News

Skate // Camp

February 26, 2016Stay Wild

Elemental Awareness Encourages Skaters in the Woods

Photos by Zach Epstein // zachepstein.format.com // @z_epstein

Words by Steve Mull, Elemental Awareness skate camp instructor

My hands are coarse, my palms blistered, and my ego rocked. I just spent an hour on one knee with a stick between my palms, drilling a hole into a flat, rectangular piece of cedar wood. When I started, my pride swelled at the scent of thick, woody smoke produced by friction: I was about to make a fire from scratch. But after an hour of vigorously rubbing back and forth, abusing muscles in my forearms I never knew existed, I failed to feel the heat of a man-made fire. Bummer.

I am currently in the wilds of the Sequoia National Forest working at the Element YMCA Skate Camp as a skateboard instructor. Despite failing to start a fire on my own, so far the most enriching experience has been attending an Elemental Awareness session. Elemental Awareness is a non-profit organization that connects kids to nature by teaching primitive survival skills, and focuses specifically on educating youth from inner cities and underprivileged backgrounds. Even if you don’t master these primitive techniques, the simple act of rubbing two sticks together offers a therapeutic escape, whether you’re from downtown Los Angeles or the rural hills of New England. Tasks like this remove all frivolity from our lives; they give campers something practical to do with our hands, and provide us with a break from scrolling listlessly through virtual newsfeeds. Outside of camp, our worlds burst with clutter, but by engaging in forgotten skills—whether it’s starting a fire, learning how to hunt small game, or building a weather-proof shelter with sticks and pine needles—we slowly strip down the clutter, piece by piece.

Henry David Thoreau pushes us further: “Our life is frittered away by detail,” he writes. “Simplify, simplify.” I watch campers successfully convert their energy into delicate flames, and the word “simplify” pulses through my veins and into my dirty hands. I get back to drilling, but notice my blisters are leaking. At this point I finally give up, my arms raw and shaking. I notice two other instructors smiling. They’ve probably seen something like this before, but they know—I know—I’ll be back.

Get involved with Elemental Awareness elementalawareness.org // @elementalawareness

Van Camping in Hawaii

February 23, 2016Stay Wild

With Local Fun-Tographer John Hook

Obviously the biggest perk is the year-round good weather. In Hawaii, you never have to line the inside of your Westy camper with foil to keep warm in the middle of a January night.

Even on Oahu, the most populated of the islands, there are still miles of coastline where you can find a spot to park your bed. There is a law in Hawaii that loosely states: If you are fishing at the beach (a pole in the sand, with fishing line cast into the ocean), you are legally allowed to stay at any public beach overnight any day of the week. So pull up in your van, cast a line, and hang out until the sun comes up.

There are a few city and county beach parks that sell weekend permits for beach park camping. Usually those official parks are in nice areas, and they provide bathrooms and public showers. I recommend doing this if you plan on camping in a big group.

In the summer, beach camping provides radical views of stars and the Milky Way, as long as you are far, far away from the city lights of Honolulu.

In the winter, if you are on Oahu, you can park near the beach and wake up to goliath surf right outside your sliding door. If you don’t already own a Vanagon or some type of imaginative Astrovan, no worries—most times, you can find a rental on Craigslist throughout the islands.

More John Hook

Strange Vacation

February 19, 2016Stay Wild

A Brand that Supports Adventurous Women

by Marjorie Skinner

“I can do this. I need my own bike.” Around four years ago, Jenny Czinder had this thought while riding on the back of her boyfriend’s motorcycle. Soon after, she became one of an increasing legion of women who are dismantling the image of riding as a manly pursuit—but the world’s still trying to catch up.

Czinder grew up with Harley-Davidson in the periphery. Her stepdad had one, as did her boyfriend, and now she has one of her own. It made sense that a vintage Harley jacket would become her gear of choice, but despite its iconic power… it kind of sucked.

Riding gear in general tends to excel in fashion or performance—rarely both. For women, it’s even more limited. “A lot of the fashion-oriented jackets are shorter in the waist and sleeves,” Czinder notes. “It’s a classic look… maybe because [when it was established] girls were wearing higher-waisted pants.” It looks good, but in practice the cut exposes midriffs and wrists to cold, sun, and added risk of road rash. Frustrated with the lack of options, Czinder rallied friend and fellow rider Kelly Wehner, a designer with years of experience balancing style and performance in apparel while working for Nike.

The two went in together on Strange Vacation, a newly launched riding brand explicitly for women. The branded tees and “shitty” trucker hats appeal to the rowdier end of the female spectrum, and the hero pieces—a quintessential riding jacket and thick rugby top—bear the hallmarks of quality and street cred that savvy apparel collectors value. Both are produced in collaboration with respected brands and manufactured stateside: Vanson Leathers, one of the most trusted brands in the motorcycle world, produces the jacket, while Columbiaknit partnered on the rugby.

As the products roll out, Czinder and Wehner find themselves part of a wave of new efforts to meet increasing demand. “It’s great that people are realizing women want to be spoken to,” Czinder says, noting the potential for Strange Vacation to evolve out of a motorcycle-specific niche, tossing out swimsuits and leather tube tops by way of example. “We want to be a brand that supports adventurous women. It’s unpretentious.”

Learn more about Strange Vacation // @StrangeVacation

The One Moto Show

February 14, 2016Stay Wild

In the face of pissing rain and cold knuckles the neighborhoodly city of Portland has been raging with an infestation of motorcycles roaring up and down it's streets. The One Moto Show is the only show that makes Portland a motorcycle city. People come from all over the place to celebrate new and old bike culture and to gaze at the one-of-a-kind motorcycles on display.

If you didn't get a chance to go, feel free to glaze your eye balls with this slide show of our favorite bikes.