Just felt like writing

 So I just thought I'd say a couple words since I have access to the blog and can write whatever I want. First of all, I want to draw your attention to David Law's interview that I posted earlier. Don't let this post deter you from reading his interview. We've been doing interviews for a couple weeks now which have been, in my opinion, very entertaining to read. But I just thought that I'd put up another good old fashioned story. But before I start, I'm going to discuss some Bolts of Thunder business. First item of business, Brandon Miller now has a picture for his email account. You can see that on the followers section on the right. Now you can all see what he looks like! Congratulations Brandon. The second item of business is that I met another one of our phantom blog followers this weekend: Wizard. Yeah, that's his name, Wizard. He has another first name, but he asked me that I call him Wizard, so I will respect his wishes and call him Wizard. So Wizard is a member of this squad of Provo rippers that has the ability to learn and land more tricks in a week than I could in a year of skating. I guess it's true what they say about old dogs going out and skating and learning new tricks and stuff. Anyway, I feel it's my responsibility to give the people what they want and deserve, and I feel that Wizard deserves a shout out. so this one's for you, Wizard. Ok, now to my story. So I put that picture of me (Ammon) kickflipping that gap a week ago on the blog. Now I'm going to tell you the story behind it. So it was this kid in Geneva that took the picture. He is as stereotypically unreliable as skaters come. We actually met up and skated maybe 5 times out of the 20 or so times he said he would meet up and just never showed. No joke, it was that bad. Anyway, one of those times, he took me to this flat gap that was covered and skateable in bad weather. I kickflipped the gap, got the picture, then wanted to go back and film it the next day (I didn't have my camera on me). So we made a plan to meet up, and of course he just never showed. So I was there at this spot all by myself, and I was recovering from a cold. So I felt pretty bad just skating the gap by myself. Then while I was skating, I noticed two guys sitting in the cab of a semi truck. They looked kind of strange, so I looked at them for a minute. Then I realized that neither of them was wearing a shirt, and one of them proceeded to wash his body with baby wipes. The other one just starred at me. When the first guy was finished with the baby wipes, the second guy took over washing himself, and then the first guy replaced the other one in starring at me as I skated. That creeped me out and made it even harder to try and skate. So I set up my camera in a spot and kickflipped the gap with the camera just sitting there. Every now and then I'd look back at the dudes to see what was going on. They eventually put their clothes back on, then they just sat in the cab of the truck, ate bread, and watched me skate for a couple more minutes. Not wanting to be in any way involved in their little male peep-show ring or whatever they do, I packed up and left. The Geneva skater kid called me about 7 hours later and asked me if I was even going to show up to the gap. I told him that I had been there on time 7 hours earlier and that he never showed up, and that two dudes were sitting naked in a truck washing themselves and watching me skate. All he said was, "cool dude, so are you coming?" I think this was the defining moment in European skaters' career in putting them ahead of Americans in unreliability and stupidity. Boys, we need to step up our game if we ever plan on reclaiming those titles...

David Law's Interview

 This is exciting news: 2 new followers since I last reported. Drew Danburry and David Law, welcome! And I find it only fitting that today we have the David Law interview. Now some of you readers have been waiting long and hard for this interview to finally land, and now it's here. In this interview you're going to see a neverbeforeseen version of David Law, one that fights vagrants, plays Treasure Island with fellow Bolts of Thunder members, and has blood dripping out of his pants. Enjoy your reading. If you want to witness first hand his amazing skating, watch those videos he posted. Now that I'm writing, I just noticed something. Matt has had like 4 or so people choose him to be on the island. This seems strangely odd to me since Matt doesn't like camping, but I will not argue with the people, for they have spoken. But I will draw your attention to the last interview, Brian Barlow's. Yeah, I was chosen to be on the island! That's one for me. But I will not argue, Matt would be a better one to have around if you're going to violently encounter those cannibals... Thanks Sam for the picture (Sam Milianta took this picture).

(MrThunderBolt) So you've got a huge bag of tricks on your skateboard. How did you get down so many tricks, and what advice would you give to anyone trying to learn switch front foot impossibles and stuff like that?

(David Law) I have to preface by saying that flip tricks are my favorite part of skating, you can do it almost anywhere. I used to skate in my garage, in just one small side of a two car garage. No room to do anything, risks of hitting your face on the wall or garden tools and random sharp objects but that was how it started for me, dedicating lots of time. But now in my old age it's all I can do to keep up my old bag and here and there pick up a new one. I have landed ONE solid switch front foot impossible. So that one I'm still working on haha. I have an extremely close relationship with the asphalt/concrete. We're old buddies, I spend a lot of time down there. I fall more than anyone I know. I guess my advice would be to get comfortable down there and don't be afraid of it. It only hurts for a minute.

How long have you been skating, and what got you into skating?

I've been rolling on the ol' trickwood for around 11 years. I remember when I was hot stuff after riding for 2 years and could tre flip. My friend Zac Archuleta came to Springville to live with his dad for the summer and was skating, so I boardslid a parking block and slipped out and landed on my back on the block, I've been hooked ever since. I once tried to quit during high school cause I was bummed on the scene or something dumb like that, it lasted like three weeks and Chance Marrott gave me a hard time every day.

Who's part are you most excited for in "Bolts of Thunder Gone Wild"?

Pretty psyched for the whole video, but especially Hammers, I mean David McDonald. That dude is ballsier than anyone I know. Gnarly. And Weston and Sam's part. Sam is skating better than I've ever seen him and pushing the limit, it's rad. Weston goes faster than anyone. Gotta love that.

What's been your favorite part you've had in a video?
 

TTT Word is Born (http://vimeo.com/5847559). That was fun. So was TTT3 (http://vimeo.com/17629908). And there was "Touch It", that was maybe my best skating maybe. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_3SmdkNSj4
So of those three I'd say that Word is Born is my favorite.

What trick/tricks have you been most proud of landing?

Probably a backside 360 down that six stair at the end of my part in Touch It. And a switch 360 flip I did at the underground ramp at the SLC library.

You seem like a really nice guy. But looks can be deceiving... Have you ever had to hit someone with your skateboard? Have you ever wanted to hit someone with your board?

One time at the DI downtown slc there was this bum hassling me and Sam. He had the scariest hands I've ever seen, hands that could crush a baseball, huge, gnarly, dirty, bum hands that wouldn't let go of my hand. He was telling me Viet Nam stories or something and then wanted to take my money. I just spent an hour on Sam's blog locating this photo. It's taken after I finally yanked my hand free from his vice grips. And that's my "I'm about to kill you if you move any closer to me face." So if you ever see my skateboard in that position and that smile on my face after you've pissed me off... watch out!

When's the last time you lost bowel control and had some kind of accident?

Back in probably 2003 I got racked on that red flat rail in s. provo that goes off the three stair, know what I'm talking about? Well I hit so hard that I thought I either popped my sack or shat myself. I couldn't tell which. After ten minutes of not daring to look I found just a little bit of blood and that's it. ha. so I used to pee the bed when I was little big deal. One time I was being hassled by the police on the side of the road and told the guy "I'm gonna pee over here cause it's coming out no matter what." No ticket.

Of all members of Bolts of Thunder, who would you be trapped on an island with? And remember, there are cannibals on this island that potentially want you dead and on a skillet, so choose wisely.

That's easy. Matt Hart. I heard that he choke slammed an Arab, just for being Arab. I want him on my side for sure. Cannibals have no chance.

What local skaters would you like to see get really big?

So many of them. How about a list of my favorite Utah County kids that I like to WATCH skate. Let's start with Errick Musgrave, Dyllan Call, Uri, Alec, Devon, Warren Miles, Jon Hart-throb. Weston Colton, T Braithwaite, Finn Christensen, Matt Davis, Braydon Banks, Sam Hodges, Damon Dixon, Nate and Jon Brun, Austin Burrows, the Brodie show, Matt Fisher, Chandler. And Steve Downs still has some UC in him. There's a million more. But these guys make me stop and stare.

Any thing else you'd like to say on the blog and to our readers? This is your opportunity to just let yourself go...

No, there is nothing left to say. Except maybe that motorbikes are pretty cool, almost as fun as skating, everyone should get one. I want a patch for my jacket that says Bolts of Thunder on it, that would be B.A. If you suffered through my ramblings this long then thanks for reading.

Sam Milianta's interview

I've known Sam for a good 11 years plus. He's a skate dictionary, he's super chill, funny, and in general a really nice guy to hang out with. He's been killing it for his part in "Bolts of Thunder Gone Wild", and we thought it was high time he gets a few words on this blog. Also, I'm extremely happy to announce that Dan Shaw is an official follower of the blog! So is his brother Greg. Welcome to the team guys. So here it is, the Sam Milianta interview.

(MrThunderBolt) How long have you been skating?

(Sam) I started skating in the winter of 1993.  So I guess it's been pretty close to 18 years now.  0

What got you into skating?

Before I was skating, I was in a band.  The band I was in used to play with a hardcore punk band that all skated.  My band broke up and I stayed friends with the guys in the other band.  They got me into skating.  I went to the bike store and bought a blank. The first day I skated, one of the guys I knew brought me over a pair of baggy jeans and the first Real video to help educate me and help me look the part.

How do you study, retain, and rehearse so much skating information? what counsel would you give to up and coming skaters that want to follow in your footsteps?

I pretty much look at Slap's website every day.  I used to read the magazine but sadly it is no more.  The website isn't the best source of news anymore either.  Also, I love videos.  I see pretty much every video, including local videos from places I've never been.  I don't know, I've always been a person who gets really into things I'm interested in.  I knew everything about Fender Stratocasters and Jimi Hendrix when I was in a band.  I read photography how-to books constantly even if I don't need to.  Someone should make a history of skateboarding text book.  Maybe I should write that.

So we've created this scenario that you get trapped on an island with one and only one member of Bolts of Thunder. There is a small band of cannibals on the island as well. Who would you chose to be on the island with and why? How do you see things going down, what would be your final show down with the cannibals?

Even though I don't know him that well, I would say Dan Shaw.  The dude just rode a bike over a thousand miles and slept in the woods.  He's gnarly.  I bet he could fashion a blow gun out of  tree and fill it with some kind of narcotic to appease the cannibals.  Pretty soon, the island would be rich from narcotics trading, kind of China's opium trade in the 1800's.  We would be kingpins/drug lords all because of Dan's ingenuity. 

What's the first curb you ever slappied?

That's a hard one.   I don't know if it counts as a slappy grind but we had this bike rack that we waxed up at SUU in Cedar City back in the day.  It was next to a tiny curb and you could roll off the curb onto it and grind the whole bottom of the rack.  There was a security guard on campus who used to skate and would wax it for us during the night shift.  He would roll up some nights in his security golf cart thing and get out his Hosoi board and slappy the rack with us.  I guess it's not really a curb but it was a good introduction to slappies.

Have you crapped your pants within the last 5 years? If not, when's the last time you did?

I have peed my pants in the last five years but don't remember the last time I crapped my pants. 

How do you explain to your students and their parents that you're a skate addict?

I usually don't.  There was one parent who was a big time snowboarder and we spent a whole parent teacher conference talking about mini ramps.  Also, I had one mom who had read about me being a cancer survivor in Slap.  That was weird.

How's it been filming for your part in "Bolts of Thunder Gone Wild"? This is your first part in a video, right?

First part!  I've never really filmed anything because I'm not gnarly.  I'm stoked to be part of something rad and it's crazy to film all these little cruiser tricks I've been doing for years. 

Who's part are you most excited for in the video?

That's a hard one.  I'm a big fan of unique spots so I'm really looking forward to all the Paris stuff.  But truthfully, I would really like to see a Tyson Cantrell part.  If Garrett comes through with that footage, that's the most anticipated part for me.  Also, I could watch Weston do a frontside lipslide over and over. 

So what went down with that guy in Salt Lake, the guy that tried to steal your flash?

The guy came to kick us and just started off being a jerk. He told Dave that if he rented an office in the building he could skate the rail.  He was just some guy who worked in the building, not even the owner or landlord.  He kept raving at Dave about his "property".  We were trying to be nice and just leave and he grabbed my flash, and said I'm going to take this so you'll leave.  It really didn't make any sense.  We were leaving anyway and how can you steal someone elses "property" since property was what he was so concerned about.  He was blabbing nonsense and I started arguing with him.  I told him he couldn't take my flash because that's stealing my property.  He told me he was going to call the cops because he thought that would scare me and I told him to go inside and call the cops, I wanted to talk to them as well.  I guess that surprised him because he gave me back my flash and went inside and didn't say another word. 

Any last words for our Bolts of Thunder blog readers?

1000 followers.  By tomorrow.  Recruit everyone you know.  Use Facebook or Twitter or whatever, I don't care.  1000 followers by tomorrow.  That is your assignment readers.

Jonny's big secret

Dear readers, I have made a big mistake, sorry. In the post earlier today, Ammon's interview, I committed the grievous sin of taking credit where credit is not due. I said that that picture of the kickflip over the gap was me when, in fact, it is Ammon... Ammon's been my stuntman for years now. Tricks that I don't really feel up for, Ammon straps on a blond wig and goes for it. This picture, the 5-0 that Weston Colton took of me, is not really me. It's Ammon. That's why he secretly and strategically shields his face from the camera in these pictures. There are dozens more like it, here's just one example... I couldn't live with this on my conscience any more, so I'm coming clean. Anyway, read Ammon's interview, laugh, and we'll see you next time. And Weston Colton really did take this picture, he didn't have a stuntman do it for him.

Garrett Taylor's new skate site!

So we're always really happy and excited when Thunder Bolts branch out into the world, spread their wings, and start up new projects. Garrett Taylor is doing just that. He's started his own website called "Working on Skating," and the site is: www.workingonskating.com. To make this easier on all of you, I've put a link to it under the "Homies and Vatos" tab on the top right of the blog. He's working on a video that's coming out soon, so he has some trailers up on it. Check it out because he'll have the video up soon, and it's going to be pretty nuts. Also, don't miss Brian's new interview I just put up, it's the post just under this one.

Brian Hart's interview

For all of you who are worried and wondering, the pube was still on the soap when I came home after spending the weekend in a retreat camp in the mountains with Thunder Bolts and friends which means my roommate knew I was on to him and isn't using my soap anymore. That's good for all of us. So today's post is the highly anticipated interview Brian Hart interview. The man needs no introduction, his accomplishments come stacked beside him so high that they can be seen from the moon. The man's got a beard that would make Richard the Lion heart bitterly jealous, and he's beaten up celebrities (cracked out ones that are now on celebrity rehab) which is accomplishment enough in this life. Especially when the celebrity was that annoying kid from "Bay Watch". It's all in the interview. So, with no further adew, I present you the Brian Hart interview...

(MrThunderBolt) So I was watching "Lethal Weapon" the other night, and Mel Gibson is talking about how he capped that guy in Laos from really far away and in high wind, and maybe only 10 people in the world could have made that shot. Do you consider yourself one of those 10 people?

(Brian) Do I consider myself one of those 10 people he was talking about?  I was born in 81’, “Lethal Weapon” came out in 87’, which puts me at about six, so no I don’t think I was one of the 10 he was talking about.  But, could I make that shot?  Absolutely.

So a funny story I thought of a couple weeks ago that always instills a sense of family pride within me was when you beat up the actor kid that played "Hoby" (David Hasslehofs' son) on "Bay Watch". What was it like beating up a child star, even though he wasn't a star, he just thought he was? Would you like to tell our viewers a little about that story?

That’s a funny story.  That was probably my first real fight I ever had with someone other than a close relative.  I was friends with some neighbor kids that lived up the street from us when I was 12.  For some reason during the summer we all stopped talking to each other over something stupid.  Turns out that their neighbor’s grandson was Hobi and he was visiting for the weekend.  So one day this Hobi comes over to us and wants to fight us for no reason.  None of us want to fight him but he keeps saying stuff and eventually pushes me.  The only thing I really remember about the fight was that my cousin, who was a surfer, was simultaneously telling me I could beat Hobi up, and asking Hobi for his autograph.  I was also scared that I was going to really hurt him and he would sue my parents (this was the early 90’s and everybody sued each other).  Since I had had years of practicing on my brothers, I had no problem beating him up.  He eventually threatened to sue me and left. 

So here's a classic question that I think I'll be asking every interviewee: If you were trapped on an island with a single member of Bolts of Thunder, who would it be and why? 

After reading your blog I am automatically envisioning cannibals on the island.  In this case I would definitely take Matt.  I think Matt is the only thunder bolt out there that would eventually get hungry enough to start cannibalizing the cannibals.  If this were the case, I know I would have no problem with a surplus of fresh food until help arrived.  Matt also has some Jedi mind manipulation thing down were he can get people feeling good about doing things that they don’t really want to do.  So, I could be the one fetching a meal for Matt as well, either way neither of us would go hungry.

I think I speak for the general public when I say that you have a pretty amazing beard. How do you treat your beard, and what tips would you give to anyone wanting to have such a manly beard? And going along the same lines, should we expect to see a long-haired version of Brian any time in the future?

Well, may I say, thank you for noticing.  This beard is 100% natural grade A hair that receives a healthy dose of sunshine, rest, and left overs that do not make it in my mouth.  I always wanted a nice polaroid of me, my first born child, and a wild beard.  So, expect to see a follicle come back sometime in the next year or so.

How's Whitny doing? Any good stories about her boss at work as of late?

The only one that comes to mind is her manager going into her boss’s (owners) office when the boss had his 2 and 3 year old children sitting in the office all day.  She said she saw the two year old holding a napkin with a turd on it.  The manager quietly shut the door and went to tell the boss.  The funny thing is that the boss just shrugged and kept working downstairs.  I keep picturing the office after an hour of that.

Another funny story that always makes me laugh is the infamous "F--- you Andy!" story from Havasupi. Would you mind explaining what went down?

Glad this story is not too embarrassing for anyone and it never gets old.  I was hiking out of Havasupi after we made a quick 24 hour trip.  I was exhausted laying on a rock when along comes these two kids up the trail.  One turns off the trail and starts heading up a ravine.  His name’s Andy.  I tell him he’s off the trail and he tells me he knows of a short cut that gets you to the top.  I immediately perk up and follow him.  I get to talking to his buddy for a while and before I know it I am a good mile+ up this ravine and it is going nowhere.  Suddenly I realize I either need to go back the way I came or just hike out of the ravine to the trail.  I try convincing Andy’s friend to come with us but he won’t leave Andy.  I decide to hike out the ravine.  Once I get up top I realize there is another ravine that I need to hike down and back up or go back the way I came.  I decide to go through the next ravine.  There were about 3-4 ravines before I finally hit the trail.  Once I got up on the trail I looked back, and miles away was Andy.  He had a bright flashlight and he had followed that canyon until it turned to a 2000ft sheer cliff, and his light was searching the cliff for a way out.  Something had to be said, but not much else came to my mind.

 To finish up, do you have any advice for the up and coming Bolts of Thunder generation?

Have fun while you can.

Ask me your questions again; shout out to international homies!

Oh man, this is exciting news: We have 3 new followers of the blog this week! Garrett Taylor, Brian Barlow, and Maranda Miller, welcome! We're happy to have you. Now I just had a thought, why isn't Dan Shaw a follower, an official follower on the right side of the page? That's just confusing... Get on that Dan. And some more exciting news, June sets the record for most posts in a month, pulling ahead of April with 30 solid posts in 30 days. I managed to pull that off amid school, the GRE, wedding planning, and working on the video. Most people would call that outright shirking of my other duties in dedicating so much time to the blog. And you're probably right in thinking that. One last bit of blog business; I was looking on the stats for our blog, and in the audience section, we have a consistent number of viewers in Malaysia, France (it's probably mostly Dave, but still...), the UK, and Germany, and we even have some this week from Iran and the Philippines. We've had people from Russia, El Salvador, and all kinds of places look at our blog. That's pretty amazing to me. I want to give a special shout out to all of our international viewers, and I'm glad you somehow found this blog. If there's anything we can do to make this blog easier for you to understand as far as languages or whatever goes, let us know. But seriously, we're really happy and honored that you're reading or at least looking at this blog. Ok, there are several of you that have expressed to me that I acted too hastily in answering those questions in my last post. Sorry. So what we're going to establish is a sort of open door policy, ask me your questions whenever you want, and I'll answer them. I'm going out of town for the weekend, so while I'm gone, I leave you all the time you can have to post some questions in the comments area. I love and appreciate your comments/questions, and I'm curious to see what you have to say. So don't be shy. And you can post questions and comments in the future too... So I caught my roommate using my soap this week, called him out on it, and he flat out denied it. He said that he uses shampoo for soap since he doesn't have any soap in the shower. But the same bottle of shampoo that's been in the shower for 5 months hasn't decreased in volume since the day he bought it. He's virtually bald, so he doesn't use it on his head. So after I called him out on it and he lied to my face, the shampoo has been decreasing in volume, and my soap hasn't been shrinking at an abnormally rapid rate. But one can never be too sure on such matters, and since I'm leaving town for the weekend, I set up another trap to get my roommate in his untruthful ways. I strategically placed another pube firmly within the bar of soap (that's how I caught him the first time), and I will see if it stays there over the weekend. If not, I'm calling him out on it again, and I'll explain to him how he's been flossing his body with my pubes. So this week we skated and filmed with Nick. It was really fun and productive. And that's all I have to say about that. So here are some pictures from Paris: Garrett smiling, me taildropping, Matt using some upper-body strength to get up and over in a gymnastics style move, and finishing it all off with some wet wipes featuring Matt and Dave...