Matt Meola - $100,000 Innersection edit
Here is Matt Meola’s winning edit from the Innersection contest, filmed & directed by Elliot Leboe of ACL Digital Cinema. For more information on the contest check out innersection.tv. We are so grateful to everyone who voted for Matt’s part! Special thanks to Taylor Steele & Nathan Myers of Innersection.
Additional filmers for his part include:
Marlon Lewis
Curt Morgan - Brainfarm
Quincy Dein
Theo Niarchos
Raegan Ritchie
(by ACL Digital Cinema)
This year, the 2011 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras will have for the first time in history, a group of surfers taking part in the parade and marching along Oxford Street with their surfboards. Thomas, the founder of GaySurfers.net explains, “By participating in Mardi Gras, we are showing the public that a healthy diversity exists in both the gay community and the surfing community.”
GaySurfers.net launched in February 2010, is free to join and offers gay surfers from every point on the planet a place to meet, socialise, create surf GROUPS based on geographic location and plan surf EVENTS. Members can post UPDATES about what’s happening in their surf world, share articles and favourite surf spots, participate in FORUMS and upload surf videos and photos. One exciting component of the website is the global mapping of gay friendly surf spots, surf tours, accommodation and businesses. ‘It’s fast becoming a global surf guide for surfers who are gay.’ In just one year, GaySurfers.net has almost 3,000 members from around 80 countries. Australia itself has 650 participating members and 250 of these surf Sydney’s surrounding beaches.
When asked about the mission of the site, Thomas laid out two very specific main objectives; To bring gay surfers together and improve public awareness. In a very short amount of time, however, it has become much more to many. Our site breaks down prejudice and builds up self-esteem by creating a network of openly gay surfers who understand the trials of being homosexual within surf culture; essentially, we’re making it easier for them to accept themselves. That’s a big part of our mission: to remove shame from the equation and help gay surfers be the best they can be.
The site is designed for men and women, and all ages seem to be jumping on board. ‘We’re stoked that younger surfers are finding and using the site to network with other surfers.’ This is especially important as younger guys who are just discovering their homosexuality need the most support and encouragement – especially in light of recent, tragic news of homophobic bullying and suicides among gay teenagers.
Thomas emphasizes at every turn that this is not a dating site, nor is it a porn site; it is strictly a social community based on a passion for surfing. ‘Those hoping to slide a questionable photo in under the radar better find another website, because we monitor this one closely’. He is serious when he says he wants GaySurfers.net to remain “a safe place for all ages.” As GaySurfers.net grows, I hope our message of acceptance and understanding spreads throughout the global surfing community. Nomads unite! Gay or straight, we all share a passion for the greatest sport in the world.
SATURDAY 5 MARCH 2011
For more information and to register to join the GS float at the parade, visit:
http://www.gaysurfers.net/events/active/mardi-gras-festival-in-sydney/
(via fuckyeahsurfers)
words by Jon Coen for Beachcruiser Magazine | photos courtesy of Mike McLaughlin
Guess they have to be. They’ve been around for like 23 years. And the past several, they’ve been rocking four-night residency “Home for the Holidays” shows at the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park. In punk rock terms, that can get repetitive real quick.
So, how do you keep things fresh?
They find a way.
This year was a “Home for the Holidays” that no one will soon be forgetting, primarily from the bastard late 2010 nor’easter that halted everything in its snowy wake. Not only was the December 26th show canned, but three days later, folks were still stranded in their Asbury homes and hotel rooms.
“My wife Shanti and I were staying at the Berkeley (Oceanfront Hotel) so we had a really good view of Asbury from the 7th floor. It was just a snowfield. There were five and six-foot drifts. Every day we would wake up and think ‘the plows will be here any minute.’ But nothing was moving,” recalls frontman, Greg Attonito.
There were about 100 people stranded in various hotels during the snowstorm, with 50 who had traveled to Asbury for the event, all stranded in the Berkeley. They wound up having a three-day blizzard party with an acoustic show in the ballroom.
Manager/den mother Kate Hiltz, who was affectionately known that week as the “Blizzard Wizard,” had to make the tough announcement that Home for the Holidays was off. Fortunately, she was able to reschedule the “Snowout Blowout” for February 9-12 (some four snowstorms later.)
Every year, the Souls pull out all the stops to recreate a dysfunctional New Jersey holiday gathering, which has grown from terrible sweaters, twisted Christmas cards, a brash mix of opening bands, and Santa in the pit, to a full schedule of films, Asbury Park Tours, and after parties.
If you grew up within any type of sub cultural context in New Jersey, chances are, a Souls song is an anthem for your life. While the boys are known in punk circles around the world, love for the band transcends that community in the Garden State. But after so many shows, a recent 20-year-anniversary, and all these Holiday fests, are folks going to still want to “Sing Along Forever?”
“If we just came out and played four standard shows, who’s gonna want to see that?” says axe man Pete Steinkopf.
For their most recent home state stint, the Souls kicked it up by playing their entire post-Green Ball Crew discography, tackling two albums per show in chronological order, for an exhausting four nights.
“It never really occurred to us that most Bouncing Souls fans’ experience with our music begins with listening to a record. They get to the end of a song and they’re ready to hear the song that follows it,” says bassist, Bryan Kienlen, “When we sequence the songs, there’s a lot of intent and creativity that goes into it. We put the songs in order to flow aesthetically so a desired affect is achieved. It never occurred to us, after all these years that people wanted to hear the songs in the order of the record. It had just never dawned on us and it was a total success.”
That meant learning a few songs that had never been played live as well as dusting off some gems that had last bounced off the walls of New Brunswick basements.
Last Wednesday, they cranked out 1994’s The Good, the Bad, and the Argyle, and 1996’s Maniacal Laughter, Thursday, they crushed 1997’s Self-Titled, and 99’s Hopeless Romantic. They lit up Friday night with 2001’s How I Spent my Summer Vacation, and ‘03’s Anchors Aweigh.
“Going back and relearning our whole catalog was interesting, and then to see people’s reactions on different nights to different records was great,” adds Steinkopf.
The evenings became heavyweight bouts with one album facing off against the other. Reminiscent of an old-time title fights at Asbury’s Convention Hall, featuring “Gentleman” Jim Norton announcing and a beautifully inked card girl. And Jersey’s undisputed champs refused to go down for four straight shows.
It’s really no stretch for the Souls to dig deep and pull out the creativity. They’ve been finding fun ways to promote the band themselves for two decades, from early house parties to the bio documentary to the more recent TV Spectacular.
On Saturday night, following the Landmines, a rare performance by Chris Wollard & the Ship Thieves, and a set by longtime members of the Souls family, the Loved Ones, the bell rang and the boys came out fighting with 2006’s The Gold Record. Starting with “The Gold Song,” they ripped through favs like “So Jersey” “Midnight Mile,” and “The Pizza Song” with help from various characters of the Bouncing Souls universe. Sure they missed a few punches and left chins exposed a few times, but it’s not like anyone paid to see the Rockettes at Radio City.
Round Two included the entirety of 2010’s Ghosts on the Boardwalk album that included “Gasoline,” and the title track, written for this favorite city-by-the-sea. They had completed 122-songs. But instead of staggering to their corner, to await decision, the Souls still had some fight left in them.
They brought out local roadie, Danny Wyndas, known as “Dubs,” to bang out the encore on Michael McDermott’s drums and they finished, appropriately, with “True Believers.”
The Bouncing Souls aren’t merely a band. They’re an institution here. Like the few original buildings of Asbury Park that survived the riots and redevelopment, like an outsized fighter with more heart than good sense, the Souls are still standing.
-Jon Coen
Jon Coen is a Jersey Shore freelance writer for several national magazines who contributes locally to The Sandpaper and Beachcruiser Magazine.
Kilian Martin: A Skate Regeneration (via Bragic)
Beachcruiser Magazine. Follow us on Facebook + Twitter @beachcruisermag
Man About Town starring Kilian Martin | Autumn/Winter 2010
High fashion meets skateboarding in Madrid freestyle skater Kilian Martin’s new video for Man About Town Magazine’s Life’s a Beach - the Winter Sun Issue
Art Direction: Atelier Franck Durand
(photos via Alex Grant)
Beachcruiser Magazine. Follow us on Facebook + Twitter @beachcruisermag
(from the triCity News article, published Thursday January 6, 2011)
A few weeks ago our local press (Tri City News) wrote a story about the Asbury Park Casino Shoe that was released in June 2008, they got the story all wrong and focused on the exploitation of the town that Nike supposedly took. After a knock on there door and a lot of hate mail they gave us the “Skateboarders Of Asbury” a chance to let everyone know what that time and that place meant to us and exactly why the shoe was made:
Clearly stated on this newspaper’s website are the words that read “The triCityNews is an alternative newspaper focusing on the arts, culture and politics in eastern Monmouth County, New Jersey.” Their mission…”to identify and promote the creative and alternative throughout the area. We have placed particular emphasis on promoting the restoration of Asbury Park to its rightful place as one of the great progressive and multicultural small cities in this country”.
While we (the skateboarders of Asbury Park) are not writing to debate any of those statements, we are disappointed with the editorial that ran on December 16, 2010. On the cover of that week’s paper was a thumbnail image of a shoe, created by Nike, for the long departed Casino Skatepark with a caption that read ‘Nike Exploits Asbury’. Opening to the feature story, the reader is welcomed by these words ‘Nike Jumps On The Asbury Bandwagon’.
We are not sure what bandwagon the paper was referring but let’s start by bringing the public up to speed about what exactly was transpiring at the Casino Skatepark and Asbury Park in 1997.
Geographically, the Casino Skatepark was located at the South end of the Asbury Park boardwalk and was in operation during a time better left forgotten. Somewhere between the city’s glory days and its recent facelift, the Casino Skatepark was built and run by skateboarders. There was no better example of arts, culture and independent thought in Asbury Park, especially in the late 1990‘s, than the events that took place over the course of two short years at Casino Skatepark.
Back in 1997 a group of skateboarders secured permission to build a skatepark at the Casino. It was completed and opened in 1998 without any press releases or public accolades, and limited (to say the least) support from its landlord, The City of Asbury Park. Providing inexpensive rent was just about the least the City could do…and that is just what they did, the least they could do. The heating, plumbing and structural repairs were all done by the skateboarders, each lending their skills from each trade, on their own dime.
Once opened, the staff at the Casino Skatepark reached out to Vans Shoes to make them aware of the park and see if Vans had any interest in supporting it. What came out of those discussions was a relationship between the park and Vans that would 1) make Casino Skatepark a part the 1998 Warped Tour, using their indoor bowl at the Casino for the Warped Tour competition and 2) release a Casino Skatepark Tribute shoe. During and after the Warped Tour, the Casino Skatepark would double as a music venue, hosting bands like Murphy’s Law, Lords of Brooklyn, Lord Sterling & The Bouncing Souls.
Equally as important as the contribution the venue made to skateboarding and music communities (both locally and nationally) was its influence with the urban youth. Countless kids from broken homes and less than suitable family situations found not just shelter at the skatepark, but a welcoming into a world of sharing, experiencing and learning that they had never gotten at home or even at their schools. It wasn’t unusual to see school books at the skate shop counter and kids being helped with homework before, during or after skate sessions.
After the park closed, many of the key figures involved with Casino Skatepark went on to make their mark in the skateboard industry as professional skaters, writers, skatepark designers and even into the skateboard footwear market. One of these individuals while working for Nike, approached the company with an idea of a tribute shoe. A shoe to show respect for a time and a place in the lives the skateboarders of this community as not just a place of business but as a place many called home. A place where community and creativity came first above and before media accolades, public accepted and even money.
As we mentioned before, we’re not too sure what bandwagon this paper was alluding to in the piece of December 16, 2010, but this shoe represents Asbury Park from a time when the Asbury bandwagon appeared to have been car jacked, taken for a joyride and stripped for parts (and tax credits).
It was the skateboarders of the community that made these things a reality. The events that transpired at the Casino Skatepark and later at the Deal Lake Pool have been documented in magazines, books and film. People around the world recognized the hard work and dedication of skateboarders who cared for a city when it appeared that even it’s town fathers had become dead-beat Dads. It thrived long before the art galleries, coffee shops and bars that offer canned beer on the same drink list as martinis would line the downtown streets, walking a fine line between gentrification and homogenization.
If and when another skate shop or skate park opens in Asbury park, its legacy will not be defined by whether it ‘furthers the cultural stock’ of the street where it lives, simply adding another piece to some jigsaw puzzle of a downtown scene. It should provide the skaters of this community with a voice and an outlet to be creative both on and off their boards, showcasing the art and music that comes from this creatively in a way that hasn’t been represented in this city since the Casino Skatepark closed its doors.
The story of December 16, 2010 so enraged all those involved with the Casino Skatepark that it triggered an endless trail of emails and phone calls. We, as the skateboarders of Asbury Park, are not here to further any political debate over how Asbury Park should or should not look, how it should be represented or what business should or should not come into town. All we wanted to be able to do is present the facts about how the Casino Skatepark Shoe came to be.
The triCity News has made this space available to us (the skateboarders of Asbury Park) to voice our response to that article and we are thankful to be able to present the readers a small peek into an influential part of this city’s history. There were many involved with the skatepark and no names were mentioned in this article because, just like skateboarding, the Casino Skatepark was a group effort and no individuals meant more than the collective whole of the family that it became and always will be.
There two sides to every story. The triCity News voiced their opinion on December 16 and the skateboarders of Asbury Park have voiced theirs. Now that both sides have had their say, we can all move forward. Who knows, maybe one day we can all get together and laugh about this over a couple of grande mocha frappuccinos at the new Starbucks on the Asbury boardwalk. Kidding.
(via METAL SKATEBOARDS)
Beachcruiser Magazine. Follow us on Facebook + Twitter @beachcruisermag
Boardwalk Empire VFX Breakdowns of Season 1
Brainstorm Digital’s before and after shots from season 1 of HBO’s hit series “Boardwalk Empire”. (courtesy of Home Box Office, Inc) brainstorm-digital.com
Beachcruiser Magazine. Follow us on Facebook + Twitter @beachcruisermag
(via viltorinox)
The latest issue of our Asbury Park fanzine SALT is now up in our online newsstand…check it out!
Aussies seriously had the coolest cars in the 70’s (via Sean Davey – Surf Photography)
Jack Johnson - You And Your Heart
Official music video for Jack Johnson’s single “You And Your Heart” off his new album To The Sea (2010). Pre-Order the album now at http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com
The event supplement to “Planet Asbury”, the latest issue of our Asbury Park fanzine SALT. Full issue will be out in our online newsstand tomorrow, Monday April 18.
Here’s a preview of the cover…
photo by mike damon
Baby Alpacas first single Vodka Lemonade. Directed by Brian Leckrone. Cinematography by David Dewitt. Edited by Jenny Guenther and Digital Lush.
Go Skateboarding Day 2010 Poster by Shepard Fairey
Still representing, this year’s GO SKATEBOARDING DAY poster was designed by long time skater Shepard Fairey. Giving props to his skating routes this is what he had to say…
“Skateboarding changed my life. When I was a teenager, I needed a creative, physical outlet that didn’t require me to join a team, and skateboarding was just that. I enjoyed the aggression and stress relief it provided, as well as the creative progression it allowed me to make. The culture of skateboarding also inspired me to make stencils and homemade t-shirts, activities that led to the career I have today. I owe so much to skateboarding for its influence on me, so it’s a pleasure to try to inspire others to skate.”
Go Skateboarding Day is on June 21 worldwide.
