90% of our motivation to do work around here is so that we can throw a party when we’re done. After three long years of working on Vol. 3, we felt like we deserved not one, but two parties. First, we drank a bunch of beers with the usual Blue Park crowd in a bar in Manhattan, then we packed our bags and headed to Los Angeles, where pro skaters’ dreams go to die.

We invited all of the Instagram explore page to join us at the Franchise Gallery in Chinatown and called up some friends at Cons, Pabst and Solento Tequila to help donate drinks and support the party.

The skate event used to be an art form but nowadays it’s been simplified to a formula: beer, a round of tequila shots, some house music, a film camera, and some shitty captions, so here you go.

This is it! This is the money shot which will hopefully make you click this link and head over to our shop to drop 50 of your hard earned dollars on this book, the culmination of three years of our hard work. Was it a waste of time, money, and effort? Probably, and I’m sure you’ll let us know in the comments and then look the other way when you see us at Blue Park.

When we released Volume 1, it looked like we’d have been smarter to release it on the Kindle and now in 2023 it would be a much smarter financial decision to turn all 250+ pages into a tiktok dance. We know that print is dead but some people still like dead things, like Kurt Cobain and IPath. So thanks for sticking with us all these years.

It’s true what they say about LA. People are definitely nicer here, but don’t be surprised if they ditch you to go to some party in the hills and their phone battery “magically dies.” Not speaking from experience or anything. Oh, and yes, they will genuinely blame shit on the moon.

Stephen Vanasco (FKA Van Styles) came by to say what’s up and check out his feature in the book. Nowadays, he’s known for his photography, but back in the 2000s he was working in the adult industry, and we did a story on his debut project SKATETRIXXX (NSFW). It’s as silly as it sounds—a skate-themed porno filmed in an old skate park in Southern California—but it’s a piece of skate folklore that’s worth learning about. You know… for history’s sake.

Shout out to Ari, AKA Smile Goth, for filling in on DJ duty last minute and bringing some good tunes and energy to the latter half of the party. By the time she was spinning, a majority of the tequila we got from Solento was gone and some randoms were passing around vodka they brought from home, which was a nice insight into just how friendly and generous LA folk can be.

Imagine John Shanahan punches you in the face with his DC ring on and you wake up the next day with the logo imprinted in your forehead. Be honest, that would be tight as fuck.

Here’s Alex Papke (left) with Andrew James Peters (right), two of the most beloved photogs around. They collab’d on a feature for the book (along with Norma Ibarra) where they shot portraits of pros with their kids doing regular-ass parent stuff. We thought it’d be a nice switch up from seeing another steezy back tail from P-Rod or another dick pic of Johnny Layton (yes, they are both featured).

Y2k trends are fully back, including Myspace angles.

We brought Tanner Napper out to the party and he decided it would be a good idea to hit the People’s Elbow (on fire) from the top turnbuckle onto this poor plastic table. Totally worth it.

Would it really be a party recap if there wasn’t a photo of some skate nerds holy grail vintage skate product perfectly preserved until this one night? Sadly the D3 has become low hanging fruit, I want to see some more out there skate merch at the next party. Who’s going to walk around with a first edition of the Big Brother cereal box, a lock of Nyjah’s hair, or Tony Hawk’s first skateboard stolen from the Smithsonian?

If you are in college and like free money, it’s in your best interest to know Pat and Keegan (middle and left) who are part of the team over at CSEF. To their right is photographer Linnea Bullion in the most put together fit of the night.

Funny side note: Linnea shot some pics for the book featuring Ian and a giant fish. We’ll let you put your imagination to work for that one.

If you don’t know Aaron Wiggs (left), he’s done a lot for the NY skate scene in recent years. He works at Supreme in Brooklyn, but he’s also a community organizer who put together a group of skaters, fashion people, and artists that raised funds for various BLM-related causes back in 2020.

That plinth behind videographer Ryan Lee was stacked full of books at one point, before the partygoers got their hands on ’em. We’re surprised nobody took the entire plinth, since it costs way more than the books do. We’re even more surprised anyone working here knows the word ‘plinth’!

Clive Dixon has definitely done some death-defying handrail tricks over his career, but unlike his former teammate he hasn’t done any of them naked. Bill Weiss, on the other hand, has done numerous naked 540s on sketchy ramps. You can read all about Bill almost losing his sack on rusty nails in the new book.

Speaking of Bill, he showed up fully clothed. Not knocking his fit, but it would’ve been sick if he came in balls swinging.

We made some contraceptives but understand if a girl sees you whip a condom out of your wallet with a skate company’s logo, she’d be totally justified in walking out and blocking your ass.

Lil’ B was blessing the crowd with Sk8mafia daps. You won’t see shit like this at a Barnes & Noble book signing, that’s for sure!

Ian finally got to meet the angel and devil on his shoulders IRL.

Marco has done a few features with us including Neighborhoods and Happy Endings but he’s working on a new one: Tips and tricks on how to be a short king.

In an upcoming episode of Shop Talk, we asked people what the most iconic brand to come out of LA is. A few people said Baker, and we honestly have to agree. They crossed that dreaded 20-year threshold and have never faded from relevance in their entire existence. A lot of it is thanks to people like the ones you see here (Pedro Delfino, Taylor Kirby, Zach Allen) who have helped inject new energy and blood into the brand(s) over the years. Hell yeah dudes!

The end of the night felt like a boulder being lifted off our shoulders. We survived through three years of making the book, two parties on opposite coasts, and a lot of anxiety. We’ll stop sucking ourselves shortly, but let us have this one for a minute.

Scott Mackey, Trevor Thompson of Plush Skateshop and Ryan Townley with a good homie. Scott Mackey (left) treated us and some shop owners to a nice meal ahead of the party, which was much appreciated. Science says eating burgers before drinking always makes you 5-10% less hungover.

Here’s one last obligatory shot of the cover, as if you haven’t seen it enough by now. One more round of applause to Larry for being a good sport about getting absolutely rocked by numerous gross substances for the sake of “art.” And of course, a special shoutout to photographer Adam Powell, who made sure to capture the moment in all its glory.

Until next time, LA. Many thanks for coming out, as always.

Words by: Jenkem Staff
Photos by: Andrew James Peters & Morgnar
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