It seems like pro skaters are at skate shops (particularly Active) almost every other day.  I have a theory that these guys who are under contract might be like slaves.  You can’t beat corporate America.  I have noticed thought that there aren’t as many team signings though.  I think the skaters’ hands were close to coming off. 

Anyway two of the sickest dudes in the world are scheduled for a meet and greet at the Active in Chino Hills on Wednesday, December 3rd at 7 PM.  Generally, skating doesn’t get any better than these guys. 

Also, check out the Day in the Life of Billy Marks over at TRANSWORLD.  I didn’t know that Billy lives in Corona.  That’s dope.  Corona is the Diamond of the Inland Empire.  And the AROMA is nice there too. 

The Toy Machine Halloween Demo was the coolest and quirkiest Halloween parties of the year at Active in San Dimas.  The entire team showed up in full gear head to toe with some of the most amazing costumes you could imagine.  We’re not talking those crappy costumes you buy from the supermarket either.  These things were top notch. 

So who showed up?  We saw Ed Templeton, Josh Harmony, Nick Trapasso, Billy Marks, Johnny Layton, Austin Stephens, Matt Bennett, Grant Hatfield, Rob Straser, and more Toy Machine rippers. Go over to the Active site to check out one of the hundred photos that were snapped on Halloween. You’ll notice Billy Marks came as Darth Vader, Ed Templeton came as a cop with a nice tear in his crotch, Johnny Layton was a Mexican drunk, and look at the photos to see what your other favorites came as. Also, the Tapatio guy won the best costume contest and landed himself a hooked up Toy Machine package.  Check out the video below. 

Anyway Toy Machine will at least do their part by sharing this October 31st (Halloween) by having a team demo and signing at Active San Dimas.  The festivities begin at 4PM and will go till 6PM.  The flyer says to make sure to wear your Halloween costumes.  I’m actually an expert at good costumes so here are some suggestions to you kids out there that might want to impress the Toy Machine Team.   

1. Bilbo Baggins
2. A piece of poo
3. The Olsen Twins
4. G.G. Allin
5. Tony Little

Embrace my suggestions and be there at the demo to impress Billy Marks, Ed Templeton, Johnny Layton, Nick Trapasso, Josh Harmony, Matt Bennett, and Austin Stephens. And don’t miss the premiere of Flim’s Hail Skatan!

Starting June 19th, the Toy Machine team will embark on their “Oddity Odyssey” west coast tour of the country.  Their eight-city tour will begin in San Luis Obispo, California at One Way.  Their tour will be full of demos and team signings plus will include every single Toy Machine team member except for Diego who will have to get knee surgery instead.  Check out the tour dates below.

Speaking of the West Coast, the Lakers came out on top of the conference and any basketball fan would imagine after achieving the best record in one of the tightest and toughest seasons in basketball history, the finals would be a breeze.  I along with every other basketball analyst thought that the Lakers would come close to sweeping the Celtics.  So wrong, and so crappy the Lakers have become.  They blew a 24 point lead tonight!!!

Anyway, sorry for digressing.  Just make sure that you catch the Toy Machine team on one of their stops during the rest of this month.  They’re usually a pretty entertaining team. 

Just like Lakai, Toy Machine too has a new site. While Lakai went the fine aesthetic route with clever flash cartoons and fancy buttons, Toy Machine went the straight to the point route with disturbing pictures and interesting content.  Not to say Lakai’s isn’t interesting, but Toy Machine is probably a better read with day in the life “diary entries” and breathtaking photography, just like the photo above.  You have to check it out for yourself.  I definitely bookmarked this site.