CITYBLIGHTS

VOL. 2

“Whoever after due and proper warning

shall be heard to utter the abominable

word “Frisco”, which has no linguistic or

other warrant, shall be deemed guilty

of a High Misdemeanor, and shall pay

into the Imperial Treasury as penalty

the sum of twenty-five dollars.”

-Emperor Norton I, eighteen seventy two

Emperor of the United States

and Protector of Mexico

This page: Stefan of Team Mids slides an iconic hairpin as the art of Yvonne “Ti-ger Lilly” Byers looms over the city. Front cover: John “The Gloveless” Bridenbeck gets backside way under a work truck at a Sunset Sliders favorite in the Richmond.

Nothing is permanent. Wheels get cored, trucks ground down, boards lose pop and eventually crack and snap

under the prodigious punishment forced upon them. Many have turned to finding a place in the “longboard” industry just to keep their however fleeting passion in sight. Oth-ers have effectively fallen by the wayside, no longer rele-vant in the grand scheme of their ever evolving passion. Here, value trumps virtue and the ever present neon glow of the Helvetica-laden advertisements rarely allow our ret-inas respite. Rise against these manufactured desires and you’re called a heretic, blaspheming against the almighty dollar. We tend to seek solutions to these blights by relin-quishing all control and allowing the white noise of popular culture wash us clean and render us prematurely senile. A far more constructive rebellion, however, is to find your-self on top of a mountain; discovering the possibilities of life on the way down. No two rides are alike, unique like individual snowflakes, or people, or any other cliche expression for auton-omous identification. Even in attempting to replicate the pre-vious run will result in variation - sometimes by inches, some-times a mile. The possibilities of the descent are endless, mostly because we feel unencumbered by the necessity of flashy tricks and death defying stunts. Our stunts may appear to defy death, but are the result of years of careful and calculated progression. Fame is not something we seek, nor are we looking to pre-serve some romantic ideal of an outlaw lifestyle. We often inad-vertently become locally infamous - our fleeting presence being somewhat of an anomaly. We utilize the tools of our trade to re-purpose the inclines and embankments of the city to our me-chanical advantage, grasping at straws to preserve our lifestyle, however unsustainable.

We take to the streets, by hook or by crook, co-existing in a parallel universe with the rest of society’s functions.

We see everything in a different manner: each curve of the road, wave of the pavement and drop of the driveway speaks to us in a language more ancient than skateboards, or roads, or even words themselves. We take in the urban scenery, the patterns of buses and graffiti strewn haphazardly throughout the city, things that often escape the perception of most. The graffito’s exist on a similar wavelength as us skateboarders - subverting the established paradigm dominant in our society in pursuit of something more. In the most pure form of art, it is not what you create, but rather the process of doing that should be rewarding. All art, like life, has an inherent impermanence that persists

despite our relentless pursuit for some notion of immortality. Sometimes we steal through the night, tiptoeing around author-ity and certain death like ninjas. Other times you can find us at high-noon, cresting the hill with throats aholler, like the more brazen pirate. Both outlaws in their own right, hoping there is more to find in more life than reproduction and death. Not seek-ing immortality but rather, accepting the impermanence of every situation, embracing it, and venturing into uncharted waters. The theme of this magazine is not meant to be a despondent

one, but a siren song of hope. Listen to any talking-head on TV or rabble rousing preacher in the street and soon you’ll have your head full of notions of impending doom. To the contrary, we will attempt to reinstill a faith in humanity’s goodness, or, failing that, at least a sense of confidence. Because no matter how much we fuck up, we’re still here. So we must be doing something right.

This is City Blights, Volume 2David Hiltbrand, Editor in Chief

This page: Chad Lybrand throws a signature sitdown starfish slide. Previous page: Chad, Tryan “Tryin” George and Stefan Snyder got up way too early, braving cold and fog. Early bruce gets the worm.

midslids, better than nothing

For some reason, despite the world class hills, amazing skateboard-ers and Mediterranean climate, Santa Barbara never had a huge

skate scene, probably because so many companies are based out of the area and the pro’s like to keep their home hills in the pocket for me-dia. That seems to be changing, however, with a new crop of shred-ders attending UCSB and Tom Flinchbaugh taking the organizational helm on Santa Barbara’s first legal race (the event had been an outlaw race for the last few years). The run is flowy and technical, while not requiring much braking, meaning there was many drafting and pass-ing opportunities, some racers choosing to go leathered up with aero lids aplenty, others rolled the dice in shorts and t-shirts. Coupled with pristine scenery of the Santa Yenez Mountains to your left and the city of Santa Barbara and Pacific Ocean to your right, and you have a near perfect race setting. PDX veteran turned Santa Barbara transplant JP Rowan lent the event his “race every position” format, ensuring everyone kept skating well after they would have been eliminated in a single elimination race. This was a prime exam-ple of an “independent” race run right, and this writer, for one, looks forward to seeing more organizers ditch the IDF sanctions to run a permitted race their way.

This page: Ari “The Shark” Chasmandy shows off his fancy head fairing and large *achem* weelbase. Note the slalom board in front: the ridge road’s winding curves meant that proper wedging and tactical air breaking can be very effective, even without leathers.

This page: Pete Eubank goes around the outside of Jesse “Pepper” Breiman, with Daniel Engel in hot pursuit. Previous page: Norm “MIDSLORD” Plante and others avoid carnage at the final dirt cor-ner; Tryan “Tryin” George is not so lucky.

This page: Sam Hay almost loses it during the buttboard skitch back up to the top. Previous page: Rachel “Bagels” Bruskoff has smiles for miles as she chases Nigel Bess and a K-Rimes copycat on the way down the run.

There was only one place to pass on the otherwise single lane Boardercross course this year, and Michael “MC Arson” Carson goes for it, taking the low line on Will “Bill Rice” Royce in the semi’s. Carson made the pass but couldn’t make it stick as he shot into the next ramp with way too much speed and crashed, allowing Royce to advance to the finals.

What started out as a humble slide jam on the most mediocre of slalom hills has become the forefront of obstacle informed

downhill skateboard racing. This is the 5th annual Muirskate Downhill Disco, and in that time many other events have popped up as a result of more and more people becoming disillusioned with the effort it takes to compete in downhill longboard races. The costs of racing are huge - custom leathers, full face helmet, as many sets of fresh wheels as you can get your hands on, gas money and time to practice their craft - only a few minutes a run before the long drive (or longer walk) back up the hill. Of course, all this ambition is highly predicated upon having fast, technical local hills to rally in the first place. Boardercross and freeriding, however, require only a semi-steep pitch of asphalt and some homemade ramps, or perhaps access to a well-poured, flowy skatepark (which tends to be easier to find than downhill runs these days anyway), making it much more accessible to the pocket-book of the industry: groms. The average downhill race turns out 150-250 racers, usually requiring four full size U-Hauls to tirelessly climb and descend the hill all day to make sure everyone gets their runs in. The race organization itself tends to be smooth, as most organizers are racers themselves, but communication to the specta-tors tends to be poor, so nobody knows what’s going on and weath-er those are the semi’s going by or if we’re still in repechage.

At the Disco, it doesn’t really matter. With 500+ skateboarders taking over a 1/4 mile hill and at least as many lining the curbs

cheering and taking pictures, there’s always going to be cool shit to watch, regardless of what competition may or may not be happening at that moment. Like it or not, this is the future of downhill skate-boarding. The features are getting bigger, but also better designed and ultimately safer, and most of the competitors nowadays are well beyond the learning curve. For every skater that just wants to go fast and do one big slide - yes. Do that. However, freeriding is in no way a spectator sport, and neither is downhill racing, under today’s stan-dards. But if you have been scratching your head for about a decade, wondering when “street skating” and “longboarding” were going to come back together as simply “skateboarding”, look no further than the Downhill Disco leading the pack.

The Sliders Bus is a constant source of comfort and re-spite from the feverish pace of skating and partying with your entire adopted family for 72 hours straight. Chris McCall, Austin Graziano and Tomio Choy relax after a long Downhill Disco weekend as Sinjin Davis and Aaron “AFB” Grulich recline and catch some zzz’s.

This Page: Jamie Jacobson was one of the few riders on hard wheels hitting the ramp at full speed. Here he blasts a massive Ollie North in photographic turbulence. Next Page: Tyler “Towel” Howell takes one of his signature Miller Flips off the side of the big air ramp.

Normally held in late January, The Barrett Junction Out-law has made a name for itself as a racers race with no

sanctioning body, haybales or any sort of legitimacy. This race, held just a scant four miles north of the Mexican board-er, substitutes all the normal trappings of a technical, beauti-fully paved road and appropriately family friendly campsite with fire-jumping miscreants, questionable tattoos (#YOLO), asphalt with cracks big enough to swallow wheels or pucks whole, and La Migra looking on in amusement. Max Capps decided to throw a smaller one this year in November and called it Little Barrett. Only a dozen riders and a few photographers came out, but it still had its fair share of roadrash and quality racing. The outlaw also saw the advent of the “Children’s Tricycle” class, something which hopefully catches on and eventually replaces luge classes in IDF racing. Brandon Sanchez won the skateboard race and got third in Trikes, Michael Hinze and Drew Ed-wards got first and second, respectively.

This Page: Scott “El Beasto” Lembauch leads Brandon Sanchez and Michael Hinze through one of Barrett Junction’s many chundurous curves. Brandon was on the edge of traction, nearly crashing during this corner, but held on to make the pass for the win. Photo: Don Sheffler, California

This Page: Max Capps has been on the DL after knee surgery earlier this year. But despite that and a re-cent move to Flatsville, Indiana, he still manages to support the scene by throwing more races than most skaters attend in an entire season. Photo: Don Sheffler, California

Top: Michael Hinze (background) pass-es Drew Edwards (in Max’s leathers) to win the tricycle race. Bottom: Brandon Sanchez takes some time off four wheels to take some tricycle runs. Photos: Don Sheffler, California

This spread: Cody Yardwaste leads Rylan “Raggie” English and Jose Cortez down a run that has been skated for decades. Inside / Outside Previous Spread: Striker’s RV, The F-Bomb, parked here in the dead of night on the way back to Vancouver after a long week at the Maryhill Festival of Speed. This waterfall marks the summit of one of the most famous runs in the Pacific Northwest (pictured on this page).

File Photo/AP

things you should haveSalt & Pepper

Dry spices (“Italian mix”,

curry powder, etc...)

things you might haveTeriyaki Sauce

Cock Sauce

Sweet Chilli Sauce

Cooking Oil

Bay Leaves

Flour or starch

Food Stamps

shopping list10lbs Onions, yellow/white3 BIG cans of tomatoes, whole or crushed (whole is better) 3pack garlic, or a few huge bulbs5lb’s basmati rice or pasta or potatoes2 bags mixed frozen veggies3 cans beans

mix & matchMushrooms (button)Fresh CarrotsCanned ChilliCoconut MilkUnsweetened Condensed MilkCanned cornCanned Peas

tomato sauce

Oil

3 Tbsp

2 onions small dice

2 Tbsp Italian dry herbs

2 cans Tomatoes

½ - 1 bag Frozen Veggies

Salt Pepper to taste

A bunch of Pasta or Rice

Saute garlic and onions in a large pot on medium high heatAdd dry herbs after 30 seconds and cook until onions are translucentAdd tomatoes into pot and fill one can with water and add to the mix (scrape the bottom for the brown bits)Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmerReduce by ½Add veggiesSeason, check out what you gotAdd to pasta or next to a side of rice

suggested pairing:

gin and juice

40oz St. IdesGrapefruit JuiceTanqueray GinDrink 40 to the label, fill almost all the way up with Grapefruit, add 1 finger of Gin

creamy pasta sauce

4 Tbsp Oil

3 Tbsp Garlic

2 Onions

2 bay leaves

2 Tbsp Flour

2 cans Condensed

Milk

Salt/pepper to taste

suggested pairing

chelada

40oz King CobraClamato JuiceTabasco SauceDrink 40 to the labelFill with ClamatoAdd Tabasco to tasteRim with Sea Salt

Saute garlic, onions and bay leaves in a wide shallow pan (or whatever) until onions begin to go translucentAdd flour, and mix until flour is fully incorporated Cook momentarily, until the flour takes a bit of colourAdd condensed milk and bring to a simmerStir frequently since it can stickSeasonOnce its thick, it’s done

You can add veggies in with the on-ions, or save the sauce and add it to veggies later.* *Works great if you finish the pasta that you’re cooking IN the sauce. Add about ¼ cup of the pasta boiling water and the pasta when its ¾ done, and cook in the sauce until done)

curry sorta sauce

4 Tbsp Oil

3 Tbsp Garlic

2-3 Onions, Medium

Dice

Frozen/fresh Veggies

(amount is up to you)

2-3 Tbsp Curry Powder

1 Can tomatoes

1-2 Cans coconut milk

3 bay leaves

Salt/Pepper to taste

3 cups Rice

suggested pairing:

freezin’ beerlini

40oz Mickeys (ice cold)Orange Juice Slush Frozen Mixed Ber-riesFreeze OJ, rotating every 30 mins until slushy consistency (2-3 hours total)Drink 40 to the label, fill with juice, float in some frozen berries and garnish with fresh mint.

On medium heat in a large pot, saute garlic, onions, and veggies until onions are translucentAdd curry powder, cook until it sticks to the bottomAdd tomatoes and coconut milk, the tomato can full of wa-ter, and 3 bay leaves and season with salt and pepperAdd rice, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmerCook until rice is done, should now be thick and tasty*

*If you got sweet chilli or cock sauce this would be a good time to add to your heart’s desire

suggested pairing:

ol’ ginger

40oz Old EnglishGinger BeerDrink 40 to the label, fill (gently!) with Ginger Beer

poor man’s lazy chilli

½ C Tbsp oil

3 Tbsp Garlic

3 Onions

3 bay leaves

2-3 handfuls of frozen/

fresh veggies

2 Tbsp curry powder

1 Tbsp Italian Herbs

½ C Flour

2-3 Cans tomatoes

2 cans beans

2 cups rice

Salt and pepper

In a large pot saute garlic, on-ions, and bay leaves over medi-um high until onions are translu-centAdd veggies and spices and flour. Cook until the dry ingredients are fully coating the food and are browning on the bottom of the pan.Add tomatoes, beans, fill one tomato can with water and add it as wellAdd rice and bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer. Don’t forget to stir!Season with salt and pepperCook until rice is done, but 2-3 hours would be even betterTastes better in the morning, hungover or not.

F CK LOCAL GOODSIMPORT & CONQUER

This page: Troy “Turbo” Yardwaste leads a close pack of Vancouver riders through the first right. Behind him is Laine Jackart, Mike Yardwaste and Leo Sartor.

Every year around early August, a group of skaters from Vancouver B.C. throw the event to end all events, basically the Mecca of downhill

skateboarding. It boasts 13 hairpins over 3 miles of windy mountain road in full view of Lake Okanagan, the namesake of the region. This year, however, Giants Head Freeride was canceled a scant week before its start due to forest fire concerns, leaving hundreds of rabid skaters scrambling to get their money back and fill the week that many had gotten off work months previous. Bricin “Striker” Lyons decided not to forego his pre-viously planned retreat, traditionally climaxing in an afternoon float for miles down a party river, and make the 12 hour trek in his RV nicknamed the F-Bomb out to the Okanagan anyway for some quality lake time. As it turns out, local Daniel “Hippie Dan” Holdsworth knew an-other road close by with top speeds of 50+MPH, two sliding corners, and Jersey Barriers where there should be haybales, and decided to hold an outlaw race on it. If you’ve ever traveled in the F-Bomb before, you know there are only two rules: keep your shit organized or it goes out the win-dow, and spill a beer, drink a full beer out of your shoe (and clean up your mess!). Nothing got tossed this trip, but almost every single member of the crew slipped up and had to do a shoe at one point or another, with three down before we had even left the Greater Vancouver area. We also got to skate a previously untapped road, float down a river all afternoon, hang on a lake and see more stars than we thought possible. Overall, not a bad way to spend a weekend, even if we didn’t get to go to Mecca.

This page: Troy “Turbo” Yardwaste won the race and a 40oz Caraboo, which he tried to shoe, but promptly spewed. Photo - Misha Green. Next Page: Spill a beer, drink out of your shoe and clean up your mess. Everybody knows the rules; don’t follow them and it’s a long, long walk home. Photo #2 - Misha Green

This page: Mike Yardwaste leads the pack through the first corner into the 2nd straight. Next Page Top: No leathers doesn’t mean no tight racing. Local kid makes the pass going into the fast straight.

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• Non-Lethal manufacturing techniques • No child worker under 5 year old• Lowest wages in all Cambodia• Less than 60 fume related faintings a day

This page: Leo Sartor cruises through in front to win a tight grom final, closely followed by Sam Neville of Shit Hawks DH, Curtis Watts of Team Irene. Lukas Ziman was racing on scrubbed wheels, overdrifted the corner and had to settle for fourth, but he doesn’t look too bummed about it.

This page: Ben Dubril was showing off his trademark two-hands-down toeside drift to get third place in the race, but his freeride runs were strictly standup. Here he is coming into the last hairpin right, no skids in sight.

Salt Spring is a small island off the coast of B.C., about a two hour ferry ride from the mainland. It boasts a population of ten thousand or so,

and a population density of 149/sq mi. (San Francisco has 17,900/sq mi, for contrast). It’s your average small town with very few roads and even fewer locked doors, as everybody knows everybody. The island has been inhabited by natives for thousands of years, but became a refuge for Af-rican Americans escaping racial persecution in California in the 1860’s (and, 100 years later, a draft-dodging haven during the Vietnam era), and is now mostly a community of artists, authors and organic farmers. Nowadays it is also host to the Salt Spring Slasher, which is enter-ing its seventh consecutive year. While not the fastest or most imposing race, it boasts two rather formidable corners (both rights) and speeds of 50+mph, a free campsite on the top of the race course and a sweet party. A true racer’s race, it was started by Salt Spring locals Adrian English and Jude Wilhelmsen, who got permission from the residents on the hill, per-mits and insurance. A few years ago, English moved away to Saskatche-wan and the event was taken over by Jude, Alege Akolo, Max Kaye. It doesn’t have the numbers, nor the capacity of other major B.C. rac-es like Whistler or Britannia (Slasher brings in 50 people each year, most major races clock over 200), but that just translates to more runs with your friends - lots more. The race is held on Saturday, which means Friday night is relatively mellow, Saturday night is the rager and Sunday is free and clear for some bleary-eyed hangover runs, or maybe a dip in one of the island’s many lakes before a slow meander home. This year’s race was won by Tommy Watson, followed by Charlie Darragh and Québécois Ben Dubril. Leo Sartor took home gold in the grom (17 and under) final, and “Hollywood” Wes Sampson, ever the all-around-badass, went fishing the week before and brought enough fresh Salmon and Oysters to feed a small army. The party is always the forgotten treasure of most races (probably because most don’t remember it) and the Slasher is no exception, fueled in no small part by Canada’s fully requited love affair with Caraboo beer and Fireball. In the morning after the smoke had cleared, the impromptu city was packed up to the raucous rabbles of the remaining revelers, still perched atop high atop Switchback’s faithful steed, Bussy.

This page: Api Ihaia is a New Zealand-Canada transplant and more OG than you. Previous Page top: Third place finisher Ben Dubril takes a rest with a cold one to watch some freeriding. Previous Page Bottom: Wes “Hollywood” Sampson brought 20 fresh Salmon and a few hundred oysters for the grill, and Ian Russell handled the prep with style.

This page: Kurtis “Chim Snurt” Dawe hucks it sideways at around 45mph for the last corner as Danny “Can He?” Carlson hits the dirt. Previous page: Bricin “Striker” Lyons has been a fixture in the downhill community for 15 years, organizing races, announcing events and running the legendary COAST Longboarding crew. Here he is riling up the crowd, toeing his trademark line between “family friendly” and “borderline obscene” on the mic.