I was hoping that the Blog would be getting a lot of attention when it started which is why when the California Trip was over, I was a little disappointed that there was roughly 400 hits on the blog. What I am surprised to see is that to this day, it's still getting some hits which is pretty cool. Usually upon meeting people again, the conversation goes like this:
Person: "Ben! How was Cali?"
Me: "It was awesome, did you check the blog?"
Person: "erm......no, I didn't..."
Me: "Ohhh"
So I'm hoping that those numbers will increase and they can still check out all the things that we've been doing.
The main update is that a revisited Diary of the Team Razor California Trip will be published in the second issue of Scoot-Mag!!! This will include a lot more pictures and more scooter-orientated content! (Since this blog is more general)
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
FINALLY HOME!!!
AT LAST!!! I return to my home in Wolverhampton, West Midlands UK after a whole week of what is now memories I won't forget. I haven't rode since I got back and I still need to adjust to GMT time (London, etc) But stoked to be back on my usual diet again. I still have stuff to unpack but I'll get it done soon as well as take some pictures of some stuff I got over in California. What really made my day was meeting Heather out of the Train station in Wolverhampton after so much travelling.
I honestly can't wait to check my next bank statement after being in California for a week. ¬__¬
I'm still checking the updates in the UK and that's what I've spent almost all day doing haha! Still haven't left the house since I got home!
I honestly can't wait to check my next bank statement after being in California for a week. ¬__¬
I'm still checking the updates in the UK and that's what I've spent almost all day doing haha! Still haven't left the house since I got home!
Thing to do when I get home:
1. See Heather! <3
2. Check YouTube Channel for comments and Subscriptions
3. Check Facebook for status updates, comments and friend requests.
4. Check a few blogs, Hehe! (<3!!!)
5. Take some pictures of all the stuff I got in Cali
6. Unpack my stuffs
7. Tidy room so that there actually is "room"
8. Talk to my UK riding pals! <3
9. Figure out what I'll do on my Birthday! :D
10. Get some updates from the Famalamalam!
11. Add stuff to the blog!
12. Go on BBC iPlayer to catch up on all the good British shows I missed this week.
13. Check coverage of Escondido and the Team over the past week
14. Try and find out where I can see the Razor Global Domination Tour TV Show broadcast on Disney XD since the start of this month! (Interviews etc.)
15. RIDE!!!!!!!!!!
2. Check YouTube Channel for comments and Subscriptions
3. Check Facebook for status updates, comments and friend requests.
4. Check a few blogs, Hehe! (<3!!!)
5. Take some pictures of all the stuff I got in Cali
6. Unpack my stuffs
7. Tidy room so that there actually is "room"
8. Talk to my UK riding pals! <3
9. Figure out what I'll do on my Birthday! :D
10. Get some updates from the Famalamalam!
11. Add stuff to the blog!
12. Go on BBC iPlayer to catch up on all the good British shows I missed this week.
13. Check coverage of Escondido and the Team over the past week
14. Try and find out where I can see the Razor Global Domination Tour TV Show broadcast on Disney XD since the start of this month! (Interviews etc.)
15. RIDE!!!!!!!!!!
The Journey Home
This sucked so hard! We all had to be out of the hotel by 5 o'clock to get onto the shuttle bus. Everyone except myself went to sleep. I went and did an allnighter whilst watching Adult Swim on TV. I know they have Family Guy, Robot Chicken and King Of The Hill, but WOW they have some crap on of a night!!! and I'm sure it's slowing numbing the minds of American teenagers EVERYWHERE. Jonny wasn't snoring so that was good, but at 4 o'clock in the morning he rolled off the bed and whilst doing so, smacked his face on the bed-side table and faceplanted on the floor. I really wish I got it on camera hahaha. Our supervisor Rich was the last up out of everyone, probably due to the sleep he desperately needed after driving us around so much! We got on the shuttle bus and before we knew it we were on a plane to Chicago. The flight was just over 4 hours which wasn't too bad. and we had a 3 hour wait before the plane from Chicago to London Heathrow. We we desperate for food straight after the flight and since we may not have them for a while, Josh and I had to buy two more Chocolate milkshakes from the airport's McDonalds, DAYUMN they're so legit, in the UK they're about 10% chocolate and 90% vanilla so that had to be done. Me and Josh found ourselves lost from the rest of the group which kinda sucked but rejoined just intime so we could board the plane. This was such a weird flight because we went from 7am to 3pm from LA to Chicago and then from Chicago to London it went from like 6am to 7am the next morning! But since we were awake almost all the time it felt like a 32-hour day hahaha. All of us managed to get at least some sleep in the journey which was fine. When are plane reached the UK, I was missing America already but I was also SO STOKED!! It felt weird over-looking the brick houses and round-abouts! I laughed when Joe commented on typical Britain being cloudy as we were flying through a cloud!
Venice Beach and the Skateboard Douche!
August 1st!!! stoked about my birthday being in just 5 days! This was our last riding day and for the occasion we headed off to Venice Beach (mainly for the skatepark). Ali told us ahead of time that serious skateboarders are there, and you'll easily face getting kicked out of the skatepark if you show any signs of being a snake (even if by accident). Also also said all the backflippers should do one in the park. A lot of people from the public watch inside the skatepark and it'll get the grumpy skaters to back off. Venice Beach is famous for all the chicks (aka: the Cali Gally) that hang out there. I'm sure all the riders got a decent look.
The skatepark was awesome! It was just the Razor UK team for a while but later grew a bigger scootering gathering. The guys from Addict showed up as well as Ali, John, Cary and Jason from Razor USA, Tyler Bonner from Madd USA and even Josh Toy showed up (OG, ex-Team Razor rider and current rider for Scooter Zone) I was pissed because not long after the sesh started, some skateboarder kid got in my way when I bar to whipped some gap which caused my leg to have these constant "spasms" whilst walking or doing anything. I did get a bit of footage of the other riders but then the camcorder battery died which sucked.
It was weird since the title "Our First American Friends" was inspired by the song by Tubelord which was based on the Beach party they had over there- For us it was a beach sesh, having all those riders there made it so legit!
It was weird since the title "Our First American Friends" was inspired by the song by Tubelord which was based on the Beach party they had over there- For us it was a beach sesh, having all those riders there made it so legit!
Whilst on the beach, Sam bought this awesome can of Red Bull, which is actually a secret storage compartment (for ANYTHING) ;) It has the weight of a real can and even shakes like a can would! Cool right?
Now I have to tell you about the skateboarding douche. Early in the day he came into the park wearing what looked like a Winnie The Pooh outfit. He was skating round the park seeking attention from everyone and telling them to demand pizza. Eventually he left the park for a few hours. He then came back in regular clothes and tried to kick out all the scooter riders in the park (imagine how attentive Addict was to his statements) He then went round telling everyone to donate some money so that he could buy pizzas for the skaters in the park. The bastard got away with 5 dollars so I'm hoping that people caught onto the idea that he was just begging.
List of all our American friends
Hey guys, check out the list I made on the right. It's a list of all the American Friends who we've been hanging out with over the past week. This isn't just anyone we've seen (otherwise the list would be a lot bigger!) It's anyone who has acted like a friend to us and made our stay in America all the better! I hope you enjoy!
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Razor Global Domination Tour USA #1: Escondido
Sup guys, some updates from the comp. This event at Escondido is the first stop of the Global Domination tour in the USA. As soon as we got there, there was a big flatland session outside which I joined in with. I wasn't surprised to see Cooper Klaar there killing it! Neither was I when Kota showed up. Both of them threw down a 360 Bri to tailwhips flat and cooper finished off with a full-whip to tailwhip. Josh Kish sent a clean 360 double-whip flat and he gave me some props for doing my "Bar spin to heel-whip" flat, as well as with a few others for my whip to fingerwhip flat. The Global Domination Tour in the USA is a lot different to what it was in the UK. If anyone is interested, these are the things that were different:
-It was a lot less "bigged up" than the UK Tour, but at the same time all the planning was done better.
-Obviously there was no XSVPro doing all the videography. John Radtke was doing filming for Razor and something which looked like Television coverage was there as well. Phillip Long was also there filming and he's known in the US for doing great edits, he was filming for ELYTS.
-NO DISNEY XD!!!!!!!!!!
-NO DISNEY XD!!!!!!!!!!
-The judges were SCOOTER RIDERS. In the UK it consisted of Terry from Mutts (UK managing director) Martin Kimbell (only scooter rider; uk OG) Phil Grice (RareBreed Sports) and some BMXers (with some ins-and-outs inbetween). The USA judges were Alex Steadman, Dylan Kasson, Kody McQueen and some other guys, positioned with about 20ft of space inbetween them; no debate or discussion took place at all.
-The prizes were more legit:
UK:
3rd=£50
2nd=£100
1st=£200
USA:
5th=Trophy, T-shirt and $100
4th= Trophy, T-shirt and $200
3rd= Trophy, T-shirt, Razor Bag and $400
2nd= Trophy, T-shirt, Razor Bag and $600
1st= Big Trophy, T-shirt, Razor Bag and $800
- ^ From above, you can gather that the top 5 riders were paid out as well as the top 3, and the top 10 riders were announced so they could receive some props. You may have also gathered that there would be absolutely no point in giving away stock Ultra Pros!
-ALL Pro riders got two 90 second runs, there was no qualifiers. There was 31 Pro riders in total so the timing wasn't too bad.
-Best one yet..... THERE WAS NO BASTARD FOGHORN!!! haha.
-Madd Gear USA riders Capron Funk and Tyler Bonner were allowed to go, hmmmm...
-There wasn't a 2 minute gap in between each rider. Before all the runs, every rider went to the place where they wanted to start, all they said was your name and you'd drop in on your own time, there wasn't anything like "three...two....one..... your 90 seconds starts now" hahaha. It didn't announce sponsors or anything, people just knew who everyone was.
All the riders had to sign 3 waivers asking for the same information haha
One of the best things.. the only queues were for food from the on-site fast-food kiosks and registration tent (both of which were very short queues)
The riding was about 10 times more legit, haha.
There was no inflatables and vinyls, but instead, a legit Gazebo.
People weren't just out there riding, it was a hot day, a lot of people were chillin'
But yeah that's about it for differences. Top 10 Results are as follows:
10th- Chris Hart (ELTYS, District) Aus
9th- Dom Olorenshaw (Razor, Scoot-Mag) UK
8th- Capron Funk (MaddGear) USA
Tied 6th- Jason Beggs (Razor) USA and Cooper Klaar (Phoenix) USA
5th- Cory Vanlew (ELYTS) USA
4th- Chris Gascoigne (Razor) USA
3rd- Cameron Ward (District, Eagle) USA
2nd- Raymond Warner (Scooter Zone) USA
1st- Dakota Schuetz (Kota Sports) USA
I myself managed to rank 15th place just behind Zig Short so I was pretty pleased :3 For me, one of the highlights of the day was chillin' for a while with Zig. Picked up the ELTYS Bagpack (which is one of the first in the UK being used by a rider) Someone who I enjoyed chillin' and riding with was Corey Funk, younger brother of MGP's Capron Funk- shredding up the box and a genuinely nice kid. Addict didn't show up to the competition but I'm sure they would've certainly made a difference to the results. My first run wasn't too bad, I bailed my last trick which was then I discovered that the ground was so hot, not only does the friction cut you when you fall, but the hot ground also burns you at the same time. NOT cool...
There was also a best trick contest which I entered with a Fastplant frontflip- I tried 3 times. The first time I over-rotation and rolled away holding on the bars with my legs scraping across the floor. the second time I lost the scooter and it hit me on the head. and the third time my foot slipped off. It was a shame for me but the prize money was well deserved between Tyler Bonner and Raymond Warner. (I think) Tyler did a triple tail-whip over this BIG channel gap and I'm not sure what Raymond did.
Throughout the day, a lot of us were chilling at the Razor Gazebo where there were fresh fruit and vitamin water to enjoy. We also got an early look at the Razor Trophies that were on show, as well as the Razor bags being given away as prizes. I'm not sure when the bags came around but they certainly looked legit. I doubt they held scooters since ELYTS have a patent pending on that, but I wouldn't mind one for use. :') Just before the drive home we each got given some Equilibrium bands to wear when we ride.. (I notice their fashionable and Heather is trying to convince me that they really do work!) :')
Afterwards we ate at a place called BJ's. Phoenix got us a table which was super cool of them. Josh Kish came over to chill for a while. I got a Phoenix cap from their manager which I was stoked about. Lil Jonny ordered one of the most expensive things on the menu which wasn't too cool. After that we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. Tomorrow is our last riding day which is at Venice Beach. I'm sure it'll be awesome!!!
-The prizes were more legit:
UK:
3rd=£50
2nd=£100
1st=£200
USA:
5th=Trophy, T-shirt and $100
4th= Trophy, T-shirt and $200
3rd= Trophy, T-shirt, Razor Bag and $400
2nd= Trophy, T-shirt, Razor Bag and $600
1st= Big Trophy, T-shirt, Razor Bag and $800
- ^ From above, you can gather that the top 5 riders were paid out as well as the top 3, and the top 10 riders were announced so they could receive some props. You may have also gathered that there would be absolutely no point in giving away stock Ultra Pros!
-ALL Pro riders got two 90 second runs, there was no qualifiers. There was 31 Pro riders in total so the timing wasn't too bad.
-Best one yet..... THERE WAS NO BASTARD FOGHORN!!! haha.
-Madd Gear USA riders Capron Funk and Tyler Bonner were allowed to go, hmmmm...
-There wasn't a 2 minute gap in between each rider. Before all the runs, every rider went to the place where they wanted to start, all they said was your name and you'd drop in on your own time, there wasn't anything like "three...two....one..... your 90 seconds starts now" hahaha. It didn't announce sponsors or anything, people just knew who everyone was.
All the riders had to sign 3 waivers asking for the same information haha
One of the best things.. the only queues were for food from the on-site fast-food kiosks and registration tent (both of which were very short queues)
The riding was about 10 times more legit, haha.
There was no inflatables and vinyls, but instead, a legit Gazebo.
People weren't just out there riding, it was a hot day, a lot of people were chillin'
But yeah that's about it for differences. Top 10 Results are as follows:
10th- Chris Hart (ELTYS, District) Aus
9th- Dom Olorenshaw (Razor, Scoot-Mag) UK
8th- Capron Funk (MaddGear) USA
Tied 6th- Jason Beggs (Razor) USA and Cooper Klaar (Phoenix) USA
5th- Cory Vanlew (ELYTS) USA
4th- Chris Gascoigne (Razor) USA
3rd- Cameron Ward (District, Eagle) USA
2nd- Raymond Warner (Scooter Zone) USA
1st- Dakota Schuetz (Kota Sports) USA
I myself managed to rank 15th place just behind Zig Short so I was pretty pleased :3 For me, one of the highlights of the day was chillin' for a while with Zig. Picked up the ELTYS Bagpack (which is one of the first in the UK being used by a rider) Someone who I enjoyed chillin' and riding with was Corey Funk, younger brother of MGP's Capron Funk- shredding up the box and a genuinely nice kid. Addict didn't show up to the competition but I'm sure they would've certainly made a difference to the results. My first run wasn't too bad, I bailed my last trick which was then I discovered that the ground was so hot, not only does the friction cut you when you fall, but the hot ground also burns you at the same time. NOT cool...
There was also a best trick contest which I entered with a Fastplant frontflip- I tried 3 times. The first time I over-rotation and rolled away holding on the bars with my legs scraping across the floor. the second time I lost the scooter and it hit me on the head. and the third time my foot slipped off. It was a shame for me but the prize money was well deserved between Tyler Bonner and Raymond Warner. (I think) Tyler did a triple tail-whip over this BIG channel gap and I'm not sure what Raymond did.
Throughout the day, a lot of us were chilling at the Razor Gazebo where there were fresh fruit and vitamin water to enjoy. We also got an early look at the Razor Trophies that were on show, as well as the Razor bags being given away as prizes. I'm not sure when the bags came around but they certainly looked legit. I doubt they held scooters since ELYTS have a patent pending on that, but I wouldn't mind one for use. :') Just before the drive home we each got given some Equilibrium bands to wear when we ride.. (I notice their fashionable and Heather is trying to convince me that they really do work!) :')
Afterwards we ate at a place called BJ's. Phoenix got us a table which was super cool of them. Josh Kish came over to chill for a while. I got a Phoenix cap from their manager which I was stoked about. Lil Jonny ordered one of the most expensive things on the menu which wasn't too cool. After that we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. Tomorrow is our last riding day which is at Venice Beach. I'm sure it'll be awesome!!!
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Today
Today was awesome. We drove out to Riverside to visit the original Scooter Zone Store. The journey was hectic due to there being several vapour guns and ammo in the car given to us to by Razor USA to test, vapour bullets flying around which was hilarious. We stopped off at a McDonalds before making our way there. This was our second visit to McDonalds since the one at the airport which unfortunately had no available milkshake, so i FINALLY had an American "McCafé" chocolate milkshake, and DAMN it was good! I know I previously mentioned me and Dom wanting some RAD Crowbars to bring back home since their lack of availability in the UK, and James managed to find us some old stock of RAD Crows which were cut too short. Me Dom and Lewis all ride SCS now which made them okay with at extra 2 inches. Lewis snagged a pair of blue Crows which i must say look fucking DANK- seriously, his scooter looks amazing and you'll see why when he's riding in the UK again. Me and Dom both got black pairs which well suite a Razor Black Label scooter. Sam Everett picked up a pair of Rad Raderalls (the "Vultures") in white, which he found better for him.
^ Joe McDo chillin outside at the Zone.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Scooter Zone James for being so good to us whilst we were there. He didn't have to, but he chose to be super-legit and give us all a 50% discount on the majority of stock (I think Phoenix wasn't included) This meant I could get not only a pair of RAD Crows, but ALSO a pair of PROTO SlaYer Bars- $100 for BOTH, as well as a Scooter Zone T-Shirt; I was super stoked and I know for a fact that everyone received a more than great deal. Scooter Zones are highly beneficial to the riders of California and Razor UK wishes to support them in the future which could end up seriously expanding their business. (figure that one out) ;)
Anyway tomorrow is the first stop of the US Razor Global Domination tour at Escondido, so I'll update you on how that goes on!
-Ben
^ Joe McDo chillin outside at the Zone.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Scooter Zone James for being so good to us whilst we were there. He didn't have to, but he chose to be super-legit and give us all a 50% discount on the majority of stock (I think Phoenix wasn't included) This meant I could get not only a pair of RAD Crows, but ALSO a pair of PROTO SlaYer Bars- $100 for BOTH, as well as a Scooter Zone T-Shirt; I was super stoked and I know for a fact that everyone received a more than great deal. Scooter Zones are highly beneficial to the riders of California and Razor UK wishes to support them in the future which could end up seriously expanding their business. (figure that one out) ;)
Anyway tomorrow is the first stop of the US Razor Global Domination tour at Escondido, so I'll update you on how that goes on!
-Ben
American food/packaging!!
Have you ever heard about McDonald's portions being like twice as big as ours? Well I have to say that it's absolutely true haha. Now imagine going into your local supermarket to buy some crisps/chocolate- now imagine there being about 5 times as much choice of what to buy; it's just crazy. Check it:

^ I think this was in England but I do believe this pissed Joe off
Diet Dr. Pepper and new york Pepsi
Doritos!
Coffee-flavoured Monster; smells exactly like coffee, I sure wouldn't want it though.
This Can was about as wide as the 100mm wheels beneath, and I'm not making this up haha.
^ See those? Those are REGULAR fries.
You can get Cadbury's but it tastes REALLY sweet. Some of them use the purple colour-scheme but some of them are brown and pretty much unrecognisable haha. Galaxy is called "Dove" and rarely comes in small packages. Walkers crisps are called "Lays" and only exists in ready salted ("Classic") and weird flavours that we don't have over in the UK (stuff like Sour Cream & Onion, Dill Pickle and Limon. They have USA version of wotsits called "Cheetos" which are sooo big haha.
You can get Cadbury's but it tastes REALLY sweet. Some of them use the purple colour-scheme but some of them are brown and pretty much unrecognisable haha. Galaxy is called "Dove" and rarely comes in small packages. Walkers crisps are called "Lays" and only exists in ready salted ("Classic") and weird flavours that we don't have over in the UK (stuff like Sour Cream & Onion, Dill Pickle and Limon. They have USA version of wotsits called "Cheetos" which are sooo big haha.
Hey guys!
As promised I shall try sum up the events of the day. We spent the night without our luggage which was a shame, so we went around some shops to check out the clothing. We all bought these really cool hoodies that have earphones built in to the string. One retiring we decided to take a dip in the pool when we found out our bags had finally arrived! Whilst waiting in line Joe flashes his ass to Sam and caused some American to complain- "put your pants on, there are kids in here!" haha. This meant we could finally ride but first off we stopped at the Twisted Scooter shop in Anaheim. Joe picked up some Zero Gravity Bars, ZG Flex fender and Tilt Pegs. I picked a pair of red SZ Viper Bars and a new SCS (since the old one wasn't really worth fixing but I might do something with it when I'm back home) The shop was awesome and it is clearly of much convinience to all the kids in the area. Jason has a job there so it was nice seeing them helping the scootering community like that. When he was cutting my bars with the angle grinder I leapt to the other side of the room as soon as I saw the sparks hahaha! Also, whilst we were there we checked out the second issue of French Toast Magazine. Terry Price's interview was okay and they featured Jason Beggs Scooter check which was awesome. All the lay out and content is just as legit as the first issue, can't wait to grab my own copy. After we got our set-ups sorted out we headed off to one of the local parks which was pretty cool. Lil jonny got bar to bartwists and whip to bartwists over the hip which was pretty cool! But the real sesh started afterwards at the second skatepark we hit up, you can read about it in the next update!
-Ben
As promised I shall try sum up the events of the day. We spent the night without our luggage which was a shame, so we went around some shops to check out the clothing. We all bought these really cool hoodies that have earphones built in to the string. One retiring we decided to take a dip in the pool when we found out our bags had finally arrived! Whilst waiting in line Joe flashes his ass to Sam and caused some American to complain- "put your pants on, there are kids in here!" haha. This meant we could finally ride but first off we stopped at the Twisted Scooter shop in Anaheim. Joe picked up some Zero Gravity Bars, ZG Flex fender and Tilt Pegs. I picked a pair of red SZ Viper Bars and a new SCS (since the old one wasn't really worth fixing but I might do something with it when I'm back home) The shop was awesome and it is clearly of much convinience to all the kids in the area. Jason has a job there so it was nice seeing them helping the scootering community like that. When he was cutting my bars with the angle grinder I leapt to the other side of the room as soon as I saw the sparks hahaha! Also, whilst we were there we checked out the second issue of French Toast Magazine. Terry Price's interview was okay and they featured Jason Beggs Scooter check which was awesome. All the lay out and content is just as legit as the first issue, can't wait to grab my own copy. After we got our set-ups sorted out we headed off to one of the local parks which was pretty cool. Lil jonny got bar to bartwists and whip to bartwists over the hip which was pretty cool! But the real sesh started afterwards at the second skatepark we hit up, you can read about it in the next update!
-Ben
Friday, 29 July 2011
Yesterday night, big riding sesh
As you may have read on my FaceBook status, we managed to have a pretty immense sesh with Matt McKeen, Alex Peasley, Jean-Yves Randriambelson, Johann Moureu, Tyler Wheeland, Stefan Hefner, John Radtke, Chris Gascoigne, Jason Beggs, Monky McMoran, and Dylan Kasson. When we first got to the park there wasn't that many riders, they arrived shortly after. All of a sudden Tyler Wheeland (T-Whee) arrived into the park with Stefan and Dylan and then the Addict crew showed up! (shortly after being arrested- I think it was illegal parking or something)
Tyler Wheeland was actually tripping after knowing I was "JDBen".. seriously, he was like "Dude NO FUCKING WAY!! Oh my God... dayumn....", I was a bit freaked about it he wasn't being negative so I guess its cool. I felt a bit stupid since I couldn't pronounce "Jean-Yves Randriambelson", so I can see why people just called him "JD" haha. He has a rather unusual but cool accent; its like a blackguy tone but it's also French haha :)
Something which was pretty funny about Dylan Kasson... He NEVER stops riding/moving forward on his scooter, this is for real; he never stops to take a break or sit down or anything, and the way he pushes his scooter is rather unusual aswell. To be fair, he had something to laugh about as well. Apparently on my flatland tricks (Bar to whip, 360 bri, whip to fingerwhip etc) I have a habit of crouching and having my head really close to my bars before I jumped. Dylan and T-Whee found it absolutely hilarious until the point where Dylan recorded it on his phone (God knows who he's showing that to haha) Unfortuntely we didn't ride the park for long since the lights shut off at 10 so you can't see. But I was bummed out since I chunked my Eagle in the back on this Bri to whip on a bank to bank transfer. but I've been hooked up with the brand new Phase 2 Wheels so it's been fine. When the sesh was over we headed back to our Hotel when I saw Tyler Bonner driving out of the parking lot. It took my a moment to realise it was actually him haha
When I was talking to Alex Peasley he showed me his front wheel. Which is the hardest scooter wheel I think I've ever seen haha, it's 100A (which is the same as a skateboard wheel, with Yak being 78A and Eagle being 88A) which is supposed to be really good for sliders. It will be interesting if those start getting more popular, but the way I see it, when you land heavy on a trick, you must be able to feel it real bad haha.
When the park shut, all the riders went on the flat just outside, which lead to an incredibly entertaining game of SCOOT between Robert Monky McMoran and France's Jean-Yves Randriambelson. Monky Throwing up the double bars regular and oppo which was hectic, and JD throwing out the fakie truck drivers regular and oppo, sooo nutty. Monky also set a Bri-flip flat, which made me so surprised when JD managed to match it first try, especially since I didn't imagine a flatland bri would be one of his regular tricks haha.
Josh and Lewis were fully stoked to be there with McKeen and I think they got a few conversations in as well which must've been awesome. When the sesh was over, the Razor USA guys headed back with us to the hotel where we met Tanner Markley (who we haven't rode with yet). I came back late and on the way out I saw Tyler Bonner driving out of the parking lot who asked us what's up (at the time I couldn't find my wallet so I was a bit worried haha) When I got up to Dom/Sam/Lewis's lounge, we were just chilling with the Razor USA guys and Bonner who came back up to the room. He has two one-way tickets here and back from his home so at the moment his intensions are just to chill with all the Cali guys, which sounds awesome haha.
When we were at the Razor office, they unleashed the surprise that we are to be attending the 2011 X-Games to watch the Motocross riders throw down, I'm looking forward to it and I'll inform you of what happens!!
-Ben
Tyler Wheeland was actually tripping after knowing I was "JDBen".. seriously, he was like "Dude NO FUCKING WAY!! Oh my God... dayumn....", I was a bit freaked about it he wasn't being negative so I guess its cool. I felt a bit stupid since I couldn't pronounce "Jean-Yves Randriambelson", so I can see why people just called him "JD" haha. He has a rather unusual but cool accent; its like a blackguy tone but it's also French haha :)
Something which was pretty funny about Dylan Kasson... He NEVER stops riding/moving forward on his scooter, this is for real; he never stops to take a break or sit down or anything, and the way he pushes his scooter is rather unusual aswell. To be fair, he had something to laugh about as well. Apparently on my flatland tricks (Bar to whip, 360 bri, whip to fingerwhip etc) I have a habit of crouching and having my head really close to my bars before I jumped. Dylan and T-Whee found it absolutely hilarious until the point where Dylan recorded it on his phone (God knows who he's showing that to haha) Unfortuntely we didn't ride the park for long since the lights shut off at 10 so you can't see. But I was bummed out since I chunked my Eagle in the back on this Bri to whip on a bank to bank transfer. but I've been hooked up with the brand new Phase 2 Wheels so it's been fine. When the sesh was over we headed back to our Hotel when I saw Tyler Bonner driving out of the parking lot. It took my a moment to realise it was actually him haha
When I was talking to Alex Peasley he showed me his front wheel. Which is the hardest scooter wheel I think I've ever seen haha, it's 100A (which is the same as a skateboard wheel, with Yak being 78A and Eagle being 88A) which is supposed to be really good for sliders. It will be interesting if those start getting more popular, but the way I see it, when you land heavy on a trick, you must be able to feel it real bad haha.
When the park shut, all the riders went on the flat just outside, which lead to an incredibly entertaining game of SCOOT between Robert Monky McMoran and France's Jean-Yves Randriambelson. Monky Throwing up the double bars regular and oppo which was hectic, and JD throwing out the fakie truck drivers regular and oppo, sooo nutty. Monky also set a Bri-flip flat, which made me so surprised when JD managed to match it first try, especially since I didn't imagine a flatland bri would be one of his regular tricks haha.
Josh and Lewis were fully stoked to be there with McKeen and I think they got a few conversations in as well which must've been awesome. When the sesh was over, the Razor USA guys headed back with us to the hotel where we met Tanner Markley (who we haven't rode with yet). I came back late and on the way out I saw Tyler Bonner driving out of the parking lot who asked us what's up (at the time I couldn't find my wallet so I was a bit worried haha) When I got up to Dom/Sam/Lewis's lounge, we were just chilling with the Razor USA guys and Bonner who came back up to the room. He has two one-way tickets here and back from his home so at the moment his intensions are just to chill with all the Cali guys, which sounds awesome haha.
When we were at the Razor office, they unleashed the surprise that we are to be attending the 2011 X-Games to watch the Motocross riders throw down, I'm looking forward to it and I'll inform you of what happens!!
-Ben
Updates!!
Hey guys, hope you're all well. Sat next to Joe McDonald watching Family Guy on AdultSwim after an awesome day. Spent all morning at the Razor Headquarters in Cerritos, Los Angeles, which consisted of pretty much messing around on the Razor toys, Lewis and Sam were just racing around on the "parking lot". I took some time in the advertising and marketing department to see all the stuff that was going on (There's some good things coming up so definitely look forward to it!) We got some T shirts that are offensive towards *a particular scooter brand* ( ;D ) as well as the brand new Razor Phase 2 wheels and forks. Joe felt brave enough to try out a new scooter from Razor called the "Sport Pro", which is basically an Ultra Pro with an 83 degree headtube angle (like TSI) with a slightly different cut on the nose and dropouts. He's really enjoying riding it so far and without a doubt you'll be able to check it out when he's back riding in the UK.
While we were there we also checked out the final factory-finished Phase 2 Scooters; the Jason Beggs signature and the John Radtke signature models. Jasons "color" scheme consists of Green and White (white, bars, green deck/grips, with wheels that look a bit like the old Stan Smirnoff Eagle signature wheels) with"RAD-style" bars with the gussets. John's scooter is pretty much just black with classic T-Shape Bars They both look awesome and John and Jason are really stoked about them. In the day, Cary Mosbrucker arrived at the office after flying in to Los Angeles from Washington and it wasn't long before he was shredding the parks. We then grabbed some lunch and before we left we met up with super-OG rider Mark Atkins. Mark was on the original Team Razor in 2001 so it was really a pleasure to be there talking to him. He said that he's now riding again and showed us a vid of him sending some flips and stuff at his park (since back when he rode, backflips=pro) He hooked us up with some T-Shirts and Caps from his clothing brand "Fatal". After that we hit up a skatepark called Knottsbury (sp?) One of John Radtke's locals and where he did his 'famous' backflip triple tailwhip and backflip whip to bar over the spine. It was really awesome and something I wish we had in the UK haha. We were there for a while doing some filming from the UK and Team Razor USA did some filming as well. Joe was stoked on his Inward Bri and his 720 haha. Cary was there sending so high airs which looked awesome. After that we hit up the park that's really worth mentioning; Chino in Chino City. This is a skatepark that a lot of UK riders may know and wished to ride, and I must say that it's such a perfect skatepark with a good atmoshere. We saw Dakota Schuetz there with his bro Hunter which was cool (If you saw him at NASS, he's more talkative and sociable on his own turf i.e California :'D ) Also there was Nick Darger and Jarrod Bruns from 951/Scooter Zone and Jon Knudson from Blunt USA. It was great to see them all ride; they absolutely kill it. We didn't do much filming at Chino since we were all having such a good time riding; but we're planning to head off there tomorrow and make space on the Team Razor camcorder so we're hoping to film some good clips for you guys to check out when they're edited. If you didn't already know, outdoor skateparks in California shut at 10 o'clock; at which time the lights just turn off, which is as scary as it sounds for anyone which is doing big airs or about to drop in haha. From talking to the various riders, it sounds like the majority are pretty hyped about the first stop of the USA Razor Global Domination Tour in Escondido, So-Cal. We also have word that the Addict crew will be there, as well as Josh Kish from Inward (maybe he can teach me flairs? :3) and Cooper Klaar from Phoenix (360 Bri-Whip flat? ;D) But yeah, as mentioned before, we're planning to head off back to Chino in the evening, after spending our morning at Scooter Zone in Riverside CA. This particular scooter zone was the original of the handful located around California, which is exciting since this is the one I would've chosen to visit. Apparently Riverside is in "the ghetto", but I'm sure that's still okay haha. I'm hoping they have good stock, since me and Dom were looking to pick up some RAD Crowbars before we head home, since I'm pretty sure there's no pairs around in the UK and shipping is often rediculously expensive.
Oh one more thing; these past couple of days we've been eating out at this food franchise in California called "In-N-Out", which is a bit like Wimpy's, they sell various burgers with fries. All the food is made fresh and tastes great, we're already fans and will most likely return there a few more times before returning home (which is NOT what I wish to think about right now!!!)
We've finally got a laptop sorted out so doing these updates will be a lot easier and more frequent, so I'm looking forward to giving you even more updates about what's going on and hope you enjoy checking them out. Peace.
-Ben Grantham
While we were there we also checked out the final factory-finished Phase 2 Scooters; the Jason Beggs signature and the John Radtke signature models. Jasons "color" scheme consists of Green and White (white, bars, green deck/grips, with wheels that look a bit like the old Stan Smirnoff Eagle signature wheels) with"RAD-style" bars with the gussets. John's scooter is pretty much just black with classic T-Shape Bars They both look awesome and John and Jason are really stoked about them. In the day, Cary Mosbrucker arrived at the office after flying in to Los Angeles from Washington and it wasn't long before he was shredding the parks. We then grabbed some lunch and before we left we met up with super-OG rider Mark Atkins. Mark was on the original Team Razor in 2001 so it was really a pleasure to be there talking to him. He said that he's now riding again and showed us a vid of him sending some flips and stuff at his park (since back when he rode, backflips=pro) He hooked us up with some T-Shirts and Caps from his clothing brand "Fatal". After that we hit up a skatepark called Knottsbury (sp?) One of John Radtke's locals and where he did his 'famous' backflip triple tailwhip and backflip whip to bar over the spine. It was really awesome and something I wish we had in the UK haha. We were there for a while doing some filming from the UK and Team Razor USA did some filming as well. Joe was stoked on his Inward Bri and his 720 haha. Cary was there sending so high airs which looked awesome. After that we hit up the park that's really worth mentioning; Chino in Chino City. This is a skatepark that a lot of UK riders may know and wished to ride, and I must say that it's such a perfect skatepark with a good atmoshere. We saw Dakota Schuetz there with his bro Hunter which was cool (If you saw him at NASS, he's more talkative and sociable on his own turf i.e California :'D ) Also there was Nick Darger and Jarrod Bruns from 951/Scooter Zone and Jon Knudson from Blunt USA. It was great to see them all ride; they absolutely kill it. We didn't do much filming at Chino since we were all having such a good time riding; but we're planning to head off there tomorrow and make space on the Team Razor camcorder so we're hoping to film some good clips for you guys to check out when they're edited. If you didn't already know, outdoor skateparks in California shut at 10 o'clock; at which time the lights just turn off, which is as scary as it sounds for anyone which is doing big airs or about to drop in haha. From talking to the various riders, it sounds like the majority are pretty hyped about the first stop of the USA Razor Global Domination Tour in Escondido, So-Cal. We also have word that the Addict crew will be there, as well as Josh Kish from Inward (maybe he can teach me flairs? :3) and Cooper Klaar from Phoenix (360 Bri-Whip flat? ;D) But yeah, as mentioned before, we're planning to head off back to Chino in the evening, after spending our morning at Scooter Zone in Riverside CA. This particular scooter zone was the original of the handful located around California, which is exciting since this is the one I would've chosen to visit. Apparently Riverside is in "the ghetto", but I'm sure that's still okay haha. I'm hoping they have good stock, since me and Dom were looking to pick up some RAD Crowbars before we head home, since I'm pretty sure there's no pairs around in the UK and shipping is often rediculously expensive.
Oh one more thing; these past couple of days we've been eating out at this food franchise in California called "In-N-Out", which is a bit like Wimpy's, they sell various burgers with fries. All the food is made fresh and tastes great, we're already fans and will most likely return there a few more times before returning home (which is NOT what I wish to think about right now!!!)
We've finally got a laptop sorted out so doing these updates will be a lot easier and more frequent, so I'm looking forward to giving you even more updates about what's going on and hope you enjoy checking them out. Peace.
-Ben Grantham
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Hello everyone, sorry!!! +The flight
Hey guys. First of all, I'm SOOO sorry why this blog wasn't updated a lot sooner like it should have been, but I think our excuse is more than good enough.
All our luggage was 4000 miles away in New York!!!! And that was kinda scary haha, but we just had to chill and wait over night. After taking a quick dip in our pool we received the great news that our bags had finally arrived! We've just unpacked which allowed me to access the phone charger and rich's laptop charger, which is such a relief haha. But to make up for it I shall be writing up a summary of the flight, yesterday and today, which I hope you shall enjoy!
(P.S: Heather <3!!!)
The Flight:
I myself haven't flew since I was just 9 years old, and all I could remember was the annoying ear-popping sensation that you get due to the air pressure whilst taking off and landing. Dom O did pretty well since he's not too good with height (except for his airs <33) The first flight was the longest but the most entertaining. The on-board entertainment system was awesome- much better than the one I had on my last holiday abroad in Spain back in like 2004. It was a touch-screen interface which allowed you to choose what show you wanted to watch, it was categorized by country and genre of TV show/film. The duration of the flight led me to watch Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, two episodes of The Simpsons, John Bishop's Britiain and Little Fockers before sleeping for a little while. Once getting off the plane we were roughly a quarter of the way through what was essentially a 32-hour day.
We were stoked to finally be in America! Dom and Sam went like 14 hours without a fag so they were straight out for a smoke. Joe and Jonny were instantly hitting the food and had their first American Subway. This is what he walked out the Airport to:
^ You can't really tell from this picture but it was fucking HOT! Not a cloud in the sky either. This was right outside the exit door from the airport where we entered this instant blaze of heat all around us. Shortly afterwards we saw a cop on his break and easily noticed the gun in his pouch. Joe went up to him and said:
Joe: "Y'know it's weird seeing a policeman with a gun."
Cop: Oh yeah? where're you from?"
Joe: "The UK"
Cop: "Ah... I heard they have pussy-toys over there..."
It was pretty funny haha!
All our luggage was 4000 miles away in New York!!!! And that was kinda scary haha, but we just had to chill and wait over night. After taking a quick dip in our pool we received the great news that our bags had finally arrived! We've just unpacked which allowed me to access the phone charger and rich's laptop charger, which is such a relief haha. But to make up for it I shall be writing up a summary of the flight, yesterday and today, which I hope you shall enjoy!
(P.S: Heather <3!!!)
The Flight:
I myself haven't flew since I was just 9 years old, and all I could remember was the annoying ear-popping sensation that you get due to the air pressure whilst taking off and landing. Dom O did pretty well since he's not too good with height (except for his airs <33) The first flight was the longest but the most entertaining. The on-board entertainment system was awesome- much better than the one I had on my last holiday abroad in Spain back in like 2004. It was a touch-screen interface which allowed you to choose what show you wanted to watch, it was categorized by country and genre of TV show/film. The duration of the flight led me to watch Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, two episodes of The Simpsons, John Bishop's Britiain and Little Fockers before sleeping for a little while. Once getting off the plane we were roughly a quarter of the way through what was essentially a 32-hour day.We were stoked to finally be in America! Dom and Sam went like 14 hours without a fag so they were straight out for a smoke. Joe and Jonny were instantly hitting the food and had their first American Subway. This is what he walked out the Airport to:
^ You can't really tell from this picture but it was fucking HOT! Not a cloud in the sky either. This was right outside the exit door from the airport where we entered this instant blaze of heat all around us. Shortly afterwards we saw a cop on his break and easily noticed the gun in his pouch. Joe went up to him and said:
Joe: "Y'know it's weird seeing a policeman with a gun."
Cop: Oh yeah? where're you from?"
Joe: "The UK"
Cop: "Ah... I heard they have pussy-toys over there..."
It was pretty funny haha!
Monday, 25 July 2011
5 things Dom Olorenshaw wants to bring back from Cali:
1. Some of John Radtke's hair
2. Cheat codes
3. Brass Knuckles
4. An STD
5. a sick experience
2. Cheat codes
3. Brass Knuckles
4. An STD
5. a sick experience
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Dolla? Dollerz? Buckz? $$$?
The basic goings on
With the Razor Global Domination Tour just finished, Team Razor UK are embarking on another experience; the grand opportunity to visit California in the United States for a week. California is known for introducing the skateboarding scene in the early 1960s (similar with scooters in the late 1990's/early 2000's) and when we think of California, the first things that go through our heads are the amazing weather, the beaches, skateboarding and surfing and what we imagine to be the stereotypical American lifestyle; obviously that isn't always the case seeing as the State of California alone is larger than the UK in both area and population. Coming on the trip are team riders Dom Olorenshaw, Lewis Crampton, Josh Rochelle-Bates, Joe McDonald, Sam Everett, Jonny Carter, and Myself, as well as Richard Walsh, staff of Re:Creation (aka Razor UK) The rather sad news is that Jake Holohan wasn't able to get the time off work to come, which definitely does suck since there would've been a lot more funnier times with him around haha, and its yet another occasion where the full team isn't together haha. Unfortunately I haven't heard much from the others but we're all getting together in London the night before we head off to the airport on the morning of the 26th, which I guess will give us some time to get a catch-up (especially if we're having to stay up all night!! 0.0) But currently I have no idea how excited they are or what they're taking with them! Haha. I'll be posting up a check list of what I'm taking soon. Peace.
Hello!
Not too sure if I'll be spreading this link or not, but this is where I shall be making posts concerning Team Razor UK's upcoming trip to Los Angeles in California. The reason this blog is called "Our First American Friends" is because it was inspired by one of my favourite bands "Tubelord", and their experiences touring the US are much like the ones I hope to encounter, and of course the people we meet will be what who we miss when we return home (not that I enjoyed even mentioning coming back! ;) haha) and not just the places we go. I am going to be doing a lot of work with Scoot-Mag regarding the trip, which shall include posting updates to their website (which you can check out here: www.scoot-mag.com) as well as pictures and videos to add to the posts. After the trip I shall be producing an article which shall be an overall summary of the trip, which will then be published in the first issue of the upcoming "Scoot-Mag" magazine, being released in retailers all over the UK. Needless to say I'm really excited about making all these contributions and I hope you enjoy all of the content which comes out of it. The updates on Scoot-Mag will be to worded for the "mainstream audience" whereas the posts I make on here shall be a lot more colloquial and target my friends and close riders. So yeah, enjoy!
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