20 years ago today....

(a continuation of my 6over story)

The year was 1992, summer was over, and I was about to begin the year that would shape the human that I am today....7th grade. 

 The last 6 years of school had been a breeze; dodgeball and nationball were the daily routine, and my friends and I were the kings of the playground. To us, the transition from elementary to junior high looked as seamless as all the others, but we were oblivious. You see, financial status and zip codes were something that never crossed our minds. It wasn't until the first day of school that I realized--since most of my friends lived in better neighborhoods-- that they were zoned to go to different schools than I was. I was left flying solo in a predominantly Hispanic, gang-ridden school, and I very quickly found out what the totem pole was at my school and where I ranked on it. 

 Because of the overcrowding, classes were mixed with 7th and 8th graders, and that's where my troubles began. I was a small and lonely white kid in a physical education class that consisted of only 8th graders...Big 8th graders. There were guys in my class with tattoos that were old enough to drive to school and did, if that explains the level of intelligence I was up against. Almost every day, we'd sit on our designated dots on the asphalt for role call, and since my last name was Webber, I was at the back of the pack. As soon as the coach would call my name, he'd turn around and head back to his little office to jack-off while the wolves (usually led by the guy who sat directly in front of me, Raymond Martinez) would turn around, face me, and commence with the kicking of my ass. The more I fought, the more dudes would jump in. I just couldn't win. I was too ashamed to tell my parents so I told the coach--he laughed and called me a pussy. I then told my counselors--they said they would look into it...I was broken. 

 After a couple months of this routine I finally snapped, and since nobody else would help me and I was going to have to handle it on my own, and I devised a simple plan...Kill Raymond. I was so blinded that I was convinced this was the only solution. And it was going to be so easy, too. I watched grown up movies with my dad all the time, so I knew the most effective way to do it. Right after coach would call my name and scurry away, I was simply going to pull my pocket knife out of my sock, lean over, slice Raymonds throat wide open, and then return to my dot on the hot asphalt and revel in my glory. Game over.

 So, the day I decided to put said plan into motion began like any other. I ate breakfast, told my parents I loved them, and walked out the door with an unusual smile because today, it ended. P.E. class started, I changed into my gym clothes, discreetly tucked my knife into my right sock, and prematurely marched to victory. Without a care I waited patiently, almost anxiously, for my name to be called.

"Webber."

 Eagerly, I responded, "Here!!" 

 Then he paused for a second... 

 "Come up here real quick." 

 Oh shit...harder than any of those guys had ever hit me, reality had just punched me in the face. "Oh no, did somebody see me sneak the knife into my sock?" I hadn't even thought about the consequence of attempting this or even pulling it off. I went from seeing red to white in a heartbeat as the reality of the situation became very real. My life was flashing before my eyes as I hesitantly walked up to him. 

 "Go get your shit. You're being moved to another class." 

 My jaw hit the floor and I nearly passed out...I couldn't comprehend what he was saying. I kept rubbing my eyes, shaking my head like I had just woken from the most intense dream. "Well...what are you waiting for? Get out of here." So I turned and just walked, or better yet, floated back to the locker room, sat there, and began to cry as what had almost just happened finally sank in...

Once I calmed down I got my stuff together and headed to my new classroom.  As shy as you could possibly be I walked into the class and sat behind one of only a few guys I had recognized from seeing them skate around school and he says "Do you skate?"  Apparently I was wearing a hand-me-down skate shirt from one of my dads friends at work and didn't even realize it but without hesitating I said "Yeah, a little.."

(Now up until this point I didn't identify with any particular group, I just existed. This is going to sound hilarious but my birthday was a week away and up till then the only thing I wanted was a Starter Raiders jacket.  All I wanted to do was blend in and go about my life unnoticed. My Aunt had come up on some money from a settlement or something and since my family was broke, decided she was gonna give me $150 to spend on a birthday gift.)

I didn't own a skateboard let alone know any tricks. I really don't know what it was about the siutation that made me say "yeah.." maybe just the flash that I might have someone to interact with, an actual friend. After a couple days of talking to him I realized the Raiders jacket was going to have to wait.....I was going to get a board and I can still remember that day walking into Circle M  skateshop and picking it all out..New School-Jason Corbett "Clay Smith Cams"  board, Indy trucks and Josh Swindell microdots wheels...

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To this day I still look back and wonder what would have been my life if that fateful day had never happened.  The past couple weeks I've been feeling real nostalgic and watching old skate videos and just going back in time a little. In one way or another this little piece of wood with some wheels screwed to it has gotten me through some of the hardest times of my life, helped me see the world in an entirely different way than most people on this planet view it.  I'm proud and honored to have met some of the most interesting, talented people earth may ever see, traveled and witnessed things 99% of humanity will never know even existed...and its been right underneath their feet the whole time...

I never was or ever will be the best at it but that's what makes it so special, at the core of it there is no checklists, no time frames, no rules, no boundries.

I owe my life to skateboarding, this is the least I could do...

thanks.

One day you will look back and laugh...

Made a few of these cause we thought it was funny. ATR Store

pretty rad..

Winners Circle

Remember that Easyrider show when they just gave trophies to people for just showing up no matter what race they were.

Disco Stickers Back In Stock

These were such a hit we made more get them here: ATR Store

Music for a Monday - The Midwest

Naked Raygun (Illinois) Zero Boys - Amphetamine Addiction (Indiana) Negative Approach - Pressure (Michigan) Necros - Police Brutality (Ohio) Die Kreuzen - Think for me (Wisconsin) Husker Du - Target (Minnesota) The Trashmen (Minnesota)

total commitment...

One of the bummers about hardtailing a shovelhead for the do-it-yourselfer is that nobody makes a decent looking conversion kit and most people don't have a frame jig and/or most of the other fancy tools needed to make one from scratch. So when Craig finally decided to hack his bike up I thought I'd get ahold of my friends Doug and Kelly over at Haifley Bros. in Phoenix AZ who recently started offering the nicest kit on the market, hands down. It costs a little more than the crap you see on Ebay but the end result is worth every penny.

Jeff Holt from Street Chopper also stopped by to take some pictures of the process for a tech article in the next issue so be sure to check that out and see how even a retard like me can do this.

If you give a damn about quality and how your bike looks, go support good dudes doing good stuff.

so-cal...

Days like today remind me as to why everybody hates us here.

@4q69 #69mileride

our daily coffee shop lineup

it's hard to be bummed waking up to this

heavy metal

Big man, small bike...Max's friend Casey tried the knuckle on for size.
Nice to meet you dude and congrats on the weight loss brotha.

6 dudes and 5 dead phones...Instagram moment blown.

The line up

she was sitting shotgun.

Jamie getting those extreme angles

wardrobe malfunction...sorry whoever was behind me.

Max's 38. This thing feels as rad as it looks.

Its hard to soar with Turkey when you're surrounded with eagles

Traveling 400+ miles just to go on a "69" mile ride might sound stupid to some but for me and the small crew that came up with me it was more than that. Now don't get me wrong, the bar and the ride out to it in Port Costa is totally rad with some killer scenery but for me, hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones is the best part. We all tend to get a little wrapped up in the digital world and sometimes you forget how nice it is to exchange words and a handshake with someone face to face and this weekend involved alot of that. Add some quality miles and hangout sessions with said friends and you got a recipe for success. Once again I neglected to take alot of photos so this is all you get from me.

Good seeing you Jason, Josh, the Busby family, Kelly and everyone else. Thanks Turkey, Troy, Chris and Jamie for being down to come up and lastly, Thanks Max for putting us up and putting up with us.

See you next year

69ing in Oakland

Max rescheduled the 69er to this weekend and sorry, but there won't be an ATR kissing booth this year.

picture me rollin....

I met Daniel a couple years ago when I went down to Brazil the first time. He's in town so we went to get ice cream and do some heavy garage chatting. He kept looking at the Knuckle so I told him to ride it around to see how overrated they are. Its kind of a trip watching somebody else ride your bike because there is so much involved in a motorcycle..the sounds, smells and that sense of "one-ness" that happens when everything clicks while you're riding a bike. But when you watch from the sidelines as somebody else experiences what you thought you knew so well but is now completely alien to you....sounds and smells, it becomes a completely different beast from the outside.

Daniel, thanks for the hangout sesh and a different perspective.

giblets..

 Our little buddy Turkey making moves.

Stickers

New disco stickers in the store.

Tiny T's for Tim...

tims been busy getting his triumph back together and asked me to whip up a
set of kicked forward T bars to finish it off. Lookin good dude.

R.I.P. Erick Borboa...

Sharp dresser, party animal and all around nice guy...Borboa, you'll be missed by many.

New stuff in the store

We got some more pegs, shirts and hats in. ATR STORE

David Mann Chopperfest 2012

fitting for an AM/PM bathroom

this Ford was my favorite thing at the show

tyler brought his awesome triumph 500 down from Canada....I love this bike.

Knuckleheads are everywhere these days.

Dalton Walker builds some killer stuff.

....this 500 he did is so rad, I had to come back to it a dozen times.

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I think T'Bone won all the tropheys

Good ride up with all the guys and such a high level of chopper bad-assery at the show equals a good time. I could have taken a ton more photos with my phone but was too busy really appreciating these bikes, I'm already waiting for next year.

pure stoke..

back yard fun from dave herr on Vimeo.

Dave just emailed me this video of him and his kid Otto riding the dirtbike they got this weekend...totally made my day.

been a little slow around here...

..truth is I haven't been doing anything worth really talking about besides riding, which isn't a bad thing. Got some projects getting backed up in the garage so I might actually have to start working on stuff. bummer.

it's that time again....

Max is hosting his 69 mile ride again next weekend. If you can make it, be there....just be prepared to be out ridden by a bunch of chicks.