How Did I Get Here (16 page)

May 12–16, 2010

Woodward Skate Camp Opening, Beijing, China

The flight from SFO to Beijing had so many skaters on board it looked like a chartered jet. Who would summon such a crew across the world? Woodward Skate Camp and their first international installation: Woodward Beijing.

We landed 12 hours later and shuttled straight to the new facility, which is amazing: a full-size street course, three separate bowls connected by spines and wall rides, a foampit for launching, two mini-Megaramps, and two vert ramps. Jet lag was quickly forgotten. Curren Caples chose one of the biggest gaps in the place as his warmup while Riley, David Loy, and Aaron “Jaws” Homoki worked on their Megaramp tricks into the foam pit. After a couple hours of skating and delirious sweating, we went inside for a traditional Chinese buffet with dish names like “meat with pineapple” and “exploding goat.”

Not long after, my two-year-old daughter passed out from exhaustion. The rest of us weren’t far behind.

Day Two started at 3:30 A.M. with a tiny girl’s voice calling, “Dada, Yo Gabba Gabba please.” No use trying to explain the concept of jet lag to a two-year-old. After a short morning skate session, we took tours of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, then headed to the Quiksilver store in Sanlitun. Quiksilver is doing a great job of importing the boardsports culture to China in a way that doesn’t look too Western or far out. Still, people had no idea what to make of a grown American man skateboarding around the streets, especially when he puts his blond daughter on the front for rides along the walkways. They were also tripping on Kevin Staab’s purple hair.

On Day Three, we visited the Great Wall, where vendors did everything they could to block our path in hopes of selling us T-shirts, chess sets, stamps, books, noodles, dried fruit, and cliché hats. The best sales tactic was to put a small Chinese flag in the hand of my daughter, who refused to let it go, giving me no choice but to pay for it. It wasn’t until we were riding a chairlift to the top that we got a sense of how massive the Great Wall really is.

On the day of the grand opening, everything was scheduled down to five-minute intervals. The Chinese government (including a “Chairman of Extreme Sports”) doesn’t mess around when it comes to their time. It was a long day, with demos, speeches, cheerleaders, and a lunch featuring such delicacies as “fried sausage” and “chicken string.” Many of us fell asleep by 7:00 P.M., only to be awakened an hour later by fireworks right next to the hotel. My daughter liked all of the colors but none of the noise. Now she wants me to go buy “more fire.”

Tweets, 2009–2010

Dear Santa: I would once again like to have rock/punk/hip hop songs stuck in my head instead of Elmo melodies. Sincerely, Tony.

I just hid a skateboard between two trash cans at Abbey Road Studios. Go now.

Abbey Road has been found, so please stop lurking around there like a 5th Beatle.

Dear Kia: Including Muno & Sock Monkey in a commercial has added a very young female to your demographic. Expect her purchase in 16 years.

My daughter Kady.

Anyone out there connected with the A-Team movie? Looking for a PR or promo connection…

The power of Twitter, exemplified: I hadn’t secured a car for Gumball Rally as of today. A friend: “What about the A-Team van?” (cont’d).

“The movie is out soon. They might let you use it for promotion,” I tweet; @iambenlyons responds with contact info at Fox.