Live at the Blaisdell.

When I think about the Blaisdell Arena right here in lovely Honolulu, Hawaii, the first thing that comes to my mind is HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT!

I've seen some legendary shit at the Blaisdell, I'm talking like groups ranging from Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, and Ozzy, to Aerosmith, Metallica, and Soundgarden, I mean just a whole bunch of crazy arena rock went down there and the scene was always the same before the show. Just like the Heavy Metal Parking Lot video, (if you haven't seen it, pleeeaaaase click on that link up there and watch that shit, it's mesmerizing)there would always be a gang of rocker dudes in denim and leather and hella metal sluts in spandex roaming around drinking hards and beers and always smoking tons, and I mean TONS of weed, and blasting some serious headbanger shit on their car stereos. Every single concert you could count on a full blown party scene in the hours before the show, and I don't know what the fuck that has to do with the recent Big Boys Toys Expo that went down during the last weekend of March here in town at the Blaisdell, but I can assure you it was always awesome.

Well, anyway this Big Boys Toy expo thingy was technically held at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall right in between the arena and the concert hall that everyone skates. Speaking of skating, there was an awesome, and by awesome I mean fucking AWESOME mini-ramp built just for the show over the weekend, and we went down there to skate it and hang out at the booths of our homies from APB, Fitted, and Poetree. Oh, and Christian Hosoi was there. Kind of a big deal!


You know if Gary's deejaying, the shit is going to be out of contrizzol! RHPS always represents lovely.


Shit was getting drilled.


Chad was breaking in the new guy. Whattup, Conor! Love this kid already.


APB and Fitted shared a booth right in between Heavywater Mag and Poetree. Chad had a bunch of product for sale, including his newest t-shirt design, which might be one of his best ones yet. See it?


Here, get a good look, drop to your knees.

By the way, this shirt was Chad's genius way of telling me that he's sick of having his photo on the Internet, more specifically his mug on this blog piece of shit right here.

Inspired by the taser guy from Florida, this t-shirt also happens to be a APB/Hirollingmedia.com collabo and it's on sale right now down at APB, don't you want one? Don't you want to let us know that you're sick of this shit and sick of blogs in general? Make a statement!


Anyway, the ramp was getting mopped because it was hella slippery.


So we walked around the show to kill some time. There was a pitbull kennel right next to where the ramp was.


These dogs ain't fucking around.


I mean they're on some ruff shit!


Like some pull 5000 pounds and up type of shit.


Keeping it CHEE PONO!


This dog is Diesel! Seriously, that's his name. Probably pull you and your whole family down the street and not even blink.


All the peoples that were in the ramp area posted up together.


ZZ Top type of shit.


Sick Jag.


On some Tom Slick shit. Not the A'ala Park bum, the cartoon, stupid.


Pretty gangsta.


These guys were all about customizing your shit.


With shit.


Might as well pimp your golf cart too.


Ludicrous bike.


And another.


This comic book shit is getting out of contol.


Even Green Goblin was up in that shit.


Mud Light!


Bitchin' Camaro.


Manly shit.


You know karate? Well, I know CARAZY.


These dudes were totally serious.


If they sold one of these all weekend, I'd be fucking amazed.


They should have listened to this dude.


Doc Peezy stoner type shit.


The tenth-grader in me was loving this shit.


Aaron is almost foxier than this chick.


The ill Bug shit!


While the ramp was being finished up, Chad stickered up.


Ready for some action.


Get your grub on.


Oasis dudes repped the Big Island.


They got planks and stuff.

Okay, so I was chillin' and whatnot, pounding down hella Vitamin Waters because that shit was free all weekend, and I had heard that Hosoi was in town for some demo/church service something or other at the Hickam Hangar and maybe he was going to be at the show during the weekend. Well, it was true, the man himself was spotted in the building, and pretty much as soon as the ramp was completed with its finishing touches, he got up on the deck. I immediately started fanning out and sniping hella shots of him just standing there. What? It's Christian fucking Hosoi. Fuck off!


Well, I'd rather watch Holmes stand on the deck of a ramp than watch about 75 percent of the video parts out there in skateboarding today.


More style in his fucking pinkie toe than, say, the entire Baker team.


If Christian is Christ, then Ivan is God. Hartsel with pops Hosoi.


And of course Jef and the man Holmes himself go back like pool chairs. Venice locs back in the day.


Hands down, without question, the coolest skater-friendly security guard in the short history of skater-friendly security guards. This dude has been working at the Blaisdell for like 35 years or some shit. He's busted everyone in town for skating at the concert hall, but he's always super nice and he even tells you when the best times are to come back when he's not there. He even made a cameo in the second APB video, lower case. He fake tackled Alex Ly on the steps of the concert hall and was a champ about it. In fact, Chad even hooked him up with a copy of The Struggle DVD so that he could watch himself in action in the bonus features. Braddah was stoked!


Kenny Brimer: superstar!


Dude signs autographs now.


Dude even has a camera now with a cute little lens. Welcome to the media, Blazer.


Too late, Aaron Lee! You're fucking blogged for life!


Westsiiiiide was in the house. Guess which one of these dudes has a video part on YouTube of him skating to Eye Of the Tiger. You have a fifty percent chance. Can't imagine it? Give up? Okay, okay. It's him.


Another ludicrous motorcycle.


Best t-shirt of the weekend, 4th runner-up.


Dopest shirt of the weekend, 3rd runner-up.


Coolest t-shirt of the weekend, 2nd runner-up, two times.


Okay, raddest t-shirt of the weekend? Found it! Jose', you're the winner.


Kenny says congratulations.


Cover band kinda killed it!

WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE, you're probably saying to yourself by now.
Wasn't there a goddamned ramp in the fucking building?
Didn't anyone skate it?
Where are the action photos already???

There are plenty of those.
Right here!
Some are from Friday night, when the extentions didn't have coping on them, or a deck to stand on for that matter.
The decks and coping for the extension got done on Saturday, but there was a heated session Friday night with no deck or coping on that section.
Saturday was crazed, full blown snake session from hell, but what do you expect?
Sunday I didn't go but heard it was way mellow and not as crowded.
I took most of these pictures, but Mako took some and I think Hesham might have taken the ones of Cuzzo, I'm not sure, but here's the cornucopia of action shots.


I'm still giving the finger after all these years, I dunno the shit just comes out, I can't control it.


I lipslid up the extension with no deck or coping, big fat fucking whoop.


Think I give a fuck about a frontside rock? Sometimes I give myself the thumbs down when I'm not sticking middle finger.


This dude is the Frank Lucas of the Hawaiian hat game.


And Cuzzo's crooked grind is in color too, if you missed it the first time.


Rene fucking Matthyssen kills it to this day. Next time you're over at Fitted copping that tight custom New Era hat piece, tell 'em that you seen Cuzzo killing it on the hirolling blogspot, and support their shit. Fuck a corporate mall hat shithole!


Little rats were doing ollies and shit off the extension. Damn!


Harts was like "Yo, I'm feeling your setup, Holmes!" I think it looks like he's feeling it anyway.


Kele Rosecrans did some wild maneuvers like this crazy varial spin to backside D.


Ken McGuire was in the Speed Freaks video! Now that is some legend type shit right there. Respect! Dude is fucking cool as hell and still kills it.


Not the greatest photo, but it's a Hosoi ollie!


Chris Kays killed the ramp all weekend. Duh. Here's a kickflip to rock fakie.


Holmes kicks out a one foot to backside disaster, steez dripping by the bucket.


Christian Hawaii Five-O's to fakie with ease.


Even though he "only" went to backside disaster after this vicious method, this may be one of theeee raddest photographs I have ever taken.


You don't think John Collins was psyched to be standing on the deck next to THE man?


John sure skated all weekend long like he was psyched. Blunt fakes with ease.


It ain't a fucking ramp sesh without Kale Sandridge! Obscene stalefish IN YO FACE.


I hereby decree that Ian Okui is the only skater in the state allowed to wear headphones, Skate Nazi has spoken!


Ian nailed this frontside varial spin to lein air off of the extension, by the way.


Cuzzo hung with the Blaze in between crooked grinds and feeble fakies.


Ricky Stiles frontside for miles.


Hey coping, hey deck, get ready for impact.


Honestly, name one guy with more style than this dude.


Forget it, such a person does not exist, and never will.


Well, more Kale is always a good thing.


Slayer shirt! Kale was rocking an Iron Maiden tee the night before. How hard does he rule? Very.


Hartsel doing some custom Poetree stuff in his booth in between killing the ramp.


Kenny was stoked to see his old pal Bo Ikeda back in the swing of things. What's up, Bo! Everyone was super psyched to see you're feeling better, let's go shred when you're not surfing sometime.


Was this board gay enough?


Sean Reilly thought so, and he was absolutely right.

The entire weekend was pretty crazed, I mean how often do you get to session a perfect mini-ramp right here in town, indoors, with all kinds of freaks and weirdos on display with an insane mix of cars, electronics, animals, music, oh...and did I mention skating that indoor perfect mini-ramp with Christian Hosoi?

Fuck yeah I was fanning out.
Shoot me.