Luke Loves Kelsey

These two are such a fun loving, kind hearted, down to earth pair. Their personalities compliment each other perfectly and their collective goofiness is infectious! When you spend time with Kelsey and Luke, you can feel the love. They are open and honest, genuine and sincere.  As individuals they are two of my favorite humans, but together are truly a force to be reckoned with. I'm so excited for your new life together and I know your holiday cards won't disappoint ;) 

Vienna

Introducing my friend Vienna! We met up with about an hour of daylight left and took a walk through Powell Butte. Vienna was a blast to work with and clearly crushed it!

Lauren

Introducing my friend Lauren and her pup Van… She has taught me that I'm, "too blessed to be stressed" and I make her “look and feel like an angel”... her words, not mine. Enjoy these shots from our adventures! 

She-Ride x Wolfe Family Benefit

This year's exclusively women's event opened its doors to the dudes to help raise money for the Wolfe family. The Wolfe's lived at the bottom of the hill until this July, when a fire consumed their home. Luckily, no one was hurt.

The proceeds of this year's event benefited the family that's helped feed/ cook for us, defend our community against nay-sayers, and allow us to store our hay bails for a reasonable rate. We had about 200 riders who helped raise over 10k for our friends from the bottom of the hill.

As a result, this years event saw many dudes in dresses.  One fine example of what women bring to skateboarding. That said, there’s a double standard and it’s bs.  Here I’ll give a nod to my white-male-privilege.  To be clear: I love women. The majority of my friends are of the fairer sex. That said, when I typically play skateboards, it's a male-dominant day. Not that I don't love some poop humor and phallic references, but variety is the spice of life. The She-Ride is certainly that. I can't wait for the year where every event is so diverse.  

What’s the hold up though? There’s never been a better time than right now to jump in.  What’s changed if you fail?  Follow your bliss, do what you love and love what you do. There’s no rush though, the average person fails at least three times before they figure out what they want to do. Skateboarding has and will alway be there for me while I’ve been figuring it out.  I’m not alone.

It’s an exciting time, I was listening to NPR and heard that every year there are more women in jazz than the year prior.  I’d venture the same assertion for skateboarding.  The fact the every year is record breaking for women needs to be highlighted and celebrated.

Skateboarding needs more female riders. End of story.

Maryhill Spring Freeride

Goldendale, Washington is home to my favorite road in the world.

Maryhill Loops Road

It is home to an International Downhill Federation World Cup race, the Maryhill Festival of Speed.  The 'Festival' is the largest race each season, both measured by the number of riders (230) as well as the prize purse (<10k). Riders from over 20 countries come 'battle it out' to be crowned King and Queen of the hill.

The road is also home to the Maryhill Ratz, a group that organizes 'Freerides' four times annually, one of which is 'ladies only'!!! At these events, both pro-riders and rando's alike get to ride down this beautiful 2.2 mile hill with its 22 corners set on a 5% grade. Three U-Hauls are rented to shuttle the riders up the hill from 9am-5pm Saturday and Sunday. These events openly welcome other wheeled toys such as drift trikes, gravity bikes, downhill scooters, inline skaters, buttboards, and luges.

The downhill family is thick as thieves and I've never seen a sport with more compassion and hospitality running through its blood. Only in this community do I feel comfortable hosting dudes I have never met at my house for the weekend or even leaving my car unlocked all day because there are no worries at the hill. Other than injuries. The Ratz have that covered though, the 'Freerides' have a medical staff complete with multiple EMT's, an ambulance, and a rad utility vehicle.

If I was able to attend one skate event all year, it would be a 'Freeride' without question.

If you would like to witness the wonder that is Maryhill, come on down to Goldendale this June, I'll see you at the Festival along with 3,000 other spectators!