4/30/04
Back to the Piers yet again. I tweaked up the Dogtown Deck by putting in some stiffer truck bushings and harder wheels. The harder
wheels made it less work for me to keep up my speed. I did 2 new tricks, a 50-50 Grind
(Thanks Marc for the instruction!) and an old school Rock and Roll or (Rock to 180). I paid the price
on the mini ramp though. The first few tries I munched severely! My board is twice as heavy as anything anybody else is riding and I weigh in at about 200 pounds.
When I crash you hear these two obvious sounds - BAMMM! and then FHUUUUUMPP! Everyone's eyes quickly focus to the source of the noise to see if they need to call an ambulance.
None needed so far... I saw a few more older skaters and it was cool to see an over 30 woman out there trying and landing new tricks.
4/25/04
I skated Chelsea Piers once again! There are other skate spots in NYC but I am trying to get some
basic skills back before I hit the Tribeca Bowl,
Owl's Head, Brooklyn Ramps,
or Riverside Park. I did my first
Rock to Fakie
ever in my life! I met even more older guys including one dude that was pulling airs on the 11 foot vert ramp! He said he had returned to skating two and a half years ago.
Everybody gave me a bunch of crap about my Dogtown board, saying I could learn more tricks if I got a new school board, but I kind of laughed it off. I did realize my wheels
are too slow, and my truck bushings too wobbly so I ordered more stuff! After the session, I shot an interview with
Carmine Covelli.
He has a lot of great ideas and is going to be fun to work with on the film.
4/23/04
I went back to the Chelsea Piers again. I was able to pump on the 6 foot half pipe and
do some kick turns without killing myself. I caught a few grinds on the mini-ramp. Introduced myself to even more older skaters. It is so cool
that there are so many of us!
4/18/04
I skated on a ramp for the first time in 15 years! I live very close to Chelsea Piers Skate Park
on the Westside of NYC. It was really great! I pulled off a few backside grinds on some of the 4 foot quarter pipes (which is more than I thought I could do).
I need to get clearance from the park to shoot inside, but my talented friend Mary Guidera, from the band the Caulfield Sisters,
shot some video through the fence. I want to use more than one cinematographer to capture different looks and feels. I met a few older guys and I was surprised that
there were so many of us. TOTAL BLAST! WHY DID I EVER STOP?
The Chelsea Piers Skate Park
4/12/04
I had a meeting with filmmaker/performer Carmine Covelli at the Court Square Diner in
Queens to see if he was interested in working on the film. I originally met Carmine in 2001 while working at the performance space
Galapagos in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I have seen several of his films and he has a very raw and unique
style that will be perfect for the movie. I remember before doing tech for some show, I saw Carmine sitting at a table doing a stop action
sequence using a bunch of vegetables. I knew then I wanted to work with this guy some day!
4/5/04
I found this really cool website that inspired me to skate again. It is the Bulldog Skates site. They sell boards and
wheels that are manufactured in the style of the late 70's (when I started to skate) as well as some modern style stuff too. One of the proprietors
Wes Humpston is responsible for the famous Dogtown cross artwork that I used to try and mimic on all of
my paper bag school book covers. On this site there is a message board and I began reading
about how many guys in there 30's are starting to skate again. I starting ordering old school boards like they were drugs! I ordered a Bulldog Designs Dogtown reissue,
an Alva Leopard, a Death Box, piles of trucks and wheels. I already owned a Powell Peralta Skull and Sword. I wanted to have boards from the eras that I skated.
I am sure the new boards are easier to ride but I really like the style of the older boards.
The Alva Leopard Reissue!! Sweet!!!