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MY 35TH BIRTHDAY

28 YEARS OF SKATEBOARDING!!!

Yeah, you read it right. The big three five. What's even more amazing is that, on this day, I've been skateboarding for 28 years!! 28 years of non-stop skateboarding!! I am just celebrating that and not the years alive deal...So, what do I decide to do to celebrate you ask, what else, go skate!! Since my birthday was on a monday this year, I decided to skate at the Y to dial in some tricks on sunday then, go shoot some photos to commemerate this day on monday....

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click here to play video

So, I go skate, have killer sessions all day saturday and sunday, not expecting what was going to happen on Monday. This trick is called the blo-gun. I made it up in '88 I think. I killed myself doing it on sunday. I tried it, then when I knew I could do it, I couldn't leave until I made it. This is the big trick I wanted to get photos of on my birthday...I had been thinking about it for weeks....I think doing it on the bird perch is one of the gnarliest things I've ever done. That thing is big!!! Not to mention there is nothing under it!!! I was totally stoked to pull it off....... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

So anyways, Monday (my actual birthday), comes and I drag Matt down to the Y to take some photos. We start off by shooting photos in the bowl to warm up. The first shot is a basic backside ollie crail into the deep end................

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The next shot was a basic frontside air into the pocket of the deep end. Everything was going right according to plan .................................

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Next, I figured since matt was in the sweet spot, I'd huck a frontside ollie into the deep end...like I've done so many times before...............

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That's where everything fell apart....the last thing I remember is cranking the ollie, seeing my feet solidly on it, (as you see in the photo), and thinking,"no problem".........

The next thing I remember was the paramedic guy asking if I knew what day it was and me saying,"no, no I don't...". .............................

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Apparently, I traveled too far into the deep end pocket and landed too low or something, resulting in a face smash on the flat. They said I was laying on the bottom of the bowl with my eyes rolled back in my head....then got up and climbed out of the bowl only to stagger incoherently around on the deck. They said I was so messed up that they had to call the paramedics.

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To make the rest of the story short, they called my roommate, Rod, to come get me but, he said that I insisted on driving myself home (I found a legal form from the paramedics releasing them from any liability to let me drive home),called some friends on the way home(and babbling to them with the same things over and over again), and sat at home all night watching a blank tv screen.....none of which I have any recollection about at all.....you may have read all this and said "damn, pretty gnarly" but, I have to tell you that I'ts really not that bad. I've been knocked out a lot of times and it's a lot better than breaking something or knocking your teeth out....see you at 36!

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