Winter Varsity

So the 19th of Feb rolled around and it was Winter Varsity time again. I have never been before as I have always had work or something else on but this year I made it my mission to go, even sacrificing a lie in on a Saturday morning.

Me, Adam and Lex kicked it off in Champs while waiting on Rob to finish work. Watched the final minutes of Crawley Town's dream fixture play-out then headed in a taxi to Ski Village. When we got in I saw Joel and Aaron with one of their mates. They managed to get in free by sneaking through the top of the hill, classy guys right there. Once we got ourselves a few drinks we heading up the middle of the slopes to watch qualifying. Some big tricks were pulled, some nice rodeos and front flips, from Sheff Uni though, none from our boys at Hallam unfortunately. The riding was fun to watch but entertainment also came in other forms.

Lex was just minding his own business dropping someone a text when he slowly started sliding down the hill before full of face planting it in the mud with beer AND phone still safely in his hands. Only problem was that he had tipped the beer upside down and lost it all, his biggest mistake of his life. It was a moment you had to be there for to full appreciate the hilarity of the situation, it literally hurt to laugh for the rest of the night after that.

Unfortunately for Jon, he didn't see what happened to Lex and made the unfortunate mistake of standing in the exact same place where, not only did he fall down, he actually took some poor innocent Uni girl straight down with him too, it was like see Flamini take out Ćorluka in the mid-week European games. The fall didn't hurt Jon, but I think his pride took a bit of a beating. He recaptured the moment later on in the night, but this time failed to take out any snow bunnies with him.

After all the slipping and sliding on the slopes, we headed back down to the lodge where, unfortunately for us, Sheffield Uni were announced the resounding winners. Nevermind though, I think we showed them how to party like champions. The beer was flowing, random people were pouring beer in my mouth, the favour was repaid in kindness to others passing our group. Straight arm drinking ensued, leading to very messy beards and t-shirts. The DJs were getting naughty with some of the big tunes they were dropping. One point me and Lex were getting jazzy on the dancefloor and we were throwing ourselves about a bit and I ended up smashing my face into his fist, sub-conscious payback for the fit of laughter I was in earlier I think. The night got crazier as it went on and ended up with several people dancing from the rafters, it was literally a mental asylum for snowboarders.

The night ended with a coach ride back to the HUBS and a brisk tired walk home. I collapsed in bed thinking of how I had to be up in 5 hours for work to only be awoken by Jimmy who I had accidently locked out.

All in all it had been one of the best nights out of my Uni life and wouldn't mind reliving it over and over again

Talented Friends Pt.2

Basically this week and part of next week are hell so instead of having anything expressive or creative to write I'm gonna cop out and let another one of my friends do the talking.

DC has been living in NYC for the last few years and has probably one of the best blogs to read, little stories, music recommendations , sick photos etc. I can't remember the first time I met DC but I remember the last time I saw him. It was somewhere in lower Manhattan near Fat Cat, it was a pleasure as always. The first time I visited NYC DC was kind enough to put me up and I had a sick time riding round Central Park and the streets, I didn't quite have a fun time getting locked outta the apartment, where upon DC's return from work, finding myself curled up on the door mat sleeping.

So that's enough for my mangled brain to handle right now, check it out here

A Must Have

Please someone buy me the DVD shown here

An amazingly low budget, raw and gnarly DVD from the guys at Peepshow. Jess Kimura & June Bhongjam & Esthera Preda are the guys that founded the collective. There are some really good riders stapled throughout along with what happens off the snow too. Summed up beautifully by Huck Magazine ' Urban riding, style, fresh talent, beer, boobs and blunts.

A real snowboard film.

Let's Make Better Mistakes Tomorrow from peepshow on Vimeo.

Blotto Photto

I'm sure I have mentioned this blog before but you need to re-discover it, Blotto Photto

The guy is definitely one of the best action sports photographers out there, he captures not only the most amazing motion shots he also captures the not so graceful landings and brings a bit of a human/non-superhero side to the 'athletes'

There is plenty to read in the archives as well so check it out, this guy has been in the game for a long time and been at the top for most of it so take note!

EDIT: He will also post you stickers out for free so you can decorate any of your prized possessions or the lamp post outside your house.

Talented Friends, Pt.1

I have some very talented friends. Some crazy talented some more sanely talented but all still talented.

I have known Matt for years but only became friends with him like 7 years ago. He has always been a creative guy with design work which he had his own business for. Now he is in a different place and wielding his creativity with a camera in hand. Matt's photography is simple but beautiful, putting himself at different angles to his subject to achieve the effect he desires. He also gets plenty of chance to go out to the Yorkshire Dales which makes me a bit envious.

Photography is all an interpretation of the viewer, like any art really. You can check his work out here .

It's in.

Piece of candy!

A nice little edit here from Bataleon from most of their riders during this season. Nice to see some of the guys staying true to their brand and the ideology of the brand too.

Great riding, great music and great brand

1011 BATALEON FAMILY EDIT from MR. B bataleon snowboards on Vimeo.