Reflection on 2009

What a year: I have accomplished my dream of speaking, I have also bailed out on a speech from fear, I was blown up by Marines then saved by Marines over 100 times, I sat 5 feet from a wild lion and looked eye to eye with a wild elephant, I hiked the Mayan Ruins, I almost died in a Mexican hospital, I spent time in an African hospital, I helped hundreds of African children, I helped kids with disabilities... they helped me, I have been in self help books,I have read a lot of self help books, I had more riches then ever and less money then ever, I hurt a heart and have had my heart hurt, I searched.. I found...I searched again, I reached mountain tops and hit ocean floors, I’ve laughed harder then ever and have cried harder then I have ever cried before, I had times of feeling completely accomplished and times of feeling completly worthless... Overall I am grateful for the good and the bad.... For it makes me who I am today and I am axiouse to see what happens tomorrow.. :)

Please Join Us!

Please join myself and Adaptive Action Sports for a very inspirational evening! Over the last 3 years our friend and photographer Ian Ruhter captured breathtaking images of AAS athletes in their element and for the first time ever we will be showing the images during a private art show. I am very proud to be a part of this project, to show everyone what we do with AAS and why we are inspired everyday to continue the work we do with the organization! I hope you can join us for this very special evening. Please see attached invite.
~ Amy Purdy

New mag article on me!

In FRANKIE Magazine! Thanks Frankie for the great interview and for the cute bicycle gloves and scrabble necklace! Check out the Magazine and article here! http://www.frankie.com.au/

Rausch Magazine

Taking a picture of a picture of mine that was published in Rausch Magazine. The picture was supposed to represent my "Thinking Spot".I took a picture of my favorite tree in Tahoe at sunset. The picture was taken with a Carhart disposable camera.
http://www.rauschmagazin.de/

I love the Fall!

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What I can't stop wearing this fall:

Freely jacket
Borealis bag
Tulah beanie
Amy Denim ( and Im not just saying that because my name is on them :))

www.elementeden.com

TOMS/Element Skateboards One and One Shoe Drop South Lake Tahoe

Save the best for last

My last Day in Africa and my last blog on the Shoe Drop: Every day in South Africa was amazing, I still can't believe what we did and saw while there. The kids were beautiful, the animals were majestic the people were kind, the entire experience was one that I will never forget and never properly be able to describe. I feel blessed for every moment we experienced and every child we helped.

Every day of the trip I kept thinking "Wow how can this get any better?", then the next day would come and somehow it would out-do the day before. The last day of the trip was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had and this is how it went;
I came down with a cold and didn't think it was a good idea to wake up early, in the cold and go on a safari drive. So opted out and decided to stay in bed for a few more hours. When I woke up I decided to take a shower outside in the outdoor shower. It was just me.. naked.. in the open.. in Africa..As I showered the rain began to pour, and I could see elephants climb up the hillside in front of me. I must have stood in the shower for 45 minutes just staring at the site in front of me.I didn't want it to end, I can say with confidence that I will never have a more incredible shower then the one where I was in Africa.. in the rain... watching wild elephants!
Just when I thought that was the most amazing experience.. along came another. When the boys got back from the Safari, we all sat down at the table for a quick breakfast before taking off to the airport. A bowl of creamy greek yogurt, honey and poppyseeds and a plate of eggs, bacon and veggies. While we were eating we heard a noise behind us so we turned around and saw a huge bull elephant standing 20 feet from us drinking out of the pool! We couldn't believe how close we were! We quietly walked towards him and snapped as many photos as our cameras could handle. Then the elephant walked to the side of the house and began eating all of the aloe plants. As we watched him, we heard another noise behind us.. we turned around and saw another elephant drinking from the pool, then he walked around the house and joined the other elephant. They are so powerful that they wrap their trunks around the hard prickly leaves of the aloe, rip the leaves apart and eat the heart of the plant. We were happy for the elephants and for us but sad to see the beautiful aloes that adorned the lodge be violently ripped apart. According to our rangers, all the years that the lodge has been there they have never had the elephants come up to the house. They have thousands of acres to roam, this is the first time they walked right up to the lodge.
We all felt so lucky to get one more chance to spend with them, it was as if they knew that we were leaving, as if they came up with a purpose.... to quietly crawl into our souls and make us forever want to return to this magical world .... They came to say goodbye to us and what an absolutely perfect goodbye it was.

http://www.hillsneksafaris.com/index2.html

TOMS/Element One and One Shoe Drop South Africa

While we were on the Safari we were all secretly hoping that we would turn a corner and see a pride of Lions. I didn't exactly know what I would do if I saw one, my plan was to slowly slink down my seat until I was on the floor with just my eyes slighly above the jeep door, so I could see him but he couldn't see me.
The last day we still hadn't seen any so we went on a mission. After 2 hours of driving we finally found them! They sat so confident and regal.. as if they knew that they ruled the land.
At one point the lion walked closer to us and I could feel my heart beat faster and faster until I could feel it pumping in my throat, then he laid down and took a nap.
As powerful as these cats are, they are so graceful and as terrified as I was to be sitting out in the open next to them, It was one of the best experiences I have had.

TOMS/Element One and One Shoe Drop South Africa

Good Morning Cheetah!

We woke up early one morning to go for a drive and came across this hunting cheetah. He walked right past us, maybe 2 feet from my right leg, then he layed down in the sun and gave us a perfect photo op.

TOMS/Element Skateboards One and One Shoe Drop South Africa

Majestic!

The only way to describe the animals at Hillsnek!

TOMS/Element Skateboards One and One Shoe Drop South Africa

And then there were 4.

After a relaxing couple of days in Jeffreys Bay the final 4 Me, Ryan Kingman, Levi Brown and Mark Falkenstein headed to the Hillsnek Private Safari Reserve. Which is owned by the president of Billabong Paul Naude.
The second we drove through the gates of the reserve we saw 2 huge Giraffs. It felt as if we were driving through the gates of Jurassic Park, from this point on everything is big and wild.
We stayed in the most beautiful outdoor lodge and slept in tents on stilts. From our tents we could see thousands of acres of reserve where the only thing separating us from the wild was the warm African breeze.
After our first night safari we headed back to the lodge starving! The lodge was lit up with candles, a special Hot Apple Brandy cocktail was handed to us along with a warm wet towel to warm us from the chilly night. The four of us sat at our candle lit table in awe of the amazing animals we just encountered and trying to convince ourselves that we weren’t in a dream! Yes... this is all for us.... wild animals, private Safari, beautiful quite candlelit dinners... this is our home for 3 days. That night we ate rare ostrich wrapped in crispy bacon with a balsamic glaze. Ostrich... the purple meat.

TOMS/Element Skateboards One and One Shoe Drop South Africa

Jeffreys Bay!
Wow it feels great to be in Orange County again! Wait.. did I say that? After a crazy week traveling through the rain, the villages and different climates we were able to rest a few days in a gorgeous beach house right at the Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay. Jeffreys Bay felt like home: clean, warm, beachy.. we honestly could have been in California, it felt good to be somewhere that feels familiar. Jeffreys Bay is located in the Eastern Cape and is one of the best surf spots in the world!

Here we got to surf,skate, relax, eat amazing food, check out the Element and Billabong Headquarters and have a Brie (African BBQ)
Oh yes and did I mention I was the only girl?...yeah I can hang with the boys...

After the final shoe drop Toms and Element split ways (tears). The TOMS crew flew to Cape Town for a week and we traveled 10 hours north to Jeffrey's Bay for a little R and R and to check out the South African Element Skateboards and Billabong Headquarters.
One of the nights on our way up the coast, we stayed in beautiful Bungalows right on the Ocean.. which was right next to a lagoon.. that had sanddunes on it. What a mix of elements.

TOMS/Element Skateboards One and One Shoe Drop South Africa

The tree silhouettes in Africa are fascinating!

TOMS/Element Skateboards One and One Shoe Drop South Africa

After our last shoe drop Dallas took us to this little backpackers lodge that sat way up in the trees overlooking the ocean. The place was so unique... It had a restaurant, a bar, people were selling their jewelry and playing the drums. If you have a little hippy in you, this is a great place to check out.
Plus the surroundings were absolutely breathtaking! The night before we grabbed a drink here then we saw a UFO.. yes a UFO filmed by our FUEL TV camera guy Paul...

Toms/Element Skateboards One and One Shoe Drop South Africa

We woke up to rain this morning. Kingman and I sat down for a quick breakfast outside in a tent. Breakfast was the usual... Greek yogurt, marinated dates and apricots and muesli. Then we all jumped into the Element Van and headed to our final shoe drop.
We arrived in Port St. Johns at a school/orphanage. The room was full of hundreds of kids and due to the rain the room was so humid it was almost steamy. As we walked in the kids sang to us then patiently waited for their pair of shoes.
After we gave out the shoes, the kids were loaded up into their school buses (aka: the bed of a Toyota truck) and they headed back to class.

What a simple place it is here.

TOMS/Element Skateboards One and One shoe Drop South Africa

Did I mention that the snails are the size of your head?

TOMS/Element Skateboards ONE and ONE Shoe Drop South Africa

Africa is such an interesting/amazing place. I've decided that everythingthat is beautiful here is risky. During our first Safari I commented on a gorgeous poppy orange flower, then our ranger said that if you even nibbled off a tiny little piece it would give you and instant heart attack! The trees are beautiful but most of the ones I saw had 3 inch spikes all over them. The oceans and rivers are beautiful but there are Great White sharks in them....yes you heard me right...Great Whites.... in the river......

The night before our last shoe drop we stayed in a beautiful little fishing resort right outside of Port St. Johns, right on a river that leads to the ocean. Reading our little resort book next to the bed I came across a page that said "Waterskiiers and swimmers beware, there are great whites in the river" What? First, crazy that there are great whites that swim up a river from the ocean and second that people would even think about waterskiing or swimming in there! Although, we did see a bunch of fishermen in little boats on the river.. the fish must be so good it's worth the risk...

As the sky drizzled a bit, I watched the boys play cricket along the river then got up the guts to stand on the edge of a dock for a photo op. This place is incredible! As I stood on the dock I thought "please God don't let a shark jump out of the water and eat me for dinner" and then I thought..."this place is so beautiful I just want to suck every ounce of this into my pores and make it apart of me forever".

TOMS/Element skateboards ONE and ONE shoe drop South Africa

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Day 6

This day was the most powerful of all to me. All together we gave away close to 800 pairs of shoes!

On the way to the Murchison Primary School the Element van drove past an older man with a disability rolling down the street on an old, slow skateboard. Let me tell ya, that guy was at the right place at the right time! One of our guys jumped out and handed him a new board! That's not something that happens everyday in a little South African village!
As we started unloading the boxes of shoes from the bus we could hear the happy voices of kids and looked up to see the littlest ones running barefoot out of their classrooms to meet us! They were so beautiful, such happy curious kids! They loved my legs and were actually probably quite confused by them. With the language barrier we couldn’t explain to them why I have metal legs, so I can only image that from this point on they will always believe some robot girl came to visit them.
One thing that is overwhelmingly apparent is how close this community is. The school kids are so loving and close with each other and so welcoming and friendly to us. They would just walk up and grab our hands or wrap their arms around our waist. A few of them wouldn’t let us go and I promise that we didn’t want to let them go! Their faces were so full of love and happiness, yet most of these experience the worst home lives. This day we learned that 50%-75% of these kids have HIV and are orphans after losing both parents to the disease. Yet, these kids are absolutely full of love and gratitude. It really puts your life into perspective. We need to be so grateful for our health and to have families that love us, yet even if you have neither you are here and you have every opportunity to live a happy life with gratitude, these kids are examples of that!

TOMS/Element Skateboards ONE and ONE Shoe Drop South Africa

Day 5 cont:

After the shoe drop at the primary School we drove 3 hours through the most beautiful green rolling hills to an orphanage called Sacred Heart Children’s Home in a place called Umtwalume, Kwazulu-Natal. These kids were so amazing , singing and dancing for us as soon as the bus drove up. We gave out a few hundred shoes to the kids and they were so happy. You cannot even believe how bad they needed these shoes! Most of these kids have only one pair of shoes, so they end up wearing their uncomfortable school shoes after school to play in as well. Most of their shoes were either 2 sizes too small or too big, all hand me downs and the soles of their shoes were peeling off where their heels were exposed. It felt so good to see them in a new pair of clean comfortable kicks!

TOMS/Element skateboards ONE and ONE shoe drop South Africa

Day 5

After a good 2 day rest we packed the bus up early and headed 4 hours back through Durban to Umlazi for our next shoe drop at the Saphinda Primary School. As we walked into the school chills ran up our spines realizing we were walking into the middle of 1000 singing school children. We stood in the center of the schoolyard with the children circled all around us. I dont think I have ever felt goosebumps like that before, I was overwhelmed by emotion and love and had to wipe the tears from my cheeks. That day we fit hundreds of kids with their new TOMS shoes, we watched as they danced for us and at the end we were served an amazing lunch that was cooked by all of the teachers. This was a good day, I still am shocked Im here, doing what we are doing, I'm so grateful to be apart of a company that has the resources to make a difference!

TOMS/Element Skateboards One and One shoedrop South Africa

DAY 3-4

After the shoe drop yesterday in Durban, we drove 4 hours through the beautiful South African country side to a safari on the Ubizane Wildlife Reserve where we are staying in beautiful treehouse lodges. This morning we have already seen huge White Rhinos, we had a group of about 40 Elephants come right up the jeep, we saw Giraffe, Wilderbeast and Zebras, which are just amazing! Zebras are one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen. The backdrop where we are is breath taking! It is so green here, very wet and tropical!

This trip has really helped me focus on what it is I want out of life and where I want to go next with my life. Life is so beautiful, so amazing! I’m inspired to continue to make a difference in any way I can. AAS and public speaking is where my heart is. As well as helping out other organizations and causes that are close to my heart. "The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all." ~Leo Rosten

TOMS/Element skateboards ONE and ONE shoe drop South Africa

DAY 2


Yesterday was one of the most inspiring days for me. We went to downtown Durban and worked with Umthombo http://www.umthombo.org Umthombo is a voice from the streets. It is a unique South African street children organisation led predominantly by former street children. The organization has many programs for the children one of them being a surf program. They get donated surfboards and wetsuits and have a surf coach for the kids. This place was so full of love,The kids were amazing! It's hard to think that they dont have a place to go home to. But what they do have is an amazing support of the organization. After we fit them with their shoes they were so grateful they would just come up to us and give us the biggest hugs. As soon as we put the shoes on them, they would get up and dance and sing to us! For living the tough lives they live, they were so full of light and smiles, it really puts our lives into persepective. After the shoe drop we watched them Surf, what an amazing experience for them and for us to watch! The waves were massive and these kids were masters of them! This day absolutely inspired me to continue to give back as much as possible. I feel so good knowing I am making a difference, I will continue to support Umthombo in any way I can!

TOMS/Element Skateboards One and One shoedrop South Africa

DAY 1

Wow, I have been meaning to blog everyday while here in Africa, but do to the lack of internet connection, I have not been able to. So now that I that I found one have a few minutes to give an update on what we have done so far while in South Africa with TOMS and Element Skateboards. First of I have to say that I am so honored to be a part of such a giving driven faimly. Element is amazing and I am honored to represent the company. TOMS have inspired me to no end, I am so motivated to continue to be involved with the comapany and help to make difference in our world. Also, many more photos to come to illustrate some of the things I write about in this blog.

First of all Africa is amazing!! I’m In love with it! Its so crazy how my thoughts have changed over the last few days. I absolutely could live here! Its so interesting, there is such a dichotomy here. On one hand, there is a major percentage of people who are in poverty, 30% are said to have AIDS, 1 in 5 newborns die, 1-3 children are malnourished, the unemployment rate is 49%. On the other hand this place is absolutely gorgeous, the doctors are some of the best in the world, I would have no fear going into a private hospital if needed, the tap water is said to be cleaner then any other water in the world, the people are so nice and welcoming even in the villages or the store or wherever, they are all so excited to meet us and the food is amazing!

Day One Of the shoe drop we went to the Indigo Skate Camp (http://www.indigoskatecamp.co.za/)that was founded by Dallas Oberholzer. He has absolutely created a haven for the village kids. The first thing I noticed about the village was just how beautiful it is. Although you are in a very very poor village where people live in mud houses and have zero running water and electricity, the area is absolutely beautiful, clean and manicured. The people are so beautiful and welcoming and there is a very strong sense of community there. We fit approximately 200 kids with shoes that day. The highlight of my day was when the kids got on their skateboards after they got there new TOMS. They were all skating the ramps, it was so beautiful to see and they are pretty sick skaters as well! A few of the village children then did a traditional dance and chant for us in their garments. These kids love to sing and dance! As soon as we would give one of them a pair of shoes, they would stand up and do a dance.

We then helped to plant an organic garden with the children. They basically eat Mashed up corn powder and very few vegetables, which is not much nutrition, so Dallas has created a wonderful garden where we all planted spinach and lettuce and other veggies for the community.

The camp was so beautiful I am going to find a way to help it in anyway I can. The Zulu people are are so loving and happy and I think all of us walked away wanting to bring the children with us. Their smiles were infectious!

I am so blessed that I have had this experience. We are not just doing "tourist" stuff, we are actually down in the villages and spending our days with the children. This is a life changing experience to say the least. I know when I leave here I will be leaving a big piece of my heart!

MORE TO COME.....................

What's next?????

Africa!!
Im so grateful to be working with a company that has the resources to make a difference in the world. In October I will be going to South Africa to help give shoes to kids who do not have them. Shoes obviously help prevent major fott diseases and will also allow the kids to go to school and get an education, since shoes are required for school. I am so grateful that I get to be a part of such and incredible initiative! For more information On the TOMS/Element Collaboration, please check out the links below!
http://www.elementskateboards.com/oneforone/index-video.html

Amy the Hostess with the Mostess

Oh Yes I forgot that I did some interviewing while at the X Games for the AAS Webisodes and FUEL! Here, I am interviewing X Games Gold Medalist and friend Chris Ridgway!

Amy Purdy Skatedecks By Element

Stopped by Element and signed my new Amy Purdy Signiture Decks. I feel so blessed! what an amazing progressive company!I shaped the boards with Brian HanHart and Todd French did the Graphics. I think we did a pretty good job!! What do you think?

Thanks for your Support Tony X Games #6

In the Athlete Lounge I ran into Tony Hawk! It's good to know that we have your full support! Over the last week I recieved a few personal emails from him as well...Thanks Tony..

Adaptive Action Sports Skate Jam X Games #5

Our Skate Jam went off without a hitch. Oh yes and David Beckham came out to support our event! We were so pleased to have Jon Comer, Mike Rogers of Grind For Life, Evan Strong, Buddy Elias, Aaron Fotheringham, Rob Nelson and Oscar Loreto participate in this event! Make sure to check out our friend and fellow skaters Mike Rogers amazing organization www.grindforlife.org

Adaptive Action Sports at the X Games #4

X Games #3

What a busy yet amazing month!!!! Our months years and hours of hard work finally paid off! We ( Adaptive Action Sports) organized and hosted the 2nd Annual Apaptive Moto X Competition at the ESPN Summer X Games! We are so proud to be partnered with ESPN and to bring this event to live TV! Props to the AAS Director Daniel Gale for all of his hard work and dedication making this event happen!

X Games #2

Headed over to Element Skateboards... A very Magical place I tell you... Everytime I leave there I feel like it was one of the best days of my life! Theres nothing like putting a couple creative heads together for future projects....

X Games #1

The Trucks Packed and we're heading to LA for the X Games! Daniel is a master packer!

Amypurdy.com

New Website! It has taken me forever to get it completed but finally it's up! www.amypurdy.com

FUEL TV!

Good morning! Today I am featured on The Daily Habit on FUEL TV! The interview was super quick and I was completly unprepared for the questions but overall I think it went pretty good! Check it out at 6pm PST/9pm EST and 9pm PST/12am EST.
~Thanks!

USA Adaptive Snowboard Boardercross National Champ!

Finally! After competing for four years in the USASA National Snowboard competition I finally got a gold in Boardercross! That makes me the National Champ! It was a crazy course and ended up disqualifying a strong competitor and by staying solid I ended up taking Gold! Photos coming soon! If you've never seen a boardcross race before check it out here.........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw6O9QZHgXs

POWER TO THE PLANET!!!!!

Hi! I had the opportunity to be apart of an amazing campaign from Element called "POWER TO THE PLANET" I am so grateful to be apart of such a wonderful family, when you watch the video you will see why! Check it out here!

Motivational Speaking with Element!

In December I got the opportunity to speak to 1200 students at Estancia High school in Costa Mesa with Element Founder and President Johnny Schillereff. While I was speaking I realized that the last time I spoke to a highschool was right after I got out of the hospital 7 years ago and was barley learning to walk again. I thought back to all I have accomplished since then.Looking back I remember saying "I want to snowboard again but need to have a kidney transplant first" It reminded me of how far I have come. I am so grateful to Johnny and everyone at Element for giving me the platform so I can do what it is I really want to do.

What I have learned: I believe If you are focused on a goal and livng your life in a positive way then you attract others who are doing the same. When you have a group of people all moving in the same direction, magic happens!

Nikki Sixx Photoshoot and leg lamp!

Hi Wow, it's been a while since I wrote in my blog, so much for my new years resolution! I attached a photo from the Jan 21 Nikki Sixx Photoshoot. This is one image out of many, I can't wait to see the others where I was hanging from the ceiling! It was the funnest photoshoot ever !

Yesterday I recieved a big box in the mail from Nikki and it was a pair of life size legs in red butterfly stockings, not your typical legs though, they light up!

Nikki said he saw them hanging in a window in Argentina, he asked the lady in the shop "how much?" she said "they arn't for sale" then he handed her a handful of cash and she said "sold"! Check out the photo, personally I think they kick the Christmas Story's "leg lamps' ass!

Month of Jan: New legs, Nikki Sixx, Signature Element Denim and Skateboard, Military training!

I thank God everyday that I am healthy, that my legs feel good and that I am productive! I wish every month was like this one!!!! This is how it went:

Day one: Flew to Orange County

Day two: Met up with Ossur leg company to get new feet, worked with them all day... feet didn't work they were too tall( not fun when feet don't work)

Day Three: A.M. met up with Ossur again, received custom feet that work! yahhhh, they are amazing!

Day Four: Noon, had a meeting at Element Skateboards to design signature Amy Purdy skateboard board, had another meeting about my public speaking press kit and another meeting about working with Elements non-profit organization Elemental Awareness.

P.M Did a photoshoot for my new signiture Element Jeans coming out this fall!!!!!

Day Five: Met up with Nikki Sixx at his Studio for leg and costume fitting

Noon: returned rental car with almost 600 miles that I put on it and flew home.

For the next 6 days I worked on AAS developing fundraisers and the 2009 USASA National adaptive competition, started a few outlines for my speeches and fit in only 1 day of snowboarding( sad but true)

The following Sunday I flew to San Diego and picked up a work truck and drove 3 hours to the Twenty-Nine Palms Military Base...... worked with the Marines for preventitive casualty training senerios, lived in a hotel in the middle of the desert for 5 full days!!! .....Next day drove to Los Angeles, stayed with my friend Beth( check her out as Parker on the new TNT show Leverage! yah beth!) Went to my friend Vanessa Pragers Art show(http://www.vprager.com/)

....next morning woke up and shot for 7 hours with Nikki Sixx!! The shoot was by far the coolest thing I have ever done! Completly out of the box! I thought working with Madonna was the funnest thing ever.... but I would say that the Nikki Sixx shoot topped it! See teaser photo above from fitting. As a gift, Nikki gave me a pair of legs that light up like a lamp from Amsterdam, a custom gorgeous Vintage framed photo from the shoot and backstage passes to Motley Crue!!!!! Oh Yah!

Joke of the day!...

Thanks to my friend Kenny......

Question: "Whats Amy Purdy's favorite lunch time treat?"


Answer: " Bologna sandwiches!" Ha Ha get it??? Bologna(Below-knee)sandwhiches

I thought that was a clever one......

10 in 10 Fundraiser for the AAS/Element Youth Skateboard Camp!

Hi! Please help Adaptive Action Sports raise funds to help kids with “dis”abilities get to this summers AAS/YMCA/ELEMENT Skateboard camp! Help us raise $10,000 with just a donation of $10! If 1000 people made a $10 donation we will hit our goal! Every person who makes the donation will be listed on our website at the end of the fundraiser March 12th! Thank you! And please copy the widget below to add to your myspace page! Please help spread the word! PLEASE CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR DONATION!

Muscle and Fitness "Hers" Magazine!

I'm in the Jan/Feb issue of Muscle and Fitness "Hers" Mag which is out now! I know your thinking "with what muscles?" Yes, I wondered the same. So I went to the gym everyday for 3 months and built me some muscles! Kinda....

Photoshoot with Nikki Sixx!

About a month ago I received a phone call from Nikki Sixx the founder, songwriter and bassist of Motley Crue! We will be doing a photo shoot together next month.Who would have thought? The fact that he is a crazy creative genius and that I have crazy metal legs, makes a match made in a very interesting heaven. Outside of being a rockstar he happens to be an amazing photographer! I'll write more when I get the OK. Nikki also happens to be a really cool down to earth guy, I'm really looking forward to working with him. Oh yeah he also is Kat Von D's boyfriend... do I hear a tattoo whispering in my ear? My right ear of course because I'm deaf in the left :) P.S. Nikki's book "The Heroin Diaries" is amazing, I read it in like 4 days...highly recommended
Check out more info on Nikki Sixx here... http://www.nikkisixx.net/

I'm a new Element Eden Advocate!

Wow, what an incredible couple of months! I am going to have to backtrack a bit here to tell the story. In September, I recieved a call from Jardine Hammond the Marketing Manager for Element Eden. She wanted me to come out to be a part of a new campaign for Element called "Power to the Planet". While I was at the shoot I got the opportunity to meet the other Element Advocates and was completely blown away and inspired by what everyone was doing with there lives. The advocates are a mix of skateboarders, artists, musicians and humanitarians, all individuals who are making a positive impact in the world and who share their passion for art & skateboarding. Sounds like my type of people! That same day I met Johnny Shillereff the founder and president of Element & we hit it off right away! Like myself, Johnny has endured major obstacles and challenges at a young age. The fact that he not only overcame his obstacles but used them to move ahead in life and ultimately create the largest skateboard company in the world is so inspiring! We have a lot in common including the desire to tell our stories to help inspire others to follow their dreams. We decided that night over dinner that I would be an Element Eden Advocate and that we would start to work together. As Johnny put it we will "make magic" together. And that we have! In the last month we have spoke in front of 1200 high school students, sharing our stories and my involvement with Element. I have to say it is so cool to see all the students in the audience wearing Element clothing, they didn't even know we were coming to speak! We now are working on Amy Purdy Signature denim and a signature skateboard and I actually think this is only the beginning. I am so inspired by this company and all of the people working within the company, no wonder they are as successful as they are! I love that Element shares my love for nature, for giving back to others, for respecting the planet and for using creativity to leave a positive footprint in the world. I couldn't be more grateful!

Id like to invite you to check out a short documentary about the "Power to the Planet" campaign. It includes Johnny, pro skater Mike V, Bam, myself and the other great advocates.

http://www.powertotheplanet.tv/video/Final-Lo.html

and http://www.powertotheplanet.tv/

http://www.elementeden.com/

New Blog

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog. This is going to be a place for news updates as well as a place where I can write my thoughts and experiences. I am dedicated to flexing my writing muscle, to write as often as possible. We will see how long this lasts :)