Skating Venice at Night

Amazing night time shot of Venice, by photographer Naveen Jamal.

Venice - No Skateboarding?

Really now??? A couple of weeks ago I went looking for any signs that prohibited skateboarding on the Venice boardwalk. A funny moment of me "looking for the signs"... I didn't find any. This photo was originally posted online in December 2005. My guess is that the local skateboarding community lobbied to remove these signs... or they simply took 'um down themselves. Come to think of it, I did lock my bike to a signless signpost that day someone special got a tattoo.

Originally uploaded by jesusskateboarding.com

Rodney Mullen in Venice

Donchian turns me and Camille on to Rodney Mullen and his skateboarding wizardry. Have never seen this level of prodigious precision combined with absolute grace.

Yonibang Skates Los Angeles

Master Yonibang from Israel takes to the pavement on a recent trip to Los Angeles, the birthplace of skateboarding. Hip hop in Hebrew; I can dig it.

Skating as transport - Maiden voyage

So Kristin and I went to dinner the other night; that chicken place on Lincoln. I skated the sidewalk, she rolled the street and couldn't keep up with me. We must have been an interesting couple when we got to the restaurant; me sweaty in cargo shorts, Kris looking oh so cute, my board inverted on a table as we ordered.

Afterward, we went to Smart & Final where I discovered the grace of newly paved asphalt. Beginning skater on virgin pavement with a 2% grade. Nicely accomplished many loops in that parking lot.

We needed cigarettes, so skated and rolled toward Rose Avenue. Passed a corner storefront (on Flower I believe) called Supplemental Organic Solutions (SOS). Vitamin store I'm thinking. Well I was wrong. This hybrid business carved out of someone's deep pocket was a combination skate shop, museum, music studio, custom high end sneaker store and future cannabis club. Kris and I studied all the warnings on the front door and started to move along. "No cameras allowed; turn off your cell phone, etc." Two guys appeared at the entrance and invited us in. We met Alfred and his business partner and heard their pitch. Interesting place to say the least.

Have a feeling I will skate there in the future.

Robert

3 Skateboard Designs

I found this image by illustrator Sean Tubridy at Flickr. These are design renderings for a series of skateboards. Looks to me like the band-aids I will be needing as a beginning skater. Nice work Sean.

Thanksgiving skate with my nephew

My nephew David showing me a few basic maneuvers on Thanksgiving. We had about an hour of daylight so drove to his elementary school and skated the ramps and playground. Hardly any stairs at that school; all the elevations are ramped. Wow, I love accessibility design.

Robert