August 1, 2011
Ryan Sheckler: Paying it forward
Words: Robert Brink
Originally intended for 944 magazine this month, this piece never saw the light of day because the mag folded. Enjoy.
Sponsored at 6-years old and pro by age 13, it didn’t take long for San Clemente native, Ryan Sheckler (now 21) to reach the top of the game in skateboarding—and subsequently cross over to a mainstream success that 99.9% of his industry cannot fathom and most certainly won’t ever experience.
Sheckler was the youngest professional skateboarder to have a signature model shoe. He’s won multiple X Games gold medals, had his own reality show on MTV, achieved teen heartthrob status, sealed endorsement deals from Got Milk, Axe, Proactiv and more, scored roles in movies with the likes of The Rock and appeared on stage at a ‘Lil Wayne concert.
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May 18, 2011
Elegant Fun, SoCal Style
Laguna Cliffs spa and resort knows nuance
By Robert Brink
944, May 2011
Looking for a bit of youthful fun reminiscent of carefree summers of yore? Enter Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa in Dana Point. Recently renovated and honored as Dana Point’s 2011 Business of the Year, the AAA Four Diamond Victorian-style resort overlooks the Dana Point Harbor and offers a true Southern California experience: sunshine, ocean views, palm trees, pools, hot tubs, a spa, yoga classes, fitness facilities, indoor and outdoor wining and dining, live entertainment, tennis, volleyball and close proximity to tourist attractions and destinations—all par for the course.
Yet it’s the unexpected—the attention to fun detail—that sets Laguna Cliffs apart from other Southern California resorts — for starters, arriving at the valet to a fully restored, $175,000 1940 Ford Woody that’ll thrust any car or surf enthusiast into geek overdrive.
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May 18, 2011
Preservation and Progression
Nieuport 17 Honors its past while embracing the present
By Robert Brink
944, May 2011
“We’ve become the finest photo, art and aviation museum in the country,” says former Naval aviator and Nieuport 17 founder, Bill Bettis. “There’s not a thing on these walls that wasn’t given to me personally by an aviation legend who walked into this restaurant.”
Founded over 40 years ago on the corner of Newport Avenue and Irvine Boulevard in Downtown Tustin, Nieuport 17 (also the name of a World War I airplane) began as a restaurant and accidentally evolved into a historical landmark and encyclopedia of aviation.
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April 7, 2011
Chef Inspired: A new twist built on the success of Vine
By Robert Brink
944, April 2011
Almost as tired as Charlie Sheen sound bytes (but far less entertaining), the term “gastropub” gets tossed around a lot these days. According to Wikipedia, a gastropub refers to “a bar and restaurant that serves high-end beer and food.” By that logic, for many, an Applebee’s is a gastropub.
“The term ‘gastropub’ sounds like a disease to me,” says Vine’s head chef and proprietor Jared Monson, who recently got the seven-year itch (literally, as Vine opened in 2003) and transformed Vine’s bar into St. Roy: a Chef’s Pub at Vine. “We chose ‘Chef’s Pub’ because it implies a chef’s take on pub food,” Monson continues. The name St. Roy is derived from four of his favorite wine country towns: St. Helena, Rutherford, Oakville and Yountville.
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January 17, 2011
Rising Stars in Action
Words: Rob Brink
944, January 2011
Progression, like time, waits for no one. If you don’t do it, someone else will beat you to it. Period.
Actions sports are no different, however, progression isn’t always about winning a medal, being number one or the money. Most times, it’s simply for the greater good—to push the envelope.
The athletes involved are intensely creative, dedicated, persistent, innovative and expressive individuals. Even in an event as high profile as the X Games or US Open, they are most likely battling themselves, not the other competitors.
Lyn-z Adams Hawkins, Kyle Loza and Brett Simpson are all in “the window” right now. It’s the age and place in their careers where they’ve accomplished more than most will ever dream. They’re at top of their game, but still rising stars and we don’t mind staring up at them. Not one bit.
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September 8, 2008
Sky Ferreira: Hurricane Lolita
By Rob Brink
Missbehave Autumn 2008
Prior to meeting 16-year-old Sky Ferreira in her hometown of LA, I mentally envision a sketchy Roman Polanski-esque aftermath to our first encounter. The V-card-holding model and soon-to-be-pop star chills in LA clubs that I can’t even get into. She can hold engaging conversations with people twice her age. She’s gospel-trained with the same vocal range as Mariah Carey and prefers Sarah Brightman to Cat Power. What’s not to desire? It’s practically a setup for “Catch a Predator.”
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April 22, 2008
Amber Heard: Pretty Girl Makes Good
By Rob Brink
Missbehave March 2008
Actress Amber Heard is hot. She's also agnostic, fascinated by the death penalty, equally into bowling and libraries, and is going to be a star.
"I need to look at your wardrobe on Xanax," twitters 21-year-old actress Amber Heard as she approaches the stylist and his racks of clothes, before effusively hugging him. She eagerly fingers a bubblegum pink pair of patent leather shoes. "I love a man with a great pair of heels," she remarks and moves on to ogle other fineries. Heard has bed head, and from the looks of her, you'd swear it was about 8 AM on New Year's Day. But we're all smiling—about eight of us, as she grabs a coffee and perches on a stool. "I love my gays!" Heard squeals while gesturing to the room. She bobs her head in time to the tugs of one of the aforementioned homosexuals. He's pulling insistently on the matted knots while another commandeers her feet for a pedicure. Yet another grooms her brows and with every third pluck, her eyes spring tears but so goes the strife of a budding starlet.
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February 25, 2008
Hey You're Cool!
Lizzy Caplan
By Rob Brink
Mass Appeal #49
Lizzy Caplan commutes 45 minutes daily in pajamas for her favorite morning coffee in hometown LA. She's quick-witted and clever, refreshingly bullshit-free. To the point where her making fun of you actually feels good. And, despite obvious cute-slash-hotness, the 25-year old is more modest than she needs to be.
Caplan never really harbored any secret desires to become an actress until she defaulted to drama when playing the piano at the Hamilton Academy of Music in Los Angeles got boring—then she "just went for it."
You might remember her as Janis from Mean Girls. You know, the gothy, atypically attractive chick with an influx of eye shadow? But that was eons and a short-lived TV sitcom ago. These days, Lizzy spends her time eluding the Hollywood scene and working with powerhouses like J. J. Abrams, Harrison Ford and Sean Penn, while firmly rooted in the denial that she will soon be sought after and posing for cell phone photos with fans.
RB: I just spent 18 hours Googling you and the only dirt I found was some paparazzi picture of you on a cell phone snarkily entitled, "Lizzy Caplan loves her cell phone!"
LC: I don't want to hear it! I'm actually really uncomfortable even knowing that you looked all that shit up.
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January 10, 2008
Jena Malone...
And her Orgy of Talents
By Rob Brink
Missbehave January 2008
Much of what you've heard about Jena Malone is super five minutes ago. Yes, she was raised in and out of trailer parks by her mother and her mother's girlfriend. Yep, she then emancipated herself from moms and barely started high school before never going back. Sure, she was in the infamous Donnie Darko. Absolutely, she killed her role in Saved. And, she made out with Hayden Christensen onscreen in Life as a House and you didn't. Talking about all this old stuff is played.
Be up on the new shit, would ya? These days, Jena lives in Tahoe creating art, making music with her band, Jena Malone and Her bloodstains, and working with superDILFy Sean Penn. She's also recently discovered that being pretty doesn't mean people think you're boring, what being a woman actually means, and why being typecast as the weird cutter chick who lives in the bell jar is maybe the happiest thing in the world.
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September 21, 2007
Amanda Blank: Philly rapper on the come up
By Rob Brink
Missbehave #4
I'd been harassing rapper Amanda Blank for days before I finally got her on the line. Having just engaged in some lazy Sunday afternoon "boo lovin,'" Blank, 24, was still lying in bed. Naked. Now, I'm all for professionalism and as this was our first time speaking, I was gentlemanly enough to only wait three minutes before engaging in important topics like fingerbanging, handjobs and boners.
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