Ryan Steely's Blog

Tony Alva - A true inspiration

2011-04-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

Pass The Bucket with Tony Alva from Off The Wall TV on Vimeo.

Considered to be one of the the most influential skateboarders of all time, Tony Alva, an original Z-Boy, hit a bottom 4 years ago battling drug addiction and alcoholism. There, at his lowest point, his reliance on successes and ego came into perspective for the first time. Tony's fight for sobriety and truth has recently lead him to a new perspective on life and direction moving forward. Dedicated to giving back Tony now see's passing the bucket as the only way out.  

For more information on how you can help support the children go to www.CHLA.org

Directed & Edited by Eliot Rausch

Music by:
SK Nava "Prognosis Negative
Russian Circles "Hexed All"
Moving Mountains "The Earth and the Sun"

A Real Inspiration

2011-04-11T10:21:00.000-07:00

You dont have to be involved in extreme sports to be inspired by Stephen Murray and his story. Accidents like this can happen to anyone. This guy has an incredible outlook on things considering his situation.

Almost four years ago, the life of professional BMX rider and 3-time U.S. gold medalist Stephen Murray was thrown a proverbial curve ball. At the BMX Dirt Finals of the Dew Actions Sport Tour in Baltimore, Maryland, a double back flip would ultimately go on to paralyze Murray from the neck down. In this Pass the Bucket with Vans, Stephen Murray provides an inspiration story of coping with being paralyzed and his new outlook on life which enables him to carry out and maintain a fruitful life. Following his injury, Murray started up his foundation, “Stay Strong” which can be seen here.

Japan Illustration Number 2

2011-03-20T18:44:00.001-07:00

This is the second and final illustration that I have done for Japan Relief. Not sure if this will ever see a shirt or not but for now it is available as a 18"x24" poster that has been hand silk screened. I did a very limited run of these posters and decided to cut production at 50. Im very happy with the way this illustration came out and I am excited to see that people are buying them and donating to help with relief efforts in Japan.

Japan Relief

2011-03-11T20:15:00.001-08:00

Just finished this new illustration for Japan Relief. We are putting it on shirts and making some limited edition posters that are available at http://nadabrand.com All proceeds go the American Red Cross for Japan Relief.

Instagram....

2011-03-10T00:42:00.000-08:00

This is by far my favorite new photography app for the iphone.. The only drawback that I have found so far (and its a really big one...) you can only look at the pics and follow people if you have the app.. They need to incorporate the features of following and viewing photos via a web browser of some sort..

Back at the blog...

2011-03-10T00:14:00.000-08:00

It's time to get back in the zone and get some action going on this blog again. Stay tuned for daily updates and info about some really exciting upcoming events with NadaBrand and SOA32..

I need help...

2008-10-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

I think I may have just become the guy who has had more Macs than anyone else besides ol' Steve himself. I just went through another Macbook Pro, this only sticking around for a little over 30 days. I wanted to get the 17" but just yesterday Apple announced a new family of Macbook Pros that are pretty sweet, so I got one of the new models instead. We'll see how long this one sticks around! ;)

My Cousin in Phoenix...

2008-08-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you hang in Phoenix with the Nay boys!

You just can't have anything nice!

2008-08-08T08:10:00.001-07:00

This is what I woke up to this morning.. What the FUCK!!! You can't have anything nice without someone fuckin with it.
This is the biggest bunch of shit.. I hope whoever did this rots in hell while the fleas of a million camels infest their pubic area!

ryPhone update.

2008-07-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

So far the phone is working great. I seem to have a little better reception now than I did before actually. There is a rattle or buzz of some sort when I am talking to someone on the phone and that is where the problem comes in. I just came back to the apple store to exchange this phone for one that doesn't rattle as it is an obvious defect. I am begining to realize that apple's customer service is really lacking. Comparable to BestBuy in fact! They just informed me that I have to see a "genius" who I'm sure doesn't know shit, and the wait to see one is upwards of a couple hours. WTF

My new ryPhone!

2008-07-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it. I broke down and bought the new iPhone. I tried to ignore my urges but they finally got the best of me. So far it seems pretty sweet. The impact of the new phone isn't as great as it was when I got the first one but it has some pretty cool features. The turn-by-turn navigation is pretty sick but kinda scary at the same time knowing that someone could find you at any time! This time I plan on putting this phone to the test.

Photos at TeamQuest

2008-05-08T23:15:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I went down to TeamQuest to shoot some pics of Ellis training for a MMA Magazine in the U.K. While we were there Ellis rolled with Dan Henderson, Thierry Sokoudjou and Ryo Chonan. I am still working on getting the photos ready for the magazine and am glad that I am finally going to be published internationally. I will post about this again and post some of the final pics when the magazine is actually out.

PS. Ellis never claimed to be a photographer!

Ralphie May

2008-04-25T00:43:00.000-07:00

If you, like anyone reads this stinkin blog anyway, get a chance to see Ralphie May in concert do it! Last Sunday we took Jen and Eric to the Ontario Improv for their birthdays to see Ralphie May and it was nonstop smiles and laughs from the time he got on stage until he bid us a farewell at the door. It's totally worth the money. If you are looking for a night of good laughs, go see Ralphie May.

Chef Gangsta Ramsey

2008-04-16T22:55:00.000-07:00

I don't think that I am the only one that feels this way. I have been watching "Hells Kitchen" and I must admit that I wish I had a British accent. I would love to be able to tell people to piss off, or tell them that what they are doing is rubbish but it just doesn"t have the same effect without the accent. I am now going to start working on my British accent. Hopefully soon I will be able to tell people to piss off with the same vigor as Chef Gordon Ramsey!

Portland Food

2008-04-07T00:56:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a short trip and had a blast. The restaurants are great and it seems like there is great food around every corner. We pretty much ran the gamut on the food spectrum while we were there, from Lamb Chops at Montage (a really cool place to eat great food while listening to Slayer and wondering if you are going to make it back to your car without being mugged, see previous blog) to Voodoo Donuts (some crazy donut concoctions definitely not for the carb conscious!) to Beef Satay and Grey Goose Martinis at the Portland City Grill (the entire 30th floor of a 45 story building in the middle of Portland with some of the best views of the city).

The food was great and the people were even better.
More to come...

Montage

2008-04-04T01:02:00.000-07:00

As I type this blog we are at a place in Portland called Montage. It is by far the best restaraunt that I have ever been to. It is 1:00am and we are under a freeway overpass listening to slayer and eating lamb chops! This place is rad! We just had oyster shooters and are now sipping a libation of makers mark, lemonade and fresh Ginger with Lesley and John. Could this trip get any better?

Holga

2008-03-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted a Holga camera and can't quite put my finger on why it has taken me so long to get one. Well, I finally got one. I have long been a big fan of the Holga and love its natural vignette and soft focus that is characteristic of these plastic lens toting cameras and have always wanted to be behind the lens one. I just loaded my first roll of film today and should have some pics back by wednesday. It was a little different than shooting digital, which is now what I consider to be my "traditional" way of shooting. I found myself pulling the camera away from my face and looking at the back expecting to see what I just shot and being the type of person who likes instant gratification, I find myself over-anxiously waiting for my pictures to come back so I can see them.

Really missing you...

2008-02-15T23:42:00.000-08:00

As I am getting more and more involved in the skateboard industry and meeting and hanging out with more and more famous skaters, I can't help but think of Kevin. God damn I wish he was here to experience this with me. Everything we ever talked about doing involved both of us and now I am having to go it alone. Every time I am standing on top of the half pipe or talking with Jason Ellis, PLG or Jake Brown, my mind is preoccupied by the fact that he isn't sharing this experience with me. It really drives home the fact that we only have one shot at this life and if we don't live and enjoy every day to its fullest, we are totally cutting ourselves short.

This entry is kind of a downer but fuck, I wish you were still here bro.

Black Orchid..

2008-02-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

Wow! If you are reading this, you know that I wear a lot of black. Tonight I made some new drinks that would be really good for a photo shoot. I am calling them "Black Orchid". Basically it is a vodka and cranberry with a few splashes.
The recipe is:
1 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Peach Vodka
2 oz. Cranberry Juice
Splash of Açai Juice
Splash of Blue Curacao

Dump that into a shaker filled with crushed ice and in the words of my good friend Ellis, "Bob's your Uncle"!
The drink comes out black as can be and is delicious. I am working on a version of this that has Monster Energy Drink in it that I am going to call the "Wild Orchid" but I need to work out the kinks. I am actually drinking one as I am typing this! I am calling it product research!

WOW! Lamb is really good....

2008-02-13T23:17:00.000-08:00

I though I had a pretty broadened palate, but I was wrong. I have been watching Anthony Bourdaine's "No Reservations" now for a couple of seasons. The show is great and Anthony kinda reminds me of myself only 20 years older. Often on the show he is confronted with eating lamb and he makes it sound really good. The other day I was out to dinner with a friend of mine and decided to order the lamb. My friend, who is Egyptian, said that if I didn't like the lamb he would trade plates with me so what did I have to lose? He suggested I order the lamb medium rare, and I did against my better judgement. I love my beef rare but never having had lamb before, I was a little hesitant to go through with this. Wow! This meat is really, really good. I soon found my self eating lamb chops like I was a barbarian, only stopping to wipe the occasional blood that was running down my arm off. This was just a few day ago and I have ordered it a couple times since and have considered ordering a big lot of it from the local butcher to prepare the next time I have company up to my house. If you haven't tried Lamb yet, you need to.

Von Dutch website...

2008-02-12T23:35:00.000-08:00

I am almost done with the new website layout for Von Dutch Performance. Once I am done with this I am hoping to move on to a complete redo of the Von Dutch Clothing and Von Dutch Kustom Cycles websites. This website layout has been fun and has been pretty easy to do with the customer letting me pretty much have full creative freedom. I will post again when the website is up and rockin!

Photo shoot with Ellis..

2008-02-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

Ellis and I are working on another campaign with Von Zipper Sunglasses and so I had to shoot some more pics of Ellis sporting some VZ stuff. The night was kind of off as we were all in funny moods and just ready for the day to end but I managed to get the shots I needed. Here is one of the shots that I shot last night.

The best....

2008-01-22T22:31:00.000-08:00

Just this past weekend I bought a new Quad-Core MacPro to add to my collection of Macs and let me tell you, this is by far the best computer on the face of the planet.. I can remember buying my first computer, because all of the ones before it I built out of scrap parts and misc. stuff that was either purchased or given to me, and thinking "Wow! This is so fast with 100MHz processor and who would ever fill up a 2.3 GB hard drive?" Wow how times have changed. I have had, and still have, a lot of Mac computers. None with as much power as this one but pretty close. I am very excited to how this computer performs once I get all of my apps running and I am working on my next big project. Just to put it in perspective, in 1997 I bought my first computer that was 100MHz and had a 2.3 GB hard drive, my new computer is, are you ready for this? 22,937.6 times faster and has 445 times the amount of hard drive space! Not only is this crazy, but I just realized how big of a nerd I am for being able to figure that out. Wow!

Latest Project

2008-01-15T00:54:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of projects that are lining up for me this year and I just started working on one that is pretty cool, a new website for VonDutch Performance! It's not done yet but when it is, look for an update with pics of the build up.

Back in Hollywood

2008-01-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

It's that time again! On Thursday I will be back out in Hollwood to be on the Jason Ellis Show yet again. Not sure what crazy stuff we are going to do or talk about but I'm sure it will be something worth listening to since it will be the first time we're hanging out in the new year! Tune in and check it out on Sirius 28 at noon!

Back on Sirius for the last time in 07

2007-12-19T01:33:00.000-08:00

It's happening a lot more these days. I was back on the Jason Ellis show again yesterday only this time I was joined by the lovely Joanna Angel who wasn't in the studio for more than 30 seconds before she had her top off and WOW! We were also joined by Robbie Madison who is going to attempt a new world record distance jump on a dirt bike. He is planning to jump 360 feet at the Rio in Las Vegas as the ball drops in NY. Lets hope he makes it.

Faction Photo Shoot

2007-12-04T02:03:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago I was asked to take some pics of the crew at Faction 28 while they were shooting for a magazine article. (Not sure which magazine). The shoot was with Tony Hawk, Bam Margera, Jason Ellis, Johnny Mosley, Shoebox, Tully and Pendarvis. We had a lot of fun and got some good pics. Here are a couple from that day between shoots.

Kick Boxing

2007-11-05T23:57:00.000-08:00

WOW! Today was my first Kick Boxing. I had no idea that the upper half of my body was in such bad shape.. From my chest down I feel like I am in pretty good shape. I threw more punches today than I think I have my whole life. All in all it was a lot of fun and I cant wait to do it again tomorrow. Provided I can move my arms! :o)

Im not eating this!

2007-11-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to Cost Plus to buy some wine and as we were looking around we found a desert that kinda resembles bread pudding but in a can. It is called "Spotted Dick" What?!?!?! I had to buy a can just for entertainment purposes. This is an actual product and I couldn't help but snap a picture of it while it was still on the shelf. The people at the register had a pretty good laugh too.

Back to the iPhone...

2007-11-02T01:39:00.000-07:00

"The grass is always greener..." Well not this time. I recently switched from Verizon Wireless to AT&T so I could get an iPhone. As soon as I got the iPhone I fell in love. Being a Apple freak and a gadget junkie I had to have one. After I had it for about a month or so I started to feel like I might be happier if I were to switch back to a BlackBerry so I went to the store and bought one so I could really weigh the benefits of each device. After switching to the BlackBerry for the last week, I have my decision. The iPhone is the best electronic device ever to hit the market. I realized that the BlackBerry interface just isn't up to par and in some cases I would actually get email on my iPhone quicker than I did on the BBerry? Go figure. Viva Apple!

Back in Hollywood!

2007-10-31T23:32:00.000-07:00

Back out in Hollywood today shooting pics of Ellis and stepped in on the show for a few minutes.. Bob had a pretty good time and was pretty stoked to meet Ellis and see how the radio show operates.. Hey Bob, next time we'll get you on the air!

Ellismate Skateboards

2007-10-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

Jason and I just launched a preliminary store for our new venture, Ellismate Skateboards. We are still working on more designs and developing the rest of the website but for now it is up and running and making sales.. Its pretty crazy to think that people are buying clothes that I design and I rockin the hell out of them..

I love donuts!

2007-10-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

There is a new bakery by our house that we have been passing by. This morning we decided to check it out and have some latte's and donuts and WOW! Let me tell you that this place is the best thing to happen to the high desert since Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were playing cowboys up here. I am sitting inside as I type this entry and we are totally impressed. The food and drinks are great and this place looks like a million bucks. Next time you are in the area, you have to check out "I Love Donuts".

Call me gay, but I'm comfortable with my sexuality!

2007-10-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

Out of all the things i thought i might be doing today, never did i think i was going to get a manicure. Nikki talked me into getting one today and i must admit, it actually felt really good. My nails now look awsome and my hands feel like a million bucks! Call it what you want but i think i am going to be getting more manicures in my future.

Nasty with a capital N!

2007-10-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

So I go in to the bathroom this morning, blow my nose and flush it down the toilet only to have the toilet back up and fill with "poo-water". It was totally nasty. I tried plunging it a lot this morning but had to leave to go to work and figured I would just deal with it when I got home. At work I jokingly said, "Watch, when I get home my downstairs is going to be flooded." Sure enough. I get home and find water dripping from the ceiling. FUCK! I called Roto-Rooter and thats where it gets real nasty. The guy shows up and assesses the situation, goes out to his truck and comes back in with a snake, 1 rubber glove and 1 leather glove... As he puts on the latex glove he explains how he doesn't really get too many infections or sick that much any more and proceeds to shove his hands into the toilet full of "poo-water"! What the hell was the one glove for? At this point there is "poo-water" splashing on all of the walls and worst of all, all over the guy. I saw him a few times wipe his forehead with his shoulder like he was sweating but I know it was the nasty water that had splashed up on his face. I cant even tell this story anymore. After all was said and done, $283 and a mess to clean up. I guess it could have been worse.

On Faction

2007-10-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

A little clip from the Jason Ellis show today talking about our vegas trip. WOW! I didnt realize thats who that was.. Again, WOW!

Ellis Shoot

2007-10-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am going to be in LA doing a photo shoot with Jason Ellis. It will probably finish with shooting pics in the studio and hanging out on the radio show for a while.. If you have Sirius Satelite Radio, be sure and check out the Jason Ellis show tomorrow at 12pm (3pm east).

The infamous "Blue M"

2007-10-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

I am now convinced that I almost had a heart attack from drinking a double Monster before going to bed lastnight. Well, I guess it could have had a little something to do with the 6 Grey Goose on the rocks that I had and the can of sugar free RedBull. Come to think of it maybe it was just the RedBull. Hmmmm. Well regardless, Im giving it all up. No more energy drinks for me. I couldnt sleep lastnight and my heart felt like it was going to come out of my chest and I now have theses odd chest pains! Hopefully they go away.

Rockin Robin

2007-10-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend Robin and I shot some funny footage of her rockin on the guitar, banging on some toys, playing the piano, tamborine and singing and chopped it into a little video clip. I am planning on doing a video like this a couple times a month so we can look back on them further down the line and see how she has grown.. Check it out

On the Ellis Show again

2007-09-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

Seems to be happening more and more these days. On Friday I was at the QBN Sessions that were held at the Getty Center. The sessions themselves were pretty good and I really enjoyed listening to Mike Muller, the guy is completely down to earth and you can tell that he is genuinely excited to be doing the work that he is. I couldn't take an entire day at the sessions so I took off a little early and headed over to the Jason Ellis Show.

first post from my new iphone

2007-09-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

this is the first post from my new iPhone. So far it kicks ass. At first I didn't think that it was going to be very easy to type on but I am now finding out that it isn't all that bad. I am pretty w
excited about this!

Midnight Puke!

2007-09-04T23:54:00.000-07:00

Wow! I've always heard about things like this happening to others but I haven't had the joy of experiencing it first-hand until tonight. While laying in bed, Robin got really hot all of a sudden and started puking everywhere, like Exorcist style! She seems to be ok now. What a wild ride that was!!! Now I know what people have been talking about all this time. There really is nothing like cleaning puke off the floor and out of your daughters hair at midnight.

New Ellis Logo

2007-08-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

I just got done with a new logo for EllisMate Skateboards..
Check it out

Las Vegas

2007-08-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

I just went to Las Vegas with Ellis and met up with PLG, Jake "Sick Cunt" Brown!!! (haha) and Kit Cope. Had a great time. Hung out at the HardRock, went to the UFC fight and sat in Hart and Huntington for 9 hours while Ellis got his arm finished. All in all it was a pretty good weekend. I dont understand how I pulled off only having one drink the entire time we were there but I did!

Myspace...

2007-08-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

Damn Myspace, the other day I clicked a comedy video on someones page and in doing so I opened up a can of worms. This seems to be a virus type action that leaves a comment on everyone of your friends pages. The bad thing is that the comment my little problem left was a porn clip. If you got one, sorry. It wasn't me. (I know, I know, famous last words!)

Team EllisMate Website

2007-08-22T23:36:00.001-07:00

The Team EllisMate website is now launched.. Next will be a complete redesign of ellismate.com and a whole bunch of new gear will be available in the store..

Transfer Clothing Co.

2007-08-21T21:36:00.001-07:00

I am set to launch my new line of apparel in October. Be sure to check out transferclothing.com and enter your email address to be notified when we launch and be entered to win some free stuff.

Starting work on teamellismate.com

2007-08-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today I started working on Jason Ellis' website that is dedicated to his radio show on Sirius 28 Faction, teamellismate.com.
I am hoping to have it up and running by tomorrow evening. I will update as soon as the site is posted. Check out his radio show from Noon to 4pm pacific on Sirius 28 Faction.

New Jason Ellis Websites

2007-08-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

I just talked with Jason and it is now official, I am going to be taking over his 2 websites ( ellismate.com and teamellismate.com) and completely redesigning and maintaining them. :o)

Website is up...

2007-08-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

It took a little longer than I had thought but the new website is up. I am still posting to the gallery sections and plan on having all of them updated by the end of the day. Till then, later!

At the XGames

2007-07-31T23:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight Nikki and I were at the Staples Center watching the Big Air practice. I did the graphics for the bottom of Jason Ellis' boards that he is going to skate in the competition. It was pretty cool, we were sitting with all of the friends and family of all of the skaters. There were a couple other people there that I got to meet as well, Jake Brown, Mike 'Rooftop' Escamilla, Atiba, and Sal Masekela to name a few. It was pretty cool, kinda made me think, "What if I would have never quit skating?" Oh well, good luck Ellis.

ryansteely.com

2007-07-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

I have been working to finish my webiste all day long. I am very close and hope to have it at least done enough to post tonight.

Lego Land

2007-07-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our vaction in San Diego and if you ever thought about going to Lego Land, dont. It was a big disappointment. It is pretty expensive to get in and once you are inside the park, it seems like you have to pay for everything.
SeaWorld on the other hand was great. Everyone had a great time, even the little ones. It doesn't matter how old you get or how cool you try to be, when you see Shamu and dolphins doing a bunch of flips and tricks you can't help but feel like a little kid again.

Hangin with Jason Ellis

2007-07-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Lastnight I had the opportunity to hang out and be a guest on the Jason Ellis show on Sirius 28 Faction. We had a lot of fun discussing crazy topics and taking listener calls. I also brought him a couple of the new shirts that I just designed for him. Check them out at ellismate.com or the blog on radiofaction.com. I am currently working a new design for the skateboards that Ellis is going to be riding in Xgames 13.

Indoor Skydiving

2006-12-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

I just went indoor skydiving in Las Vegas for my birthday and it was pretty cool. The sensation is different than regular skydiving since you are being lifted from below rather than falling out of the sky, but you get more free fall time than you would if you were to jump from 13,000 feet. You should totally do it!

Photoshop Tip No.1 (Sharpening and Image)

2006-12-01T15:12:00.000-08:00

The best way I have found to sharpen a full color image is to first convert the image to LAB color.
In the Channels palette, you will notice the you have 3 different channels. (Lighten, A and B)
All of the detail information is stored in the Lighten channel. Use the unsharp mask on the Lighten channel, changing the settings as needed. Convert the image back to CMYK or RGB and you will be able to see a noticable difference.
This can also be done in CMYK using the same filter on the Black Channel.