Shred Shape.

So today was the first time in a very... very long time that I decided to work out. My friend Tyler and I had been talking about it a bit since we both want to be in better shape for the coming snow season, so I thought I'd write a quick blog about what kind of equipment and work out ideas CMC offers here at the Alpine Campus.

The work out room itself isn't all that big as you can see from the picture, but it definitely has what you need to get in shape for the season. Today Tyler and I lifted mostly upper body with a little conditioning to sort of warm us up for tougher work outs. There are actually posters on the wall of good lifts you can do for whatever muscles you are looking to work. We did bench, incline bench, some sort of back lift that I don't remember what it's called, and squats, as well as a little bit of time on the treadmill. Not exactly the most intense work out but it felt good to get a start.

Some of the machines not shown in the picture are actually really good for legs such as a massive leg press. There is also a dips/abs machine that is probably my least favorite thing to do but definitely helps when riding powder.

So there you have it, short but sweet, but a little preview of one of the resources here at the Alpine Campus to help get you ready for the snowfall. Peace.

ASR San Diego: The Trip Home/Catching Up

San Diego was definitely a worth while trip, and I had a great time working for Rusty and would highly recommend that anyone interested go next year if they get the opportunity. My final day was made of a good chunk of travel time which I guess is just part of what it takes to do what you love.

I was finally able to sleep in for the first time this weekend on Sunday, so I definitely seized the opportunity and was out cold until 11am. However, once I woke up, I talked to Matt about possibly getting a ride to the airport, but once we realized I was pretty out of the way from SDSU to the airport, I began the scramble to figure out how to bus it, on top of finishing packing and checking out.

I ended up having to catch the bus around 11:45am, so I was mad rushed to check out, get cash from the ATM at the gas station across the street and then make the bus. Luckily I did, and after one bus switch that I thought I messed up, I finally made it to the airport with time to spare. However, when I got up to the counter, they told me I had to go to a completely different terminal since I had a layover in LA before Denver, but when I got the other terminal, they said they could get me on a non-stop flight so after I got my ticket, I had to shuttle it back to the first terminal I was at, but having a non-stop flight was definitely worth it.

The flight went fairly smooth, although we hit some crazy turbulence, but I was able to study somewhat for the accounting test I had to make up for on Monday. After the flight, we met Matt's parents who met us at the baggage claim and drove us to their house, after a delicious stop at Arby's, and then we began the trek back to the Boat. We were both admittedly very tired, but after a couple energy drinks and a few stops to stretch and keep the blood flowing, we rolled up to the dorms around 12:30am. My roommate was actually still out of town at the Monolith music festival in Denver this weekend so I had the room to myself for the night. After unpacking, I passed right out to try to get ready for jumping right back into school.

Unfortunately, Monday did not go to well. Boot Fitting was fine, but I ended up sleeping until noon since I was exhausted from the trip, and was unable to study more for my make-up accounting test. Luckily, I got the test back today and I did better than I thought, so I was pretty stoked. On top of that, I completely forgot about the quiz we had in my Entrepreneurial Operations class, so let's hope it turns out like my accounting test because I have a feeling I didn't do to hot.

So now it is a new day and I've definitely been getting back at the whole school thing. That's the only problem with going to tradeshows, it's can be pretty easy to get behind in school, but if you just keep on top of things, it's still very do-able. But anyway, there you have it, the conclusion to an intense but crazy fun weekend with Rusty Surfboards and mad travels. I now can focus a ton on school, and look forward to the SIA tradeshow in Denver. Peace.

ASR San Diego: Day 3 and 4

Sorry for my lack of blog yesterday but I ended up not having the time for it so I'm cramming my third and fourth day here, which was the second and third day of the tradeshow, into one.

For starters, my night the other night after writing the Day 2 blog ended up being awesome, because my friends Noah and Kim from last year who now live in CA, decided on a spur of the moment trip down to visit me, since they live more in the Orange County area. The three of us went around welcoming to CA by taking me In N' Out Burger, which was amazing, and then we made it down the the beach so I could touch the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Below is the epic meal I had from In N' Out Burger to give you an idea of how amazing it really is.

After the night of hanging with old friends, they gave me a ride to the convention center in the morning for day two of the ASR Trade Expo. Today was full of more of the same, including printing the rest of the hats for all the visiters to the booth, along with some more wandering around and seeing what the rest of the show has to offer. Today Matt had brought his skateboard, so I took a couple pictures of some of the ramps and parks that were built inside just for the show.

This first one is the sick ramp set up near the ridiculous paradise-themed Volcom booth. They had some open sessions where anyone could come skate, as well as some contests and demos throughout the day.
This next one is the skate park set-up in the back corner of the show by a company called Office Booys. I'm not exactly sure what they do, but they had contest throught the weekend as well.During the show, Matt and I got a flyer about a double feature snowboard movie premiere, the new Standard Films movie Black Winter, and Forum's new video Forever. Matt and I sat front row center and unfortunately this is the only picture I got from the movie.The videos were really good, a bit more powder riding than I like to see in a video but still pretty awesome. Plus it was sponsored by Monster Energy Drinks, so they were giving them out for free at the show.

Afterwards we met up with Matt's friends from SDSU and hung out with them for the night, then got up nice and early again for the tradeshows' last day.

We got there at 8am to prepare the booth again, but the show only ran from 9am to 2pm today, since most buyers had already seen everything they needed to during the busy days. Since today was so slow, since we had printed all the hats, Matt and I did a lot more wandering and got a ton more free stuff, including stickers, drink cozies, posters, and a autographed Reef Girls calender as you can see in this picture.So now I am currently laying low in my hotel tonight on the count of the fact that I am exhausted, but I had an amazing time here in San Diego and cannot wait for the next tradeshow to roll around. I'll let you know how the trip back to boat goes but for now I am going to go grub out and pass out early. Peace.

ASR San Diego: Day 2

Today was my second day here in San Diego, CA, and the first day of the ASR Trade Expo... and it was awesome.

The day started bright and early, or I should say dark and early since it was still dark out at 6:00am when I left my hotel. We were supposed to be there at 7:10am, but since I really didn't want to be late my first day, I overcompensated a little on the travel time and got to the Convention Center around 6:30am, so needless to say I had some time to kill. However, what came out of being so early are these awesome pictures of behind the Convention Center, looking into the bay as the sun was rising.

A little after that, Matt arrived considerably early as well, so we decided to go back up to where the sick view was, except this time we rode this awesome diagonal elevator thing instead of taking the numerous amount of stairs with a bunch of very fit joggers all over it like I did the first time.
So after that mini adventure, we met up with the Rusty's CO Rep, Jeff, got our passes, and headed into the show. The show itself wasn't nearly as massive as the Vegas SIA show, but it was cool to see a bunch of surf and skate booths. The reason we got there so early was to set up a couple things before Channel 6 news came and did a spot about Rusty, so if anyone was watching the San Diego Channel 6 news really early in the morning, you probably saw me.

After that, there was a bit of down time, then the show officially started at 9am. The majority of the show was spent at the hat table, where we used a heat transfer machine to custom make hats for people who came to the booth. We had a ton of small graphics printed on transfer paper that people could choose from for their hat. It was actually a smaller version of the machine I used to produce the latest batch of Rill shirts, so that was pretty cool.
At one point, we had to make a food run, so I went with Connor, the newest edition to the Rusty website team. We went to the Fish Tin for some fish tacos, however, we aren't supposed to bring outside food into the Convention Center, so we brought along a box of t-shirts to hide the food under, which was pretty stealthy and worked perfectly.

At slower times during the day, Matt and I were free to check out the rest of the show, so here are a few pictures of the Rusty booth and other things around the show.

This first picture is the front of Rusty's booth, with Matt on the left and the Rusty models that we got to hang out with all day in middle.

Next is just a shot of a few of boards on display on the side of booth.This picture is the sick Vans van with a mini-ramp inside of it and some kids skating it.This last picture is my arm with the Rusty logo stamped on, which is also one of the things we did at the table, stamp people. We convinced a bunch of people that they needed to get stamped if they wanted a hat, so needless to say, we stamped a bunch of people.The whole day ended up great, and now I am chilling in my room for a bit before I figure out what to do with the rest of my night, but I'll leave you with one last picture of all the free stuff I picked up on my first day of ASR, including three Rusty t-shirts, a Rusty hat I printed myself, some Volcom posters, and boom sticks from Lucy Love. Peace.

ASR San Diego: Day 1

I am currently hanging out in my hotel room at the Quality Inn here in beautiful San Diego. My friend Matt and I are in California for the Action Sports Retailer (ASR) Trade Expo to intern for Rusty Surfboards.

This whole adventure came about when Mike Martin e-mailed me towards the end of summer saying he had a few spots for students to intern with Rusty. At first it wasn't looking like it was going to work out with money, as well as I didn't think any other students could go. However, when I found out Matt was going, and thought about how awesome it would be to hang out on the West Coast for a weekend with a sick surf company, I decided to do it.

Before I get into how the trip has gone so far, I thought I'd put in this paragraph from the ASR website to fill you in a little more about what the show is all about:
"Considered the most powerful buying event in the action sports industry, ASR showcases the latest apparel, footwear, swimwear, accessories and hardgood products from over 700 surf, skate, swim, snow, moto, wake, lifestyle and streetwear brands and continues to identify cutting-edge trends that drive the diverse segments of the action sports industry. Ensure the growth of your customer base and keep your current costumer satisfied. Action Sports Retailer is poised to provide you the opportunity as a community to grow your business, get connected with key players, brainstorm business synergies and partnerships and leverage business opportunities while face to face."

The trip itself actually started yesterday when Matt and I headed to Denver to sleep at his parents house so we wouldn't have to make the whole 3 hour drive Wednesday morning since our flight was at 11:30am. The flight itself went very smoothly and landed on-time, although we did have to wait around in the San Diego airport for a couple hours until Matts' friend Emily got out of school and could pick us up. She goes to SDSU, so after she picked us up, we first got me checked into my hotel room, then headed to the campus to check it out. After getting a solid tour, we ate at one of the many really nice food courts on campus, then we came back to the hotel to drop me off so I could figure out exactly how I would be able to get the convention center by 7:10am. The show itself doesn't start until 9am, but Rusty's head rep, Jeff, wants Matt and I there early because a news crew is coming at 7:30am to shoot some footage of the booth, so we have to get some stuff ready.

So with that being said, I'm going to go start figuring out bus routes and schedules, but I'll leave with unfortunately the only picture I got today, which is the not so great view from my hotel room. Peace.

Epic Weekend: Round 2

For this labor day weekend, some friends and I headed to Denver on Saturday for another epic adventure.

Tyler, his girlfriend Kayleigh, and myself, headed out from Steamboat around 11 to go to Denver for the Rockies game Saturday night. We made a nice afternoon stop for some Chipotle and shoping in the Silverthorne outlet mall where I picked up some sick new Vans and a t-shirt.

Unfortunately, after heading out from there, Tyler's car started having some difficulties with I don't what, but basically the car had barely any power. Luckily, he pulled over and was able to figure some things out, and we were back in action before you know it.

We were supposed to meet up with Corey and Ben (who lives in Denver) at the Colorado Mills Mall, but there were some miscommunications over the phone, so Tyler, Kayleigh, and I went into Lakewood, or Lakeville, something like that, and decided it would be a good idea to rent a paddle boat while we wait for Corey and Ben. Unfortunately it was not. Besides that it was $27 just to paddle around a small lake, it started to rain a bit and there ended up being lightning so we got called in. A good thing that came out of this was that we now have a free pass for another rental since we got rained out, however, I have a feeling we probably won't be using it anytime soon.

Tyler and Kayleigh on the boat.

After that, we found some cheap parking pretty near Coors Field, and headed towards the stadium. After getting our tickets in left field for the excellent price of $12, we finally met up with Corey and Ben in a parking garage and headed inside. Unfortunately we were a little late and had missed a homerun, but the game went great and the Rockies ended up winning 4 to 1 over the Diamondbacks.

Our view of the field.

Corey and Tyler at the game.

After the game, Tyler and Kayleigh decided to head back to Steamboat, while we went over to Boulder to meet up with our friends Niall and John. After spending the night there, we hung out for a bit in the morning, watched some snowboard videos, and then Corey and I drove Niall and Ben to Denver, then headed out for Fiddler's Green to hang out before the show.

After grubbing at Burger King, we walked around for bit, checkin out whats around Fiddlers Green since I had never been there, then we ended up just chilling in line for a good hour so we could get some good spots on the grass, since they were general admission tickets.

When we finally got inside, we checked out some of the merch, and mosied around the ampitheatre checking things out, looking for a spot. Once we found some prime real estate, we settled down and waited about another hour for the opening act Chester French. I had heard a little bit about them but I didn't really know any of there songs, but they had a great live show and started the night off right.

Fiddler's Green

Chester FrenchAfter Chester French was one of my personal favorite bands, Taking Back Sunday. I was lucky enough to see them in Minnesota this summer, so it was awesome to see them again.

Taking Back Sunday

Next up was Weezer, who I was super excited for because I haven't seen them live for a couple years now, and they definitely did not disappoint.

Weezer

And last, but most definately not the least, the piste de resistance (or however you spell it)... Blink 182. I had the privelge of seeing them as well this summer when they were touring with Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco, so I was even more excited to see them again with different bands. When I saw them in Minnesota, I was in the mosh pit, so this time around it was awesome to just stand back and enjoy the magic. Besides the fact that they played every hit they've ever had, when they came back on for the encore, it started out with an incredible drum solo from the drummer Travis Barker. Besides the drumming being amazing, his kit was on a platform the was on cables, so he got lifted up and spun around the stage, all while soloing. It was awesome.

Blink 182

So after an incredibly amazing night, Corey's super nice mom hooked us up with a hotel room near Denver, and since we had had a pretty crazy and exhausting weekend, we got to the hotel and passed right out.

So now I am back in the Boat after a very sleepy but quick car ride home and am currently trying to focus on some accounting homework and get ready for yet another adventure to San Diego this weekend for the ASR Tradeshow that my friend Matt and I are going to with Rusty Surfboards, so I'll be sure to blog about the goings on there. Peace.

California Fires.

I am sure most of you have heard about the raging fires that have been going on out in California the past few days, but believe it or not, the shear size of the fires is affecting us here in Steamboat. Below is a picture from today of the haziness that had taken over Steamboat for the past two days because of the massive amount of smoke and ash in the air that has been traveling east from California. Apparently, winds from hurricane Jimena thats off the coast of California are what is blowing the smoke and ash our way and making the town look like this.

According to an article in AP that I found on comcast.net, the wildfire is 190-square-miles and has destroyed 53 homes. Around 3,600 firefighters and aircraft were working across a 50-mile span to try to put a stop to this huge fire. A couple other smaller, but still really big, wildfires are present but are becoming much more contained than the 190-square-mile fire.

So good luck to all the firemen and everyone who is battling this fire. Hopefully they are able to put a stop to it soon for all the people who are in danger or now need to rebuild, but I'm sure most of us here at the Alpine Campus wouldn't mind our mountain view back either. Peace.

Class is in Session.

So even though today was the second Monday of classes, I thought I'd share with everyone how the first week was, and what some of my classes are like.

The first Monday of classes started out with Accelerated Boot Fitting. Like the Accelerated Tuning class I took last semester, Accelerated Boot Fitting means it combines Boot Fitting I and II into one class, so the workload will be a bit more, but it's still manageable. The class consisted of introductions (just like every other first day of classes) and then the teacher, Tim Widmer, Assistant Professor of Ski and Snowboard Business, went throught the syllabus, what we were going to learn in the class, and finished with some history of ski boots and some of the machines we would be using throughout the course to alter boots and shape insoles.

My Monday finished with the class I'm probably most excited for which is Entrepreneurial Operations, taught by Randy Rudasics. The course is going to be a lot of work, consisting of a ton of reading, multiple quizzes and tests, as well as presentations, but because of my future school and career plans, I think it will be a very important and worthwhile class. The final for the course will be a legitimate business plan that each student develops on their own, so naturally mine will be for the snowboard company I want to start.

Tuesday rolled around and I was forced to roll out of bed for the earliest class I have had yet here at Colorado Mountain College which is Business Statistics at 10:30am. To be perfectly honest, I think this class will be pretty dry, but still leave me with some important knowledge for operating a business, such as how to gather and use statistics of market groups and client bases and things like that.

After that was Accounting Principles I. Now I'm not going to lie to you, this class is not going to be fun. Accounting is not exactly a subject I am to highly interested in, nor do I want to have a write a million income statements and balance sheets, but I have to admit that knowing how to do so will be very valuable to run a business, so I guess I'll be sticking it out. Also Pat Turner, the teacher of Accounting Principles I, definitely knows her stuff and has videos posted on Blackboard to help you with the homework assignments, so it is a very do-able class.

Now Wednesday is probably the best day of the week for me... no classes at all.

Thurday came around with another day of Business Statistics and Accounting Principles I, but ended with a 6-9 Ski Business class, Retail and Sales. This class should be pretty fun, seeing as it is taught by Tim again, but also because in it we'll get to learn a bunch of selling techniques and even but on a snowboard sale of a bunch of old snowboards made by previous Product Design classes.

So there you have it, a little look into what my life this semester will be like, so hopefully things will go pretty smoothly. Peace.