|
Last full year living in Hawaii for the time being. We have made some incredible friends on Oahu, and it will always have a special place in our hearts. We are onto new adventures in 2026 and getting married in Italy is one of them.
0 Comments
After 3 years of hard work, dedication, passion, and creative drive, I am proud to finally share my 2025 Street Part filmed by Spencer Mefferd and edited by me. For those that may not know, a street part for skateboarders is like an album for musicians, or a photo exhibit for photographers. It is a skateboarders magnum opus.
Barcelona is the skateboarding capital of the world. It is a Mecca that skaters from all over the world recognize and dream of being able to skate. While many other places around the world are very recognizable for skaters, like: Los Angeles, Copenhagen, Tokyo, Berlin, San Francisco, and New York, nothing compares to Barcelona. This makes one think, what drives skaters to continue to come to Barcelona? If one were to ask any skateboarder this question, their answer would be obvious. It's the spots! All over the city, Barcelona contains some of the most infamous spots in skateboarding history. This is an undeniable fact of what brings skateboarders to Barcelona, but what is it that drives us to come back? This is the more crucial opaque question. Most skaters would probably not know how to respond because they haven't thought much about it. Spanish culture is much more accepting, inclusive, laid back, and not time-oriented compared to the culture of the United States, where skateboarding began. The incongruent culture causes many Americans to have negative stereotypes and outlooks on skaters. Unlike the United States, Spain has almost identical characteristics to skateboard culture, bringing skaters back to Spain. Skateboarding has immensely integrated into Spanish society not just because the places to skate in Spain are extraordinary but also because of their analogous cultures.
You can and should pursue personal passions alongside your professional career. Don't lose sight of who you are or who you want to be. You have one life; don't forget to live it.
 Skateboarding saved my life. Almost 14 years ago, the last day of 3rd grade, I started skateboarding. Right when school got out my brother, and some of his friends went to a park in the attempt to learn some of the fundamentals of skateboarding, I was just tagging along. We attempted to learn how to ollie, the most basic skateboarding trick, that warm summer afternoon, and ever since then, I was hooked. I would practice ollieing every day, and I even convinced my parents to buy me my first skateboard from my local skate shop. The board was a cheap Speed Demon complete, and it was not the best board, but it was all I needed to start. For all of us, skating was so new and infant that we would skate for hours in our driveways trying the same trick over and over. This new foreign activity was turning into an addictive drug, I couldn’t live without it.
Vale is a street skateboarding video filmed all over Europe. In the fall of 2021, I spent four months with my cousin Dylan Beattie living in Barcelona, taking classes, traveling, and, most importantly, skating. We went to 15 different countries and documented all of our experiences. Living in Europe has been a life-changing experience for both of us. It has taught us so many things, allowing us to learn more about ourselves and the world around us. Every country we traveled to had a different culture, and they all spoke different languages. Even though every country is so different, skateboarding is the same everywhere. Interacting with the locals in each country was such a fun experience. Regardless of where a skater is from or what language they speak, we instantly have a connection with them. We were able to form bonds with people from all over the world just through a piece of wood with four wheels. Two of our closest friends we met while abroad are from the U.K., with who we still keep in touch. We also met some skaters from Germany who didn’t speak much English, but skateboarding brought us together, allowing us to communicate. We shared spots, tricks, and laughs with each other.
Skateboarding is not just a sport, activity or a hobby; it is a lifestyle, a way of living, and a subculture that helps brings people and communities from all over the world together in beautiful ways. I have personally seen people transform from years of drug addiction and drug use to sobriety just because of skateboarding. It is truly amazing the power of skateboarding and its effects on surrounding communities. Skateboarding is nothing like its stereotype, it is a way for people to find and learn more about themselves.
|
