Photography by: Chris Martin, Collin Snoek, Dylan Kasson, Jordan Jasa, Josh Smukal, & Jona Humbel. Copywriting by: Chris Martin, Jordan Jasa & Justin Jaeger.
Collin ended up dipping out super early in the morning to catch his flight while the rest of the boys tried to sleep in a bit. We stopped after a short while to grab food. Jordan and Josh ended up walking around, looking for a Chipotle. They came across a furniture store with a giant ass chair outside. This thing would have been too big for even Collin. We all assembled back at the bus and hit the road again. We tried not to stop that much when driving the bus by peeing in jugs, loading up on water and food but even then, its still practically impossible. We ended up making another pit stop off the freeway to stretch the legs, watch a storm in the distance and snag some photos.
Just outside of Woodward, we hit the grocery store close to Bakersfield. We had no idea what the food/drink situation was like at Woodward so we tried to be as best prepared as possible. It turns out we should have bought more food because Woodward was like being back in elementary school. There was no such thing as real juice or milk, just a bunch of soda pop and chocolate milk. Perfect if you are a kid getting away from your parents for a week but for us it was depriving our body of the nutrients we desired. Even their smoothies weren’t made with fruit. If you showed up early enough for breakfast you could find some real fruit.
We finally rolled into Woodward, meeting up with Shelby. We all squared away our paperwork and drove up the hill to check our rooms. One of the rooms we were in had a table on which was inscribed "Scoota Brad is a fa". Brad Dm'd Jordan and told him he had written that, but was to faded to finish the g. Hahaha.
The daily Woodward life looked something like this. The morning crew, Tom/Dylan/Jona/Christian/Josh, would roll out early to ride. Tom and Dylan both were loving the dirt jumps, as they were able to find a dirt scoot to shred (big shout out to Big White). The rest of the boys- Tyler/Ralph/Issac/Ian/Jon/Jordan/Chris would show up shortly before lunch, rendezvous with the early crew and try to film for the Woodward video. After growing tired of riding, there was always something else to do, from the bowling alley to movies to the tramp park to the pool and hot tub to just chilling in the room.
Josh’s camera started overheating in the sun so we had to use shirts to cover the black camera from the harsh heat. The ramps felt even hotter, our shoes felt like there was always gum stuck to the bottom of our feet. We weren’t prepared for these extremes.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are the Megaramp days, so on Tuesday we all went up the hill to see the behemoth of wood and aluminum in person. Turns out, a big branch had fallen from a tree, right across the runway, even putting a hole in it. So unfortunately nobody was able to really hit it, but you could ride the kicker to flat step up gap. The boys had some flyout fun, and then started feeling out the quarter. Ian, after quite a few test runs, was able to hit the back board. Really puts it into perspective how crazy the dudes who really shred it are. We were also amazed at the little campers just dropping in on the quarter. Braver souls than most of us.
While at Woodward we also met up with some old and new friends. Tyler came out a day after we arrived, driving up with none other than Ralph McMoran. It felt like the old days of Tilt, having both Tyler and Ralph around. Another SoCal crew rolled up on Thursday, including Matt Grippi, Stefan Hefner, Jack Colston, and Ethan Orlaska. Matt was really hoping to hit the Mega, but unfortunately had to settle with riding the quarter. Some skaters were riding it during that day too, blasting way above the coping. But the highlight of that session was definitely Classic carving well above halfway point of the quarter on his board wearing no helmet, shorts, and a tank top. He came out with minimal ramp burn, the madman.
The young bloods at Woodward were sick. Most of them were down to kick it and hang out like normal humans. Some times we hangout with riders that are too afraid to talk with us which makes it awkward for everyone. We ended up signing some things and filming some of the campers to put in the Woodward video. This was a real treat for us. To see the younger community and what it entails while also realizing that things we do in the community actually matter.
Every ten or so days we would have to do laundry on the road so during the hottest time at Woodward, we hit the local laundry spot where the owner kept screwing with us. If we took a photo inside or used an outlet to charge a phone he would say, “That’ll cost ya”.
On our last night at Woodward, filming was in full effect. Everyone was trying to contribute their last tricks. Christian ended up getting the last trick filmed at Woodward which just so happens to be the ender for the video. As they were closing up the park, Christian and Josh were ready to give up but Chris told them to keep going till they turn the lights off. That next try, Christian landed it and Josh fell to the ground in complete relief that he no longer had to film anymore. He immediately requested Taco Bell’s vegan menu.
