Might As Well Jump!

Go ahead and jump.
Jump ramps were a really, really big deal back when I first started skating many, many moons ago.
If you could get busy on a jump ramp, or launch ramp as they were also known, you had mad respect.
Shit, in those days if you could kill launch ramps, wallride, and stand on your hands good, you were pretty much sponsored.
Ill shit.
So back in early October some of us senior citizen dudes all got together at the In4mation office to shoot the shit and craft a little something nostalgic to fuck around on.
Todd set it off.
He called me up early on a Sunday and said he wanted to build a jump ramp.
That's what we did.


Look how serious this dude is.


Keith was all up on that shit too.


Coming together.


Dusted.


Dudes got involved.


Ian manhandled that shit.


Starting to look skatable.


Keith has this camera that makes this disgusting noise every time he takes a picture, when he presses the button to click a photo it goes SQUUIIIIISH.


The In4mants have a nice selection of carpet boards to get busy on.


Nice griptape, cuz!


Finishing touch on that bitch.


Last minute measuring job. You must be this tall to ride the jump ramp.


This is a crude but spot-on rendition of what Ryan Arakaki looked like back in the day, the resemblance is stunning.


Mounted up and ready to roll that shit out.


I rode to the spot with D. Lee, this is some standard shit going on in his car, not disgusting at all.


Made it out to the courts up in Manoa. Not exactly skate friendly people playing tennis on Sundays.


Lined up.


Keith SQUUUIIIISHED some action photos for shits and giggles.


I just laid there and waited.


Ian was walking on air.


Darin was on some wild varial type shit.


Gideon had some flip grabbery going on.


Todd bent some methods.


The man with the plan.


Noodles with the proper frontal grab stee.


Might as well go backside too.


Cookie was the steeziest! This is a frigid, but he had mad other launches in his bag that were also on some Hosoi type shit.


Ian had a Sal flip in him.


Everyone was tuckered out and we ended up getting hassled by the man, and by the man, I mean the pigs.


Split to a new spot. Alf had his parking block/wall ride thing with him.


Moved that thing into place again.


That's what we were working with.


Alf got up.


Chad wall rode to nollie out.


I tried not to touch, shit's hard going frontside with no hands.


It got dark quick and that was it.

Moving Pictures.

Okay, so it looks as if somebody's in the process of making a video.
By somebody I mean me, and by video I mean piece of shaky, lo-fi shit filmed on my digital camera.

After recently seeing enjoyable bare bones skate productions like Krooked's Gnar Gnar and Naugty, I thought it would be a good idea (it isn't) to make my very own magnum opus of local skateboarding.
This video project is currently in various stages of production and there should be a trailer for it sometime soon, or anytime I feel like getting around to making one, actually.

Until then, peep a few stills of clips that have been collected by the Canon Power Shot SD1000 that I carry around, also known as the Gnar-cam.
I know, totally original, right?

"It's just sound waves, dude..."

So I know I'm a little bit late on this, but the thought still counts nonetheless: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to my man Sean Payne.
His born day was weeks ago, but I couldn't make it to the celebration due to employment obligations.
In honor of his special day, and for the mere fact that he's a kick-ass dude that doesn't have an ounce of negativity in his entire being, I dedicate this here post to The Pizzle, The Paynis, The O.G. Tall Man himself, Sean Payne.


This right here is the new shit, the hot shit. Pizzle has been on 808 Skate since like a dozen or so years ago, we're talking like some serious career longevity here. I have no idea how Chuck got him to do this, though. I mean, this guy is so not into the limelight and does not care to be the center of attention of anything, and that is just one of the many rad things about him.


HOWEVER, when the guy does decide to throw down for you, he does it right. This pic I dug up of him going over some hip is totally monstrous and also completely ludicrous, and if you're familiar with the way he operates, then it will be of no surprise to you that this is a normal, everyday kickflip for him. Even if this was a mere ollie it would still be fucking obscene.


I wish I had more documentation of Sean's time spent as an am for Think. I do however own this right here, a copy of the am video that they put out in 2002 called Free At Last, and this shit is on VHS, son! Big up to skate videos on VHS, that shit is super tight and can't be fronted on. What also cannot be fronted on is Sean's part in this video, which is absolutely mental. Sean was what you would call a heavy hitter am in those days, and even then the dude didn't really give a shit.


After the end of his lengthy stay on Think, Sean found himself getting scooped up by the enjoi team. Not flowed from the local rep, not some distributor bullshit deal, I'm talking like the enjoi guys themselves came out here to Hawaii to film and take photos and Sean was showing them around and they skated with the dude and realized how fucking incredible he was and they put him on, no questions asked. Boom. Full am status, like my man Ric Flair would say, just like that. I don't know about Skater Of The Beer, though. Everyone who knows him can attest to the fact that he's all about the Kaka water.


Here's another one of those clever enjoi ads, check out Sean on the end with the blue bicycle. He probably found that bike at some yard sale for twenty bucks, cleaned it up and pimped it a little, then flipped it on Craigslist for a hundred. That's just how he does it. I'm talking like the unchallenged and untouchable champion of digging in the crates. This dude is a VIP shopper at Goodwill, The Salvation Army, Savers, and any and all thrift stores and garage sales. If there's dope shit there, he'll sniff it out and get it for hella cheap, or even free, and then turn around and bank off of that shit. OR, he might hook you up with a little gift, like when he laced me with the ill Redwings handgun (not that kind of gun, dummy!) for bodysurfing purposes.


While Sean was on enjoi, he was enjoi-ing (pun intended) some big time success, like when he was featured in the July 2004 issue of Transworld. It was the am issue, and he was spotlighted in a section called 9 Lives along with 8 more of the hottest ams out at the time. They were Gareth Stehr, Johnny Layton, James Brockman, Raymond Molinar, John Igei, Greg Myers, Van Wastell (RIP) and Jack Curtin. Maybe you've heard of some of these dudes? Just think if the Pizzle stayed on enjoi and put out a whole part in the Bag Of Suck video. Holy shit.


Sean only had a couple of pictures and a little bit of an interview in this issue, but shit like this double flip hippy jump had people going "HUH?" and seriously tripping out. Just imagine trying this. Exactly.


And you just know that this backside 180 nosegrind was probably a warmup trick.

But then at the peak of all of this, Sean got burnt out on the whole skateboard industry and all of the bullshit that goes on within it, and gave it all up to leave Cali and return back home to Hawaii and just live his life how he wanted to and to skate for fun when he felt like it. That's some seriously commendable shit. Not too many people can pull something like this off, but Sean did it with style and grace and I salute him for it. Do what you feel!


Nowadays, Sean can be found hanging out with his friends and having a good time.


You can also catch Sean on the beach, killing the skimboarding game.


BONUS SKIM VIDEO!!!! Peep Payne throwing backside sprays at Waimea shorebreak. Small thing to a giant.


Then of course, you can always find this dude digging deep into the crates and coming up on deals like this BB machine gun.
Seriously, there is not a better bargain-hunter on the planet. This dude knows his shit, he's the Sultan of Ebay and the Duke of Craigslist.

Alright.
See you around, haole.
Oh, and don't forget the golden rule:
NO BEERS, NO DOOBS.