Tony Alva - A true inspiration

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

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

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

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....

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...

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...

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...

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

You just can't have anything nice!

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.

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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..

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....

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.