Photogs and skaters

Some things just go together, like peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and oranges, or mock ham and pineapple. Photographers and skaters are like that. Today, I had lunch with ace photog Ben Clark and Vans/Element/Indy skater Ray Barbee. We walked in and the waitress told Ben, "It's been a long time..." Open Sesame in Long Beach is one of his favorite places, and he was there last night.


Talked about a variety of topics, such as skating, skate culture, and skate business, and Ray was impressed that I was wearing some vintage gear by one of his friend's old clothing companies. The jacket I was wearing happend to be Tommy Guerrero's Forties brand and more than 15 years old. (We also talked music, photography, raising a family...)


Ray's bike. It's fixed gear but has brakes. He parked it in front of the Fingerprints, where we met. It's one of the better indie record shops in SoCal and it's right next door to Polly's, a great indie coffee joint.


Earlier, I spent some time in Torrance with another photographer and skater duo. On the left is camera fiend and jack-of-all-trades Mikendo. To the right, World and Ezekiel skater-turned-entrepreneur Jason Wakuzawa. The longtime friends and collaborators set me up with doughnuts and a new wallet.


Check out the nice presentation. Markisa is a joint venture between Jason, Paul Rodriguez, and Nigel Alexander. Yes, it's vegan so I can replace the falling-apart Matt & Nat unit with zero guilt.