THAT’S RIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE ILLUSTRIOUS FLIP TEAM IS HEADING TO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST AND MOUNTAIN COUNTRY, THE PERFECT WAY TO START THE HOLIDAYS, FORGET YOUR TURKEYS AND FAMILY FEASTS GET YOURSELF OFF TO THE NEAREST SKATEPARK LOCATION ON THE SCHEDULE AND FEAST ON THE FINE SKATEBOARDING OF GEOFF ROWLEY, MARK APPLEYARD, DAVID GONZALEZ, RUNE GLIFBERG, LANCE MOUNTAIN, LUAN DE OLIVEIRA, CURREN CAPLES AND THE GANGSTA STYLE OF LOUIE LOPEZ. WE ALL LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE. HAPPY TRAVELS.

In every profession there are a few suspect people who have the status of professional when they may not have exactly earned it.  Sometimes it’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time and accidentally meeting the right people while there are those who are embedded into the cracks of the far ends of the earth who may deserve it more.  For those of you who like art, take a look at Jean-Michel Basquiat and his scribble art.  His scribbles and kindergarten style drawings captured the attention of those surrounding the New York art scene in the 80’s.  And his paintings went for thousands. 

Or how about someone everyone knows, Britney Spears?  I don’t follow celebrity news or anything but you would have live in a cave not to know her life has gone downwards and she’s starting to look like Aries Spears.  How is she still selling records?

As for skateboarding, I’m glad to see that people who are pro really deserve the pro status.  I know that there was a bit of speculation as to why a small hessian from Columbia can be pro, but anyone who has seen this kid rip very well knows that he deserves it, and not on some crappy company either, he’s on Flip.  A team with two of my favorite all time skaters, Tom Penny and Geoff Rowley.  I think he’s a perfect fit for that team and a lot of people are excited to see his part in Flip’s third skate video “Extremely Sorry”.  It will be interesting what this kid pulls as he gets older. 

Flip is also doing a contest where you can win a bunch of free cool stuff.  Check it out over at Flip. 

As from today, Arto Saari is no longer riding for Flip Skateboards, and has found a new home at Alien Workshop.

Everyone at Flip wishes Arto the best for his future with the Burton family, and are in total support of this move for him.

“Arto is like a brother to me. After years of being on the same team with the same goals it was time for him to move on. We remain the best of friends and will continue to skate together probably harder and probably more so than ever!!! I wish him all the best and as a brother, I shall always have his back”

It reminds me of those billboards counting the rising national debt or how many people have died of smoking, etc. Kind of interesting for a few seconds, then your eyes sort of hurt.

The tour kicks off May 31 in Seattle with the Lakai team and runs through June 30 in Minneapolis with the Enjoi team. At the 10 stops in between stops will feature the Flip, C1RCA, Volcom, Element and Baker teams.  Each stop also features music from the likes of Alkaline Trio and Year-Long Disaster.

Check out the site for more info if you can handle it!