SLUG Contributor Limelight
March 25, 2012
Contributor Limelight: Shawn Mayer
One of our go-to action sports writers since 2007, Shawn Mayer has covered everything from surf movies and local snowboard manufacturers to skate legends like Tony Hawk and Stacy Peralta. As close to Jersey Shore as SLUG is ever going to get, Mayer is a Utah transplant from the land of Snooki who came out west to "slack off and ride some pow" in 2005 – he hasn’t left since and we don’t plan on letting go of his snarky attitude and Joisey accent anytime soon! Aside from being one of our action sports minions, Mayer likes to travel and document it all through film, photos and of course, writing. Mayer’s passion for all things action sports is infectious – if you don’t believe us, check out his article on Super Top Secret in this month’s issue.
Articles by contributor
Summer of Death: Part Deux
Summers in Utah are hot, and personally, I don’t like them very much. Finding the motivation to skate when it’s over 100 degrees outside is nearly impossible. You either have to wake up early, or sacrifice an evening of drinking in order to get some time on the old wood plank. Saturday, August 11th was
Summer of Death: Contest for Pussies!
SLUG Mag’s first contest in the Summer of Death series was held on Saturday, June 16, at the recently opened Union Board Shop in Sandy. The theme for this contest was a contest for pussies (the kitty kind, you pervert). And to make it even better it was free. … read more
Who’s That Dude?: An Interview with Andrew Wilson
I’ve been doing it for this long because I love it. Skating is so huge now that it seems like lots of kids get into it just for sponsors and the hope of turning pro when they should just enjoy it for what it is. Getting hooked up is cool, but it should never influence why you skate. … read more
The Future of Utah: Ogden’s Revitalization Project
My first trip to Ogden occurred last year; a group of friends and I ventured into the unknown city in search of some handrails to film. … read more
A Brief Conversation with X Dance’s Athlete of the Year,...
Tony Hawk has been a household name in the skateboarding game since I was a little tyke. Back then, he was just the tall, lanky guy with the surfer cut in Animal Chin, but now even my parents know the “birdman.” Over the years Hawk has done it all. He has invented over a dozen
Dew Tour: Andy Macdonald
The Dew Tour will be hitting Salt Lake City this weekend, and we caught up with vert legend Andy Macdonald to get his thoughts on the event. … read more
Dew Tour: Greg Lutzka
There are no if ands or buts about it: Greg Lutzka is one of skateboardings giants. He’s innovative and destructive on a skateboard. So, we hit him up with a few questions about the Dew tour and contest skating. … read more
Dew Tour: Pierre Luc Gagnon
Pierre Luc Gagnon is on top of his game when it comes to vert skating. SLUG was able to catch him inbetween double over head 720s to share some words with us about skating in the Dew Tour. Check it out here at this online exclusive. … read more
Dew Tour: Fabrizio Santos
This Brazilian behemoth of the skate world came to shred the Salt Lake stop of the Dew Tour this weekend, but before that we caught up with him and gathered his thoughts on the state of the skate world.
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Dewing It: Three Days at the Toyota Challenge
Tj Ellis, Farret Reynolds, Adam Dyet, Rodolfo Ramos and more get the skinny on this years Dew Tour Toyota Challenge … read more
X-Dance 2010: Celebrating Ten Years of Action Sports
I don’t know about you but I love festivals. I’m serious, I absolutely love them. I can remember back in the day attending the Warped Tour to see a bunch of fellow punks come together in unison to kick the shit out of the man (or each other). Or the Phish festivals where a dozen hundred Hippies take a bunch of drugs together and spread free love all over the place, including your own blanket (you still disgust me). I mean these things are fantastic, from a writer’s point of view anyway. That being said it’s with my great pleasure to welcome back to Salt Lake City: X-Dance! … read more
30 Days in the Valley: A Snowboard Odyssey
Over the last month Utah was been the hot spot for events especially those of the snow persuasion. Not only did we have the Winter Dew Tour rolling through for the first time ever, we also held the final Grand Prix of Snowboarding contest to determine who would be heading to Vancouver to respect Team America (fuck yeah!), played host to the X-Dance film festival for it’s 10th anniversary and also received about 8 ft. of snow in a week making for some last minute photo shoots and epic riding conditions in an otherwise lack luster early season. Fortunately (and unfortunately) I was there to observe it all for you! … read more
Summer Huh? Almost Made It!
A late June Sunday usually calls for a celebration, a picnic or BBQ with the family, maybe even a bowling outing. Not this Sunday, nope this year on Sunday, June 20th, marked the end of yet another epic winter in Utah’s Wasatch Canyons. Snowbird welcomed the snow community for one last rendezvous 11,000 feet up from sea level. With over 600 inches of snowfall this past season, the Bird was able to extend our beloved season almost into summer (marked by June 21st, also Go Skate Day! What a week!). Despite warm temps and the rapidly depleting base, conditions were far better than most could have expected and made for some spectacular riding and skiing.
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Kid Cudi @ Saltair 06.27
As we expected, Cudi killed it. Touring with a live band, this time around the music was more personal. Instruments bring a whole new feel to some of his classic tunes, as well as his new shit that is more evolved. … read more
The Dude Tour Diaries: Day One
Once again, the second to last stop on the annual summer contest series, Dew Tour, lands in Salt Lake City. … read more
The Dude Tour Diaries: Day Two, An Evening With Dalton...
I first noticed Dalton Dern by his haircut: a throwback to a ‘90s Andrew Reynolds. Instantly my mind flashed back to those classic front-side flips, which would eventually dub Reynolds “The Boss.” … read more
The Dude Tour Diaries: Day Three, The Endless Struggle
By the time Saturday had come, I was shot. Over the last two days, I had spent endless hours at work, on Trax, at Dew Tour, on the computer, back to work, Dew Tour, etc. … read more
X-Dance Review: TB20 (Snowboard)
TB20
Standard Films
X-Dance Screening: Thursday, Jan. 12 @ 2pm
TB 20 (Totally Board) marks Mike Hatchett’s twentieth release in the snowboard film series. This year’s film seems to be a homage to the life span of Hatchett’s film career. … read more
The Dude Tour Diaries: Day Four, An Interview with Steven...
The last event of this year’s Toyota Challenge took place on the vert ramp with the world’s best BMX riders battling it out for the coveted crown. … read more
X-Dance Review: Day At The Pool (Skate)
Day at The Pool
Fuel TV
X-Dance Screening: Friday, Jan. 13 @ 6:30pm
This short mockumentary tells the story of skateboarding’s earliest influence. … read more
X-Dance Review: Lost & Found (Surf)
Lost & Found
Corduroy Films
X-Dance Screening: Friday, Jan. 13 @ 7pm
While at a flea market in California, Doug Walker stumbled upon three boxes. Contained inside were surfing negatives. … read more
Tasty Craves and a Cool Buzz: Spedelli’s Restaurant
Spedelli’s is a must stop on the route home. Although some things haven’t changed from its predecessor, many things have, including the interior, which now sports the art of Dave Doman and Alex McAdoo. … read more
Mountaineers in the Mist: The North Face Masters Final Destination
The North Face Masters free ride competition series returned to Snowbird from April 12-14 with over 100 competitors, both men and women, pre-registered for their chance to ‘huck mad pow,’ take home a decent paycheck and obtain the coveted Katana sword trophy. Usually, the first destination on the tour, the Snowbird event was pushed to the final stop due to lack of early season precipitation. … read more
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Ludicrous Speed, Go!
Like Maverick, I’ve got the need … the need for speed. As Reese Bobby quaintly put it, if you’re not first, you’re last. And without that glorious burst of generated thunder provided by pounding pistons and burning fossil fuels creating the torque in the vein of 400-plus horses tugging at a one-ton wagon, then you’re certainly not going to win. … read more
Absinthe Films: Resonance Salt Lake Premiere 09.01
On the first of September, Justin Hoystenek and Shane Charlebois gathered a few of the riders featured in their 15th film, Resonance, to showcase last season’s ups and downs on the big screen at the Tower Theater in SLC. … read more
Teaching ‘Fun’damentals With Chill
The program, which originated in Burlington, Vermont in ‘96, has become an international activity. Now, based in 14 locations worldwide, it’s a way to reach less fortunate kids and allow them to enjoy the mountain life. Now in its sixth year in Utah, Chill serves over a hundred youth who without this opportunity would never get to experience snowboarding. … read more
The Northface Masters: Big Lines in Little Cottonwood
For the second consecutive season, the North Face Masters Contest Series kicked off at Snowbird Resort. … read more
Wet, Cold American Skate Comp: Summer of Death
Summer arrived on June 21, and you all know what that means: hot weather, BBQ’s, and SLUG’s Summer of Death contest series. … read more
Freedom of Choice: Revolution Manufacturing
There’s nothing better than buying a new snowboard: a clean top sheet to customize with stickers, a freshly tuned base and the feel of that first flex under your weight. It’s a very intense feeling knowing that for the next season or two, this piece of material will be bringing you the best of times and the worst of times. What’s better than this? Well, how about not only designing your own board, but watching the whole process take place … read more
Hungry Hungry Hipolito
When I agreed to interview Hippo, I assumed it would go just like any other interview: meet up, shoot the shit, take some photos, write the article. Man, was I wrong. Turns out he’s another struggling dude just like me. After three weeks of missed calls, no replies and failed meetings, we eventually chatted through his filmer’s email account (you have a filmer but not email?). Here’s how the conversation unfolded. … read more
It�s All Mathematics: Learning Trickonometry with Cody Weber
There was a time when skate shop videos were as abundant as porn stars at Charlie Sheen’s house. Now it seems that due to the recession, many shops are struggling to pay their utility bills, let alone give some young buck any sort of budget for a film. With a fresh start and a new team, Technique will be dropping “Trickonometry” on Utah like a baby grand piano. … read more
Breaking Down the Scene: Urban Media Show
If you live in Utah and don’t know about its underground, then you are missing an important part of the state’s culture that has become a lifeblood for those of us with a different perspective. For these scenes to sustain themselves, some exposure is required. One man helping to get the word out is Anthony Ambriz with his Urban Media Show, a web-based series of videos, which showcases local artists and musicians. … read more
From the Ground Up: the Birth of Grassroots Powdersurfing
Grassroots Powdersurfing is a company that produces bindingless snow tools. Not quite a snowboard, skateboard or surfboard, these products offer consumers an alternative that has a feel of it all. Similiar to a NoBoard or early Snurfer, these boards are used to surf the snow, but what makes these boards different is the lack of ropes or handles to help the board steer. … read more
Secret Snow Flying Machines: The Story Behind WuBanger Skis
Somewhere, a huge factory is spitting out thousands of skis. The materials are obtained for rock bottom prices, the designs are flawed, and Laverne and Shirley carelessly inspect the product before flaking off in song and dance. After one day on your new setup, you realize the skis suck, but now you’re screwed—the skis are used and can’t be returned. There goes a thousand bucks—FUCK! Enter WuBanger Skis. … read more
Review: Jake Blauvelt’s Naturally
If you don’t know the name Blauvelt by now, you must be a cave dweller. Since coming out of Vermont (my old stomping grounds), Jake has established himself as one of the best all-mountain riders in the world. … read more
On The Road Again: Windells Camps Out at Brighton
If you have never been to Mt. Hood’s summer camps, you are really missing out. Fortunately for you, though, Windells has been On The Road. … read more
SLUG Games: Slash Bash Presented By Ken Garff Fiat Recap
DJ Heinous Society provided the soundtrack as hordes of groms hiked feverishly to impress the judges with their pure guts and determination. Only the top five would advance to the finals, so it was now or never. … read more
Bridges, Bones and Brigades: The History of Skateboarding
This January, Stacy Peralta returns to Park City to premiere his fourth Sundance documentary, Bones Brigade: An Autobiography. The film tracks how the Bones Brigade influenced the most pivotal moments in skateboard history. During their reign, this handful of skaters started the transformation from slalom skating into modern street art. … read more
Secret Agent(cy) M(e)n: Unveiling Super Top’s Secret
Working for a design firm is kind of like being a CIA operative. Everything is on a need-to-know basis. Whom you’re working for and your exact task at hand are between you and the client—everything else is cloak-and-dagger.There is one agent or agency that comes with referrals and recommendations for their expertise in creative intelligence: Super Top Secret. … read more
Live Dew-ds: Exposing Snowbasin
From February 9-12, some of the world’s biggest names in skiing and snowboarding will be returning to Utah. Over the past years, this particular stop has proven successful—breaking attendance records daily and providing Snowbasin with a ton of exposure. In order to learn how this competition found its way to Utah, I met with the guys behind the scenes and spent a day on the hill. … read more
The SLUG Games: Shred the Park After Dark
On Saturday, March 10, Park City Mountain Resort played host to Shred the Park After Dark, the second and final contest of the SLUG Games series. With the sun shining bright, deep into the late afternoon, the snow kids turned up in droves to compete for bragging rights. With nearly 50 competitors, the table was set for another installment of SLUG-style madness. … read more
Stop, Collaborate and Brew It!
You may have noticed a new advertising scheme that has developed over the past few years: co-branding and product collaborations. By utilizing this marketing tool, local and domestic brands can step outside their designated target audience and embrace those with similiar ideals. Brewvies, X96 and The Arts Fest are a few local organizations that have figured out the best collaborations are those that include alcohol. … read more
Busting Out the Lowcard
In 2002, while playing lottery tickets, zine maker and skater Rob Collinson’s slap-happy pamphlets would unofficially become a mag. Ironically enough, the name for Lowcard came to Collinson while he was scratching away on a lotto ticket titled “High Card.” The object of the ticket was to reveal the highest card and win some cash-ola. However, Collinson confesses that, “I always got low cards on the tickets.” … read more
Blazing Battles: SOD Heats up Ogden
On Saturday July 14, we escaped deep into the heart of Ogden to chill out at Crossroads Skatepark for the first Summer of Death skate series contest. Typically, a hot warehouse full of groms and sweaty old men is not a place you want to be when the temps are soaring past the hotter-than-hell marker on your thermometer. Fortunately, the locale worked out perfectly since, for the first time in months, the water molecules in the clouds finally decided to band together and pay us a visit. … read more
Digging for Gold: Team Prospect Goes Knuckle Deep
Team Prospect is Smith Optics’ and Spacecraft Collective’s Intermountain, regional grassroots, ski and snowboard team. Being a part of this experience offers local athletes the opportunity to fast-track advancement through their five-tier sponsorship program. What sets Team Prospect apart from other flow sponsorships is the organization from top to bottom. The riders are backed by seasoned leaders and a company dedicated to life-long relationships, offering rider input and a larger-than-most advertising/marketing budget for its riders, regardless of their status. … read more
I Thought I Told Ya… I’m a Roughneck Souljah
Season 2, Episode 1 of “It’s a Rough Life” opens up with Johnny Roughneck, arguing with his “art director.” Flustered and in a sort of panic, Roughneck explains that the tour is a few days away, and they don’t even have any fucking flyers designed or printed. He knows he can’t do it all, but he feels the need to, sometimes—well, most of the time. He’s high-strung, opinionated, passionate and determined. Why is the flyer so damn important, what is this tour, what is Roughneck Hardware and, most importantly, who the fuck is this guy? … read more
Benson and Ledges: Cameron Giles Lights Up the Street Scene
Most BMX guys that I’m down with didn’t grow up with the luxuries of skate parks in which to mow down unsuspecting skaters—they advanced their skills with shovels and dirt in the woods, or by just mobbing the streets tricking on or off whatever was there. This is Cameron Giles, who, upon meeting me in my clownish snowboard gear, didn’t judge, but instead, offered me up a smoke. … read more
Gabe Spotts: Pushing through the Ranks
Gabe Spotts has become the next and newest Am to rise up from the Provo area. Like his friends and heroes Matt Fisher and Brodie Penrod, Spotts is hoping to garner enough attention to eventually get him out of the suburbs and into the big city. With the help of his sponsors, which include local companies Fortica Skateboards, Discrete Headwear, Skullcandy and Board of Provo, Spotts has been keeping the Utah scene relevant through traveling and competing on the amateur circuit. … read more
SLUG Games Slash Bash Presented by Ken Garff FIAT
Saturday, Feb. 28, marked the second and final contest of the 15th annual SLUG Games ski/snowboard series, SLUG Games: Slash Bash Presented By Ken Garff Fiat. Housed once again at the base of Millicent at Brighton Resort, over 100 competitors turned up for their chance at local fame and a sack full of goodies.