A report from Whitedog on his many travels across the pond…
Words and pics – Craig Whitehead
So Omar called me up and said he was going to Hawaii to film for Fuel TV. He’d already filmed a bunch of stuff with the guy from Fuel, up in the northwest, (Oregon)… his name is Jeremy.
But anyway, he said they were going to Hawaii and he wanted some homies to go out with him so it wasn’t just a filming mission, but a fun time as well, So Rhino, Chet Childress and I hopped on the plane and met Omar and Jeremy out there.
We get in the rental car and headed to the North Shore. Chet and Omar together are like little kids arguing and ripping on each other the whole time. From the time they picked Rhino and I up at the airport to the time we got out of the car at the Quiksilver house (a 45 minute drive) my face hurt from laughing so much. I didn’t know if I could hang for the next 5 days…
Skating was the same way. just 100 % total fun. no bad vibes, no goons trying to snake everyone, just fun skating. Omar who is sponsored by Quiksilver hooked up the Quiksilver house for us to stay, free of charge. Fuckin’ hyped.
So we unload all our gear and went straight to the beach across the street, which is the legendary Banzai Pipeline. The waves weren’t hitting when we were there, seeing how it was summertime so we floundered in the water for a while then went back to the house for a couple beers. I asked Omar where the bowl was and he answered “Shit we can walk there from here!” so we walk to the next dirt driveway and hang a left up the hill and BAM! A tranny skaters paradise!
We were welcomed by Cholo who owns the place and pretty much runs the North Shore. This guy is amazing. He’s is 55 years old, owns the sickest Mexican restaurant on the North Shore and still grinds the shit out of some pool coping. Killer. This place has 2 miniramps and a big amoeba shaped bowl. We skated for a while drinking beers getting some grinds and chilling.
The next day we went to Waimea Bay, which is another legendary surf spot. The night before Cholo told us the the Alba family was in town. So we were all hyped to see Salba and the family chillin’ on the beach when we showed up in the morning. So we sat on the beach drinking beers, laughing, and jumping off the cliff with the kids, which was a blast. They were hyped.
Meanwhile, the wholetime we were at the beach we were all joking around and calling Jeremy the filmer, Mark, which I think is Chets favorite word. I don’t think we introduced him to Salba, so when we were leaving the beach Salba said “See ya later Mark!”. We all got a kick out of that one so we just called him Mark for the whole rest of the trip. We’d go to the beach every morning and jump off the cliff to get rid of the hangovers from the night before and check out the tail running around the beach, which was great. Then we’d take it to the bowl for the evening sessions and bbq’s at Cholos.
We met this local named Mitchell who took us to this place called sharks cove, which it this jagged Lava rock field at the ocean with tunnels and tons of tropical fish. He took us to this tunnel through the rocks that went out into the ocean and was probably 30 or 40 feet long that you had to hold your breath and swim through. No one did it except Salba, Mitchell, and I. Chet almost did it but got freaked out at the last possible second and turned around… Twice. He said it was gnarlier than anything he has skated or witnessed ever. Salba said it was second on his list, right underneath skydiving, it was definately a rush for sure.
Then we met up with the locals at Cholos and went and skated GRAVESIDE. Matt Stien, who I’ve met on past trips to the island, has been living out there for years . We met up with him and a couple other dudes, and went to this spot that they have been working on thats right next to this children’s graveyard. He said you can hear the kids playing at night time and shit. Fuckin’ nuts. Anyway this place was insane! The bowl was the roughest and most gnarliest shit I’ve ever skated. Just getting a grind over the deathbox was gnar.
After skating it for about an hour, Omar desides he’s going to throw up an air over the box, makes it, rolls up and says “I think I could throw up a heelflip!” So the camera marks, (Jeremy and Rhino) get the gear out and set their shit up. Sure enough he made it in about 5 or 6 tries, the guy is a fucking machine.
The next day all the loc’s came over to Cholo’s for a big old BBQ bash. Good sesh, good food, and good beer. Everyone there was super cool and mellow. I almost stayed and got a job at Cholo’s mexican joint, the place was so awesome.
The last night of the Alba family vacation we all went to Cholo’s and had a big farewell feast for the Alba’s. We still had 2 more days, so we went back to the bowl and shot photos with Rhino and Omar finished up his Fuel TV show. It should be airing soon. Check it if you guys get that shit over there…
