He’s a whore.

BigBlackHesABack.jpg~original

And by ‘he’ I mean ‘me’.

The saying goes give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.

Give a man a Poler Hangover Sack, and he’ll literally never leave his house again.

So as a brief backstory, just a couple of month’s after Poler’s inital launch I was in Portland at Captain Dave’s house. Naturally, we were hungover, and naturally, it was raining. As I flipped through whatever magazines or pieces of paper were within my reach, I came across the company’s catalog that they’d handed out that year at Interbike. As I laid there, swaddled in my own regret I saw this sleeping bag/jacket thing they were making, and more than anything, I wanted one.

In fact- I’d go so far as to say I needed one. Like, if someone had magically appeared and said if I punched a sweet baby in the face I’d get one, I woulda punched that sweet baby’s face before the last word left their mouth.

Eventually I ended up with a prototype, or a pre-production version or something, and after Brian Vernor shot this photo of him in his;
vernohangoversack
I paid tribute with me in mine;
tributetovernothangoversack
After some time, many cozy nights, and at least one sexy wrestling match, some interior seams began to burst, so recently I sent Poler an email once again thanking them for this slice of inspiration, and asked if they might have one without blown out seams. I said I’d even take a warranty one as long as it didn’t have bedbugs.

Well, I’ll be dogged if those good folks didn’t eventually get back with me and say that they had one that they could send me, which arrived on Tuesday, inspiring a tribute to my tribute to Brian;
hangoversack2016
As I said on the Instagrams shortly after its arrival, just when I thought things couldn’t get any more shut-in-ish, Poler goes and hooks me up with this. I continued by noting that if anybody needs me, I’ll be busy never leaving the house again.

And speaking of hangovers, Singletracks just posted a video of a couple folks on a trail by that very name;

I’ve ridden in Sedona and it is indeed an indescribably glorious place. As a matter of fact, the last time I was there, Steve Garro was my guide, so you know we had a good time.

Alas, perhaps in my younger days I’d attempt that variation of hangover, but these days, and with previous bodily injury still in plain view in my rear view mirror, I’d opt for the more traditional kind.

Now then- having nothing to do with adventure, and/or risking life and limb, but the Great AHTBM Model Building Nerd Off is currently reaching a fevor pitch;
MBC
I’ve gotten notifications from people far and wide that they are going to partake in this competition, and not only that, but a good number of whom are former model building champions of some shade or another. I’ve brought my a-game to the table to be sure, but upon seeing just what is possible;

A photo posted by Takuji (@takupon0816) on


I’ve realized my a-game falls in just around y or z.

Just the same, my mediocrity isn’t going to stop me from at least trying, and I recommend the same for anyone with a penchant for stiff necks, strained eyes, and paint fumes.

In closing, I got an email from Brian who I guess I initially met when we worked on the NORBA mountain bike circuit together. He’s now living out in Colorado Springs filling all duties at SRAM Corp. Anyway, he sent me an email about a buddy of his and it resonated with me, so let your eyeballs roll over his words and after that, do what comes naturally;

Heyo,
(Or is it Hey Yo?)
Back in the 1985 when I was 13, or thereabouts I would sit on the school bus next to this kid named Tim. He would go on and on about how he was going to open a skateboard shop. He was also 13, or thereabouts. When he told me this, I smiled and said out loud, “That’s cool.” My inner voice said “You’re smoking whatever those cool seniors smoke out back by the dumpster. There’s no way in hell you’re opening a skateboard shop.” Because I knew everything since I was 13, or thereabouts.

We became pals. He skateboarded. I owned one. We would talk about skateboarding and Animal Chin and stuff. I would show up with my parents giant shoulder mounted camcorder and film him.

A year later at the age of 14, the fucker opens his very own skate and snowboard shop.

He would drill holes in expensive snowboards and use wood screws to mount bindings ( this was all pre-threadsert era) and sold the shit out of them.

When I had my landscaping business in high school, he hired me to mow the grass behind the store. That has nothing to do with the story.

I haven’t seen him since high school but I’m on The Facebook with Tim and watched about 4 years ago as he shut down the store after 26 years in business succumbing to the throes of the Godforsaken Thomas Edison invention known as the world of internet retail. (Or was it the dude who flew the kite in the thunderstorm who invented that?)

Tim’s store, Ohio Surf & Skate, was a landmark of skate culture in northeastern Ohio.

Nowadays Tim pays the bills working in a factory making tractor parts. Not awesome.

He and I reconnected when I was back home for Xmas and he’s printed up some shirts to commemorate the store.
Right now he has shirts available in small, medium, and X-large. He’s considering printing another run.
Price is $24 including shipping in the US.
FullSizeRender
If you can spread the word out into the blogosphere to those from the upper Midwest who my remember his store or who may want to throw a brother a bone, or both, I’m sure he’d appreciate it.

Tim has been getting a huge kick out of reconnecting with the skate community.
Reach out to Tim at mitby975(at)gmail(dot)com and buy one. Or four.

Thanks Bromie!
Butler

I don’t know Tim, and I’ve never been to Ohio, but I’m familiar with the shop, though was unaware that it had to shut down. With this bit of news, and the reasoning behind it in the forefront of my brain, I feel compelled to once again roll out this directive;
support copy
I mean, does Amazon (or whatever other faceless online retailer) provide indoor demos in the dead of winter featuring Ben Raybourn?

(Who in my opinion shoulda won 2015’s Skater Of The Year Award… I voted for him, anyway.)

No. No, they most certainly do not.

That said, I feel compelled to buy a shirt on general principal.

And here’s a fun fact- I once read an article declaring that Cheap Trick was the first band to ever have black concert t-shirts, though I can’t find it. It’s out there somewhere though, I’m sure of it, and there you have a graceful reference to the post’s title.

To conclude, Tim’s shirts are real attractive, and a good looking black shirt is always a must-have accessory when you’re born with a face that could stop a clock.
newlittleskull

Spread this like it's sick

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4 Responses to “He’s a whore.”

  1. Largo January 8, 2016 at 7:26 am #

    To paraphrase Newton, a blogger at rest will remain at rest……..

  2. Booger Davis January 8, 2016 at 7:47 am #

    “And here’s a fun fact- I once read an article declaring that Cheap Trick was the first band to ever have black concert t-shirts, though I can’t find it. It’s out there somewhere though, I’m sure of it, and there you have a graceful reference to the post’s title.”

    Not sure I buy that – Aerosmith was hawking the black “Get your wings” shirt back in 74, and the first Cheap Trick album wasn’t out until 77.

    See, taking that geritol really pays off when it comes to remembering things.

    • Stevil January 8, 2016 at 9:11 am #

      Though your version is more credible, I like my version better.

  3. MoThra January 8, 2016 at 9:15 am #

    Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
    The two photo’s I’d like to see re-posted are the guy holding a sign that said, “get a clue morans” and Danzig buying kitty litter.
    Also, saying R.I.P. to Lemmy makes no sense.