Some people may not know this, but my primary focus with photography was not always directed at the music industry. While in grade school, I was introduced me into the world of skateboarding by the older kids that attended my school. For the record, I was never really that good at it. Sure, I could ollie, and maybe even land the odd kickflip once in awhile, but I definitely was no pro at it. That didn’t matter much, though. What mattered to me at the time was just riding with my friends, going to Hakuna (a local skate shop at the time) as well as West 49 (which is a chain store within Canada), admiring all the skate decks and their awesome graphics. I used to watch any skate video I could get my hands on, and you could probably find me watching events like the X Games and Dew Tour. Although I don’t skate anymore, I still enjoy watching the odd skate video online, and it’s crazy to see how large the industry has become.

I recently took a trip to Los Angeles, California to visit some friends who live in the area before joining up with August Burns Red on the Frozen Flame Tour. Los Angeles to me has always seemed like the mecca of skateboarding. Hundreds of skateparks, skate shops, and some of the most legendary skate spots in the world. Also, being able to ride all year round as opposed to the 4-5 months in Canada is pretty awesome. While I was there, I was only able to observe so little, especially within skateboarding, compared to the entire city as a whole. This write up is mainly to show what I had personally observed while staying in Los Angeles.

I originally met Emilio for the first time in 2012 at the Detroit date of the Vans Warped Tour. He was working for Epitaph Records and I had a photo pass through them to photograph some of their bands at the festival. Emilio contacted me last spring asking if I would be interested in doing the entire tour for Epitaph. They were looking for someone with experience on the tour, and since I had done the entire tour in 2013 for Equal Vision Records, I ended up being a candidate for the gig. Emilio and I spent the summer of 2014 on the Vans Warped Tour for Epitaph Records documenting the tour for them. I discovered while working alongside him that he was actually a really good skater and was clearly better than I ever was. When I told him how I wanted to meet up with August Burns Red in California, he offered me the opportunity to crash on his couch for a week before hand. I was not about to turn down the opportunity to get out of this Canadian winter, so I packed my bags and set my sights on California.

This is Emilio!

Emilio is a great skateboarder. He may be stubborn and tell you he isn’t that good, but to the general eye, he is. When I watch him ride I can tell he has been riding the thing for quite some time and that he truly loves it. He keeps his board in the trunk of his car and takes every opportunity to ride that he can. While in LA, Emilio was kind enough to spend time showing me around. Whether it be good local cuisine/coffee shops, or just fun tourist type stuff I should do, he was the best host anyone could ask for. The way that I now like to visit places like this is to just dive right into whatever it is people do in that particular place. I had the best fish tacos I’ve ever had, an incredible breakfast burrito in Long Beach, and also the best burgers and pizza you could eat.

I flew into LA late Sunday with no real “plan” in mind for the week. All I knew was that I wanted to shoot as much as possible and pack as much interested stuff in that I possibly could. On the Tuesday, Emilio drove us to the famous Venice Beach, a place that I’ve always wanted to visit really badly. They have a legendary skatepark right on the beach. Although a lot of the features were too advanced for me, I had fun just cruising the park and watching the locals shred. It was awesome hanging out there as the sun went down over the ocean and we also skated up and down the infamous boardwalk. I bought a “Venice California: Muscle Beach” t-shirt with a stencil of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the middle, which was a very solid purchase if I do say so myself.

After hanging out in Venice for a few hours, we headed back to the Silver Lake area. Emilio is currently helping film a shop video with a bunch of local skaters for ThrashGnar, which is a skate shop located in downtown LA. We met up with a bunch of people at the shop and hit the streets. We first went to the Los Angeles Convention Center/Staples Center, and after we got the boot, we went to the next spot which was a ledge near an overpass in the downtown area. Once the riders got some clips in, we finished up the night at Pizza Nista for some slices.

It was a really awesome experience being able to tag along with a crew of that size for the night. On the Thursday, we woke up and headed to The Banks, which is a skate shop located in Silver Lake. The owner, Chris, was a really awesome dude who also shoots photos. Emilio’s brother Tristan works at the shop, so he met up with us there before making our way to Subliminal Projects.

Emilio and George at The Banks

Subliminal is a gallery that was created by Shepard Fairey and Blaize Blouin in 1995. The group played an integral part in introducing skateboarding culture and design to the art world. The exhibition that was currently being displayed was called “AGENTS PROVOCATEURS”, which is a collection of subversive skateboard graphics and artworks. Some of the artists included were Alyasha Owerka-Moore, Andy Jenkins, Ben Horton, Cleon Peterson, Donny Miller, Ed Templeton, Marc McKee, Mark Foster, Michael Sieben, Nil Ultra, Sean Cliver, Todd Francis, and Winston Tseng.

I also picked up a copy of Shepard’s book, “Supply & Demand”, which highlights his massive body of work from 1989 until 2009. I have always been a fan of street art and how it has become such a global phenomenon, so it was really awesome being able to see Shepard’s gallery and grabbing a copy of the book, which just so happened to also be signed by the man himself.

On the Friday morning before Emilio drove me to Pomona, we went to check out a mini ramp in the middle of Silver Lake. The ramp belonged to Chris, owner of The Banks, and he was kind enough to let us come check it out and ride for a bit. It was very well built and the views from his back patio were incredible.

The thing that makes me really enjoy staying in a new place with someone you know is that you will find yourself in situations where you have the opportunity to observe people doing the things they normally do. As opposed to being in an environment full of tourists all doing the same things and taking the same photographs. Yes I walked the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame and did other tourist things, but what I wanted most out of this trip was to see or do things that a normal tourist wouldn’t have been able to. Visiting Los Angeles for a week’s time had only allowed me to scratch the surface as to what it really has to offer. With that being said, I hope to have the opportunity to visit again in the future to continue this exploration of the skateboarding, music, and art culture that exists within Los Angeles.

Thank you for reading!