etnies

BMX Team Report 2-24-04

Mike Escamilla
is one of the busiest BMXers out there. As usual, he's been doing all kinds of stuff and definitely keeps life interesting for himself. Mike just got back from New Zealand, where he competed in their version of the X Games called X Air. He made the finals in Street, but didnt
hang around long enough to see his final placing. As a slap in the face to the other competitors, this event was the first time Mike has been back on his bike since breaking his tailbone in December. While in New Zealand, Mike and a couple of the guys on the Samurai team did a road trip around the island, as well as plenty of extra-curricular activities like bungee jumping, white water river rafting and riding in some kind of plane called a ғshot-over jet that flies super-low through mountains and canyons at top speeds. Our boys also did some street luging down through mountain roads with jumps and turns, kinda like a BMX track. Mike also got back into dirt jumping a little while ԓdown under. The trip will be featured in an upcoming issue of TransWorld BMX. Mike has been home since Friday and has been logging in footage of the trip. His third etnies signature shoe, the Rooftop 3, will be available this coming April.

Taj Mihelich
has been working in Austin. Actually, as if he doesnԒt work enough, Taj has taken on another project by starting up a website that gives anyone an avenue to get their zines out there to the masses. As Taj put it, "Theres so much talent out there, it needs to be seenҔ. Go check it out at Tajbmxmedia.com As time goes by, Taj is hoping to include more and more BMX-related books, magazines and just plain zines for your viewing pleasure. Its been raining a bunch in Austin lately (it actually snowed one night), so Taj has had a hard time riding outdoors, but he has been sessioning the Skatepark of Austin. He's so good there, he has to be seen to be believed. Taj had his mom and little brother in town for a week, so he was playing host while still trying to keep T1 running day-to-day. There was a T1 show a week or so ago at the Ritz featuring This 
Bike Is A Pipe Bomb. Taj has been playing some of his own music, as well, and he recently learned to play a David Bowie tune. Ask him to play it when you see him. TajҒs upcoming new etnies shoe is looking good, keep an eye out for it.

Ruben Alcantara
is home in Spain enjoying friends and family. He just wrapped-up shooting photos with Ride BMX's Jeff Zielinski in the Canary Islands for his upcoming interview, which is due out soon. Ruben has been doing plenty of riding in Malaga. In fact, etnies / Fly Bikes' own Sergio Layos was in town recently to shred with Ruben, who has also been getting some extra footage for the T1 video that will be coming out soon.

Joe Rich
and Sandy Carson
have been on the road for the last couple of weeks doing an etnies road trip from Texas to California, hitting some pretty heavy spots along the way. They rode some awesome places in Texas, as well as New Mexico, Arizona and California--culminating with a two-day session at the new Woodward
West up in the mountains above Tehachapi in a small place called Stallion Springs. Check out woodwardwest.com
. There will be clips from the trip in the upcoming T1 video, as well as the Federal Bikes video. There should be some coverage in an upcoming Dig BMX magazine, so keep an eye out for it. It should be a keeper.

Dave Freimuth
and company are done with the new Baco 10 video, and he has been shipping them out to stores and friends. Dave has been shredding the new and upgraded Area 51 Skatepark in Appleton, Wisconsin. He also went along for the ride on a C4 bike store / Animal Bikes road trip around the Milwaukee area to promote the new Animal video. Plenty of riding went down.

Brian Terada
is back behind the wheel of his Acura after having his license suspended for having a heavy-ass lead foot. He claims he has been pushing his luck a little too much again when driving and apparently hasnt learned his lesson. BrianҒs been riding a bunch now that he has been able to travel, and he has been getting video clips for the upcoming We The People video, as well as the soon-to-be Tip Distribution video, which he will be doing a road trip for soon. Brian has also
found some new pools up in the Valley to sesh. Besides all of the bike riding, Brian has been working a bunch at the bike store in Camarillo.

Edwin Delarosa
has been trying to keep away from the New York area as much as possible due to the crappy weather, so he's been on the road with friends, logging in footage for Fit Bikes and just for the hell of it. Edwin is currently heading home from a trip down to Florida with the crew from Animal Bikes, where they visited South Beach to take in the sights. They also went to Orlando and Maryland, as well as many other top secret spots that only those guys know of. Keep an eye out for the Edwin Delarosa interview in an upcoming Ride UK issue.

Nate Wessel
is at home in the Cleveland area working on some ramps at Chenga 2. Nate says its some of the best, most intricate stuff he's ever built. He has been riding a bunch at both Chengas 1 and 2. He also hung-out at a comp that Chenga 1 had this past weekend and road with the competitors (but didnҒt compete). Nate has been hanging with his mom and helping her
recover from an operation. He has also been snowboarding a bunch and got himself some nice, new Rims and thirty-seven-inch tires on his monster truck. Nate will be heading out to Woodward, Pennsylvania this coming week.

John Heaton
has been playing hockey waaaaay to much. He has also been getting over some minor injuries, as well as helping his sister choose a new car this past week. John went to go hit some golf balls at the driving range and also went to a Maple Leafs game with his mom for her birthday. The two of them were stoked because the Maple Leafs won 4-1. John celebrated by playing some more hockey.

Jason Enns
and friends finalized the building of the new top secret ramp facility in town that good friend Dave Osato threw down some cash for. The spot is affectionately named The Igloo due to the shape of the building. Everyone has been shredding there if its too wet outside. Jason has also been enjoying the domestic life now that he's a home owner.

N.E.R.D.’s New CD Fly Or Die, Best Of Bluetorch DVD

On March 5 and 6, etnies is proud to sponsor the very special opportunity for people everywhere to catch a sneak listen of N.E.R.D.'s highly-anticipated new Fly or Die album before its release and watch the first and second DVD compilations from the Best of Bluetorch DVD series at ten select skateparks across the U.S.!

With giveaways from etnies, TransWorld Skateboarding, Nerds® by WONKA®, Astrodeck, Mendo Mate, Chronic Industries, Virgin Records and The Lunch Program, the N.E.R.D. listening parties and Bluetorch DVD screenings promise to be a great time!

The cities and parks, as well as the times and dates for each of the record release and screening events are listed below:

Friday, March 5
Dallas 7:00 p.m. @ X Games Skatepark www.xgamesskatepark.com
Denver ֖ 6:00 p.m. @ X Games Skatepark
Atlanta 7:00 p.m. @ X Games Skatepark
Orlando ֖ 7:00 p.m. @ Mission Skatepark www.missionskatepark.com
(This event is the pre-party for the UGP Roots Am Jam to be held the next day.)

Saturday, March 6

Los Angeles 3:00 p.m. @ Skatelab www.skatelab.com
Philadelphia ֖ 3:00 p.m. @ X Games Skatepark www.xgamesskatepark.com
St. Louis 3:00 p.m. @ X Games Skatepark
Detroit ֖ 4:00 p.m. @ Landslide Skatepark www.landslidesk8.com
San Diego 6:00 p.m. @ CV Skatepark www.cvskatepark.com
Tampa ֖ 7:00 p.m. @ Skatepark of Tampa www.skateparkoftampa.com

N.E.R.D.'s new Fly or Die album will be available in stores March 23. The group will be on tour with the Black Eyed Peas in March and April. As producers, N.E.R.D.'s Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are The Neptunes, who are best known for their work with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Busta Rhymes and Ol' Dirty Bastard. N.E.R.D.'s last album gave us the hit songs LapdanceӔ and Rock StarӔ. The duo recently won a Grammy for Producer(s) of the Year (non-classical).

Five compilation DVDs will be released for the Best of Bluetorch DVD series collection. Each DVD features footage from the popular action sports television show on Fox Sports Net. The series will feature in-depth athlete profiles on top pros in skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, BMX and moto-x, including etnies skateboarding legend Mike Vallely and etnies moto rider Brian Deegan. Bonus features include exclusive segments from films like Road Fools, Seth--The Hard Way, Our Turn and intense crash segments. The first two DVDs in the series are available in stores or at www.bluetorchdvd.com

BMX In etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest--It's A Go!

In a decisive meeting, the Lake Forest, California City Council unanimously voted in favor of amending the city's current Parks and Recreation Skatepark Municipal Code to allow BMX riders into the recently opened etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest!

The proposed amendment, which was brought before the city council for consideration earlier this month, was passed with no objections and will go into effect in thirty days. The landmark Lake Forest decision is a major milestone for the BMX community and has set a historical precedent for other communities to follow.

Welcoming BMX into the etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest shows the City of Lake Forest's unwavering dedication to not only the youth within the Lake Forest community, but throughout the world, as well. etnies would like to commend the City of Lake Forest for their incredible support and countless contributions to the skatepark.

To celebrate, etnies is currently planning a Grand Opening BMX session at the skatepark scheduled for Sunday, March 14. The all-day barbeque will bring out some of BMX's finest, and will be a great way for BMX riders to finally "break-in" in the concrete monster they've been anxiously waiting to ride.

BMX Team Report 02-02-04

Mike Escamilla
really hasnt been up to too much this past week, other than getting ready to head out to New Zealand for their version of the X Games. He will also be down there to do a road trip after the comp with the likes of Dave Osato that will be featured in TransWorld BMX
in the near future. Mike has been finalizing details on his etnies Rooftop 3 shoe that is due out this coming April. His next big stunt is also in the works.

Taj Mihelich
has been doing the usual: working way too much at T1, riding the T1 ramp and getting some vert riding in here and there. Taj is also "trying" to shoot photos with T1 / etnies teammate Joe Rich for an upcoming etnies ad.

Ruben Alcantara
is at home in Malaga, Spain and has been riding with SpainҒs next BMX phenomenon, Sergio Layos. When Sergio went home, Ruben scoped out some fresh spots in preparation to shoot
photos with Ride BMXs
Jeff Zielinski, who flew out there on February 2. Seems RubenҒs getting an interview in Ride
coming up soon. He will be back in the U.S. in mid-February.

Joe Rich
has been working super hard on logging footage for the upcoming T1 video, as well as getting photos together for a book that kind of goes along with it. Joes been riding vert with Taj and the roaming Canadian, Paul Buchanan. Joe and the crew had an impromptu Super Bowl party on Sunday at GuteҒs vert ramp, BBQ and all.

Dave Freimuth
is currently down in Florida with his wife Pattie and good friend Chad Degroot. They will be heading down to South Beach this week for some "private time". Last Saturday,
Chad had a small contest at the skatepark he owns called Mission that Dave attended. Dave also hung out at Rob Nollis house for the Super Bowl on Sunday.

At the beginning of the week, John Heaton
was still in Wisconsin, where he attended the grand opening of Area 51 Skatepark. He also played plenty of hockey while there with all the guys. John drove home mid-week through some pretty crappy weather that consisted of some serious snow. Now home in Toronto, John has been somewhat healing from a slight injury he suffered in Appleton during the demo, but that hasnҒt stopped him playing more hockey.

As usual, Jason Enns
has been home working on the house and getting chores done. There has finally been a break in the rain to get some outdoor sessions going. Jason said it had been so long since he rode that it felt like he was doing few thousand sit-ups. He has also been working on the ramp that he and Dave Osato have been building with the help of etnies teammate Nate Wessel. Jason got impatient and took a few runs with only one layer on the ramp. It feels awesome! The ramp has been affectionately nick-named The Igloo for the igloo-shaped building it resides in.

Josh Stricker
has been stuck in Austin for a whole month. Hes not been complaining, though--but he will once he gets back to the snowy East Coast. Josh has been gone for a total of two months straight, so he will be glad to see his girlfriend. Once home, Josh is going to be working hard on getting his Happy Hour clothing company going.

Edwin Delarosa
has been enjoying some better weather--seems the snow has eased up allowing him to get out a little more. He had to go to Long Island to re-schedule a citizenship test (heҒs from Panama originally) that he previously missed. While there, he also rode at an indoor park that charges astronomical prices like "that crappy shoe brand's skatepark that rhymes with "Cans". Edwin wasnt too stoked. He's been playing laser tag instead.

Nate Wessel
has been home taking care of his mom, who had foot surgery a couple of weeks ago. He has been riding plenty lately after recovering from a severe swellbow. Nate has also been shooting for the upcoming Chenga video.

Sandy Carson
has been down in Austin enjoying plenty of riding and decent weather. He has also been writing, taking pictures constantly and keeping super-busy working on Dig BMX
.

BMX To Ride etnies Skatepark Of Lake Forest Soon!

In a pivotal Lake Forest City Council meeting last night, an exceptionally important amendment was proposed to the City Council to change Lake Forest's current Parks and
Recreation Skatepark Municipal Code to allow BMX riders into the recently opened etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest.

Proposed by Assistant City Manager Mark Pulone, the BMX amendment to the skatepark ordinance was well-received by Lake Forest Mayor Peter Herzog, as well as the entire City Council. Embracing the future admission of BMX to the skatepark, the City Council acknowledged the strong showing of etnies staff in attendance, which included Sole Technology COO Paul Migaki, etnies Teams and Promotions Manager Beau Brown, BMX Team Manager John Povah, as well as many others from the etnies camp. "etnies has been an incredible partner with this skatepark. Its great to see so many of you here," said Mayor Herzog.

It was then agreed that the proposed BMX amendment would be voted on by the Lake Forest City Council at the next City Council Meeting on February 17. Once approved, the amendment would go into effect thirty days after the vote.

etnies is currently planning a Grand Opening party for BMX at the park, and is excited by positive support of BMX from the city. "I'm happy that we've been able to work so closely with the City of Lake Forest. They have shown that they care about the needs of the residents of the community and of the Action Sports community, as well," said Beau Brown. "Finally, BMX riders have a world-class FREE facility to ride and a city that supports them!"

The amendment, which received strong positive support by the entire Lake Forest City Council, will have BMXers riding the etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest by mid-March 2004.