San Diego Day Five: ASR & Let’s Get the Hell Out of Here!

Words by Ryan Clements
Photos and Captions by Rob Meronek

Now that I’m back at home, sitting at my computer desk downstairs in between the kitchen and the living room, I can reflect on the last five days in the comfort of my personal dwelling. The last 15 hours are a bit of a blur. We left the Trade Show in late afternoon, got cleaned up, and headed to Hooters. Imagine that. It’s pretty much a tradition now…one that cannot be broken.

The trip to the airport was quite and somber. After more alcohol, it was time to board the plane to Chicago. Yes, Chicago. Why we had to fly to Chicago before Tampa is beyond me. Seems like a bit out of the way to say the least. I don’t remember that flight at all, with the exception of the drunken Bears fans being a bit loud.

We arrived at the airport in Chicago (don’t know the name) a little before 5am and crashed on the floor in front of the gate. I woke up to a nice woman putting a blanket on me. Her kindness and thoughtfulness are characteristics of a dying breed. I need to remember that. The thin carpet was not much insulation from the cold cement floor. Seems like it’s already fall in Chicago.

We awoke to the boarding of the second plane and no such luck on getting a window seat on this trip. I crashed right out again and woke up to landing in Tampa. It’s amazing how much I miss the heat and humidity after only five short days. Makes me want to skate our bowl right now thinking about it.

Sunday at ASR was equally mellow. Sometimes I wonder why they even have a third day at trade shows. Schaefer kept it lively with some great tunes on the iPod during the Mini-Ramp Demos though.

And speaking of the Demos, I don’t think that Rob shot a single photo of the Mini-Ramp the entire weekend. We’ll have to straighten him out on that one next time around. The final two Demos pretty much went off. We had my favorite lil’ guy, Curren Caples (Flip’s newest), putting a hurting on the entire ramp. Brian Patch came by to put down fs inverts on the vert extensions, and Austen Seaholm made an appearance to put together combos that have never been seen before.

Thanks to ASR for making us feel so much at home while we were in beautiful San Diego…and thanks to everyone in the Industry that supports what we do. It doesn’t go unnoticed. See you fools at Expo.

We walked to the House of Blues Thrasher Party with Sierra the model here. On the way, she stopped and got a king sized Snickers ice cream bar and some other junk food. Before finishing that, she stopped for pizza. After arriving at the HOB and seeing a 7-11 next to it, she went in and got two hot dogs, a sleeve of peanuts, and some candy. Wow

Abdias Rivera turned 21 a few months ago. The meatheads at the House of Jocks told him that even if he got a cop to tell them that his ID is legit, they would still not let him in. Abdias is on the Foundation team. Because so many people were not let in, when Foundation went to get their award on stage, Nuge was the only one in the building to accept it. Once again, wow

If a bunch of people that were on King of the Road couldn't get into the King of the Road party, I was sure a random jackass like myself would not be able to get in, so I left with a crew that was stuck outside to hang at the hotel bar. Upon arrival, Sierra the model ordered dinner. Once again, wow

Random foot fetish with some high maintenance ladies

That's my Volcom Party Jacket. I made all my friends at the Westin Bar pose with it. I'm so much cooler when I'm drunk

More props for everyone

San Diego, good bye and see you in six months. Cheers

Frosty couldn't make it due to busting up his wrist a few days before we left, but we did have a nice look-alike sitting next to us on the plane. Check the photos of Frosty's wrist below

Get well soon, Frosty