Author: harold

I think we never mention that but,

Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, Mark Gonzales. Three “half” Mexicans.

Probably the most influential skateboarders ever in the way that they elevated that pass-time activity in California to a full-on lifestyle all around the world. They did that.

Those three dudes were immediately followed by super awesome riders like Tommy Guerrero, Steve Caballero (who was a main influence to the goat Tony Hawk) to today’s Vanessa Torres, Paul Rodriguez, Vincent Alvarez, David Gonzales, Jesus Fernandez (this part is unbelievable, peep the editing with the music, Ty is the best), Tiago Lemos. And so, so many more. Hey Enrique Lorenzo! Forgot about you bro, my bad.

All so fearless and RIPING every street, every skatepark, every sidewalk out there. It’s a joy to see.

Thank you for all the love, creativity and slams, y’all. We owe you so much.

Shoutout to Momiji and Yuto for winning gold in street skateboarding at the Olympics last weekend!

I’m re-reading The Sellout —probably the best fiction I’ve ever read— and in chapter three Paul Beatty writes:

People eat the shit you shovel them.

In a way of saying, “regardless of the context, people will just have to, might even be content about it”.

Me, looking at society at large right now:

Same with 2021 life brother, same.

I don’t know why those Boston Dynamics robots invaded the innanet last week, but yeah. It’s amazing.

The most absurd progress to me is energy: ten years ago, those robots had giant power cables attached to them. The fact that we achieved autonomy on what looks like heavy machines, while making them do 180 jumps and dance, is insane. My brain was like the Leonardo meme, pointing at the screen and screaming “CGI!!” from time to time. It’s real though.

The absolute creepiest accuracy to me is AI voices. I guess you’ve heard of Bourdain’s documentary using his voice without him being alive. I believe it’s worse than anything. It’s the T2 nightmare that we couldn’t possibly think would be doable like that and yet, here we are. Voices are ingrained in our souls like no picture ever will. A familiar, loved voice is the truest trust. It’s the most unfalsifiable thing ever. It was.

The voice of someone you adore is one of the most sacred thing ever. Knowing that technology can be abused —and will be— to sell us some stuff by puppeteering our emotions on a whole other level, I’m not feeling it at all. Leave us alone.

“but what about the people who could use this to mourn, having lost someone early or in an accident?” Sure, but we’re entering some ethical seas that we will have to manage on top of others. Mourning would never stop, you would listen to your dead folks and have conversation with them? It’s probably really not healthy at all.

I love those fluffy ones.

The Stone ones. Can’t stop looking at them.

You’re a little obligated to root for the Western team when you live in the West. The Phoenix Suns have had a great playoff run, impressively winning games as you should, sharing the ball, shooting lights out. The problem they could have with the Bucks in the finals was their length, and Jrue Holiday.

The Suns just got a good taste of both and lost a crucial game 5.

Jrue is amazing, we’ve known that for years. When he turns it on and starts knowing you, it’s fucking over. He’s an outstanding defender and his steals were key last night. Versatile as hell, which means that sometimes he underperforms because it’s hard to do everything well but the added value of a Swiss army knife is never to be forgotten.

Giannis Antetokoumpo. My Euro bro. Mister I Play On Baby Hoop In The NBA. Rubber band ass MF, I’m sick seeing you destroy everyone, but I enjoy it too. Your poise is fantastic, your mental is strong and no one can physically do anything against you. After such an emotional rollercoaster —bad injury a few games ago— this looks like you’re on the verge of writing a beautiful chapter in your life.

Devin Booker! It’s not over. You believed, stayed in Phoenix and now you’re in the finals, albeit close to elimination. But you’re a beast, bro. Your team, when finding the open man, is like a bunch of water that you’re trying to catch with your fingers. Find your open man and let’s go to game 7!

Look, I know that I sound insane with my green roof obsession. Understand that I have fixed roofs not my whole life, but almost. They’re complicated, costly, not efficient and with climate change and its stormy weather, weak.

ENTERS THE GREEN ROOF

Check this one out:

Try to tell me that you wouldn’t love to climb a bunch of stairs and relax on your roof after watering the roof plants. It doesn’t matter where: city, countryside. it will be beautiful, useful, sustainable, I can’t wait at-all.

Now look at this one:

Climbing in the evening to have some tea and edibles looking at the sky I mean you must be nuts to say hell no to that, I’m sorry.

So it looks like it’s trending. I dislike the black walls in all architecture these days —33% more heat absorption with black paint, no thank you—but those two are solid representations of what I envision us having as “modern” or more accurately, “up to date with current events and trends, respectful” housing. Small, comfortable, sustainable. Yessir.

To my brothers in their late 20s early 30s who are like “look some grey hair in my hair/beard, so dope!”

Bro you are dying rapider, that’s not cute.

Stay solid tho.

This is a gif of Chris Roberts, a legendary skateboarder doing a switch flip to switch manny on a high curb in west LA. This is of course a damn hard combo to pull off (you should subscribe to his podcast, it’s basically Dope Skateboard History with all the detail and stuff).

Because not having insurance is my thing, I’m mostly doing the part where you roll on two wheels and not on a high curb but on sidewalks, okay? That said, the manny I’ve been practicing is about 4 times longer without a smooth surface, okay Chris? It’s a block down the street. An intersection, two houses before hitting the back alley.

Myself, Le Manny  for No Name Skateboards, December 2020 (video)

I clear it everyday now. Usually in four or five tries but sometimes straight out of the house. Landing just like that gif, with a little knee bend. Man, it feels SO GOOD.

It’s so much about confidence. You have to control your speed, your balance, your breath. You have to stay focused. You have to execute well. And that’s achieved with confidence. But sometimes you fail because you’re over confident: almost at the end, you get giddy, lose your balance, it’s over. Tenacity is important: so many times, after failing four or five times (I only ride for 30mn before going back to this machine) I want to give up. But then, a last one where I know Imma do it, where I forget everything else in life for the 10 seconds of perfection needed to land that stupid trick and… I land it. That battle against yourself. You can do it. And then you do. You challenge gravity and laws of physics, just on the edge of what’s possible.

That feeling is the purest, self-produced crack. Defying odds with consistency is a hard drug.

I love how one second it truly seems impossible or really hard to do –my body is aching or there’s a lot of wind– and ten minutes later it feels like the problem doesn’t even exist because I just solved it. One second, you fail miserably. Next second, you master completely. There’s just something magical. I love it.

The soundtrack to motivate myself? I cleared that sidewalk with Paramore, Mobb Deep, my own music, Chloe & Halle, obscure 80s boogie funk, deep house, Urban Dance Squad, Justice, H.E.R. and more.

Everything works when riding a board confidently.