's all the skate stuff, part two of Osaka is all chilling and I definitely did a lot of that while I was there.