I MIGHT BE IN YOUR ATTIC... blog by ERIC HENDRIKX

BEN HARPER - No Regrets

2012-01-03T23:08:00.000-08:00

Ben Harper and his lap slide guitar.

Passionate. Electric. Perpetual. Joyous. Ben Harper is nothing short of all of these.

For more than two decades, the refined musician known for hisearnest blues vocal deliveries and eclectic choice of instrument, the lap slideguitar, has shared hundreds of original songs with his audiences worldwide. Sincehis first tour in 1990 with Taj Mahal, Harper began sharing stages with anextensive list of meaningful artists including The Fugees, PJ Harvey, JackJohnson, and Pearl Jam. More recently, Harper’s 2011 Summer tour wasaccompanied by a little opening act you may have heard of—Robert Plant!

This year, the two-time Grammy award winner released hisgrand finale to a ten-record deal with Virgin Records—Give Til It’sGone, a record that Harper views as a bold proclamation of who is in and who is out with respect to his audience. I visited Ben at his Santa Monicahome the morning after Halloween—theentrance to his home was reflective of the night prior’s celebration andevidence of his deep love for his children. After chasing down a fresh cup ofmorning java, we hit the sofa and rapped about his recent musical efforts,Summer tour, and his rekindled childhood relationship with skateboarding. Wealso sat in wait—anticipation waspeaked as we also awaited our good friend Mike Vallely’s arrival for askateboard session.

Grateful. A word that resonated with me long after my day spentwith Ben and Mike.

Mike Vallely and Ben Harper contemplating
on the mini ramp.

Interview with Ben Harper November 1, 2011:

Eric: Have you alwaysbeen a skateboarder?

Ben: Since 1976.And I’ve always kept a board in my trunk. I’ve been closer and further toskateboarding all my life as far as my level of commitment, but I’ve never beenwithout a board. I grew up skating with Chris Miller. He and I went to the samegrade school and junior high before he moved to San Diego. For a while we wereside by side and then all of a sudden Chris was just killing it—flying off tables. I saw howamazing Chris was and while it should have motivated me, I got slightlydissuaded. But I was so inspired by what he did, and I recognized that it wassomething I may not be able to reach. I ended up finding my athletic passion inteam sports. I got sucked into track and basketball.

Eric: And now you goto the parks and skate with your kids?

Ben: Yeah, we goto Venice and the Cove. My oldest girl might lean towards it. My youngest son,who is ten, is a skater. A natural. That’s why I’ve got a half-pipe out backand he’s doing it all—boardslides, frontside 50-50’s, backside 50-50’s, rock ‘n rolls, and just got a kickflipdown. And he’s just steezy. More than any tricks—hejust gets on a board and makes it look more comfortable than walking.

Eric: And how’s yoursteeze these days?

Ben: Ollies man,that’s my thing. I’m getting over three boards stacked up. Mike V is comingover today to help me and maybe I’ll get over four boards. I’ve been stuck onthree for a while now. My goal is to get over this tall construction cone Ihave. Because once you can get over the cone, you can get over fire hydrants.And that’s a shift. That’s when things get really good.

Ben Harper sets up four boards in his driveway in attempt to ollie over them.

Eric: Epic! Anywishes you had followed your passion for skateboarding at the same level youdid with your music?

Ben: One of mygreat regrets. Not sticking with it at a younger age. Nevermind who is betterthan you. That’s such a flaw. That was so much about my personality when I wasyoung. I also rolled with the shifts in interest amongst my friends. Skate fora few months, BMX for a few months, eventually back to skate. Instead of havingthe compass to stick with the one I loved more, which was skateboarding. By thetime I would go back to skateboarding, it was like starting over again in asense. It’s all repetition and muscle memory. When I came to this realization Iasked myself, “What are you waiting for?” That was it man. That was the light.

Eric: So a kickflip atthe top of your Bucket List?

Ben: People getcaught up in bucket lists. Before you go, what do you want to do? But for me,it’s about my bucket list of regrets. When I turned forty I asked myself whatwas on my bucket list. Kickflip—eventhough I grew up with vert skating. It was so great growing up in the 70’s. Itwas so pure. No one skated for anyone. You went to Sears or Zody’s departmentstores and got a plastic Hobie board or a Hang Ten with clay wheels and ballbearings and you rode it—upand down your driveway.

Kickflip. I wished I had done it, and had come up with allkinds of excuses for not ever doing one. And in that moment, I realized that abucket list is not that different from a regretslist. But instead of chalking up this list of things I want to do before I go,why not have a list of things I regret not doing and still can? A bucket listis ambitious. I want to correct my regrets. And one of my greatest regrets wasnot the kickflip, but the fact that I stopped skating with the same passionthat I had when I first touched a skateboard. And that’s when I said to myself,“You know what? Fuck this. I’m going back.” My life has never felt as good asit did when I was skateboarding from the age of seven to fourteen.

At first I got back into vert skating—frontside and backside grinds, nose stalls andstuff. But there was always something calling me to street skating and fliptricks. I love watching guys do twists and handplants, but there is somethingso graceful about a kickflip. Once I could olley a foot consistently, I wentfor it. A couple of years ago in Boston, in my hotel room—I had people banging on thewalls, security knocking on my door, they would go away and I would go rightback to doing it. Practicing over and over on the carpet floor in my room. Iintended to push it until either I landed one or they actually put me out inthe street. I picked up the phone, “You’re making to much noise and it has tostop,” they told me. “Okay,” I said. But I wasn’t done. I didn’t stop. I was soclose. And sure enough, on the carpet, I popped it and BAM! —landedone! It took me a couple of years to really get it down. Doing a kickflip andkick-flipping are really different things—tohave them all the time.

(Ben breaks from interview to show me video clips of himkick-flipping that he has been recording on his iPhone.)

What regrets do I have in my life that I can change? That’swhat’s important—not abucket list.

Regrets weigh on you. Some have staying power that’ssomewhat impenetrable that you just have to find a place for. But the ones thatcan be washed away, why not go after them? And low and behold, your legs still work pretty good at forty. Thingsare still working. It’s not too late. I usually skate about three hours a day.It was rough when I got back in the game. But I’ve gone from taking at leasttwo Advil a day to none—whichis in itself a major accomplishment [laughs].

Ben Harper and Mike Vallely - driveway skate session.

Eric: You’ve been outfilming for a new music video. What’s been the most impactful part of theprocess?

Ben: Mike V was withus at Stoner Park a few weeks ago, filming some parts for the video. It wasreally cool to see the kids’ reactions and responses to some of the tricks hewas doing, and then to see them, after Mike left, trying to do them as well.

Eric: Yeah, Mike’sskating is incredibly intense to watch live. What was the vibe like after Mikeleft?

Ben: Powerful.Palpable. Electric. Kids were buzzing and trying his tricks. Handstands. Theyrecognized the degree of difficulty. One kid with a mouth larger than his face cameup to Mike. And you’ve got to love this kid because he’s been reared on FlamingHot Cheetos, Big Gulps, Cherry Slurpees, and Beef Jerky. So this kid rolls upon Mike and asks, “Who do you skate for?” And Mike said, “I skate for myself.”It stopped the kid in his tracks. And this 13-year-old kid asks, “What do youmean?” And Mike repeated, “I skate for myself.” An hour later, about eight ofthese kids were sitting around at the park, eating junk food and talking aboutwhat that meant. Eventually, that same kid came up to me and asked, “What didhe mean I skate for myself?” I said,“He skates for himself and for his love of skateboarding—and to express his passion and his abilities on hisboard. No one owns him. No company. Skateboarding is not about who you skatefor it’s about how you skate and how much you love it.” His friends werelistening in and one of the kids stood up and said, “Yeah, that’s who I skatefor. I skate for myself,” and then kick-flipped off a ledge and skated off. Itwas beautiful. That statement hit the street. And then it resonated amongst thekids, “I skate for myself. I skate for myself. I skate for myself.” It was agreat thing to witness.

Success! Ben makes it over the four boards. Next goal - over the cone.

Eric: You and Mikeshare the similarity of both of you being a bridge in your respective arts,between a younger and an older generation.

Ben: Well put.Mike was the first cat to bring vert to the street at the highest level.

Eric: Let’s talkabout your music, your last record GiveTill It’s Gone.

Ben: From thesecond I heard the lap steel guitar at age five I was into it. There arepictures of me sitting around my parent’s music store playing. It was thesound. People would come in and play because we were the kind of store thatwould have lap steels. The first time I ever heard it I knew I had to get it—learn it. My mom didn’t play lapsteel, but there were some great players in the neighborhood—David Lindley of Jackson Brown,Chris Darrow, Patrick Brayer, John Harrelson—localhometown heroes who were just monsters at it. They would come in and rip, witha lot of other players who came in and played killer banjo, guitar, and otherinstruments. But it was the lap steel that raised its hand the highest for me.It sunk the deepest. I had to get me some of that. There was so much of me inthat sound it was ridiculous. Even as a kid I felt it. It sat there calling myname.

As I grew older and became more connected to it, I learned asong all the way through. Then I learned a couple of songs and I would sit inon an open mic night. And it all built from there.

Eric: Was singing andplaying hand in hand for you?

Ben: My greatgrandparents funded the opening of the music store for my grandparents in 1958.My grandmother played and sang. My mom played and sang. My dad was a musician,a percussionist and sang around the house. So playing and singing wassymbiotic. You do both. When you play, you sing. When you sing, you play. Andthe early blues players who influenced me the most—Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, and BlindWillie McTell—that’s whatthey were doing. And I would hear those records of those solo blues players andit always sounded like there were three guys playing the guitar. I was blownaway when my grandmother would tell me it was just one guy playing. I would goand learn their songs on the lap steel and try to make it sound as much likethem as I could. But it always came off sounding different. It frustrated mefor a while, but that grew into what was necessary. It became my sound. Mysignature.

When I first came on the scene in late ’93 and then off tothe races when my first record, Welcometo the Cruel World, came out in ’94, we were opening up for LusciousJackson, PJ Harvey, The Fugees, The Roots, Pearl Jam. Seeing the looks onpeoples faces when I stepped out with a lap steel is something that will staywith me forever. I may as well have come out playing an accordion with a monkeyand a cup. It was that much of a contrast. Especially with PJ Harvey. Her audiencewas a crowd of fifteen-year-old girls with black eyeliner, died black hair whodressed just like PJ. And we would come on the stage and it worked—it really worked. To come out onstage before The Fugees—ourmusic wasn’t the type of music that their crowd were listening to. But theunfamiliarity almost instantly transformed into curiosity—that was fun. That’s what it wasall about. Probably very much like what Mike V felt when he was coming up as askater. “Is he really doing those things?” He invented a lot of those tricks.If you didn’t see him doing them, then you didn’t see anyone doing them. Itdidn’t exist until that moment. It was new. My music was new to those girlswith the black eyeliner. In that moment it existed for them and for me.

Ben Harper playing the lap slide guitar.

Eric: In 1994 youwere opening for all those great bands. And this year, a little opening act bythe name of Robert Plant opened the shows for you.

Ben: And there itis. That bookends it. You just nailed it. And the craziest part about that wasoverall how cool he was. Sometimes in San Francisco I will play in front offive thousand people. And then in Nebraska, I’ll play in front of five hundredpeople. He’s Robert Plant. With a phone call he could be playing in front of amillion people if he wanted. But you do different things and they take ondifferent sizes and scopes. It’s super humbling. Matter of fact, Jack Johnsonspent a year opening up for me. And then after that year, I was opening up forhim. And you’ve got to have that. Because it really isn’t about who you’reopening for or who’s opening for you as much as it’s about playing your show—grateful. You’ve got to hang onto that sincere emotion of being grateful, regardless of what side of thatmoment you are in, no matter what side of you career you’re on, what side ofyour life’s expansion—remaingrateful. So to see Robert humble and grateful to be in that situation, Ilearned a lot from him in that moment.

Don’t let me make it sound simple. You’ve got to get used tothe taste of crow. But what a great skillset to have—to remain grateful while eating crow. Mind you,Robert Plant didn’t have to open for me. He was out there testing his new band.It made sense for everyone involved. Still, I’ll never be able to wrap my headaround that one—Robert Plantopening for me.

Eric: What’s the bestpart about the current state of the music business?

Ben: The bestpart about making music now, is that all bets are off. Old records are now newrecords. New records—peoplemay hear them, they may not, they may smash, they may miss. They may connectwith new people that you didn’t expect to connect with. But it’s new again. I’mforever grateful for the amount of people that have heard my music. It’s gonefar beyond any expectation—especiallyfor a lap steel guitar player. But there are far more people that haven’t heardmy music than have. So there’s still an entire planet that my first record canbe brand new to. And in the digital age, it’s about awareness of everything—not of what you createdyesterday, or last week, or your newest effort. That’s my favorite part aboutthis musical era. You don’t have to be defined by the record company’s mandate.Today you can shine a light on everything you’ve done instead of just whatyou’ve recently done.

When I tour, I like to represent my entire catalog. I’vejust completed a ten record deal with Virgin. This is the first time in myadult life I haven’t been on a major record label. I’m so proud of what I’vedone within that structure, but I’m looking forward to seeing what else is outthere. Do things my way, whether I want to sell a song for a dollar, give itaway, or use it to raise money for a charity—it’sall fresh and new again. And this feeling exactly mirrors what we were talkingabout in skating— “I ridefor me.”

Well… I sing for me.

Eric: And that willbe reflected in your next move?

Ben: Yes. And Idon’t know what that move is going to be. This is the first time in fifteenyears that I haven’t had my next year already completely planned. It’s open. Iknow I gotta go to work and put some points on the board. But at the same time,to do it for me and at my pace and to do it in a way that can be outside ofwhatever normal is. Outside of the obvious. I can’t wait to figure that out.

Someone recently approached me and asked, “What label areyou going to be on next?” And I replied, “If I were to be with another label,the label is gonna be on me. I’m notgonna be on them.”

Eric: Do you have amusical regret list?

Ben: Having notbeen able to attain a sound yet that’s in my head. I’m not so sure this is aregret, but there are some musical places like Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska—Iwant to make my Nebraska. I don’twant to pattern my record after Nebraska,but there are certain sounds that I want to go after with that stripped-back,bare bones, punch you in the neck sincerity and urgency, that is notoverwrought in production and not overthought in its presentation. I gotta getthere. I also want to make a record with my mom. I want to make a reggaerecord. I want to make a record in my family’s music store with local musiciansand celebrate my hometown heroes. I guess musically it is more of a bucketlist, because I don’t regret any of the music I made.

Eric: For me, yourlast record took a stand—back against the wall, fistsclenched, and ready to fight for belief.

Ben: Thank you.Standing up is liberating. What’s the use of introspection if you’re not goingto reflect out to the world as something better—somethingstronger?

Rock ‘n Roll is free. In this day and age, a buck is free. Youcan get a song cheaper than a candy bar. For a song that’s going to be thesoundtrack to your entire world—abuck is free enough. It’s unreal. I was getting on an airplane and paid twobucks for a candy bar. That candy bar cost twice as much as the best song I’veever written.

Eric: Having writtenthe record, recorded it, released it, toured behind it, what does Give Till It’s Gone mean to you?

Ben: Itsolidified who’s in and who’s out as far as people who are into what I’m doing.It was a proclamation in its own way. It’s actually one of the most excitingmusical moments in my life because it’s the record that enabled me to not haveto play a couple of songs for the rest of my life. It’s amazing how a couple ofsongs can define you. Imagine being defined by two songs out of two hundredthat you’ve written. Not cool. Not cool at all. And I’m super proud of thosetwo songs. But man, that’s not me. Those are two parts of a body of work of amuch grander story that I’m telling.

Eric: Diamonds on the Inside?

Ben: Steal My Kisses and Burn One Down are the main offenders [laughs]. I love havingwritten them and I love playing them. But I don’t want to be owned by them.

Eric: And now they’reoff the setlist.

Ben: Exactly.They off the setlist and it’s on. It’s on for me musically like it’s never beenon before. I’m having a conversation and a dialogue with the people whoappreciate my music that is high octane. And it goes from the most quiet andintimate to complete ruckus and everything in between, and they seem to begoing on the ride with me. Rarely do I hear either of those two songscat-called. So this record has really defined the re-generation. People say,“Oh you gotta get a new crowd” or “you gotta reinvent yourself.” I don’t need anew crowd. I love my crowd. And I don’t want to reinvent, I just want tocontinue to invent. Young, old—comeone come all. This record has been the war cry for just that notion. And withthe younger crowds finding me, what’s old is new again. That’s the rebirth.It’s exciting to be able to shine a light on what I’ve worked so hard tocreate. This record is a proclamation and exclamation to say, “Its about a bodyof work, not just a couple of songs.”

Ben Harper

Eric: I came to yourshow on my birthday. You closed the set with the song Better Than I Deserve that you have not yet recorded. It’s abanger!

Ben: Thank you somuch! I wrote it in Italy this last summer while on tour with Robert Plant. Ihave never written a song that went straight to the closing slot in our set.It’s never happened until now. There was nowhere else to put it. And sureenough, that single song would just take the entire setlist and put it on itsshoulders in such a particular way. I have been trying to write that song, Better Than I Deserve, all my life. And there it was one morning when I woke up in a hotel room in Verona.

Eric: When was thefirst time you played it?

Ben: That night!Wrote it that morning, rehearsed it with the guys at soundcheck, and played itthat night.

Eric: At the show Iattended at Doheney Days, the reaction was powerful. What was the reaction thatfirst night in Italy?

Ben: They weresinging it at the top of their lungs. And the song is written in English, andwe were in Italy. There’s that song I’ve been looking for. I’ve been trying toget to you for a long time. And we’veclosed every show ever since with it.

Cover of Revolt In Style Magazine featuring Ben Harper.

Playboy Mansion

2011-11-14T22:47:00.001-08:00

Kat Von D, Eric Hendrikx, Rita Haney, Mike Vallely

On November 1st, 2011, after a day well-spent interviewing and photographing Ben Harper at his Santa Monica residence for an upcoming article in Revolt In Style Magazine (http://www.revoltinstyle.com/), I attended the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund Awards Gala at the famed Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. I accompanied honoree Rita Haney, and our guests Kat Von D and Mike and Ann Vallely. Also in attendance was Slash, Glen Hughes, Keith Emerson, Craig Goldy, Rudy Sarzo and many other rockers and supporters. VH1's That Metal Show host Eddie Trunk served as special guest emcee and surprised recipient of the Long Live Rock 'N Roll Award.

Among the honorees, the King of Rock 'n Roll Award went to Ronnie James Dio's longtime bandmate and friend Terry "Geezer" Butler, bassist for Black Sabbath and Heaven & Hell. Rita Haney, a tireless fund-raiser, founder of Dimebash in memory of her late boyfriend "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott of the band Pantera, accepted the Stand Up and Shout Award for her continuous contributions to the Dio Cancer Fund.

Blacktooth Grins and shots of Patron were shared between myself, Rita and Wendy Dio. Another big highlight was chatting with Geezer, a man of very few words. After the awards Rita, Ann, Mike and I took an escorted tour of the Playboy Mansion grounds, including the infamous Grotto and the Zoo. And to finish the night proper, and in pure rocker fashion, Rita, Wendy, Eddie and I, with friends in tow, dropped into the Rainbow Bar and Grill for a late night snack.

Rita Haney accepts the Stand Up and Shout Award

Geezer Butler accepts the King of Rock 'N Roll Award

Wendy Dio surprises Eddie Trunk with the Long Live Rock 'N Roll Award

Award Recipients

Eric Hendrikx, Wendy Dio, Rita Haney, Eddie Trunk

Geezer Butler and Rita Haney

Rita Haney, Wendy Dio, Geezer Butler

Wendy Dio, Slash, Rita Haney

Patron shots with Blacktooth chasers - Wendy Dio, Rita Haney, Eric Hendrikx

Wendy Dio and Rita Haney

Rita Haney, Geezer Butler, Eric Hendrikx

Grotto Gals - Ann Vallely and Rita Haney

Mike Vallely, Ann Vallely, Rita Haney, Eric Hendrikx

The Zoo - Eric Hendrikx and Rita Haney

Change The World

2011-10-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

In 2006 I spent my birthday on the big island of Hawaii in aJeep Wrangler circling the island. Despite the trip to paradise, I was dealing with a difficult time in my life. Big changes had to be made. From volcanoes to tropical rainforests, mytrek was accompanied by the sounds of Ben Harper loaded in my iPod. The musicfelt right for where I was on the island, and where I was in my life. I feltlike it was a voice I could understand clearly in that moment. Songs like Better Way and With My Own Two Hands spoke to me in volumes. And although I didn’twant to “change the world”, I did want to change my world. And I did.

In 2011 I spent my birthday at the Doheny Days MusicFestival with good friends, including Mike Vallely. Headlining the show was BenHarper, whom I had recently met while out photographing with Mike for Airwalk Shoes. Miketold Ben that it was my birthday. Ben went into his dressing room, handwroteout the night’s set-list and gave it to me. We watched his performance from theside stage as guests. Ben paused the show to have the audience join him in singingHappy Birthday to me.

Mike Vallely, Ben Harper, Eric Hendrikx, Rob Machado

The GORUCK Ascent

2011-09-07T01:21:00.000-07:00

THERE IS ONLY ONE FIRST...

Several months ago, my buddy Mike V and I discussed working together on an article about his first large-scale athletic experience after seriously breaking his arm in a hockey game. The experience was to complete the GORUCK Challenge - a physical and mental challenge held in an urban environment (In our case Las Vegas) whereby the group would undergo a series of difficult team-building activities over a span of 12 hours covering approximately 20 miles. I opted to do the challenge with Mike. It was just as rewarding as it was difficult. And it was extremely difficult.

Following the completion of the GORUCK Challenge, founder and Green Beret Jason McCarthy invited Mike and I to join the community's first major leap from it's core Challenge program - the GORUCK Ascent - over 100 hours in the Colorado Rocky Mountains with ambitions to climb peaks over 14,000 feet. We were honored and excited to accept the offer. It would be the first of its kind.

Along with the Ascent came an opportunity to help the GORUCK's core cause - the Green Beret Foundation. Ascenters were asked to raise funds in advance of the event. With the help of many friends, I raised over $5,000 for the foundation.

Mike and I jumped on a plane from Orange County to Denver Colorado on August 30th and with little time to acclimate to the high altitudes, joined the rest of the GORUCK Ascenters on September 1st in Nederland, Colorado.

Here's a photographic narrative of our adventures...

Upon arrival, the cadre informed us that the maximum weight for our packs was 23 lbs. My bag was over 40 lbs. Although we planned to ascend above 14,000 feet and would be gone for several days, I left behind my tent, sleep pad, some food, and a number of items in order to make the weight requirement. Only the bare essentials would make this mission.

We left at 2:30AM on a bus to our drop-off. After a 2 1/2 hour ride we began our first Ascent in the Collegiate Peaks in search of Mt Missouri.

Mike and I after planes, rental cars, buses, and no sleep - still smiling. We;ve gone form sea level to about 10,000 feet here.

By 12,000 feet I had aquired a nasty case of AMS - Acute Mountain Sickness - Migraine, Nausea, and other fun things from ascending faster than my body could acclimatize.

I stopped my ascent at about 12,000 feet. Not a bad place to rest.

The next morning the teams began their ascents after warming up by a fire.

Mike and I decided to find our own adventures along the Colorado Trail. Sixteen miles round trip made for a great time.

Amazing countryside everywhere you go.

Mountain Men.

We found several great spots along the ice-cold Clear Creek to soak our feet and relax.

When we returned to camp, our Cadres discussed the team's plan for an ambitious new Ascent in search of the highest peak on the map - Mt Harvard - 14, 420 feet.

While they were preoccupied discussing our plan, we drank their beer (Sorry Cadre).

Our first day toward Mt Harvard I set up our shelter for the night. Base camp was at about 11,500 feet. Temp was freezing at night. We woke with ice on our bags.

Cadres Dom and Jason worked with the team in plotting our course for the peak.

Java was plotting as well. Getting his rest for the Ascent.

In the afternoon we hiked up to Bear Lake - 12,000 feet.

The team descending back into camp to get a fire going, dinner, and sleep before the next day's climb.

After dinner, Java had dish duty. This was licked completely clean and then reused for each meal.

Ilka, Foster and Jason keeping warm and sharing stories.

On top of Mt Harvard - 14, 420 feet. I'm not sure about the flag. I think we now have some kind of entitlement to the peak. At least until the next flag shows up there.

Stoked.

Jason and Java at 14,420 feet.

Nothing is supposed to live at this elevation. No trees, plants, bushes. Life is at a minimum.

After our Ascents we celebrated back in Nederland with the GORUCK essentials - Fire and Beer.

MIKE VALLELY • Most Metal Athlete

2011-06-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

“When I was in sixth grade I fought Cesar Gaona and lost badly. I knew I’d lose, he knew I’d lose, the whole school knew I’d lose, but I fought that motherfucker anyway. That’s about all you really need to know about me.” – Mike Vallely

In Nathaniel Hawthorn’s, The Scarlet Letter, a young woman named Hester Pyrnne was adorned with the mark of an outcast among her Puritan village – a letter “A” that was to forever be present on her attire as a symbol of her indiscretion for all to see. It was a mark that identified her place in population for the remainder of her life – and as the story ends; the letter “A” was ultimately inscribed on her tombstone to remain for eternity.

Since the inception of his career in professional skateboarding in 1986, Mike Vallely (“Mike V”) has also worn a letter for his unorthodox style of skating – the letter “V” that not only identifies his uncompromising nature, but also displays his relentless appetite for skateboarding and inner-pressure to evolve as both athlete and man. Mike’s letter is a letter of respect – from his peers, from those who follow his footprints, from his fans. His proven evolution has taken the once prodigy skater who created many of the tricks and fundamentals that have paved the realm of skateboarding into a league of his own. Mike has lived a successful career by remaining true to his spirit as both soulful street skater and competitive athlete. His success has contributed to all facets of today’s sport from competitions, industry, and into the streets. Mike stands alone in his category but represents all of skateboarding. Those who wish to bear a symbol of independence, authenticity and pride can wear the letter “V”.

Most Metal Athlete – The third annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards presented at Club Nokia in Downtown Los Angeles recently awarded Mike as Most Metal Athlete for his epic career in the sport and his undeniably-metal and assertive approach to life. The event included performance including Avenged Sevenfold, Alice Cooper, and DevilDriver with a special vocal appearance by Mike. Highlights from the Revolver Golden Gods Awards will be broadcast on VH1 Classic on Saturday, May 28. Revolver will release a special Golden Gods issue of the magazine on May 24. The Golden Gods issue will include exclusive behind-the-scenes photos and interviews, most notably Mike Vallely’s post-acceptance speech interview where he had a run-in with Star Trek’s William Shatner, also acknowledged for his honorary Metalness.

“I had just won the award, performed with Devil Driver and then walked off the stage and saw William Shatner. I was on Cloud Nine, man. He walked right up to me and said, “You look like you’re in top form!” I really was.”

Fans chose the winner by voting online prior to the event. Nominees for Most Metal Athlete were:Chris Cole (pro skateboarding) Dan Hardy (Mixed Martial Arts) Toni Lydman (NHL hockey) The Miz (WWE wrestling) Jeremy Shockey (NFL football) & Mike Vallely (pro skateboarding).

“I don’t win a lot of shit. So, to be acknowledged and then win at the age of forty was pretty fucking cool, man. It meant a lot to me. I took it as something very significant, an acknowledgement of a lifetime of commitment to a certain vibe and attitude.”

GORUCK Challenge – Winning Most Metal Athlete has inspired Mike to continue pushing himself beyond his limits by training and participating in the GORUCK Challenge – a nationwide Green Beret led challenge that will span 15-20 miles and include a collective of mentally and physically exhausting conditioning routines. Some of the proceeds go the Green Beret Foundation. Mike attributes his readiness for the challenge to the ability of his personal trainer Scot Prohaska to provide the conditioning he will need to complete the event. “By the time he completes the GORUCK Challenge,” said Prohaska, “there won’t be anything that those Green Berets can do to Mike that I haven’t already done to him.” The GORUCK Challenge will take place on May 27, 2011 in Las Vegas, beginning at 6:00pm.

[Publisher’s Note: Revolt In Style feature-writer Eric Hendrikx will be doing the GORUCK Challenge with Mike Vallely as well as writing a feature on the event for an forthcoming lifestyle piece to be featured in Revolt In Style Magazine. Hendrikx has been training with Vallely in preparation for the event.]

By no means does Mike’s Green Beret training indicate a shift in his passion for skateboarding. In fact, at age 41, he will reenter the world of competitive skateboarding this summer with scheduled appearances at contests in Italy, England and Prague. As a street skater, Mike stands alone, as his reentry into the competitive arena at his age is unprecedented.

“Competitive skateboarding, although never my forte or where I chose to put the emphasis in my career, has been something I actually have always valued. I think my stance on contests has been misinterpreted through the years as I’ve purposely moved away from them. But as a skater who still strives to push himself, I see the competitive arena as a place where I would like to return again for myself individually and also where I feel I can once again add something to the story and where I feel I can still contribute. With that being said, I’m really looking forward to getting overseas and making the rounds again, it’s been a long time. I only skate because I love it. I don’t feel any external pressures making me feel like I have to do anything. I don’t allow those kinds of pressures to affect me. But I do have internal pressures to push myself. That’s just me. I always have to put myself in environments and arenas where it’s balls to the wall.”

Mike Vallely Factoids:

Mike has appeared as a major skateboard character in the highly successful Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game series, in which the fifth game in the series was based on Mike’s career.

Mike appeared in the movie The Hangover as Alan’s friend Neeco, delivering tuxedos from a van on the freeway.

Mike has been lead singer in several bands since 1985 including Mike V and the Rats, Revolution Mother as well as three solo albums.

Out side of skateboarding, Mike has held professional career in music, film, television, stuntman work, professional wrestling and FHL hockey.

Mike is a board member of the Tony Hawk Foundation, which helps fund skateparks nationwide.

EVERYONE LOVES YOU WHEN YOU’RE DEAD

2011-06-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

By Eric Hendrikx

Last week while packing my bags for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico I loaded my carry-on with the sun basking essentials: trunks, sandals, a pocketful of Mexican pesos to tip a margarita slinging waiter, and the perfect book to find solace in my literary bubble surrounded by salty azure waters. I picked the latest book from Neil Strauss – Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead; a collection of twenty years of celebrity interviews he conducted during his tenure at the New York Times and Rolling Stone magazine. From Snoop Dogg to Johnny Cash, Madonna to Led Zeppelin, Mike Tyson to Paul McCartney (the staggering list of celebrities goes on) Strauss reveals deep moments of truth found within the words of his interviewees, painting imagery of their anger, comedy, confusion, vivid notions of death. These moments of validity, path, and enlightenment thread organically throughout the book and materialize just when you need them to.

Amply-packed and standing by to board a south-of-the-border bound flight I got on the phone with Neil to talk about his newest literary endeavor. Amidst his promotional book tour he spared time to highlight the extraordinary span of his books’ themes.

NEIL STRAUSS INTERVIEW

HENDRIKX: You’ve written six going on seven New York Times bestsellers. What has been the most thrilling book for you to write?

STRAUSS: Marilyn Manson’s book was definitely the most fun to write because there was a ton of fucking partying and craziness surrounding him all the time. I was writing for the New York Times during that period and I would wake up on the couch each morning with the remains of excess and decadence all around me.

HENDRIKX: To what extent did you integrate yourself into the band when you wrote your next book The Dirt?

STRAUSS: Completely. And not just on tour with them but also with each member of the band and their own personal world - interviews with Vince Neil in the Vanna room, with Nikki Sixx at his place, with Mick Mars at his place on the outskirts of Los Angeles, with Tommy Lee at his post-Pamela place in Malibu. I would see each of them individually and then as they came together as Mötley Crüe. Of all the biographies I’ve written, that one took the longest because they were the most dysfunctional.

HENDRIKX: The Dirt reads as four completely separate biographies because each chapter is told by only one member of the band.

STRAUSS: The challenge was that I had to do an autobiography of a band and yet I had never read a band autobiography before. So I reached out for a book as my literary model, which I do for all my books. For The Dirt my literary model was As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, where each section of the book is written by a different brother on this inane journey to bury their dead mother. Along the way you see it from each different brother’s perspective, whether it’s the headstrong brother who was kind of like Nikki Sixx or the more layback brother who is similar to Tommy Lee.

I had rules that everyone had to abide by to make it work. One rule was that you can’t read anyone else’s section until it was done - they could only read their own sections. The other rule was that once you had the chance to read the entire book you could not change anything in anyone else’s section. However, you could respond to it in your own section. They stuck to the rules I laid out and I think that’s one of the reasons why the book carried that integral conflict that is truth to how a band relates.

HENDRIKX: Most memorable moment during the writing of The Dirt?

STRAUSS: I’d say it was before I started the book, the moment I first met them and also the moment they got arrested. I was walking backstage to greet the band for the first time and the security guards were calling the police on them because of some violence during the show. I ran back to warn them but it was coincidently Nikki’s birthday and he thought it was a birthday prank. The police came and arrested them; Tommy Lee was still in his leather shorts from being on stage. And as they were being led out, two things let me know how cool this band was: One was that Vince Neil did not stop blow drying his hair throughout the whole arrest. Like, that’s just how often they get arrested. And secondly, as they were being walked out in handcuffs by three or four police officers, two fans came up to them with a copy of Shout at the Devil and asked the guys to autograph it. Like, they were so used to seeing them in handcuffs that it didn’t deter them from asking for an autograph.

HENDRIKX: And you kept the rockstar theme by rolling right into a biography with Dave Navarro?

STRAUSS: Yes, I lived with Dave for a year while he was basically shooting up cocaine every fifteen minutes and doing heroine every three hours. That’s a dark fuckin’ book, man.

HENDRIKX: What was the most memorable moment while working with Jenna Jameson?

STRAUSS: Sitting in her place in Scottsdale, Arizona while she was telling me about her acting abilities in porn films. Then, sitting there with Jenna and watching her porn films as she fast forwarded through all the sex scenes so that we could watch her acting parts. In fact, while working with Jenna, I actually wrote a porn script for her that won an award for Best Movie of the Year at AVN.

HENDRIKX: In The Game, why is it important to insult a girl after giving her a few compliments if you’re interested in gaining her attention?

STRAUSS: The Game is the most misunderstood book I’ve written. Insulting a girl is not important. What is important is that if you approach a woman who is often hit on and she is not already attracted to you, then it is highly important to actively demonstrate that you are not hitting on her. If you are a male approaching a super attractive woman in a bar or nightlife situation, there is a fine line to walk in order to show her that you are not hitting on her, where she might feel like getting away, or more likely, her friends would try to protect her from you hitting on her. The correct approach is to be more comfortable and treat her more like how an older brother treats a younger sister. It sends a message that you really don’t give a fuck, even though you really do. Insulting her would be stupid. An insult to a beautiful woman is the same as a compliment - it’s just a guy trying too hard.

The goal is not to compliment her either but to buy yourself an opportunity to compliment her later. A guy walking right up to a girl and saying “You’re pretty” is the same as if he just walked right up to her and said “I want to have sex with you.” You want to show her that you’re not after her by carefully teasing her and ignoring her, just like you might in a group with your younger sister. And then later, after you get to know her and find out who she is and you talk a little bit and connect, that’s when you’ve bought yourself the credibility to pay her the compliment.

HENDRIKX: Jenna’s book came before The Game. Had you been developing any of these pick up techniques at that point in time? Was the temptation to use them on Jenna Jameson tempting.

STRAUSS: Right, I never used the techniques on Jenna for two reasons: One, since we were working together, I always respect that relationship. I always desexualize anyone I’m working with. And secondly, she was married at the time. I did use them on her pornstar friends and it worked out well. I would get them interested, get them into the friend zone, and then finally it would just work.

HENDRIKX: Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead comes off as a collection of celebrity interviews as well as an autobiography.

STRAUSS: Exactly. The book is covertly my autobiography of twenty years of my life as I was interviewing different rockstars and pop stars while traveling around the world to do so. At the same time, I keep myself out of the actual interviews as much as possible because I wanted to get to find out something about these huge icons and see who they are when their walls come down.

HENDRIKX: So you went through years of tapes of interviews and retranslated them?

STRAUSS: Yeah man, The Game was a really intense book and then I did another intense book about survival called Emergency, where I spent two years literally learning how to rebuild civilization by oneself if necessary. Both subjects were so intense I thought I would just do this book as a break, a collection of my favorite articles I’ve written, that I could toss together in like two months. Instead, I got caught up on this concept of finding these moments of truth within the interviews where we could really see into the soul and workings of each person I interviewed. The book ended up taking me two years to write. I had the transcriber notate every cough, every pause, any change in tonality, background noise, interruptions, everything. Then after going through them with a fine-toothed comb, I found these great moments, some of which I had completely missed first time around.

HENDRIKX: How has writing ELYWYD changed your life?

STRAUSS: What I can see is my own development, not just as a writer, but as a person. When I was doing these interviews I was asking a lot of questions that I was trying to figure out at the time. So like when I interviewed Led Zeppelin for example, Page and Plant actually, I was a really young and nervous reporter who had maybe slept with two girls in his whole life. To me these guys were just as important musically as they were sexually, because you know, I had read Hammer of the Gods. At one point during the interview Jimmy Page stopped me and asked, “Do you have any questions that don’t involve sex?”

I could see through the interviews the things that I was grappling with at the time. It was a series of interviews by a guy who went from being made fun of for being naïve and young to a guy that many of those musicians look to for advice on their careers and lives. It was really interesting and rewarding to listen to that transformation.

HENDRIKX: Is that evident in ELYWYD? What is the chronology?

STRAUSS: I leave dates out of my books because books are permanent. They’re not like articles which come and go. They are more about storytelling. I arranged all the articles in ELYWYD thematically and through connective tissue without regard for the timelines or dates. It’s not a rock history book. To me it’s about the people and humanity. It’s written so that even if a person who picks up the book doesn’t know a single musician in it, the hope is that they still find it a page-turner.

HENDRIKX: I love Snoop Dogg interviews where you were riding along with him to go get diapers while conducting the interview.

STRAUSS: I like the Snoop Dogg interview because it’s just so honest and it’s a part of him that no one has ever seen. He’s so angry during the interview but it’s what was going on at the time with him and his business.

Also, you’ll see at the end of the book Act Ten is really poignant because I talk to a lot of people near the end of their lives, some just before death. I talked to musicians who found out they had cancer and only had a little bit left to live. I spoke to one musician who had just had a stroke and was only able to utter a couple of words. So yeah, the end of the book really gets to the heart of why we are here, what’s it all for and deeper topics like that.

HENDRIKX: Did your mom read the Marilyn Manson book?

STRAUSS: Yeah, the only book I was scared to have my parents read was The Game. I tore a couple of pages out before I gave them a copy. It’s one thing to imagine Marilyn Manson doing those things, because he’s not their son. Imagining me doing it is another story.

HENDRIKX: I’m headed to Mexico. Is there any advice you want to impart on me maybe from your book Emergency that might help me?

STRAUSS: You can get kidnapping insurance. [laughs] You should be fine man. In most vacation spots you don’t even know that there are bodies in the streets elsewhere. So yeah, enjoy your trip!

Books by Neil Strauss:

The Long Hard Road Out of Hell by Marilyn Manson with Neil Strauss

Don’t Try This at Home: A Year in the Life of Dave Navarro with Neil Strauss

The Dirt: The Autobiography of Mötley Crüe with Neil Strauss

How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale by Jenna Jameson with Neil Strauss

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists by Neil Strauss

Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life by Neil Strauss

Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead by Neil Strauss

Follow Neil Strauss on twitter @NeilStrauss

Follow Eric Hendrikx on twitter @EricHendrikx

ZAKK WYLDE - From the Peaks of Valhalla

2011-05-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

When Odin, Norse god and ruler of Asgard, sent one man from the highest peaks of Valhalla to deliver a sonic message to all mankind that would restore order across the globe, he didn’t choose his son Thor. Instead he sent Zakk Wylde, the twenty-five year veteran of the Ozzy Osbourne band and frontman of Black Label Society. And when this battle ready Berzerker sought to construct a metal-frenzied legion that would spread across the globe on a course of global domination, a family was created – the Black Label Society. “It’s much more than just a band,” says Wylde, who has dedicated his life to his passion for music and family, “it’s about family, unity, and mindset.”

In the two decades since Ozzy Osbourne hired him away from his job at a New Jersey gas station, Zakk Wylde has established himself as a guitar icon known and revered the world over. Wylde has won nearly every guitar award imaginable and graced countless magazines’ covers and is a major influence to a new battalion of rock guitarists.

Writing and recording with Osbourne led to multi-platinum success, inspiring him to create the now iconic Black Label Society in 1998. In the decade plus since, BLS has turned the notion of what a rock band should be upside down by inspiring legions of fans known as Berserkers, all over the world to follow the mantra Strength, Determination, Merciless, Forever (SDMF for short). Wylde and his Berzerkers have established a heavy metal institution true to the vision of uncompromising, unfiltered and unrestrained Rock ‘n’ Roll. To date, Black Label Society has sold more than 3.5 million albums worldwide and continues to be a massive presence on the worldwide touring and merchandising circuits.

Check In. Rock Out.

On February 4, 2010 Zakk Wylde stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego to promote the launch of their partnership with Gibson Guitars for the Check In, Rock Out. “I think it’s awesome,” said Wylde, “Anyone staying at the Hard Rock Hotel can borrow a Gibson guitar, headphones and an amp for free. You can’t beat that.”

Wylde also one of his guitars to dedicate to the Hard Rock Collection – a Gibson Custom Zakk Wylde Les Paul Bullseye guitar. Wylde gave an impromptu speech to an entourage of media and Black Label Society fans who came to watch him stroll Hard Rock’s infamous black carpet and commit one of his axes into one of the world’s greatest rock memorabilia collections.

The Black Vatican

Instead of recording his eighth album at another studio on the road, Wylde decided to build his own studio atop his own Valhalla home above Los Angeles. The Black Vatican, as it came to be known, features a complete recording studio, kitchen, lounge and bathroom, the latter of which was designed in tribute to the 1973 film The Exorcist. “The bathroom will literally scare the shit out of you, no laxatives required around here,” Wylde laughs, “Although it backfires on me sometimes. Like when my eight-year-old goes to the bathroom in there, he covers his eyes and ends up pissing all over the place.”

Starship Enterprise visits the Black Vatican

January 24, 2010 “Star Trek” icon William Shatner paid a visit to the Black Vatican, Zakk Wylde’s recording studio to collaborate on a song for William Shatner’s forthcoming record Seeking Major Tom – a compilation of his favorite rock songs where Shatner and friends have recomposed songs including a cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man’ that they recorded together.

“Zakk is one of the great guitarists who played with Ozzy Osbourne. A master playing a cover of Iron Man. He’s fantastic! I’m energized,” exclaimed Shatner.

Bringing Metal to the Children

On September 13, 2011 HarperCollins will release the handbook to all things heavy metal: Bringing Metal to the Children by Zakk Wylde and Eric Hendrikx. Inspired by his encounters with the Viking god Odin, Wylde assembles legions of Berzerkers worldwide for tales of glory, debauchery, and mayhem.

In Bringing Metal to the Children, Zakk Wylde, the man who turned heavy metal touring into a journey of fantastical excess, shares what really goes on behind tour bus windows, backstage doors, and in the recording studio. Beginning with his very first gig, Wylde details his epic ride through the music business, offering both sound and not-so-sound advice to young Metal Loki everywhere. The book chronicles many riotous stories from the road with many of heavy metal’s gods including; Ozzy Osbourne, Eddie Van Halen, and Dimebag Darrell, as well as testosterone-fueled appearances by professional wrestlers Chris Jericho, Bubba Dudley and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Follow ZakkWylde on twitter @ZakkWyldeBLS

Follow Eric Hendrikx on twitter @EricHendrikx

William Shatner & Zakk Wylde recording Iron Man

2011-01-31T00:56:00.000-08:00

STREET LEAGUE™ – LIMITLESS BY DESIGN

2010-11-24T18:28:00.000-08:00

“Limitless by design” and founded upon individuality, progression and skill, street skating is the most rapidly growing and technically advanced sport on God’s hippie green earth. Making sweet use of urban plazas, common stairways, ledges and handrails within our concrete jungles, street skaters have established a guerrilla style sport like no other, giving life to tricks only believed to be possible in a video game. But not until recently has there ever been a competition that could accurately score these gravity-defying stunts, while engaging both the riders and audience. Not until Street League anyway.

Masterminded by renaissance street skater celebrity Rob Dyrdek, Street League has high aims of revolutionizing all street skate competition and keeping it within the hands of the skateboard industry. And by developing the first-ever live-scoring system for competitions, he has done just that.

In a series of three events in 2010, Street League put $1.2 Million Bucks on the table in prize money – the most in skateboard history. Beyond the purse, competitors can also win best trick in each event, and get to share in the overall profits of the Street League, another first-ever. This is why the roster is flooded with over twenty of the top skaters in the world, who have signed up to skate exclusively in their events, and why you can expect to see thin rosters in other competitions next year. Sorry ESPN.

ROB DYRDEK INTERVIEW AT STREET LEAGUE EVENT 9-11-10

HENDRIKX: Rob, you have completely revolutionized the scoring system for competitive street skating, bringing a tremendous amount of attention to Street League. At the same time, you’ve signed up over twenty of the best street skaters in the world including Ryan Sheckler, Paul Rodriguez, Chris Cole, and Sean Malto. Can you please explain how Street League is so different from other street skating competitions?

DYRDEK: Yeah, of course. All of the competitions in the past have either been a sixty-second run or an open jam format, both of which you never knew what place a single guy held at any time. So the biggest fundamental difference is I created Street League more along the lines of traditional sports, but kept all the core values of our sport. We divide a real concrete urban plaza into four distinct skill-set areas. Each guy goes seven times, one at a time, and then each trick is scored instantly with the ISX scoring system. So now you’re following the competition play by play, where skaters are going trick for trick, and most importantly, not a single trick goes unnoticed. You might see a guy miss his first trick, then bail two in the second section, moving him down into fourth place. Then when they get down to that final section we could end up with what we had in our first competition, which was five guys with a shot to win it all, going trick for trick, until Nijah Huston kickflipped out to frontside boardslide and won a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It’s the first time that the audience can be engaged, watch the event like four quarters of a game, and know what’s going on the entire time. They can follow the story that develops inside the actual event, as opposed to just waiting until the events over to be told what happened.

HENDRIKX: “By Street Skaters, For Street Skaters,” sounds like the key phrase here. Is that too cliché here?

DYRDEK: Not at all brother. No one has ever created anything like this from within our industry. We’ve always been lumped into general action sports, forcing us to be part of their program to get any of the mainstream exposure and attention. What we’re doing is isolating all aspects of our sport, which is street skating only. We’re the gorilla in the room here. It’s the majority of all things that are action sports. Street skating is bigger and growing faster than all the other action sports combined and has its own industry that doesn’t even care about those mainstream contests, because they’re unnecessary. This is the first time that our entire industry has embraced a singular event on this scale.

HENDRIKX: Tell us exactly how the new ISX scoring system is more accurate and how it helps the competitors?

DYRDEK: One of the fundamental problems with other competitions and their traditional judging is that they base everything on an overall impression, with no real method to the madness. To fix this, we’ve broken down the fifty core skateboarding tricks and all of the combinations of those fifty tricks that make up every trick in existence. Then we assessed a value range to each of those, giving special circumstance to style. This gives us a more accurate score for each trick, so that harder tricks are rewarded, and there is accountability inside the judging. There is no free-for-all inside it anymore.

HENDRIKX: Mix that up in your cocktail and add a splash of consistency?

DYRDEK: Consistency is what this is all about. That’s why we saw Nijah Huston, Shane O’Neil, and Torrey Pudwill who were first, second and third in the first event, not even qualify in the third event. That’s how hard this contest is. The outright best dudes survive by making every trick count, the stakes are so high.

HENDRIKX: Rob, what’s next for Street League and how do you plan to keep all of these world-class shredders coming back, as opposed to skating in other big name competitions?

DYRDEK: The answer is exclusivity my friend. They can’t skate any league they want to. That’s exactly why Paul Rodriguez and Ryan Sheckler weren’t at the Maloof Money Cup this year. It’s also why Paul Rodriguez, Chris Cole and Greg Lutzka weren’t at the X Games. In the first year of their contracts, they were allowed two wild card contests, which is what fragmented the industry. But going forward, all of our skaters are 100% exclusive and they won’t skate anything else. The reality is that we are holding a purse of 1.2 million dollars in prize money, which doubles all other contest major competitions combined. That’s how much bigger Street League is. On top of that, we have a profit share with all the skaters based on how well they end up ranked at the end of the year. We’re trying to build something together that is bigger than all other competitions combined, and take care of our own.

HENDRIKX: Thanks man, always good to see you, and best of luck with your competition!

DYRDEK: Thanks Brother and God Bless.

The pros signed to Street League are undoubtedly the elite of professional street skateboarding:

Mike Mo Capaldi

Chris Cole

Nick Dompierre

David Gonzalez

PJ Ladd

Terry Kennedy

Eric Koston

Greg Lutzka

Sean Malto

Billy Marks

Chaz Ortiz

Brandon Biebel

Luan Olivieira

ToreyPudwill

Peter Ramondetta

Dylan Rieder

Paul Rodriguez

Nyjah Huston

Tommy Sandoval

Ryan Sheckler

Mikey Taylor

Additional Street League Facts:

How is the course designed?

Each Street League course is designed by Rob Dyrdek and California Skateparks (www.californiaskateparks.com). In the first time concrete plazas have been built inside an arena setting, California Skateparks has brought an artistic approach to each section and floor layout. Each skate plaza course will be entirely different at each event but will be divided into four distinct sections. Each section tests a different area of street skating (creative section, line section, technical section, and big section).

How does the format work?

Street League has each skater going one at a time in a line-up. Each skater does their trick one after another in the same section for seven attempts. Key in the Street League format is the fact that every trick counts with tricks that are not landed given a zero. Landed tricks are judged on a 0.0 to 10.0 scale for a cumulative point total that determines ranking. Each trick can fall into a separate range of points according to difficulty (0 - 2, 2- 4, 3- 5). Combinations of these tricks, innovations, special circumstance (special style, doing tricks the "hard way," switch, nollie, etc.) add additional points to each score. Maximum possible trick score is 10.0.

This also allows for viewers to have greater understanding of the skating in each section. Average total points per section, the consistency percentage in each section, and the average score of each landed trick will show which sections are the strong-points or weaknesses for each skater.

What is ISX instant scoring?

ISX stands for the Instant Scoring Experience (www.isxscoring.com). The ISX judging dials and system provide instant, real-time results for every trick and updates these standings to arena displays, announcers, the ESPN TV broadcast and even the online fantasy league instantly.

What does ISX do for the event?

This creates fast paced real-time understanding of exactly what place every skater is in at every moment of the event. This will allow the viewers and skaters to know exactly what place everyone is at every moment of the event, allowing the winner to be known at the very instant the last trick the event is scored.

How is the judging done?

There are five Street League judges. Each judge has an ISX dial. They judge each trick that is done in each section. The highest and lowest scores are dropped and then the middle three scores are instantly averaged to make the trick score that is added to the running point total.

Who qualifies into the finals?

The skaters with the top six highest scores will qualify into the finals on the Saturday of each event. One additional skater will win a spot into the finals from the Last Chance Qualifier contest on the big section at the kick off of the Finals on Saturday.

Maloof Money Cup Skateboard Championships

2010-09-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ever thought skateboarding would be the industry that enhances educational and cultural exchange programs around the world, stimulates tourism opportunities to foster economic growth in third-worldcountries,and provide numerous nations with an affordable and accessible activity for their youth? Probably not, with all of the anti-streetskater jargon we see in parking lots, plazas, parks andother public and private hotspots, sporting savory concrete and marble benches and smooth aluminum hand rails on their properties.

But it doesn’t matter how
many No Skateboarding
signs are posted in our communities, or how many millions of skateboard deterrents are bolted down tothose benches, ledges and stair rails, because the children have spoken—Skateboarding is the fastest growing
sport on the planet.

Leading the pack in this global action sports take-over is Las Vegas Palms Hotel owner Joe Maloof. No stranger to sports, Joe also owns the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, and was recently named a Hero by CNN Headline
News for his work in the community through the Maloof Skateboarding Assistance Foundation to provide financial assistance to skateboarders, who are often considered too high risk to insure.

Consistent with his community conscious direction, Joe has developed a skateboard competition that not only provides highly sought-after entertainment across the nation, and globally, but also gives back
to those communities tenfold.

“I think the New York City Maloof Money Cup 3 event we just held was terrific in two ways. After the event, I was contacted by twenty-seven other cities around the nation that wanted us to bring the
Maloof Money Cup (MMC) competition to their city and build a skatepark for their community. And then, after MMC3 was done, the skatepark we built and left for the community
of Queens was voted the best skatepark in the city of New York. So it was not only great for our brand, but also great for the community of New York City and of course,
mainly for the kids.

The Maloof Money Cup 4 was held in Orange County, California. It was a tremendous event that
exceeded our expectations and delivered world class skateboarding to Southern California with the largest cash prizes in the industry. We had great acts there as well to entertain the crowd including Nelly and Lil Jon.

Next, we’re headed to Portland, where we will hold MMC5. We’re gonna have an amazing event there, close to the Rose Garden, bring in the competition and leave the community with a wonderful and unique skatepark. We are working in conjunction with the City of Portland on this one, where we’ll put up 75% of the money and the city will contribute 25%. I’m really excited about Portland.

I think next year we’ll have between three and four MMC events in the United States and we’ll also hold one in South Africa. It’s hard to decide where to else to go outside the US, we’ve had interest from Brazil, China, Germany and the list goes on. We really have to be strategic as to what we want to establish, since there is so much interest and opportunity. We really need to do it the right way so we aren’t running around with our heads cut off.

The South Africa event will be held in Kimberley, the diamond capital of the world, September 30 through October 2, 2011. It’s a beautiful city with wonderful people, and I’m proud to say that we will be bringing something exciting to their community and leave them with something special for their children to enjoy for many years to come. It’s really a spectacular, beautiful area, right where the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans meet.

We always give the opportunity for the local skaters in the community to make the competitions, but there’s definitely no favoritism. They can make it if they’re good enough. We always want to make sure that we maintain the integrity of the event so that we have the best available skaters in the world, as we have in the past and I’m sure we will in the future.”

2010 Maloof Money Cup Volcom Street Pro Finals Results

1. Chris Cole - $100,000

2. Nyjah Huston - $40,000

3. Sean Malto - $25,000

4. Torey Pudwill - $15,000

5. Tommy Sandoval - $6,000

6. Bastien Salabanzi - $5,000

7. Ryan Decenzo - $4,000

8. Justin Brock - $3,000

9. David Gonzales - $2,500

10. Billy Marks - $2,000

11. Jake Duncombe - $1,500

12. Garret Hill - $1,500

DJ AM (Adam Michael Goldstein) 1973-2009

2009-08-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

DJ AM (Adam Michael Goldstein 1973-2009)
by Eric Hendrikx, photography by Eric Hendrikx

"New York, New York. Big city of dreams, but everything in New York ain’t always what it seems." – DJ AM reciting lyrics by Grandmaster Flash, August 25, 2009

These were among the last words from DJ AM (Adam Michael Goldstein) before his body was found on Friday August 28, 2009 in his SoHo apartment in New York City. Two days earlier, I was in NYC in front of his ornate edifice apartment building, keen that he was not keeping to his obligated schedules, but still heavy with anticipation of shooting a few photos with him in his eclectic, cobblestone paved neighborhood.

Adam was known for dating starlets Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore, for having an extravagant collection of sneakers that absorbed most of his Los Angeles home, and for his music. He scratched rhythms on albums for Will Smith and Madonna, played concerts with Jay-Z, and recently raised the live performance bar with his high-energy collaborative musical duo with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker; a friend with whom he formed an unimaginable bond after surviving a harrowing plane crash in September 2008, that claimed the lives of four. The two barely survived, both men on fire as they fled the crash, while flames engulfed the jet and the remaining four whose lives were claimed in the accident.

Co-owner of the posh Las Vegas club LAX, Adam’s career was on the rise, having recently signed the richest deejay contract in the history of Las Vegas to perform weekly at the Palms Hotel nightclub Rain. His deejay performances brought in more than $25,000 per show and his headlining jams with Travis Barker sold for much higher. He recently finished filming an intervention-style drug addiction series for MTV, set to premiere Fall 2009. Adam also recently participated in the filming of Iron Man 2, scheduled to release Summer 2010.

I recently worked with Adam in Las Vegas and San Diego, photographing him for several media pieces including the cover of AC Luxury Magazine, in celebration of the opening of his new Atlantic City nightclub Dusk. “All I can tell you is I trust my gut and it led me here. I have faith that I am right where I’m supposed to be as long as I follow my heart’s desire,” said Adam. “That instinct has led me here and I trust it no matter what. We shall see what Dusk has in store for this great city.”

My first introduction with Adam was in Las Vegas at the Palms Hotel where I met the ear-to-ear smiling artist coming out of his contract signing with the Palms Hotel owners, a contract that made him the highest paid deejay in Las Vegas, ever. We set about the hotel and casino to several savvy spots I previously eyed to shoot photos for the launch of his upcoming tenure at Club Rain. After viewing the photos, Adam said that he loved them and was disappointed that his hair was a bit “poofy”. The next day he went for a haircut before we met again in San Diego at the Hard Rock Hotel.

I arrived early at the San Diego Hard Rock Hotel to set up our photo shoot in Adam’s Rock Star Suite before he arrived. I completely remodeled the room for my shoot, rolling up carpets to expose a smooth-surface hardwood floor and taking a red leather case-study chair from another room that I deemed fit for the set. Sweating profusely under high-intensity lights, I readied the suite to my desire. We were limited on time, as Adam only had a short while before his gig at the hotels’ Club 207 launch party. As luck would have it, the last light I turned on blew the circuit breaker, killing all the power in Adam’s suite and several other rooms on the floor. Knock Knock Knock. I opened the door and there stood Adam, “What are you doing in the dark? And why are you all sweaty?” he asked. After promising him I wasn’t doing anything strange in his room and that I would fix the situation during his gig, I led Adam to an alternate location for photos, an amazing wall-sized graphic of one of his favorite artists, Run DMC. Elated with the find, Adam paid homage, throwing down classic poses in front of the wall as I fired away with my camera.

After his deejay set, we returned to the newly illuminated room, as I had spoken to the hotel management and had the electricity turned back on. Adam was in great spirits and we traded stories about our musical influences while I prepared to photograph what would become the last photos I would ever take of him. I was truly amazed at his bibliography of deejays, hip-hop and rock artists that stemmed from his sheer admiration for the art that paved the melodious streets he walked. We took several photos in the room as I searched for a signature image that would epitomize his character and fervor for authenticity. At one point during out shoot, I asked Adam to exude a look of confidence and sincerity, while holding his hands lowered in prayer. The image reveals his sincere gratitude for the life he led. We used this image (featured above) for the cover of AC Luxury Magazine prior to his death.

Once finished, I walked Adam to the door and thanked him for the opportunity and honor to work with one of the greatest deejays of our time. Adam reached out, shook my hand, and said, “No, no, the honor is completely mine.” I will always disagree those last few words.

Good bye Adam. Thank you for sharing your amazing talents and generosity with the world. I hope you’ve found the peace you deserve brother. The honor was completely mine.

DJ AM Rest in Peace, friend.

2009-08-30T13:42:00.001-07:00

2009-07-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

Maloof Money Cup Skate Championships

On June 4, 2009, I attended the Maloof Money Cup Launch Party, hosted by Joe and Gavin Maloof at their Las Vegas Palms Casino. Over twenty pro skaters joined in as we toasted to this year’s event with Le Tourment Vert Absinthe and a high stakes poker tournament won by pro skater Jake Brown, who donated his winnings to the Maloof Skateboard Assistance Program, a non-profit organization that provides assistance to skateboarders who suffer injuries during contests. Also in attendance were Adam Dyet, Paul Rodriguez (Last year’s Maloof Money Cup Street winner), Pierre Luc Gagnon, Lizard King, Bob Burnquist, Bryan Herman, Jake Duncombe, Braydon Szafranski, Brandon Biebel, Bobby Worrest, Billy Marks, Clarke Miyasaki, Corey Duffel, Heath Kirchart, Chris Gentry, Silas Baxter-Neal, Kurtis Colamonico, Adam Taylor, Rune Glifberg and Rodrigo TX.

[pictured: Bucky Lasek]
After the poker tournament, Mr. Maloof invited us to dinner at the N9NE Steakhouse, where I plopped myself next to him, stuffed myself with a lobster tail that would have set me back $165 (menu price), and asked him a few questions about the event. Oh and just to clarify, if you think I would ever drop that kind of cash to eat a salty bug for dinner then you are crazy. Like maybe you need a straight jacket.

Hendrikx: How did you get involved with skateboarding?
Maloof: I used to look out my window and see all these kids playing basketball, soccer and baseball out in the street. Then I began to notice an overwhelming amount of kids skateboarding every day. Skateboarding has become a common part of our culture over the past years and I realized this as a great opportunity for my family to support and enjoy the sport.

[pictured: Ryan Sheckler]

Hendrikx: What’s going to be different in this year’s competition?
Maloof: This year we will premiere the first mini mega ramp designed by Bob Burnquist, Jake Brown and Pierre Luc Gagnon. It’s never been done before and attendees will have a chance to see it all happen up close.

Hendrikx: What’s on the Horizon for the Maloof Money Cup?
Maloof: We’re planning on increasing the amount of events each year in different cities. Next year we will have two competitions in Costa Mesa, California and in Las Vegas, Nevada. Eventually, we’d like to have four competitions per year. But what’s really exciting is that we are working toward leaving behind brand these new skateparks after each competition for the communities to keep!

Hendrikx: Last year the Maloof Money Cup aired on CBS. Where can the nation watch the event this year, if they can’t see it live?
Maloof: This year we are collaborating with Allied Sports to make the competition available on both NBC and MTV.

Hendrikx: Thanks Joe, you’ve been a fantastic host and an incredible ambassador for the sport.
Maloof: Thank you! Come back to the Palms any time and I’ll see you at the event.
(I just might take you up on that Joe, I just might…)

[pictured: Jake Brown]

Also dining at our table were pro skaters Lizard King, Pierre Luc Gagnon and Adam Dyet. While snacking down a thick steak and trying not to drizzle on his chic white suit, Dyet shared his enthusiasm for the upcoming contest and his love for San Diego. “I’m focused on making it into the finals, and then I’ll go from there,” says Dyet. “One thing I can say is that I will be partying for sure.” When asked about his affinity for San Diego, Dyet responded, “I go to San Diego all the time for photo and video shoots.” Dyet adds, “We usually go to Washington Street, the best skatepark ever, and then go shred the streets of San Diego.” Later we spoke more about his preparation for the event. “I’ve been learning a lot of new tricks this past year and plan to break some of them out for the contest,” says the public favored skater, who has won best trick contest for tricks such as his nollie heel flip big spin to a backside lip slide on the rail.

Following dinner we headed up to Moon, the hotel’s premiere nightclub, where skater/DJ Jake Brown provided music mixes for an entourage of skaters and VIPS, including Adam Levine of Maroon Five. We drank absinthe into silly hours of the night, skaters got down to Brown’s fresh beats and unanimously voted Adam Dyet as best dressed skater.

[pictured: Joe Maloof with Monster Girls]

Interested in seeing the world’s greatest vert ramp and street skaters compete for more than $450,000 in cash and prizes? Yeah, me too! The Maloof Money Cup presented by etnies and Monster energy takes place July 10 – 12 at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif., during the opening week of the OC Fair. This event will showcase the Zoo York Pro Street Championship, Carl’s Jr. Pro Vert Championship, U.S. Women’s Pro Street Championship, World Industries Amateur Street and Vert Contest. With the largest pursed event in the history of skateboarding, this contest guarantees excitement and intensity you don’t want to miss!

For more information about the Maloof Money Cup event please visit www.maloofmoneycup.com

By Eric Hendrikx
http://www.hendrikxphotography.com/

[pictured: Eric Hendrikx, Joe Maloof, Gavin Maloof]

[pictured: best dressed Adam Dyet]

Street Dreams Movie with Rob Dyrdek

2009-06-10T01:20:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Street Dreams Movie with Rob Dyrdek

Remember the movies Gleaming the Cube and Rad? Or maybe you were totally into Point Break? Yep, you watched it every day, then running to your friends to spout off “I am an FBI agent!” in your best Keanu Reeves vocal. Ah the room reeks of nostalgia. So much for authenticity, right? Not this summer my friends. On June 12, 2009 you’ll have the chance to see a real skateboard movie made by real skateboarders. Street Dreams is the newest skateboard cult film written, produced and financed by MTV’s street skate veteran Rob Dyrdek. It’s a story about an up-and-coming skateboarder and his dreams, starring a cast of real skaters: Ryan Sheckler, Paul “P-Rod” Rodriguez, Terry Kennedy and Rob Dyrdek. Hilarious improvisation is provided by Ryan Dunn, the non-skating friend who offends everybody ala Jackass and Viva La Bam.
The Newport Beach Film Festival - Action Sports launch party was hosted by Etnies owner, Pierre Andre Senizergues “PAS”, at his private loft in Newport Beach. Sponsors included FUEL TV and SURFING Magazine and DJ Mark Moreno provided illustrious musical vibrations. The party was tastefully executed in true PAS style, with hosted cocktails and catering (including my favorite Ahi sushi tacos), and an eclectic crowd! Another successful soiree! Kudos Pierre, kudos!!!

[pictured: Paul “P-Rod” Rodriguez]
The premiere for Street Dreams took place at this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival for a sold out audience. All the pros in the movie showed up for the premiere including Rob Dyrdek, Ryan Sheckler, Paul Rodrigez, Terry Kennedy. The venue was flooded with fans, making this movie the Most Buzzworthy Film of the Newport Beach Film Festival.
I asked Rob Dyrdek how his concept began...

[pictured: Ryan Sheckler, Terry Kennedy]

and he responded, “My co-writer Nino came to me one day saying that one of the Baldwin brothers just sold a movie for $700 grand about some kids who lose their skatepark. A treatment, not even a script! And we were like F*ck that! F*ck Hollywood! Not one person is gonna make a real skateboard movie?” Rob continues, “So we set off and six months later we had a script written. In Hollywood they say you should never finance your own sh*t, so we came up with a budget and I went out to find financers.

[Sal Masekela, Rob Dyrdek, Jason Bergh]

So I’m sitting in a meeting with a bunch of pro football players interested in financing the movie and I’m laying down what skating has become over the years. I’m laying down all of my enthusiasm for skateboarding right there on the table. And then one of them tells me he knew this movie would be big because he just saw some kids in the mall rolling on their heals,” laughs Rob. “Right? So I just gave the most passionate speech in the world about the present and future of skateboarding and he just hit me with Heelys? I was like really? Why the F*ck would I not put up my own money to do this? That’s when I decided to finance it myself, and I didn’t want to wait. I was like ‘F*ck this, let’s go make a movie!’ and off we went.”
The movie hits the big screens on June 12 nationwide. Go see it. This one really is Rad!
By Eric Hendrikx
http://www.hendrikxphotography.com/

[pictured: Terry Kennedy, Eric Hendrikx, Stone Hendrikx]

[pictured: Eric Hendrikx, Stone Hendrikx]

Rebel with a Cause: The Etnies Story

2009-06-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

France, 1985 – A hesitant new army recruit, Pierre Andre Senizergues is taken before the French Army committee to receive his call of duty. When asked of his skills and background, Pierre answered “I’m a professional skateboarder!” Not knowing what to do with the young skater, Pierre was selected to be a graveyard shift transport driver. For six months his job taunted his insanity until, in an outburst of anxious rage, Pierre attacked 15 soldiers and a captain until they shot him and sent him to the hospital. Interviews with the army psychologist determined that it would be best to let Pierre skateboard in the afternoons before he went on a killing spree. Things got better after that; much better.

Fast forward to 2009, Pierre owns and operates Etnies, the largest skate-boarding shoe company on the planet. Built from the back of his van (and one-time permanent residence), Etnies resonates of true skateboard authenticity in its employees, team riders, product and philosophy. And while this anti-establishment genre of concrete shredding athletes often reeks of havoc, Pierre has devoted himself to earthly causes and human kindness. His relentless passion to create the best skateboard shoes on the planet, also shares with the people who can’t afford a pair. On April 10, 2009, Pierre with his crew and special guests provided more than 2,000 men, women and children a hot meal and a brand new pair of Etnies shoes.

“In these tough economic times, there is more reason than ever to help those in need and give back to the causes that touch your heart – for me this is the Los Angeles Mission,” said Etnies owner Pierre Andre Senizergues. “For over 10 years my team and I have donated thousands of shoes to the homeless on Skid Row and this year will be no different. Not only because the need will be greater, but because it is this small contribution that can make a difference in someone’s life.”

Also participating in the event was KTLA’s reporter/anchor/TV host Elizabeth Espinosa. The two-time Emmy award winning, Woman of the Year recipient, Hispanic community ambassador, professional women’s advocate, special needs sibling and activist (Whew!!!) took time out of her action packed day to join Etnies, handing out a fresh set of kicks and a hot meal to thousands of homeless in need.

“Sharing with those in need is what I believe in,” said special guest Elizabeth Espinosa. “We are on this planet to look after one another. Acts of kindness as shown in Pierre’s generosity today allow us to grow as a community. I am honored to join Pierre and support his cause on this special day.”

For more information about Pierre and Etnies please visit http://etnies.com/. For more information about Elizabeth Espinosa, please visit http://www.elizabethespinosa.net/.

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Grind For Life 2009

2009-04-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here's an article I recently put together for The LIST Magazine! I write a monthly column called "Sports That'll Poke Your Eye Out!!!" Check it out!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Grind for Life 2009

I Ate Ryan Sheckler’s Nachos!!!

Mike Rogers didn’t lose an eye to skateboarding. It was to cancer. After a cranial-facial resection with a brain lift, removal of his eye, cheekbone, roof of his mouth and some teeth, the life-long skater beat cancer for the second time in his life and is back at competitive skateboarding. And he didn’t stop there. Rogers stepped it up and founded Grind for Life (grindforlife.org), an organization that provides financial assistance to cancer patients and their families. Can you say Kudos? How about Andy MacDonald?

Cause that’s who sits on the GFL board of directors as they host events and festivals around the nation. Holding 17 X-Games medals and 8 WCS World Championships, MacDonald has been a supporter of GFL since its inception in 2003.
The Clash at Clairemont 2009 was packed with all the goodies an event like this should have: pro skate and bmx demos, best trick contests, pro autograph session, loads of giveaways, live music and nachos. Yes, nachos. And if you weren’t there, you blew it like Ryan Sheckler, who missed his flight to San Diego and a healthy helping of cheese and chips that ended up in the belly of yours truly. Maybe next time Ryan!

Attending supporters were graced by the presence of many juicy names in skate- boarding and BMX including Duane Peters, PLG, Bucky Lasek, Jake Brown and Christian Hosoi.

I’m not gonna lie, seeing Christian Hosoi shredding the pool brought me back to the Bones Brigade days and made me want to go steal wood from a construction site and build a mini-ramp in my parents' back yard. And yet in the midst of my skate or die nostalgia, I managed to snap a few pics…

It felt like most of San Diego was there, but if you missed it, my friends at Shred or Die shot some footage.

Oh, and there were no skateboards allowed in the park during the event. Unless your dad is a professional action sports photographer and writes for The LIST Magazine …

http://www.hendrikxphotography.com/