As much as I enjoy the movement toward a more racially just society, it always gets me that we were discussing these topics 25 years ago in the punk rock world. But I'm very excited to get to write about people who are breaking boundaries for race and gender. "Following a year where the struggle for racial justice in America has everyone throwing keyboard haymakers at each other, Jones, a ...
Ok. Not the same as being on the North Shore in Hawaii but it was cool to talk to Jack Robinson and Cliff Kapono. The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is a 35-year long tradition on the North Shore. But unlike everything else that had to go virtual, the change this year may have actually been good for the event as it allowed flexibility around swell/spots, gave the women a ...
Started off the year getting a piece on a conversation with John John Florence published at Men's Journal. The first time I spoke with Florence he was about 13, coming out to surf the Belmar Pro. His mother is from Ocean Grove and he still has family there. The next time we met he was 15 and we chatted in his treehouse, out behind his Mom's place at Pipe. This ...
Every once in a while, New Jersey Monthly taps me for a little piece on things happening along the coast. They use the term "Jersey Shore," more than I'd like but all good. This one was a round up of the Skatepark of the New Jersey Shore, on offer north and south. There are a few that have opened in this time. Kind of a roadmap for me and Archie ...
Renewables! I wrote this feature story that appeared in the June issue of New Jersey Monthly. This was one of those "dig in" kind of research pieces, which was kind of nicely timed with quarantine. While there are some new concerns about the underwater power lines and fish migration, I have been told by my best sources that it shouldn't be a reality. That said, I am very proud that ...
Social impact stories are extremely important to me and I learned a whole lot talking to Steve Larosiliere, Founder and President of Stoked Mentoring with this interview for Men's Journal. “That was when I started to mentor foster kids—kids from…low income,” he says, before another noticeable hesitation. “I started mentoring Black kids.” Larosiliere went on to found STOKED with Selema Masekela. Stoked connects kids with mentors in action sports to provide ...
I have written about David's Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation since day one and on occasion, done some volunteering. It has always been an honor to work alongside David Caldarella. With the coronavirus pandemic and the economy in a tailspin, Caldarella selflessly asked the board of directors of his own nonprofit to lay him off. He will try to collect unemployment to save his nonprofit through these tough times. I ...
As the reality of school closings and curfews hits week two, I wrote this piece on Pandemic Parenting for Men's Journal, based on what we're trying to do and some advice from the LBI Consolidated School District Counselor. This is pretty idealistic. Don't think I'm pulling it off myself as easy as this sounds.
Courtesy Vail Resorts "...All right, let’s get the Vail jokes out of the way: ones ribbing the fabulous fur coats seen on Bridge Street, the $18 old-fashioneds, the Wi-Fi connected gondolas and designer oxygen bars to combat altitude sickness. To understate it, there’s nothing chintzy about this Interstate 70 gem with its luxury veneer. Nearly 60 years into the roadside resort town experiment (literally named after a highway ...
DIY board-building is one of the most time-honored and creative aspects of surf culture. For a lot of salts, going deep into the garage and emerging with something that may or may not resemble a surfboard is a bucket lister of the surf experience. Imagine doing a stylish mid-faced turn or making an impossibly fast section on a sled with your own signature on the stringer. I spoke with John ...
