Old School 2

Consider my first set of videos to be titled "Old School 1", the original T-Money skate video. This, then, would be "Old School 2". The skates are better, the rails (rail) are (is) higher. The tricks are...roughly the same. I'd love to do some videos on location at some sweet skate spots, because I think I'm just about ready to jump back on a real handrail. But I don't know if I could convince Emily to come with me to document the experience. Until then, I present "Old School 2". Enjoy!

New Skates!

I've decided if I am really going to getback into skating, I need proper equipment. I was doubly motivated after the guy at the skate park dogged on my old skates. But he wasn't wrong about how ghetto they were. Take a look at the pictures and compare for yourself.

Old Rollerblade CI5's. These were awesome way back when. I bought this pair at Play It Again for a steal because they were pretty worn out already, but the wire around the buckle and the disconnected cuff were my doing. These things are falling apart. Plus, they're size 13, and I wear an 11. I just got used to them being too big.

The new skates aren't exactly "new". They're Salomon STi Pro's, and they're about 3 years old. $300 brand new, but I got them for $60 on e-bay. They are in great condition, but they went for next to nothing because Salomon exited the aggressive skate market over a year ago. Nobody wants a pair of skates from a non-existent

manufacturer...except me that is. I skated them
for the first time today, and they're like a dream. They have UFS (Universal Frame System) frames, so I can switch out the frames in no time, and they have a combination hard/soft boot that has awesome support. When I grind, the skates feel locked onto the rail. It's fantastic.

Now for the next bit of good news. I raised my rail by another 8 inches! More videos to come...

Old vs. New - Skaters

Back in the day, everyone's favorite skater was Arlo Eisenberg. He was the Godfather, the epitome of skating talent...back in the day. Here is a video of Arlo from Hoax 4 (my first skate video), which we thought was incredible at the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u-H4BijMhU

I have a new favorite skater now, and his name if Chris Haffey. He represents the level that the elite skaters are on today. Everything is bigger, more technical, more ridiculous. The stuff he's skating is so unbelievable, it's almost superhuman. Here are some videos of Chris Haffey for comparison. Nothing against Arlo, because he'll always be my hero, but Chris Haffey makes Arlo Eisenberg look like an amateur.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAFknDIzGDc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiZ5BnLrbVk

Venues - Mathis Brothers Skatepark

Yesterday evening I took my first trip back out to the skatepark. In this case, I'm talking about the Mathis Brothers' Skatepark next to Mitch Park in Edmond. It was not as great as I remember. There's a major difference between skating on a round rail over grass and skating on a square ledge on cement. I know this because my bruised and bloodied knee told me. Alright, it wasn't nearly as bad as all that, but here's the basic rundown:

1. I was the only person on inline skates for most of the afternoon, until one other guy showed up. He asked me where I got those skates because he hadn't seen them around in FOREVER. Thanks man, I know they're old, no need to rub it in. Also, he was ridiculously good, which only made me feel worse in comparison.

2. I don't have the balls (or maybe the proper protective gear) to try 90% of the stuff there. I spent my time on two or three managable ledges, just trying to work on my grinds.

3. The park was crawling with 13 yr. old skateboarders. Out of the 30 kids there, maybe two of them could land any sort of trick, but they all looked at me like I was the one that sucked.

4. Falling on cement hurts approximately three times as much at 26 as it did at 16. I'm pretty sure I heard things crack. But I am still all in one piece. Every cloud...

5. At one point, I heard a 13 yr. old girl with braces ask her 13 yr. old friend if he "still smoked crack". Enough said.

All in all it really wasn't that bad. I felt like I was in the way most of the time, but I did hit some decent tricks after I got a little more comfortable. Gotta keep practicing if I'm ever going to compete at the X-Games.

Session 5

Alright, I skipped a few sessions, but I've been making some really good progress. I've been at it for about 30-45 minutes a day every day after work, which is about how long it takes for me to be either severely overheated, lonely from skating by myself, or too annoyed by the dogs that constantly bark at me from the house next door. But I'm posting this session in particular because I had Emily come outside to take a couple videos of me for my adoring fans (just kidding, you're the only one who reads this...). You can see, my form is not anything special. I'm still very stiff legged, and I don't go very fast. But I've been able to throw in some alley oop tricks, half-cab tricks, and combos...sort of. Check it out, and pay particular attention to how buff I look in my sweet sleeveless shirt:

Session 1

I started with the bread and butter of grinds. The Frontside, and the Soul grind. I worked my way up to doing a Royale, and a Topside Acid as well. 4 grinds. Not bad for day 1 I guess. I'm definitely going to have to work at this.

The Rail

Today I drove to my local "big box" hardware store and headed to the plumbing section. There, I spent more money than I ever expected to spend (steel prices these days...geez!!!) buying galvanized steel pipe of various lengths, as well as several types of fittings. These are the pieces I'm putting together to make my first rail.

I am not a great jumper, and I never was. I always excelled by having a larger arsenal of grinds and other street tricks than my buddies. So rather than building ramps, I am going to start where I left off, and try to re-learn to grind.

The rail is finished, and she is a beauty. 10 feet long. 12 inches high at the top, and 8 inches at the bottom. 1 1/4 inch diameter.

Day 1 - The Idea

Let me explain the purpose of this blog by way of a quick introduction. I'm Tristan. I grew up in suburban Norman, Oklahoma, and I led what I consider to be a fairly ordinary middle-American life. I did well in school, didn't get into any serious mischief, and graduated from by hometown university (Boomer Sooner!).

Now, I'm 26 years old. I've been out of school for two years, and I work for a bank from 8-5, behind a desk, as a commercial credit analyst. I live with my lovely girlfriend, 2 dogs, and a cat, and life is grand. But lately the days and weeks of my life have taken on a certain, rather predictable pattern. I get up at 5:30, walk the biggest of the two dogs (who, although she outweighs the little guy 10 to 1, still has the smallest bladder of the bunch), then eat a bowl of cereal, grab a shower, and head to work. When I get home around 6:00 I do some chores, run some errands, walk the big dog at least two more times, and settle in for a couple hours of tv before bed at around 9:30.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the whole early-to-bed-early-to-rise thing. I have goals in my professional life, and I'll do what it takes to get ahead in the world. But sometimes I wish life could go back to the way it was during the summers of my youth. I was carefree, had no responsibilities, and my best friends and I skated anywhere we wanted to go.

Skating, and by that I mean "aggressive inline skating", was what defined us during those years. We would wake up early to skate, and stay up late to skate. When we weren't skating we were sitting around listening to 311 (the self-titled album) or the Offspring while we took our skates apart and then rebuilt them, read Daily Bread magazine, or watched skating videos for some inspiration or ideas for new tricks. This was back in the days of Video Groove, The Hoax, and Quest for the Holy Rail. Arlo Eisenberg, the father of the sport, was in his prime.

I don't know whether it was out of sentimentality, or just messiness, but I have kept my old skates rolling around in the trunk of my car for about a decade now. I think it is time for them to get some use. I'm going back to the Old School, and this blog will serve as a record of my progress.