THE IRON CURTAIN

A Visit to Jensen's Art Studio

2008-01-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

I took a trip with my good mate Nick Jensen to his personal art studio in Holland Park today to get some fucking work done...
For those who don't know, Nick is a fantastic painter and just as good on a skateboard.
check his art at: NickJensen.co.uk
and If you haven't seen the new Lakai "Fully Flared" video yet... you're sleeping.
Nick is one of the best people on the planet, bar none... not to mention, makes one hell of a bacon sandwich.
I love this guy.

... and now I'm off to Barcelona. This is gonna be fun.

There's a Slight Resemblance

2008-01-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

sexy

sexier

sexiest

Here is a portrait done of, oddly enough, my man Steve (Savior Self - Old English Klick, 1904, sucka!!!) and myself.
Being the self-admitted narcissist that I am, I must say its about fucking time I'm on a Poster in the London Underground... and I am looking quite suave too, I might add... (where the ladies at?!?!?!)
This stunning bit of artwork was done by one of my favorite designers, as well as my good friend- Nora Alhamrani (La Verge) for the "Art Below" project. Nora just graduated from Chelsea University with an MA in Graphic Design... you go girl!!!

The portrait can be seen at Hammersmith Station, on Platform 1 of the Hammersmith & City Line.

Now all I have to do is sit back and wait for that Nike photo incentive to come in the mail.... 'doooooooooot!'

A Beautiful Day

2008-01-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

Battersie Power Station- As seen on Pink Floyd's "Animals" cover artwork.

The National Portrait Gallery

St. Paul's Catherdral

Trafalgar Square

The first weekend of the Year brought in perhaps the most beatiful weekend I've seen since I've been here... Hardly a cloud in sight. So I decided to 'get my tourist on' and take some photos of this English winter time anomaly.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2008-01-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

Small part of the packed crowd... I see Seth.

Me (kinda) and my American counterpart Will Harmon... about 6 hours deep.

I don't remember much of this night. I went to the Royal Oak Pub in Hackney... I was tossed pretty early on and didn't take many flics, but I remember having a good time... until those back to back shots of Sambuka came on deck- Ouch! That shit had the room spinning as soon as it touched my lips...

Anyhow it's going to be a good year...
Happy Belated New Year to all of you!
MMVIII? I'll be having that.

Christmas in London

2008-01-08T18:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve in Sloane Square.

The absolutely amazing Christmas Roast courtesy of my man, Marshal... Yes Marsh!!!

It was a pretty quiet Christmas season... and I quite enjoyed it. A couple spiffs, a few Stellas, and a roast... off the chain
Cheers to Marshall and Ches for the food and accommodations. As Well as fellow Yanks- Will Harmon and his sister the company.

Merry Christmas...

2007-12-24T06:50:00.000-08:00

My gift to all of you... heres a download of "Merry Crassmas".
This was a festive Holiday 7" from the definitve Anarcho-Nihilists, Crass. This track pretty fucking rare, even to your seasoned lice-ridden, glue-sniffing, Strongbow Drinking squat-punk.
Now, get your eggnog, put on your slippers and enjoy the sounds of the Christmas Season.

and Have a Very Merry ~~Christmas~~ Crassmas

Nixon Holiday '07

2007-12-24T06:37:00.000-08:00

I know I've been slacking with putting my design work on here recently... but I assure you, that doesn't mean I'm slacking on the design work itself. Anyhow, here are a few graphics I designed that just dropped in the current Holiday season line from Nixon Watches... although the type graphic had been slightly changed from the initial graphic I had sent... for lack of a better term "dumbed down".... I hate when that happens.

Banksy in Old Street

2007-12-23T19:02:00.000-08:00

A year and a half ago the Old Street Area of Shoreditch, East London was like taking a trip to the Banksy Museum... housing classic pieces like the Smiley Faced Riot Cops extending across the Bridge over Old St., the huge Pulp Fiction- Samuel L. and John Travolta piece with the bananas, as well as the giant apache helocopter with a pink bow saying "Have a Nice Day". The first two of which have been buffed and the third being over taken by an giant rotating billboard (how bitterly ironic- fucking corporate blood suckers) which you can only see if you stand in front of the Kebab shop it overlooks at just the right angle...
This piece has been there for some time luckily, and I finally got the chance to snap a flic the other day.

...Speaking of Osiris

2007-12-23T18:37:00.001-08:00

Shuriken Shannon- Street Machine La Familia repping the "Kings of San Diego" shirt I designed for Street Machine in the new Osiris video "Feed the Need".

I might as well post his section from the video too... If you're not familiar with Shuriken's skating, take a look-
kid is off the fucking chain.

Shuriken is also the newest pro on Black Label Skateboards... congrats homie... handle it.

Phở with Osiris

2007-12-23T16:10:00.002-08:00

The Osiris Team were just in London for the Premier of "Feed The Need"- the newest Osiris video... I met up with the boys along with Brand Manager (as well as SD Legend) Mike Fitz and skateboarding's "buffest photographer" Leo Sharp, for the crown jewel in Asian noodle soups "Phở" at some hole in the wall in King's Cross...
In a season where we've seen videos from the likes of Nike, Habitat and most notably Lakai (which is pretty much the best video since Mouse, minus Ty Evans excess use of overly-dramatic edits and slow-mos) the Osiris video manages to come out strong, much to my surprise. Its a tough task to clean your hands of the oily-residue left over from the days of swoosh pants, D3s, and Josh Kasper- But they seem to have pulled it off, or at least begun to.
Check out Street Machine rider Jimmy Carlin and SD locals Shuriken Shannon and Marius Syvanen helping put San Diego back on the map... and of course the Don of Scotland and San Diego transplant- John Rattray.

Check my main man Jimmy Carlin's Section right here:

Polish Paul

2007-12-18T17:48:00.000-08:00

This is Pawel or to San Diegans "Paul". Paul graced San Diego with his presence some six months ago on a foreign work program . He stayed for about 5 months before having to return to his native Poland. Paul is quite possibly the biggest "skate rat" I have ever met. With his entire house (bathroom/ toilet included) covered in stickers from skateboard companies from the last 10 years.

Paul loves California (even getting Cali Love tattooed on his arm) but Hates:

-Mexican Food
-In N Out Burger
-Avacados
-Movies
-Television
-The Simpsons
-Drinking
-Smoking Cigarettes
-Smoking Weed
-the Beach
-Cracking Joints
-and women with 'Booty'

... So why do you like California?

SK8MAFIA4LIFE

Pawel, kocham ciebie.... dziekuje

Poland- Back for the FIrst Time

2007-12-18T17:09:00.000-08:00

Those who know me know I'm Polish as I am not one to shy away from my background... They don't call me "The Polish Hammer" for no reason... goddamn right (haha). This was my first trip to Poland and I can honestly say it was an amazing place. All be it, perhaps the gnarliest place I had ever been as well. In a country that has become the new home of 'Hooliganism' as well as housing the £1 litre of Vodka, things are bound to crack off. Within roughly 3 hours of landing in my "Homeland", I was being lead around the town of Sosnowicz (outside Katowice) by my good friend and pseudo tour guide Pawel, when from across the street we see a group of thugs attack another group of guys and things proceeded to get pretty fuckin rugged, ending with a couple steel toe kicks to the face for the unlucky chap on the ground... with the unmistakable sound of a broken face that was blatantly apparent even from our vantage point across the street.... Drunken thugs seemed to be a reoccuring theme in Poland, and without me giving a play by play of the rest of the incidents trust me... that wasn't the only person I saw get beat the fuck up... but the following day we were off to Krakow (the hometown of my fam) then to Warsaw... These are some pictures I took along the way.

R.I.P. Pimp C

2007-12-04T12:34:00.001-08:00

One half of my favorite rap group has died today. Pimp C was found dead this morning in his hotel room in Hollywood. It is a sad day for the South and rap music in general. Having grown up in the South myself, UGK were a staple for southern rap, and have been ever since. They helped pioneer the genre along side a handful of others. From there first full length release in 1992 "Too Hard Too Swallow" to their latest self titled double disk "Underground Kings" they truly became Kings in the rap community. If you've never listened to UGK buy "Pocket Full of Stones" or any of their classic releases.This is a true loss...

R.I.P. PIMP C.

Off to Poland

2007-11-30T08:04:00.000-08:00

I returned to London a week ago from Amsterdam. Tomorrow I will continue my whirlwind journey around Europe when I'm off to Poland. For those who don't personaly know me, I come from a mostly Polish family (as well as Ukranian and Russian). This will be by first time back in "Mother Poland" for anyone in my family since they immigrated to the US in the 1920s. Shit is going to be off the fucking chain... Chances are I won't be able to update this until I return in a week. BALLIN!

Crass - Feeding of the 5000 - London

2007-11-30T07:07:00.000-08:00

On Sunday November 25th I was able to attend the closest thing to a Crass show, I will ever see. Crass is easily one of my favorite bands ever (oddly enough right behind the Smiths, go figure) and it was an experience. Steve Ignorant, the male lead singing of Crass, put on the "Feeding of the 5000", a 2 night event bringing the punkest people in the world to Shepherd's Bush, London, I am not a Punk, nor have I ever claimed to be but I am a huge fan of 80's Anarcho-Punk.
Feeding of the 5000 is perhaps the most classic of Crass albums, and it was performed in it's entirty. Fucking Hell, it was a good show, I would go as far as to say it was the "second" best show I've ever seen, beind seeing Morrissey in Tijuana (September Posts). The crowd was an angry mix of colorful spiked hair and leather jackets, easily the punkest things I've seen.
Opening up for Crass (well Steve Ignorant) were two of my favorite bands from that era- Zounds and Flux of Pink Indians. Here are some pictures I took from the show and some videos that were posted on youtube.

Big A, Little a

Bloody Revolutions

Shaved Women

Amster-GOD-Dam

2007-11-30T06:43:00.000-08:00

I have speant a fair amount of time in Europe over the past seven years but regretully had never been to Amsterdam. I am an admitted pothead but had never made it to "Cannabis Town". This was an experience, I met up with two friends from the states, Adam and Vince aka the Diva and the Pussy (hahaha). It was a great trip to a beautiful city... the only glaring downsides to Amsterdam were - a lack of ATM machines, a lack of convenience stores, and "Holy Shit" good food is hard to find. Most every eatery sells the exact same disgusting old pizza and cheese hot dogs that look they have been sitting in the same glass case since '04 and then there was "FEBO" a Dutch fast food restaurant that look equaly as trife... a definite far cry from ye olde In-N-Out Burger. None the less, with all the city's shortcomings, the legality and readily availablness of weed more than made up for it.
Here are some flics that I had taken while walking the streets of this beautiful city.

Yes, Anne Frank!

2007-11-30T06:33:00.000-08:00

One of the hardest things I have ever seen... not sure who the artist is but it is fucking sick. For those of you who are uneducated and/or slept through 7th grade history class. Anne Frank was a German born Jewish girl who flead Germany to Amsterdam along with her family. Where they lived in solitude in a hidden room in the attic of another families house. Anne kept a diary of her experiences before she and her family were snitched on by some nazi sympothising cunts.... Anne Frank was a G, Nazis were pricks.

Mike Giant and My First Moment in the "Red Light District"

2007-11-29T19:02:00.001-08:00

Our very first night in Amsterdam as Adam, Vince, and I were wondering the streets of the city, we happend to come across this GiantOne tag... as I am quite the fan of Mike Giant's work I decided to stop and take a photo. As we sat admiring the wall of tags, I heard a banging (no pun intended) from behind. As I turned I was instantly confronted by a massive African beast of a woman behind glass with a big red light above it, hense "The Red Light District" (Oh, I get it). She went on yelling that we were blocking her window space, puzzled that we had completely disregarded her to take a photo of some writing on the wall.
Although, I knew being a hooker was a viable and legal profession in Amsterdam, I didn't expect to be confronted by it in such a way.... and, no I didn't fuck her nor anyother "Lady of the Night" for that matter... haha

20th Annual Cannabis Cup - Amsterdam

2007-11-29T18:15:00.000-08:00

The week of November 18th (or Thanksgiving week to us Yanks) High Times Magazine presented the 20th Annual Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, Holland. A week long festival in the marijuana capitol of the world. Bringing potheads from all over the world together for a spectacular week of smoking, sleeping, smoking, and sleeping some more. For this week, all of the top coffee shops in Amsterdam compete for title of "Best Cannabis" (although I would say over all California has better weed, in my opinion). This years winner was a heady indica from Barney's called G-13 Haze follwed by my personal favorite Grey Area's tasty Chocolope... from beginning to end the event was fuckin amazing.

The Cup Winner "G-13 Haze".... WOW!

Pascal Noir

2007-11-27T05:56:00.000-08:00

To all the ladies around the world. This is the man that puts me up when in Copenhagen as well as a fellow Street Machine emloyee... Danni Andreasen aka Pascal Noir is originally from a town in Denmark called Middlefart and now resides in Copenhagen.
Hes a fan of William S Burroughs, smoking copius amounts of hash, Charles Bukowski, skateboarding, vegatarian cuisine, and not leaving his house
Hollar at him...

Norse Projects Copenhagen

2007-11-27T05:38:00.000-08:00

Norse Projects is the sister shop to Street Machine Copenhagen, located in a new location directly around the corner from Street Machine... a more fashion/art alternative to the more mainstream skate appealof STM. The place in Copenhagen to pick up that ALIFE, HUF, Edwin, PAM, Undefeated, Neighborhood, Original Fake, Stussy and numerous other brands including the Norse Projects line... but just a reminder the American Dollar is worth absolute shit... Danish Kroners shit on US Dollars, so it may be quite pricey for us Yanks.

Myself along with the man behind the shop and all around socialite Mikkel aka Manza... Holla!

PS. Shouts to Anton, the other Man behind Norse

to check out the online store visit norseprojects.com

Street Machine Copenhagen

2007-11-27T05:22:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned numerous times on this blog, I work for a skateshop in San Diego called Street Machine. We have three shops- SD, obvioisly, Paris France, and Copenhagen Denmark... I make a trip to the shop at least once a year to catch up with the crew and see how things are doing. The shop just underwent an entire remodle... if you ever find yourself in the CPH check it out. Located at Kronprinsengade 3, Copenhagen K...

The homie Mikkel hard at work

New Street Machine Copenhagen exclusive board series designed Copenhagen and all around "street art" legend- "Huskmitnavn" a name that translates into English as "Remember My Name"... hard as fuck.

My Photographic Journey Through Copenhagen

2007-11-27T05:04:00.000-08:00

I am not a photographer, nor do I claim to be. I just like to take pictures... Here are some flics of the scenery of one of my favorite cities, Copenhagen, Denmark or "København" as the locals would say.

Back in København

2007-11-10T08:04:00.000-08:00

If London is my home away from home, then I guess that makes Copenhagen, my home away from my home waya from home... if thats makes any sense... none the less it is great to be back in frigid North of Europe... Living in Southern California I've forgotten what being cold is like, this city was a quick reminder... now I'm gonna get a Tuborg.

Lakai "Belmont" - Danny Brady Edition

2007-11-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of the new Danny Brady "Belmont" shoe from Lakai that I designed. With Danny Brady hailing from a town in Northern England called Blackpool, I wanted to give the shoe a strong English feel. What could be more English than a traditional houndstooth tweed? The logos on the tongues were a concept by Dan Magee, mimicking street signs in London while the Palace Waywards reference refers to the trifest of London skatehouses / the manor of Brady himself. The shoe also features a photo of Greggs Bakery on the insole.... YES!

Obey "Nineteeneightyfouria" - London

2007-11-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

Last week, Shepard Fairey graced London for his first solo show at the Stolen Space gallery on Brick Lane, East London.

Here are some flics of some of the work from the event.

Shepard reppin' the Iron Curtain during his DJ set.

The man of the night and myself.

Overall the show was great. Never vearing too far from what he does best, just ever evolving as an artist, designer, and vandal.
I am and have been a huge fan of Shepard's work. And it is aways a great pleasure to check out his shows.

Chapelle @ Slam City

2007-11-09T09:42:00.001-08:00

Last week, Slam was greated by a visit from perhaps the funniest person alive- Dave Chapelle. Dave, an avid fan of Skateboarding stoped by the shop to pick up a complete set up... He picked up the Jensen Roots board, I designed, and even asked specifically for Thunder trucks, Bones Swiss bearing, and 52mm wheels... All the while blasting music on his headphones. After setting up his complete, he asked for a marker and proceeded to sign the board to himself... then skated off as mystically as he entered.

All "Good" Things Must Come to an End

2007-11-09T09:28:00.000-08:00

The Dream Team (minus Jordan aka the Melted Iceberg) on our last day at the old Slam / Nike SB store.
Our nearly month long job is now over... a period that consisted of one day off and 10-11+ hours nearly everyday. I am glad its over, but it was a good time none the less. Yap, Will, and even Jordan, and I became good friends and it was a pleasure to boss them around and even give them occasional beatdown, just to let them know who's runnin this bitch... and thats why they call me Stalin.

an artists rendition of what Jordan would have looked like if he were in the above photo... Don't trip Jordan, I still love you.

Mid-way through the arduous task of breaking down the shop that had become my makeshift appartment... Sad times.

Cheers to everyone in the Slam City / Nike SB family it was a good run... Henry, Gareth, Seb, Magee, Jordan, Yap, and Will...
Hollachaboy!

"What The Dunk" Disaster Footage

2007-10-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Some great footage of the water pissing it down in the store, notice me trying to get boards off that wall while getting soaked in dirty filth ridden water... not Ballin!

skinhead

"What The Dunk?" Day or: Perhaps The Most Hectic Day of My Life

2007-10-19T15:41:00.001-07:00

So, I've been managing this Slam CIty/ Nike SB store in NikeTown London... this past tuesday had been poised to be the most hectic day of my life, but no one could have imagined how fucking hectic it would turn out to be.... We were scheduled to release, arguably, the most highly anticpiated shoe in years- the "What The Dunk", a virtual car wreck of the most über hyped SB Dunks from years past... then at noon we were meant to have a signing with the entire Nike SB team (minus Gino Ianucci, who happens to be on House Arrest back in NY)... followed by the European premier of the Nike SB video "Nothing But The Truth" ... and like any other skate video premier there was the obligatory after-party...

(I know this may seem long winded... but as I titled this post this was "Perhaps The Most Hectic Day of My life"

Dateline: 16th October, 2007 - 7:30am

I show up to work at 7:30 in the am, I'm confronted by a young 'chap' from Kent named Callum (left), it was no surprise to me- he had been sitting in front of that store since 11pm Friday night... and in the words of my late great Grandfather "Chisel" Stajkowski "Thats Re-Goddamn-diculous!!!!".... he had been perched on that small section of concrete on the corner of Regent St. and Oxford St. for nearly three and a half fucking days. Mind you, this intersection is the most heavily trafficed shopping area in all of Europe, not too mention it happened to be an exceptionaly beautiful weekend bringing out even more hoards of people, who were all quite intrigued by the line of crazed people wearing brighly colored all over-print hoodies that had started to accumulate throughout the day...

Behind Callum were the 100+ crowd who had all spent at least a solid 24 hours on the street.
As the line had been accumulating over the weekend reaching nearly 20 people by Saturday night, a good 60 people by Sunday night, and if you didn't make it by mid-day on Monday, the hundred pairs that were to be released would have all been accounted for by the 100+ crowd already waiting. The hype was compounded when more and more people got the word that pairs of the shoe were popping up on eBay for over $2,000.

....the mid-section of the line

... and around the corner where it drew to an end.

It was one of the most rediculously eye-opening sights of my life... I love shoes, as most anyone who knows me will tell you, but "Wow!", I don't love shoes that much... I do have a closet full of Nikes, admitedly, more than I fucking should, but I have never used a shoe message board, bought a pair of dunks on eBay, nor have I ever waited in line for a pair of shoes, let alone for days on end... but to each his own I guess, I do appaud their tenacity.

8:00am

I am first confronted with the shoes in person, an "abomination"... but the 'über consumer' I try keep keep burried deep down in me was actually somewhat excited to be holding these things.

The shoes go on sale! Callum, our dear friend from Kent's tireless, somewhat creepy, love for sneakers pays off, as he is first to own a pair. The massive line had attracted attention from local news agencys who wanted to see what the "Hype" was all about. Roughly six cameras in all.

The security team proceeds to escort these sneaker fiends in a single file line to the cash register...
I managed to sell through nearly 25 pairs when, the most oddly timed, bizarre 'disaster' struck.

8:45am

across from us they have been building a Nike iD studio, so there are shitloads of builders working all over the place. One of these builders manages to hit a water pipe directly over our store!!! A Fucking Broken Water Line?!?!?! You've got to be fucking kinding me... This results in a cascade of dirty stinky filthy water falling directly infront of our front archway. The water then began coming through our vent as well as the light fixtures, directly putting our stock in danger of water damage, including the so called "WHAT THE DUNKS". The water started to rise and we were all promptly evacuated from the building.

9:20am

After being evacuated from the building and then confronted by nearly a hundred deranged sneaker heads who were now standing in the rain, I expected things to get tricky.
Slam City Covent Garden manager, and my boss Henry schools Jordan, Yapski, and myself on the game plan, while we all ate Bacon sandwiches, which happend to be fuckin delicious... but consequently, the game plan was that I try and keep the crowd calm for the next three hours while soaking wet until we managed to sort out a plan B. A task that proved to be quite exhausting.

12:00pm

Plan B was to get this mob of hype zombies to our primary location at Niel's Yard, Covent Garden... Nike hired buses and black cabs to transport everyone... which proved to be a nightmare in and of itself.
After the flood 8-9 pairs of our 95 pair stock had been water damaged... but after having gone through all that, people were still more than eager to by them.

3:00pm

Baines helps asses the damage, while Magee reads a magazine...

A look at some of the damage from the ceiling

Myself and the King of Myspace haircuts, Jordan as we clammer to figure out what the fuck to do next.

We returned to the shop to figure out what the damages were. We got out lucky overall, a few boards were fucked up as well as near 20-30 pairs of shoes and numerous other softgoods. We got off quite easy considering what could have happend. Baines, Magee, Jordan, and myself spent the next four hours trying to get the shop back in some sort of working order...

8:30pm

After a day that would have left me pulling out my hair, if I had any , I finally got to relax and watch the Premier of the Nike SB video "Nothing But The Truth". The video was a bit lackluster, full of pointless skits that no one seemed to find funny, clever, or whitty... I found no redeeming qualities to any of the skits, but most of the skating was amazing.... All I have to say is Wieger Van Wageningen, however you say that... In my opinion the best section in the video by far, which also featured perhaps my favorite song ever "Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours" by the Smiths... fucking Brilliant

10:00pm

.... long fuckin day. Gimme a beer and a spliff, Goddamnit!

First week at NikeTown

2007-10-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

Well, the first week of my three week stint managing the Slam City - Nike Town store is nearly over and I couldn't have imagined how hectic it was going to be... we are in the center of the busiest shopping district in all of Europe, Oxford Circus, the Largest Nike store in the world with a wall of shoes touted as the largest selection of Nike SBs in the whole of Europe as well as a work schedule so hectic that it leaves me with little more time than to take a quick nap and do it all over again (let alone write blog posts)... but I've been enjoying most every minute of it- well perhaps thats an exaggeration, but I have a great crew that keeps me entertained throughout the grueling 11 hour work days.
Here are some photos of the shop courtesy of Sam Ashley and Crooked Tongues.
Check out our story on the front page of crookedtongues.com ... Ballin!
PS. I must point out in the crew picture it is missing the homie Jordan who was out running errands when the photo was taken... Sorry mate

Matix Fall '07

2007-10-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

...a look at a couple designs I did for the Matix Fall Line. Oddly enough, they're available from Eastbay... I remember getting Eastbay catalogs all the time thoughout my middle school and high school years... I was always hyped when I checked the mailbox and found the new issue, every new Nike; a pleathora of Jordans, Jason Kidds, Mitch RIchmonds, Scotty Pippens, and even Shaq Reeboks... I even remember buying a pair of Dennis Rodmans from it, the ones with the laces on the side... So much can be said for the "Sneaker Game" these days, but those days fuckin killed it, as ugly as they all were...
anyhow... back to my point - when the fuck did Eastbay start selling Matix?

Nike SB & Slam City Skates London (my new job)

2007-10-08T05:39:00.000-07:00

So, I'm here in London Town... I will be starting my new job tomorrow. For the next three weeks I will be overseeing the Slam City Skateshop in NikeTown Oxford Street, in promotion of the Nike SB video "Nothing But The Truth" that will dropping on October 16th... It will be pretty hectic, but I'm looking forward to it (with the exception of not being able to take adequate smoke brakes)... I'm excited, although the hours will be long and grueling it's gonna be fun... Cheers to Gareth, Magee, and Henry from Slam as well as Seb from Nike SB... and to my emplyees- They don't call me Stalin for no reason... I'll be ruling with an Iron Fist... we gonna get this shit poppin, WHODI!

Street Machine: Anno Domini Series

2007-10-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

This is a series of skateboards I did for Street Machine Skateshop (San Diego Paris Copenhagen), my alma matter... This series was released a month or so ago, I was happy how it turned out and decided I wanted to share it with you. I have been really hyped on the ancient Roman and Greek aesthetic recently... if you can't tell.

Blueprint Nick Jensen Deck

2007-10-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

This was a deck I designed a couple years ago for my good friend Nick Jensen and Blueprint Skateboards here in London. This was his first pro board and it meant a lot for me to have done this. Now, evidently the deck is "Back by Popular Demand", whatever that means, but none the less I pretty hyped to see it shredding the streets of the UK once again.
Nick is born and raised in London, Holland Park to be exact, his house was even used in the 50 Cent/ Justin Timberlake video for "Ayo Technology"... fuckin brilliant. Check him out in the new Lakai Video "Fully Flared", which might be the best skate video ever made... good on ya mate! Holla!

Mikey LeBlanc x Matix x Me

2007-10-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Just galavanting here on the ol' internet and came across a photo of Snowboard legend, Mikey LeBlanc modeling a t-shirt I designed for Matix Clothings Fall line... Holla!

The Smiths: The Early Years

2007-10-04T06:38:00.000-07:00

So, Ive been in London for just over a week now in my 3 month journey to my home away from home... and it has been a hectic one to say the least, but not the most condusive to blog posts... none the less, its been a great week. I've been coming to London for stretches of time every year for the last 7 years... I love this city and it never lets me down. One of the highlights, thus far, was visiting a Smiths Photo Exhibition with my fellow 'Moz-Head' Nick Jensen (peep his Lakai Select shoe, which is an ode to Morrissey). Here are a few photos from the exhibit.... Other than that, this week has been full of drinking, smoking, starving, and over priced travel cards...

That's Some HEAVY Shit

2007-09-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

In response to my earlier post on 'Heavy Manners', here are some photos featuring a few select designs of the line. Featuring a classic Kevin Lyons graphic (top) is his signature 'stylee' as an ode to the sweet cheeba... the rest are designed by yours-truly. The name 'Heavy Manners' is inspired by the classic reggea album of the same name by Prince Far I- meaning "State of Emergency" in Jamaica. I'm excited how everything turned out. The print quality is brilliant, a mixture of waterbased and high-density prints to give it texture (and a lack there of). The line just droped a week ago and we've already made some great accounts most recently Bodega in Boston, as well as Karma Loop, Versus, Street Machine and a growing number of others... if you can't find it in your area, check our web store at HMBrand.com.

Going Back to London

2007-09-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow... I will be leaving the sun drenched shores of San Diego for the cold grey skys of London, and I couldnt be more excited... shit is about to get crackin... shouts to Dan Magee and everyone at Slam... catch you soon homies.

Biters

2007-09-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

motherfuckers be bitin! haha... this is a photo of my "lil brother" Knox Godoy reppin the shirt last halloween, side by side with the Expedition shirt that shortly followed... but Im not hating, I like what they got going on over at the Kayo Corp... DGK, Organika, and Expedition are all well designed companies with great teams... not to mention mine came out better...

New Street Machine 'HausParty' colorways

2007-09-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

Heres some new colorways in the Street Machine "HausParty" shirt.

Morrissey in Tijuana

2007-09-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

The Man, The Myth , The Legend - Morrissey performed last night at El Foro in Tijuana... For those who don't know, I am an obsessive fan of The Smiths and the Moz himself... obsessive not being an over-statment. This was quite possibly the best fucking show I've ever seen in my entire life, and I've seen A LOT of shows. I saw the Moz in San Diego a few months ago, on my home turf, if there was one- Embarcadero Park... it was a show plagued by bad sound, an underenthusiastic crowd, and meathead security (although I got some really good photos from it, that I may post later). The show last night had none of that, it was on some real TJ shit. It was the first time Morrissey has graced TJ with his presence, and in a country that probably houses more fans of the Moz than anywhere else, it was assured to be a good show. The crowd was littered with fine young Mexican Moz girls and lots of greasy pompadores. The way it should be. I love Tijuana (shouts to the crew- T$ set) its one of the realest places I've spent time, and is often my refuge from the States... It was a great performance with a great city providing the atmosphere... shit was off the fuckin chain son.

HEAVY MANNERS

2007-09-20T17:34:00.001-07:00

Heavy Manners is a company I've been working on for some time now, with my accomplice and business partner Skip. The brand is based out of Seattle and is being released right now as I speak... Everything turned out brilliantly, the printing is second to none and without seeming like a self-consumed ego maniac the designs are pretty good. The line also features designs from the "Lord and Savior" of modern design Kevin Lyons as well as the photographic stylings of Vernon Schmitt... I'll have pics of the shirts on here soon enough... or in the mean time check the website at HMBRAND.com... or simply click the image above.

Street Machine Stickers

2007-09-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Street Machine just recieved a shipment of new stickers designed by yours truly... Shits came out hard as fuck... Shout out to Graphics Lab for the production... SWOOSH!

Blueprint Big Push Trailor

2007-09-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

Blueprint is a Skateboard company from London, England that I've been fortunate to have worked with for the past serveral years... This is the trailor for the Big Push event hosted by Document Magazine. Although, I didn't work on this particular video, hats off to Dan Magee... shit is fuckin hard son.

The Smiths/ Big L Mash Up

2007-09-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure what to make of this or mash ups in general for that matter... but anyone who knows me also knows my undying love for both Big L and The Smiths... I'll even go out on a limb and say they're my two favorites acts. So this bizzar trainwreck of tempo actually seems quite ironic to me... but c'mon "How Soon Is Now?" the one Smiths song even diehard fans of the Moz can't listen to anymore. If nothing else, I guess, it breathed new life into 2 tracks that I wore out years ago, if only be it for a single post on my blog ...
Now all I need is a Crass/ Bun B mash up and my life will be full.

Street Machine x New Era

2007-09-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

Street Machine is a skateboard shop with three locations; Paris, France- Copenhagen, Denmark- and here beautiful downtown San Diego... 5th & Broadway where there is never a dull moment. The first store was started in Paris in '88 followed by ours in '95. Ive been the designer for Street Machine for more than a few years now and its one of the best jobs I could have. Working with the homies, doing what I love, and smoking loads of cigarettes in the process...
Anyhow, enough of me ranting, I just wanted to give a slight background on the shop itself but this post is dedicated to the Street Machine New Era hat I designed. Rather than just using our standard logo (which is featured embroidered opposite the NE logo) I wanted to make a more MLB inspired logo, the original inspiration was the St. Louis Cardinals logo as can bee seen by the 'S' with the small 'T.' but everything is custom lettering... I'm actually pretty excited about how this turned out.

PLAY FROM YOUR FUCKING HEART

2007-09-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

I decided to have the late great Bill Hicks introduce you, he can put things in a way I never could... So I thought it was a fitting way to set the tempo for my blog. "The Iron Curtain" will be an ongoing collection of my design works, inspirations, travels, and rants... and I asure you there will be a lot of them...