Bucky's Bowl BBQ
Prologue
I am no longer affiliated with the website Concrete Disciples. Ray Zimmerman (MRZ) & Christian Cooper (BLKPRJKT) decided to move on to a new adventure and I decided to go with them. I have received emails from people asking about the Blue Tile Obsession and I decided to go back to my roots for awhile. I am writing on my original blog until I get this other writing adventure off the ground. We are –collectively–working on a new and exciting project. I will be posting stories on this blog until these things come to fruition. Thank you for the support these past few years and thank you for reading. - Ozzie
Bucky Lasek BBQ
6:35 am. Today is the Bucky Lasek BBQ. It is raining softly on the city. Cold wind. It is the kind of wind that cuts you up. I stood on the front porch of Ray Zimmerman’s house and pulled the collar of my coat up around my neck. Dark ominous clouds knifed across the Long Beach skyline and the gutters rippled with dirty water. A lone truck rumbled up the street, its wipers whisking across the windshield. I took a sip of coffee and turned to go inside. My heart was heavy. The day looked like a washout. Ray got up and we decided to go down to San Diego anyway. BLKPRJKT came by. We threw the dice. Gamblers. “It’s a good day to be inside.” I mumbled. “Inside a car, a living room… it matters not.” They both agreed, as we loaded up the truck and headed south. The wet highway crawled with cars… hissing. We talked and laughed. We discussed the weather, the future and the Protec ladies contest the day before. Alysha, Amelia, Lizzie, Mimi…. Good Lord! Those girls sure can ride!
Arriving at Bucky’s, we found it sopping wet. Clouds hung over the property and a line of cars were already parked out front. Optimism. Bucky greeted us and we soon found ourselves lugging pop up tents up the hill. Rain fell in a cold wet sheet around us. Bucky peered at the sky and smirked - “Well, we’re going to eat and drink regardless….” More people arrived and text messages flew across the wires… ”Is it raining?” ”Is the BBQ going to happen?” ”Is it going to rain all day?” Jeez! People must think I’m Nostradamus…. how the Hell do I know anything?! My life is in disarray. After a time, the rain ceased and we started with the brooms, towels and squeegies. We finally saw the bowl almost dry when the sky let loose in earnest. Bucky and I sighed and climbed out of the bowl. We completed this task four times in two hours and the sun finally peeked through the clouds. The rain had stopped and the bowl was dry.
Paul Wisniewski dropped in and held it down. Huge Smith grinds, airs and a smooth speedy style were his… all day. Paul was on a tear! Bucky went crazy! He went bigger than everyone and reigned supreme. Zach Miller was the essence of style. Mike Owen, Mancha, Cookiehead, KB, Jim Gray, Elise, Jeff Hedges, Jason Richardson, Adrian Demain, Bob Burnquist, Aaron Astorga and a host of others quickly lit the fuse on a wet firecracker. It only took a spark. Slalom cones were soon placed in the bowl. The race was on. Bucky timed the riders. It was fun to watch everyone try and make it through… Zach Miller won the yearly slalom event.
Bucky went around and helped all the kids into the bottom of the bowl… toddlers and all. A sticker toss ensued and Bucky quickly made a command decision. Override. He started raining dollar bills in from the deck. The kids quickly dropped stickers and eagerly grabbed at the green paper rain falling from the sky. It was hilarious. At the end, there were about twenty kids of all ages happily grinning and clutching handfuls of sweaty money… you gotta teach em’ while they’re young!
Food was grilled, beverages were consumed and the rain clouds scuttled in the distance. Dave Duncan –with the help of Vans, Pantech and Hex – stuffed a huge wad of cash in my hands and said - “Go around and make people come get some of this money… pay for tricks or make them skate and take it from you. Make them earn it!” I grinned. Handing out money for skateboarding? ”Oh hell yeah! I’d be perfect for such a task.” I posted up on the deck with a grip of green and Cookiehead quickly relieved me of $60.00 with a long 5-0 grind. He snatched that money out of my hand so hard that I almost fell into the bowl! Zach Miller blazed a FS tailslide for a stack of bills and others stepped up for a payday. So it went…. skater after skater came to where I stood and tried grabbing money out of my hand while landing whatever they were attempting. A highlight was Jeff Hedges pulling a stalled invert while I stuffed a hundred dollar bill in his mouth…. Priceless.
I saw Peter Hewitt and told him that I would give him money just to pad up and ride. He shook his head in the negative, popped the top on a beer and smiled. I gave him a twenty just because he’s Peter Hewitt. Bob Burnquist thought it was Big Wednesday… He brought a surfboard attached to a skateboard. He paddled along and quickly performed a perfect ‘Scorpion’ onto the deck. He then paddled up for a second set, stood up and bomb dropped into Bucky’s Bowl… It was absolutely insane! Everyone went nuts.
The session went on. Ripping. Laughter. Amazement. It was growing dark and becoming difficult to see. A few more stacks of cash were earned as riders rode, people shouted and all was well with the world. It started as a wet day of disappointment and ended with a bang. The harder we work, the better luck we have. Bucky and his crew worked very hard to get this thing together. It was another amazing day of skateboarding, food, family, good fun and brotherhood. There is absolutely nothing better. Bucky thanks his sponsors : Element, Billabong, Vans, Rockstar Energy Drink, Von Zipper, Pro-Tec Helmets, Ogio, Independent, Boneless pads,Type S wheels, HEX, Pantech, HRE rims, GoPro. Thanks to MRZ, Dan Bourqui and Jim Goodrich for the images. Skate- Ozzie
