PHOTOGOON: BROOKS FRITZ

More negative scans means more photos. No, I’m not being negative. I mean negatives as in film negatives. Ever hear of them?  Yeah that’s what these following photos are and it’s what you used to load into your camera instead of that sweet memory card. After 12, 24 or 36 exposures you would have to change the roll of film for a new one. And a lot of the times Murphy’s law would happen. What’s Murphy’s Law? It’s when things will go wrong when you expect them to go wrong. What do I mean? I mean when you are sitting there stressing on changing the film as fast as you can for a freshy with out fucking it up and not dealing with a jock who doesn’t wait for “the shot” and just goes and does his trick. Sometimes there just isn’t a second try or a re shoot. Not saying these photos are like that, because if you know me I’m a complete photo goon. I will make you do that backside air over and over until I get what I want. I’ll bribe, I’ll beg, I’ll do what it takes to get “the shot.”Why? because I am the photo goon…

San Diego, California

Willis Kimmel, grab grinds on the hip. Speaking of hip. Damn dawg! Look at all the dizope graffitti.

Carlsbad, California

A Beer Beagle find. I enjoyed this one. Brendan Klein surprised the hell out of me when he grinded frontside over the love seat.

Carnation, Washingon

Captin Boohyah! Aka chairman of the board, aka the guy in the sky, aka ry guy, aka top gun, aka Ryan Williams.

Ryan didn’t need a YMCA, straps, or lame ass pads to learn proper  deep end backside airs. I got lucky one day and he told me what the secret is….

Dont jump off. It feels a lot cooler landing the “trick” then running it out. You like the light leak in this one? Yeah you cant do that shit in photoshop..

Port Angeles, Washinton

The Rad Ramp

Yeah it’ rad. But not that rad after drinkin two 30 packs of Pabst with only 3 other dudes and waking up in the dirt in the scorching sun only to try and not kill yourself on this thing.

Salton Sea, California

Wu Weller is pretty popular these days on the revolution. Tail slides  in the 100+ degree sun.

Orcas Island, Washington

MFBK layin it back south American style.

San Diego, California

Busted before the “tricks” went down. Guess they never went down then huh? So i mean would of went down. Kinda hard to match Hensley’s photo from here. Shit is priceless.

Oceanside, California

Poor potato head. I think I only shot a couple of makes of this guy. It’s not like Nollan cant skate. He just has very bad luck when the camera turns on him. Another bail photo….

No big deal but when your shooting film and the costs is coming out of your own pocket shit can get expensive. Easy to forget about that when you get caught up only shooting digital.

Carlsbad, California

Nick Palmquist kickflipped this thing. When we rolled up I was going to be stoked just to get a ollie.

Arizona

I Couldn’t help it. Had to add one my mandatory lame nature scenic shots. Have a good week. Enjoy your 4th of July. Go get your nipple pierced and a american flag tattoo. -Brooks

Words and Photos by Brooks Fritz

I think Mondays are the new Fridays for me. At least for posting my weekly story. Maybe it’s the gardener with his blower on for like 6 fucking hours straight on Fridays now. He used to come on Saturdays but people complained they couldn’t sleep in until 1pm. Me having a kid I don’t really sleep in so much now so it never bothered me. But now he comes on Fridays and it blows. Literally! ha! So I live in a town house complex and they hired this gardener and he has one of those backpack blower things. You know what I’m talking about right? Well here where I live there is a ton of eucalyptus trees and they make a mess all the time. So blower boy is out there seriously all day with that thing on blowing the crap out to the main street only to be replenished by more leaves and branches, etc almost instantly. What does this have to do with skateboarding? Absolutely nothing. Even though one of those blowers would come in handy at spots sometimes. I guess I’m just babbling on. That is it. Now it can be called Babbling Brooks Fritz Files.

This Northwest story could go on for quite a while.. Do you want it to? For now I’m going to end it with some highlights and randoms from the rest of the trip. I seriously could stretch this thing out for weeks.

Oceanside Terror Chapter members Davey Rockit Presley and Cobra Kyle Chicken Nugget Gallaghger

I’ve been told the North West is green because it rains there, A lot.

Kyle’s Car = death metal all the time

BREAKFAST TIME!

Breakfast with Kyle = Sparks, Bloody beers, Barely cooked almost raw bacon, burnt eggs, and lots of cheese.

After breakfast. It was time to release the mudd butt. What better place then the lake!

If you have been to Orcas Island and haven’t been on the rope swing your blowing it.

Ryan can backside ollie well.

Really Well. No nannies needed when you land everything almost first try.

there was a burn ban going on the entire trip.

Look at those three fags hanging out on the bridge. Oh wait, those are my friends.

It’s a whole lot easier to grind over vert when you have loose trucks. Davey Rockit turns on his board and grinds at the same time. Hence the name carve grind.

Mike Petersen, Nose blunt slide. Orcas Island.

While Rhino was busy shooting a photo of another dude Mike was trying these noseblunt slides. I stopped skating and grabbed my camera and took advantage of Rhino being busy. And of course I shot it terrible… Plus my camera at the time only shot 4 or 5 frames a second. But thats just the excuse I make to make myself feel better.

Luke learned fs airs before he learned to ollie.

This is what the North West looks like to me.

Ballard City hill bomb.

By this time of the trip our host Ryan had had enough of us and dropped us off in Ballard, Washington. Fat Chris took us in and we skated Seattle area for a few days before our flight back home to SD.

West Seattle Bowl

Backside grind. Luke Puke Face Girling.

Davey Rockit fs grinds.

cards and beers

The best of times. The worst of times.

Have a good week. -Brooks

PHOTOS/WORDS: BROOKS FRITZ

This I guess this week it’s going to be the Monday Fritz files…. Just to keep you on the edge of your seat!

In part one last week we left off with a day under the bridge at Burnside.That was a fun time besides having a minor case of the airplane legs. But that’s just another excuse to make myself feel better about drinking beers and shooting photos instead of skating. Our NW host Ryan never seems to have a hard time skating so I was fortunate enough to get a few decent photos. Our agenda was really no agenda. The four of us (Ryan, Davey, Luke and myself had 5 weeks to do whatever wherever. We just knew we had to be in Seattle to fly home after the 5 weeks were up. After spending a few days in Portland hanging out at Jamie’s house started to get antsy and decided to head to the coast to meet up with the youngest old man I know. Mr. Cobra Kyle Gallagher.

This isn’t Kyle. But Mr Richard Lipz himself in the flesh… Enjoying our RV’s luxury living quarters on the way to that one skate park with the giant butt hole.

Dont drink that… It’s 1,200 hits of liquid acid….

Kyle arrives… We had a session at Mcminville.

The vagina hole bowl at Mcminville is great for photos but isn’t the funnest thing to skate. For a change everyone was skating the street course.

Ryan Willians, aka BOOHJAH..

Low to high ollie to truck bash.

Luke was so hyped on the session at Mcminville he decided to get a tattoo at the local shop in town so he would never forget it. What could be better then some flaming dice?

After Luke’s episode of “Oregon Ink” we went to a friends house where his driveway is funner to skate then your local skate park. And that’s just the cement that was left over from the basement.

Proper tailblock.

Sweeper

Amarilla

Our friend Derek Plourd decided to meet us at Bainbridge.

5.0 revert

And the crowd goes wild!!! Luke loves Bainbride. And why wouldn’t you?

Board meeting…

Skateboarding can be fun.

After skating Bainbridge all day everyone was pretty hungry. So we decided to catch the ferry over to Seattle to get something to eat. And what could be better then a bag of Dicks!

Have a good week. -Brooks

Photographs & words by: Brooks Fritz

Another north west trip? You better believe it. What? You don’t like it up there in the land of concrete and trees? Everyone talks about taking trips to California. Well if you didn’t know it sucks balls here…. Skate park wise at least. But I guess we do have great weather. Weeeeeeeeeeee! Sun shine! But if your looking for something other than nice weather. I suggest heading to the North West. And for all you North West protectors crying right now. Dont worry. Your scene is already blown out….  Here’s the first part of maybe three of the Oceanside chapter north west TERROR tour….

TEAM: (left to right) Dipshit photo goon, Davey Rockit, Richard Lips, Captn Boohjah

THE TEAM RV: The four of us piled into this thing to make it our home for the next 5 weeks. Talk about luxury….

DEAF PAUL: says welcome to Portland, Oregon.. (not really hence the name deaf Paul)

WU WELLER: From one bridge to another straight off the airplane and we headed straight to Burnside to meet up with Portland chapter member Jamie Weller. Here he is demonstrating a proper low to high free lunch ollie.

RYAN WILLIAMS: Ryan was hungry for some free lunch and got in on the meal himself. This is not just a flying butt shot. It’s also a lien air.

Alley oop angle 1 (its too easy shooting photos of this guy)

In yo face alley oop angle 2! Seriously Lib Tech, why aren’t you paying Ryan to skate?

and if that wasn’t enough here’s a sequence… I like frame 5. Most people have to have bindings on to do that shit.

Do I really need to write a caption for this one?

It’s pretty self explanatory dont you think?

MIKE ZINC: crows nest view of Mike’s pillar launch into the big bowl.

JAMIE WELLER: yeah I know, you probably all ready seen this photo before. I’m just going with the flow and putting the photos in the order they were taken. Blunt to fakie on this is no joke. The run up is rough as fuck. Most people would give up after a couple tries. Luckily for me Jamie pulled it within a few tries before my beer got warm.

SPERM ART: After a full day under the bridge we headed back to Jamie’s house. This is Sperms gift to Davey. Who says board graphics suck these days?

There you have it. Part one is done. Part two coming next week. Have a good weekend. Do something… -brooks

Photos & story by: Brooks Fritz

I used to love flying. I’ve always been fascinated with it. Still to this day I trip out that we can herd people like cattle into metal tubes with wings and wheels and fly anywhere on this earth. The airplane is amazing thing. Too bad the beginning of my excitement for flying all ended when I had to fly from New York to Portland, Oregon. Here is part 3 of my East Coast to West Coast trip.

I was stressing on getting to the airport on time in the first place since I was already lagging getting back to NYC from Philly and then when I did get to the airport the first thing I saw was how long the line was to get your boarding pass/check in…… Those Arabian people sure get hassled.

When I finally got to the front of the line the Jet Blue ticket doosh bag was trying to tell me I was going to have to check my tripods and skateboard in since they were weapons. Yeah weapons. This was pretty much the first time I really had any problems and I explained that to him. He said good luck getting through security and when they turn you around you are going to have to go to the end of the line where it just took me over an hour to get through. I took the risk and for once the people at the security check point didn’t take me into secondary to harass me about the quantum battery pack.

With that all said in done I barely had enough time for one quick drink and the plane was boarding. When I got on the plane and disassembled by bag so it would fit into the overhead I looked out the window and saw a shit load of airplanes. Way more then usual. Picture it backed up like freeway traffic.

What happened next was just beyond retarded.

On both sides of the plane as far as you could see there were planes in a row waiting to take off. I was so over it I didn’t even get my camera out. The pilot said we would be taking off shortly. No drinks or food were handed out and six hours later the plane took off. Jet Blue rules.

Like I was saying in part one about saving your time & money with direct flights; here is a perfect example why to besides spending all your money at the bar. So the plane was 6 hours behind schedule. That means my connecting flight in Georgia was fucked too. By the time we landed in Georgia my flight was long gone and there were no more connecting flights for that day. It looked like I would be getting comped a room at a local hotel by the airport or something right? Nope. Sorry. I Don’t even want to try and explain.

The next day I got the hell out of Georgia and made it to Portland finally. Friends Ryan and Luke picked me up at the airport and forty five minutes later I was listening to Sleazy Steve talk about some crazy ass shit while shooting these photos of Drew Potter trying to do this 50/50

and Peter Gunn Slamming….

and Peter getting back up for the make that I managed to fucked up.

That night we stayed in Portland at our friend Jamie’s house where there is a bar 1 door down. In the morning I had to piss so I went outside to pee in the alley. Some how the door shut all the way and I was locked out. So there I was in just my boxers yelling upstairs for someone to open the door. No one could hear me so I had to walk down the street and find Ryan’s car where I could at least curl up in the fetal position and lay in the front seat to wait for someone to wake up. Later that day we drove out to the Coast and met up with my friend Alex wells. Here’s his dog SA.

This shit was pretty crazy.

The only kind of fly out allowed: Kyle Gallagher with a roll in off the back of the cradle to disaster to roll in at the downstairs of Lincoln City.

It’s a long way down from the top.

Angle two of Ryan Williams back smith grind.

Flashes in photos are making a come back.

We stayed on the Coast for a few days skating Lincoln City and the few surrounding parks in the area. Then we made our way north. This photo reminds me of the movie The Goonies

Speaking of the movie The Goonies. The town Astoria is where they filmed most of it. The helmet law is strict here. Kyle takes a quick run with a grind in the deep. Think it’s 11 with 2 ft of vert?

Mandatory lame nature photo

Captain Booh Jah with a almost pad-less front side air in the big boy zone of the Astoria Dreamland park.

After a quick session in Astoria since we only had one helmet between the four of us we drove to a place a little more adult skateboard friendly. Bainbridge Island.

Here’s Luke Girling with the best move in the history of skateboarding. The frontside grind.

I laugh now because I consider these people my friends.

We first thought they were Canadians and after hanging out with Ryan a little too much I started not liking Canadians for no reason. Well at least I have no reason. I’m still not sure why Ryan dislikes them so much. Maybe because he lives so close to them and they are notorious for the fly out? But what I was getting at is we were kind of avoiding these guys thinking they were Canadians. We seen them at a couple other parks but always when we would be leaving or vice verse. Here at Bainbridge was the first meeting and we we’re relieved they were Australians.

Here’s Dorfus with a first run frontside air from shallow to deep.

Definately not from Canada. Not even sure if he’s from this planet. Skateboarder of the millenium Dorfus with a hefty smith grind…

and a lien to tail

Luke wishes you a good weekend…. See you next week.

The Chairman of the board catches some atmosphere under the bridge…

Photos & interview by Brooks Fritz

Name: Ryan Williams

Age: 27

Resides: Bellingham, Wa

Occupation: Teacher

boob tube

Wait a minute? Your occupation isn’t skateboarding? This isn’t a job for you?

Are you kidding? I’d have to get better real quick. I wouldn’t be eating much because nobody wants to pay a 27 dude from Washington to skate. Every one has already seen most of the stuff I like to skate in the beer bong series.

What have you been up to?

I’ve been hanging out inside, eating, having some beers, making breakfast burritos, BBQing, and working on some artwork.

What kind of art work we talking about?

We are talking a variety of stuff like painting, colored pencil, wire, ceramics, and some mixed media crap.

fs grind

You kinda seem more low profile then most people. Is that a conscious decision?

Most of the time I don’t have much to say about the situation at hand. Sometimes it’s funner to listen to people and wonder what the fuck they’re talking about.

What you dont like to flap your mouth aimlessly for hours on end?

I talk all day at work. If I don’t like to listen to myself talk, why would anybody else? The more time I spend talking the less time I get to spend skating or doing something fun.

fs air transfer

When was there a time when you were not psyched on skateboarding?

Today, I had to encourage a fifteen year old smoking a cigarette on a bmx bike to get out of the bowl. I was not so much bummed on skating, but rather the kind of crap that takes while your trying to skate. People think they can go and hang out where people skate and be accepted for acting like an idiot. I see that kind of crap all the time. Like the guy with the ROB and big bulldog on a leash skating in the middle of everyone under the bridge. Stupid.

backside air

Why dont you do all the barney bowl contests? You know the contests that I am talking about…..Why not get on the tour?

I don’t have the get on the board and give ‘er all you got mentality. I tried to do it on several occasions and it never worked or felt right. A few times I skated with friends during contests and that was kind of fun. Skating with a bunch of randoms who are trying to kill it sucks. I do not enjoy being on display for a bunch of people to watch. I skate because I like it and it’s fun. I’m trying to skate for a long time. Blowing up my body at some competition is not in the plan.

backside ollie

Gnarliest thing you have seen done skating?

Dorfus

low to high truck bash

Who and what gets you stoked on skating?

Joe the Jewler, Kyle Gallahger, Peter Gunn, Jamie Weller, Derek Plourd, Mike, and Cam all make me want to skate more and better. I’m always hyped on skating with friends. Kids that are hyped on skating rather than bullshit skate fashion are rad too.

hip grind

lipslide transfer

What has skateboarding taught you over the years?

Skateboarding has taught me to look at things differently.

Boring……Ryan, you can answer it better then that. Explain.

I’m talking about driving around your home town and seeing a ledge you skated years ago and remembering when your friend was smoking his mom’s filterless menthol cigarettes. Being out at night over the holidays and running into a bunch of dudes who “used to skate” now look like their 40 with no interests and wondering, “what happened to those guys?” I’m talking about the tranny shaped brick lamp ledges in my parents neighbors yard that I want to skate while they’re at work. Skating keeps my mind working and reminds to stay young. Even if I’m old as crap I’ll still look at a full pool and wonder what the tranny is like?

rock N roll

If you didnt skate what would you do?

I guess I would fish and make art in place of skateboarding. I wouldn’t be much fun to be around if I didn’t skate. How do you feel when you don’t get to skate for a few weeks? I’d probably learn how to fix the oil leak in my truck and figure out what’s missing from the front of my license plate.

So what’s the story with being called “chairman of the board”?

I was skating in one of those killer contests we were just talking about and had my picture taken by the local newspaper. They put the picture in the newspaper and wrote Chairman of the Board across the top. That was the end of me. A terrible photo with an even worse nickname.

Any Regrets?

Smoking and Chewing for a long time.

pipe ride

Best advice anyone has ever given you?

Check your knot after every fish.

stalefish

Thanks Ryan…. Any last words or thanks or no thanks to be given?
Thank You Concrete