Here it is: we’re in Los Angeles and through Ben’s friend’s aunt (who is a vice-principle) we are heading to an elementary school in Watts tomorrow morning to teach a class. This will be the first opportunity we’ve had to talk to kids directly about their dreams and what they want to do before they die. The school is run out of a church and, we’re told, has no library, supplies or computers. As a token of our appreciation for letting us in their doors and into their classrooms we are trying desperately to buy the school a good computer. After much hard work we’ve managed to track down 3 general managers of local shops and line up a great deal on a 17 inch imac. We spent all afternoon street performing to try to raise the cash and with the help of some very generous donors we’re up to $250. We’re going to do what it takes to make up the remaining $ but if anyone out there knows anyone in the industry that would be willing to match our contribution, please get in touch (jonnie@theburiedlife.com) We’d like to provide the school and the kids with the resources they deserve.. Everything helps. Godbless..

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mary!

This is Mary. She taught us how to surf and we love her for it. We also love her because she took care of us during our stop in Ventura California (and wore a bikini!) Surfing isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination but she got us in the water and standing in two short days. Now, as we drive the coast of California we eye the waves and count the seconds until we can return to the swell. Thanks Mary, and thanks ocean gods for teaching us how to fly on water.

well isn’t that cute

the buried life = strictly business

This is one for the record books. After spending the whole day in San Diego (this blog is a little late) asking strangers what they want to do before they die, we headed downtown to the Red Lamp District to attempt #83 on the list - “Street Perform and Make $100.” Duncan jammed on his guitar, Ben drummed a kitchen pot and Dave and I (Jonnie) rocked fresh b-boy styles to try to reach our goal of $100 and experience what life is like hustling the streets. After the first hour we had a grand total of $4 and some gummy beans. Then, after taking a break to regain our breath and build excitement among passerbys we exploded into Round 2 and amassed a crowd of over 70 spectators. After 20 minutes of backflips, handstands, kitchen-pot solos, and general mayhem, the show was over our hat was brimming with over $60!

But now for the best part. Two girls who had watched the whole show approached Ben afterwards and offered him $20 cash for his 1980’s women’s tracksuit. Although this would mean he would have nothing to wear home but the cardboard sign we made, he accepted. Then, while we walked back to the car, curious strangers tipped $10, $3, and then $20 more. By the time we made it back to bus, #83 was off the list!

hanging with surf legend Keith Malloy

We came into Ventura at 8:30 pm on Friday and fell in love instantly. The sunset looked like pink ice cream and the light fog that hung over the city made it edible. After some searching we found our host and friend-of-a-friend turned new friend Mary Osbourne, a stand out star in the surf world and our new coach for #92 on the list - “Learn how to surf”. Mary proved herself to be an excellent instructor, teaching us not only how to ride, but how to live like a surfer too. Ventura is made up of a series of shanty bungalows threading the beach to the hills; the people are laidback, the pace is slow and the waves consistent. We spent all day on the water yesterday and most of the day today and are satisfied with the introduction to the sport. By the end of it all we were each consistently getting up and riding green (as opposed to riding white wash, which doesn’t count) and left the water feeling like we had done it right. Although there will be many more days of riding in the years to come, this whole weekend was enough for us to feel good about crossing it off the list. Our future in surfing has begun..

Sunset in Ventura (through a gold-tint filter)

A big bonus came yesterday when we stumbled upon surf legend Keith Malloy (Step Into Liquid, Thicker Than Water, Bend to Baja), one of the infamous Malloy brothers. These 3 brothers are grassroots, homegrown, top-notch fellas and 100% talent on the swell. They’ve won numerous surf titles, shot multiple films and kept their heads on straight the whole way along. We sat down with Keith and chatted with him for the documentary.. he had some interesting thoughts on life, the environment, and the almost indescribable sensation that surfing gives you. It was, as the Ventura folk say, gnarly.

We head to Los Angeles tomorrow and will be there the duration of the week. If you or anyone you knows has a friend in need of a little L.D.H (life dream helping) give us a ring or send us an email here

learning to fly (part 1)

I (ben) really wanted to fly through the air on a BMX bike. Seeing that #7 on the list is Learn to Fly, I thought this would be a logical stepping stone and may even prep me for the real flight we are trying to hustle in Sun Valley. A few weeks back we decided to tie this into a collective dream the four of us have always wanted to do: show up unannounced at a local skate park with an extreme sport legend and surprise the kids at the park with an impromptu competition and thrash session (how sick would that be!?)

jamie is hella sick

Here’s how it all went down: I called the good people at Levis (Jamie rides for them) and asked for Jamie’s email and sent out a well thought out “mega-dream” pitch email to the man who rules the Vert BMX world. 3 days later, I receive an email from Jamie saying, “I’m in.” (Shwing!) Then, with the help of Levis and Jamie, we found a small bike park known for young talent and for creating a safe community for kids to ride - Ramp Rats in Petaluma, California. We showed up with Jamie on a busy afternoon and the rest is in the books…

jonathan, jamie and ben

Jamie rode effortlessly with about 40 elated kids, all of them pulling off mindblowing tricks - feeding off the energy of the BMX superstar gracing their home turf. We chose one kid, Jonathan, who had always dreamed of learning a trick from Jamie and let them have the park to themselves - Jamie taught Jonathan how to do a tail-whip. Then I stepped onto a BMX for the first time and after a few embarassing tumbles, one epic face plant and the guidance of the best in the business, successfully cleared a 9 ft table top. Throughout the rest of the day, Jamie hosted a comp with the youngsters, Dave miraculously pulled off a backflip into the foam pit and Jamie told us tha before he died he “would like to be good at something other than riding… be a good father.”

on his first time riding, dave somehow learned how to do a backflip

Thanks Jamie, Ramp Rats, Levis and all the kids who didn’t laugh when I ate it so many times on the ramp. Jamie, you’re a star - I’m hooked. -ben (Photos - Tyler Lynch)

spot the flying man 

Nate Adams is an undisputed champion in the motocross world and Dave’s hero. Using the powers of the grapevine (four degrees of seperation!) we managed to talk our way into some one-on-one, or one-on-four, or whatever it would be and headed to his house outside of San Diego. We sat down with him and the cameras to talk about life, death and motorbikes. Having survived some nasty, nasty bails and come as close to the other side as one can, he certainly had some things to say. After the chat he showed us the tricks he was working on for his next competition. It was mindblowing. Backflips, 360s, backflip 360s.. everything. Take a look:

  no this isn’t nate. this is a dog

  this is nate

 ’Target’ bought Nate a foam tank. We want one now too.

these are nate’s toys 

nate would not let us take the bus on the jumps 

shooting the finale of mad-max 4

Big thanks to the good people at Sun Buggie Fun Rentals for this one: #93: “Ride through the desert in a dune-buggy” has been officially crossed of the list. Crossed off in style too. We headed out to their shop on our way to Vegas and spent an hour ripping the dunes in Nevada. For all you motor heads out there, this one is a must. There is nothing you can’t drive over: rocks, bushes, sand, bolders.. the world is your playground in these beasts.

spot the one that got demolished. no just kidding, it got towed.

But it was not all fun and play. Dave got cocky after ripping around for a bit and put the gas on a little too heavy as he came over a lip. Next thing he knew his front wheels were the only thing on the ground, then just his roof, then his side and on and on. The crew said that they had never seen such a brutal accident - 5 spins head over heals, rolls, a broken axel, pieces of the machine everywhere. Dave, fearless as always, did everything right inside the buggy and walked out unscathed. It was a spooky experience but thankfully everything turned out okay. If anything, it put death (and life) just that much closer in view. No pictures were taken after, but the final rolls were caught on camera so you will be able to see it one day. Don’t forget that this whole adventure is being turned into an epic documentary, premiering one day in a theatre near you..

just four fellas and some sand. some really epic sand.

dunc wrist deep in 1969’s greatest mechanical achievement

And it was bound to happen eventually: 8 hours of driving from Las Vegas to San Diego and suddenly you hear it.. put.. put… puttt….. put. Running out of fuel in a 35′ foot diesel is not the same as in a Prius. It sucks. Hard. The airbrakes don’t work without the motor so you can’t push it and even if you could, it weighs 12 tonnes (though Dave has been doing at least a dozen crunchs every morning). The final ‘put’, ironically, left us about 20 yards from a fill up, but because it stopped on an angle (and the fuel-sensor is on the rear end of the tank), we had to fill it gallon by gallon, hand by hand in the only gerry can we had. Then dunc had to mess with the filters for forever and in the end we made it out.

While this was all happening Ben was across the road eating dinner at the pull-in diner chatting with some local folk. He wants to tell the story himself of what happened there, so you can expect it soon.

Thanks again to Kyle Jewell for the awesome photos!