Jason Jessee, most of you may not know him, but in the skateboarding world, Jason is an established icon. To those who catch where I'm coming from his designs from way back Santa Cruz days were one of the most sought after. So what's that got to do with this entry? Two things:
1. I skated for about 10 years before hanging the board up when I got a full time job. Every punk in the neighborhood thought I was a dork pushing on tiny wheels all alone when everyone else was into BMX and sh&t. Those "everybody" eventually found themselves exchanging two wheels for four and also began pushing around the hood on tiny wheels. My friend and I would go out in the middle of the night and strip off all the billboards we could find and build out ramps. I built 3 6-foot quarter pipes. 2 served its purpose well and 1 suddenly went missing from its original spot, only to be found out later that the same "everybody" stole it and dragged it in front of their home so they could skate on it. I moved on to another city and joined a more forceful group that ripped sicker than we used to.
2. Jessee is a chopper builder and enthusiast, making a name for himself unknowingly in foreign places like Japan. His "Pray for Me" video chronicles his roots and direction, and how he affected much of the skateboarding world, not to mention a small crowd of speed freaks that have also created a new breed of choppers all on their own, the notorious NFK. They have their own spot in the video somewhere past the middle. But man, this is just an inkling of who they really are. They are the new heroes of the chopper world.
This is a sweet addition to the growing library in my personal stash. Too bad I ditched eating buttered popcorn. Woof!
