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25 year old snowmobile rider Caleb Moore was performing big tricks on his snowmobile during the snowmobile freestyle competition when he crashed performing a back flip. During the freestyle competition riders have 75 seconds to perform tricks and impress the judges.

Nearing the end of Moore’s 75 second run he attempted to back flip his 450 pound snowmobile and under rotated. The ski’s of the sled dug into the snow launching Caleb head first into the snow with the snowmobile chasing him and landing on top of him hitting him in the head and chest.

He laid unconscious for awhile and when he woke up he said it was like waking up from a long dream. He walked himself over to a medical tent where he was placed on a stretcher and put into an ambulance. He was diagnosed with a concussion at the scene which would have been his 11th by count.

Caleb’s brother Colten Moore was also competing in the freestyle event. When Colten came up to the same jump where his brother had crashed a little earlier he over rotated the backflip and crashed hard off the back of the sled.

“They’ll do some big trick and my heart skips a beat,” said Wade Moore, Caleb’s father. “This is not new to us,” Wade said as both the Moore Brothers were rushed to the hospital.

After being examined in the hospital Caleb was found to have a bleeding heart and was airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital where he had an emergency surgery.

The crash happened Thursday January 24, 2013 and Caleb died a week later in Grand junction hospital.

Caleb Moore’s death is a scary reminder of how dangerous the world of extreme sports can be. “It is definitely a scary thing for a sport like ours,” said Levi LaValle (X games competitor.) “The only thing we can do is we can look at that and learn from it and look at how we can try to prevent that. Other than that, you look at it, what happened to him, it was an accident. He’s done that trick multiple times. He’s practiced. He’s done everything he can to prevent that.”

It was nearing the end of the first day at Barret Junction and everyone was at the top of the hill ready to take another run. The road was clear and the street lugers took off first as usual. Everyone was coming down the hill and it wasn’t until Doc’s corner that things went wrong.

Doc’s turn has the name for a reason. It is the fastest part of the road and it also the part where most of the gnarly crashes happen.

“The bike was coming up the hill towards the middle of the road and as soon as he saw me he veered to his right and I veered to my left” said Ryan Farmer.

They basically both tried to avoid the other person but swerved into each other. Ryan was probably going close to 50 mph down the hill while the bike was coming at about 25-30 mph up the hill when they collided. Ryan actually hit the bike so hard the forks on the bike bent.

“So when he came up the side of me he hit my hip, just a little bit lower then my ass, like just the top of my thigh, and then rolled up towards my shoulder. When he hit me the way that my tuck was on the luge, the tire hit my forearm and it pushed it into the side of the luge which then pushed into my side like rib area. What that did is pushed those two bones, the ulna and I forgot the other one. When it pushed it up it broke the ulna cleanly by the elbow and then dislocated everything right there and pushed the two arm bones up like an inch, so it made it look like my elbow was swollen, but it really was just where it was at and like the forearm was at the wrong angle. It was weird. It dislocated everything inside and I had another fracture going up the bone. When I went into the dr. they had to push it back into place the first night, and then the next morning they could do surgery.”

The road was supposed to be closed off and people were supposed to be stopping others from coming up. The guy on the dirt bike was a skater as well and he should not have been coming up the road at the time he was. Ryan is still alive and in good spirits but also in a lot of pain. This is a crash that never had to happen and is a good reminder to everyone to know what is happening on the road and that street luging or downhill skating are not a joke. People get hurt and usually it is unpredicted elements that come into play that cause the most damage.

The crash is one that didn’t have to happen but Ryan remains in good spirits about it and can’t wait to get back on his luge again soon.

Waldo Autry 1957-2013. On January 23, 2013 Waldo Autry, a skateboard legend, street luger and the definition of an adrenaline junky passed away. Waldo was a friend to everyone that knew him. He touched the lives of many and his passing away was a shock to everyone who knew him.

Waldo was best known for inventing the kickturn on an invert in the Baldy pipes. He raced in the Signal Hill speed runs and made the cover of many skateboarding magazines. He was always pushing the limits with everything he did. “If they were going to jump over a car, I was going to jump over a garage” Waldo said in an interview with Juice Magazine.

Not only is Waldo well known for skateboarding but he was also a well known street luger. Most people who don’t know much about street luging know him for his participation in the Red Bull luge launch in San Francisco.

The skateboarding he did in bowls far exceeded others of his time. Anybody who skateboarded in the 70′s would know who Waldo Autry was and anyone who has ever had the chance to meet or ride with the man has a story to tell.

My first time meeting him was at Barrett Junction and it was obvious that he was willing to push the envelope. Waldo only knew how to charge into things hard.

At Barrett Junction I saw him crash twice and both times were crazy. I know he liked the way I told the story of his crash. I was street luging right behind him and almost got tangled up in his wreck with Niko Kroha. “It was probably better to crash there then to make it,” Waldo said after I told him my recollections about watching his crash and how crazy it was. I pretty much had first row seats to the crash following right behind him down the hill.

Waldo Autry’s crash with Niko Kroha was one of the gnarliest street luge crashes that I have witnessed in person.

Niko was out in front of Waldo, I was right behind them and Tabitha Mitchell was right behind me.

Waldo went for the pass on Niko on the inside. Niko was pretty far inside though and there wasn’t much room for him to pass.

Instead of throwing his feet down and braking Waldo was trying so hard to pass Niko two of his wheels left the road for a second. As soon as this happened he got the speed wobbles and wobbled straight through the right hand turn before Docs corner.

As he wobbled through the turn he clipped wheels with Niko causing him to lose his line.

Waldo hit the rock and dirt covered wall at around 45 mph and the wall exploded around him.

After his wheel was clipped Niko was also headed to the dirt and rock wall. As soon as his luge left the road the front dug into the dirt and catapulted him into the wall.

Me and Tabitha Mitchell threw our brakes down because we were right behind them when all this went down and the crash looked pretty intense.

I looked up to the crash scene and waldo was laying on the side of the road not moving. His street luge was flipped upside down on top of him.

Niko was also walking towards Waldo. “Waldo? (no response)…….Waldo are you there?” said Niko.

All of a sudden Waldo started shaking around and shoving the street luge off of himself. “I was just checking everything out, making sure I was alright” said Waldo.

Waldo Autry was a man, a legend and a friend to everyone who knew him. His passing is definitely a big blow to the community but he is a man who will never be forgotten.
The stories about him will live on forever. – Lee

The final heat coming around the first right hairpin. Photo By: Leecifer

Barrett Junction is known for its rough janky pavement full of potholes and cracks. Although the road is super unforgiving, it is also really fun to skate. It’s kinda hard to explain.

I have heard stories from when the road was first discovered many years ago. People did not think it was skateable. These are good skaters we’re talking about too.

Each Barrett junction is different and holds its own story. Memories are made which we will never forget, stories to be told.

Here are our top 5 memories from this Barrett Junction, October 2012.

1. Waldo Autry’s crash with Niko Kroha

Waldo Autry’s crash with Niko Kroha was one of the gnarliest street luge crashes that I have witnessed in person.

Niko was out in front of Waldo, I was right behind them and Tabitha Mitchell was right behind me.

Waldo went for the pass on Niko on the inside. Niko was pretty far inside though and there wasn’t much room for him to pass.

Instead of throwing his feet down and braking Waldo was trying so hard to pass Niko two of his wheels left the road for a second. As soon as this happened he got the speed wobbles and wobbled straight through the right hand turn before Docs corner.

As he wobbled through the turn he clipped wheels with Niko causing him to lose his line.

Waldo hit the rock and dirt covered wall at around 45 mph and the wall exploded around him.

After his wheel was clipped Niko was also headed to the dirt and rock wall. As soon as his luge left the road the front dug into the dirt and catapulted him into the wall.

Me and Tabitha Mitchell threw our brakes down because we were right behind them when all this went down and the crash looked pretty intense.

I looked up to the crash scene and waldo was laying on the side of the road not moving. His street luge was flipped upside down on top of him.

Niko was also walking towards Waldo. “Waldo? (no response)…….Waldo are you there?” said Niko.

All of a sudden Waldo started shaking around and shoving the street luge off of himself. “I was just checking everything out, making sure I was alright” said Waldo.

“I just want to see them coming in” he said. he watched everyone come in then turned around and left. Photo By: Leecifer

2. Having the border patrol stoked on us being there and coming to watch

It’s pretty cool to be 5 miles from the border of Mexico and have the authorities let us mind our own business.

Not only do they let us mind our own business but they come and watch sometimes.

We’re all sitting and chilling in the shade under a tree at the bottom of the hill. The van took a load of riders to the top not long before.

A border patrol agent drives up on his atv and just parks facing up the hill without saying a word.

“How’s it going?” we ask him.

“Good,” he replies. “I just want to see these guys coming in fast.”

We had border patrol officers coming by throughout the day to check it out. Even guys on the night patrol would come to ask if there were any cool crashes or anything.

“A few years ago this girl dressed like freaking (lets use cat women for the sakes of the story and the fact that I can’t remember exaclty which superheroine he compared her too) catwomen crashed into the wall. It was some crazy stuff. How’d it go today?”

“It went well,” we replied. “You should come by tomorrow and check out the race.”

“Negative,” he replied.

“Why not?” we asked.

“Because you all are crazy,” he replied.

With that we all laughed and he told us good luck and to have fun.

The fires department was so stoked after they got to watch us bomb the hill. Photo By: Leecifer

3. Having the fire department post 2 trucks full of firefighters on some turns so they could watch.

It was the middle of the day and we were taking a break. Everyone was kinda relaxing and eating when a big fire engine pulls up.

The firefighters got out and came over to talk to us.

“We’re just here out of curiousity,” said on firefighter.

“Where can we go to see these guys hauling ass down the hill?” chimed in another.

Once he said that it was on. Art started rounding everyone up for a run and everyone started grabbing their gear.

While everyone was grabbing their gear a second fire engine full of firefighters rolled up.

We all packed into the Muir van and Art told the firefighters to follow him.

Our first stop was at docs corner. Art directed the first fire engine to park off the side of the road on the left of the corner.

The next stop was the first right hairpin turn. Art directed the other fire engine to pull off the side there.

We proceeded up to the top of the hill and geared up. Going down the hill is always fun but coming up to the first corner you could see all the firefighters standing on top of their fire engine and on the hill recording the action on their phones.

Coming up to the second fire engine in docs corner was a similar story. They were all on top of the fire engine stoked as hell.

We got to the bottom and they came down giving the sirens little blares.

“That was awesome! Who was the guy on the bike?” someone from the first engine said.

“That was me!” replied Andrew Schumaker.

“That skid into the turn was awesome!” said the firefighter.

“Thanks!” replied Andrew.

“Who was the guy in white out in front?” asked some one from the second fire engine.

“That was Mike McIntyre,” we replied and pointed him out.

We talked to them a bit longer, then they left to go take care of their business and we continued taking runs down the hill.

4. The crazy lady who lives in the house at the bottom

Every time I go to Barrett Junction now I will remember this. I can not tell you the whole entire story because I don’t know it, but for the last few years at least we have always camped out at the bottom of the road right next to it. We take moonlight runs and wake up ready to ride.

For some reason this time she was really worried about us starting a fire. So worried that she told us we couldn’t camp there.

The land doesn’t belong to anyone so we didn’t oblige.

She called the cops on us and when he came he was totally on our side.

He pretty much told us that dealing with her wasn’t worth it and so we starting breaking down the tents in the dark and getting ready to move them to the cafe down the road. It sucked but what can you do?

Standup Podium. 1st place- max Capps (white Ronin shirt in middle). 2nd place- Levy Green (right). 3rd Place- Scott Lembach (black muirskate shirt, left center) 4th Place- Mark Barfield (left)

5. Max Capps winning the race.

Ok, so even though there wern’t necessarily a lot of the faster riders there it was still rad. Especially watching the footage from the helmet of Mark Barfield who took 4th.

That was a race heat!!!! So exciting!

The final heat was close and super intense.

I know how much Max hates that road. Racing it sucks and unexpected things WILL happen there. Even though he hates it he still troops it out and gives it all.

In this case it was all worth it. Congrats to Max Capps on taking 1st place!

Here’s video footage of the final heat from the helmet of Mark Barfield.

Find us on facebook for all the pics!

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 Barrett Junction October 2011- Cali Outlaw Series

Smooth Rolling

Francisco Javier Solario, 39 was surfing at a popular surf spot in Santa Barbara called Surf Beach Tuesday (10/24/12) when he was attacked and killed by a shark.

The type of shark is still being investigated but experts are guessing it was a Great White.

The shark bit Solario while he was laying on hos surfboard. It bit him in the torso and bite marks were found on his surfboard.

Solario’s friend pulled him out of the water and administered first aid but he was pronounced dead on the scene when paramedics arrived.

Jesse Swalley, 50 from Palmdale, Ca finishes the 26.2 mile Adrenalina Race pushing the whole thing on his hands and sitting on his knees. Swalley can’t stand up while skating due to a paralyzed leg. Photo By: Lee Eisler

The Adrenalina Skateboard Marathon. 26.2 miles consisting of 6 circles around Fiesta Island in San Diego, Ca.

Riders arrived at 5:30am decked out in spandex pants, sweatbands, water and skateboards, ready for a 6 am starting time. The misty cool drizzly morning left the path nice and wet making pushing a little more difficult.

Before the sun was even out the race was on.

4 laps around Fiesta Island in San Diego, CA made up the 26.2 mile marathon.

With around 100-150 competitors, traveling from all over the US and some even from other countries as they competed to win $5,000 in prizes.

The 1st place winner Andrei Hippix, NY took home $1,500. 2nd place took home $1,000 and 3rd place took home $200.

There were more cash prizes awarded to different classes and everyone seemed pretty tired and beat by the time we arrived.

(Click here to see a complete list of the results)

Our friend Jesse Swalley who you might remember from our Can’t Stand Skating article completed the full 26.2 mile marathon on his knees pushing with his hands the whole way. He skates this way because one of his legs is paralyzed. “My leg kept falling asleep,” said Swalley after the race.

Swalley not only did the 26.2 mile marathon on his knees pushing with his hands, but he is also 50 years old. Chew on those facts all you youngsters who think 2 miles is far.

Anyways the marathon was a success and everyone who participated seemed to have a lot of fun. – Leecifer

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THRASH! Let me just start off this post by saying that the Bake and Destroy skateboard “riot” was both rad and bad.

Having an event that gets this many skateboarders in the community together is rad no matter what. This video premiere didn’t have skateboarding included in the schedule of events. Nor did it have a riot planned, but that doesn’t mean an adrenaline rush wasn’t about to be experienced by all 500 eager skateboarders waiting in line to see the Bake and Destroy video. The excited skaters lined the streets to see Baker Skateboard’s first video in 5 years.

I’m sure that being among the crowd of 500 skateboarders with 100 cops in riot gear and 3 helicopters hovering above, that had to have been a pretty rad time.

Now with that being said the whole thing kinda makes the whole skateboard world look pretty bad. As far as riots go this was extremely tame. Cops showed up and people for the most part didn’t know what to do.

Usually when you see a riot on TV cars are being flipped, burned and cops are forcing people off the streets with their riot shields. This DID NOT happen here.

Unfortunately people will not look at it that way. They will see the videos of everyone chanting “fuck the police, fuck the police” and just think we are all punk kids. There were also kids running over cars, shop windows were broken and bottles and rocks were being thrown.

Here’s how the day went…

Saturday October, 13 2012 The Bake and Destroy video was premiering on Hollywood Blvd. A crowd of around 500 skateboarders waited outside lining the Hollywood Blvd, some of them there all day. “I got here at 7:30 a.m. If you get here 2 hours before your fucking up,” said the guy in the front of the line.

With 2 showings planned, the first was an industry premiere for all the pros and company owners. As the first showing was underway kids in the back of the line and people who had been waiting all day started to get bored. Unfortunately bored, skateboarders and kids don’t all go together too well.

Laser pointers were being flashed into apartment windows. Someone in an apartment started shining a laser pointer right back. There were then kids throwing rocks and beer cans at cars and buses.

It wasn’t long until police were dispersed. 2 police helicopters arrived to spotlight the happenings and 100 officers in full tactical swat gear arrived making a perimeter and shutting down Hollywood Blvd.

People threw rocks and bottles at police officers and it took officers around 3 hrs to disperse the crowd of 500 skateboarders. No injuries were reported and 2 cars were reported damaged during the incident.

As all this was happening outside the premiere, inside the industry viewing was underway. “This is a fucking skateboard video! You live and die for skateboarding! You want some? Get some! Bake and fucking destroy!!!!” and with that being said the “play that shit” button was pressed and the video was under way.

In the middle of the industry viewing the people inside the theater started to hear about the riots outside the theater. At the end of the video security started to let everyone out the back doors of the theater.

As people filed out the back doors a police helicopter spotlight lit up the back exit. “That’s when we knew it was going down out front.” Police officers in riot gear quickly shut down that exit figuring that letting these people out would only add to the chaos.

After all was said and done this was just another night in the skateboard world. Bake and Destroy will be sent out with the next issue of Thrasher Magazine and it will be available on the internet in a couple months for free. Skateboarding rules! – Leecifer

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Sitting on his board feet first, long grey mustache trailing him in the wind, Jesse Swalley came flying past everyone at around 40 mph. But this isn’t always how he skated, “I skated up until the day I got my injury. I even had my skateboard with me the day I got stabbed,” said Swalley.

Swalley was born in 1962 and skated throughout the 70′s. “The first time I skated I was 7 years old,” said Swalley. “I think my first skateboard was made by the Red Wagon Company. It was one of those wooden ones with the metal wheels on it.”

It was around 1973-74 when Swalley really started getting into skateboarding.

It was 1980 when Swalley joined the Navy and set off to sea. Swalley worked the flight deck of an aircraft carrier moving airplanes around for a majority of the 2 1/2 years he was on the carrier. He also did some firefighting for around 6 to 9 months.

Swalley brought his skateboard onto the aircraft carrier with him while he was out to sea.”I would skate on the carrier and they used to laugh,” said Swalley. “Everyone from back east used to trip out because they were like, you’re like the typical California stereotype. You got the skateboard and your always talking about going to the beach.”

Being born and raised in California that’s all Swalley knew. That’s just what he grew up doing. “I was the only one on my boat as far as I knew that had a skateboard,” said Swalley. “It was cool. It was in experience. I got to go to some cool places. Skated in Australia, the Phillipines, Hawaii, San Diego. A lot of San Diego skating.”

Swalley’s life was changed on June 26, 1991. “I got stabbed because two guys were trying to jump on one of my friends coming out of a bar because they had some sort of dispute and I jumped in to help and the guy grabbed me, had some sorta knife and stabbed me and that was it,” said Swalley. “I actually didn’t even realize I got stabbed at first. I just thought that guy had one really hard punch that took me out.”

The stabbing cut Swalley’s spinal cord in half at the t-12 level. “I got stabbed in the back and then they got me 4 times under here (motions to around just under the armpit area) and they said I was gonna lose use of both legs and this arm, and I was in a wheelchair for awhile,” said Swalley. “I was told the day after I got stabbed, after the surgery, they said I’d never walk again. The first thing I said is if I cant walk how can I skate?”

With a strong determination to walk again Swalley went through several different braces to get to the one he wears today. “There’s no muscle control in my leg so my bones are just resting on each other, so the brace helps me from crushing my bones. My legs slowly degenerating and the doctor says that one day it will fold backwards. I don’t know when that will be but until then and even after then if there’s still a way to skate I’m gonna do it.” Swalley said.

Swalley was 28 when he got stabbed. June 26, 1991 was his last day on a skateboard for 20 years. “I never lost the inspiration to skate, I just finally realized that there was still a way for me to skate,” said Swalley.

Swalley had entered the 2011 Venice world record skateboarding parade, before he even realized he could still skate. The 2011 Venice world record skateboarding parade actually fell on June, 26, 2011. The 21st anniversary of the actual day that Swalley was stabbed, but in order to be in the parade you had to be able to skate in it.

“I was messing around in my house and I sat on my board in the position I ride in, I pushed myself around and figured I could do it so I gave it a shot and did it. Ever since then I’ve been skating,” said Swalley.

Sitting on his board on his knees pushing himself and stopping himself with his hands, Swalley realized he would need something for his hands. “I was practicing riding with gloves and they kept falling off,” said Swalley.

He then invented a new type of glove for himself that he calls the Shoves. The Shoves are basically cut up, modified shoes with both of the ends cut off. Swalley basically modifies shoes to become shoes for your hand. Swalley uses his shoves to push himself and as brakes to stop himself.

“The person with the biggest smile on their faces is the winner,” David “Slash” Hackett told Swalley. You see Swalley on a skateboard with a big smile doesn’t go away. “That’s what inspires me most is that I’m able to do it now, whether I’m doing 2 mph or 20 mph. I love it it’s that cool feeling. It’s moving fast,” said Swalley.

Skateboarding is not only fun for Swalley but a great means of transportation. Without a skateboard Swalley would need a fast electric wheelchair to get places. Walking is very slow for him. “It kinda feels like I’m walking on stilts,” said Swalley.

“I mean sometimes I’ll ride the buses, and if I had to get a bus from right here, I mean I’d have to go down there to catch it. (Motions towards the bus stop about 2 blocks down the street) I’d take about a good half hour to walk that far probably, maybe 20 minutes. I don’t know, I walk slow but on a board I’ll be there in like 3 minutes and I’ll avoid having to ride a bus from here to there. It’s so cool. I love it. I mean I get around,” said Swalley.

Getting a bike was something that Swalley thought about, but even on a bike he could only do so much pedaling with one leg. “I can’t go up hills because of this leg wont pedal,” said Swalley.

Obviously sitting on your knees on your skateboard can be hard on the knees. “The hardest part is just the cramping on my leg.” said Swalley. “All my weight is on my one leg so it’s a lot of work on my good leg.”

Swalley does all sorts of skating. He started getting back into it just by pushing around town but after meeting up with local skaters like Jesse Murillo and Chritopher Angeles and they started getting him into the skateparks. Swalley learned how to 50-50 grind again, learned to ride transition, and even learned how to do various tricks in the park.

Lately Swalley has been getting into downhill skating and has been loving it. There is even a video of him laying down face first going around 35-40 mph on a skateboard. “I wish you guys could see it if my leg was good. you would see how much into it. I would be doing pools, downhill all that shit,” said Swalley. “Dude, I did 19 miles the other day. That’s cool, none of my friends skate 19 miles just for fun. Most people are like; your crazy dude. But It’s something to do and it’s fun. I don’t lose interest.”

“Marc Juvenile, he skates across the country and stuff, because it’s a cool feeling and it’s a lot of work but it’s fun. It’s fun to be able to say I did that,” said Swalley. “It’s just something I won’t stop doing. You know skate until I die. I really like that saying. It’s really a true saying.” – Leecifer

Jesse is supported by The Pharmacy Boardshop in Palmdale and Victorville, Ca.

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We had the immense pleasure the other day of sitting down with Rayne Longboards Team/Sales/PR/everything Manager, Mr. Les Robertson. If you’ve been on the Rayne Facebook page, or really dealt with the company atall, you probably know and love him. Read on to see what he had to say about working at Rayne, products from the company, and the future of longboarding!

A-F - Aight, Les – let’s start with you. Who are you? Give us your resume – I understand you have some impressive degrees under your belt.

Les – Ha, impressive. My degrees don’t make me – I just get bored easy and enjoy book learnin’. Suffice to say, I have a lot of expensive paper hanging on my wall. I usually value the stamps in my passport more than the letters after my name. But then I lost my passport in Puerto Rico a couple years ago… so I need to start all over with the stamps.

A-F – For sure. Well, just for the sake of getting to know you, what’s up there?

Les – I have some undergrad from University of Victoria, Certificates from Vancouver Film School and British Columbia Institute of Technology, and a Masters from the University of British Columbia/Copenhagen Business School.

A-F – Awesome. Going into all that, did you ever think you would be applying any of that to skateboarding? When did you start getting into skateboarding/longboarding?

Les – Well, maybe not skateboarding, but I have played sports my whole life and working in the outdoors and in sports was the stretch goal. I worked for a few big sports teams, both internally and as a consultant, but they’re corporations and I am far from being “corpo”.

I’ve been “into” skate my whole life. I remember just drooling as a kid watching some of the older kids… but I was more into BMX. Something about my foot-eye coordination just wasn’t there for street skate and longboarding was not really around in the ‘80s as we know it today.

Anyways, BMX was fun, but I was a power hitter in baseball, a solid football linebacker, and I skied competitively into high school. I eventually chose football over anything and played that into college, where book learning and women were more interesting then contusions and concussions…

A-F – For sure. How did you end up working for Rayne?

Les – I got in with Rayne when I met Graham in like 2004 or so. He was making boards on the East Side of Vancouver, a few blocks from where I was managing a scrap metal company. I liked business and was more interested in skateboards than metal. He gave me a new board and I offered some business support. Graham moved Rayne to North Van and we kept hanging out, and when I left my old job to go back to school, he let me use Rayne for a lot of my Masters work.

A-F – Very cool. Graham is an awesome guy. When I caught up with him at the Catalina Classic, I was super impressed with his enthusiasm and just overall level of stoke for the scene and the products you guys are making.

Les – Totally, Graham is great. Incredible vision, hardworking, and he takes a skirplush really well.

A-F – Hahaha forsure. I hear the boys up at Switchback know a thing or two about the infamous skirplush (kersploosh?). Anyways, what is your current job title with Rayne, and what are your responsibilities?

Les – Wow… my current job title… we don’t really have them… haha. I was hired to manage marketing and sponsorship. Now I manage sales as well. Rayne is life, life is Rayne. Hard to need or want hobbies when I have Rayne. Video editing – Rayne. Photography – Rayne. That’s not a complaint, that’s a brag. Sometimes the ruby slippers cut, but for the most part there’s no place like home.

A-F – Sounds like a lot. It definitely seems like you’re the go-to guy over there.
Speaking of sponsorship, let’s move on to the team. Who are some of your favorite riders and why? Let’s hear some shoutouts or funny stories about these guys.

Les – At Rayne, sponsorship is about giving back to the community and being a great person. Being a good skater is something almost anyone can do if they work at it. At the same time, if we don’t appreciate the person, we don’t sponsor either. Not to say we only sponsor our friends, but when you get a sponsorship, you interact with your sponsor – races, road trips, product development. If we can’t sleep in Tiffany (the Rayne RV) with you for a weekend, we’re probably not going to want to sponsor you. This is as much a family as it is a partnership.

Hard to pick favorites and make shout outs. These are people we truly admire and appreciate. I’ll try:

Robin Sandberg – Busted back and low on stoke – send him some love and let’s get that guy back at events and working in the sport! (Maybe IGSA could use a rider rep to help smooth things out?)

Kevin Reimer – Busted-ass ankle last year and still such a competitor. He came back early and is fighting hard every race to get back on top.

Daniel Hawes – The perpetual nomad skater, he’s all around the world all the time, but no matter where he is, he is setting up events and spreading the stoke. He also sends me the longest emails with the most detailed ideas and request. Keeps me on my toes.

Luke Melo – Always a smile. Always thinking smart thoughts. Killing it with the Oracle! First World Cup podium in Europe, YEAH LUKE!

Aidan Lynds – Just solid. Aidan kills it on his board, in the office, at events, in the community. I mean, watch it, he’ll slap the crap out of you if you get out of line, but otherwise chillasfunk.

Funny stories are many and endless. I feel guilty already for my shoutout selections. I have something to say in appreciation of each person we sponsor, for real.

A-F – Noble of you. I know Rayne’s sponsor list is long – it’s good to see you guys supporting the people who support you. It’s always good when people are sponsored for what they give back to the community, not just the way they ride.
I know you guys had some big news this year with P. Swiss joining the team. Tell us a little about how that went down?

A-F – Patrick has been involved with Vicious since early on and that’s all Graham Buksa too. Over time, I started managing Vicious sponsorship and marketing along with Rayne because it made sense and that brought Patrick and I together. He knew what we stood for, how we conducted ourselves, and what kind of design and production we are capable of and we saw a great fit. I know Patrick had a very hard time leaving Fullbag, they were awesome to him and make great product. Ultimately, the thing I think we offered that was attractive was the Rayne family. Money is a weak motivator and we’re not a big company, so Patrick could have found more cash likely elsewhere. We share the belief that for riders and the sport to develop, more outside sponsorship is needed, so money again was not the question. I like to think it was the bottle of maple syrup and pound of bacon we offered as a signing bonus that made it all happen. Or maybe all the amazing sushi in BC?

A-F - Hahaha I heard Patrick is pretty big on the bacon strips too. Solid.
Kind of a broad question, but what is next for Rayne? I know you guys are testing the waters and expanding into the wheel market. Are there any other new products we should look for soon?

Les – Dildos, epic w-concave, radial drop, urethane dildos? And speed cream. Or not. We’re still working on the Saviour. The Oracle kind of got in the way.

A-F – Dildos. (Dildoes? I’ve never had to pluralize “dildo” before. o.o) RIGHT. I’m gonna take that as there are lots of cool things under top-secret development. hahaha

Les - We’ll always be looking to innovate on our current lineup and look to the next generation – I think the Avenger coming out is a great example of that. I also see that as making a better work environment and planet, so Graham and I are working on a waste recovery project. You’ve seen some of this on the Next Level Risers – they’re made of our cutoff materials or “upcycled” scraps. We’re looking to expand the lineup of products we can make from our excess and we’re doing it with at-risk youth here in Vancouver. Skateboarders/ing is pretty accepting – we don’t wear business shirt collars, and swearing is accepted, so these youth have a great opportunity to earn money in an open work environment while we help teach them business and life skills. And they can do it on their own time without being tied to a schedule.

A-F – Awesome. Very admirable. It’s amazing to see skateboarding as a positive force in a community. I take it the Rayne Mini’s are another wing of that? Any more info to be shared on those?

Les – Minis are part of that, yes. We make minis from our production screwups – we don’t have many, which is why we don’t sell them right now. We’ve been hoarding them for a while (still sending them to events though) and we might be ready for a sale soon.

A-F – Anything else about the new Avenger’s development? I’ve noticed a lot of experimentation with 3-D concave. That’s some cool stuff.

Les – The Avenger is pretty sick in my opinion. It brings the pressed in 3D wheel wells from the Vandal over to the Avenger AND we’ve now got Fat Bottom technology. It’s essentially a taper core where the inside is fatter than the outside edges. Rigid, sturdy, and a ton of fun. And we took away the tow-hole, so the only thing that usually broke on the old Avenger is now gone.

A-F – Oh, the infamous tow-hook. A lot of people ended up chopping them anyways, so while it was a part of the Avenger from the start, I don’t know that it will be missed haha. Fat Bottom technology sounds much more appealing.
I read an interesting article that you wrote recently, mostly about the current state of legality of longboarding, and its future. Care to recap briefly? It was pretty spot-on.

Les – Basically, downhill IS illegal, unless you obey the rules of the road. In some places it is illegal entirely. There’s too much bitching about ‘legal skating’ – if you skate like a ninja and not like a pirate, then no one would ever be the wiser. The only other point I want to make is the bullshit complaining about groms and the “I’m longboarding because it’s popular” kooks and that kind of BS – pardon me, but shut the f**k up. Everyone has just as much right to skate as the next person and no one has a right to judge. Judging is weak and lazy. If you want to make a difference in your community, stop bitching about it and do something. Otherwise, head for the hills that aren’t five minutes from your house.

The less we welcome people, the more we’re our own greatest problem. I think my mom used to say, ‘you attract more bees with honey then with vinegar’. Well, for some skaters, they don’t actually want to attract anyone, so we won’t see them and they won’t be the problem. For everyone else – you are the problem. Accept everyone and self-regulate.

A-F – Boom, well said. It is the community’s obligation to police the community. That’s the only way this sport will continue to grow in a positive direction.

Anything else you want to say or to have the Adrenaline-Fueled readers know…?

Les - Not even sure what I’ve said already. haha Thanks to Adrenaline-Fueled for the interview. We’re keeping an eye on all the great stuff coming out of Socal here in BC!

A-F – Well thank you sir for sitting down with us. I’m sure we’ll be seeing many great things from Rayne Longboards in the near future, and we appreciate you sharing your time, your wisdom, and your stoke with us.

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The OC Ad Federation’s Summer Beach Bash

So being in the action sports industry and hearing about a charity event for the Surfrider Foundation it seemed like a good thing for us to make it out to. Support a good cause and hang out with good people. Maybe even win one of the awesome raffle prizes they were giving away. (Hoping for the Schecter Guitar).

The OC AD Federation worked hard to put this together. “We have an executive board that got together to choose a venue location, the theme, the charities involved, the music and everything else involved,” said Raquel Figlo, Promotions and former Program Director from 2010 & 2011. “I have a great group of people working with me.”

The event was pretty cool, located at Cabo Cantina in Newport beach, Ca. (For those that don’t know, this is one of the hot spots in Newport.) Outside Cabo Cantina there is a nice gazebo and grassy area where various lawn and beach games were being played. Chairs lined up in front of the gazebo as the band played some soothing gentle tunes. A table full of prizes sat in the middle of the gazebo and everyone had strings of raffle tickets hoping to win one of the many prizes.

The money from the raffle tickets was being used as charity money for the surf rider foundation. “I love working with surf rider foundation because I love what they do for the environment and educating kids about the importance of keeping the beaches clean,” said Raquel. I devote so much of my time to helping different local charities because I believe it is important to help the community you live in and also to provide a service that can better inhance the lives of others.”

“I would really like to thank my sponsors for donating such awesome prizes for this years Beach Bash. When I asked Jonny Coffin if he would like to be apart of the event he was all down for it because he is a surfer himself! Being a native from the south Mike Cirovolo of Schecter Guitars has sponsored many reliefe charities over the years and jumped at the opportunity to donate for a charity event.I would also like to thank Al Bane for Leather because he designed an authentic customed leather guitar strap to go along with the Schecter guitar that was raffled off at the event. Wh ich helped raise funds for surfrider,” said Raquel.

The event seemed pretty successful and there were many happy winners. All in all smiles all around and lots of networking went down. T His was all about raising money for the Surf Rider foundation though and that’s what they did. -Leecifer

To see all the pictures click here.

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