Giggy The Piggy

This dog can be super cute alot of the times and the devil the other half. He's usually a big punk, but I guess tonite he'd just had enough of being messed with. Luckily for me, I just happened to have my camera closeby.

THANKS ALOT.

Sometimes I wonder what would be so different if I actually had encouragement? Just a smidge. Just a little. If anything, I feel like I am always the one who is pulling people out of the downward spiral that is self doubt. Man. It's crazy. I watch all these skate videos and see certain groups of people and think, "Holy shit, these guys are good." I figured it out. They feed off each other. They push each other. I look at the majority of things I have done on my board, that were worth it's salt were because I was amped on the session. I was FEEDING off of those around me. They are out there trying to push themselves just a little farther than before.

It's a little tiresome being the motivator. It makes me feel like a wound down clock at times. Ok, scratch that. I feel like a self winding clock. Because half the time there is no one around to pump me up. Too many, "I can't's" and "I used too's"...fuck that shit.

You can. But you won't try. You might, but you'll never know. The list goes on and on.

They say skateboarding is a one man sport, if you even wanna call it one, but it's so much better with someone out there pushing just as hard as you are.

FIRST TRY FRIDAYS WITH POMP

I love the Berrics. It's one of the best things ever to watch. So this was my small rendition. It came out better than I expected. I used iMOVIE HD. Lord knows I know nothing about how to use FINAL CUT. Sometimes you just gotta work with what you got.

California Dreamin'

I have NEVER been to California. Close to it, but have never been. When I was in Arizona, I saw a sign for it one day. I was only 6 or so hours from it, but never made it. Too close... I see all the spots in the skate videos and can only dream of how it is to skate there. I'm hoping that it becomes a reality someday. I really do. It seems so beautiful out there. Usually I only wear Boston or New York fitteds, but I just had to get an LA fitted. I figured if I look at it enough, it will force me to turn it into a reality.

Don' Be Scurred.

Man, for some odd reason, I just really enjoy scaring the crap out of anyone that stays over my place. I dunno know why, I just do. Even better, I love to record it for prosperity. Here's my home Kandal (it's one "L" he assured me) getting a lovely dose of how I like to torment my friends.

know graffiti

Damn, sometimes my mind just gets away from me. This is a spot that my buddy J-bo and his compadre Kyle Knoblauch made...I guess you can't really see what they made exactly...But I asure you, there IS a spot there. It's tucked away in a wooded area and surprisingly everyone knows about it, but it isn't blown out. Truth be told, I have only been there 1 other time where there was actually other people skating there. Not exactly your hot spot.

There is all sorts of art and whatnot here and there. The place is really clean. Today, I was left waiting for people to show up and I happened to have a lovely can of spray paint in my truck...So, I decided to make a little art of my own. Call it a self-motivational piece nonetheless.

Solo Sesh

It's crazy. What's crazy? Well, life is crazy. Skateboarding is so much better when you are skating with the homies.. Yeah, I know skating is a one man sport, or artform, or whatever you wanna call it, but it's always so much better when you are skating with the homies. Shiiiiit. I don't have that going on. I just don't. It's amazing how I get anything done on film, or a photo, or how people even see me at all.



I know, people can say..."Ki, get out of the skatepark.." Well, go where? I woke up early on a thursday to go skate...Where am I supposed to go? I live in Philly, and there just isn't central meeting spots like there used to be. We just don't have that anymore. I call people, but most of them flake or whatever. Or, they don't answer their phones. People in Philly are very secretive about who or where they are skating. I've noticed it becoming worse and worse over the years. It's kinda funny and sad all at the same time.



So I get stuck at the skatepark, trying to keep whatever talent I may have left. It's a hard process to motivate yourself, but it's there. You just have to make sure you keep the fire stoked. However you choose to do it.

5 Reasons Why Today...was......not so great.

1. Went skating. Well, skating itself was cool. It just sucks because it rains every friggin' wednesday I have off from work. Literally, the whole forecast was beautiful all week, except for wednesday. So I was stuck in the skatepark....alone. Couldn't get a session going if I held a gun to people's heads.

2. Board Broke. I don't break too many boards. I just don't. The board I was riding was pretty mushy, so I didn't really care. But that lead into other things...not so rad.

3. Hour drive, sitting in traffic. I drove an hour to the shop I ride for, to trade some trucks. Getting there, I honestly thought they weren't gonna do it. But I got the ok from the owner via text, so I got new trucks. Then paid full price for griptape and whatnot...Not so rad. Reminded me that I'm just "that dude" aka "nobody special."

4. Puke. My girlies dog threw up SEVERAL times on the carpet. I got to come home to that.

5. My cell phone & itouch BOTH froze. Nearly a grande of electronics, worthless.

Not Ballin

Gotta love paying bills. I started out with a knot...and now I am one of the have kNOTs. 

I guess I shouldn't really complain too much because at least I'm able to pay them...but man, it sucks all the same. 

I may just take that last dollar and buy a scratch off with it. I was gonna buy a cheeseburger with it, but you can't possibly win $1,000 eating a cheeseburger...can you? 

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

I'm Back. But who's listening anyway?

Ok, so it has been quite a long long time since I have posted on this thing. Why? Well, I don't have a valid reason. I Just kind of forgot about it. Truth be told, no one reads this shit anyway. But just in case my mom is reading it...Lemme redo that sentence..(she's not a big fan of cursing) Truth be told, no one reads this "crap" (crap is ok) anyway.

"Blogs are so hot write now." That should be on a shirt.

It's 1:27 in the am, and later today I am gonna go skate. Same agenda as usual. But different approach. May call a filmer. May call a photographer. May call my mama. One of the three. My sponsors, what's left of them, are hoping I call the first two. We'll see.

My Block

Ok, my block is kinda hood. I'll keep it real with you. I have seen and heard some crazy shit happen on my street. But on thing that is consistent is the pornos I find lying on the ground. Usually in front of my neighbors house. It's a house full of Mexicans and you never see the same one's longer than a month or so. One night, the US Marshalls came and took one of them to jail.

Anyway, this is one of the many porns I found on their stoop. Gotta love it. I had no idea Mexicans like black women with fat azz's..I guess you learn something new everyday.

Face Off Fridays

I just don't update this thing that much. In all honesty, can't say I have been too busy. I have just been doing alot of bullshit. So pretty much, Focus Magazine pitted two people that hardly know each other in a video contest. For me, I look at it as just another way to get my video out. Period. In this game, if you can get anyone to watch your footage, let alone sponsor you, you're golden.

However the severe drawback to this "contest" is the ridiculous hating that comes along with it. It's sad. People think we're out to get each other. Funny thing about it is, I bet Jamal Smith doesn't even know he's in this thing. He's probably having the time of his life, just skating. But people, other people, take it so much further. Truth be told, I like the way Jamal skates. It's different.

Living in Philadelphia, it's definitely a change from the corduroy wearing, flannel shirt sporting, pole jamming going on. Oh, and need I forget the ultra tight panted, heavy metal smith grinding going on.

It's different. But whatever. Peep it over at FOCUSSKATEMAG.COM...hate me on if you like.

kiTouch

Okay, shame on me.. Shame on me. First of all, I don't need this ipod. I really don't. I can think of about a billion other more constructive things to do with my hard hustled money. But I just had to have it. Two of my friends have one and I fell in love with it. I got it for pennies on the dollar, so I couldn't say no.

Scuba Steve

Scuba Steve. I have far far too many stories for this guy. One thing about Steve is that through all the years of skating, he NEVER let's me film him. It's so funny. But on this particular day, I didn't make my trick and he was tooling around with this nollie back lip. Needless to say, by the time he stuck it, the only way we could find our way out was by my camera light. It was really cool watching my friend work hard and roll off into the darkness, accomplished and tired.

Nice job homie.

Winter 09'

This winter has been kicking my ass. I swear to you, yesterday, I was skating in a t-shirt. I'm not kidding. I was skating outside in a t-shirt!! I heard the next day it was supposed to snow, but I just figured the weatherman was full of shit like always. Boom, 4-6 inches of snow and skating is put back into the indoor park again.

Nothing to do but make the most out of things.

This is what the neighborhood kids made. I like how they made the crown top out of an old hubcap. That's pretty damn creative. Gotta love South Philly.

Philly Phreeeeeeeeze!!

This day was cold as shit. Wintertime in Philly can be alright at times and extremely shitty other times. We kinda lucked out this day and managed to get alot done. I don't skate with a crew of people. Usually it's me and another person. That person being a filmer or a photographer. My buddy J-bo doubles as both at times. He does it for the love. Dude makes no money shooting photos, and he's always pushing me to go out when I rarely feel like doing much of anything that day.

Thanks homie!

TRAFFIC JAM

One of the best things about having your own blog is that you can say just about anything you please. Actually I can say EVERYTHING I please...So let's get down to business.

Everyone, meet Brannon John. In case you didn't know. He rips. He came to the park today and killed it. Everytime I see him, I kinda get on his case about Traffic. It's not that he doesn't answer me. It's just that after a while, it gets a little old..So let me say what I feel needs to be said.

BRANNON JOHN GOT SLEPT ON.....period. Take what you want from it...I don't care. Dude is good and for some odd reason or another there was a gridlock over at the Traffic camp. Where's the Brannon footy? I'm not placing the blame on anyone directly because I can't go off rumors. But it is what it is. Whatever arrangement they got over there seems to be working out...but damn if we need to see more of Brannon in the Traffic videos!!! C'mon now!!

Alright, let me stop before I stir up some shit...

i'm so hood!!

Let me clear something up..For those of you who don't know. And for those of you who don't care...Hoodlum gives me skateboards to ride. I love those guys. Down ass dudes for sure. Nothing is better than being on a team with your homies. Yea!!!

The only downside is that I'm a picky bastard with a big foot and can't hardly ride any of the boards that they give me. That's why when most of you see me, I have a spray painted beauty under my feet. I complain and whine, and for some odd reason, my name is still on the roster. But they are in the works of making boards for the big and black...John is cool like that..

One time a lovely package they sent me had a "diamond in the rough" as they say...This was one of the boards that I actually ended up riding and loved it. Too bad it was the only one....

Picture Me Rollin'

My sponsor situation is kinda weird right now. Yeah, I still have them, but it's kind of up in the air just exactly who I ride for. Thanks to anyone whose given me boards, or sent me boxes when I needed it. It's been an uphill battle and I'm still out there, trying to keep afloat. Keeping up with the latest is just as tough as holding on to what you used to do. Kids ask me about being sponsored, and it's such a grey area. It's such a tough question to answer. I'm not some uber am by any means. I'm the working man. So I don't want to make anyone seem like I'm leading some amazing life. It's far from it. But I'm happy with what I got. 

The one thing that is a constant is that, I'm still gonna skate just as hard, if not harder. Skateboarding is what I love to do. I still have the same love for it as I did when I was 13. 

This was my first day ever shooting with my new homie Dave Stuck. He's from B-More and shoots flicks of my buddies at Vu Boardshop all the time. Today he took time to spend a day or so, following me around the gritty spots of Philly. Thanks Stuck!!

Sometimes it's bad to bail..

Sometimes skateboarding just doesn't go the way you'd like it too. Nothing's better than putting a new notch on a 900 dollar lens.. 3 trips to the same spot...and all I got was this...Tight!!

Man made skate spots?

Ok, Well let me tell you this...the average person probably may never skate this spot in your life. You just won't. Some of you reading this, may have skated it already, but I'm sure you didn't skate it bust free like we did. It was a Hummer training course and this place was super fun. Banks all over this thing. It was super smooth and this bump blasted you. Here's my homie Ronnie Gordon putting those knees to the test..

Homeless John

John's alot shorter than me. So I made him lay on the griptape of one of my old boards to pose for a photo...yeah, he hated it...but he was a sport and did it anyway. 

Kyle Frederick

If you didn't know by now...Kyle is a beast. Who else do you know who frontside airs baked turtles in a sketchy pool? I think he shot the turtle earlier that day & ate it to gather the energy to pull this tight ollie....

John Note...G.Spot Supra Signing....

Supra signing a few years back. Note was in charge of keeping the kids in line...literally. As you can see, he was soo hyped. 

Ridley Park, PA

You have no clue just how mad this cop was. You definitely should be glad you weren't there. Justin (Berry) did his best to be the moderator. But this cop wasn't having it. If you go to Ridley...hope you don't bump into this guy....Pissed. 

Milford, PA

This guy cracked his head open like a pumpkin...This cop had no clue what to do. 

Harsh. 

Last Days...

These were like the last few times filming for the Hot Wax video. Kyle just got done putting his nuts on the rail in the background and still came out victorious. The days were never long enough. But they were all worth remembering. 

The Always Inquisitive Hobbes Killah

School was something for me that I never decided to fully attend, after the mandatory high school. 

So learning Photoshop was something that just didn't come easy at all. Here's my best was to impersonate some sort of Andy Warhol like picture of my dog...Hobbes Killah. This shit took forever. 

He's looking at my rabbit that's in a cage. Whether or not he would have actually eaten the rabbit, had it gotten out of the cage, I really don't know.