Road Food

Florida
I can’t remember what I ate today because I’ve been so sleep deprived.
(Probably same as usual: 2 slices of pizza and pb & j.) We had a pretty good
show in Tampa, FL but I didn’t make my 720 so I set my sights on making it
in the last show. We piled on the bus around midnight and drove down to Ft.
Lauderdale, the site of the last stop on the tour. We checked into our hotel
and I set the alarm for 8:30 am—the clock face read 4:32 am.
At 8:30 am I rolled out of a dead sleep and hit the off button. I got
dressed and waited in the hotel lobby sending silly text messages from my
phone to Tony’s. A car picked me up at 9 am to drive me to Boca Raton (an
hour away) to a design meeting for my shoes. I got back to the hotel in time
for a half hour power nap before I met Aunt Lorna, Uncle David and Cousin
Alison for brunch in the hotel restaurant.
The 22nd and last stop of the tour was pretty great. I made my 720 first try
early in the session and by the end, landed a combination I’ve always wanted
to do: another 720, then a 540, a 360, and a 180 (half cab). I made all
three of my jumps over the straight jump and our doubles and triples went
off perfectly.
By the time we finished our autograph session, it was midnight but our after
party was still an hour drive away. I was tired. 2 busloads of us piled off
the buses in South Beach and into one of the biggest, shi-shiest clubs I’ve
ever been to. I caught the 2:30 am “early” bus back to our hotel in Ft.
Lauderdale. I set my alarm again, this time for 4:45 am—the clock read 3:47
am. I took the first flight back to San Diego and slept the whole
way—sitting upright in an exit row where the chairs didn’t go back. I was a
little bit sad that the tour was over, but very, very glad to be going home.Days Off
1 serving Chinese noodles
1 serving Orange chicken (both for breakfast)
assorted Wonka candy (for lunch)
1 house salad
1 penne pasta with chicken
1 chocolate brownie with ice creamToday was a travel day and I didn’t have as much time to eat as I would have
liked. We were just coming from a couple of much needed days off after doing
five show nights in a row. After bringing the house down in Boston, we went
on to sell out another show in Long Island, then down to D.C., and finished
up at the First Union Center in Philly where the XGames were held this
summer. I made my 720 there first try. I liked being there for the Huck Jam
a whole lot better knowing I didn’t have to skate a contest.
I caught a flight back up to Boston to visit some of my friends and family
that I missed when I was there for the show. I had dinner with my mom, lunch
with friends and it rained the whole time. My friend had passes to “8 Mile”
so we went to check it out. I’ve never been very interested in Eminem, but I
have to admit I enjoyed the film. He did a good job. The ending was a bit
too “Beat Street” for me but it was fun to watch them battle with their
freestyle rhymes.
At the show in Atlanta last night, it was a bit rough for the guys to get
back into the swing of things. The crowd was ten thousand plus and very loud
so that helped. It also happened to be the same arena where the Atlanta
Thrashers play so we knew we had to rip. I took advantage of another day off
in Tampa, FL and got some work done in my hotel before I convinced one of
the ramp crew guys to go over to the Skate Park of Tampa. I skated the
street course for about fifteen minutes and it felt like I hadn’t skated
street in about a year. On the Huck Jam tour all there is to skate is vert.
We had fun in the bowl for a few hours and it felt good to skate some round
wall.
 
Boston
1 California wrap with turkey
1 cup potato leek soup
1 turkey sandwich
assorted candies
1 SoBe tea
1 peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich
1 slice cheese pizza (burnt)
1 Dr. Pepper
1 Eskimo pie ice cream barTonight I had more fun riding my skateboard than I have in years. The Huck
Jam had made it to Boston and I was siked. The Fleet Center was our first
true sell out crowd. Tickets sold out two weeks before we arrived and I was
proud to see so much support from my hometown. Before the curtain even
dropped we could all tell that this was not only our biggest but also our
loudest crowd yet. The two don’t always go hand in hand. Salt Lake was one
of our smallest shows in terms of numbers but they were one of the loudest
crowds we had ridden for—until tonight.
The first session didn’t start out too well for me. My first run I was so
excited that I completely over-amped and bailed a kickflip indy fifth wall.
I couldn’t wait to get back up and redeem myself, but during that section of
the show we ride in order—so I had to wait. When my turn came around again I
wasn’t going to blow it. I dropped in and made a long strong run including a
rodeo 540 and some solid flip tricks. All the riders seemed to be feeding
off the crowd. It’s amazing how much the fans have an effect on us. When the
crowd is really behind us, the level of riding bumps up a notch. When
they’re going nuts the whole time like they were tonight in Boston, well,
you can imagine. I ended my third run with a trick I’ve only done maybe ten
times and it usually takes me several tries to pull it. I’d never before
done the trick combo I did into it either. I did a nollie heel flip to
fakie, a cab heel flip on the next wall and then a nollie heel flip 360
air—first try! I knew it was on.
I’ve been trying 720’s on and off now for about a year. The last one I’d
done was when I won the Gravity Games two years ago. I hurt my knee soon
after and couldn’t take the spinning bails for about a year. I started
trying them on this tour but I could never get motivated enough to set it
down. Coming in to Boston the whole Huck Jam crew was calling me out. I
decided that Boston was the place. I was going to land it or smash myself
trying.
Social Distortion hit the stage and the most intense session ensued.
Everyone was on and loving the crowd who seemed to be on their feet every
other trick. Dave Mirra set things off by pulling a no handed 540 to bar
spin—the first time that trick had ever been done in BMX. I skated a few
normal runs but my mind was on the seven. On my first try I set all four
wheels down but wasn’t quite around and slammed on my knees pretty good. A
few tries later, Tony started trying 900’s. We took turns bailing for two or
three more tries before Tony came up and said, “You make a seven right here
and I’ll put down a nine.” That’s all I needed. Sure enough I dropped in and
made one of the highest, cleanest and smoothest 720’s I’ve ever done. The
twelve thousand people in the stands were as excited as I was. Tony stayed
true to his word, put down a 900 and the Fleet center erupted.
After the show people congratulated me not just for the seven but also for
the night. I set out from Boston ten years ago—a little grom hoping to
become a professional skateboarder—and here I was, back to a sold out crowd
at the Fleet Center. Tonight was for anyone that ever doubted me including
myself. Thank you Boston, tonight was one of the best I’ve ever had. Until
next year…
 
Chicago
3 chicken lettuce wraps
assorted Halloween candy all day
a fist full of Cinnamon Toast Crunch
two servings of spinach salad
one serving of veggie lasagna
carrots and veggie dip
a fist full of BBQ chips
one SoBe cranberry grapefruit
one root beer
lots and lots of water
two slices of Chicago style pizzaI’ve been making a conscious effort to eat a little better… can you tell?
Really I haven’t been even getting off the bus when we stop at truck stops.
Truck stop food only means trouble. It’s been tough though. There is always
food on tour. Whether it’s in our dressing room at the show or on the bus,
there is always something to nibble on.
A few days ago I had put in a call to my friends at Wonka Candy Factory and
they sent me a big box of goodies to hand out to kids for Halloween. One
little grom even showed up at my door dressed just like an Oompa Loompa. I
told them I’d be on the road so they sent me an extra big box so I could
share sweets with all the other buses on the Huck Jam. The day after
Halloween we flew up to Minneapolis to start another leg of the tour. All
the buses were outfitted with a big fat candy drawer courtesy of me and my
Wonka stash. When we got to Chicago the next day all the buses got stocked
with plenty of juices thanks to my friends at SoBe. We’ll be on the road for
the next seventeen days straight but we’ve got plenty of SoBe and candy so
what more could we need?
During practice at each show, someone usually comes up with a “trick of the
day” that everyone has to try to learn on the spot. If you make it, it’s
your duty to try and make it again during the show in front of thousands of
people. It’s one of the many silly things that go on behind the scenes that
you’ll see us laughing about on the decks during the show. Last night in
Chicago the trick of the day was the Benihana. Sergie saw me do one and said
he wanted to learn it. He tried a couple as Lincoln joined in trying them
too. Then Tony started trying them. It was crazy to see Tony trying
benihanas for the first time. We’ve skated together for a good ten years and
I’d never seen him try it. It didn’t take too long for Sergie to land one
and Tony followed. Lincoln was close and of course trying them twice as high
as any of us. It’s fun pushing each other to learn new tricks. A benihana is
not at all Tony’s style but he tried setting it down in the show nonetheless
and we all had a good laugh. On to the next show.
 
Salt Lake City
1 bowl Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
1 Belgian waffle (from the toaster)
1 turkey and mustard sandwich
1 frozen chicken/cheese/broccoli microwave hot pocket thing
1 Big Bar Rice Krispy Treat
1 nine piece Chicken McNuggets
1 hot chocolate
1 box Red Vines (my favorite)
1 mini Kit Kat bar
1 mini Hershey's bar
hand fulls of BBQ chips
hand fulls of Salt and Vinegar chips
This morning I woke up in Salt Lake City. We had all had a pretty good show
the night before. It was one of the smaller crowds at only about five
thousand people but it was also one of the loudest. People were really
psyched that we'd come to Salt Lake. Last night I was very close to buying a
plane ticket to Denver so that I could fly there today. That way I could
spend a relaxing day off in Denver and maybe even hook up with my friend
Dave and skate the Vans park. Alas, I decided to tough it out and ride the
bus with the rest of the crew. Bad choice. We left Salt Lake at 9AM. It is
now 9PM and I'm still on the bus. We've had two quick breaks at trucks stops
so far but have spent literally all day on the bus. It's been snowing
steadily since we left, which makes the going quite a bit slower. We also
had the misfortune of getting stuck in grid-lock traffic. We sat dead still
on the highway in Wyoming for almost three hours behind a jack-knifed
tractor trailer. There has been a steady stream of movies being fed through
the DVD player but this trip seems never ending: Windtalkers, American
History X, Blade 2, CKY video 3, and the frustratingly fitting Road Trip is
screening right now.
Ahh, the glitz and glamour of a rock and roll style skateboard tour. Behind
the scenes at the Huck Jam isn't always what you'd expect. One of the first
things you notice when you're on tour is how hard it is to eat well being
out on the road. You can tell a lot by the food on tour so I've decided to
call these random regurgitations of my brain "road food". For instance,
backstage at one of the arenas last week, all catering had to offer was PB
and J on white. Eat up and enjoy!