Early Grabbin'

A few weeks ago I went up to the Sequoia's for Skate Camp Family/Friends Weekend. Couldn't leave without getting a early morning, early grab session. Good times. Check out the HD VIDEO

HERE
Photo: Marc Falkenstien

It's gonna be a hot one today boys...

Got in my truck and this was the first thing I looked at. It's hotter than two rats screwin in a wool sock!!

Burn California Burn...

This is from my house in Long Beach, the area that's burning is around 60 miles from my front door. It looks as if a volcano is erupting.

Tools of the trade...

Ice for the cooler

Honest Tea hooks it up...

HONEST TEA Hooked it up again.

Chips and Clips

We got a winner...

$10Clams

Straight Waxin'

Darrell preps the ledge for a serious beating. Even though it was 101° today Darrell still put down his trick.

Darrell Stanton Quote of the day...

"Sometimes when I'm out filming I feel like I'm just a slave to the camera"

Nobody knows what nose knows...

I once had a MADRID BRYCE KANIGHTS board that I rode till the nose looked like this, and I still had 2 months to go before Christmas. So when I saw this kids board I had to give him a new one.

Spread the love...

I remember when I would see pro's sell boards to kids like this, dude you get them for free. Spread the love.
This kid was siked. Free board and Grip, just for being at the right place at the right time.

Sweet Tea...

Spicy Chicken Sandwich with American cheese, large fry, and Sweet Tea. Chick-Fil-A rules.

?

Why?

Ever wanted to take a history class in skateboarding...

Well this school basically has a history book of skate stickers in its lockers.
While leaving this school Chad and I started going through these lockers and well you'll be surprised at some of the classic stickers we found.

Fuct...

Great pants early 90's

Jeff Kendall is Tight...

Looking through these lockers was like stepping into a time warp.
Found this one and it made me think of JEFF KENDALL'S PART in Wheels of Fire..

2 Stickers, 3 Memories...

When Chad found these I almost crapped my pants.
3 things about these stickers that bring back memories.
1. This was the very first legit skateboard I had, Schmitt Stix Joe Lopes.
2. I always wanted Vision Street Wear gear, but my mom couldn't afford it.
3. I put up a sticker like this Vision one at my school in Florida on the last day of school, and the last time I checked it was still there.

I once was in Paul Schmitt's office about 8 years ago and he had a Joe Lopes board like this hanging on his wall. I then proceeded to ask him if he would give it to me, because it was the very first real skateboard I owned. He said No.

I love Heavy Metal, You Suck!!

DVS "Skate & Create" MINI SITE...

My buddies that work over at DVS have launched their very own Skate & Create MINI SITE featuring all kinds of special features. My favorite is SAME EDIT. DIFFERENT CAMERA

Check out the film
HERE
Amazing Cinematography!

Old Man Winter...

Another great photo from my Dad. I take it he didn't ride his bike much in the winter.

Not sure...

I can't remember if I posted this or not, even if I did, who cares.
This is the house I grew up in, I can still remember the address 3365 Seaforth Dr. Memphis TN
We went by the old house a couple of years ago and the neighborhood has gone to shit.
I wonder where my dad's old HD is now.

Double Dippin'

Wait!! Turn around...

Chad saw this jack at a garage sale while we were driving to grab some lunch. So I turned around, and asked the young man if the jack worked, he assured me it did.

$13.00?

The guy wanted $13.00, What kind of price is that? Ben does some negotiating and gets him to sell it for $10.00.

Score...

Time to hit a spot we can use the jack at...

Damn, I forgot my shovel.

Nick and Ben Karpenski took Chad and I here a while ago, and we tried to do this before but the Park Ranger shut us down.
In order to get the jack under the concrete we gotta dig a hole deep enough so the jack can fit under the concrete.
Forgot the shovel so we gotta use old boards

You can do it, put your knees into it...

Ben Fisher puts his knees into it.

Straight Jackin'

This slab of concrete must of weighed a 1000lbs. I honestly was waiting for the jack to explode.

Dork

Best $10 I've spent. Oh and just so you know, we put the spot back the way it was.
So the city has no idea, and we can go back and do it again.

Time to try it out...

Scott Kane warms up with a BS180 on one of the worst bumps in Southern California. Sometimes you just gotta make something out of nothin.

I remember...

Going over to my Dad's apartment and seeing/smelling his HD in the living room.
This is a photo of 2 of my dads favorite things at the time, my stepmother and his HD.

2 Birds 1 stone...

Going out filming everyday you tend to run into some pretty interesting things/people.
Here's a perfect example.
This dude had these birds just chillin in his car sittin shotgun, and on his headrest.

Found this spot...

Went here but no one was feeling it.

Jedi Mind Trick ain't workin...

Went out to this spot to handle some unfinished business. Only to have 3 cop cars roll up on us, and tell us to kick rocks.
I tried the JEDI MIND TRICK on the cops but it didn't work.

You may also...

Know this spot from such video's as NICK GARCIA'S WELCOME VIDEO

How to find a spot anywhere...

So I was watching
RYAN SPENCER MAG MINUTE
when I noticed a spot that I thought Tim Tim would want to skate. So after a close look I noticed the address.

Here's a step by step way you can find a spot if you've never been there.
CLICK ON THE PICS TO GET A LARGER IMAGE.

The "SECRET" is out...

STEP 1.
A lot of times filmers or photographers will give up the spot in the footage or photo, So it's pretty much free game.
When I was watching this, I noticed the address when the filmer panned up.
You just have to do some investigating and web searching. It beats driving around all day trying to find a "secret" spot.

Thank you google...

STEP 2.
Just do a google search of that address and something is bound to pop up. Then just follow the next steps to get
the actual location of the spot.

The 4th listing down gives a map, perfect.

Google Maps

STEP 3.
This map will do you no good so click the satellite tab to get a image of the landscape.

California is big, so...

STEP 4.
Click that zoom button in the top left corner till you get a clear picture
(It won't work here so go to googlemaps.com)
You'll have to do some searching, but usually its pretty easy to find a set a stairs, rails, hubba, or in the case a ledge.

There she is...

STEP 5.

100 UCLA Medical Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095

So I'll probably piss some people off by doing this but oh well.
It's only skateboarding.
Now go find your own or others people's spots for that matter.
Keep on Pushin'

ELEMENT NICK GARCIA VIDEO...

NICK GARCIA WELCOME TO THE FAMILY VIDEO from Ricki Bedenbaugh on Vimeo.

Nick Garcia has been on Element Flow for over a year now. Now he is officially an Element Am. Welcome to the Family.
Congratulations Nick

Introducing Nick Garcia...

Welcome to the family Nick.

Criminals...

We were skating this spot in Long Beach when "The Man" rolled up. We sat down, did the usual id check and then right before Nick got a ticket they got a high speed pursuit call on the radio, threw our id's on the ground and told us we were free to go. Today was a good day.

Assistant Camera Operator..

Sometimes when I want to get a 2nd angle, I have to pull one of the skater aside and have them push the red button for me.

Jordan Vititow...

Jordan took us to this spot yesterday, it's no joke!! There's all kinds of obstacle you have to deal with. Ramp up to curb, narrow run up, giant round metal roof, rough ass bank, and not to mention the disease infested water below that your board goes in every time you bail. These are things that you'll never know about in footage or videos until you see it yourself.

The roll up...

Givin' it one last try...