DAY 1 2ER BUILDERS JAM . . . Hannover, Germany

On arrival I dont think anyone really knew what we were getting ourselves in for the following week back in early June in Hannover, Germany. The basic idea was that the 2 er (tsvi-er) - 'the two stair' Crew had the idea to invite D.I.Y (Do It Yourself) Skate crews from all corners of Europe to come to their spot and each team would be given 3 days to build something. In the end in true German form the event was organised to the point of a pin, free unlimited bum beer for builders throughout the week, 3 hot meals a day cooked by our own punk rock activist chef 'Doc' who has cooked at protests for upto 10,000 people with his portable wagon type soup kitchen. More materials that you could poke a stick at and two trucks of cement arriving on the Monday and Tuesday. Originally we all thought that we would spend wed-thurs street skating while the concrete was drying, but once one thing was built you would hip and hop from crew to crew pimping out your hands for labour and laughs and we ended up building until the Saturday when the big skate jam would take place... The 2er guys even hired a big tent to set up for people to sleep in, were temperatures dropped to freezing point the first few nights before electric heaters were added. The Fox Spot guys from London who I was luckily enough to get to work with drunkenly decided to make a skate track with 3 pump bumps dissecting the middle of the tent with one of the oversized bumps claiming more casualties then a raging bull. On top of all of this, of course the weather turned for the worst and makeshift tents had to be erected over all working areas and anything used for wet weather gear from garbage bags to umbrellas fixed to ones back. On more then a few occasions we were there until the sun was rising the following morning on our hands and knees in puddles of water, coughing up concrete residue and putting the final finishing swipes on our masterpiece. At each and every break people would huddle around any naked flame and try warm their hands and dry their feet, usually with no success . . . so Max decided to construct a tee-pee above the fire drum to dry the wet clothes and boost the souls . . . The place looked like a war zone with fires burning from trolleys & bins, numerous scroungy dogs roaming, gracing us with their husky barks and yelps, water puddles everywhere mixed with fire-ash, cement, the screeching sounds of grinders, concrete cutters and cement mixers like a non stop shelling attack; it was full blown trench warfare against the concrete and elements!

If you can get your hands on it, there was an amazing article in KINGPINs August issue, I also had a bunch of photos published in the article. Maybe ill try scan it up in the next days. (:

My Little Brothers struggle to becoming VEGETARIAN!

My little 19 year old brother has a nice piece of writing over here about the struggle to becoming vegetarian . . . Really inspiring stuff from such a young man! I to, as many others have always considered being vegetarian and this has really inspired me to give it a shot! Keep up the good work, im proud of you!!! Read his article bellow . . .

In life there are always going to be people who disagree with you. You have to rise above them and lead the path. Through courage, bravery and compassion other people will follow!

I am Nathan, currently 19 and avegetarian. Throughout my life I have always been influenced by others, especially my family. They are my role models and I wouldn't ever do anything to harm them. However, At every attempt to become vegan or vegetarian it was always.....  That's a stupid idea, what will you eat? Its so much more expensive, vegetarians are frail and weak, what happens in America doesn't happen in Australia, How will you get the protein? How do you get iron? 

I had watched Earthlings, Food Inc.,Foodmatters and almost every other healthy eating documentary I could lay my hands on, yet I still continued to eat meat. I increased my vegetable intake, and started eating more organics and health foods, and moved out of home and started a veggie patch which started off okay. Then one day I ran into a best mate at the snow. We got talking and some how came across the topic of vegetarianism, raw food diet and the future idea of becoming vegan. To me I thought it was going to be a very hard challenge, but I decided to go all out. He described to me the process of plants absorbing all the nutrients they need to survive through the soil. Soil is full of life and nutrients, hence when you eat a vegetable or a fruit you are eating something full of life, receiving these essential vitamins and minerals. When you are eating meat, you are eating dead animal flesh. Which in most cases is fed Gm corn, antibiotics, growth hormone etc. Not only is the term dead animal flesh unappealing, but the process's I once paid for to get this meat on my dinner plate are inhuman. The meat industry is a joke, it even sounds like dooms day prediction, yet people eat it off their plates everyday, like the lies they use to cover up the black walls of these mass slaughter houses and animal holding pens.

I returned home from the snow and did some more research and came across a guy called Gary Yourofsky. I was engaged by this man within the first 1 minute of listening to one of his lectures online. I think the thing that got me was the short clip of a man beating a cow up with his bare fists. A cow is a helpless animal, which has been domesticated and modified through unnatural processes to satisfy our human demands of beef, milk, cheese and many other products. If assaulting a person on a street is a criminal offence, why isn't assaulting a cow? We don't own them. They are in no way a possession to humans and should never be. They are an animal, and should exist in a mutual relationship with humans if in any relationship at all. From this point I gave up every meat product on the market, even my favorite chorizo. It wasn't actually hard at all. Not when you consider animal welfare, environmental issues, poverty issues and the impact being a vegetarian has on your health!

I then came across the documentary 'Hungry for Change', and everything just clicked. Humans aren't meant to eat meat. We are not designed for it. Well, not every day of the week anyway. We have sliding jaws, an alkaline stomach and a large intestinal tract. We share all the characteristics of herbivores. It seems only natural that we adopt a plant/tree based diet. However, 70 percent of people just don't understand this and probably never will.

My friend I met up with on that snow trip told me a quote his mother once said to him, I don't think I will ever forget it. He said 'In life there are always going to be people who disagree with you. You have to rise above them and lead the path. Through courage, bravery and compassion other people will follow'.

In the last 19 years of my life I have never ever heard truer words been spoken. So just like that I was on a mission, to make as many people as I can be vegetarian or better yet, vegan. Not everyone listens, but those who do are amazed and so intrigued, they look at you like you have discovered a cure for cancer. And quite literally you have. Once you open a door to something new all you want to do is find out more and more. Knowledge is contagious, and the satisfaction you get from informing a friend about how leading a meat free diet actually changes the world is ecstatic.

I am young, and one individual in a world of billions. I am pretty insignificant really. However, I am an earthling. I have parents, brothers, sisters and friends just like any other animal on this planet. If one minor change in my diet can save up to 100 animals per year, reduce my impact on the environment, and make me a healthier, better person. I guarantee it can do the same in millions of others. This journey has been amazing so far and I hope it continues as long as i live. 

http://www.veglov.com/2012/09/i-am-young-i-am-vegetarian-and-i-am.html
- IF YOU LIKED THE ARTICLE PLEASE VISIT THE ORIGINAL AND PRESS LIKE TO GAIN HIM SOME SUPPORT . . . SO FAR IT HAS OVER 20,OOO FANS ! ! ! 

HAMBURG . . . GERMANY 2

THIS CITY IS AMAZING!!! I was on my way to the 2er D.I.Y Builders Jam in Hannover and thought the poster i found on the street bellow was rather fitting!

HAMBURG . . . GERMANY

So back in June i was on my way to the 2er D.I.Y Builders jam and my cheapest option to get there was to fly into Hamburg and take the bus down. Id passed by the Northern city of Germany twice before by bus and always wanted to check it out. When I was about to leave the hostel a lady working there told me it was going to rain all day and it would be foolish to take my board out. Taking her advice I ventured through the streets to spend a day giving my new Cannon 6Od a good workout.

 

SWISS P & S

Some left over point and shoot photos from Switzerland . . .

TINO ARENA . . . Welcome to the team!!!

We recently added our homeboy Tino Arena to the Gypsy Skateboards & Adventure team. Welcome to the team bro . . . its all down hill from here . . . Check this clip and be ready to see more of him in the full length 'Gypsy Life' video which i will  be releasing in the net next weeeeeek ! ! !  

MACARONI DISTRIBUTION

http://www.maccaronidistribution.com/

My homies now have their distribution website up... if u would be interested in stocking or distributing Gypsy Skateboards & Adventure or any of other brands they hold, hit them up . . . at least check out their banging new catalog with our new range our boards and clothing!!! Stocking strictly the skateboarder owned and ran companies from Europe including Pontus Alvs Polar Skateboards . . .