This essay was written as an entry to our giveaway on our website
in conjunction with Alpine Meadows. If you weasels would check
out our website once in a while, you might notice some changes.
Like the ability to win cool stuff. www.heckler.com in case
you forgot……
Alpine Contest Winner
Doing what I love...what kind of sacrifices am I willing to
make to do it. Giving up money, giving up time with friends,
giving up sleep, giving up my health. Yeah. I'd give it all
up over and over again. I love to ride. I've only been riding
for four years, and each year it gets more and more addicting.
This season I had the opportunity to ride Vail and Beaver Creek
for a week. It was so sweet: no lines, long runs, and lots of
backcountry powder. That week went by so fast and then I found
myself at home for two short weeks on Christmas break. I was
dying to ride, but I had absolutely no friends at home who rode
(they all go to college with me in South Carolina). So my mom
and I took a ride over to Wachusett Mtn. in central Mass the
Saturday evening before I had to go back to school. I was a
little nervous to ride because the night before, I had hyperextended
my arm in a stupid fall when I lost my balance riding a rope
tow. Wow, I hate rope tows. Anyways, it was a typical New England
night, icy and overcrowded, plus my arm was killing me. But
I wanted one last thrill before I had to head back down South.
I cruised the diamond run and then the "park", but
it was really icy. I had seen all these kids riding a two/ three-foot
rail at the end of the park run. They started about 100 feet
above the rail, rode the rail, unstrapped and walked back up
to do it over again. I didn't have too much experience riding
rails, so I decided to give it a go. I was riding by myself
(my mom was sewing or cutting coupons or whatever in the lodge),
so what the heck. There weren't any other girls riding the rail,
so I felt kinda stupid, but I just went up, did a 50/50 and
landed no problem. I unstrapped and went up to do it again.
I met some cute little high school kid and he helped me out
with terms and weight balance and stuff. He was pretty good.
He finally pumped me up to do a boardslide. I went down and
wasn't used to the feeling of it and leaned too far back, so
I bit it. It wasn't bad, but I caught my thumb wrong on the
landing and half-sprained it. But it didn't matter; I wanted
to do a boardslide. So I went up and tried it again and then
I got it! It was so much fun. Then another girl came who was
a little bit better than me, but she was wicked nice. We rode
the rail all night until ski patrol kicked us off. That was
the funnest night I've ever had snowboarding. I went there alone
and walked out with new friends and a new trick.
-Liz Ricci, Greenville, South Carolina
Pro-Ho?
I am Rob Sluggo’s biggest fan, and I don’t know where
to get his autograph. If I give you my address, can you send
me one?
Thanks a lot,
-Devin
Sure Dev, we’ll get right on it. I am told that Tony Hawk
is more accesable, so we will hook you up with him instead,
OK?.
ATIBA (Atiba Jefferson)...
He made some wonderful pieces of music... (ah yeah series &
more...)but I've looked everywhere on the net - all search engines,
mp3 share programs, and couldn't find anything but his photos...
not even a site about him... (found just 4 different songs...
but I'd like to have all of his music...). Could you please
give me a tip, a link, more info about him & his music or
somethin'... thanks, best regards.
-Branislav Kropilak - B2K, Art Director
Attiba throws down for Transworld, so your best bet would be
to fire an email to the folks at Transworld. He obviously is
a rockstar in his own right and might be a bit tough to get
ahold of, but hittem high and hittem low and you’ll gettem.
Pipa' Grande
I am a 22-year-old pool skater from Santa Cruz, California.
I have seen pictures of a full pipe with a huge roll-in, called
Pipa' Grande and need to find out where it is. My friends and
I have been looking for it for years to no avail. It's supposed
to be somewhere in central California. Can you or anyone at
your mag tell me where it is? Any info will be much appreciated
(what reservoir it's at, the e-mail address of someone who might
know, etc.) We need help badly. Our lives will go unfulfilled
without getting to this legendary spot. Please Help!
-Drew Barrett, drewbarrett@msn.com
Much like Cortez danced across the ocean with his galleons and
guns, you need to look for the El Dorado in the bowels of the
Golden State. I can tell you that when you hit El Dorado, your
quest will be rewarded better than the Conquistadors, cause
your El Dorado actually exists. Here is how you get there……
Sonny, Sam, John, Chris and the others who won’t fit
Good job on the mag. I’ve only read two issues, as I have
just heard about you.
Sam- awesome points made in “568 words.” Neil Young
and Johnny Cash kick ass. As the son of a sergeant in the National
Guard, I can easily say I had the flags prior to Sept. 11.
Sonny- you know what? I fuckin love “Valium.” All
of the best music seems to be comin’ from Sacto, and here
I am in Connecticut. Seriously- Phallucy has a great sound-
thanks for signing the back too! I’m trying to figure out
whose signature is who’s. I can read Dave’s and at
the bottom someone wrote, “Barney Loves You.” I emailed
you before asking about payment for the daycare merch-, when
I get some money (6 bucks is so little, but I just spend my
money too fast) I’ll be buying it.
My back hurts from bad posture and my hand now grows weary,
so I’ll end this now. I like Heckler, so keep ‘em
comin boys!
-Cory
Cory – we love the props, thanks loads. Sam wants you to
know that he was against the flag waving that goes down in this
issue as he feels that real Americans fly their flag on days
besides the Fourth of July and Memorial day and it shouldn’t
take a crazed taliband to unite us. He really gets pissed when
he passes a pandering billboard that pimping the “United
We Stand” with a Coors or ATT logo. Being a real American,
however, he couldn’t argue with the images. Sonny does
have delusions of rock stardom and you further that passion
with your writing. His head will now barely fit through the
doorway, Great.
Give me
Free shit, damn it
Hey. My name is John Conklin and I was wondering if you would
like to sponsor me. I’m an amateur skater who has been
skating about 5 months. I am 14 years old. I practice at least
an hour a day, even when it is freezing out. I am very dedicated.
I am progressing quickly and interested in entering competitions
but I think I need that little push that I think a sponsor
would give me. I also have a friend who has been skating a
year and is very talented he is also looking for a sponsor.
Looking forward to your reply
-John Conklin
Sorry dude, but we won’t even sponsor our mom. It has
never stopped guys like Ken Lay and The big Dubya, but we
still have a shred of integrity somewhere around here, and
we can’t play favorites. I hear BirdHouse is looking
for some new blood, so give ‘em a shout. Keep it real
and never slow down.
To the fine people at Heckler,
Hey, my name is Dan and I’ve been a reader/ fan for a
long time. Issue #19 was where I was first able to experience
your magazine. I say “experience” because Heckler
isn’t just another magazine to be read, or perused, or
whatever. Heckler is to be experienced, enjoyed, even savored.
Because Heckler has passion. Heckler has a soul. Heckler is
about scraped knees and bloody elbows. It’s about wrecking
yourself on that huge air and getting up and laughing, and
then spitting in the eye of the giant frowning face that is
conformity. It’s about waking up, and seeing the new
day for what it is- a new chance. A chance to ride. A chance
to create. A chance to be free. Heckler is about wearing your
heart on your sleeve and picking up the pieces every time
it gets shattered. It’s about believing in yourself when
everyone else has turned away. It’s about friends and
roadtrips, and there’s nothing on the radio but that’s
ok because we’re almost there and it’s gonna be
so much fun. It’s about moments, seconds, inches, feet
and stairs. It’s about opportunities missed and grasped.
It’s about never saying, “I’m sorry” to
the people who don’t understand. It’s about never,
ever regretting– anything. Heckler is about doing what
you love, doing it your way, and never letting anyone tell
you it’s wrong. Because it’s not. Heckler is about
taking life and beating it to death and loving every single
second that passes. I hope that never changes. I hope at issue
100 we look back with as much pride as with #50. I hope by
becoming more “readable,” Mr. Toll doesn’t
mean Heckler will lose the beautiful layouts and spontaneity
that make it so unique. Because we need the art, the freeform.
We need the Jazz with the punk rock attitude and rock’n’roll
guts. Maybe a little country swagger for measure. Because
I don’t want to read about the newest trick. I want to
read about people living life with passion. I want to be inspired
like I have so many times before by the words in this magazine.
Stay gold Heckler. I know you can.
Sincerely, Dan Haring
p.s. I almost forgot. Congrats on #50. Very proud of ya.
Rad. Freedom is something that we never take for granted here
at Heckler and breath in deeply every day. It keeps us motivated
to shred ahead, keep our head out of the clouds and our feet
on the ground. Heckler is a Skate, Snow and Music mag, but
it really is more than that. It is really a lifestyle mag.
Not some clebrity blow-fest like People Pukizine promoting
the wafer-thin veneer fakeness that Hollywood is, but a mouthful
of real people that define our scene. We are DIY all the way.
Sometimes it works and sometimes it sucks, just like the real
world the rest of us kick around in.. And Art Director Ron
Cameron tells Sam Toll to get the fuck away from the art direction/design
since Ron is both a professional (award winning) designer
and a pro skater. We believe that once you lose your gawking
awe for the idols as spoonfed by the board-room defined bible-mag
filled with endless reams of ads and perfect photos you come
to realize that those icons have feet of clay. And they are
interesting because of those clay feet. They are real guys
and gals and we believe that theirs are the stories we want
to tell. The one that comes out after the staged choreographed
designed photo shoot is over. Besides, how many different
ways can you show a 72 stair rail before it becomes yawnish.
Puh-leez. We will stay golden - in the gutter.
