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

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.

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

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

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

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!

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

Dolla? Dollerz? Buckz? $$$?

Dom O's 'mericanz moneys ($450):















Ben's 'mericanz moneys ($400):

Joe McDo's 'mericanz moneys (~$400):

Josh RB's 'mericanz moneys ($1500)

STOKED!

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!