#challenger BMX Magazine

[challengerbmxmag]

Interview: Peter Sutherland

This piece originally appeared in Challenger BMX Magazine Volume 2, Issue 1 Spring 2018. Read the PDF of this issue here. Purchase the physical copy of this issue here.

Peter Sutherland is a skier, surfer, MTBer, and artist living in New York City/Colorado. His work often takes the form of photographs with elements of sculpture. It’s probably a cliche in the Instagram era to say that someone has a knack for the overlooked but Peter has a great way of looking at the world and the subcultures he inhabits. Whenever I see his work in person or pick up one of his books, I feel like it was made by one of my friends.

What’s your involvement with cycling/bikes?

Low level BMX as a small kid then I skated, but I was Mountain Biking heavy through high school and college. Lots of single speed freewheel for the last 20 years I’ve been in NYC. I love being self propelled, not using gas all the time. I love the way I feel on any sort of board or on a bicycle.

Skeletor from Peter’s 2001 documentary, Pedal, about NYC bike messengers. Available for purchase here.

Just from following your work I knew you were interested in cycling but never really saw much related to BMX. But then I think I saw photos you shot of Grady Corbitt at Posh and maybe a photo of Edwin DeLaRosa in NYC. How much do you follow BMX? And did you ever ride BMX?

I was excited about BMX when I was really young, we lived in Michigan on a dirt road. When we moved to a place with a paved road (Colorado) I started skating. But early issues of BMX Plus! and BMX Action magazines were super inspiring to me. I think the bails always seemed too gnarly for me on bikes and skate bails seemed more manageable.

I loved that video you made with your bro kinda centered around a MTB trip. A lot of people make work that is inspired or semi related to their other interests.I feel like you do a good job of not being really obvious with your references/inspiration.Can you elaborate a little on making work that is inspired by your other interests?

Thanks. Yeah I think there is something about moving to NYC when I was still young and seeing art work in museums and galleries and then going back into the world and collecting images with that sensibility. Most of my work has an autobiographical angle, so I’m showing you the things that I am really excited about. Maybe it translates. Also none of us are really that good at MTBing so it’s all about the atmospheric stuff.

Would you ever want to swap your life as a pro artist with mtber, skier/snowboarder hobbies and be a pro mtber, skier/snowboarder, with an art hobby?

I have friends that are pro or were pro. I think it’s awesome but it’s hard to grow older and hang on to it. I feel lucky with the direction my life has taken, so I guess I wouldn’t trade. It’s just as fun to do all of this stuff on a non competitive level. I always feel like I’m expressing my self on a board or riding a bike.

I’ve always thought that it would be really easy to compare the art world with the BMX world re: someone working professionally:

Gallery representation is to sponsorship as solo show is to video part, etc.

Have you ever thought about that connection? I’ve never been a pro bmxer or a pro artist so I could be completely wrong…

Yeah I think that is correct, there is something about representation, all it really is is someone else saying what you do is good. It’s good to have that stuff but even better to just keep doing what ever it is you like. Sometimes all the galleries and stuff cloud up what you are trying to do. I’ve been on both sides where my art is worth nothing and I’ve sold stuff for a lot of money. Both are interesting. It’s hard to hold on to the second one.

I’ve really enjoyed seeing your work mature and develop over the years. I love the sculptural elements and move from straight photography. What prompted that?

I still take photos and believe in the strength of images, but I also get bored with the limitations and the ways people tend to present photography. It’s always about framing it and photographers being so precious about images. But when it’s loosened up and you can add in sculpture and cut your photos in half and light them on fire it feels way more open.

Favorite skate, BMX, snowboard, subculture graphic of all-time?

I think its the Mike Vallely barn yard board. It was a board I had and an early double kick type of board. A lot of the time it’s not about the graphic but more about the time in your life when you see it. There’s good graphics everywhere now but they don’t sink in as deep as they did when I was 12 years old and trying to varial flip on flat.

[marcoselp319]

The Ultimate Guide to Try Use GTA V Online Generator

GTA 5 players are on a regular basis studying and establishing new tricks to get limitless money, along with checking to make certain their techniques stay unpatched. Your garage is the 1st instance of a property you’re gonna get. As we talked about ahead of, some missions are available for you following you reach a specific level and have some prerequisites to enter the mission.

So I would go with Mk2, and save up for / Acquire the TB and NC this week, so you can upgrade the Mk2.

Note that this costs far more than purchasing from Ammunation, so if you want to save money, you can drive to an ammunation to restock as an alternative.

If you are a veteran of GTA Online, you've most likely played all of the Rockstar designed races and deathmatches.

Image by way of Materialized GTA Online could possibly not necessitate animation skips like other games do, but animation skips can nevertheless save the player some time.

If you uncover other loot or such an item, take a picture of it with your smartphone and send it to Parvel. At the Heist you can come back https://brscarlisle.webs.com/apps/blog/show/49174402-gta-5-online-money-tips here and take the loot or tools. In addition to main and secondary targets, you can photograph access points, vanishing points, guard uniforms, grappling hooks and bolt cutters . If you want to steal a lot more loot, you should really carry out the heist in a group with other players. Very first of all, you really should use the cameras to search for the documents about Madrazo . You can pan by way of the safety cameras one by one particular and pan them every single time to come across out exactly where the documents on Madrazo are. Check out absolutely any room much more closely, to spy out additional prey such as money, gold, paintings and Co. .

Bet On Little Winnings In Roulette And Never Bet Almost Everything On One Particular Number

Hit the courts with a single other pal and see who comes out on prime. Driving can occupy a big quantity of your time in GTA Online because it's kinda challenging to get around the game without the need of a quickly vehicle. Occasionally, very simple points are the most fun factors to do GTA Online, biking can be incredibly enjoyable. Grabbing a mountain/BMX bike and ripping up the numerous parks that GTA Online has to offer you can be pretty, cool since the physics method enables for some amazing stunts.

The Evil Inside Two: A Horror Game On Psychedelics

Just like in real life, it needs browsing for the very best presents from real estate agencies by means of your phone. Soon after you get a nice place, you get access to the Mechanic, whom you can call any time with regards to your auto queries. Another factor is guns, start out with acquiring anything easy but efficient. Maybe Micro SMG from Ammu-Nation, you do not have to reload typically with an extended magazine. After you save some coins, you can look at much more costly and exquisite weaponry. Operating about Los Santos, waiting to get your next job or in among robbing easy retailers you will occasionally be able to sell a automobile in the Los Santos Customs shop. You can do this when each and every 24 in game hours, which converts to 48 minutes of real life time, if anybody even keeps track of that any longer.

In Vehicle Vendetta, players can release all their road rage without having caught. Automobile Vendetta pits the player and their teammates against crazed driving maniacs. As the players race about, players can receive energy-ups to overpower the enemy.

To stick to GTA V online tutorial, you might search for the cheapest elite house in Del Perro Heights. If you like this kind of activity and you invested in a quick bike or automobile, you can come to be a star of them. Races adjust each and every week, and they are rather a hobby than a decent revenue. Heists can deliver you with $400k per hour, but you need to have some prerequisites to take these missions.

[kisnet]

Memories of a lifetime I have many memories throughout my life, some happy and some sad. During the 1970's growing up I remember we used to look after a beautiful female foxterrier whom belonged to our next door neighbour, her name was Suzi. This was my first best friend and it felt like she was my dog as we used to take her in quite often when our neighbours went on holiday. One sunny day it was late in the afternoon and the neighbours facing our front door had a red brick wall next to their house and I was over by the neighbour playing with their kids outside in the garden. I decided I was gonna climb this wall cos being a young small boy I was always very curious and up for a challenge as to find out what certain things would be like after exploring them. So I climbed the wall and found out in no time that this wall was not sturdy (cement plastered) and gave way as soon as I climbed it. It collapsed in an instant and I had got such a fright but after sustaining some minor bruises on my leg. My ego was the biggest injury I sustained though, 😂 😂. At the age of 4 I had an accident after falling into hot tub and sustained a fair amount of burns to my body as described in 'my life story'. I also had a great fear of heights and at the age of 11 or 12, I went to a school friend's house and his dad was also in the military. They had a huge trampoline in the backyard and always enjoyed playing and jumping on it as a kid the few times I did visit them. They also had a big old tree in their backyard and they had a wooden platform fitted across some of the tree branches (tree house) high up in the tree. So I climbed up the tree and attempted to move across to another tree branch and my hand slipped of the tree branch and I fell to the ground flat onto my back approximately 3 to 4 metres down. I had some pain but it was more so the shock of that moment as I could not believed what had just happened. I swiftly got up and walked home crying. Whilst living in the southern suburbs and after getting my first BMX bicycle for Christmas in 1983 or 1984, I had my personal transport and couldn't wait exploring other areas outside of our home suburb. So I would choose a day during the school holidays and during the week and go out for the day on a trip with my BMX which was very adventurous to me. So I would plan the day in advance and get everything ready for my day trip out to areas like Kirstenbosch, Constantia, Newlands public swimming pool, Wynberg military base where we had lived previously and my mom would make me a bunch of sandwiches that I'd take with on my travels. I would also have a 2 litre Coca-Cola or Fanta orange and some sweets with a small amount of money to buy something in addition to my cold drink and picnic foods I already had. Some times I would take a friend with me to enjoy my travels in and around Cape Town's southern suburbs. Many times my mom and my brother and myself would take a trip to town taking the train into Cape Town which I was always very exciting to me because I loved the train rides as a kid. We would spend the day in Cape Town walking the streets up and down and end up doing shopping 🛒 in The Golden Acre and having lunch upstairs in the restaurant in the OK (now Shoprite). As a family we would sometimes travel to family either in the Eastern Cape and / or the Transvaal. I used to love the long trips although they were few and far between. Nevertheless it was a blast and we would stop along the way and my mom had made chicken and cooked potatoes along with some rice and other veggies. We would also have pudding which consisted of instant pudding and jellies all pre-packed into a picnic packed set of containers my dad purchased especially for the long trips during the holidays. As a small boy I was very close to my mom but later years things changed as I then got closer to my dad as I was rebellious as I grew older and had many clashes with my mom but would later years get better over the years as got used to it but never stopped loving my mom. There would be certain words exchanged which I would later regret as I still very naive and still had alot to learn still about life in general. My dad was a very strict straight forward person and did not stand for any nonsense whatsoever. If you didn't listen, he would merely lift his big hands and take a good hard swing at us and you know what you have done wrong and believe me, it did not tickle. It hurt like hell. Those were the good ole days and I never regret my upbringing ever. It taught me respect and improved my character as a person. One day my dad sent me down to the garage to collect some potatoes as it was kept in the garage. I would always get in my dad's car and play with the car switches until one day snapped the cable that unlocked the bonnet. My dad was very enraged and he gave me good beating as a result. He had to spend money to have it repaired. As a ruling because of similar events that resulted in things breaking, I stopped fiddling with other people's property as I was always curious what a button on a radio or some or other piece of equipment would do had I pressed it. It would always end up breaking something or something falling and breaking, so I eventually learned my lesson as a kid and stopped messing with stuff that either didn't belong to me or did not apply to me. Memories with my Dad (Adolf) As a kid I didn't spend much time with my dad as he wasn't always the emotional type but loved him to bits always. The times we did get to spend together, was always very special to me. When I was still very small, my mom used to buy a magazine on a weekly basis which had a kids magazine inside and one afternoon on the weekend my dad had me lying next to him on his bed and he read some of the stories out of the kids magazine to me. In 1989 I had written my exams after studying part time at Cape College 3x a week. Me and my dad came from town for some or other reason. I was over something but my dad comforted me as we approached the military base to return to work as I was busy with my military service at the age of 18. Well he turned around right there and then as I had mentioned to him that I didn't find out what my results were after writing exams and wasn't sure whether I had failed or passed. We arrived back in town at the college and I went upstairs to get my results. I came back downstairs and got in back into the car and told my dad I passed. My dad was in tears instantly as he heard that I passed. We drove back to work and that was one of the very special times together with my dad. It's these memories that makes thoughts and happy moments like this make remember my dad as my hero. He was hard on the exterior but very much a softy on the inside. In 1988 it was my last year at school and I had finished school although I failed, I was with school as I wanted to get on with my life. I think my dad was off that day and we went somewhere as it was a weekday and school was done. We went for a drive down to Fish Hoek and Simonstown and my dad showed me and told me alot of his past during when he was stationed in Simonstown. He went to show me where the house stood where he lived many years ago with his first wife and where he also had lived prior to Simonstown in Fish Hoek in a flat. That building still stands today. I went back to that building when I was still mourning my dad's death during the nineties just like I remembered the day he showed me the building, where he lived many years prior to that day, as I was reliving that time in my mind and was trying to picture myself back in the time frame my was living there. This was one of the ways I dealt with father's passing. The drive we took in December 1988 I will always remember as one of the highlights in my life. My dad and I spent alot of time together at home when he would repair something like the stove, washing machine door locks and general maintenance around the house and I had learnt alot from those times. I would often fix the vaccuum cleaner when needed some minor repairs with knowledge I was taught by my dad. In 1993 after my dad had fallen ill, I went away on holiday for about two weeks and when I arrived back home my dad was in tears to see me and so I hugged him and told him "don't worry I'm home now" I miss my dad like mad and wish he was still here on earth with me. Memories with my Mom (Christine) I was a mommy's boy when I was a small kid as I was the youngest and probably got away with alot. But those were my favourite years as well cos I used to get alot of attention from my mom. I spent most of my time with my mom as my dad was at work all day. So my mom would walk me to school and then I would get so lonely because I saw my mom walk away going home after dropping me off at school and felt very vulnerable and would burst into tears 😭 but over time it got better and I got used to school. My mom left to attend her brother's kmy uncle) funeral in Pretoria and I would be alone with my dad but missed my mom so much. Then when she got home after about a week I was overwhelmed with excitement and could not wait to see her after I got home from school that day. I always felt my protected me when I was still very small. My mom was my everything at that point in my life. My mom and I used to play alot of games and jokes over the years even until shortly before she passed away we had our little games and jokes we used to play ▶. My mom told me quite alot about her mother (my grandmother) and I wished I had known her. Memories with friends During my lifetime I met and have had some great friends. I would like to name two of them. Their names are Damian and Chris. I met Damian and Chris in 1991 and we formed a bond as friends and used to spend alot of good times together like having parties, braai and go drive around or go watch stock cars at the old Goodwood show grounds. As a small boy I didn't have many friends as I was very shy and didn't like strangers. It was almost like I used protect myself in that regard. It was only after I was working my first job and had my first car that I started wondering farther then just work and home. I got introduced to alcohol and over the years drinking got worse when I would visit friends or attend a party etc. After a very bad experience with alcohol in February 2009, I decided that this was the last time I would ever touch alcohol and stopped smoking, drinking as well as drinking sodas. That was a wake up call for me and a turning point in my life. Everything changed for me that time. The two friends that always stood by me through thick and thin has been Chris and Damian. Chris was there for me for emotional support when my dad passed away in April 1995. Damian has been there for me as well many times since my mom passed away and helped me with lots of different things in life over the years even before my mom's passing. These are two friends I regard very highly as my own family.

[twothrasherave]

More swag- this will have a 6mm Bondhus® hex key attached

[skateboardtips]

HISTORY OF SKATEBOARDING

Introduction

 Skateboarding is something beyond cruising around. Skateboarding is a way of life. Skateboarding is love. In the course of recent years Skateboarding experienced a sort of advancement.

 The central matters of the story we cleared up for you in our skateboarding history:

By the mid 1950s, surfing can be followed as the wellspring of skateboarding. A few surfers had the plan to exchange the sentiment of riding waves onto the lanes to resist times of days with a delicate swell. Not with no reason these fellows were classified "black-top surfers". At two spots on the planet a sort of a skateboard was created at the first run through in the mid 1950s: California and Hawaii. They utilized shorter surfboards and wheels made out of metal without certain direction. In the late 1950s, skateboarding had a first pinnacle. Amid the post-war period, the U.S. economy blasted and this likewise influenced the toy business. Amid that time, the toy business ended up mindful of the load up with wheels. In 1959, Roller Derby discharged the principal official skateboard with some new specialized improvements. In this manner, the taking care of qualities have been improved. Consequently, skateboarders had the capacity to grow new traps and moves.

 bite the dust ersten Boards

 THE 1960S

 Between the years 1959 and 1965, skateboarding turned out to be increasingly more mainstream in the United States. Especially influenced were the states on the east and west drifts. Because of the mechanical improvement, the skateboard's status changed from toy to sports hardware. In 1962, the surf shop "Val-Surf" in Hollywood sold the main self-delivered skateboards. These sheets highlighted a run of the mill surfboard shape and roller skate trucks and were sold as total sheets. Around the same time, the organization Patterson Forbes built up the first mechanically created total loads up with progressively created trucks. In 1963, the distributer of the "Surf Guide Magazine" Larry Stevenson discharged the main commercial for skateboards in his magazine. Likewise the attire business concentrated increasingly more on skateboarding. A standout amongst the most acclaimed skateboarding shoe brand named Vans was built up in 1966. From this day on, Vans bolstered skateboarders from everywhere throughout the world. Particularly shoe organizations like Vans, Etnies, Converse and DC Shoes created and fabricated skateboarding related footwear and streetwear.

 Vans Old School

 Another milestone occasion in 1963 was the primary skate challenge in Hermosa Beach, California. Skateboarding was not simply cruising any longer. Skateboarders demonstrated their aptitudes in various controls like slalom or free-form and organizations began to amass a group to support the riders. As the fame of skateboarding started to extend, the principal skateboarding magazine "The Quarterly Skateboarder" was distributed in 1964.

 A next huge advance was the further improvement of the state of the sheets. Larry Stevenson concocted the "kicktail", and with it came significantly more conceivable outcomes to ride a skateboard.

 Old fashioned Boards

 THE 1970S

 The main reliable thing is change thus it went to a point where everything changed for skateboarding. Honest Nasworthy's innovation of urethane wheels in 1972 made it feasible for skateboarding to return. Nasworthy began the organization Cadillac Wheels and with the new material it was conceivable to ride smoother, quicker and progressively agreeable. An assortment of controls, for example, free-form, downhill and slalom encountered a genuine high point. New magazines like the "Skateboarder Magazine" from 1975 were distributed and new occasions were propelled. In 1976, the principal falsely made skate park was introduced and new stops developed with new components, for example, vertical slopes and kickers.

 Gadillac Wheels

 In the mid-1970s, skateboarding achieved Germany. The American officers carried the pattern with them and by 1976 Munich turned into the principal German skateboard focus. In Munich Neuperlach, the principal skate park was manufactured, first skateboard magazines pursued and in 1978 the primary German skateboard titles were held in Munich.

 All the distinctive riders with their individual styles upgraded bunches of new traps. In this way, skateboarding equipment was grown further and further: Shapes changed, sheets ended up more extensive, got progressively sunken and they highlighted nose and tail.

 At that point in 1978, Alan Gelfand imagined a move that gave skateboarding another progressive bounce: The "Ollie", which considers the best trap at any point concocted and totally upset skateboarding. That was the introduction of road skateboarding!

 Alen Gelfand - Ollie

 THE 1980S

 Rodney Mullen was one of the main riders who exchanged the Ollie for various moves onto the boulevards and spread another style of skateboarding. Alongside other fun game exercises like BMX or inline skating, road skateboarding grew to an ever increasing extent and turned out to be prominent.

 Rodney Mullen

 In 1981, the "Thrasher Magazine" was established and from that point forward, this magazine represents road skateboarding, the center scene, punk shake and the way of life motto "Skate And Destroy". In 1983, another notable magazine was established, specifically the "Transworld Skateboarding Magazine". Beside these magazines, a couple of littler ones were established and more skate shops opened. Along these lines, the fame of skateboarding kept on developing. A worldwide scattering of new traps and concealed skate moves permitted the primary skate recordings on VHS. Videography has turned out to be progressively critical to the scene.

 Thrasher

 Titus Dittmann was instrumental in the advancement of skateboarding in Germany. He imported skate-related items from the US and composed challenges and different skateboarding occasions. The "Münster Monster Mastership" wound up one of the greatest universal skateboarding rivalries during the 1980s. Hence, skateboarding turned out to be increasingly more well known in Germany.

 From the mid-1980s on, it was conceivable to procure great cash as an expert skateboarder and the skateboard business blasted in the US. In the late 1980s, organizations like Powell Peralta, Santa Cruz and Vision commanded the universal market of the scene. The design was for the most part controlled by shoes. Shoes by Vans, Converse or Vision progressed toward becoming leaders for the skateboarding scene.

 Powell Peralta

 Skateboarding was presently completely settled the US and in Germany and vert skateboarding was supplanted by road skateboarding. The quantity of skateboarders expanded altogether and expert skateboarders turned out to be increasingly more celebrated simply like baseball or football stars.

 FROM THE 1990S

 In the mid 1990s, skateboarding experienced a further profundity stage because of the expansion in different pattern sports. So skateboarding returned to its foundations. But since of the digitalization, skateboarding kept up its essence out in the open. From the mid-1990s, the advanced skateboarding encountered a next high stage, which proceeds until today. Super occasions like the "X-Games" were propelled and broadcast. Because of various magazines, every one of the occasions, recordings and to wrap things up the web, skateboarding ended up basic around the world.

 Due to brands like Chocolate, Girl Skateboards or Flip Skateboards, the skateboarding equipment was grown to an ever increasing extent and skateboarders could purchase amazing skateboards in each greater city.

 Reynolds and Koston

 More markers are the huge and worldwide known occasions of "Road League". "Road League Skateboarding" is a challenge arrangement for universal star skaters. Here, you just observe the best road skateboarder you can consider like Nyjah Huston, Eric Koston, Paul Rodriguez, Andrew Reynolds, Ryan Sheckler or Torey Pudwill. Because of the money prizes of 200.000 US Dollars or more for the victor and 10.000 guests at the "Road League" quits, skateboarding has turned into a pro game.

 Road League

 In Germany, road skating is the most prevalent control at challenges simply like in the USA. The European and German skate scene is free, has its own industry, geniuses and a national challenge arrangement. This is a proof of how enormous the job of skateboarding is in our general public.

 Skateboarding has turned into an occupation for many individuals. Due to the expanding organizing inside the skate scene, skateboarding will develop and acquire more advancements what's to come. Yet, for the greater part of us, skateboarding is and will be a diversion and a demeanor to life.

[peckhampeculiar]

Meet The Pexican

Professional pugilist Johnny Garton has been ranked fourth best welterweight in the country by Boxing Monthly. The Peckham fighter talks about growing up in SE15 and why there needs to be more stuff for kids to do in the area

Words: Luke G Williams; Photo: John Yabrifa

Boxer Johnny Garton disproves the notion that “they don’t make ’em like they used to”.

Modest and unassuming to a fault in a sport that often reeks with the stench of hype and overblown “trash talk”, Johnny is the type of throwback fighter known in the boxing trade as “a good honest pro”.

“I’m not one of those boxers who talks a lot and says, ‘I’m going to bash this person up’ or whatever,” the 30-year-old tells The Peckham Peculiar. “I’m quite modest really.”

Johnny is also an unashamed, dyed in the wool south London boy – in fact, cut him open and you’d probably find the word “Peckham” running through him like a stick of rock.

Born in Dulwich Hospital in 1987, Johnny grew up on the Clifton Estate. “I lived on the estate all my life, in the tower block on the first floor with my mum and my sister, while my nan lived next door,” he says, his voice as broad and warm a south London accent as you will ever find.

“I love Peckham. I’ve got great memories of growing up here. Apart from the last year or so I’ve lived here all my life. As a kid, Peckham was fantastic. On the estate there were two ends and on both ends of the estate you knew everyone and your parents knew everyone.

“My girlfriend Jemma is actually from the same estate as me. We knew each other when we were younger. When she got older she moved out and then later we met up again.

“We live up by Bluewater now but most of my friends are from round Peckham, I went to school round here. And my mum still lives in Peckham so I’m still around a lot.”

Despite his love of the area, Johnny feels that many of the improvements to SE15 in recent years have inadvertently alienated some long-term residents.

“I say to my girlfriend all the time that we’d move back here if we could tomorrow, but it’s got so expensive it’s ridiculous,” he explains. “I’m a prime example of a local being priced out. I’d love to move back but I can’t afford it. I do believe some of the locals are being pushed out.

“When I was growing up it was definitely quite a rough area and it needed to improve. Even now it’s a still a bit rough, but there’s also a lot of middle class people there as well; it’s a little bit weird because Peckham’s got a trendy side, but it’s also got its rough side.”

Johnny argues that in the rush to develop Peckham, local children, particularly those who live on council estates, have been overlooked.

“There’s not that much for kids to do today,” he points out. “I was walking around the estate the other day and there’s not really much for those kids to go and do. When I was growing up there was a leisure centre across the road and other bits and bobs to do. They used to let us in to play basketball or football. But that’s gone now. Some of the adventure playgrounds have gone too. There’s Peckham Pulse but that’s mainly just swimming.

“For the adults there’s loads – bars and restaurants opening everywhere. There’s the BMX track [in Burgess Park] which is doing quite well, but I think we need more stuff for kids.”

As a youngster Johnny admits he wasn’t particularly studious or academic. “I went to Peckham Park Primary School and then Hatcham Wood in Brockley. I didn’t really enjoy school much. I didn’t get great grades or anything like that. I just went because I had to.”

On leaving school, Johnny became a car mechanic, although he admits it was an occupation he fell into out of necessity rather than desire.

“It was a job that was offered to me after doing two weeks’ work experience at school at a garage,” he explains. “They sent me to college to get the mechanics’ qualification. I don’t really like cars, but I needed money so that’s what I did.”

What did ignite Johnny’s passion was boxing. When he was 18, he tagged along with a friend who was training at the famous Lynn AC club on Wells Way and soon found himself hooked on the sport.

In the amateur ranks, Johnny did well but was not considered a top prospect, winning around 35 fights and losing 10. He pinpoints a lack of self-belief and confidence for this record, as well as for his initial hesitance to take the plunge and turn professional.

“I always wanted to turn pro but I never thought I was good enough, to be honest,” he says. “In the end I thought I had nothing to lose, but also when I turned pro [in 2011] I never actually thought I’d get anywhere.”

In order to prepare him for the rigours of professional boxing, Johnny’s trainer Al Smith – of the well renowned iBox gym in Bromley – urged him to amend his previously all-out attacking fighting style.

“When sparring, if I was going forward too much, Al would stop the spar and make me go backwards. After about a year, it started to pay off. I’m still a bit ‘gun eager’ sometimes but now I think about my boxing a bit more. I’m not afraid to take a backwards step.

“When I turned pro I thought if I could challenge for a Southern Area title I could leave boxing quite happy. But I’ve gone well past that now.”

Indeed he has. Since winning the Southern Area welterweight (147lbs weight limit) title in 2014, Johnny has also added the English welter crown in 2016 and the IBF European title last December to his growing CV, which now reads 23 fights, with 21 wins, just one loss and one draw.

The influential Boxing Monthly magazine now ranks him as the fourth best welterweight in the country and a shot at the British title currently held by his iBox stablemate Bradley Skeete seems increasingly likely, with Skeete expected to move on to European and world honours later this year, leaving the title vacant for Johnny and another contender to tussle over.

Having recently signed with influential promoter Frank Warren, Johnny’s star is certainly in the ascendancy. His most recent contest in December against Moldovan Mihail Orlov took place at the Copper Box Arena in east London and was later televised in its entirety on the popular BoxNation cable TV channel, with Johnny being interviewed in the studio by popular boxing pundit Steve Bunce.

“It was nice fighting at the Copper Box,” Johnny reflects. “I wasn’t used to the big changing rooms and showers and all that! It was nice to be on a big show, although I boxed at Wembley Arena [in 2016] as well.

“The appearance on BoxNation was a massive boost for my profile. When I was talking to Steve Bunce afterwards he said that out of all the fighters on the show, my fight was one of the best.”

The life of a boxer can be a precarious one – both financially and in terms of the danger the sport’s participants subject themselves to – but Johnny freely admits he loves the sport and wouldn’t swap his existence for anything.

He also points out that he is now fighting to ensure the best possible future for his baby daughter Elsie.

“I don’t want to sound selfish but I’ve always boxed because it’s something I’ve wanted to do and something I love to do,” he says. “But obviously now I’ve had a baby I have to think of her first.

“Being a dad has changed my life massively, I love it. Luckily enough, after my fight against Tyler Goodjohn [in September 2016] I got a sponsor so I’m a full-time boxer now.

“Because of that I can spend as much time as possible with her [Elsie]. I’ll go for a run or something in the morning, or even do a bit of yoga, then I’ll spend most of the day with her and then I’ll go to the gym in the evening. So I get pretty much all day with her, which is great.”

Johnny’s growing band of fans have also bestowed upon him a rather wonderful nickname – “The Pexican”, in honour of his all-action style, which is reminiscent of the many famous boxers who have originated from Mexico.

It was Johnny’s friend Keaton Hutchings who first coined “The Pexican” moniker and it has stuck – so much so that the boxer now takes to the ring wearing shorts with “The Pexican” emblazoned on them in the traditional Mexican colours of green, white and red.

Like the majority of boxers across the country, Johnny’s livelihood is – to great extent – dependent on how many tickets he sells for his bouts.

“Ticket selling is hard,” he admits. “Particularly when you’re on non-TV shows, because then you have to sell tickets in order to get paid. It’s hard. Thankfully I’ve got a good bit of support.

“I’m a Millwall boy, I’ve followed them for as long as I can remember. My mum used to take me down there when I was a kid and the club and their fans have shown me a lot of support.

“I’ve also got a lot of family and friends, which helps, they get behind me, and people in Peckham are great too. They like the fact that someone from Peckham’s doing well and they really get behind me.”

................

Johnny is pictured at Peckham Levels.

[thedoozydiary]

Word On Waff

The city of Lagos is home to over 20 million people. The streets are always busy, and rainy days can be quite warm. Dubbed ‘The centre of excellence’, there’s an aspirational spirit to Lagos very few cities possess. WAFFLESNCREAM (abbreviated to WAFF) is a skate brand with strong intentions – to challenge preconceived notions of urban youth in Lagos city. The whole idea is the synthesis of different interests:  skateboarding, BMX, fashion, art and music. It entails a group of people that have a passion for creativity in its different forms. The brand seeks to shed light on Lagos, the forgotten heroes, and forgotten heroes to be. WAFF celebrates authenticity and particularly embraces innovation; it embodies the purist approach to individual culture.

 To get a good idea of what WAFF really is, you can’t speak to just one person: at its core it is a circle of friends that have become extended family – Nif, J, Elijah Zgambo, Kofo, Slawn, Onyedi, Leonard, Nuda, Jide, Fadekemi, AJ, Jordan Thomas, Dae, Millabad, Donnika, Thai Hibbert, Be, Saidi, Bai aka Fuzxy, Anthony Wildman aka Wildest, Omi, KC, and Eva, and that’s naming a handful. WAFF has become network of like minds scattered across three continents and counting. Here’s an image of  ‘The Family’ from a past pop-up.

 Humble Beginnings, History & Formation

 Speaking to AJ, a skater who did videography on the first WAFF skate tour from Leeds to London we get first hand perspective of the brand’s humble beginnings, “WAFFLESNCREAM started in Leeds as a concept, no clothes, no ‘brand name’, just skating,” he explained via Facebook messenger. “Leeds was the first experiment, simply a vibe; there was no reference to home. But Leeds had its own unique style of skating and associated lifestyle we embodied. There was a mutual want to bring something different to skateboarding, and the Bello brothers [J and Nif, who started the brand] had strong ideas of how they would like to represent skateboarding. That brought them to their ‘we’re gonna get this’ moment. The filming and photography was approached with a focus on representing this pocket of life.” This process of organic growth happened again in Lusaka, Zambia when J teamed up with Elijah to help kick start a skate scene that is now in the thousands, before its latest reenactment in Lagos.

 At the time of the first skate tour, the Bello Brothers (J and Nif) were between Reading and Leeds. The original Leeds skate crew had been about their antics as young skateboarders for some time, but J had to move away to Reading for univeristy. The actual concept of WAFFLESNCREAM as a brand was created while in Reading, long after the crew was birthed. J would design apparel while Skype-ing Nif, who made sure the merchandise got to the Leeds crew. And just like that, the first wave of WAFF had begun.

 Shortly after, WAFF collaborated with Redbull to go on their premier skate tour, this is when AJ was brought on board to help document the trip. He credits his loyalty to friends to WAFF eventually becoming his family, “The reason I went to London with them was no one else in Leeds really knew about them and didn't want to ‘dip their toe’ as it were, and trust them. So people saw it as just another early 2011 hype and an exploited idea. I stuck with them because the other riders [in the Leeds crew] were my close friends and eventually J became that also.”

 The first skate tour was ten years ago, and since then seven collections have been released; the last release [titled ‘007’] being two years ago. It seems that for the past 2 years, WAFF has been in hibernation. After expanding the brand through regular apparel releases and pop-ups between London and Lagos, the family doubled down on their mission: to make skating a reality for the kids back “home”. When AJ is asked about the strides WAFF has taken, he tells the classic story of a diamond in the rough, “You know, people who used to snigger are now so surprised at their success and I just assumed it was only a matter of when. On the other hand, the last 10 years speak their own experience and validation. Besides this, the name can definitely turn someone's interest by merit of being so unique. It happens so often when I crack out the ‘Crack is Wack’ [an adopted slogan used in their first collection] windbreaker and everyone's like ‘yoooo’. Hahaha”.

    More Than a Skate Brand

 The last editorial from 007 was shot in 2015 on Elegushi beach in Lagos, this would serve as a preview of things to come. The core of the WAFF family are now based in Lagos and thus, the focus has shifted to a large extent. But there are still representatives across the UK, USA, Ghana and Zambia, who are still loyal to the house J built.

 One of the key components of the brand of WAFFLESNCREAM is its ‘facelessness’. Founder and head honcho, J, is notoriously opposed to any sort of personal press or media angling to portray WAFF as one man’s passion project. And those that have met him know just how passionate he is about it: it has quite literally been his life for a decade now. This selflessness is refreshing in a country where everything seems to be about the individual rather than the collective: from the fashion world to the oft-criticised political realm. J’s personal detachment to the general public has allowed the brand to develop an identity that is independent of any individual figurehead, and it is reaping the benefits. Behind the scenes it's a web of commitments where all the team members bring their strengths to the table. Nuda - a London based creative - has modelled and done creative direction for past editorials, Onyedi solely recorded footage for the last edit (‘Jide’), Slawn does graphic work and illustration for their coveted t-shirts, and Leonard does Illustration and photography. Most recently, Nif (who daylights as a product designer) is drawing up sketches for Lagos’ first skate park: the crowning achievement for the Bello brother.  

 When WAFF initially relocated to Lagos on a more permanent basis, J  and the family brainstormed on ways to integrate into the underground culture of the city. Whilst this was their home, they were still seen by some as foreigners, coming from the UK. The family soon started sporadic underground music gatherings named VIBES. Established in 2015, VIBES was a perfect platform for WAFF to make their mark in Lagos. Bringing people from different walks of life into one room. Be it avid skaters, streetwear aficionados, or simply Lagosians tired of the repetitive bottle service clubs and overpriced bars - VIBES was a safe haven. At the time, WAFF had no office, staff or skaters but VIBES was a way to connect what would eventually become family through the universal language of music. Since its inception, there have been numerous, and usually spontaneous VIBES nights with selectors from the family [Dae, Omi and Fuzxy] all gracing the decks. Special guests such as Seun Kuti and M.I. Abaga have also been in attendance, with the events varying from the back garden of friends to art galleries. The VIBES DJs recently released a mix titled Indigenous Mix Vol. 1 - wonderfully hectic collection of tracks, which currently acts as the soundtrack to the flagship store. Harking back to the early noughties, the mix is only available in CD format, exclusively at the store in Lagos.

 When talking about the familial ethos to work and skating, Slawn states, “Family is what the group considers itself to be. Because we know not everyone will accept and understand what we’re doing”. It comes as no surprise to find out the crew celebrates birthdays and engagements alike. Negative sentiment associated with the ‘otherness’ of emerging cultures stays true to skateboarding in Africa. Elijah [who helped set up the first Lusaka crew] has recounted tales of being arrested and locked up in Zambia on numerous occasions, in a previous conversation with HUCK Magazine.

 Community Ties

 The locals in the area around the store have mixed opinions on skateboarding. The vast majority of them are interacting with the sport for the first time and they are still trying to understand what it is exactly that these kids are doing. They mostly see skateboarding as an unnecessary hazard, but will cheer on when a skater’s ‘impossible’ stunts are landed - pun intended. For now, spectators are watching with an a gaze of amazement, but not quite admiration yet. 

 It takes a lot to be a skater in Lagos. Most of the city is flat so you haven’t the luxury of cruising down hills. It’s a lot of kicking and pushing to get around (this is the only way to pick up momentum when skateboarding). In addition to this, the best areas to skateboard are usually fenced off and/or have security guards. Sometimes skateboarding is wearily condoned at best, but this is without any future guarantees from proprietors of spaces the skaters frequent. Negotiating their way around to find the perfect mix of smooth ground and ‘skatable' obstacles can be challenging, but definitely makes being able to skateboard even sweeter when they can. Everyone learns a trick from someone else, which means that the skate community is connected in a spiritual way too; it nurtures feelings of camaraderie and humility amongst the skaters. Leonard rants on the challenges of skating in Lagos, “You don’t have facilities, or even good roads. You don’t have people who have trained for years with skills you can catch up to, you just have to have a fuck you attitude towards these obstacles and keep grinding. Hopefully, someone picks up a trick from you, you learn from them, and the cycle continues.”

 Leonard chimes in again with a frustrated but humorous tone, “Lagos is trying to be a megacity but the parks aren’t physically accessible, nobody's making their way under a high speed bridge for r&r [a reference to the public parks built by the state in hard to reach areas]".  The WAFF crew is constantly on the lookout for interstitial spaces to skate. Sidewalks are few and far between outside the older parts of Lagos Island, which really comes down to city planning. When Nif and J break the news of a potential skate park, it’s met with as much excitement as relief.

 Go Skate Day (an international skateboarding day) is being celebrated by the crew: on June 21st skate films will be screened all day at the skate shop and their second skate edit titled ‘Linda’ will be premiered. A half pipe being constructed for The 24th of June follows this; it's surely a good time for the skaters in Lagos.   

  The Future of WAFF

 It has been an interesting past few years for WAFF, the brand now boasts West Africa’s premier skate shop in the shape of their flagship store in Victoria Island, Lagos which opened in January 2017. With intentions of making a global impact, it’s fitting to find that the shop’s address is 234 Muri Okunola Street (+234 being Nigeria’s international code). Senegal and Ghana are two other West African countries with a skateboarding scene but have no supplies. This makes the skate shop a regional game changer.

 Despite their considerable strides, international distributors do not always believe that WAFF exists, sometimes going as far as asking for pictures of people buying apparel in-store to prove it’s legit. Kofo, the store manager recalls, “Every proposal feels like a 419 scam, with the ‘Nigerian Prince’ gag and all. The landlord still doesn’t understand what we do. People in public and even parents ask why we do ‘this thing’, they can’t make sense of it”. Outside of Nigeria, there is growing list of African countries with blossoming skate scenes, but only Zambia and South Africa boast skate shops. The possibilities for skateboarding on the African continent are still presenting themselves as the sport gains popularity in little pockets.

 What the store means for Lagos is a cultural meeting point for skaters and creatives alike. After the soft launch there was a 5-week ‘Friends & Family’ exhibition featuring photography, illustrations, graffiti, paintings and music from different members of The Family. The space changes to suit its needs as it grows, while keeping the environment interesting and cosy. The original back office is now a production room. Recently the till was removed completely only to be replaced by a sofa. There’s a cat that roams around, but mainly just chills in the stock room.

 In a country where the WAFF crew is more of an outsider pack, only the youth and future generations may enjoy the luxuries of a developed skateboarding scene aided by private and public support. The marginalised action sports enthusiasts - the skaters, bmx’ers, and more - may soon find themselves represented on an international stage. Skateboarding was just green-lit for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the intro to an epic underdog story has been penned. The question if Nigeria (or even Africa) will have its own Cool Runnings moment will surely be answered in due time.  Other extreme sports in the region need a way to tell their own stories, but it’s the Wild West right now and there are no rules. WAFFLESNCREAM dually serves as a source of inspiration, and the benchmark to inspire other brands to come forth. London and New York are two cities that have seen skate brands revolutionise youth culture, and we can only hope Lagos is next. The infamously media-averse J finally speaks on the record when I ask him about his views on the future of skateboarding: “Africa is ready, let’s see what happens.”

Words: Baingor Joiner

Editor: Seni Saraki

Client: Native Magazine - ‘Birth Issue’

[snakebitebmx]

We get the low down on Zine Kingpin Nick Ferreria's latest project Challenger www.snakebitebmx.com/challenger-bmx-magazine-qa-with-zine-kingpin-nick-ferreira/

[ewanmackay99]

3 Articles to set a tone to my magazine

Casey Brown’s life has spanned the spectrum of incredibly awesome to ‘Holy Shit ‘ and back again, and she’s only 23 years old. Born in New Zealand, Casey, the youngest of five children, lived in a world that was completely different to what most people could ever imagine. Her father fled the United States and the Drug Enforcement Agency prior to her birth, a result of things going sideways while running one of the largest narcotics plants in North America.

The family landed in the absolute most remote region of the south island of New Zealand in an area called Barn Bay, accessible only via a six-hour hike or a heli drop. The house was hand built by her father and sat on a plot of land with an airstrip in the front yard facing the Tasman Sea. They lived a primitive existence in a modern world. There was no running water. No electricity. Groceries were acquired only once every three months by a relay of travel that included fording rivers, bushwhacking through rainforests, riding quads and a bus to get to civilization. Shoes were rarely worn, but that’s typical of the culture in New Zealand, and they were also deemed unnecessary.

Words by   Dave Jaquin @davidjaquin  Videography : Jasper Wesselman | Story & Photos : Lacy Kemp | Additional Photos : Laurence Crossman-Emms

McCaul, one of the leading riders on the freeride mountain biking scene for the past two decades, has won major global freeride events, including Crankworx Colorado, the Bearclaw Invitational, District Ride, and the Claymore Challenge. McCaul wins audiences over with his array of tricks inspired by motocross and BMX, snowboarding and skiing. He was also featured in numerous mountain bike movies made by some of the best filmmakers around, including Freeride Entertainment, Chainsaw Productions and Anthill Films. McCaul was an early leader in the sport of mountain bike slopestyle and has helped innovate both the sport and the riding style.

McCaul turns to PlusCBD Oil for body aches and soreness. “Whether it be from crashing, digging, hiking, or just old nagging injuries, I’ve always got something that’s sore. The PlusCBD Oil Roll-on is my favorite product, because I can take it everywhere and it’s fast acting, so immediately I can feel it doing its thing,” said McCaul. "Then the added CBD feels like it calms the inflammation and I get a general feeling that I can get on with the day and not be balled up by stiffness and soreness.”

September 11, 2019 08:45 ET | Source: CV Sciences, Inc.

Top Ten Ways to Spend The Weekend After Cancellation of the Frozen Feet Festival 1. Drink yourself into oblivion in Field, BC with the rest of the racers who couldn't make it through the pass. 2. Cruise 17ave in the beautiful Chevrolet Avalanche courteously supplied by Shaganappi Chev Olds. 3. Bust waist deep pow at Lake Louise Ski Resort. 4. Party with the rest of the hearty souls who braved the weather at the Quarthouse on Saturday night. 5. Sleep off your hangover in Shaum's room at The Residence Inn. 6. Snowmobile the rockies on an Arctic Cat graciously given by Club RV. 7. Spend an hour racing 9 of your buddies at Grand Prix Cart racing. 8. Get your nipple pierced by Sean at Bushido. 9. Fly in from Vancouver and hustle the ladies bragging about your Shore style 10. Sit on your couch and cry! 

Jan 28, 2002 by   Follow

[challengerbmxmag]

[syndranker1]

Here’s the Winner of the Peugeot Drone Film Festival

In Frankfurt, Germany, French car manufacturer Peugeot has announced the winner of its 2019 drone film festival. The jury chose the film Calçada Portuguesa by Bernardo Bacalhau, which combines stunts on a BMX bike with aerial cinematography in Lisbon, Portugal.

Portuguese filmmaker Bernardo Bacalhau beat over 800 other competitors to take first place. He won the grand prize: A bundle of DJI equipment, two Peugeot Traveler MPVs for six weeks’ travelling and 5,000 euros to put towards his next adventure.

DJI and luxury hotel Jumeirah Frankfurt, where the event took place, were co-sponsors of the festival.

“A plethora of filmmakers from all over the world participated in this year’s Peugeot Drone Film Festival,” said Steffen Raschig, Managing Director of Peugeot Germany.

“That was overwhelming, and we are very pleased with the result. Choosing one of the more than 800 submissions was a challenge for the jurors, but they have found a worthy winner in Bernardo Bacalhau’s “Calçada Portuguesa”.”

The name “Calçada Portuguesa” means Portuguese cobblestones. Traditionally they form decorative mosaics underfoot with a combination of white limestone and black basalt, which Bacalhau captured in his film. The focus of the clip is French BMX artist Matthias Dandois, who performs stunts across the Portuguese capital.

“The special attraction of this film is the way Bernardo Bacalhau combined spectacular aerial shots of the wonderful cobblestone patterns and the artistry of Matthias Dandois with a subtle music track that fits the topic,” said Barbara Stelzner, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communication for DJI Europe. “

This is a wonderful example of how drone technology can unleash creative thinking in an innovative and intelligent manner.”

The idea of the grand prize is to provide the winner with everything they need to plan their next creative adventure.

800 submissions from 30 countries

More than 800 submissions from 30 countries around the globe competed in the categories “Landscape”, “Sports”, “Experimental” and “Story Telling”.

While the first three categories required 50 percent of the film being shot with drones, in the “Story Telling” category the threshold was 30 percent.

The jury included Barbara Stelzner, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communication for DJI Europe, director of the Jumeirah hotel in Frankfurt, Daniela Fette-Rakowski, actors Lisa Maria Potthoff, Simon Schwarz, Matthias Brandt and August Zirner, director Stephan Wagner and the editor-in-chief of Focus Online, Florian Festl.

Source

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The post Here’s the Winner of the Peugeot Drone Film Festival appeared first on Drone Magazine.

[kisnet]

Memories of a lifetime

I have many memories throughout my life, some happy and some sad. During the 1970's growing up I remember we used to look after a beautiful female foxterrier whom belonged to our next door neighbour, her name was Suzi. This was my first best friend and it felt like she was my dog as we used to take her in quite often when our neighbours went on holiday. One sunny day it was late in the afternoon and the neighbours facing our front door had a red brick wall next to their house and I was over by the neighbour playing with their kids outside in the garden. I decided I was gonna climb this wall cos being a young small boy I was always very curious and up for a challenge as to find out what certain things would be like after exploring them. So I climbed the wall and found out in no time that this wall was not sturdy (cement plastered) and gave way as soon as I climbed it. It collapsed in an instant and I had got such a fright but after sustaining some minor bruises on my leg. My ego was the biggest injury I sustained though, 😂 😂. At the age of 4 I had an accident after falling into hot tub and sustained a fair amount of burns to my body as described in 'my life story'. I also had a great fear of heights and at the age of 11 or 12, I went to a school friend's house and his dad was also in the military. They had a huge trampoline in the backyard and always enjoyed playing and jumping on it as a kid the few times I did visit them. They also had a big old tree in their backyard and they had a wooden platform fitted across some of the tree branches (tree house) high up in the tree. So I climbed up the tree and attempted to move across to another tree branch and my hand slipped of the tree branch and I fell to the ground flat onto my back approximately 3 to 4 metres down. I had some pain but it was more so the shock of that moment as I could not believed what had just happened. I swiftly got up and walked home crying. Whilst living in the southern suburbs and after getting my first BMX bicycle for Christmas in 1983 or 1984, I had my personal transport and couldn't wait exploring other areas outside of our home suburb. So I would choose a day during the school holidays and during the week and go out for the day on a trip with my BMX which was very adventurous to me. So I would plan the day in advance and get everything ready for my day trip out to areas like Kirstenbosch, Constantia, Newlands public swimming pool, Wynberg military base where we had lived previously and my mom would make me a bunch of sandwiches that I'd take with on my travels. I would also have a 2 litre Coca-Cola or Fanta orange and some sweets with a small amount of money to buy something in addition to my cold drink and picnic foods I already had. Some times I would take a friend with me to enjoy my travels in and around Cape Town's southern suburbs. Many times my mom and my brother and myself would take a trip to town taking the train into Cape Town which I was always very exciting to me because I loved the train rides as a kid. We would spend the day in Cape Town walking the streets up and down and end up doing shopping 🛒 in The Golden Acre and having lunch upstairs in the restaurant in the OK (now Shoprite). As a family we would sometimes travel to family either in the Eastern Cape and / or the Transvaal. I used to love the long trips although they were few and far between. Nevertheless it was a blast and we would stop along the way and my mom had made chicken and cooked potatoes along with some rice and other veggies. We would also have pudding which consisted of instant pudding and jellies all pre-packed into a picnic packed set of containers my dad purchased especially for the long trips during the holidays. As a small boy I was very close to my mom but later years things changed as I then got closer to my dad as I was rebellious as I grew older and had many clashes with my mom but would later years get better over the years as got used to it but never stopped loving my mom. There would be certain words exchanged which I would later regret as I still very naive and still had alot to learn still about life in general. My dad was a very strict straight forward person and did not stand for any nonsense whatsoever. If you didn't listen, he would merely lift his big hands and take a good hard swing at us and you know what you have done wrong and believe me, it did not tickle. It hurt like hell. Those were the good ole days and I never regret my upbringing ever. It taught me respect and improved my character as a person. One day my dad sent me down to the garage to collect some potatoes as it was kept in the garage. I would always get in my dad's car and play with the car switches until one day snapped the cable that unlocked the bonnet. My dad was very enraged and he gave me good beating as a result. He had to spend money to have it repaired. As a ruling because of similar events that resulted in things breaking, I stopped fiddling with other people's property as I was always curious what a button on a radio or some or other piece of equipment would do had I pressed it. It would always end up breaking something or something falling and breaking, so I eventually learned my lesson as a kid and stopped messing with stuff that either didn't belong to me or did not apply to me. Memories with my Dad (Adolf) As a kid I didn't spend much time with my dad as he wasn't always the emotional type but loved him to bits always. The times we did get to spend together, was always very special to me. When I was still very small, my mom used to buy a magazine on a weekly basis which had a kids magazine inside and one afternoon on the weekend my dad had me lying next to him on his bed and he read some of the stories out of the kids magazine to me. In 1989 I had written my exams after studying part time at Cape College 3x a week. Me and my dad came from town for some or other reason. I was over something but my dad comforted me as we approached the military base to return to work as I was busy with my military service at the age of 18. Well he turned around right there and then as I had mentioned to him that I didn't find out what my results were after writing exams and wasn't sure whether I had failed or passed. We arrived back in town at the college and I went upstairs to get my results. I came back downstairs and got in back into the car and told my dad I passed. My dad was in tears instantly as he heard that I passed. We drove back to work and that was one of the very special times together with my dad. It's these memories that makes thoughts and happy moments like this make remember my dad as my hero. He was hard on the exterior but very much a softy on the inside. In 1988 it was my last year at school and I had finished school although I failed, I was with school as I wanted to get on with my life. I think my dad was off that day and we went somewhere as it was a weekday and school was done. We went for a drive down to Fish Hoek and Simonstown and my dad showed me and told me alot of his past during when he was stationed in Simonstown. He went to show me where the house stood where he lived many years ago with his first wife and where he also had lived prior to Simonstown in Fish Hoek in a flat. That building still stands today. I went back to that building when I was still mourning my dad's death during the nineties just like I remembered the day he showed me the building, where he lived many years prior to that day, as I was reliving that time in my mind and was trying to picture myself back in the time frame my was living there. This was one of the ways I dealt with father's passing. The drive we took in December 1988 I will always remember as one of the highlights in my life. My dad and I spent alot of time together at home when he would repair something like the stove, washing machine door locks and general maintenance around the house and I had learnt alot from those times. I would often fix the vaccuum cleaner when needed some minor repairs with knowledge I was taught by my dad. In 1993 after my dad had fallen ill, I went away on holiday for about two weeks and when I arrived back home my dad was in tears to see me and so I hugged him and told him "don't worry I'm home now" I miss my dad like mad and wish he was still here on earth with me. Memories with my Mom (Christine) I was a mommy's boy when I was a small kid as I was the youngest and probably got away with alot. But those were my favourite years as well cos I used to get alot of attention from my mom. I spent most of my time with my mom as my dad was at work all day. So my mom would walk me to school and then I would get so lonely because I saw my mom walk away going home after dropping me off at school and felt very vulnerable and would burst into tears 😭 but over time it got better and I got used to school. My mom left to attend her brother's kmy uncle) funeral in Pretoria and I would be alone with my dad but missed my mom so much. Then when she got home after about a week I was overwhelmed with excitement and could not wait to see her after I got home from school that day. I always felt my protected me when I was still very small. My mom was my everything at that point in my life. My mom and I used to play alot of games and jokes over the years even until shortly before she passed away we had our little games and jokes we used to play ▶. My mom told me quite alot about her mother (my grandmother) and I wished I had known her. Memories with friends During my lifetime I met and have had some great friends. I would like to name two of them. Their names are Damian and Chris. I met Damian and Chris in 1991 and we formed a bond as friends and used to spend alot of good times together like having parties, braai and go drive around or go watch stock cars at the old Goodwood show grounds. As a small boy I didn't have many friends as I was very shy and didn't like strangers. It was almost like I used protect myself in that regard. It was only after I was working my first job and had my first car that I started wondering farther then just work and home. I got introduced to alcohol and over the years drinking got worse when I would visit friends or attend a party etc. After a very bad experience with alcohol in February 2009, I decided that this was the last time I would ever touch alcohol and stopped smoking, drinking as well as drinking sodas. That was a wake up call for me and a turning point in my life. Everything changed for me that time. The two friends that always stood by me through thick and thin has been Chris and Damian. Chris was there for me for emotional support when my dad passed away in April 1995. Damian has been there for me as well many times since my mom passed away and helped me with lots of different things in life over the years even before my mom's passing. These are two friends I regard very highly as my own family.

[j-kaiwa]

Discussion Article October 7th

Japanese politics finds ways to target youth

In the June 15 book review section of the Asahi Shimbun, University of Tokyo professor Shigeki Uno discussed several new books about changing political sensibilities in Japan. He writes that the traditional ideological conflict has always been between hoshu (conservatism) and kakushin (reformism), whose respective adherents tend to fight over things like constitutional reform and national security. Today’s young people see the face-off differently. To them, kakushin basically means “change,” but they don’t think about the direction of that change. Instead, they focus on its impact on “vested interests.”

Consequently, their view of existing political parties differs from that of their elders, who consider the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) as being reformist and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) conservative. People under 30, however, see the JCP as being conservative and the somewhat reactionary Ishin no Kai reformist. Policy positions are not as relevant as the perceived capacity to shake up the system.

This tendency hasn’t been lost on the LDP, which is definitely trying to take advantage of it ahead of next month’s Upper House election. At the end of April, the LDP released a video featuring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe communing with a teenage BMX rider and hip-hop artists, insisting he wants to “create the future” with them. The party also commissioned artist Yoshitaka Amano of “Final Fantasy” fame to design a poster for it based on a manga-like “Seven Samurai” motif.

The aim of the LDP campaign is to infiltrate the opposition’s stronghold, social media, with the hashtag #自民党2019 (LDP2019). The person charged with this mission is former state minister for administrative reforms, Akira Amari, who, according to weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun, is using his connection with publishing house Kodansha, which published a policy overview by Amari last fall. Bunshun thinks Kodansha is beholden to Amari because his supporters bought a lot of copies of the book and Kodansha wants the government to push for stricter anti-piracy legislation.

The result was a photo spread for Kodansha’s fashion magazine ViVi featuring female models wearing T-shirts with the LDP logo as well as slogans referring to positions that supposedly appeal to young people, such as equal rights, animal welfare and cultural diversity. The piece sparked a backlash from people who wondered if it was ethical to run it. The chief editor of the print version of ViVi — the spread only appeared online — was apparently against the idea, and Bunshun revealed that Kodansha was upset when it discovered the LDP was offering the depicted T-shirt as a “present” to readers, since that could be seen as a violation of political campaign laws. The publisher thought the purpose of the piece was simply to encourage greater voter turnout.

Even some LDP supporters frowned, telling Bunshun that it was all the idea of Amari and his pet advertising agency, Starbase, which also produced the Amano poster and the video. The agency assured Bunshun that they had worked closely with Kodansha on the project.

In addition to the video, Abe has been doing his fair share of promoting the youth angle. On May 10 he went out for pizza with the aging boy band Tokio, and on May 22 invited two actors appearing in a current hit film to the prime minister’s residence. One of the actors, Mitsuki Takahata, posted photos on her Instagram account, complete with a comment from Abe. The Tokio rendezvous got publicized on Abe’s social media accounts, quickly receiving 70,000 likes on Instagram and 280,000 on Twitter, according to the online magazine Litera on May 24.

The posts intrigued Mainichi Shimbun since they contained images of Tokio, whose management company, Johhny & Associates, Inc., is famous for prohibiting photos of its charges on the internet. The company didn’t answer the newspaper’s request for a comment. Litera surmised that, despite the violation of its photo embargo, the agency saw the advantage in having its artists dine with the prime minister. Johhny & Associates, Inc. isn’t the only show business entity the LDP is courting. Such companies see Abe as a celebrity rather than as a politician with an agenda. These show biz summits are covered voraciously by daytime news shows, which could not care less about policy or even propriety ahead of a national election.

But one media outlet that has called foul is the tabloid Nikkan Gendai. On April 20, Abe appeared at an Osaka theater run by Yoshimoto Kogyo, Japan’s biggest talent agency for comedians. Abe was there as a kind of guest performer, ostensibly to promote the G20 summit in Osaka, and spoke a few scripted comic lines that, according to Gendai, elicited a subdued reaction. Nevertheless, it got lots of play in the media, benefiting both the LDP and Yoshimoto The latter expressed its thanks by dispatching a few comedians, including veteran funnyman and former Diet lawmaker Kiyoshi Nishikawa, to the prime minister’s residence on June 6, where they performed some typically crude skits.

According to Gendai, the LDP and the relevant talent agencies had been planning these opportunities beforehand with the idea that both sides would benefit. Gendai called the gambit “cheap theatrics,” and even one of Yoshimoto’s talent, Daisuke Muramoto of the duo Woman Rush Hour, tweeted that if he had been present at any of the meetings he would have found a way to make fun of the prime minister, implying that a comedian’s job is to challenge authority rather than suck up to it.

It’s not clear if young people are flattered or being fooled by the LDP, and maybe it doesn’t matter. The Asahi Shimbun suggested that young men who came of age during the Democratic Party of Japan’s disastrous stint as ruling party from 2009 to 2012 support the current administration, but only because they think Abe won’t make things worse, which would mean they aren’t really very different from their parents.

[louisonurmark]

10 Lagi Tempat Menarik di Putrajaya | Halluuu…. lama juga tak update blog ni dengan cerita dan informasi terbaru. Actually ada banyak bahan but dunno where to start, mood tak datang. Untuk ke sekian kalinya ai ke Putrajaya to explore many interesting places, the unexplored heaven garden city.

Aku sangat kagum dengan keindahan Putrajaya yang sangat sesuai untuk membina keluarga. Bandar terancang yang diuruskan Perbadanan Putrajaya ini hijau, serba lengkap dengan kemudahan infrastruktur dan kurang pencemaran karbon monoksida. Penduduknya juga tidak ramai tetapi ia merangkumi keluarga berpendapatan sederhana hingga tinggi. Pada siang hari populasinya mencecah 150 ribu orang walaupun nampak macam taklah sibuk sangat. Ada rumah flat kos rendah, ada juga banglo baru yang dijual bermula dengan harga RM3 juta! I heard flat second hand pun dua ratus ribu lebih ooiii.. Ai mampu pandang je lah sejak takde payslip ni… hiks.

Dilancarkan pada 1995 sebagai “intelligent garden city”, Putrajaya asalnya direkacipta untuk menjadi bandar serba moden dengan pengangkutan awam kelas pertama tetapi ia belum terlaksana sepenuhnya. Disebabkan pelan asal itulah kawasan meletak kenderaannya kurang tetapi kita masih boleh meletakkan kenderaan secara percuma di Masjid Sultan Mizan (Masjid Besi) atau di sebelah Istana Kehakiman (Palace of Justice) sekiranya berada di Precint 2.

Oleh kerana briefing dilakukan di tingkat tertinggi bangunan Perbadanan Putrajaya, merasalah juga kita menaiki lif yang kat arch tu… bukan semua staf dapat menggunakan lif tu tau. What an amazing view from the birds’ eyes! Di depan Istana Kehakiman, di belakang Masjid Sultan Mizan.

Selama dua hari di Putrajaya bersama Santai Travel Magazine dalam program Travelogue Escape 2.0, kami bergerak menggunakan bas Hop On Hop Off disewa khas. Bas pelancong ini hanya beroperasi di Kuala Lumpur dan Georgetown, Pulau Pinang, namun jika kita mahukan kelainan bolehlah berhubung dengan mereka di sini for chartered services. Best betul berjalan di Putrajaya dengan bas tu, semua pakat dok di ruang terbuka sebelah atas. Feeling pelancong sangat hahahah….

Perbadanan Putrajaya

Pelancongan di Putrajaya

Perbadanan Putrajaya memfokuskan kepada nature base tourism products. Ada projek madu kelulut di Precint 15. Para pengusaha ini diberikan tapak percuma dan tunjuk ajar daripada agensi kerajaan seperti Mardi. Jika ada pihak yang berminat untuk membuat promosi produk boleh hubungi pihak PP untuk perbincangan. Putrajaya ni bandar terancang, tak boleh sesuka hati nak pacak gerai merata.

Sepanjang 38km shoreline Putrajaya semua ada kemudahan untuk jogging, boat ride, perlumbaan, latihan water skiing, skateboard dan kawasan perkhemahan di Taman Wetland dan Taman Rimba Alam.

Kedatangan pelancong sangat memberangsangkan setiap tahun walaupun tahun lepas agak berkurangan kerana kekurangan penganjuran acara besar di sini. Kira-kira 200 buah bas akan berhenti di Masjid Putra setiap hari. Aku pun setiap kali datang takkan lepaskan peluang untuk bergambar di landmarks di Putrajaya ni. Saja je nak tengok perubahan saiz badan dari tahun ke tahun kahkah…

Masjid Putra, Putrajaya.

Sebenarnya bukan hanya 10 tempat menarik di Putrajaya

Some sees Putrajaya as boring but others see it otherwise. If you’re looking for greenery and calmness just a stone throw away from the vibrant Kuala Lumpur pergilah ke Putrajaya. Memandu di hari Sabtu dan Ahad di sana seperti memandu di Kuala Lumpur sewaktu hari raya Eidul Fitri, senyap sunyi macam semua dah balik ke ‘sarang’. Mak bapak siap boleh bawa anak picnic depan bangunan lagi sambil main kejar kejar. Bahagianya theyolls…

Okay jom kita tengok apa yang menariknya di sana.

1. Cruise Tasik Putrajaya

Menelusuri Tasik Putrajaya dengan bot besar ini adalah pengalaman kali kedua tetapi ia masih lagi membuatkan ai teruja. Seperti biasalah semuanya berkumpul di atas dek kerana mahu menikmati keindahan matahari terbenam sambil ditiupi bayu senja nan lembut. Romantiknya… Masjid Sultan Mizan @ Masjid Besi di waktu remang senja tu sangat cantik dengan limpahan cahaya lampu sehinggakan boleh nampak reflections di permukaan air.

Selain Cruise Tasik berbagai lagi aktiviti diuruskan Marina Putrajaya Sdn Bhd. Boleh sewa dewan untuk seminar, nak sewa laman pun boleh, nak buat team building… party, rekreasi air… contact saja mereka.

Cruise Tasik Jeti Putra, Jambatan Putra Precint 1 62000 Putrajaya Tel: 03 88885539 Emel: sales@cruisetasikputrajaya.com 2. Architectural Trail by Bike Cara santai dan sihat untuk menikmati keindahan senibina bangunan di Putrajaya tentulah dengan berbasikal. Kenderaan yang kurang walaupun di hari bekerja memudahkan aktiviti ini. Lagipun naik basikal senang nak parking.

Bangunan di bandar dalam taman ini semuanya diperbuat atau dicat dengan bahan berwarna putih/kelabu/seumpamanya. Warna yang tak lapuk ditelan zaman, tak outdated, sama seperti kebanyakan bangunan di eropah, 100 tahun lagi kita pergi pun tetap sama je. Ada bangunan yang sangat cantik reka bentuknya, seperti corak songket pun ada. Cuma aku tak berapa berkenan dengan design bangunan SPRM 😶 3. Taman Wetland Putrajaya @ Putrajaya Wetlands Park Taman ini merupakan salah satu daripada 13 taman riadah yang ada di Putrajaya yang yang dibuka kepada umum. Taman Wetland Putrajaya dipercayai tanah bencah buatan manusia terbesar di dunia dan pertama di Malaysia.

Selain berbasikal dan berjalan kaki menikmati keindahan alam, tram juga disediakan untuk kemudahan pengunjung. Kita juga boleh berkhemah (camping) di sini. Kosnya hanya RM20 untuk 3 hari 2 malam dengan kapasiti 500 orang pada satu satu masa. Murah gilos… tapi khemah bawa sendirilah. Meh la cikgu cikgi semua buat perkhemahan di sini. Boleh tengok burung free… baru ada added value.

Datanglah sewaktu feeding time pukul 11 pagi dan 4 petang. Seronok melihat itik, angsa dan burung berebut makanan.

NO entrance fee.

Flamingo Pond, Taman Wetland Putrajaya. Burung ni tidur sambil berdiri.

Feeding time !

Taman Wetland Putrajaya Persiaran Perseketuan Putrajaya 60520, Malaysia +60 3-8887 7139 4. Taman Cabaran Putrajaya @ Putrajaya Challenge Park Setelah beberapa kali ke Putrajaya hanya pada kali ini baru tahu ada tempat untuk merasai extreme experience. Di sinilah salah satu tempat yang bagus sebagai training ground for extreme sports.

Apa yang ada di sini?

Fun park, skate park, BMX tracks, mountain bike and wall climbing. Yes, they have the BIGGEST artificial indoor wall climbing in south east asia. We have the BIGGEST, okay!

Galakkan anak-anak melakukan aktiviti sihat begini.

Waktu beroperasi: Skatepark Isnin-Khamis 10 pagi – 7 petang Jumaat-Ahad 10 pagi – 11 malam

BMX Stunts/Mountain Bike Isnin-Ahad 10 pagi – 7 malam

Wall Climbing Ahad-Khamis 10 pagi – 8 malam Rabu-Sabtu 10 pagi – 10 malam

Kadar sewaan peralatan untuk wall climbing (per unit/3 jam setiap sesi): Tali RM15 Harness RM5 Climbing shoes RM7 Chalk bag RM3 Belay Device RM4 Kompleks Sukan Lasak Jalan P5, Taman Cabaran Precint 5, Putrajaya. Tel: 03 88877538/ 03 88878443 *Kata officer bertugas, during school holidays TCP ni penuh dengan bebudak, dah macam taska 😃😃 5. Berkuda di Taman Ekuestrian Putrajaya (TEP) Menunggang kuda adalah satu riadah yang bagus. Selain untuk kesihatan badan ia juga melatih kita untuk memahami, bersabar dan menyayangi binatang.

TEP memiliki 14 ekor kuda for leisure rides. Bayar je RM15 untuk merasai menaiki kuda se-round. Kuda di sini berbagai jenis yang diberi jumlah makanan berbeza untuk fungsi yang berbeza. Ada yang digunakan untuk endurance, race, jumping dan dressage. Kuda yang dah pencen berlumba tu digunakan untuk leisure je lah. Relaks relaks sudah…

Lebih baik lagi jika kita belajar menunggang kuda di sini. Introductory level sebanyak lapan sesi kosnya RM350 seorang dengan minima 3 orang pelajar.

Daripada Uqbah bin Amir RA bahawa Nabi SAW bersabda:

ارْمُوا وَارْكَبُوا

Maksudnya: “Lemparkanlah (panah) dan tungganglah (kuda)”. [Riwayat al-Tirmizi] [Imam al-Tirmizi menilai hadith ini sebagai hasan]

Kuda tahu samada kita relaks atau nervous. Kalau kita nervous/takut dia takkan bergerak.

Taman Ekuestrian Putrajaya Precint 5, 62200 Putrajaya. Tel : 03 80008902 Website : http://www.tep.my

6. Skyrides Festival Park Ingin melihat Putrajaya 500 kaki dari bumi? This is the first and biggest tethered helium balloon yang membolehkan kita melihat panorama Putrajaya 360०.

Waktu paling bagus ialah senja, dapat melihat siang dan malam sekaligus tapi it depends on your turn. Berjanggut jugalah menunggu kalau peak season sebab hanya lima orang dibenarkan naik per ride.

Skyrides Festival Park Jalan P2M, Precint 2 Putrajaya http://www.skyridesfestival.com 7. SkyWarrior Putrajaya Ini di sebelah Skyrides, untuk test kemampuan dan ketahanan kita in obstacle course. 8. Monumen Alaf Baru @ Millennium Monument Ia merupakan monumen negara yang pertama dibina khas untuk Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya. Di bawah tugu ini telah ditanam oleh Tun Dr Mahathir, semasa menjadi Perdana Menteri, kapsul masa yang akan dikeluarkan pada tahun 2020 nanti.

Menara Tugu Milenium ini tingginya 68 m. Jalan naiknya berbentuk pelantar tinjau ala beranda yang dibahagikan kepada 4 pecahan yang bersambung iaitu bagi menggambarkan era Malaysia pra kemerdekaan (sebelum tahun 1957), pasca merdeka (1957-1970), Malaysia kini (1971-2020) dan Malaysia akan datang pada tahun 2020 dan ke atas.

Dilihat dari atas, menara ini seakan-akan membentuk bunga kebangsaan Malaysia iaitu bunga raya yang berwarna emas berkemilauan. Di pelantar tertinggi, pengunjung dapat melihat bangunan berhampiran seperti Masjid Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin dan Jambatan Seri Wawasan.

Pada waktu malam menara tugu yang diperbuat dari aluminium ini akan memancarkan cahaya terang ibarat rumah api yang membuatkan ia tampak lebih eksklusif dan indah.- Wikipedia

Monumen Alaf Baru, Cruise Tasik dan Masjid Sultan Mizan @ Masjid Besi.

9. Pasar Tani Setiap Jumaat ya..di Precint 2.

Takkan tak terliur tengok aiskrim tu… dugaan betul.

10. Putrajaya Food Truck Juga di Precint 2, setiap hari bermula jam 4 petang hingga 12 tengah malam. Ya Allah sedapnya… banyak betul dugaan nak kurus ni 😕😡😢 Tempat menarik yang lain di Putrajaya, jemput baca di sini dan di sini.

Lokasi tempat makan popular di Putrajaya, jemput baca di sini.

*Kalau nak makan wagyu beef boleh try di Miami Grill, Unit 3 Level B3, Menara PJH, No 2 Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, Precinct 2. Mereka juga supplier halal wagyu beef dan beras Komachi. Thank you for your time. Muahhhh…!!

10 Lagi Tempat Menarik di Putrajaya 10 Lagi Tempat Menarik di Putrajaya | Halluuu.... lama juga tak update blog ni dengan cerita dan informasi terbaru.

[dawnajaynes32]

Mike Wasilewski on Purpose, Clarity, and Making Cool Things

Mike Wasilewski, Co-Founder and COO of Frank Collective, is in the business of branding and making cool things. His thoughts on design trends, inspirations, and projects are covered here.

Name: Mike Wasilewski, Co-Founder & CCO of Frank Collective Location: Brooklyn, NY Design school attended: The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY

How would you describe your work? Can you talk through the design philosophy of Frank Collective?

It’s branding. Everything I do is some sort of brand building—whether that’s evolving, creating, or maintaining a brand through strategy, identity, web, packaging, marketing, etc. I aim for my work, and the work my team makes at Frank, to be clear, emotive, smart, and honest. Clear work is immediate. It isn’t nuanced, abstract, or understated with messaging—it communicates clearly in a way that isn’t hard to get. Clarity is so important, especially today when you have to fight for people’s attention. They aren’t waiting around for your work, nor are they endlessly nit-picking it in meetings like we do all day. When you get their attention, you only have a split-second to grab hold of it — it’s best to be clear when you do.

Honest work resonates with your target audience. They see something in it and recognize that you see them. Branding is empathy when done right. It goes beyond trends, demographics, and yourself to a big simple core truth. So don’t impose your own designer/creative/marketer viewpoint, know how to get out of your own way and get in to your audience’s mindset.

Emotive work evokes a response from your audience that no logo-generator-thing-a-bobber can create. When you elicit an emotion from someone, good or bad, you’re creating something meaningful.

Smart work is interesting. It makes you think a little and give that head nod of appreciation. That “you’re in on the joke” or the “ah that’s so cool they did that” type of acknowledgement that makes your work memorable.

If all of the above is in place, everything else should follow easily.

Where do you find inspiration?

I don’t have a single source of inspiration. This might sound cliche, but just getting out there and living life is the best kind of inspiration. Doing that allows you to build a catalogue of experiences that you can draw upon when thinking about work. And depending on what you’re working on you can find it from almost any source. That and Pinterest.

With that said, my first inspiration was my teenage obsession with freestyle BMX bikes, and I wanted to find a way to work within the industry. I thought if I was a designer I could get a job working at a bike magazine because I would be better at setting type than riding a halfpipe. While I do enjoy the work I do today, I’m still holding out for that bike magazine.

Who are some of your favorite designers or artists?

Wow. I have so many that I straight up idolize and reference constantly to my staff and students. Currently, Scott Dadich is one of my favorite designers/creative directors in recent years. I remember being so amazed by the pages of Wired when he was at the helm. I would pour over every page of it — oftentimes just gawking at the page for 1 minute saying “Damn thats amazing” then another minute going “man, I wish I did this” then another minute of “gah this is so smart! This is the stuff I want to make!” … and then I would read the article.

I also really love Aaron Draplin’s simple and entertaining explanation of his work and the total apparent joy he gets from it. He knows what he likes and does it his way unapologetically — and for good reason — he’s so talented! Read his book and its apparent that that man lives his truth.

I always liked Tibor Kalman’s wit and conceptual approach to everything. Michael Bierut’s clear and simple rationale and scalability to all his design systems. Caleb Owen Everitt’s distinct and dusty all-American style. Malika Favre’s illustrations are beyond smart and masterful – I can look at them all day long.  

Do you have a favorite among all the projects you’ve worked on?

I don’t actually. And that’s because I don’t have a single favorite project. I like many projects for many reasons.

I really love when we work with entrepreneurs who are passionate about what they’re doing, and we can bring it to life for them. These are people who are betting the farm on an idea they have and have a lot of pressure to deliver on that idea from investors, family, friends, and themselves. Giving shape and form to a brand for them is very fulfilling for myself and my team. We really get invested in their vision.

I also always dig a project if I’m working on it with great people that I want to be around. It doesn’t matter what it is. It could be a crazy last minute deadline, a simple revision to a brand guideline, or a pro-bono project for a friend. As long as I’m working with people that I enjoy being around it’s all good in my book.

Is there a project that stands out to you as having been the biggest challenge of your career so far?

This isn’t necessarily something that is remotely a challenge today, but back when I was getting started, it was a really tough thing for me to learn — and is something that I hope I never lose sight of. And that is: anything and everything can be awesome.

I was in my first year at Radical Media and it was time to review with our creative director. When I start showing him the comps of the same logo over and over again at various sizes on all these t-shirt mockups, he just says “Would you wear this t-shirt? Do you think its cool?” 22-year-old me just says, “it’s what we designed though.” He asked me again “yeah but is this the coolest t-shirt ever? Would you wear this out tonight with your friends? If you don’t think it’s cool then how will I? And then how will our client?”

This was the first time that I realized that everything and anything can and should be awesome. And branding is a way of surfacing that innate awesomeness. It’s a challenge to do this but you can make anything interesting if you try. A few years ago you wouldn’t care much about a meal prep service, but you care about Blue Apron today. Socks, have you ever heard a more boring word such as socks? But what about Bombas? They’re awesome! Why? Because they aren’t just socks – they’re Bombas, a better sock both functionally and ethically.

I understood what had to be done in that moment and went into a t-shirt designing fever dream. And made the coolest t-shirts I could with the elements I had to work with.

What’s your best advice for designers today? Should designers follow “best practices”?

Don’t follow trends blindly. Acknowledge them, critique them, understand what works and why—then take that into account as you make something that works for your task at hand. Just because it worked well for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you.

You’re a consumer too. Step back often and ask yourself “If I never saw this — does it make sense?” So many times I’ve done this with my own work and its been for the better.

If you’re in a meeting debating the color with someone, you’re having the wrong conversation. What I mean by that is everything you do should have purpose and intention. You are a designer, so nothing should be a flippant design decision. You chose that typeface for some rational reason. You made the very specific color palette because it evoked an energy. The tone of voice you selected is relatable. As the designer you know why you made these decisions, but it’s often hard to put them into words or we forget that not everyone is a designer.

Find more Frank Collective here and more Mike here.

Interview by Daniel Schloss

The post Mike Wasilewski on Purpose, Clarity, and Making Cool Things appeared first on HOW Design.

Mike Wasilewski on Purpose, Clarity, and Making Cool Things syndicated post

[sportsgameqia-blog-blog]

The Unlikely Preacher of Action Sports

New Post has been published on https://sportsguideto.com/trending/the-unlikely-preacher-of-action-sports/

The Unlikely Preacher of Action Sports

Sal Masekela steps off a helicopter onto the white sands of Tavarua Island Resort, a tiny speck in the Fiji archipelago, and walks into a gorgeous open-air restaurant that overlooks a world-famous reef break appropriately dubbed Restaurants. He greets the Fijian staff by name, hugging them, asking them about their lives since his last visit.

Masekela, you may recall, was the face and voice of ESPN’s X Games, hosting both the summer and winter events for more than a decade. With his iconic dreadlocks and smooth baritone, he was a fixture at the center of the action-sports universe, narrating nearly every history-making moment at the games, from Travis Pastrana’s double backflip on a motorcycle in 2006 to Shaun White’s perfect halfpipe run in 2012.

Today, six years since a breakup with ESPN, Masekela remains deeply entrenched in action sports. He is here, on the surf mecca of Tavarua, for a vacation with a group of friends comprised of athletes, movie stars, entrepreneurs, Instagram influencers, and their families. As he makes the rounds, a guest compares him to Ricardo Montalbán, the suave Mexican actor best known for playing Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island. Somehow, despite the fact that Masekela is a stocky black man, and recently bald, it’s a rather apt observation. It can be challenging to walk anywhere with Masekela, because everyone who sees him wants to stop and talk with him and he wants to talk to everybody. He is Larry David’s worst nightmare.

This is Masekela’s 16th trip to Tavarua but nonetheless a special one, because it’s his first visit since his father died from prostate cancer six months ago. Hugh Masekela was a trumpeter and is often credited as the father of South African jazz. He played and toured with everyone from Paul Simon to Dave Matthews and was nominated for three Grammys. During apartheid, Hugh left South Africa to study music in the United States, but he remained outspoken against the brutality of South African racial segregation. In 1986, he recorded “Bring Him Back Home,” a song demanding the release of Nelson Mandela that would eventually become a rallying cry for the anti-apartheid movement.

Tavarua is Masekela’s favorite place on earth, and he’d implored his father to travel there with him. They made plans for the fall of 2016 and even purchased tickets, but at the last minute, Hugh postponed. A year and a half later, he passed away. This trip, these waves, Masekela says, are for his dad.

Masekela hosting Lollapalooza in Chicago (Jeremy Deputat/Red Bull Content Pool)

The vacation also comes at a significant moment in Masekela’s career—a moment when he hopes to find a path back into the limelight. Since walking away from the X Games, he has continued to work in television, hosting a series for Red Bull Media House, reporting stories for NBC at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and hosting a sports documentary series on Viceland, among other gigs. He’s had bit parts in movies. His band, Alekesam, which blends jazz, soul, and R&B, has been featured on HBO and Showtime and released its second album last summer. Still, Masekela has grander ambitions, though he struggles to define them.

Like many major figures from the heyday of action sports, Masekela is still coming to grips with the fact that his world has lost much of its cultural and commercial cachet. As recently as 2011, an average of more than a million viewers tuned in to watch the four-day-long Summer X Games on television. By 2017, that number dropped to 385,000. (ESPN says viewership is actually up when you account for streaming and social viewers, but declined to share year-over-year numbers.) The formerly rebel sports of snowboarding, BMX, and skateboarding have been adopted by the Olympics. The bad-boy stars of yesterday are now middle-aged dads.

Masekela has ridden the action-sports wave as far and well as he could’ve hoped, but no ride lasts forever.

That Masekela became the face of the X Games in the first place was wildly improbable. He was born in 1971 in Los Angeles, the first child of Hugh and Haitian immigrant Jessie Lapierre. By the time he turned four, his parents had moved to New York City and split up, and his mother was remarried to a Jehovah’s Witness, who raised Masekela in the church. But despite his stepdad’s best efforts, Hugh’s influence endured. Masekela split time between marijuana-clouded jazz clubs and going door to door spreading the Truth. “Growing up between those worlds gave me a strange set of skills,” he says. “For a long time they felt like a burden, like I was always working to fit in.”

His mom and stepdad moved around a lot, ultimately abandoning the East Coast for Carlsbad, California, at the start of Masekela’s senior year of high school. Relocating across the country was difficult for him. During the drive out, he spent rest-stop breaks at pay phones. “I was calling my girl back east and not saying anything,” he says. “Just weeping on the phone for like ten minutes, that high school heartbreak shit.”

But on his first morning in Carlsbad, he discovered that his new house sat on top of a steep hill with a view of the ocean, a feature that he credits with shaping the trajectory of his life. “Imagine, you walk out of this house onto this lawn, and you look and you’re like, Oh shit we’re right here.”

Masekela with his father, Hugh, in 2016 (Abby Ross)

Surfing became the focus of Masekela’s life. As a Jehovah’s Witness, he was discouraged from playing organized sports, but several of the members of his congregation surfed, and they loaned him a board and a wetsuit, which he put on backward the first time. He spent his downtime at school paging through back issues of Surfer, neglecting his schoolwork to study board sports. He refined the basic skateboarding skills he’d started developing back east, and he learned to snowboard. “Nothing else sounded as good,” he says. “I didn’t want to be around people who did it. I wanted to be around people who lived it.” He became a full-on disciple of what he would call the shred life.

The tension between his new passion and his commitment to the church began to mount. At 19, Masekela went to South Africa to meet up with his father, who had recently returned home for the first time in 30 years. It was 1991, and Mandela had just been released from prison. During the trip, Masekela explored life a bit too enthusiastically for the church’s standards. His sins were, in his words, “that I made out with a bunch of girls and smoked some pot.”

When he confessed, the elders chose to disfellowship him. “You have to keep going to church, to the meetings, but no one talks to you,” he explains. During his exile, Masekela remained close with his mother, but the social isolation was a brutal punishment. “It was without a doubt the most difficult time in my life,” he says. “I was severely depressed. I held a knife to my wrist in my kitchen many times.”

He moved to a new congregation in a nearby beach community called Leucadia. In 1993, while working at a restaurant, he crossed paths with several employees from TransWorld Media, which produces board-sports magazines and films, and he charmed his way into a job as a receptionist. In no time he worked up to sales jobs and small-scale announcing gigs for skateboarding competitions. His circle of friends expanded to include the pros he was interviewing at contests. By 1996, he was the team manager for Boks, the nascent action-sports division of Reebok, where he helped build the brand’s surf, skate, snowboard, and BMX teams.

The more entrenched he became in action sports, the further he drifted from the church, leaving religion behind for a new gospel.

Masekela’s big break came in the winter of 1997, at a snowboarding conference in Vail, Colorado. Boks had just folded, and his future was uncertain. He knew he had to do some networking.

The event took place in the wake of the first X Games, which was an embarrassment to everybody who cared about action sports. Purple skateboard ramps and clueless commentators left the community and industry furious at how their lifestyle and products had been represented.

Masekela in the studio with bandmate Sunny Levine (Abby Ross)

During a Q and A session that included executives from ESPN and MTV, Masekela decided to speak up. “At a certain point, I don’t even know what happened, but I was ­standing on top of my chair in the back. I said, ‘You know, I watch all these things—the X Games and what you guys are doing on MTV—and you don’t have any voices that represent our culture to tell people about what they’re seeing. Bill Bellamy doesn’t fucking snowboard. Here’s the deal: I’m young, I’m black, I surf and I snowboard, and I know that I could get in front of the camera and do that.’ ”

He got a standing ovation. “People were buying me beers all night like I had just given some weird ‘I Have a Dream’ shred speech.” At an after-party, an executive from MTV gave him a business card. The next year, Masekela was commentating the MTV Sports and Music Festival, offering the insider’s perspective he’d cultivated since landing in California years before.

By 1999, Masekela had landed a job as a reporter for the Winter X Games. The following summer, when Tony Hawk landed the first 900, Masekela was standing at the top of the ramp. From there it was pretty much game on. The action-sports wave was barreling into the mainstream, and Masekela was pitted as its chief evangelist.

Masekela’s presence on Tavarua is conspicuous for many reasons, but even if he was less gregarious, he would still stick out. Other than the Fijian staff members, he is the only black person on the entire island. By contrast, the kids on the trip are named Chili, Coast, Country, Fin, Hazel, Jet, Lyon, Oz, Rider, River, Roman, and Tashen. That list may not be exhaustive or spelled exactly right, but the point is: the only thing whiter than the sand here is the people.

Tavarua, like many tropical-island resorts, is a destination for people with money. There are spa treatments. There’s a yoga space. There’s an artificial-turf tennis court. Speaking of tennis, Masekela loves tennis. He also loves golf. When you grow up as a skateboarding Jehovah’s Witness, perhaps adding golfer to the list becomes easier.

But still, as a black man at the center of a nearly all-white industry, Masekela has encountered racism many times. In the early nineties, the owners of a surf shop where he was working let him go, telling him that business was slowing down and they needed to cut back on staff. But a friend who was still working there told him that the owners didn’t think Masekela matched the image of what a surf-shop employee should be—which is to say, white.

Masekela on Niue, in the South Pacific (Sal Masekela)

“Even though I had gone through all sorts of fucking racist shit as a result of starting surfing and snowboarding—people making fun of me and calling me a nigger and telling me that we don’t even swim—I still didn’t think something like that would happen,” he says. “It really, really fucked me up.”

When he got the job as the host of the X Games, the racism became more pernicious. People would assume he was a marketing choice made by network executives—that he had studied up on the difference between a heel flip and a pop shove-it after he got the job, when in reality he could do both of those tricks. “There were people who started to be like, ‘Wow, that’s really gutsy of ESPN to pick a black guy to do this. So smart. You don’t really do this stuff do you?’ ” The same authenticity that got him the job was suddenly being questioned because of his skin color.

“I didn’t have an agenda to be like, I’m the fucking Great Black Hope of action sports. I wanted to be the best commentator. I wanted to be seen as on par with the greats in broadcasting and entertainment.”

One warm summer afternoon on his couch in Venice Beach, Masekela was in a reflective mood. We were surrounded by boxes that he hadn’t unpacked since he moved to the house 12 months ago. The front door was open, and sunlight streamed in.

He told me about his split with ESPN, back in late 2012, saying that the network had wanted to renegotiate his contract. He said that a big reason he left was a feeling that ESPN had begun to devalue action sports in general. For Masekela, this was unacceptable; they were his life. A few weeks after quitting, he cut off his dreads.

“I was kind of wrestling for identity,” he said. “I cried while doing it. There were people who told me, ‘You just lit your career on fire.’ And I’d be like, ‘If you know me and consider me a friend, and you’re telling me that my hair is my calling card, then you’re telling me that you don’t hear what it is that I have to say.’ ”

Masekela near his home in Venice, California (Nikko LaMere)

As a host and announcer, one of the greatest strengths Masekela brought to action-sports events was his credibility. “We had a lot of these bro-type announcers who didn’t really capture what was going on,” says snowboarder Shaun White. “Sal knew us personally, so he could kind of talk about how a guy has been wanting to do this trick for so long and what it would mean if he did it during this run.”

Today, though, being respected by core board-sports athletes doesn’t do much for a guy’s résumé. Masekela is eager to begin a new chapter but admits he doesn’t know what that will look like yet. Which is why he’s trying a little bit of everything. He’s starting a podcast, tentatively called What Shapes Us, for which he’ll interview the deep well of exceptional friends he’s made over the years, and possibly broadcast conversations with his father posthumously. He’s touring with his band, he’s hosting more traditional adventure and travel stories for National Geographic, and he’s trying to do more acting. He says he’d like to host another TV show, but only if it feels right.

One impediment to Masekela’s career reboot is the fact that he’s not the most organized person. He doesn’t like budgets or spreadsheets. He has a tendency to lose things, forget stuff, and miss flights.

Case in point: he arrives on Tavarua a day later than planned, after a fundraising event for his charity, Stoked Mentoring, ran long and he didn’t catch his plane to Fiji. But after he finishes unpacking, he hops on the evening boat to Cloudbreak, an infamous wave that detonates two miles from the island on a barrier reef. Just about anywhere else, you’d call the conditions good to great, but by Cloudbreak standards things are looking somewhat pedestrian. The wind isn’t quite right, the lulls between sets are long, and the wave isn’t barreling like it should.

Then, just before dusk, the wind dies a bit, and the reef starts to grab the swell. All of a sudden, Masekela is on an absolute gem—green and gold, backlit by low-angle tropical sun. Miraculously, the inside section gets hollow, and he tucks into the barrel. You can hear him whooping with joy. Finally, just before the wave ends, he kicks out the back. He’s probably 100 yards or more down the reef, but he reels in his board and heads straight for the lineup.

The sun is setting, but Sal Masekela is paddling back out.

David Shultz (@dshultz14) is a freelance writer in Santa Barbara, California. This is his first feature for Outside.

Source

https://www.outsideonline.com/2380521/unlikely-preacher-action-sports-sal-masekela