Looking back into the archives, I realized that my first experience in Eugene was one of the first narratives of this blog. About one year ago, I was in Eugene, OR. And I returned from my second trip there less than a mere two days ago.

My experience this time around was different in pleasant ways yet familiar on all of the best ways possible. The skate scene (and the locals in general) are very open and accepting. They’re not yet jaded by implants like those to their north in Portland. And they’re not such a small town that outsiders are odd or threatening. I hate to use the adjective, “chill,” but it simply fits. The people are unassuming and easy-going, and the layout of the city reflects a place of progress while still showing a strong element of familiarity.

My objective this time around was different from the first. I was there to execute a Collegiate Skate Tour contest at WJ Skatepark, on May 21st, "College on Crete!” I’d said it so many times during promotion that it seems to be drilled into my brain still. It was the first northwest US event for the Tour, and I was excited to make it happen. Excited yet nervous, I knew it would all work out and that we’d put on a great event. With local partners like the County Sports Commission and Tactics, it’s hard to go wrong.

When we first arrived, I met up with a friend who, coincidentally enough, won the first ever Collegiate Skate Tour contest in Kentucky circa 2012. He’s from Michigan, where I was visiting Chris, the homies, and the OU crew on my way out to CA. And he now lives in Eugene, OR. Random. Shout out to you, Jesse! First thing’s first, man! We’re in lush Oregon, so we immediately walk to a taproom and enjoy wonderful local beer while catching up. I’m in Eugene with my girlfriend, so the three of us are chilling. But then, I have to make a meeting with Tactics for the event on Saturday, so I head out. Making a longer story shorter, the meeting went well, I got some work done on the laptop and headed out to meet up with the buds again. More beer, a little skating, and dinner. Then...

We found a nice AirBnB a few miles south, past downtown Eugene. After such a long day day of travel, business, and beer (oh yeah… and skating), Chloe and I called it a night and got to know our rental apartment cat while playing board games, listening to Drake and drinking Ninkasi. ’Twas a good night.

Waking up in Eugene was nice - we actually had some great weather! So it was about 68 and sunny. We got out to go do some errands for the contest after skating the skatepark, and I visited the shop to get new bearings and talk with the locals. Chloe’s knee was wrecked - she’s been learning how to skate - so she couldn’t join in skating unfortunately - but WJ was super fun and we got to skate the mini in the back at Tactics for a little while. At the end of Friday, since all of the packages for the contest had arrived, we put together prize packages for the next days’ contest while drinking… yes, again, beer.

That night, we found a cool barcade, played some pinball, and danced the night away. But not for too long! College On 'Crete was starting just the next morning. And the morning came up quickly. I woke up to an alarm clock that I usually snooze a few times. But there I was with Chloe, who’s used to farm life and its 6:00am rise & shine. So up we went. Preparation for the event was mostly complete, so the day of was pretty mellow. We set up for the event, went through it as planned, and everyone had a great time! We added a non-student division at the last minute so that all the homies could partake, but otherwise everything was exactly as planned.

Following the event, I was emotionally and verbally exhausted (I was the MC). But after a few minutes alone and a bit of skating on my own, it was time for the after-party. We’d organized an after-party for the skaters of the contest at another barcade called Level Up in downtown Eugene. It was game time, especially since Tactics was providing drink tickets for all the contest skaters, VIPs, etc. We got to the bar just in time. Some of the first ones there with time to watch the rest file in. All the homies showed up, there’s a skate video mix being played on half of the televisions there, and everyone was having a great time. I talked business with some, skate nerd speak with others, and just crazy stories with a few more, including Chloe. And then word got out that the following day was my birthday… Let’s just say that I didn’t ask for it, but it ended up being a late, fun night in Eugene.

The birthday, a Sunday, was the definition of mellow. I was so excited to be offline and solo (just me and my girlfriend), just hanging out doing whatever came to mind. Waffles for brunch and a really nice dinner set to live bluegrass music. Those were the main highlights of a relaxing day. Also, I snagged a few pretty sweet gifts. :) Thanks Chloe!

Monday, my last day in Eugene before heading back to Portland, I did the work thing at a coffee shop in the morning and then went to a local bar to have a hot toddy with Chloe. We got a buzz and walked it off... all the way to Skinner Butte Park for some hiking  and a great view of Eugene in the valley.

Later in the day, we met up with Jesse again and hung out for a while. He was nice enough to offer up his living room floor for us to stay. We ended up going out to Bingo a the local hippie bar/music venue, which happened to be the same place we went for my birthday dinner. The hosts of Bingo at Sam Bond’s Garage, in true Eugene fashion, were spinning out on microdoses and saying funny shit accordingly. Ended up being yet another fun night. And with that, we were ready to trip back north to Portland the next day so that I could catch my plane back to LA.

It was bittersweet heading back “home” to Los Angeles after such a fulfilling experience in Oregon (mostly in Eugene). Life’s very different in a town than in a large city like LA, but I guess each has their perks. I’d been finding for a burrito, that’s for sure. LA has a lot to offer, but Eugene (and Oregon in general) also has so much greatness.

I will miss the lush growth of the state of Oregon, but I will be back soon enough! Three weeks till Portland again...

 - 7Ply Epic

All the time, I hear this. People saying, “find your balance.” It’s almost trendy now to be zen and to suggest that we need to be centered to lead a fulfilling life. The thing is, I agree with the ethos. I just think people talk about it without understanding it. I’ve been guilty of that, to some degree, in the past. But what does finding your balance really mean?

I’ve thought recently and often about this. This, of course, is in the context of Keegan, but for what it’s worth: there are two selves. The stubborn, confident, brave self and the adaptive, easy-going, sympathetic self. The two selves contradict each other, yet they complement each other at the same time.

Daily life can become stressful quickly. There are too many things available to spend your time doing. There are so many that you have to do. And there are always those that you want to do. The more of one thing you do, the less of another you can do. And so on; so forth. The balancing act is only real seemingly because of a time constraint. But stress, for me, derives from a place of uncertainty. Not always knowing if I’m doing the right things at the right time for my future success. And that’s the stubborn self. The one that’s dead set on accomplishment. The one that’s hyped to be where we are but forever wanting more. The stubborn self doesn’t give a shit about the other self. Because its stubborn, confident and brave. It always thinks it has the best action in mind. There is a constant stress level looming but only because the self isn’t letting the mind escape it’s checklists and plans for awesomeness. The stubborn self.

The adaptive self is down to go with the flow. The adaptive self can flex with the schedule but really just wants to go skate or read that book or go for a hike. The adaptive self isn’t going to hold on to any moment in the past. It disagrees with the mission of the stubborn self but respects what it’s accomplished and what it’s trying to do, because, well, it’s easy-going. When the stubborn self understands and works with the adaptive self, the system works. It works beautifully. But the nature of the stubborn self is to be stubborn. The lack of oversight and surplus of ambition can keep the stubborn self on the hamster wheel for much too long and with too little purpose. The stubborn self is too proud to respect the adaptive self back, but it is only for lack of empathy. The stubborn self realizes that most of the success thus far was due to the headstrong nature of itself. But it fails to recognize that the only purpose that exists in either self’s life is provided by the easy-going and sympathetic, adaptive self.

The stubborn self is only as strong as it is with its other half. It is brave and sees itself as such. But the irony lies in that the inability to give up power is actually cowardice. To ultimately love life, we all need to sacrifice a bit of security and certainty from time to time - the adaptive self knows this. The stubborn self refuses to acknowledge it. And my whole self needs to learn how to give them equal playing time.

More and more, recently, I’ve been giving up daily pleasures in the pursuit of a personal mission. And the personal mission isn’t always as rewarding as the dream illustrated it to be. There are always ups and downs, and it may just be  a long-term “down,” but acknowledging the adaptive self in daily rituals, habits and simple pleasures is something I need to personally do more of.

This may or may not be useful to anyone else. Each person is different, and some don’t even have as much of a stubborn self. But I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you did! Like, Share, and Subscribe! Just kidding, but I appreciate any feedback, for those of you that are still reading this.

Each week is a challenge. Each day (hopefully) a lesson.

 - 7PlyEpic

Community, something I’ve written about before, is everything to some people. It's something to most and nothing to only a lonely few. It functions as a social glue for the art that makes up our lives. The ability to come together with others (especially those that are like-minded) is not to be taken lightly or for granted. As a general rule, an individual is never as content or as capable without some form of support. And humans are best supported by other humans. Embracing that support from peers and others is key to our happy lives.

There are, luckily, few communities that have found themselves in situations where they badly need support to survive. A recent mini documentary that I watched highlighted the struggles of a group of skaters in Christchurch, New Zealand. When everything was taken from them in 2011, there was not only less left for them, but less left for them to do. There wasn’t plentiful accessible transportation, and there was no water for nine days. They needed to rely on each other, skaters and non-skaters alike.

The skateboarders of Christchurch began to meet at a local skatepark, religiously. The skatepark functioned as their local watering hole and one of the only live sources of culture left available to them. There wasn’t much for them there but each other, yet each one of them made the trek to skate and convene for the sake of skateboarding and its social affirmation.

Check the video here for a better feel of what I mean:

For many, including myself in a lot of ways, skateboarding has become a saving grace. Something to turn to always as an activity. Either for distraction or for focus, skateboarding can help with emotional stress or just as an outlet for entertainment. For the skaters in Christchurch, skateboarding brought international help to them and their core cause. It helped them start a project of their own. And it helped them build a stronger foundation for rebuilding their future community.

Here in LA, the skateboarding community is so robust and many don’t appreciate what we have. The resources are basically limitless. the skateparks are plenty, the weather is beautiful… The struggle can be real in other ways, but we are blessed with the capability to pick up our boards each day and escape the rest of life, with a strong community around us at all times.

It’s important to remember how lucky we truly are. I’m not just talking about skaters in SoCal - each community has a special ingredient. Each one has something unique to be grateful for. Sometimes, we need a little reminder, but we all have people around us that can help us be our best.

Look around.

 - 7Ply Epic