TJ Rogers has already blown it. At 19, he’s already got a reputation for having a shitty, cocky attitude. He films with his iPod headphones on while listening to crappy music that isn’t The Smiths or ‘Lil Wayne. His clothes are still too big. In his defense, they used to be Grant Patterson big, but have since reduced in size.
TJ allegedly has long-running beefs with a couple other up-and-coming Canadian skateboarders. One of the first Google search results for his name is a clip of TJ face planting into a pile of mulch. He has a Sheckler-esque “Rogers” back tatt between his shoulders. He has initials for a first name and the same last name as the infamous Jereme; aaaaaaand, are you ready for this ... he’s from Whitby, Ontario.
Stop right now. Just close the mag and log on to your favorite forum or twerpy little blog and get your jollies by talking shit on TJ.
Ishod Wair
Words: Robert Brink. Photos: Gabe Morford. Already Been Done, April 2011
It's rare that a kid from New Jersey blows up like Ishod Wair has. Don't hold me to this, because I suck at math, but it probably only happens like, once per decade.
In the best way possible, Ishod is a skate rat with skateboarding on the brain 110 percent of the time. Which probably explains why he didn’t know when he officially got on Real and postpones late night filming missions because he forgets to clip his toenails.
Easily forgivable offenses when you consider the reward is a bonkers part in Real’s Since Day One from one of the most notable ams of the last couple of years.
He's a kid you wish you could skate like. He’s a kid you wish you could skate as much as. Talking to him makes you realize you sweat the small stuff way too much. He even has a cookie sponsor. Curb your jealousy for the time being and enjoy a brief moment in time with Ishod Wair.
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.
Storefront: NJ 4
Words: Rob Brink The Skateboard Mag, May 2011
Chris Nieratko and Steve Lenardo had been waiting for something to open up in Princeton, NJ for over three years when an existing skate shop closed its doors in early 2010. Simply put, they jumped on the vacancy and NJ 4 Skate Shop was born.
“We’d never open in a town with another skate shop,” Nieratko says. “There are far too few mom and pop stores making it these days. It’s a small skate community out here. We wouldn’t want to hurt anyone's business or bum people out.”
Life long friends, Steve and Chris always open stores in the towns they used spend their youth skating in.
“We grew up skating Sayreville (NJ 1),” says Nieratko. “As we got older we'd take buses to New Brunswick (NJ 2). Every skater from Jersey from our generation started their NYC sessions at the Lackawanna ledges in Hoboken (NJ 3). Princeton was another great college town filled with spots that we used to hit.”
Mark Whiteley Talks One in a Million
Words: Rob Brink Already Been Done, February 2011
You might have wondered why, all of a sudden, this year’s One in a Million series from Slap was so much more awesome than past seasons. Not that previous years were bad, but 2010 seemed to have a little extra pixie dust sprinkled on it, a little more hype behind it and a lot more of an audience watching it.
At the end of every episode of OIAM, the credits read, “Created and developed by Mark Whiteley,” so he seemed like the man to pester with our fickle inquiries. And after hearing newly coined phrases like “the Forrest factor,” learning what happened when the cameras weren’t rolling and what Slap has in store for next year’s OIAM from the most inside OIAM insider there is, we were glad we asked.
In the span of the last eight years, Rob (now 26 years old) has ridden his skateboard across the United States (most of the way with a fractured ankle), Canada, New Zealand and some of Australia (which got cut short after he was hit by a car). In total, approximately 20,000 miles—which, when calculated to actual on-board time, works out to about 18 months of solid pushing.
When Rob appeared on MTV Live in June of 2008 to promote his organization, Skate4Cancer, a record number of audience members came to see him. The producers said that Rob brought more people than any artist they’d ever had on, outnumbering even The Spice Girls in their glory days.
Apart from growing Skate4Cancer and opening the new Dream Love Cure Centre in Toronto, Rob’s planning on skateboarding across France this April.
In this world, very few people repeatedly pull off unthinkable. Rob Dyer is one of them.
