Is Merrick Orr the next David Gonzales?

Jan 9,2014 / By Hippie Mike / 1 Comment

I got my first impression of young Merrick Orr on July 1^st of 2013 at the annual Canada Day skateboard competition kickoff to Bowl Series at Seylynn Bowl. This was the 19^th year for Bowl Series and I’ve been at this event for about the past 12 years which is ironic since this kid was only 13 years old at that time. I had noticed him come into the park with his Mom and a true Seylynn legend Carlos Longo, and he even looked a lot like Carlos with scraggly hair and that rocker style. He had already caught my eye before he stepped on his board, but then he dropped in and started annihilating the place. Poppin’ crail grabs and kickflips over the hips and just cruising hard with full speed ahead mentality, everyone was checking out Merrick, and a lot of people were saying the line “Is this the next David Gonzales or what?” It was right around the time when David’s insane part had just dropped so he was fresh on the brain, but man did this kid skate like him, and look like him too…

Merrick was killing the park all day and was ready to join in the Advanced category which is super awesome for any 13 year old, especially at the oldest skate park around. His run began and he tried to ollie every hip on the way down the snake run making the common mistake of smashing his head going over the last hip into the deep end which is actually referred to as “Head Bang” because of how many people who have hit their head on it. He was dazed and confused but still wanted to skate and it took me, his Mom and Carlos to drag him over to his chair and sit him down. Merrick was hurt physically, but even more scarred mentally that he wouldn’t be able to compete that day. We told him it was for the best and kept him sitting down. Of course once the Advanced Finals started there he suddenly appeared back in full motion. I knew right then that this kid was determined to skateboard.

Merrick came out to all the comp that summer travelling over from Vancouver Island every time. He lives in Sooke and wanted to get down in the Vancouver scene. I think he did a great job impressing people because we all know him simply as Merrick and love to watch him skate. This kid is gonna be around a long time, and he actually may just be the next David Gonzales, or maybe he’s the next Carlos Longo just in a different era. Either way, he stokes me up big time.

Check out his latest edit filmed and edited by Shawn Rowbottom and give this kid some props. He picks out the nastiest, gnarliest and most unskateable spots and lays it down

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Fabric Skate Shop’s Year End Party

Jan 7,2014 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Happy New Year I hope you are all had a great time with your family and friends. This was my first Christmas and New Year’s abroad, and it was a lot of fun. Over the winter break I went to a year-end party hosted by Fabric Skate Shop. Kojima and Saori are truly amazing people for hosting this kind event and have always been incredibly welcoming since I first arrived here. I got to meet tons of people who I kind of already knew from Shin-Yokohama Park but didn’t really talk to as I was too focused on my skating and they weren’t sure if I spoke Japanese. In Canada, I almost always practice by-myself and completely zone into my own skating completely ignoring my surroundings, but now that I’m here, I think I’m going to try and change that a little this year and try to reach out to some of the other skaters here a bit more.

At the party we ate freshly cut sushi off a skateboard with skate videos of the shop-team playing when I noticed “holy crap that’s White-Rock“. Apparently the Lower Mainland’s reputation extends all the way over here too as some people were talking about their skateboard experiences in Vancouver and their favourite spots. I felt right at home talking with these guys who know what skating in the lower mainland is all about. It was a great time and I was stoked to be invited.

I hope everyone has a fantastic New Year and lets all try to actually stick to those new year’s resolutions. Take care

Uncategorized

Onward to my Future

Dec 31,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

2013 – what a year. Definitely found out the truth about a lot of people this year, some good, some bad, and also really ventured in to getting back to my roots. I worked hard all year in so many ways and it really paid off in the end where I feel a new sense of enjoyment for life. After 2012 I was really angry and depressed and so my goal for this year was to redefine myself to myself. Every day was filled with battles all year, one of which was just me being sick for 11 months, and another was being injured for the past 6 months, but I would push through and ignore how I felt physically and just continue to follow my mental pathways and remind myself that nothing could stop me from reaching my goals.

A lot of things changed this year and were well worth it, Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey came to an end after 10 awesome years and we made this one a very memorable one. It was recognized in Concrete Skateboard Magazine and there will be a sick documentary out soon about it. The important part was that all the participants had the best time of their lives and they did. Another huge change was finally being able to walk away from my job with the City of Surrey and move back into strictly working in the skateboard industry by opening and running Authentic Board Supply. After almost 11 years changing the community through working for Surrey Parks and Rec it was time for me to move on and be happy again, and I am. I feel good every day when I wake up and I enjoy my life again. It’s awesome, and to me it is just the beginning of another amazing journey that I am about to focus on for the next era of my life.

One thing that has been tough for me this year is the lack of skateboarding I have had to do, mainly due to strange injuries. I try to ignore the pain and just go out and skate but it’s the aftermath that hurts so much. I have not skated for almost a month as of today and I hope it is allowing this injury to heal. That’s why every time I did skate I would make sure to give it my all and come back each day with fresh photos and video, and even some prizes from placing in contests again. I felt like this was one of my best skate years so far and maybe the lack of skating is what drove me to that success, so I’ll be thankful. But next year I have huge goals for my skating and you better be ready for what you’re gonna see. I’m going back to the old style and I have a lot of crazy plans.

So onward to the future of 2014 as life goes on and we keep getting older, but nothing can slow us down. My goals this year are simple – to prove myself successful in my business, to remind the world why so many people know me as a skateboarder by displaying the skills that still live inside me, to smile all day every day I’m alive, and most importantly to have plenty of awesome and fun experiences with my wife and child. I will be expanding my horizons and creating new events and relationships for us all to enjoy.

Life is about 3 things – learning, loving, and living. And at 35 years old, I can’t wait to see what’s new in 2014…

Contest Results Contests Extreme Sports Skateboarding

Spirit of the Season #3

Dec 28,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

It takes a lot to hold ol’ Hippie Santa back from showing up to Chuck Bailey for his annual Spirit of the Season Jam each year which usually falls on the Friday before Christmas, but last week Father Winter decided to bury the bowl with snow so the event was held off until December 27^th. Now after Christmas is always a tough time for Santa because he’s super warn out and tired from being overworked, but he came through for the kids, even with being half down with the flu.

Authentic Board Supply partnered with The City of Surrey to bring you year #3 of this awesome event which is supposed to remind people the meaning of the Christmas Season and how it is all about giving and sharing. So all the prizes that are donated by distributors and companies get gift wrapped before the event and are just given away throughout the night. If it doesn’t relate to the person that gets it, they can just give it away to someone that will appreciate it.

The usual Chuck Bailey crew was in full effect and everyone was shredding the bowl. Allen Handley was killing the deep end all night long with inverts, miller flips and crazy grabbing grind maneouvers, while Mathew McCauley, Weston Hutchinson and Cory Gibson were blasting all the big gaps. Fighter was all over the map landing tons of tricks and Calvin Dignard impressed Hippie Santa by learning some sick Madonna Tailblock transfers from deep to shallow. The young kids were having fun in the shallow end all night and everyone had a great time together which is truly what was important, but the show was all Andy Anderson. He got called out to frontside lipslide the whole capsule of the deep end and did it, he got called out to kickflip the biggest section from top to flat and stuck it 2^nd try, and the rest of the time he just did what Andy does best, DEMOOOOOOO!!

Everyone had a great time, it was super fun to see so many people together under the cover at Chuck Bailey again. Pretty much every person there received at least one gift and DJ Cuz-O kept us rocking all evening long. Thanks to all the sponsors, thanks to the City, thanks to the peeps that came out, thanks to Dennis Regan for filming, and Matt Roszmann for shooting pics, and thanks for the good Christmas Spirit.

Until next year…

(Keep an eye on our Facebook page for photos in the next few days)

Hippie Mike's Messed Up Mind

Christmas is Coming

Dec 21,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

It’s that time of year again when Christmas is right around the corner and the levels of stress and anxiousness can get higher than necessary. As a kid you always freak out around Christmas wondering what to expect from Santa or whoever else is bringing you gifts and what the best gift will be, then you become a teenager and just expect money from everyone you’re related to and all you do is plan out what you’re gonna spend it on even before you have it forgetting all about the Christmas spirit, and then adulthood takes over where all of a sudden you are the one expected to be spoiling all these other people every year. It always gets me disturbed when I get to this part of the year, at one point for a few years I straight up hated on Christmas and wouldn’t even say the word. But I still participated in gift giving with things I made for others.

In the mix-up of today’s society we live in a world where money is the ruler and everyone needs money to survive so Christmas is the key to success for many businesses. It’s not wrong to buy stuff for people but just don’t feel that you have to. Think of something special that you could create out of your own heart and buy the supplies instead. It means a lot to someone when they receive a gift from a friend or loved one that they can tell came from the heart. And think of the word “Share” when you talk about Christmas. Not just what you want but what you would like to do for others. Life is about positive experiences and sharing fun times with the people you love. So find all your friends and go out for a skate and just have a good time together. Invite random people over for dinner that you normally wouldn’t and show them how much they really mean to you. Whatever you do, and however you do it, love this season for what it’s really about – being with your friends and family, sharing good times and lots of laughs and exchanging gifts that show your love for one another.

Merry Christmas to all, have a safe and Happy Holiday!

Extreme Sports Skateboarding

Shred, Share, STOKED!!

Dec 16,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Last night was the 5^th year that Maple Ridge local Jesse Holland put on the Shred, Share, STOKED contest at the Greg Moore Youth Centre’s indoor skate park. It’s a youth event so the competitors are all 13-18 years old. This competition is a Christmas fundraiser for the local community charities and the kids enter the comp with either $5, 5 food items or 5 articles of clothing.

The Beginners were hardcore and lots of them ripped it up. Kids were kickflipping the 5 stair and launching huge of the ramps. Surrey local Damon Morgan dominated with style and confidence and took 1^st Place. The Intermediate category was gigantic and only 3 kids were taking prizes. It came down to Jonathan, John and Jayden M. These kids all shredded hard and fast with super sick tricks all over the park. Noah Eastwood and Weston Hutchinson definitely just missed the rankings on this com but all 5 of these guys really showed their skills, style and creativity. Jayden took it home 1^st place. Then we finally got to Advanced where the level of skating went way up. Protest and Authentic rider Andy Anderson got things started by blowing the minds of everyone in the building as he hit trick after trick on every obstacle. Flip tricks, tranny tricks, wallrides and ledges but the kicker was when he effortlessly anti-flipped the 3 block as good as it gets. He set the bar super high in the first heat, but next up was Chance and Authentic rider Dominic DeVries and he let Andy know that he wasn’t scared of him tossing a whole bunch of tough ledge and rail tricks, nollie in, flip in and so on. He also showed some of his transition skills. It was gonna tight between these 2 right from the start. Jacob Drescher reminded the crowd that he was there with some solid ledge and rail skating and his patented Double Flips down the set, and Calum Wood repped hard for his hometown with some super tech. He even impossibled off the big drop. It was tight between all Advanced but these guys were the ones to watch. The judging was based on “Best Run” and it ended like this – 1^st Dominic; 2^nd Andy; 3^rd Calum

Great contest and good fundraiser

Extreme Sports Skateboarding Video Reviews

Skater for Life

Dec 9,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

[youtube id=”NmLDcfUeaqg” width=”620″ height=”360″]

I just watched this new Nyjah Huston – Fade to Black part and I’m sitting here in awe. Even if you’re one of those people who doesn’t like Nyjah for whatever ignorant reason you may have, you would definitely have to respect this video part. It’s Ridiculous. Growing up through the different eras of skateboarding over the past quarter century+ I was there for the invention of the nose, boards getting skinnier and wheels becoming the size of your bearrings. And the decks and other hardgood parts kept changing and evolving, along with the tricks that we tried and created as a group getting more and more technical and dangerous. But when the shape of a skateboard stopped changing, the world of skateboarding actually changed more, and evolved into what we see today as standard professional insanity. The last time I think I saw a video part this mind blowing and revolutionary it was either Rodney Mullen in Virtual Reality or Jamie Thomas in Welcome to Hell. It’s not just the tricks that go down, it’s how they go down and the obstacles that they go down on. It’s the way these guys land these tricks you never thought were possible and make it look perfect, and it’s how they step up the level of skateboarding as a whole with only 4 1/2 minutes of footage. David Gonzales did it too recently with Possessed to Skate. These kids are stepping the game up to a level that is super scary to think about the next generation. Every trick that Nyjah did was not only flawless but each one of them would have been the final trick in the biggest video in 1996, even in 2006 for some of them. Nyjah is not just a skateboarder, he is a trained professional that puts his life on the line multiple times every year. And when you see him bounce off the ground when he sticks on that 20 stair glass railing you recognize the seriousness of every obstacle he rides in this part. It’s insanity…

Seeing skateboarding like this gets me pumped up big time because skateboards are no longer everchangingm, so super hard tricks have become the norm for all solid skaters and now they take them to the gnarliest obstacles you could imagine. I remember when the first ever switch back lip went down on a handrail, and now that’s just warm up. It just makes you realize that us older guys will never be able to compete with the generation of street skaters that now exist but we get to be proud of the fact that it was the life we lived and the tricks we did which helped this generation evolve into what it did. It’s an amazing life we live being a part of this society that we have built and I am super proud to be a part of this culture.

We rule our own lives, we make our own decisions of how hardcore to get, and we tackle fear by challenging ourselves every day.

We live our own way and don’t take shit from anybody.

Be Proud – Be a Skater for Life

Extreme Sports Skateboarding Video Reviews

Do you know Dominic Devries yet?

Dec 2,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

I still remember the first time I met him a few years ago when Dominic Devries showed up to one of my Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey comps at the Fleetwood Park and I was super amazed instantly. Not only could he stomp tricks anywhere in the park, but he did it with style and authority. He was only like 14 at the time and could frontside flip the big 3block as clean as Tom Penny or Andrew Reynolds would. I knew right from that moment that this kid was gonna good….

As the years went by Dominic kept coming out to my events and others that I was at and he was just around more and more. Lots of people got to know him at all the main parks, and luckily people started filming him all the time. I gave him the nickname of The Dominator when he was 16 because that’s what he did. He went for big tricks on big obstacles and landed everything, and in competition he would rule it hard and was almost impossible to beat. He reminded me of Magnus Hanson and the Decenzo brothers as I watched them grow through their teen years. They all just have this extra natural talent inside them that makes them that much better than the rest of the crowd. But being really good at skateboarding means taking some bad crashes and Dominic is no exception in the broken bones category. This kid has taken himself out many times but always come back just as strong as before if not stronger. Dominic’s one of the main team riders for Chance Skateboards and just got put on Authentic Board Supply’s elite Surrey team as the secret and final rider. He’s got some other flow sponsors to help keep him skating and tons of support from everyone who knows him from Abbotsford to Vancouver and everywhere in between.

I’ve seen a lot of footage of Dom over the past couple years and every new edit blows my mind, but this new edit he just dropped recapping the Summer of 2013 is by far the best footage he has released to date – and Pure Street at it’s best. It really shows off his talent, his style and his commitment to skateboarding. At 17 years old, this kid could be the next big Pro one day. Watch the video and show him your love…

Extreme Sports Hippie Mike's Messed Up Mind Skateboarding The Man I Am

True Loc’s of ND

Nov 24,2013 / By Hippie Mike / 1 Comment

I remember when North Delta Skate Park was first built in the early 2000’s, it was the new revolution of style that New Line was putting out at the time with that back and forth style where you just straight up practice your tricks instead of flowing so much throughout the whole park in lines. They had just built Port Moody before that and it had that sick bump to ledge/bump to rail that everyone was stoked on, but it was a big bump to a long small ledge and rail. So when they built ND they changed it up to have a higher ledge and rail that were shorter in length which made it easier to try more technical tricks. I swear this park revolutionized the street skating that we now live to believe is regular everyday life. When the Decenzo brothers, John Hanlon, Magnus and Lil’ Devin started hitting this park every day things changed fast and these young bucks started progressing to a crazy level of talent that hadn’t been seen from kids their age in a while.

Scotty Tyson was on that boat and a guy that most of you might not know was Craig Stewart. These two were all about trick in trick out shit and stepped the game up hard. When the park was fresh it was back when Substance Skate Shop was around in Newton, Surrey and I was the Team Manager. Coastal Riders had also just opened and both shop teams were stacked with raw young talent. We all hung out together and pumped each other up to skate harder and better. These were the sickest times for the Surrey and Delta collab, and we all localized ND Park every day.

There was a dude that was there what seemed like 24/7 named Orion Vincent and he just loved to film. Orion had a sick camera with a death lens and was not afraid to get in there with it. He filmed day and night and looked up to all us rippers big time, but it was Orion that was pushing all of us to push our own limits. One thing that makes a skater better at skating is having someone around that dedicates their life to filming them. It helps to learn how to work under pressure and you get to see yourself on video all the time which creates a better sense of style in skateboarders. Orion filmed hard every day and created a sick video that showcased the true raw talents of all the guys that were considered the true ND Loc’s at the time and he simply named it Loc’t.

This video was awesome, and there were so many people in it – myself Hippie Mike, Drew Boyle, Jay Mykyte, Surrey Stu, Scotty Tyson, John Hanlon, Magnus Hanson, Lil’ Devin, Craig Stewart, Adam Field, Dustin Montie, Scott Decenzo, Ryan Decenzo and tons more. The best part of the vid might be the day in the life with Ryan Decenzo when he just got his driver’s license and could barely see over the steering wheel, but he still goes out and annihilates everything in site. Orion pushed us all to be great skaters, but he also brought us all together as even closer friends.

This video showcases the serious old school talent of ND, Surrey & Langley locals and proves that it doesn’t matter where you live, what park you skate at or what shop you ride for, we can all get along together, support each other and unite as one – Skateboard for life!

Check it out

Lok’t

Lokt – Part 1 of 2

Lokt – Part 2 of 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neiuAWo9-aQ

Extreme Sports Hippie Mike's Messed Up Mind Skateboarding The Man I Am

Always Ever Changing

Nov 15,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

If I could take you on a journey through time and show you how many times my life has changed I would, and I kind of already do through the website, but it would take a long long time to express it all. There are many things about me that will always stay the same but in order to grow you must always be ever changing. If you won’t make changes you cannot accept certain opportunities and then you end up stuck in one place. But also, never be to quick to change without being sure it’s worth it. Take this photo for instance, for the past 4-5 years my garage/shop at home has been set up as a Cabinet Shop for a business that I used to run, but now I have decided not to do that business anymore and I’m about to clear it out and build another mini ramp. It took me a year and a half to commit to this decision, but now it’s time for a change…

I grew up in Ontario, and moved across the country at 19 with my girlfriend at the time, now wife, Carrie. It was probably the best change I ever made, for myself and for all the people here in BC that needed someone to help change their lives. I never would have guessed that it would have been me that would make such a positive difference in the world around us but sometimes strange things happen for a reason. I changed some things about myself when I decided to work for the City of Surrey back in 2003 and as I continued to work with children and youth more and more things about me changed. I became more caring towards individual people but still kept my hatred for the world as a whole. Because without that, I wouldn’t have the same initiative to help it change and benefit those individuals. After 10 years of working for the government, I changed a lot but I always kept my mind focused on the outcomes that I was looking for, and one thing that never changed was my determination to make those outcomes real – I will still fight any battle for as long as it takes to win it if I truly believe in it.

Working around kids really made me change as a person and I became so much more positive, I stopped caring about always winning and being the best at things, and I just finally got to utilize my teaching skills and have lots of opportunities to share all the knowledge I had gained through so many crazy life experiences. But nothing changed me more than having a kid of my own. When Carrie got pregnant in 2009 we were planning for it because we were ready for that change, and it was the best change ever. A child who loves you owns your heart, they are your soul and you will do anything for them. It changes the way you look at life, it makes you rethink risky and dangerous things a lot before doing them, and it gives you something to live for. Every minute I get to spend with Kaelen is worth the equivalent of a million dollars to me and even after everything I have been through in my life I couldn’t imagine not having him in it now. Every night I look at him sleep and know how lucky I am.

The world changes around us every day, but we get to choose which path to follow, which people to listen to, and what we want to do each day of our lives. Take advantage of that. Today I turn 35 years old, and I have changed a lot over those years but there are some things about me that will never change

I will always be a mentor, a teacher, a positive role model
I will always fight for what I believe is right and not give up
I will always be a shoulder to cry on for whoever needs one
I will always be a family man
and I will always be a skateboarder for life…

Thank You

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Author Archives: Hippie Mike

Lokt – Part 1 of 2

Lokt – Part 2 of 2