Nyjah is one of the hardest working people in skateboarding. Only for him it's not work, he loves what he does and thats skate all the time. I saw him in action at last years Tampa pro and was reminded of what its like to see a truly gifted individual on a skateboard. Knowing that Nyjah is capable of pretty much anything he puts his mind to on or off a skateboard it was not a surprised that he was a nice kid with a shapely focused energy that seemed to push you in to trying tricks you didn't think were possible after seeing him set down run after perfect run effortlessly. You have so many great years ahead of you and the kids we talked to in NYC are stoked for you and hope that we will see NYjah in NY sometime this year. Congratulations Again.
New Element team rider is going to be known very soon all I Know is this young man is NINjA Status for sure and more tech and light footed than Mohammad ali. He also has about 10 years under his belt and about 25 more years to go sit back and enjoy the ride.
This is a tough interview coming from Bobby Puleo. Because of the many conversations I've had with him over the years from everything to do with the great thinkers of the world to global conspiracy theories he has, to who the best member of the Wu Tang Clan was. Though we agree to disagree on a number of topics I still consider him one of the foremost thinkers of our time. In a simialar light Bobby reminds me of a 21st century version of Albert Pike if he were a Skater.
Much like Puleo Pike was a self educated man with ideas at the time that were so far ahead that he was seen as a Genius by some and a madman by others. Pike wrote Morals and Dogma a book that combines many mythical stories that take place through history and loosely connects stories to eachother in a way that even the most trained historian will leaves with his head spinning after the first two chapters. It's not because it makes no since but because there is almost no way to tell when Pike is writing and when he is plagiarizing an ancient mythical story being throw into the conversation to teach a moral lesson. This how many people were educated back then but times change and though he is rembered by some as a madman he is also incase in a Mausoleum in Washington DC at the House of the Temple for the 33rd degree freemasons.
Puleo in his own way has traveled the world and become a self taught genius in the craft of skateboarding. The chapters of his book are almost undecipherable to the modern skater as the complex puzzels of spots others would never think to approach. They seemed to be made for Bobby, almost as if they found him as long as he did his part and kept lurking in the shadows drawing these diamonds out of the coal thru his illuminating process that made perfect since to him but could never be understood to the average mind. The culmination of Bobby Artwork is a very simialar process. It seems easy to explain "found art" right? The problem is that after visiting one of Bobbys art shows you realize that the art finds him he just happens to understand the universe in a way that where most are blinded by material illusion he is guided to the most ubscure places on earth to connect the dots of his complex life. Whether or not this interview destroys his skate career has no relivance in your mid thirties. The true legacy of Robert Puleo will rest with art historians 200 years from now in museums thru out the country. Much like Pike who spent his final days being taken care of by his fraternity brothers with just enough money to survive and who eventuly died pennyless only to be entombed in Americas sacred Pyramid years after his death.
So to does Bobby Puleo at the least deserve to have the respect and care of the brotherhood of skaters that reconize his devotion and contribution to the art of skateboarding. Theres a much larger world out there waiting for Bobby Puleo his Mausoleum in skateboarding will live in the minds of people who grew up listing to Wu tang watching him skate in the Infamous videos,La Luz, Static and Mad circle and said to themselves " I want to leave my shitty town in Florida and skate that dope marble shit in NYC or SF or London." Not because we wanted to take you out but because you inspried us to think differently about are surroundings and all thats out there to be explored. Thank you Bobby Puleo if this is your fair well interview for skateboarding where ever you rest and no matter how much money you dont have the ideas you sparked in thousand of street skaters across the world will never be replace with maketing money. We will always be reminded of a different time which served as a foundation for the next generation of kids to have much more than we ever thought possible thru skateboarding.
Peace Brother.
"What we do for ourselves alone dies with us ; what we do for others and the world remains and is immortal " - Albert Pike Click Here for more on Pike
"I skate about 3 or 4 days a week. I gotta work now. I basically make no money from skateboarding these days. Isn't that insane?"- Bobby Puleo
What makes Charles Lamb so unique as a skater and a person is that, for one, Skateboarding is not his entire life he is a master Pianist, Paid for college on his own thru working super hard teaching kids at Chealsea piers how to skate then working at Supreme all the while maintaining a great level of skating on the board. Very rarely if ever had I heard Charles complain about anything that happened with his sponsors or not making the money he should be off of skateboarding as a once sponsored member of Zoo York none of that from Charles. Now in his early 3o's he still is one of the best NYC has ever produced and is actually from Statin Island but im not sure if he has ever felt the need to claim he's from NYC he Just does what he does and is one of the funniest people you will ever be lucky enough to hang out with. Sick footage from Europe. Keep killing it and reminding us that theres more to life than fighting over who invented the wallie and homeless cellar door spots in Brownsville. Keep me up to date on the next Iced coffee game of skate session at !2Th and A Im buying.
Cheers!!
This place is where we built the quicksilver autumn space a few years back. They really stepped it up. It's a park inside a space at
201 mulberry St open to the public and really feel like your in a park. I stopped by with Taji and here are some flick of the space. Good work John and Whitney!!!
Lurking in the park.
Taji in full work mode.
People watching.
Babies.
Bloggers pretending to work.
Be sure to stop in if your in soho it's a pretty cool concept.
For more info go to
www.openhousegalley.org
Today Skateboarding Legend Donny Barley came to NYC to stop by the shops in the city and say whats up. Along the way we stopped by KCDC for a ramp session after passing by Autumn, Supreme, Blades and Homage a full day to say the least, We wrapped up with an open session at The House Of Vans where just about all of the NYC family of skaters was in full effect.
This is down in Gainesville Florida in a part of the city that used to be really hood. We use these shipping containers at 12th and A and they work great as a snack shack. A friend of mine back in Gville has devoted almost a year into developing this massive container living space in downtown Gville.
Good work. For more info check out http://mwbender.com/?p=422
Today was super funny. I love how people keep a strait face the whole time. I road into union square with my mom today and there were thousands of people with no pants today. NYC Cake capital!/ Dude has a boner.
