"Hello. My name is Chris Live and as a Brooklyn born and bred native New Yorker, I have a severely limited understanding of what constitutes a “board”. I know that the New York City Board of Education is on the mend after having been in shambles for decades. I know that every so often the Board of Elections tells me where the polls are located when it’s time to get my civic duty on. I’ve had a few unfortunate run-ins with the Board of Corrections. Ask me anything about surfboards though and you are bound to hear crickets, well, that is, until today.
Apparently, there are two amazing surf beaches at Rockaway Beach, (between 67-69 Streets and between 87-92 Streets respectively) that have given birth to a vibrant surf culture and community in NYC. Who knew? This had better not be some newfangled outpost for vacuous hipsters to call summer home though! If so, I would have no parts of such shenanigans. A man of my resolve could only be persuaded by a reputable fellow New York City OG to embrace this other universe just beyond the grasp of the A-train. Enter: Joe “Grey Ghost” Falcone. Joe Falcone is that rare breed of individual capable of being both a staunch defender of tradition, as well as being a wonderfully humble Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island-like welcomer of all who share his boundless enthusiasms.
Born on Coney Island, Brooklyn, and raised somewhere between The Wonder Wheel and Rockaway Taco, Joe Falcone gained his sea legs only a few years after learning how to walk on land – he has been surfing avidly since he was 8 years old. In his late teens, when his boards needed repair, rather than continue to entrust his treasured boards to another, he decided to tend to them himself. In the process, that self-edifying hands on experience served as the fateful catalyst that transformed a mere mortal into an artisan of the finest hand crafted breaking wave braving vessels this side of Hawaii … or so I’ve been told. “I felt a weird pull towards shaping”, says a reflective Grey Ghost, tapping memories from surf sessions past. “I was intrigued. I spent all of my money on the best tools”. Please salute this man with a glass axe to grind. His blood, sweat, tears and full-on bank account clearing investment into his calling is the cavalier stuff that entrepreneurial legends are made of."
Read The Full Article Here: Readconvention.Com
CHRIS LIVE AKA SHAKER SAYS: Much as BP's handling of the recent eco-system destroying Gulf Coast oil spill has been shamefully inept and, indeed, negligent, it would be highly irresponsible of me to have created an esteemed platform such as Livestyle and not use it as a place to toot my own horn like "Satchmo" from time-to-time. No bullshit, this is my bully pulpit ... lol. As the chief curator of this revolutionary brand I ultimately see myself as a sculptor of minds; centering your clay lumps of interest on the spinning wheel of enlightenment and fashioning a more sophisticated version of yourself. And, believe me, it's not as easy as it looks.
This unparalleled labor of L.O.V.E. is not completely unselfish though. I never present anything to Y.O.U. that I have not 1st researched myself so, many times, my discoveries are linked super chronologically close to your own. Take for instance my brand new article @ Convention Magazine. After flatteringly being asked by the homie Joe Hayes to contribute to the ArtIsLife special edition of this online magazine, I was dispatched to interview a sharp NYC surfer and board shaper by the name of Joey "Clams" AKA the "Grey Ghost" - Christian name Joseph Falcone.
Admittedly, I was brought on board (NOTE: Pun intended ... if Y.O.U. want it to be) precisely because I didn't know *Cue Surly British Guy Voice* "shite" about surfing or surfboards. Before this, all that I had manage to glean from my mid-to-late 1990’s MTA turnstile hopping travels was that the man in the rainbow colored subway advertisements with the too-close-for-comfort “before-and-after” shots of his patients is named Dr. Jonathan Zizmor and that he is, assuredly, a board certified dermatological acne assassin. On the hood side, sadly, I was all too familar with an unsympathetic New York State Parole Board that had too often turned a deaf ear to my loved one's cries for freedom. This interview expanded that defintion for me.
Joe Hayes hoped that I might be able to skillfully detail my own introduction to this breathtaking world of breaking waves and bring Y.O.U. along for the ride too. How did I do? Read the article and please feel free to lavish praise on me for continuing to be a brilliant in-fresh-tigator par excellence ... lol. Cheers!
BONUS:
Uno.
Dos.
By official order of Livestyle decree, I really, really need Y.O.U. to know who the late, great Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong was. My casual references regularly escape the casual observer. I, however, refuse to allow Y.O.U. to suffer the same ignorant fate. Y.O.U. can thank Drake later, but thank me now ... lol. Respect the architects.
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