Wise Words from Rob Dyrdek

It's been many times that extreme sports athletes have given this zine inspiration. I don't know what it is exactly that brings together hardcore and extreme sports, but I am pretty sure the connection is there. I guess it all has to do with being into alternate, intense ways of having fun, and being drawn to high action. The passion and dedication is also something that is common between people into hardcore and extreme sports fanatics.

For me, Rob Dyrdek is a character who inspires me a lot because he's so driven and motivated but still maintains a high level of craziness and total reckelessness. Below I have written some funny / motivational quotes from a recent Fantasy Factory episode (Dyrdek's own, funny as hell reality show on MTV).

Enjoy!

- Number One: Your doubting makes me wanna prove you wrong. I don't know if you're doing it on purpose, because you want to see me doing something amazing.

- Any time you guys have a dream and you think you're gonna be great at something, go and do it to find out if you suck.

- The reality of it is that sometimes, if you sound like a champion, you become a champion.

Simple stuff, really, but remember kids: Reality, and success are ultimately simple!

Hardcore Personalities - Andy Roy

Now we all know from our experience that punk rock and bad behavior go hand in hand; we also know that skateboarding and bad behavior also go together very well. But there is nothing more troublesome than a true, OG punk rock skater. Andy Roy is a testament to that, an anti-hero who has proved times and times again that the altars of madness and recklessness are situated in those two little things we all love.

Every punk kid should know who Andy Roy is; every skater should have at least some respect for punk rock (unlike many newbies I know, heh!). These are just two cultures that evolved together. Check out the following random excerpts from an interview with Jay Adams for Juice Magazine:

ON GROWING UP

I grew up with punk rock and drinking and causing trouble and going on roadtrips. I was getting in fights and trying to get black eyes and getting my teeth knocked out.

ON CLEANING UP IN PRISON

There are more drugs in prison than there is on the streets, but it's a little bit more expensive, and I didn't want to hold myself like that. I was seeing people getting stabbed over it. It could get you in big trouble if you don't pay what you owe someone. I just didn't want to do that.

ON GETTING MARRIED

Jay Adams: That's the first time you've ever made your dad cry for joy, huh?

Andy Roy: [Laughs.] Yeah, that was the very first time.

DINOSAUR JR - New Stuff ('Over It' Video)

Ahhh... Sweet Dinosaur Jr reunion. This is one of the few cases that I am actually happy to see an old band reunite. Cause Dinosaur Jr and J Mascis (vocals/guitar) are no ordinary case. This uncounsiously eccentric band, which started as an obscure hardcore outfit evolved into one of the biggest alternative rock bands (though they're still punk rock to me) of our times. They have the perfect melodies that stick in your head, they have years upon years of history on their back, they have the long-haired straight edge weirdo frontman; what else do you want? Dinosaur Jr along with Husker Du must be the two most underrated albeit influential bands in mid tempo, mellow punk rock music. Dig!

This is such a cool video... The skateboarding and bmx thing is obviously a joke! A parody of the punk loves skateboarding story, so predictable and common in punk. And the song is simply awesome. Enjoy Dinosaur Jr coolness!!!

p.s. Dedicated to Luke.

WISE WORDS BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ

To those unfamiliar with skateboarding, Paul Rodriguez is an awesome pro skater from the US. We chose to feature him on this blog cause he is down with positive thinking and this seems to create big results for him at skate competitions or elsewehere! Rodriguez is just another example which shows that skills combined with positive energy can get you anywhere you want in this world. Enjoy and take to heart some wise words by the man himself from a recent interview!!

• "If you wanna win, you have to be able to give yourself the chance to believe that you can win."

• "I always come to contests attempting to win. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother coming."

• "I’m not gonna just go to a contest just to go for no reason. I go in there with the mindstate of I can win this."

• "I always believe in myself and I always know that I have the ability to win."

• "When you know you can do something but you’re just not doing it, it’s usually all cause you’re thinking about it too much."

• "There’s never a time I don’t want to do well."

• "You always want to win no matter what. Even on the days that you’re not skating as good as you’d like to be. You always want it, you always are trying for it. Sometimes it just doesn’t show as well."

Hockey Meets Punk Rock (Another Old School Pic)

All-time favorite Canadian hockey player Scott Niedermayer and a young Russ Rankin of Good Riddance (Russ is a well-known hockey enthusiast). Who said punk rock and sports don't mix, again?

Fuck Authority: Boohahart - My Turn collaboration (surfboard art meets punk!)

OK so as most of you know, hardcore and punk have always been close with extreme sports. It is not only skateboarding that blends well with our favorite music, but also surfing. Yeah... surfing is surely on the rise in Greece and Europe in general, so me and my band My Turn thought we'd cash in on the opportunity... Just kidding.

This is a video my friend Jim from Boohahart did (a graphic design company that does ONLY cool shit), for his custom work on a surfboard. He wanted to rep My Turn on it, so there you have it. I think it fits pretty damn well to be honest! His video is called "Fuck Authority" and it obviously pays respect to the kings of skatepunk / melodic hardcore, Pennywise!

Thanks for watching and enjoy!

An avid skateboarder and surfer himself, Jim aka Hoppa is currently surfing in Morocco with the Cohete Surfboards team, but be sure to check his work out, say hi, and if you need any custom work tell him TYS sent you!

Hardcore Personalities - Jeremy 'Twitch' Stenberg

While subtitling an X Games motocross episode a few days ago, I came across this pretty crazy dude who is the feauture of today's hardcore personalities article. It is no other than Jeremy 'Twitch' Stenberg, the  notorious freestyle motocross rider whose crazy lifestyle and even crazier riding brings him to our attention. Some of you may wonder what a motocross rider has to do with hardcore, but for us 'hardcore' is not just about the music, but also the people. So what if Stenberg doesn't listen to hardcore? He as a personality is way more hardcore than most people in hardcore music dare to be.

Jeremy Stenberg was born in 1981 in San Diego, California, and has been riding since the age of 2. He's won various competitions, but what mostly stands out is the whole mentality behind this player, who goes all out with his 'win or lose' attitude on life. He's the kind of person who when he knows he's going to lose or come second in a race, throws all his cards on the table and does everything to impress the crowd with crazy tricks and of the hook behavior inside the terrain.  He's had  some severe injuries (like breaking both legs doing a backside flip and spending time on a wheelchair), but he always comes back stronger. This is the kind of stuff that I find inspiring as a musician in a hardcore band and a long time fan of hardcore music.

Stenberg is also a long-time member of the equally notorious Metal Mulisha team. He does everything he can to uphold the in your face, don't care attitude that these guys represent through FMX (freestyle motocross). What I really like about kids like Stenberg is that even though they have a background of rockstar behavior that is all eccentric and everything, they are ussually really hard-working dudes who eveolve day by day and really care for what they do. Maybe they really are extreme sports bad boys and whatever, but you can bet that these dudes (or at least the ones who leave a memorable impression) have a really strong driving force in them and are always out there looking for #1.

What I'm getting at is that many people out there have the impression that most of these riders, skaters etc are usually just lazy kids who get rich for doing nothing. That's so wrong! From what we see with people like Jeremy 'Twitch' Stenberg, the truth is that they are out there putting their ass on the line, always showing mad love for their sport, which after all is so goddamn dangerous! I wish people in HC bands were like that and had that type of commitment. All respect to Twitch and riders of his ilk, the true hardcore personalities!

"If you get hurt, you get hurt. You can't be thinking about it."

Every Time I Die antics

Every Time I Die, the US chaotic hardcore band now has a reason to be stupid and crazy: they are being sponsored by Vans for it. The clothing company has teamed up with ETID to make a weekly series of episodes documenting the band's life on the road. The 12 episodes uploaded so far are just a display of general mayhem and absurdity, as ETID go around fucking stuff up. This is all far removed from the typical hardcore DVD stuff we know, where bands usually just play and speak about the music. This is more MTV-oriented stuff, with a bunch of heavily tattooed dudes going around wrecking stuff as well themselves.

As frontman Keith Buckley put it in a recent Metal Hammer interview: "Filming the shows and those serious interviews is boring... if I want to see the show I'll go to the show." Is all this entertaining or simply lame? It's up for you to choose. However, the band's latest, 2009 album New Junk Aesthetic (out on Epitaph Records) is a brilliant sample of modern discordant hardcore, with no trash involved whatsoever.

http://www.vans.com/microsites/etid/

http://www.vans.com/microsites/etid/

http://www.vans.com/microsites/etid/

http://www.vans.com/microsites/etid/

Every Time I Die: Gifted but absurd