The Clash at Clairemont event for Grind For Life went off this past weekend.  So many kids running around snatching up anything that wasn’t bolted down to the floor. I ate about 10lbs of Red Vines. It was a lot of fun talking to all the groms and answering their questions about BambooSK8; which they had a lot of.  There were so many people who wanted pro signatures on the bamboo It was incredible, and the kids were stoked!  Check out more pics at Concrete Disciples.

There were a ton of A-list pros at the event.  The thing I enjoyed the most was watching those guys shred that massive bowl the YMCA built.  It was the first time I’ve gotten to see that level of riding in something like that.  There were so many people skating the bowl, not to mention the crowd around just to watch, it made for some exciting moments and quite a few close calls.

Speaking of events, I have been doing event production for a Teen Vogue pop-up store, and got to hang out with some real pretty girls.  They don’t say much and are always down the hang out…most of all, they love BambooSK8!

Hey guys, here’s another update from Canoa. Check out the pictures from the adventure at TheMusingsOfMattHayes.blogspot.com!

Canoa is a pretty small town but there are still some adventures to be had. I heard about a couple sea side caves to the north of town when I had just got here but my first attempt to get there was shut down by the large tide changes.

On Wednesday I met two cousins, Mari and Siri, from Norway whose birthdays are two days apart. After celebrating Siri’s birthday on Wednesday night we decided to make an attempt at the caves on Friday for Mari’s celebration. Our planning consisted of asking around for directions which were vague at best (go north, around a cove, over a cliff, and then down) and getting some people to guess at the tide charts Thursday night. That seemed sufficient to me.

Low tide was estimated around 9am so we met at 8 for breakfast at a local gringo hangout. After some food we started walking out of town along the beach. As we passed the last hostel a stray dog, whom we quickly dubbed Rufus, started following us. I don’t know why it got named Rufus since it was a girl but Siri and Mari liked it and I don’t think the dog would have responded better to a girl’s name so I let it go. The tide was low as we casually walked around the rock buttress that had stopped my progress the first time. We continued around the cove where Rufus was briefly chased by some other dogs and then stared up at a really steep hill. There was supposed to be a “trail” going up but the recent rain must have destroyed it because no such thing existed. We met some local travelling artisans also staring up at the hill wondering what to do and since no one had any better ideas I started picking my way along a drainage the ran across the hillside. The clay mud was sliding with every step we took and my flip flops were more detrimental than good so I took them off. The drainage led us to the left side of the hill where we had to scramble up a very steep face for 3 meters before it leveled out a tiny bit following a second drainage. My flip flops were completely worthless at this point so I left them and opted to climb barefoot. I’m not gonna lie, my fear of heights was kicking in but Siri and Rufus were charging up the mountain like rockstars so Mari and I had no choice but to follow. At the top of the drainage we had to boost Rufus up and over some exposed roots and tree limbs which were covered in termites she could continue the walk with us.

Next was a brief trek through the jungle. Fallen trees, vines, termites, biting ants, and spiders were only some of the fun to be had as we picked our way along the top of a flaky sand/clay cliff that dropped 45 meters into the ocean. I was reconsidering the benefits of leaving my sandals on the hillside as we found a horse trail. Mari was convinced the hoof prints were actually that of a large human-eating beast but luckily I was able to convince her otherwise and the journey continued. After a bit more time in the jungle we caught up with the two locals in a clearing overlooking the ocean, a large field we had to cross, and the caves we were searching for. We scrambled down another steep run off and walked across a field with mud squishing up between our toes. I felt a little silly as we watched the two locals go to the exact same place walking along a road instead of through waist high grass but at least it got us to the same place.

As soon as we got to the beach I hopped in the water, happy to wash all the bugs, seed pods, and spider webs off. We waded in a little deeper, picking our way around the rocks sporadically dispersed under the water, and then making our way into the cavern. Bats were sleeping about 7 meters above us, stirring if we talked too loud, with many more of their brethren further towards the back. To be honest there wasn’t much to see in the cave but it felt triumphant to have reached our destination.

Once we exited the first cave I decided to attempt a swim to the second one which was separated from us by about 30-40 meters. No one wanted to go with me so I set out alone, fighting the current and ducking under waves as they rolled in. It should be noted here that I am a terrible swimmer. About 75% of the way there I gave up and let myself get pulled back to the beach where we played with Rufus, attempted cartwheels, and climbed on some rocks before we started the hike back.

It was pretty much the same as the way there except for an extra steep part that Siri found as an alternative way down the cliff. Rufus followed us the whole way, Mari’s camera survived in one piece, and Siri and I even got our flip flops back.

In other news I was an extra in an Ecuadorian indy film. I was standing outside a gringo bar when some kids I had partied with during Carnival asked me if I wanted to drink free beer and get paid to be in a movie with the only catch being we would shoot until 3am. I’ll try anything twice so I agreed and we headed over to loosely organized set. Around 6am we were finally released, given $7 and a sandwich and thanked for our time, sans (or “sin”) any free beer. Oh well, it was a new experience and in about a year you’ll be able to see my haggard mug in “Tenemos Que Hablar.” Check it out.

Pictures are posted at TheMusingsOfMattHayes.blogspot.com

Clash at Clairemont 5 was a huge success! It took a lot planning and hard work, but it was all well worth it. The whole event itself was a wonderful reminder of the role skateboarding has played in my life. It’s amazing to think that a piece of wood and 4 little wheels got me through adolescence, my teen years, and are continuing this journey with me into my 20′s. I thought skateboarding was going to get put on the back burner when I left for college to study finance. However, working at BambooSK8 and being at the Clash event really put skateboarding into perspective for me. In a more recent change of plans, I’ve been searching for future employment in California’s Bay Area. Finance jobs are great but i’m hoping there will be a spot for me in action sports somewhere. Especially SF’s rich skateboarding history. It would be epic to be a part of that.

In the meantime, I sell environmentally conscious skateboards to people and get to watch their faces light up with excitement. I absolutely love it.

Crazy week. Clash was super fun, it really was amazing to see so many people walking around with BambooSK8 decks, Geoff said it’d be like 1 in 3 and it was darn close to that. Big ups to everybody for getting after it! I had fun filming the event, the helmet cam footy from Jeff Wright is way sick. Special thanks to the dudes at GoPro for making that happen. I also enjoyed sticking up BambooSK8 stickers everywhere. I’ll be busy making edits for all the fun-ness. I’m stoked that the Skatepark Tour is starting to take form, I’ll be working like crazy to get that going and legit. Mark your calenders for April 2nd, Laguna Niguel Skatepark. It’s going down! More dates to follow. Other then that I’m just trying to keep Facebook and Twitter going strong, be sure to watch for all the interns’ fun sticker placement tweets!

Learning day by day trying to make the most out of everything without being too annoying or in the way.

Jah Bless.

I had one heck of a crazy night last night. It started off innocently enough, Just work (I work at an Italian restaurant) and we were dead slow because of the holiday. My friends came in after indulging in a few beverages at the Irish pub next door. Once I got off work I met up with them and seeing as it was my best friends birthday(his name is Patrick, no joke), we got some drinks in.

I was having a good time, seeing random people I hadn’t seen in ages, then a fight broke out. I know the owners of the pub and being the good person that I am, I decided to break it up. This fight happened to between 2 rather large ladies. When I was separating them, one

of them turned on me and started kicking and screaming that I punched her or something. Someone else was holding her back, but then the chick started pulling my hair! Maybe its an omen to cut my hair, I dunno. I got them kicked out and the owner bought be a beer and I figured everything would be all good. Then I went to use the restroom and outside the back door the same chick is yelling that she is “going to F*** me up”. It was pretty comical.

The rest of the night was full of bar hopping and good times. Hoping the clash will be the same!

Irish you a Happy St. Patrick‘s Day!

(Stupid, I know- I’M SORRY!)

I’m really looking forward to attending the Clash @ Clairemont this Saturday!!  I just pray that I feel better- this is not the best week to get sick! So I’m pretty excited because I will be assisting Lindsay with her PR duties – she does an awesome job, so I’m excited to learn some of her tricks! We are also hoping to get some clothing brands on board to help them possibly move into the action sport industry – maybe get them their own special board or something! Next week I should be receiving our photos for the new website, the photographer is really talented, so I’m stoked to see what he has for us! Once we get the images, the rest should just fall into place. This weekend I’ll be juggling a bunch of different things, but one of them is our midterm! Wish us all luck!!

SKATE GREEN!!

Happy St. Patty’s Day!

The students at the Oasis Skateboard Factory are cruising along with their designs. They sent us some updated photos of their progress. These things keep getting better and better the farther along they get. We should be seeing the final products soon. Stay tuned!

Also, as you’ve probably noticed in the posts below, we’re going to be at the Clash at Clairmont event this Saturday, March 18th. Come stop by our booth and pick up a limited edition, BambooSK8 exclusive Clash at Clairemont BambooSK8 deck. Our main man, Geoff Koboldt, will be on NBC San Diego, at 6:45 AM on the 18th talking about the event; set your DVRs.

There continues to be a whole lot of hard work going on during internship here at BambooSK8. I’ve been learning a lot about how to manage my time, improve my work habits, and what it takes to be a more competitive individual in the business world. We are more than halfway through, but I’m taking a lot with me when I leave.

Green: a color in the rainbow, beer and most beverages on St. Patrick’s Day, our business practices here at BambooSK8 and the money we’re hoping to bring in for charitable donations.  Boy that’s a lot of green!

BambooSK8 will be donating a portion of deck sales to the Red Cross in response to the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan. Coincidentally, we have a graphic based on a 19th century tsunami painting by Japanese artist Katsushita Hokusai. We thought it only fitting to donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this deck. This charitable effort is in addition to the proceeds given to the YMCA and Grind for Life from the deck sales of our exclusive, limited-edition Clash at Clairemont V deck.  The deck will be available at the BambooSK8 booth in the vendor village at the Clash at Clairemont V this Saturday, March 19, 2011.

BambooSK8 fans can get a sneak peak at the exclusive decks and Clash events on Friday, March 18, 2011, but there is a small catch.  If you want to see the BambooSK8 goodness turn your T.V. to channel 7/39, NBC San Diego, at 6:45 AM. Ouch that’s early, but that’s Bamboo love!

For any who plan to come out and join us at the Clash be sure that you follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/bamboosk8.  We will be tweeting the clues to FREE decks hidden around the event!

So that’s all the fun stuff!  Unfortunately, if you want to play hard you have to work hard meaning our mid-term is due this week. Booo! No one likes a test, but to be honest this mid-term covers some necessary business info.  No matter what position you hold in a business the end point is to increase profits.  If I can pass this midterm, I’ll be able to proudly announce that I understand the basics of running a business, which is huge for a more right-brained person.  Good luck to me!!

In another attempt to make me a well rounded employee, I’ve been taking myself though the rigors of judging and being judged.  Well maybe “judging” isn’t the right word, let’s say evaluating.  One of our assignments is to rate ourselves in a variety of categories all relating to how we operate in the work place. Another assignment is to rate our fellow interns and their performance thus far in the internship.  Maybe you can see how the word “judge” arises.  That was the lesson to learn though; throughout all of it you are not judging yourself or anyone else.  The point is to learn how to take a realistic look at yourself and how to graciously receive feedback from others around you.  Neither of those is an easy task, but they’re necessary now and will be throughout the rest of my career.

You can check out my personal blog at TheMusingsOfMattHayes.blogspot.com

I thought I’d take some time to write some about what its like to live, work, and play in a sleepy coastal town in Ecuador. The culture, the economy, the infrastructure and little snippets of how life rolls along down here. But mother nature had other plans…

I was awoken this morning by a rapping on my door. Not a knock, but a rap, something that makes one bolt upright and wonder what’s going on even before getting pants on. One of the other tenants of the hostel told me in a slow southern draw that there had been a massive earthquake in Japan and the coastlines of Ecuador were being evacuated. I went down stairs and talked to a few people – some of the locals were leaving, some weren’t, same with the gringos. I opted to stay noting that there was a big cliff behind us that I hoped I could climb if things got sketchy, and internet so I could check how the wave was progressing.

I booted up my computer and started doing research. Its incredibly hard to find information on tsunamis in Ecuador – Ecuador doesn’t even have its own wave buoy. I did find out that the president had issued a state of emergency and evacuated all of the coastline. We started seeing policia roll towards town in their pickup trucks and motorcycles. The cleaning lady showed up and dismissed the threat of a tsunami on seemingly no evidence. I woke up the last tenants and told them in broken Spanish that there was an earthquake in Japan and a possible tsunami. They dismissed it too with the same logic as the cleaning lady. I packed up all my stuff so it could be thrown in the truck in short notice, and then I moved other people’s valuables from the first floor to a locked room on the second. The water was the first danger, but we heard looting was close behind if we left the property.

I got back on the computer and started talking to friends in California and looking for signs of how big the wave would be. At this point I remembered that all of my belongings in California are packed into my car which is parked 6 blocks from the ocean at about 10 feet of elevation. I became less concerned for my immediate well being and more so for my stuff stashed in San Diego. The time for the wave to hit southern California came and went with no major news coverage, and then a friend told me it was a non-event, so I was relieved my stuff was safe.

I did some normal work around the hostel until about 5:00 when I went into town to find out if I was supposed to work at the restaurant. Instead of walking along the beach like usual I decided to take the most rickety, thrashed bike I have ever ridden along the road. Both wheels are severely bent, the derailleurs are rusted in place, the brakes are old style U-brakes that don’t work, and one of the pedals is completely broken, but when I pushed down on the pedals it was transferred to forward momentum so guess that counts as a bike. When I got to town it was completely deserted. There were some kids kicking a ball around in the street, and a couple groups of adults gathered around a few TV sets, but for the most part the town was abandoned. I was passed by a police pick up truck, and then two more on a motorcycle. The “passenger” on the motorcycle was carrying an automatic AK style gun in case looting started. I rode along the beach and all the businesses were closed. The only place that had any movement was Hotel Bambu. There were about 10 locals hanging out watching CNN in Spanish so I ordered a beer and joined them, picking up what I could from the conversations. When the police drove by one of the employees quickly took my beer from the table and put it on the bench next to me. Apparently all businesses were ordered to be closed and selling a beer could get them in a lot of trouble.

After about an hour I rode back to the hostel. No where else in the world had gotten a major tsunami and we were feeling pretty good. We started cooking some dinner just as we got a phone call that the Galapagos were expecting a 6 meter wave in about half an hour. 6 meters is huge, and we were suddenly questioning if we should be staying. There’s a shell of a hotel on the cliff overlooking the town and we heard that most of the expats in town were up there having a party. I moved everything from the second floor to the third, put a jug of water and a case of beer in the back of our 1970’s Land Cruiser, threw some backpacks and our dinner in, and we drove up the 4×4 road to join them.

It was totally dark by this point so there wasn’t much to be seen even if a tsunami did hit but at least we were safe. We ate our dinner of kinda spaghetti sauce / kinda chili and talked to some people who were walking around. One of the locals had set up a TV in the back of their van and we were watching a blurry CNN cover the events of the day. The more I watched it the more I felt we were probably fine. The hotel had electricity so lights were on, and different families and groups of friends had claimed different rooms making it almost seem as if it was a functioning business. When I looked closer though I saw that each room was basically a concrete square resembling more of a jail cell then a hotel. There were no doors or windows anywhere, just the holes where they were supposed to go, and there were raw ends of rebar sticking out of the concrete everywhere. One family even had a roaring fire in their “room” for a bit of extra light and to keep the mosquitoes away.

We decided we were probably safe and drove back. I was feeling fine until I had to go to the kitchen on the ground floor to make my dinner. Something about the darkness, the proximity to the ocean, and knowing that a wall of water was “supposed” to be on it way really freaked me out. I would walk down, stir the pasta, and immediately return to the second floor. Walk down, stir it again, and back to the second floor. The whole time I was listening intently for the sound of a big wave, but it was high tide and the hostel is 200 feet from the water so every wave sounds big. I went upstairs to eat and continued listening for signs that water was coming. Before a tsunami hits it draws all the water out so any time I didn’t hear a wave crash for a long time I thought maybe a wave was coming, and any time I heard a crash I thought maybe it was the big one. It was completely ridiculous and I was just freaking myself out but news in Ecuador is not like it is in California. There’s no warning systems, there’s minimal communication between towns, there’s no merchant ships w/ radios or helicopters to monitor the seas, there’s no building codes so no one knows if the house is safe or not – its hard to convey but the lack of information made for a very tense and stressful situation.

Our night guard didn’t show up either which makes sense but apparently natural disasters, or at least the threat of one, is a time of robbing and looting. I finally went to sleep but I was having night mares of getting robbed, and of a tsunami hitting, and even of ghosts which was really weird. I couldn’t believe how stressed out I was about the situation considering last time there was a tsunami warning in California I didn’t change my day’s plans at all. Part of it was being in somewhere foreign and part of it was how little of a warning system Ecuador has, but those two things together made for a very light night of sleep.

The next morning I walked down to the beach and saw that at least one wave had made it an extra 5-6 meters inland than any I’ve seen in the past two weeks, but that doesn’t count as much. And then I had one of my best surf sessions ever.

You can check out my personal blog at TheMusingsOfMattHayes.blogspot.com.

>>Originally published March 10, 2011<<

I’m in Canoa now, enjoying the small, rural beach side town w/ a decent surf break and a community of ex-pats from around the world. The town is about 9 square blocks with a normal population of about 700 and one paved road running perpendicular to the beach. Most of the nicer hostels and many of the gringo owned businesses are on the beachfront street. Though it’s the main commercial street its not paved and honestly the packed sand seems to do just fine.

However, this weekend was Carnival, and even though Rio de Janeiro and some other cities get the majority of attention for this holiday all of South America goes completely mental for the event. Canoa was expected to see 40-50,000 people over the weekend all looking to dance and drink on minimal sleep. The following is a recount of my Sunday night.

It started out innocent enough. I went to the restaurant where I’m working to see if they were going to be open or not. Since we had lost power 9 times the night before and ended up cooking for a party of 16 by candlelight, they decided it wasn’t worth the hassle and didn’t open. I struck out to find the gringos figuring they’d be at one of a handful of places. I met up with Colm and Damien, two Irish lads, walking down the street who showed me where everyone was.

We sat in the front room of a hostel mixing half and half rum and cokes and introducing ourselves to everyone else. Our crew of about 15 represented Sweden, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, the States, Ireland, Germany, and Holland and conversations were going in different languages depending who was or wasn’t paying attention. The owner of the hostel was hesitant at first but eventually joined with our party while the rest of his family looked on with reservations. It quickly got too hot in the room and soon we all picked up chairs and moved the party out into the street facing the beach. There were people walking up and down, cars w/ sound systems worth more than the vehicle driving by, and two stages and three bars all trying to play their music louder than the rest. The car with the biggest sound system lit by blue LEDs parked across the street from us so we took turns walking over and making fools of ourselves trying to dance to reggaeton and salsa while screaming broken Spanish introductions over the noise. Pitbull owned the music scene this year with Bon Bon and Maltido Alcohol, both of which seemed to be on repeat. When the rum was depleted we struck out looking for whatever was next.

We stopped at a bar next to the Surf Shack and somehow two Irish (Colm and Dave), the Kiwi (Jack), and myself got separated from the rest. As we were walking down the street to try to find them a double-decker party bus inched past us attempting to make it though the crowds of people in the streets. There was a dance party on top and that was all the reason me and Jack needed to scale the outside of a moving bus. Colm and Dave took a slightly more conventional route but managed to meet us on the roof shortly thereafter where our dance party was intermittently disturbed by low hanging power lines. Near the edge of town the driver announced he was going to Bahia, a town 40 minutes away, where we had no intentions of going. We quickly scrambled off the back of the bus (there was a ladder this time) and hopped down before the bus took off.

Walking back down the main street the Irish got separated. In an effort to find them Jack and I walked to their hostel where we found the couple they were traveling with had 1) passed out early, 2) left the door open, and 3) left shaving cream in plain sight. Either one of those, or maybe even two, would have been fine, but the trifecta didn’t work out well for them. As Damien convinced us to leave, 3 girls from Guayaquil walked up to the door and introduced themselves. They were staying in the same hostel and had to wake up their friend before we could go back out. I don’t know if every room in that hostel is small, poorly lit, and smells like 4 people have been partying constantly, or if that was just the case for the Irish and these girls, but either way we left there as soon as we could. The girls barely spoke any English but alcohol consumption had put me at that perfect equilibrium where confidence is boosted but ability isn’t diminished too much so I was speaking Spanish like a rockstar. We walked down the beach front road until we found an adequately loud street party and danced there. I left for the bathroom and as I returned I simultaneously ran into Jack and met two people who introduced themselves w/ their names followed by “estamos trans!” (Spanish for “we’re trans sexuals). I don’t understand why people introduce themselves with “Hi, I’m (name) and I am (whatever)” because that whatever is usually their job or sexuality. Neither of those are small talk topics, and in Spanish they’re way above my vocabulary.

So we left. We lost the girls we were dancing with and walked all the way south on the beach front road looking for the Swedes and the rest of the gringos. Finally deciding to turn back, we saw the car with the blue LEDs and huge system we had been dancing with at the beginning of the night pull up. Their trunk was open so we jumped in and they drove us all the way back to the center of town, music blasting, picking their way through the massive crowds.

At this point we grabbed some street food which Jack professed was the best he’d ever eaten in an effort to get me to stop being picky. I still don’t believe him, but it was ok for the moment. We walked all the way up the main street looking for our friends and all the way back down. It was pretty uneventful until one block away from giving up we found them down a side road. We ventured into an improvised building doubling as a dance club and danced there until it closed.

Back out in the street there were local teenage surf pros playing on a balance board consisting of a piece of plywood sitting on a piece of cement that had been formed in a 2 liter coke bottle. I was pretty good at this at the Fruita Fat Tire festival a few years back so I took another shot. I was at least more successful than Jack, who took a running start at it and nearly landed on his head. I was speaking Spanish with more confidence than I have for most of the trip and dancing and having a great time. I met 3 new Americans and hung out with them for a bit before deciding to call it a night.

The streets were still busy, the music was still bumping, but I was done so I made my way back. After a short walk I arrived home and checked the time, deciding 5am is a good time to fall asleep. This is Carnival – people keep that pace for 5 or 6 nights in a row. And the next morning people are on the beach at 7. I doubt it’s the same people as those we saw at 5 but it could be because music is going at least 22 hours a day if not 23, there’s food and street vendors everywhere, and it would almost make more sense to go to sleep on the beach than to try and find a hotel when a town that usually houses less than 1000 people is suddenly inundated with 40,000.

Busy, Busy!! It’s week eight and things are cookin’!  The Clash at Clairemont V is right around the corner, Satuday, March 19th.  The Clash is going to be sick, great skaters all out for a great cause!  Both the YMCA and Grind for Life Inc. Cancer Charity will be benefiting from this event.  We’ll have our AM, Flow and Pro team riders competing in bowl, street and vert challenges throughout the day. BambooSK8 is going to rock the vendor village with our booth, boards and ‘green’ charm!

We’re also working on a handful of community outreach projects, which I think are a must for any business.  Personally I think that if the community you operate out of doesn’t like you, chances are you won’t last long.  So BambooSK8 is making some plans to be out and about in Oceanside.  More details to come!

As usual time is still flying and as you may gather from the title, there is a lot of work to be done.  It’s hard not to get anxious at times, but keeping a clear list helps me stay focused.  I do the best I can, ask for help when I need it and usually I am able to get everything done.  In order to be successful in this internship organization, prioritizing and communicating have been key!  All of those are great skills to have in life so I am thankful for the chance to tune those skills.

Alright y’all, it’s time to blow the Friday night work whistle.  I am outta here!  Have a great weekend!

EVENT SCHEDULE

10:00   Gates Open

10:30    Best Trick Practice

11:30     AM Best Trick

12:00     Vert Demo

1:00        Pro Street Demo

1:30        Audible Mainframe

2:00        Autographs

3:30        Bowl Best Trick

4:00        Agent Orange

6:00       Gates Close

It’s interesting how the internship has evolved for me. I continue to learn new things every day that prepares me for the real world. I’m learning what my strengths and weaknesses are and how to improve upon them. I’m especially looking forward to the Clash at Claremont even on March 19. This will be our first big event since I’ve been here and I’m stoked to meet a bunch of new skaters. It will be an awesome event and it goes to a great cause.

This past week we updated a lot of documents and me realize how fast these 8 weeks have flown by. It’s great to reflect on where you were when the internship started and where you can be if you make the most of it. It makes you realize that you have to put in a lot of effort to see results.

On the surf front, its been pretty bleak. There hasn’t been much swell lately so you gotta be on it when its on. Got a little surf sesh in this morning and hopefully there will be more to come.

In case you live under a rock, St. Patty’s day is in a couple weeks. Get ready for green beverages and tons of debauchery

Check us making moves...

The hottest news on the Intern Blog right now is that Geoff C and myself are moguling up this weekend in HB at the Berrics photoshoot at DC. Nbd. Don’t worry that later this month we’ll be skating the Berrics and having a pizza party. Don’t hate cause you ain’t…

Other than that we’re still going hard. Just dropped the first installment of Trick Tips with Geoff C last Sunday. I’m, ok, the whole world, is anxiously waiting for the next installment to hit. There are also some rumblings that Geoff C is going to be doing some skating at the Clash of Clairemont Five March 19th so I’m excited to see how that pans out.

I’m trying to get this skatepark tour handled. It’s proving far more difficult than I anticipated but I’m gonna be hitting that obstacle in Beast mode so it’ll get sorted out this week. We’ll keep the movies flowing as long as our river of footy doesn’t try up. I’m trying to get ahold of the GoPro BacPac LCD but it’s proving harder to do than control Charlie Sheen. (Thanks Gerard)

Oh and Matt Hayes, I spent two years knee deep in the streets of Ecuador so if you need some connects or info or anything don’t hesitate to ask. It has been a bit since I was last there but I still got mad homies and let’s be honest it surely hasn’t changed too much. Enjoy it my man cause it’s a pretty amazing place and people. Oh, but be careful cause it can get gnarly mad quick.

This internship continues to be one amazing experience. I’m loving my work and feeling more grateful every single day for the opportunity to be involved with something I feel so passionately about. I’ve received such a great response for all the hard work I’ve been putting into Hookit and it gives me great satisfaction. We’re launching a new Featured Rider segment and our “Envy Us” sustainability contest today, so be on the lookout. We’re also preparing for the Clash at Clairemont which is coming up on the 19th. We’re going to make our presence known and get these kids on our boards! Lastly, I am very happy to announce that my good friend Rob T will be assisting BambooSK8 in creating a fresh, new layout that everyone will be stoked on.

skate hard, skate green.

Have a wonderful day.

- Geoff C

Week eight down.  I’ve been hearing good things coming out of Toronto as students at the Oasis Skateboard Factory started putting paint to bamboo. More schools should have classes like this.  It is probably because I’ve been working a lot with the design stuff here and I am interested in graphic design that this has been so interesting.  I put a lot of effort into trying to give the students positive and useful feedback for their designs; It’s great to see the process of how these students formulate their concepts and then hone an original deck out of it.

Can’t wait to see more from them.

Also, I did a layout for Empire Snow and Skates new Vader deck.  Looks super sick, so keep your eyes open for that coming soon.

BambooSk8 is also sponsoring the Clash at Clairemont coming up in two weeks (March 19th).  So, check it out, get down there, and support a good cause.

Hello there…

Doesn’t that look bomb?! ^

(sorry if your on a diet)

Anyways, on to something more exciting than a dripping ice cream cone! This week is crazy busy! It’s week 8, which means lots of assignments due this week or some may say HALF WAY DONE!

It’s kind of crazy how quickly 8 weeks flies by, I’m really lucky to have found an internship that will actually encourage me to learn and put my hands into a bunch of different projects. I’ve heard of so many internships that pose as one thing, but then basically just require office work out of you with no actual work experience to show for afterward. I know that even at week 8, I’ve gained valuable experience and I’m so thankful for it.

This week I’ve been brainstorming like crazy to find a unique style we can go with for the website. Dana (our graphic designer at BambooSK8/BambooBuddy) and I had a blast sketching out our ideas on the whiteboard. I’m currently putting together a PowerPoint to show Geoff K the direction we chose to take the website. I’m really excited to get the ball rolling, it’s going to take lots of work!

Aside from the website, I’ve been communicating with some of the kids at OSF who have started designing their BambooSK8 decks with an eco-conscious concept.  Here’s a picture of some of their work:

Uhh super RAD! Right?!

Last week, we all got a new batch of Hook’it kids. This group is serious about their sponsorship which is freakin awesome! See what I mean…

avery suarez

Alright, that’s it for now! Next time you hear from me… I’m going to be a twenty – fo! haha

I want that ice cream up top for my birthday!