After months and months of waiting, followed by days and more days of anticipating, the one film that everybody has been waiting for has finally been released.  TWILIGHT starring no name actors, Robert Pattinson and Bella Swan had to be one of the most wicked films ever to be adapted from a book.  But to be honest, I didn’t really care to see it because the only Vampires that matter to me ever on film are THE LOST BOYS.  They eat maggots and worms. 

But besides these low budget blockbusters accumulating overwhelming success are the films that really matter.  The FINAL FLARE after months of anticipation and expected delays was shipped out yesterday.  Meaning the copies should be at your local skate shop now.  Or tomorrow at the latest depending where you are.  I’ve yet to get my copy because I’m waiting to see it on Youtube. 

If you’re unaware of what’s in this deluxe edition of “Fully Flared”, then let me tell you.  You’ve got a behind the scenes look at the making of the epic skate movie.  They uniquely added skater commentary to go along with skate parts.  One on one interviews with the Ty Evans, Spike Jonze, and the skaters.  An in depth look at the creation of one the gnarliest openings to a skate movie ever.  And, you can watch it on Blu-Ray. 

Honestly I really can’t wait to see it.  So I will be going home now to watch it. 

This second episode of Epicly Later’d featuring Alex Olsen is a unique one because it’s rare glimpse of the business aspect of the skateboard industry.  Rarely do the general public get to know what really goes on behind closed doors when it comes to business agreements and skater contracts because that’s all boring crap anyway.  This episode doesn’t go too much in depth about Alex’s decision to switch companies, but money does drive these corporations and even though there are companies that derive from the streets, like a TAPOUT or a LOWRIDER, everyone’s main objective is to achieve one thing: make money. 

That is why Alex Olsen’s segment in this Lakai series is pretty interesting.  It really gives some insight as to what some skaters are up against when it comes to what some call “selling out”.  Some may call them a sell out while others call it being smart.  I call it a sticky situation.  And I’ve been in this predicament before. 

You see, in my day I had come to a cross roads in my career where I had to choose either route A, or route B.  My career as a ROLLER WALKER was floundering.  My sponsors would give me free stickers, key chains, erasers, and an occasional t- shirt and this stuff would come every month.  I was living the life.  Until I won my very first tournament in Tucson, Arizona. A representative named Mr. CARRUTHERS from Heelys wanted to sponsor me.  Enough said.  I won’t tell you what route I went with but I feel that I made the right decision in the end. 

When you watch other sports, you don’t get to see what goes on behind the scenes that lead to the greatness in athletes.  Those guys work hard man.  Do you think that Ronaldinho can do THIS without practice?  Or do you just assume that Tyler Rothchild can do THIS without practice?  Hell no.

This episode of Epicly Later’d should really humble you.  To see what Koston goes through in order to have a full video part is pretty good to see.  It shows that he’s just as human as the rest of us.  For him, his deamon is a fakie 360 tre lip slide, for the rest of us, it’s maybe a inward heel, or possibly a C WALK.  Check this out.  I’m so psyched on this.

For you tech geeks and filmmaker posers, this series of Epicly Later’d should capture your attention.  With Lakai’s “Final Flared” just over the horizon, with extra features for days, you will enjoy just a tease of what you can expect from the Deluxe Edition of “Final Flared”.  Here are a few words from Patrick O’Dell.  

Lakai’s Fully Flared was probably the most anticipated skate video of all time. From Mike Mo and Alex Olson to Mike Carroll and Guy Mariano—from Lucas Puig to Anthony Pappalardo, Fully Flared has something to offer everybody. Not to mention that the hype was out of this world. So for the first few parts we’re going to dip into the history of the Lakai video, and as we go we’re going to release some history episodes on Mike Carroll, Guy Mariano, and others… I promise it will be sweet.

These days we see Terry Kennedy rapping, P-Rod acting, and even Shaun White designing for Target.  Now that’s fancy.  I think that we can all agree these guys can thank Willy and Simon for paving the way. 

Well Lakai will soon be releasing the Lucas Puig signature shoe and it’s apparent from their overwhelming success, they are putting some major time and money into some quality adds.  The spot features Lucas playing a skateboard game probably never seen on earth.  It’s quite clever, but he looks to casual for it to be real.  If it is, what is he doing skating?  He should be playing European football for Real Madrid. 

Regardless, check out the add.  It’s pretty fresh. 

These two heavy weights will be doing a signing at Active in Valencia California.  The signing takes place on Sunday October 12th from 2PM – 4PM.  This should be a fun one.  While there, maybe pick up a new Girl deck or possibly some Lakai’s because they are on sale.  So stock up!

Some of Lakai’s best, Eric Koston, Guy Mariano, Mike Mo Capaldi, Mike Carroll, Rick Howard, and Marc Johnson will be at Active (drumroll please…) Temecula!  Congratulations to you all in the Temecula area.  The all star event takes place on Saturday, September 27th at 1PM.

And guess what, there will be a second team signing at guess where, another Active Ride Shop!  The second team signing will take place at Active… Riverside!  That signing will take place on Saturday, October 4th at 1PM.  Be there or be square.  You can check out all the details on the flyer.

It was just a matter of time when the opening sequence of Lakai’s “Fully Flared” epic skate video would get the kind of attention it deserves.  I don’t think it has caught the attention of the national spotlight as of yet but with I feel that it deserves that kind of attention.  In my own mind, I would have liked to see it maybe landing the cover of Tiger Beat Magazine with a full in depth interview with Spike Jonze and Ty Evans with hopes of working together with The Jonas Brothers, or maybe winning a trophy at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards for Fantastic Editing.  Can’t a boy dream? 

Well despite it’s lacking of national coverage in the main stream, Lakai has gone beyond the digital medium to release a set of t-shirts depicting photographic frames from the monumental introduction.  Flying debris with Cairo Foster, nasty dust settling slams with Marc Johnson, and scorching hot explosions with the Lakai team are all illustrated here on these unique t-shirts.  I personally would have loved to see a t-shirt from the sequence with Brandon Biebel skating off with debris coming from the left and a rock inevitably hitting his face.  He looks like he’s coming straight out of a war torn country.  Very dramatic. 

This probably won’t get them on this year’s Kid’s Choice Awards but hopefully these t-shirts might spark an ongoing dialogue and may help familiarize the general public with what may be the greatest opening to a skate video ever.  Check out the photos up close below.