ken moved here to Oakland from Japan to
photograph skateboarding.
now that i know ken, i would guess he
probably had 6 bucks in his pocket and
no plan.
i've never in my life seen anyone with
such bad luck... that could care less
about having such bad luck.
he's always broke always on the move
and down to go anywhere at anytime.
his bsa always breaks far from home.
recently on a ride his jacket went under
the rear wheel, he skidded downhill at least
a hundred feet and he made it to a stop with
out crashing...... but the best part is when he
did finally stop, he took off his camera bag to
look under his fender and his bag rolled down a hill
into a creek.. kens bsa doesn't have a kickstand
so he had make a quick decision.. the bike or his
livelihood... he layed the bike down and ran for
the camera. ken was still all smiles. just happy to
still have his bag and his bike.
ken rules. he speaks perfect japanese and
english and takes cool photo's
ken and his BSA
That dude is fucking magic.
ReplyDeleteI watched him grip over 400 decks at the Deluxe Warehouse in 3 8-hour days - WITHOUT GLOVES, DUDE.
The man's paws were fucking rubbed raw as fuck, but not a word of bitching, just another Rockstar Energy drink, another sheet of grip, & another deck.
I got a pic of that somewhere I'll send you of him standing by that stack...
Saw somehwere this quote, fits perfect to this small story
ReplyDelete“Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.”
ps: Nice Pics!!!!
good quote.
ReplyDeleteNever give up
ReplyDeleteYo
nice.....
ReplyDeleteThere's a real stoic mentality, I wonder if the guy believes in reincarnation.
ReplyDeletesounds like a keeper ;)
ReplyDeleteI always wondered what this dude's deal was. He's at all the big 510 events.
ReplyDeleteive been lucky enough to travel with ken. 100% rip rider. ask him about pooping in the bath tub. stories for days.
ReplyDeleteBest business card ever.
ReplyDeleteyeah Ken! really miss shooting the shit with you and Uri at Color Express (RIP).
ReplyDeleteNot having money for basic shit sucks, we all been their. But keeping your head through all that shit is tuff. Tell ken I got a BSA kickstand for him to email me or my blog.
ReplyDeleterad photos
ReplyDeleteKen is a great photographer, his Oakland Underground shots in 2005 are Classics.
ReplyDeleteHe is also very easy to work with, and really fuckin' cool. He deserves to make it.
-Someone from the Deluxe Artfag-Room
2003-2006
I was in SF for a few days last year on vacay. I hung out with Ken at a bar and even though he was broke he still managed to buy me a beer. Slippin' away again in Nagaharaville!
ReplyDeletehaha hey this is Nick from "Boner" Springs KS. I grew up w/ Aron Chilen and just wanted to say this is a awesome post...Ken is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet...I still owe him for a couple of boats of sushi...
ReplyDeleteCan you see more of his pictures somewhere?
ReplyDeleteken's a rad guy
ReplyDeletehis mix of mild alcoholism and self-loathing made some english skaters feel right at home when he took us under his wing
we woke him up at 3am, straight from the plane, and he showed us a good time without a thought for himself or his roommates
i could go on , but it would get libelous
fuggin champ!
I met Ken when he came out to Colorado for the Trick Factory Thanksgiving trip in 2006. We paid for his ticket and said that we'd take care of all the beer. He still came out with nothing in his pockets except lint and a couple of coins. When we stopped for dinner on the way back from the airport, he grabbed food from the neighboring table where the people had just vacated. He went straight for the strawberry shortcake. Good taste!
ReplyDeleteThe guy is gold. Genuine smiles and genuine tears, too.