etnies 20-Year Anniversary Party and Beastie Boys Show

Words by Ryan Clements
Photos and Captions by Rob Meronek

Here’s the mix:

• 1000 industry heads
• 1000 random kids and skateboarders
• 4000 other people that wanted to be there
• 8000 beers
• ? bottles of liquor, but it was a lot
• More Lost Energy Drink than you could possibly drink in your lifetime
• 100 confused-ass Security Guards
• The Beastie Boys
• Additional statistic inserted by Rob: Number of photos in my camera this morning from last night: 724

Put it all together starting at 7:30pm at night and let it go ‘til about 2am and you have total chaos at the etnies 20-Year Anniversary Party. I don’t know exactly how they pulled it off because it definitely began with some confusion.

Before the show started security had us going to one entrance and then back to the other entrance because they didn’t know which area we were permitted to enter. We finally got in and had to wait about an hour for the booze to start flowing, but when it did begin, trying to get a drink from one of four bars with another 2000 people that wanted a drink was pretty difficult to do.

So I hung in the background and watched the Beasties, which was as good as ever. Then when the lines sort of calmed down I had some drinks, but by that time people were getting WASTED! It was really funny because there was so much booze flowing that you could have as much as you wanted, which isn’t really that good of an idea for most people.

The big question of the night was…How damn old are The Beastie Boys? I’m thinking since I was 14 when Licensed to Ill came out, which is 19 years ago…and they were probably mid-late 20’s, that those guys are pushing 50. Damn I’m getting old…

Good times. Thanks for the Party, etnies.

Tyler Adams Hawkins - first photo on the red carpet. Yes, there was a red carpet. Welcome to California, bro

Eh man, eh man, I got a fake ID, man. It's Big Ern! Hahahaa. Abdias is ready to hold it down tonight

Tony Tave's last am contest is the Damn Am next weekend. He's officially pro on November 1. It was just three short years ago when every one was wondering who the kid with the illest flick was at Tampa Am

Suckurity was having a real hard time communcating. That resulted in some angry mob type stuff at the gate to get in

It's worth the wait to get in - free food, free drinks, and all your best homies. Thanks for throwing this party, etnies

Ryan Sheckler and Tom Curran on the red carpet with a bunch of people who probably shouldn't be on there

Active Erica definitely belongs on the red carpet. Braydon Szafranski has been sober for 16 days now, but he's still on the Skatepark of Tampa Party Team

You're supposed to have a hot chick on your arm on the red carpet, but Ryan Dewitt had to settle for a dirty old skateboard

Sales pitch alert: Check out Arto Saari's new shoe. I'm skating in them now and they rip. There's Sheckler again - born to be on the red carpet

Some of Sheckler's friends. Check the hater out. I don't know man, I think your man drift, janitor pants, and cloud kickers are what's wack here

Sean Lewis from Fuel TV - gangta ass filmer

That's Janae from Boost with her crew of hot chicks

The Beastie Boys show is definitely in my top 10 shows of all time

After dropping a song from nearly every album they've had in the last 15 years, the instruments came out and they kicked it off with Gratitude from Check Your Head

Frosty! He's swinging hammers all week with Schaefer building the Damn Am at Volcom course for next week

So right about this point in the night, I hand over the camera to Ewan Bowman from Flip. He proceeds to snap several dozen. I had to explain to him that every now and then, he has to stop and take a photo of people's feet. This is Ewan's first foot fetish shot for the night

I don't know who that is on the left, but coming up shortly, she's about to man rape Rob Brink. That's Eunjoo, Elissa Steamer, and Saecha. Eunjoo and Saecha design apparel for etnies

Whoa, Eunjoo could probably snatch flies off tree branches like an iguana. This is the first of many, many face licking photos that Ewan took

Who the hell is this? I don't know, but if Ewan took a photo of them, they must be cool. UPDATE: Oops, I'm friends with that guy - sorry Jesse Fritsch, I didn't recognize you

Who dat? I don't know, ask Ewan

Ewan's face lick photo #2

Ewan's face lick photo #3

Ewan's face lick photo #4

Rob Brink man rape, part one. That's Brandy from Sole Tech massaging the meat wand

Another Rob Brink man rape in progress with an accidental upskirt

Rob Brink man rape, part two. That's not a pink belt, it's a strap on

Who are these chicks? I don't know, but that one girl is going full on jungle fever on that big black...beer

Ewan's foot fetish shot #2

Who dat? Don Brown with someone I think might be one of those guys who has a three letter title such as CFO, CEO, or COO

Note to girls: the two finger self salute stance on the left - sexy. The look at me stick out my belly pose - not so hot

All right, I met back up with Ewan Bowman there on the left and got the camera back. That's Jonas Wray and Matt Milligan with him

Then I ran into the fake ass Ernie Torres having a dance party across the parking lot

What does Tom Curran's face remind you of?

Did I take this picture? I don't know. Maybe Ewan has the camera back. I don't remember these girls. I hope I said something cool to them

What?!?! I ran into pink shirt guy from the VIP Port-O-Let session and he was still rocking a pink shirt. He's like, "This is a different pink shirt, dude." How many pink shirts do you got?

Graham Bickerstaff is looking like he's been stranded on a desert island somewhere. Wilsooooon!

People were calling me out on the VIP Port-O-Let photos, including Gretchen here. When you tell me to get the camera away, that just makes me assault you with a flash attack. Check out her friend with the Al Bundy on the couch steez

Quick pause for another foot fetish

Way back before electricity when I started skating, Sal Barbier did a demo in my hometown - Syracuse, New York. We went and skated a mini ramp after the demo where he gave me one of his H-Street decks. I'll never forget that

Hours later, the fake ass Ernie Torres is still having his own dance party. Oh, that's why Abdias always wears a hat