This past weekend was my last weekend as a resident of Raleigh, NC. I am not exaggerating when I say that it was a phenomenal one. Between the skate sessions, the partying, and the intimate conversations, I genuinely felt an appreciation for each moment. It helps that I got to see some of the people I really wanted to see before leaving, but almost every interaction was real and valuable. The typical “touching base” without substance was not prevalent. To all of you that I saw and enjoyed time with, Thank You. 

Reflecting on this phenomenal weekend, I realize that there has been a unique and meaningful community cultivated here among my friends in Raleigh. So many exchanges of words & ideas, hugs & kisses, favors & regrets, and victories & defeats have happened to form this web of relationships. Community is special and something we all (at some point) take for granted. Furthermore, there are special and different communities in so many places. I’m grateful for the communities that I’m a part of but also aware enough to recognize that there are so many others in different places, for different purposes, and with different qualities that also offer something special.

School has created such an amazing community for me, in particular. Skateboarding also has and has done so for so many that might otherwise not have one. The binding thread varies, but there always is one. Some people go to church. Some people are in a book club. Some people are bowlers. Some people belong to a rock-climbing gym. Some people create and appreciate art.

You can pursue whichever path you want, but ultimately your community is your local one. 

Very soon, I will witness and experience (even more) local communities all across the continental US. I’m grateful for the opportunity to sample the flavors of community in other areas and regions of our country. But dammit, will I miss the homies in North Carolina. 

Embrace your community. Don’t expect it.

 - 7Ply Epic

If you don’t know, now you know. I’m moving to California. I’ve been to Southern California many times since I graduated from college two and a half years ago, and it makes sense to be there (for now). I’m hyped! So hyped.

That being said, I’ll miss North Carolina dearly. I love this place, for its pros AND its cons. NC has almost anything you could want, save desert and legal weed. Family is here. Friends are here. But the journey continues...

When it gets down to the last two weeks living somewhere, you really start to appreciate things on another level. I’ve been more intentionally feeling happy about the people I’m with, the places I visit, and the experiences I have. Of course, skateboarding is a huge part of my life and has shaped who I am in some ways. So I focus on that. A lot.

So… The other day, during and after a really fun and exhausting mini ramp session, I found that feeling (again) of pure skate fun/stoke/hype/warm fuzzies/whatever you wanna call it. And I was reminded that that feeling is so different from those I get from any other past times. The skateboarding culture and community is all-inclusive. It’s positive. It’s working with what we’ve got. ‘Cause that’s all that really matters. If you find yourself in a foreign country, without any fellow English speakers, you will (usually) find skateboarders. And you can communicate with those people on some level without language. Skateboarding is a language. 

You know when you see a skateboarder that has poured at least 5-10 years of his/her life into skating that you can relate to them immediately. You’ve both tried the same trick 200 times in one day without success. You’ve both fallen and injured yourselves more times than you’ll ever remember. And you’ve both come back to skateboarding again and again - because it’s fucking awesome. The progression, the freedom of space, the challenge, the brotherhood. It’s all so unique from anything else, even other board sports like surfing. 

California will be a new chapter in life and within this skateboarding family, and I’m looking forward to it. After this recent session, connecting with people I already knew and those that (after my whole life in NC and 7 years in Raleigh) I did not know, I was reminded of how skaters are. I’m proud to be one. I’m proud to know so many. I’m glad to have it in my life and to have learned so much from it. 
Thank you skateboarding. Thank you friends. Thank you North Carolina. 

Cross-country trip updates are not far off.

 - 7Ply Epic

It was 7 hours later. We were supposed to be in the air but instead were waiting in the terminal. LAX to EUG! Beautiful Eugene, OR. I couldn’t wait, and I was trying not to be negative about the flight delay. Could’ve spent the rest of the day skating in LA but hey, the northwest seemed promising. 

Collegiate Skate Tour and Tactics.com were having a meeting about doing a potential event at the brand new Eugene Skatepark - Washington Jefferson “WJ” Park - and I was so excited. Arriving at the airport, I accepted a ride to my hotel by the enthusiastic frat bro that sat next to me on the plane. Friendly Eugene natives from my first experience there. So far so good.

I get to the hotel and barely have time to do anything before time for sleep. Of course, I push the mile and a half to the skatepark to check that out - the 24-hr lights were so nice! The WJ Park in Eugene is actually the largest outdoor covered park in the US - it’s under the Washington-Jefferson freeway. And it’s one of the nicest skateparks I’ve ever skated. It was designed well, built well, had all the elements required for a good skatepark - and then some. 

The stoke levels were high, and the breeze was that beautiful type of breeze that makes a a hot summer day back down for a perfectly cool moment. A solid hour of cruising was perfect; adjusting to the park, learning some of the lines, and meeting a couple of locals. 

The next morning, I grab coffee with the guys with Tactics, and after a day of productive meetings, I have time to go skate in Eugene (the weather was beautiful, and you can never be too sure how long that will last in Oregon). They have an awesome mini-ramp at the HQ, a nice 3ft - with rollers, spine, gap to vert extension, pool block coping - all the necessities for all-around transition shredding. I have to get some more work done in their office, and when I’m wrapping up, I get several invites to a bar where all of the employees are going to celebrate a long-time co-worker’s “going away” to another area of Eugene and another job. 

There’s a cool little bar across the street from the skatepark, called “Old Nick’s”, and we all stayed there until a band performing there that night started asking everyone for a cover. Because the majority of the crew wasn’t down for bluegrass (I would’ve been), we scoot out of there and onward to the next “stop of the night.” I then knew that people were really out to party at that point. We skate (some drive) to a bar called Blair Alley’s, where an arcade/restaurant transitions to a bar/club at night, playing the ultimate selection of 80s and 90s music for all of our enjoyment. 

To make a really long story short, everyone has a blast on their boogie and drink. Skate nerds, parents, hippies, we were all having fun together. Many drinks over talking about snowboarding, Oregon, skateboarding, México, etc. 

Waking up the next morning was a bit of a challenge, but after a good meal, I meet up with Benson, the good homie from Tactics, to throw an impromptu Tactics x Collegiate Skate Tour Best Trick Contest. All you need is a mega phone, an iPhone, and a couple of decks to get kids hyped, so we went out to see what would go down. Check out @collegiateskate on Instagram for coverage, reference the end of May 2015. Everyone charged it; a few dudes really left some jaws hanging; it was a phenomenal time!

I continued to skate afterward for a little while when I got the invite to go skate with some of the Tactics skate team. It was a real treat to go on a street spot session with the local crew in their own local element. Everyone was cool. Funny dudes just looking for spots to skate, beers to drink, and jokes to tell. After hitting a few different spots up, we decide to disperse for one the guys’ house to watch skate videos - predictable but totally enjoyable. We watch the Vans video. I’d already bought this video and had seen it several times before, but that didn’t change my excitement for it. 

It’s funny to see the “grass is greener” effect amongst skate scenes when you travel the country. My friends and I are always watching footage of Oregon and California, thinking of what it would be like to hit that exotic terrain, beautiful concrete parks, southwest ditches, etc. And at the same time, the locals there in Eugene are so much more interested in the skateboarding present in New York City, Tampa, Washington, D.C., etc.

I guess, moving out from NC to CA, it makes me feel grateful for all of the experiences I’ve gotten to skate historic skate spots and parks along the eastern seaboard. There really are just as many skateboarding gems here as there are anywhere else in the world. 

After nerding out on skate videos for hours, and a few 40 oz beverages later, I push downhill a few miles to downtown Eugene for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel. The next day my roommate would be arriving from Portland on a bus. The next morning, after a full morning of doing work and reading my book, I go to the skateshop to hang out with my new friends once more and kill some time before heading to the bus station. 

When Doug arrives, we skate down to the hotel,drop off our bags, drink a beer, and push down to the WJ Park (that he had yet to skate). Hours go by. 

*One thing about skateboarding that I’ll always love is that feeling of being lost in the flow. It’s a meditating distraction, that unlike other sports, isn’t timed, regulated, or repeated. You rarely see the same exact run or exact trick executed twice identically. The flow of skateboarding makes for endless possibilities, endless permutations and combinations of tricks and runs. Not to mention the speed of it all, and the adrenaline you experience from pushing that limit! You can't copy skateboarding - there's nothing quite like it.*

The next day we both get on a bus to Portland. But that story is for another post.

**One of my favorite places in the world - Oregon, USA.**

 - 7Ply Epic