12ozProphet

The best camera is the one you always have in your pocket. Philly, 2008.

“Madrid Flys. Those werent jogging pants they were the Miami Vice slacks that they wore, cuffed. Remember that airwalk shirt, with the bleeding heart in the back? Rails match my pants, I think it was intentional.” My old friend Frank from Chicago, Christmas 1989. Classic.

Really psyched on this color mag documentary that followed Kenny Anderson, Silas, McCrank, Cairo and friends as they rode and skated across New Zealand. I’m loving the mood of it and its making me think we need to get the band back together for another trip like this.

When this photo came out around 1994 I was 17 years old. I think I idolized Guy more than anyone at that time. And those black Nike GTS’s are just too sick. Steezy switch pop-shuv from a nice, clean and classic slice of 90’s street skating. Photo via Chrome Ball.

Some snap-shots of mine from the last DQM shoot up in Albany. Again, Todd Jordan shot the lookbook and caught the right mood on a brisk day at the legendary Albany bowl. Its not everyday you get a chance to get out of the city, hang out in the woods, drink beer and clean out a pool. Curtis even managed to make back disaster in the clutch just before the sun went down.

Inspired by Claude Lelouch’s high-speed short from the last post and the marvelous sounds of that old Ferrari on the audio, I scanned some pages from an amazing old book of my Dad’s. Unfortunately associated with hair-gelled douche-bags on inflated salaries with small dicks today, the company Enzo Ferrari formed in 1929 was strictly a race car manufacturer, with no plans to make road cars. The singular goal was to make the quickest and most nimble cars designed to win races. Only years later, in 1947, did they begin to make street legal cars, often using the now legendary Pinninfarina studio to design their bodies. The history of Ferrari is so unbelievably rich from a racing point of view. They are the oldest team in Formula 1, joining the World Championship the same year it was established in 1950, and also the most successful team. Ferrari holds 15 World Driver Championships, 16 World Constructor Championships, 209 Grand Prix wins and 622 podium, or top 3, finishes. Some of the best drivers in the world won with Ferrari, with Niki Lauda, Nigel Mansell and Mario Andretti being among them. Yes, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo and Maserati are all legendary Italian automotive brands who have all produced some beautiful and fast cars, but none of them have the racing pedigree that Ferrari does, and that will always set “the prancing horse” apart from the rest. Although most of us will never own, much less get to drive a Ferrari, if I had to pick one, it would have to be the 1962 250 GT Berlinetta. And yes, in rossa corsa, please.

On an August morning in 1976, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted his camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB* and drove at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris. No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit.

*Here’s Ferrari 275 GTB that was allegedly driven for the footage (the director later explained that it was Mercedes 450 SEL, with Ferrari engine and braking noises dubbed over). Either way, the feeling of carving lines through the streets is perfectly conveyed in this classic, 8 min gear-mashing-sprint through the beautiful streets of Paris. And in the end, you see what all the rush is about.

Some random out and about snapshots from last months lazy LA trip. This was our soundtrack. Thanks again to Tepper and Pepper.

Here’s some recent neon lettering I did for my friends at 5Boro. Originally, we we had planned on actually getting some real neon made and shooting it, analog style. Unfortunately, getting the real neon made for us turned out to be a little pricey for what we were trying to do. But, where there’s a will there’s a way and with some sketching, a little Illustrator and airbrushing in Photoshop, we made it happen.