Red Bull Manny Mania

I recently stopped working directly with Red Bull Energy Drink as an employee, but have been kept on as a consultant and independent contractor with the brand to do photography and video work at key branding events, which is much more to my liking anyway. One of the biggest campaigns in the action sports community right now is the Manny Mania series, which is a skateboard competition that focuses on manuals (a trick where the skateboard rides on only two of his/her four wheels). There's a lot of different kinds of manuals (mannies) and a ton of variations that can lead into, or out from a manny, so the competition combinations are virtually limitless.

Utah has such a rich cultural heritage that ranges a broad spectrum of origins, and the Red Bull marketing folks in Utah always try to incorporate a sense of heritage into all the events that are thrown in the state, and it was really cool to have Manny Mania SLC taking place in the shadow of the old Union Pacific Train Depot. Such a cool building, if you haven't ever had a chance to check it out. It's on South Temple and 400 West in downtown right by the Gateway Mall, and directly across the street from the Energy Solutions Arena where the Utah Jazz have their home games (and coincidentally where we held the event). 

Serious hammers were being thrown down all day, and there was even a dude with no legs who totally rips at skateboarding. He's way better than I am and I even have legs! Overall I'm pretty stoked to be involved with such a cool company like Red Bull, and count my blessings each time I'm able to participate in an event. Look for my photos in their upcoming press releases, and get stoked on some of these images here.

"Heroes get remembered..."

"...But Legends never die. Follow your heart, kid, and you'll never go wrong." I was driving away from The Berrics after shooting with Guy Mariano for the first time in my life, and that line from The Sandlot kept echoing through my head, and it was one of those interesting experiences because I knew how big of a deal he was in the skate community, and I'd seen his part in Lakai's Fully Flared (embedded below. It's epic, trust me), but I didn't know the whole story behind how truly awesome it is to have him skating the streets of Los Angeles again–a story about someone whose heart led him back to the sport that he loved.

Guy Mariano basically took a hiatus from skateboarding to inadvertently pursue a career of self-destructive partying. As addiction took hold, his break from skating turned into a slump, and eventually he just faded from the scene completely. After finally deciding that he had hit rock-bottom, Guy sought help at Impact Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center, and after sobering up jumped straightaway onto his skateboard again. He's not a young buck anymore. He's been a professional skateboarder for almost twenty years, and to have him not film a video part for over eight years, taking a 5-year break from a skateboard, and coming out of retirement to have a part like he did in Fully Flared is just unreal. Guy is a man dedicated to giving back to the sport that gave him back his life. After treatment, it was only on his skateboard that he could kick all the demons of negativity that consistently get at you. When he was on his skateboard he wasn't worried if he was going to relapse or if he would be able to pay his bills or whatever, and he was happy for that moment, and that was the strength he needed to push through his addictions. I feel privileged to have been able to do photo and video work with someone to whom I will look up for a lifetime.

Pizza's Papa

Shooting with Joey Brezinski was one of the funnest things I've ever done since getting behind the lens full-time. We were primarily interested in shooting his video bio for SIEGE Audio while wearing a Snuggie, mastering the Slap Chop, and utilizing the muscle building powers of the Shake Weight, however, we did take a break to shoot a couple portraits with Joey and his beloved pug pooch Pizza (say that ten times fast). They turned out hilarious and I had a killer time shooting an incredibly talented skateboarder that I've looked up to for a long time. Check out his part in the Cliche Skateboards video, embedded below. One of the cool things about shooting with Joey is it reminded me that this whole shindig is supposed to be fun. If you take life too seriously, it can really eat you up, so it's always good, in my opinion, not to have too high opinion of yourself. Obviously you don't want to adopt a false modesty, but rather just realize that you're a normal person, just like everyone else. A-list pro skateboarder Joey B has this mindset on lockdown. Feel free to follow him and Pizza on Twitter.

Ill...Dope...Nasty

Manny Santiago jumped in on a photoshoot a week ago Tuesday night in Los Angeles rocking a pair of The Eleven headphone by SIEGE Audio. He's a pretty smiley guy, but also one who can really get things done. It was pretty cool to meet him and take a couple photos while I was there. He also took us to get the best chicken quesadillas in all of LA (at least that's what Manny says). It's not often that I get to hang around with skateboarders, and it's a funny thing because they're totally different than hanging out with snowboarders. Don't get me wrong, that wasn't meant to be derogatory by any means, just indicative of the grand difference between the cultures of the two sports. Enjoy the photos, and at the bottom I've embedded one of his video parts from another production company. Ultimately, although indifferent to his skateboarding career prior to the meetup, I'm now a big fan. Check him out on Twitter. He's always jonesing for more followers.