There is no feeling quite as bizarre as boarding a flight with nothing but the clothes you’re wearing, a loaner backpack and an empty water bottle. And the only reason I had those two things was so I didn’t feel totally creepy. Moreso I felt embarrassed, hopeless and alone, but I still got on the plane.
I had to. I had no other choice, as some dickhead, Riverwester decided to smash in my window and steal all my luggage, a few hours before I was supposed to head to Denver for SIA. The good news is I made it. I landed, grabbed some replacement socks, underwears, tees, and kept on bopping. What else can a man do? It was better to be pist and surrounded by free beer and rad people, than to be pist at home, alone on the couch.
And I did get free beer, and I did meet good people, and I did see rad things.
The Free Beer:
Shout out to everyone who helped ease my pain. Ezra at C3, and thus the Nose, kept me moving for a few hours. Dale and the people at flow had a few cans for me, as did the Rome guys. Keith, Lauren and the Burton crew fed me beer and liquor. Several times too. Which was great!
The Burton crew was also rad enough to toss me a couple tees to wear. Thanks for that, gentlemen.
Also, a tip of the hat to Adidas for bringing in coffee guys who kept me going before beer time every day.
The Rad People:
I was a bit distracted this year, I’m not gonna lie. I was dealing with insurance from 1200 miles away and trying to figure out what I lost and what I still had. In fact I’m still finding new things I’ve lost on the daily. But it’s all replaceable. That has pretty much become my mantra.
Anyway, the Yobeat crew. Those dudes are pushing it so hard. It’s an honor to get to hang with them and see what they are doing with that little website. I’m pretty lucky Brooke thinks I’m funny enough to prop up.
Nick Green is back in the Midwest, where he belongs, repping the crap out of Skullcandy. Lauren O from Burton is a friggin’ peach and so very helpful. I actually got to spend a fair amount of time talking with Ezra from C3 and that dude has some history. Super interesting to hang with him for a minute.
I also met Steve from Bird’s Eye in Brooklyn. I like that guy. He cares about the scene and seems like a rad guy. I would recommend conversation with Steve to other conversationalists. And you can even buy things from his shop.
Then I met this dude:
Jesse is all around solid. I felt bad for busting out on him so quickly, but I’m pretty sure I’ll speak with him again. There are some goofy images of the two of us running around on instergramps. Thanks to his lady for making that the love connection happen. Plus, he said he read this blog. That’s also a good ego stroker.
Burritos was in the house, but we all know that.
Old enets compatriots, James and Caitlyn were in the place as well. Fuck, those two are good people. It seems that James has something happening over on Shradtastic, so you might want to check that out. Another old enetster, Jgriffs, is now a Denver local and made sure the nights were super rad. THANKS, J GRIFFS!
Then of course there was Dale Rehberg, Chanelle Sladics, Dave Downing and Chad Otterstrom, who gave me some time. But we’ll get more into that later.
The Things That Were Seen:
This is the woman I call Boss (Bonus: Nose sighting).
Oh hey, Adidas is making boots as well as coffee. They look good as well.
It’s good to know Awesome will be safe for another season.
This Endeavor board was pretty much the best looking thing at the show.
Understairs Jesus with a couple broads named Jenny.
This coat is almost better than getting a tattoo of tattoo gun drawing a tattoo of a tattoo gun.
I apologize for the crappy images, my phone was all I had. Probably should have made them all 3D.
Speaking of things I didn’t have.
Here’s the list of what was lost
- 1 MacBook Air
- 1 160gb iPod Classic
- 1 iPad 2 16gig and cover
- 1 Rode Podcaster mic
- 1 Rode Podcaster shockmount
- 1 Audio Technica AT2020 mic
- 1 Nikon Coolpix p7000
- 1 Sony Bloggie
- 1 Dental mouthguard
- 1 pair prescription Gucci glasses
- 1 pair prescription Ray Ban Square Wayfarer sunglasses
- 2 mic stands
- 1 Burton Riders Bag
- 1 Burton Focus Pack
- 1 Gravis Sidearm pack
- 1 North Face Recon pack
- 1 pair Benny Gold Gold Standard denims
- 1 Pair B Son pants
- 1 Benny Gold button-up shirt
- 1 Stussy Toronto sweatshirt
- 3 pairs Huf Plantlife socks
- 4 Hanes Perfect Fit tees
- 1 Upper Playground Shinagist tee
- 1 Upper Playground UP zip-up sweatshirt
- 1 Aculpulco Gold Jodie Foster tee
- 1 Uniqlo flannel
- 2 J Crew button-ups
- 4 pairs of underwear
- 1 pair Ariel 7 Phoenix Headphones
- 1 LL Bean monogrammed personal organizer
- 1 Gorilla Grip Tripod
- 1 Coal Mason bamboo and cashmere hat
- 1 Sigg 32oz water bottle
- 1 Obey Scarf
- 4 8gb memory cards
Again, fuck Riverwest and whoever heisted all my gear.
Be well, and remember that it is all replaceable.