Hi. I'm Hippie Mike!

Hippie Mike is a man of many talents, many skills and many creations. A master of construction, Mike loves to build and create unique and custom projects, but he also takes the same mind frame to everything else he does.

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

Hey Japan Man

How To Move To A New Country Easily

Dec 13,2013 / By Ryan Brynelson / No Comment

So your fairly young maybe you feel like your missing out on something and you want to experience something new. Maybe you have thought about travelling but never really got to the planning stages or were financially able to do so. If this is where you are, you’re probably going to want to keep reading this. I have been in Japan now for almost 3 months and am having a great time living here. If you are between the ages of 18 and 30 you qualify for a working holiday visa. What is that you might ask? A working holiday visa is a visa that lets you live in and work in a variety of countries for usually about one year (2 years sometimes depending on the country). Of course you will need a Passport too. Canada is fortunately one of the countries that is a part of the Working Holiday Program and depending on the country you wish to go to, you will be able to stay for up to a year and have the experience of a life time. Once your done your time in one country, you can apply for another working holiday in another country and see the world.

Qualifications vary by country, but generally you only need about $3000 in your bank account (the government doesn’t touch it, they just need proof you can support yourself until you find a job), medical insurance and a round-trip plane ticket.

To check which countries are involved, please check following link, then simply go to the website of the embassy of the country you wish to go to for more information. I can’t tell you how life changing my time in a different country has been. This experience is something that I’m sure will influence my future greatly in the years to come.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_holiday_visa

Extreme Sports Skateboarding

You Spin me Right Round Baby Right Round

Dec 13,2013 / By Protest Skateboards / No Comment

Last night marked the beginning of Authentic Board Supply’s Grand Opening Sale. They opened their doors to the public on November 2^nd and have continuously been adding more and more to the shop since then. Now it is official, it’s open!

If you haven’t had a chance to hit up this Surrey Skate Shop yet it should be on your list of to do’s, even if it’s just to stand in front of their massive Board Wall for a few moments. Hippie Mike has worked very hard to make this place special and we are stoked about the response he has been receiving. Last night he had DJ Cuz-O show up and lay down some tracks from 6-9pm to keep the vibe sweet and mellow in the shop and the sale began. Tons of people showed up right at 6 and it was chaotic in there but the solid staff managed to keep it running smooth and ensure that everyone was treated equally. This is already the 2^nd unique event that has gone down inside Authentic, there was already a video premiere and game of skate a couple weeks ago and we’re sure there will be many more to come. If you haven’t done so already tune in to www.authenticboardsupply.com and start following so you don’t miss out on stuff like this.

The Grand Opening Sale continues all weekend long, guest vendors will be on site at times, and each day will be full of fun surprises until they close on Sunday, come on down and check it out.

Unit #1 – 10604 King George Blvd

Surrey

604-589-5880

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 Hey Japan Man Skateboarding

Super Mario

Dec 5,2013 / By Ryan Brynelson / No Comment

Alright! I keep meeting more and more freestylers here. A couple of weeks ago Mario Steinemann and his friend came to Japan to hang out. Mario is an insane truck trick skater riding his board in ways you didn’t think were possible. We’re talking going from Railstand (Primo), late flip to truckstand madness! It was good to catch up with him in Japan since I haven’t seen him since the 2010 world-championships.

He’s such an amazing skater and still lands everything he tries. He’s an incredibly hilarious guy (so funny I can’t post even a hint of his humour on this website), always up for partying and having a good time. With all the diverse characters in the freestyle community he is definitely the comedian and the guy to ease the tension in any heated situation.

Good to see you Mario and were glad you had a great time in Japan.

Now who will I run into tomorrow? 😉

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 Skateboarding

Hippie Mike sponsored by Surrey Shirts

Nov 30,2013 / By Protest Skateboards / No Comment

Another company adds Hippie Mike to their list of people they sponsor to represent and promote their brand, and this one is another one of those companies that is local and chose to make Mike the 1^st person on their team. Mike as we all know is a positive image in the skateboard community and in the City of Surrey, working with Parks and Rec for over a decade, creating tons of awesome events and bonding the skate community to the Surrey Food Bank and other organizations. He has helped to bring many people together in many different ways and is always willing to go the extra mile to assist others in positive growth. Surrey Shirts is a local growing company and with Mike’s love and pride for living in Surrey, he was a perfect fit to represent their product. Some designs are fun and others are out to prove a point but they all relate back to one thing – Surrey…

As of December 1^st, Mike’s skate shop Authentic Board Supply will be the exclusive dealer in Surrey carrying the Surrey Shirts brand.

Go check it out or peep www.surreyshirts.com to see what they have to offer

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

Extreme Sports Hey Japan Man Skateboarding

Police and Skating in Japan

Nov 14,2013 / By Ryan Brynelson / No Comment

Well, I guess some things don’t really change even when you go half way around the world. It’s only been a little bit over a month in Japan and so far I have been pulled over by the cops twice for simply riding my skateboard to school. The crazy thing about it though, is in Japan you are legally allowed to ride a skateboard on the sidewalk and on the road, however with bicycles it’s illegal to ride them on the sidewalk and you have to ride your bike on the side of the road. The funny thing is, I see more than half of the bicyclists break that law and the police don’t say a thing. I can’t tell you the number of times I have been hit by bikes on the sidewalk. At least if you have an accident with a skateboard where you accidentally hit someone it’s just flesh hitting flesh with maybe the little wooden board bumping a leg, and the odds are you are going significantly slower than someone on a bike. Have the same situation where someone runs into you on a bike, they are likely going much faster and are going to charge at you with giant chunk of metal. I’m not here to point fingers at people on bikes, but it’s crazy how much some of the cops don’t take the time to stop and think “Oh wait, which one is REALLY more dangerous?”

With the police here it’s kind of weird, however on the other-hand I’m happy to report that a lot of the regular people here are fairly welcoming to skateboarders as long as you practice tricks at your local skatepark which kind of makes sense if your living in a city whose population dwarfs that of Canada. Other than the police though, cruising seems fine for the most part. Skateboarding isn’t as popular in Japan as it is in North America, but there is a good scene here, it’s just a little bit hidden away from the general public eye and only done in major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, etc. Thanks to the popularization of Penny Boards in Japan though, skateboarding’s popularity has gone on quite the uprise in the past 2 years with parks and skateboard classes increasing more and more.

Skateboarding in a different country is very interesting. Sometimes there are a few negative things, however I just try to keep in mind that it’s something fairly new here and there are still people not quite used to it here, but it’s getting better and I look forward to seeing how the scene in Japan will develop into the future.

-Ryan Brynelson

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