Go Buy Slick City

Seriously. Nick got this movie last week and I’ve probably watched it 7 or 8 times since then. It’s the most feel-good, fun times wake movie I’ve ever seen and it will undoubtedly go down as the best movie of the year. Highlights include:

• Jeff McKee’s beard/riding
• Everything James Balzer does
• The Bob Soven/Rusty Malinoski romance
• A really, really good closing section from Rusty (which I honestly didn’t think I’d ever say, but Nick and I were both super impressed with it)

So yeah, go get it. Greg Browning made it;  he’s the guy behind the Drive-Thru surf movies and TV shows, so that’s the kind of feel it has. Highly recommended.

In other news, we’ve got another video brewing, so expect that in the next week or so…

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Current Jams:

1. Slayer – “Reign in Blood”
2. Slayer – “Seasons in the Abyss”
3. Slayer – “South of Heaven”

Point / Counterpoint

In case you haven’t seen, we’re right smack dab in the middle of an internet debate at Alliance. Apparently, some people are of the opinion that winching on a wakeboard is lame and that nobody should do it. We obviously feel otherwise, so we found a civil way to let our opinion be known.

Alliance’s Broke Geery takes the position that wakeboarding at winch gaps is kind of dumb, while I defend it with the timeless “live and let live” argument. I was really tempted to use the phrase “Brooke, you ignorant slut,” like Dan Akroyd on SNL, but I don’t know Brooke that well and she seems nice, so I decided against it. Anyway, we both state our respective cases and then we throw it out to the world wide web and let the commenters decide, which has gotten pretty funny already.

The point is, go to this link and back me up. Tell the world how cool we are and that our winching video changed your life for the better.

Or don’t, see if I care. I never really liked you to begin with. To be honest, I never considered you a friend. Plus, I banged your girlfriend about a year ago. Who’s laughing now, huh?

Revisiting Randall

About a year ago when we were shooting No Name Losers, we had talked about going to winch this gap here in Wilmington, about a mile from UNCW. We talked about it and talked about it and never actually went out there, for one reason or another. Then, about three days before we were set to premiere the video, Nick rounded up a crew and went out there to get some last minute clips. He got a few good ones, sent them to me in Charlotte, and the rest is history. Aside from those clips for the movie, a lot of good photos came out of that day (courtesy of Jason Husdon, of course), and we decided that we needed to go back and spend some more time there.

Fast forward to this Spring: the good people at Ridiculous Winches send Nick his brand new Ben Horan Pro Model winch and we naturally decide to spend a few days shooting at Randall. Much like anything we’ve ever done as a collective group, it took way longer than expected and those three or so days happened over the course of three or so months, but the point of the story is that we finally have something to show for it.

So anyway, this is a collection of the footage we got at Randall over those few sessions. If you look real close in a few shots, you can catch a glimpse of the brand spanking new Slingshot boots for 2011 which are kind of like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster: often discussed, but rarely seen. Trust us, they’re totally R.A.D.

And I’d also like to point out that we’ve gotten two videos up in just about a week. I don’t want to speak too soon, but I’m pretty sure we’re hitting our stride for the summer.

Featured Rider – Adam Fields

Oh, hey there…remember us? It’s been too long, how the hell have you been?? You look fantastic! Have you lost weight? Promise me we’ll never go so long without speaking ever again!

To make up for our absence, we’ve got some new jams to drop today. It’s been said many times that Adam Fields is the nicest guy in wakeboarding, and I’ll literally fight anyone who says otherwise. He’s been quietly killing it for years and he’s never gotten quite what I would consider enough attention for a rider of his caliber. In fact, he just returned from Brostock 2010 with an oversized check and a second place finish after taking out everyone but Danny Harf in the double up contest (and to be honest, if you’re second only to Danny Harf, you might as well just get over it because that dude’s a freak).

A few weeks ago, Adam came down to the Port City for some riding on the Cape Fear River. Nick and the rest of the boys went out to shoot and Adam proceeded to straight up put on a clinic. I haven’t seen him freeriding in a while, and when I saw the footage, I was pretty much blown away. Those guys must have had to constantly watch their toes because Adam was dropping hammers left and right. He dropped more hammers than a carpenter with butterfingers. Plus, he does this switch stalefish grab that’s so big, even Keith Lyman would say “Wow, that’s a big stalefish.” Also, be sure to notice the Adam Fields Signature Trunks, courtesy of Dunkelvolk. They’re bad ass; go buy a pair or three.

Anyways, enjoy the video. God willing, there’s going to be more new stuff more often, but I’m not making any promises because every time I say that and don’t deliver, I can tell it breaks your heart. Just bear with me and we’re going to be okay.

PS – The band in this video is Sleigh Bells and they’re awesome, so check them out. I’m making it my life mission to meet, charm, and marry the singer (not necessarily in that order). I’ll keep you guys posted on how that goes.