As we write this, it is nearing 1 am on a Friday night. Nerds much?

Sure. Nevertheless, as our friend Rene Navarette (aka ‘The Chief’) always says, "Ideas are great, but actions are better." True enough. Sometimes in order to do things worth doing, you have to get off the party train and focus. So here goes. The weather’s changing from summer to fall and all we can think about is how much we’re going to dread being cold. For people who have spent more than half their lives chasing cold fronts, playing in the snow, and skating frozen parking lots it’s somewhat ridiculous that we dislike shivering so much. But oh well, that’s just the way it is. In life, you’ve got to take the good with the bad. More importantly, you’ve got to appreciate all the good that comes your way, and with the bad, well, you’ve got to learn that hard as it may be at times, you ought to try find some amount of grace in everything.

Take for example the words ‘Rider Owned.’ In the world of board

sports, it is a term many shred-types like to toss around to suggest their efforts are somehow more true or honest than the efforts of other, often larger organizations. On some level maybe that’s accurate. In some ways, maybe simple and smaller is better. Maybe doing what you love with those you love is a more noble pursuit. Maybe it’s not. It’s all a matter of what shapes one’s prism of experience; and maybe more than that- it’s a matter of what one does with the wisdom or recklessness accrued from life experience. Whatever the case, ‘Rider Owned’ has quickly become the new buzzword, and like all buzzwords it hopes to concisely define a whole range of ideologies, attitudes, and experiences. This is dumb. Just like the obnoxiously overused “Extreme” before it, ‘Rider Owned’ -even as it attempts to give name to an idea that in practice is actually pretty right on, it too soon devolves into merely a cheap catchphrase. Life and all of its endless, wonderful, and often idiotic, pointless meanderings is too big and too long for

summations as succinct as this. With that in mind, we here at ‘RiderOwned.com’ want to accomplish three things with this little website project. In as half-assed a way as possible- through random photos, video clips, updates, inside jokes, and whatever else comes to mind (gossip and maybe even some real journalism eventually?), we hope to document what it means to actually live rider owned lifestyles. Secondly, we hope to connect with others interested in doing the same. Lastly, we want to entertain ourselves. Now, this doesn’t mean constant images of rad bros getting rad, hitting the harshest park booters or hardflippin’ their way to glory. Nor does this mean nonstop product plugs and hella shout-outs on the latest hype. Rather, it means showcasing the fullness of life- the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the blatantly stupid. This project is dedicated to doing what you love for the right (and sometimes for the wrong) reasons. We hope you have a laugh, look around, and join in if you like.

Stay gold,

Dave & Arlie
October 7, 2006