Author: hellagrip

Eric Ostrom – Hurricane down 21 stair in San Jose, CA – Cover Page:

Eric Ostrom on his cover shot:
“I got on the cover of a fucking magazine? For doing what I love to do? For riding a fucking scooter!? That’s HELLA dope! I think for anyone it is something that you wouldn’t expect to happen, it just does. I can remember when just the idea of having a published freestyle scooter magazine was such a fucking fantasy…. And now that we have one, I have the honor to grace the cover of the latest issue. I gotta say it’s probably one of my favorite accomplishments from shredding so far. I most def owe a lot of thanks to all of the homies that work behind the scenes, spending long nights and days capturing editing and publishing all the footy and photos that you guys see out there. All my HELLA GRIP homies and family at Urban Artt are pushing shit so hard, it would be close to impossible to have the drive and motivation if I didn’t have such great bros to chill and sesh with. Just do what you love to do, it fucking pays off in the end. Die Trying.”

Andrew Haag – Backside Feeble in Oakland just blocks away from Hella Grip HQ’s – Page 26.

Andrew Haag on making his first appearance in a freestyle scooter magazine:
“In the beginning the only motive to ride was truly personal, but now, in this age, people ride for many reasons outside the individual self, shame on them. Today, I have two motives to ride, for myself, and for my brothers and sisters. If you ride for yourself, then you carry the spirit of Hella Grip, to the streets, to the parks, to the public, to the police, and to the government.”

Addison McNaughton – Frontside Board in his hometown of Concord, California. – Page 28.

Addy on being featured in French Toast again:
“French Toast has always been good to me. They got a solid crew running the magazine, and mad respect for all facets of the scene…even an old boy like me with one foot already in the grave (Or one foot in the urn, I guess, ‘cause I want to be cremated). However, I think it’s bullshit that Eric’s hurricane photo wasn’t used for the front AND the back of this latest issue (Only joking. But seriously folks, that Hurricane Sandy was/is the dopest trick in modern history). I’m mostly stoked to see a photo of Mr. Haag in this issue. Now, it’s only a matter of time before he lets all the fortune and fame go to his head, and ends up speeding a Porche 911 Turbo (Ricky W.’s favorite) down Rodeo Drive, crashing it into 17 light poles before finally ending up in God’s hands. THE END.”

And lastly we have a video of the Haag finding out that he made it into the magazine, pure comedy put together by The Over Show.

On December 25 Hella Grip will unleash it’s first Homies edit titled “Hella Stoked & Hella Broke” on HellaGrip.co … In this clip you’ll get to see some riding from homies George Justiniano and Andrew Haag as well as some absolutely classic candid material from a fan of action sports. “Get ya’ll team together, we gonna hook it up.”

Hella Stoked & Hella Broke Teaser #1 from Hella Grip on Vimeo.

And the YouTube version is also available:

Hella Grip Homie Nick Donatelli was an instructor at the most recent Woodward West Scooter Camp and he’ll be there again in February for the next session. You can read a message from Nick below and also be sure to peep the video featuring homies Matt McKeen, Ralph McMoran, & Nick Donatelli with filming by Addison McNaughton from Woodward in 2011 before Hella Grip had ever been discussed or even thought of. Video also features riding from Tyler Bonner and a cameo from the “godfather” KC Corning!

From Nick:

“Woodward was pretty sick this year, especially since we were able to hit it up in November and not freeze to death. Deffinately a lot of good vibes, bangers and homies all around camp this time, pretty stokked to see what goes down in the February camp coming up! Gonna be hella sick!!”

Woodward Scooter Weekend 2011 from The Over Show on Vimeo.

Hella Grip Homie Tyler Wheeland says, “I’m so stoked man, I can’t believe it.” in an interview on ISB about his new signature “Nimbus Fork” from Tilt Scooters. There are only 250 available and they’re definitely going to sell out, so if you haven’t got one yet you better get on top of it. Hella Grip co-owner Addison McNaughton even bought one for himself because “you gotta support the homies, homie.”  Tilt released this statement about the fork and Tyler’s video he released to accompany it: “Tyler’s been stoking hard on his signature fork, so he went out and filmed this part just for the release. The Nimbus Fork is available now in a limited run of 250. Get your cop on and enjoy.”
      

To celebrate the opening of the website and online store today we are releasing the first official Hella Grip ad by our staff photographer Morgan Foster. It features rider/owner Addison McNaughton blasting a fatty while rocking “The Bachelor” tank-top. Peep below the ad for a message from Addison regarding the launch of Hella Grip.

The Legacy of Hella Grip
Four score and seven years ago…
But seriously folks, I’m sure almost everyone reading this can agree there’s nothing better than chillin’ and shreddin’ all day (and watching sloth videos, of course). Lately, however, chillin’ and shreddin’ hasn’t been enough for me. I’ve always admired (for the most part) what scooter-related companies have been able to create and distribute to the product-hungry riders around this lovely ball of rock, water, and atmosphere that we all inhabit (for now). On top of that, I’ve always pondered how I could contribute to the shredding community if I were no longer able ride at a steady rate and work on videos. Hella Grip has since come into existence as a byproduct of this admiration and pondering; it just kinda detached itself from the ether and rode the thermals all the way to our tiny island oasis…
But seriously folks, having my own company has always been the plan since day 1. I thrive off creating and sharing things. I’ll come clean and confess that Hella Grip is not “my own” company though. It’s actually co-owned with two of my homies that I’ve known since day 1, 2B & BK. One has also been my filmer/editor since since day 2. The other has kept us both in check since the afternoon of day 3. We’ve all been involved in the scene since it was just a young lad in the crib.
We decided to begin work on a grip tape company around 2010. To put it simply, it just made sense at the time. It was the best way to get involved, using the resources that we had. Financially, we had(have) next to nothing compared to what other start-up companies must be spending to create bars, decks, and/or etc (I’m talking about checking-the-sofa-cushions-for-change poor). What we did have was a solid community of riders who we knew would be down for the cause as long as it was true to our nature. With Hella Grip, we have succeeded in creating a simple (but still hella difficult to produce) product that speaks to that nature. Our environment is one of chillin’ and shreddin’ amongst the natural landscape of cement and metal (and, more recently, dirt).
With today’s website launch, y’all can finally peruse our full first batch of product for sale. Y’all will also notice our list of Hella Grip Homies. We shy away from calling it a “team” because we’re not treating it like the usual “teams” that most of you are familiar with. Our homies are just that: homies. They’re dudes (maybe we’ll get a chick someday) who love to shred, and do it well. We’re not about the next “big trick” or hookin up the next “best rider.” It’s all a white noise to us. We’re solely about building a brand so we can share a lifestyle with other homies out there who just wanna chill and shred with us. Our plan is to let the brand grow naturally with the support and input of our official homies and the entire homie nation. We have more griptape products and apparel in the works, as well as other products that fit within the Hella Grip brand. All we need in order to keep things moving forward is the continued support of every rider out there who is down with our cause.

Stay slothy folks. And be sure to check out “Lincoln” in theaters nation-wide this Friday.

-Addison McNaughton (Co-Owner; self-appointed Official Homie…HA!)