There are certain times in my life when events come together in a rush of serendipitous circumstances to let me know, in no uncertain terms, that I'm actually on to something here. And today just happened to be one of those days. My dedicated (and talented) staff was the cause of today's positive bemusement. So much so, that I decided to share it with our just-as-dedicated readers.
It all started about a week or so ago, when I made the seemingly simple and straightforward request for everybody to send in pictures of themselves (or, a representative image of some kind) for our "Meet The Staff" segment. Now, I'm not sure if my staff conspired to pull a practical joke of some sort on my ass, or if it's just a sheer coincidence (I suspect the former, because Lord knows that I'm overdue for one right about now)... but either way, I ended up getting positive proof, right in my e-mail in-box, that our editorial staff is the bossest group of guys in the world.
To prove just how dedicated we all are to being as disorganized as possible, about half the staff forgot to actually send their pics (probably because they were out either skating, or causing trouble.... both of which we whole-heartedly support here at the office). Below are the rest that actually did, along with excerpts from a friendly e-mail exchange between Gesmer and myself:
Dan was a little worried, at first, that "one" of us... he never specified which one of us, exactly, he was worried about... would "get into trouble" because of the abundance of legs, thighs, and lips in this "all in fun", self-portrait he sent over. "Actually, that one would probably go best, given what the other guys sent in... I'm voting for the girls. It's very apropos, given the classy club you're suddenly involved with these days..."
"In his photo, it looks like Mike's at some sort of PETA rally, with a giant f-bomb on a banner behind him (I don't think he noticed it, though... Mike almost never swears, even privately amongst friends). I'm guessing that Brooke's gonna shit a goddamned brick, when he finally notices that giant 'fuck' right behind his head..."
"AJ's got two hotties on his arms. I'm pretty sure he noticed, though, because at least one of them is his fiancee..."
"I don't think he drinks or anything, but that didn't stop Gillogly from looking like he's hammered at a frat party or something (just like any typical college kid, I guess)...."
"... and I don't even wanna get into Fatboy's getup (and trust me on this one, Dan, neither do you)..."
Hans, I owe you an apology, buddy. The only crime that you committed, was sending a .jpg image that was too small to use. Readers: Hans' image was a simple (and practical) picture of Hans, skateboarding. Which clearly makes him the most sensible of us, by far.
To acknowledge Hans' immense dedication to the freestyle community, I decided to temporarily use this icon (of freestyle legend Russ Howell), until we get a bigger picture of Hans, himself. Hans does a lot for freestyle. So putting him in such good company, I thought, would be a really nice "thank you" for his hard work.
"As for the asshat that runs this place, that goof drew a self-portrait. What a moron that guy is..."
Intentional or not, my excellent staff of contributors is probably the coolest group of guys in the whole world. If nothing else, they're at least always down for a laugh (or two). All in all, I had a pretty rough day today. And I'm at least a solid two weeks (or more) behind on everything. But the guys reminded me today- as always- that skateboarding's all about having fun, and not taking things too seriously.
Thanks, guys. You're the best.
