#daewon ( first timeline. )

[orbitcd]

open !!  m/f/nb. friends/coworkers/acquaintances/customer-worker character choice: daewon, a poll dancer at the night club PERSEIDS. plot: despite his tattoos are small and few, it’s easy to take notice of them if you’re curious enough.

                 ‘ oh, this one? ’ he asked while feeling his hair being brushed aside. though while being touched made him uneasy, being at work had him used to it all the same. daewon tilted his head enough to expose the small white-petaled daisy etched just behind his ear. ‘ i don’t really have a lot, nor do i really plan on getting anymore at the moment, ’ hazel eyes glanced down at the bar he was seated at, tension settling in his gut as he felt their gaze on him. ‘ but i thought it was nice to have for a first tattoo. i like small flowers, too. ’

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@interglctycs​ wanted a starter. the muse they received: daewon, an exotic dancer and college drop out. a lonely guy who could really use a friend and someone to trust again.

                 to anyone, he just looked like a normal college student, probably trying to get home from campus a little late at night, bundled up in a light coat, a cap and a mask over his face. but, if anyone were to look closer, they’d see the glitter and body shimmer coating his cheeks, nose, and exposed hands. some pieces even gathered in his brunette locks and sparkled in his lashes. ‘ you know any good place to eat at this hour? ’ he couldn’t deny his stomach, even on a tight budget. the foodie in him would always win him over. ‘ i don’t care if it’s just noodles, i’m just starving right now. ’

[shuttaapp]

Skate to create: Neal Boyd

Neal Boyd, a.k.a Grimcity, has spent more than 30 years surfing on the concrete. Although he does it mainly for fun, he has accidentally compiled an enormous experience in this field.

In this interview, we talk with Neal Boyd about skateboarding, how we got his start, his Youtube channel, the pro skaters who influenced him most, and his thoughts about the skateboarding scene.

1. Where are you originally from?

I was born in Jackson, Mississippi, raised in Jackson, Louisiana, and have lived in Hamond, Louisiana since 1995. I claim Hammond as my home. We're between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, so it's a perfect spot to be in.

2. What's your favorite quality in a person?

Honesty, ethics, and a really good sense of humor.

3. How and when did you discover skateboarding?

When I was 10 years old, I lived in a really small, rural neighborhood. One of my my neighbors had bought a skateboard for his kid, but it never got used. We lived on top of a hill, and as I played with it I eventually was given permission to use it whenever I wanted to. It was basically given to me. The year was 1985.

4. Where does your online name “grimcity” come from?

When I was in college, I self-published a comic book for a little over a year… It was violent, but also very, very comedic. The name of the city where all the action took place in was “Grim City.” I'd also created a comic strip character that I'd used for comic strips (and the comic book) named “Grim,” so in the relatively early days of the internet I just used “grimcity” as my online persona.

Some of my friends call me Grim in real life, though I'm completely the opposite of a grim person… I'm actually very geeky and goofy and I have a lot of love for everything. My nature is very positive, so the nickname “Grim” and “grimcity” is kind've a joke in and of itself.

5. What was your first board and your first memory of skateboarding?

The first board I can claim was the one my neighbor (Mr. Tom) basically gave to me… It was a Variflex he'd bought for his own kid, but he let me ride it as much as I wanted to. I feel in love with it more than his little one did, so I really owe him a lot... He literally exposed me to skateboarding.

After that I had a Nash from a a department store (due to not having any money), but my first pro board was a Jeff Grosso from Santa Cruz. He's a living legend, and I've been fortunate enough to hang out with him. Really love that guy.

My first memory of skating was really just being a little 10 year old kid going really fast down the hills surrounding where I lived. We were a small town, and this was pre-internet, so I didn't even know how big skating was back then.

6. You created a Youtube channel which already has more than 4.000 subscribers and a 100 videos. Tell us a little bit about it. What is the main purpose of the channel?

The channel has actually been around for a while now… A little over 10 years I think? When I first started it it was simply to store videos because my hard drives were running out of space. After that, I got into doing really in-depth skate product reviews, and though I've slacked on that a bit, my focus lately has been making self-filmed skate videos with a focus on composition, color, and framing. If you look at my later videos with the eyes of a photographer, rather than a videographer or even a skateboarder for that matter, it makes more sense.

7. Who has been your biggest influence on your skateboarding?

When I was a kid, everyone was an influence… I wanted to ollie as high as Natas Kaupas, become an all terrain guy like The Gonz, skate fast like Tommy Guerro, float in the air like Hosoi, be as funny as Grosso, and skate as raw as all of the Sick Boys, who were a group of guys from San Francisco (some already mentioned) that included Jim Thiebaud, Julien Stranger, Ron Allen, Mickey Reyes, Archimedes, and a huge list of other people.

These days I'm a lot older, but I'm still influenced by a lot of people. Jim Thiebaud and I wound up becoming really good friends several years back, as well as my man Mickey Reyes. They run my favorite skateboard company (Deluxe) and even if I'd never met them, I'd be riding everything they make, including Real Skateboards, Thunder trucks, and Spitfire wheels. They have a huge influence on me because the company uses skateboarding to help people in need, from helping hurricane victims to providing money to facilities that help kids beat cancer.

I'm also heavily influence by the younger skaters that I roll with here in my city. I've seen them develop from wobbly-legged beginners to absolute skate machines over the years. I thrive on that. Many of these kids have tricks that I will never, ever be able to land, but that's part of passing the torch. I love my Hammond locals, and they push me as hard as I push them to progress in our own respective ways.

8. What's your favorite trick and who do you think does a perfect version of that trick?

I have two: the first one is the Ollie Impossible, and the perfect ones were done by Dylan Rieder who sadly passed away in 2016. Secondly, I love doing simple little kickflips, and to see them done perfectly, I stare in awe whenever Dennis Busenitz does them (or any variation of them).

9. Are Pro skaters role models?

Pro skaters are just like everybody else. If they are role models, I don't think they mean to be. Having said, they're definitely influential. I think kids try to emulate the tricks and styles they see from pros, but as with everyone, we have our good and bad sides. If I were to direct a kid towards someone who might be a role model both in the act of skateboarding as well as just being a good person, I'd list them as follows:

1. Daewon Song: He's the embodiment of progression, and he's a genuinely good person. He's about as old as I am, and like me, he's still a kid at heart that just wants to skate.

2. John Cardiel: His energy, positivity, and drive are the embodiment of what skateboarding is. He's a legend, and if you were to ask most pro skaters who their favorite pro was, they'd say Cardiel. He suffered a catastrophic injury which was supposed to make him unable to walk again, but he defeated it. When you watch any of his old footage, it compels you to get up, grab your board, and go for it.

3. Rodney Mullen: He invented most of the street tricks we do today, but more importantly to me, he's always continuing his education in other areas, including higher maths and architecture. It's one thing to simply become a better skateboarder, but it's also important to expand your knowledge base with other subjects, from the arts to astrophysics. Knowledge is easy to access today, and if you're not skating, I recommend reading a good non-fiction book or at least listening to an academic lecture on any given topic on You Tube. Lots of universities post lectures online, so there's no reason not to get a better understanding of the world. I watch or listen to at least one lecture a day, and on weekends I try to get at least two.

10. What's your go-to spot?

I live right around the corner from the concrete park I shoot video at in my YouTube and Instagram videos, but one of my favorite places (which I've documented a lot online, including Shutta) is a yellow parking curb next to a fountain. It's simply a curb in a secluded location where I can go and clear my head.

11. Who do you usually skate with?

Our local park is a family… The Dreamland squad. We have a couple of crews inside that family, namely the Therapy crew and the False Teeth crew. I also skate with a ton of friends from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette.

12. Have you ever joined a competition?

I have, but I'm not really a competitive skater. Most of the contests I've entered have been here in Louisiana, so for us it's not so much about winning as it is an opportunity to see everyone you know and have a really good time. Our contests are more like family reunions.

13. As one of the best skaters in the app and winner of one #ShuttaMission, explain to us how has your experience been when taking photos with Shutta.

I'd hate being known as one of the best skaters using the app! I prefer thinking I'm the best at having fun at skating, which is hopefully a sentiment shared by every skater!

I sincerely love the app, and am working on a video about it to get some more skaters involved with it. I started using Shutta before the user interface was redesigned, and still use it when I'm out recording. It's better at getting precise screen captures from videos than taking stills directly from the iPhone, the wheel tool that allows you to scrub through the timeline is brilliant. A lot of skateboard tricks are less than a second long (like jumping over something), and the “peak” part of that trick is probably down into the milliseconds… So being able to easily get to the exact moment you want to capture is just the best. I also like that I get an image saved to my camera's library, and simultaneously get to share it with an international community of people that get hyped when they see something new.

I'm also very appreciative that Shutta picked me as a winner for the “Freeze” contest. I'm a geek by nature, and the Tomtom Bandit camera is really well made. I've been using it a ton! I still can't believe I believe I won something like this by just going out in my town and skating like I always do. There are aspects of it that I prefer over my GoPro and my iPhone, so it's with me everywhere I go, even if I'm not skateboarding.

14. Any views on the skateboarding scene?

On a local level, I'm extremely happy that skaters today have it easier than my generation did. Skateboarding in the states wasn't looked at positively by a large swath of society for a long time, it was all underground, and growing up, I got into a ton of fights with people who would literally walk up to aggressively and instigate violence. We were punk rock/hip hop street kids that skated and ate concrete for fun, so we always had to handle confrontations as best we could. These days, there's been a mainstreaming of skateboarding that has allowed it to progress in ways I never thought it would, but I'm a bit conflicted, if not hypocritical of it. On one hand, I love that there are skateparks popping up everywhere, but on the other I hate seeing the media portray skateboarding as a sport, and I don't like the idea of it being in the Olympics. I'm glad that there's a boost of revenue for the pro skaters and skate companies that benefit from all of this exposure, but the old sentimental side of me still kind've misses the anti-establishment nature that skating had when I got into it.

15. What do you have planned for the near future?

My plans today are the same as they always have been… I want to push myself in whatever direction skateboarding takes me, and I want to do what I can at being a better person in general. I just want to be a good global neighbor, be the best at what I do professionally (computer geekery), and hopefully help the up and coming skaters in my area know more about the roots of skateboarding. The main goal is to ensure that the kids I skate with now become really old skaters like me.

Go follow Neal Boyd on Shutta and subscribe to his Youtube channel to see more!

All pics by Neal Boyd.

[orbitcd]

open starter !! muse: daewon, a pole dancer at a gay bar. anxious mans, really just tryna survive out there. relationships: strangers / acquaintances / co-workers / friends. synopsis: daewon’s getting done for the night, but some of the other dancers get jealous occasionally towards the favoritism towards him. some of his tips are missing. TRIGGER WARNING: petty theft, representation of a mild panic attack. NOTE: all my muses have animated and real life fcs, regardless of the thread’s starting fc, i am willing to change for comfort - i am even willing to rp without icons !!

                 ‘ shit . . . shit - ’ he swore under his breath. he counted, recounted and counted yet again. his tips were short. shakily pocketing the money he had left, daewon tucked a hand under his arm while his other was up at his mouth. teeth were grinding into his nails absently, though he knew better than to do so. he couldn’t focus with the humming in his ears, nor the way the floor seemed to stretch further and further away from him. they didn’t understand how rough his living was, and it wasn’t like he talked about it . . . still, that was food and even rent he owed. 

                 ‘ damn it -- ’ he hissed as he was picking up his cap and mask. he’d gone without eating before, but he couldn’t go without a roof - not again at least. he couldn’t cause a stir either, he really didn’t need a bigger target on his back. slamming through the back door, daewon hastily walked to the streets. he just needed to get home for now, he’d figure it out in the morning. ‘ why do you have to mess with my money tonight? ’ he muttered to himself. ‘ why the hell tonight of all nights? ’

[orbitcd]

cont’d. // @lofikids​

‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍mika carries a warm & welcoming aura with her. so the sense of ease is not an uncommon feat when it comes to the tiny brunette. as insane as she is, making friends is as easy as 1 2 3 for miss song. her gaze shifts up from her phone, optics immediately brightening at the thought of potential food. soon follows her lips- curving up at the corners, lifting her expression entirely. a content nod as she points toward daewon.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍❛ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍oh yeah ???? i’d LOVE that !!! when are you thinking about going ? i have nothing to do at all today so- so i’m free whenever. yep. ‍ ‍  ❜‍ ‍

                 tan lips pursed underneath his mask, it wasn’t like she could see his tension, but he’d certainly felt it. he doesn’t like others being involved in his personal life, let alone know the normal life he attempted to lead beyond his chaotic one. daewon then tipped his phone over to reveal the restaurant he’d been interested in. if he really seemed to like it, he could always come back another time - alone.

                 ‘ i don’t work till eight tonight anyways, so if we leave a little early, we can beat the crowd and i don’t have to worry about getting sick on stage. ’

[orbitcd]

@queensconquest​ wanted a starter with daewon.

                 ‘ you look lost . . . ’ well, rather, they looked SAD. their somber gaze staring off into the distance, daewon wasn’t sure if they were looking for something, someone? were they thinking of something that made them appear so detached? holding out a warm can of coffee he received from the vending machine, he tilted his head in curiosity. ‘ you shouldn’t be staying out in the cold either, you’ll catch one. ’ this wasn’t any of his business . . . but he knew how it was, staring off in the middle of the night, looking and feeling so damn lost. no one cared back then, so he wanted to be one to care this time

[blcssed]

open starter !! muse: daewon, an exotic dancer and food blogger. he dropped out of college for unknown reasons, but people around him suspect from trauma. open to: m/f/nb/trans. acquaintances/co-workers/friends.

                 ‘ oh, this? ’ he pointed to his middle finger, specifically to the bee inked on its side. ‘ i have little tattoos like this around my body. mostly things i like and what makes me happy. ’ or just words he needed to hear and be reminded of when no one else would tell him. smiling, he also tucked back his hair enough to reveal the little daisy inked behind his ear. ‘ i don’t have a lot right now because i’m working so much, but i like flowers and bumble bees. they’re in more discreet locations since clients . . . can like people with bare skin more than inked. ’ 

                 of course some would like that look, as if it was something foreign and new to them, attractive as much as they danced. but daewon was a favorite for his looks and shyness, so as much as he liked his tattoos and wanted more, he not only didn’t have that sort of money, but he got his money looking the way he did. 

                 ‘ i just . . . think they’re cute. ’ he mumbled.

[blcssed]

HUMANS !!