Eddie Rad

I got sent these pics of Eddie Reategui in training. You can only get Streets of Venice and Daggers gear in one place. Come to the shop were the pros are at.

Make It Count

I got invited to the World Premiere of Make It Count: The Element Story. The movie was the story of Element Skateboards and it's founder Johnny Schillereff. In attendance was Chad Tim Tim, Ray Barbee, Bam Margera, and Mike Vallely. The theme of the movie was what we all know, skateboarding combines athletics, music, and art. And skateboarding allows rich and poor people to come together, regardless of how good we are, skateboarding is about the love for the sport.

Tonight Is The Night

Tonight at 6 p.m. the Black Tear shoe will be released at the Streets of Venice. They will not last, so if you want a pair, tonight is the night.

Agenda Showroom

I went to the Agenda Showroom to place my order for the future lines from The Seventh Letter and Fresh Jive. The showroom is just off of Melrose Ave. With great art on the walls, a bowl to skate, and great clothes to pick from, how can you not just feel cool walking into this place ?

My Cousin's Sense of Humor

My cousin is the type that will e-mail me posts on YouTube. Beware these are not for the weak.

We Must Be Doing Something Right

I got the letter below sent to my e-mail last night and it made my day. You never really know how you are doing, so it's letters like these that let me know we are on the right path. Thank you, Phillip !!!

Hey Kevin,


My name's Phillip and I met you earlier today at your skate shop in Culver City, Streets of Venice. I was born and raised in the skating culture and actually just want to show my appreciation for what you've accomplished in the mall and building a mini pipe inside your store. I'll be at the grand opening this Saturday and good luck with the success of your shop.

Regards,

Phillip

Pics of the Pros

More pictures from the Hosoi and Eddie Rad session on the SOV ramp continue to come my way. These were taken by Chicken and I wanted to share.

The Storm Is Over

The storm is over! The Streets of Venice is open and we want to invite you to our Grand Opening Weekend. The event starts off on the night of Friday, April 30th at 6 p.m. with the release of the Black Tear shoe. Then on Saturday, May 1st, the C1RCA and C1RCA Combat skateteam will be on the ramp for a demo. We've worked hard for this and want to share it with everyone.

Philippe The Originals

After visiting 722 Figueroa Showroom to place our orders with Geoff and Cody of In4mation, Rebel8 and CXXVI, AC and I needed to eat. So we headed to Philippe The Originals for a quick bite. Philippe's is one of the oldest and best known restaurants in Southern California. Established in 1908, it's claim to fame is being the birthplace of the French Dip Sandwich. You have to order at the counter and the sandwiches are made fresh right in front of you. This place is worth the trip.

Time-lapse

A big thank you to Rei Yoshioka for showing up late the other night and shooting as Darby Crash was hung in our store. Rei even showed up with beer, what a guy. He posted this video on YouTube with Lexicon Devil as a soundtrack but YouTube flagged it. What happened to Freedom of Speech ?

You Are Invited

You are invited to the Grand Opening of Streets of Venice on May 1st. We are having the C1RCA and C1RCA Combat Skateboard team arrive at 12 p.m. to do a demo on the ramp and to sign autographs. Scheduled to appear are Ryan Gallant, Sierra Fellers, Windsor James, and Dave Gravette. We will have free C1RCA and SOV giveaways. And anyone that missed out on getting the Black Tear shoe on Friday night will have the opportunity to purchase them at 10 a.m., if any are left. You need to be at this event !!!!

Julie's New Board

Julie, who helps to manage the shop, got a new skateboard. Being cute, she sent a shot of it to her little brother and told him he couldn't ride it. Her brother, sent her back a pic of what he was going to do to the board.

Jay Adams

Danny from Obey came back to put up the Jay Adams pic. Joe Shmo, who has lived in Venice his entire life and is pictured below, told me that Jay would run up to old ladies on bus stops, get face-to-face with them and make that exact face. Now you can be face-to-face with Jay by stopping by the shop.

Hosoi

Christian Hosoi dropped into the shop today to test out the ramp. What else can I say, the video speaks for itself. SOV has the newest Pocket Pistols Skates and Team Hosoi boards on sale.

Darby Crash

The art at Streets of Venice continues to grow. Danny from Obey put Shepard Fairey's Darby Crash on wood up on our wall. For the kiddies, Crash was the lead singer of the Germs. I like that Fairey paints Crash with no facial expression.

Juice

Dan Levy, the Editor of Juice Magazine, shot pictures for the Streets of Venice ad that will appear in the May issue. After the shoot, Dan took Anthony and I over to the Juice office. Juice is housed right on the boardwalk of Venice Beach. How can anyone do any work with a view like that ???

Eddie Dad-egue

Above Eddie Reategue is two of his boards from team Alva. Today, he padded up son Ryder and took him on the ramp. The wheel doesn't fall far from the truck.

Big Bruce

This is Big Bruce, a friend of the shop. Despite, a bad knee, the guy was still skating the ramp. The kids in the picture asked Bruce, "Yo man, do a trick." This was his reply, "We don't do tricks, we skate and with style."

The First Customers

This is Jessica and Mitch Gomez, they were the first people to make a purchase at the Streets of Venice. Mitch got a Young and Reckless hat and Jessica got a new Obey Ladies Tank.

Today I am a Skate Shop Owner

I was the type of kid that skated to school, ditched my board in the bushes, and prayed that it was still there after school.

I would drive my teachers crazy by sucking on my long hair that hung down over my eye all during class.

I am still searching for Animal Chin.

I dreamed that the Bones Brigade was Steve Caballero, Lance Mountain, Mike McGill, Tommy Guerrero, Tony Hawk, and Kevin Applebaum.

I gave my allowance to Free Hosoi.

In the Third Grade, we had to write a letter to a famous person. I wrote mine to Lance Mountain, everyone got a response, but me.

I would pull-up my shorts and velco my Jimmy Z's.

I wore my Mark Gonzalez, bright yellow Vision shirt all around the White House.

I would steal wood from behind the food store to make a ramp. And then complain when one of my friends would break it.

I won my first skate contest by landing a Boneless.

I went to the Outhouse in Glendora to get my first board.

My heroes didn't hit home-runs, score a touchdown, or sink a basket, they skated ramps and pools.

And Today I Am A Skate Shop Owner

Thank You

We just want to say Thank you, without the following people's help, we never could have opened the shop.... Sam Andes, Kevin Hughes, Chuck Martinez, Brandt Leitze, GC Mike, and the entire Westfield family, C1RCA and their crew of Steve Meidroth, Marc Delellis, Dave McKinney, and Holli Koriath, Dan Levy, Narson, Juice Magazine, Eddie Rad, Hosoi, TA, and the rest of the Daggers, Jun Cha, Lucky, Dice, Bloodbath, Eric Zi and Ramon Cho( thanks for meeting us off a freeway at 10 p.m. at night to get product ) In4mation, Aloha Todd, Geoff Nishimoto, Jon Schaub and Deluxe, Matthew Bockal and Brixton, Shepard Fairey, Tommy Love, Danny and Obey, Angel, Kirk Hodson, KR3W, and Supra, Keith Marzo, Scotty, Ben, Bobby, and The Hundreds, Justin Maruco, Stereo Sound Agency, Ted Travers, Nicole Hansen, Element, Ed Son, Wade, Adidas, Ryan Marshall, Jason Hassan, Mark, Switchboard Inc., Jimi, Syndrome, Chad, Select Distribution, Agenda, Kellen, Tague, 7th Letter, Fresh Jive, Marten, Victory Display, Dupree, Andy, Action Designz, Oscar, Rita, Breakwater, Hecho En Venice, and most of all thank you to our families for their love and support. I am sure that I left a few names off and I am sorry. And I want to give a special thank you to our future customers, you will make Streets of Venice a success.

We Are Open

This project has taken over six months to complete and the road had a ton of bumps that made it a uneasy ride. However, I a glad to say that we are open. It took two weeks to set-up the shop for a soft opening. And we still have a lot of work to do, but we would like everyone to come check us out. I get to brag, that's my daughter Sydney, pulling the paper off the windows.