Set out from SD session Hillcrust in Beverly Hills and then on to the great oblivion that was the slide clinic in slotown. I got tents together and made sure everything was in order both Ninitsu Method and Bomber Mark were down and Fox my girlfriend, nurse, ghost driver and footage take also was stoked to go so that settled it with little time to spare we agreed to leave at 8:30 on fri and make the drive.

Around 4:00am I fell asleep maybe it was the excitement or maybe it was my nocturnal nature but 3 and a half hours later I was awake again packing the car and looking more like an extra for DOD than a human. With the car packed we picked up the ninja and then later bomber in Escondido, fueled the car and made the drive towards LA the traffic an smog clouds that encircle LA make it seem almost as enticing as driving my jeep straight off a Cliff. However that’s what we were on the hunt for. Tahini is a sweet long tree shaded dead end in Beverly Hills the pavement is crushed aggregate so it has amazingly slick properties and the hill itself applies speed as needed even after the hardest slide. We session’d it a few times, sitting on the door of the car we shot some footage and just watching method and bomber just kill it with slide after slide by the end of the run you wonder to yourself how many more slides you will have to put down but it really is pure bliss despite the energy it takes. At one point we had a procession of 5 cars behind the jeep and the car behind us was filming us as well.

I hit it twice my first run was solid with no puck rolls or serious bails other than the very first turn which put me straight into the curb. Threw down a good number of slides that felt very solid and my 360’s were whipping around. At one point bomber lost hit deck and almost took me out. My second run was not so good with the addition of the first corner I bailed on about 25% of the slides mostly butt drags due to the languid nature of my lead arm it just kept dropping grahm blasted past me with an awesome toeside extended pendy. The run lasted forever for me due to my bails and by the end I was frustrated and tired so I held my last line to the very bottom of the hill which is an active intersection whipping a coleman out at full speed and blasting a terminal slide that ended right at the stop sign . I smiled to see the gaping maws of all the onlookers that were expecting me to get creamed by a benz.

I chugged some water felt stoked about the run and then puked. With method laughing his face off while filming me vomit. I finished up emptying my stomach and cooled off with a root beer handed the keys off to Fox and let her drive. We packed back up and the rest of the ride was uneventful save for the enormous cloud of bees we drove through. We hit in and out double double and after getting through both the SB and LA traffic we neared slotown. White sand beached and rocky outcropping were framed by rolling hills of a luscious green, the afternoon sun setting an amber haze over some of the most beautiful terrain I have ever seen. With me driving again we played “spot the hill” and at one point fox thought the car was on fire due to a chorus of exclamations about a hill that looked uber sick.

We rolled into the ranch it had a broken surfboard and a sandwich board leaning aside it declaring a skate event open to the public. We ran into a dazed wanderer that confirmed this was the place. The first person we met was Cliff introductions all around and yea he is a great guy very welcoming. It was awesome to meet him after focusing soo much on footage and statements that he has provided. Jonny was out, one of his daughters had had an unfortunate golf cart accident but was okay thankfully. We met him later and set up camp and the late noon light waned. The ranch was a grouping of sprawling buildings with a stage and a halfpipe with a wave in the center. A fire ring had a quiver of decks leaning around it we had finally made it to the Ranch.

Jonny Miller is a great guy an example that parenthood doesn’t kill the soul and that life is what you make of it. He builds custom tiki statues with a chainsaw out of palm trunks and also makes custom furniture. He is a full time father skater and runs central coast’s only skateboard racing shop @ 622 Upham St. In San Louis Obispio if you are in the area drop by. We hung out with the family and Cliff. Meeting some of the locals and just getting acquainted. The amount of passion for skating all disciplines that was evident was impressive and later we would get to see some of the prowess that both Jonny and Big John another local and slalom Savant possessed. We watched the footage with Cliff and he gave pointers and made comments he is really good at giving direct advice without any sense of condescendence. I got to see a faltown board in person and yea I want one. With the light waning and Ninja chomping at the bit Jonny offered to take us out to some of the local garages for a midnight outlaw garage session. The biggest thing one skater can give another is a chance to ride.

We hit the car and the drive to the garages was short the first garage was a short center chute with varying grades of cement feathering, some of the corners were slick but Jonny and Big John blasted the turns pumping into and out of them loosing no speed at all sick skills and smooth flow. Jonny cut past me on a turn just drafting for a second then blowing past pumping at speed and just killing it. We were told to watch out for Johnny on a bike one of the local cops apparently there is lots of local heat on skating so eyes were peeled. After a few runs we hit the second garage this one had a great layouta solid level drop with a split section you could carve into and a drop gate to tube through I tried to follow the local lines but holy crap they were fast. On the top we were about to hit it and someone said the word Big John bolted fox and I hid behind a wall section and Jonny just nonchalantly dropped his deck and watched the sky like a star gazer. The man rolled on and we went on a mission to find the rest of the scattered crew. We found the rest of the ninjas and a short while later found Big John sans deck he had ditched his deck to cut the heat. We jumped in the rides and a evasive barrel roll later Big John had his deck and we hit up The Trading Post a skate shop Jonny runs that is decorated by more skate memorabilia than I could take in. He has a collection of old school decks that was sick and was very helpful to Bomber hooking him up with some accessories. He even sent the ninjas home with a slalom deck to set up and try our hands at. Fully cashed out we headed back to the ranch set back in the fields past a stream the hills framed the night and the stars shown bright.

Morning came at 8:30am oatmeal and brushing my teeth, The crew got their gear in order and we met the rest of the students. Jonny and Big John were along for the lesson. Bruce who had the coolest facial hair I have seen in a long while and Bill who was the most tenacious student in my opinion they were both slalom riders. Mark from Vegas, If anyone is in Vegas get in touch with Mark he needs a crew. We swapped wheels and decks, wheels and gloves were loaned out so we were all slide capable. (shoulder width deck, mid to high duro wheels and gloves) We signed a waiver with Cliff and gave him the cash for the event he gave each of us his article from thrasher and we went over the universal hand signals for downhilling. Two hands up stop, One hand up wait and the windmill arm, go ahead and charge it. We also went over the verbal signals “car up!” for a car going up the hill and “car down!” for a car coming down the hill. After we went through the signals each student took a flexibility test which everyone past with no problems. Cliff reiterated many times that this is all about safety the greatest asset we have at high speeds is our gloves and the ability to slide, even if you can’t get a full extension if you bail at least you have the option to slide to soften the impact

We headed out in a caravan and first hit up a small grade bike path near Avila beach. Cliff went trough the basics of stance and then started doing one on ones giving people advice on their slide attempts and making really good recommendations. Jonny killed the little path sliding he took to it fast. Many of the students carved really hard turns which eventually turned into slides later. The more advanced students demonstrated coleman slides and watched the advice that was given. Even being a adept slider I learned a great deal in that session. Fox switched to my Plug deck per Cliff’s recommendation. She was used to steeper hills so although the mechanics of it were solid she didn’t have the speed just yet. As people past they would watch for a while before moving on even some golf course employees showed up to watch the session for a bit. Unfortunately bomber had gotten a sudden case of poison oak and had to skate off for a swim in the ocean.

We skated to the cars and then on to the next hill, very close to the beach the beginners with more speed on their hill took to sliding more easily. Fox was whipping them out and man I was proud of her, I however got humbled Cliff was showing ninja and I how to do cornering and working on toeside 360 slides I don’t know what was up but I was getting hammered by my slides. I can blame it on many things but fact was I knew what he was talking about but couldn’t adapt it to my style. With the cornering every corner took me to the curb. The 360z my arm would just not come around. I got frustrated but Cliff is real good at helping to demonstrate what needs to be done and in the future I am sure I will have both of those slides down. The biggest treat was just watching Cliff hit those corners he would just charged it then drift around like magic. It was getting real hot and most of the students were tired with the beginners now hitting slides almost every time. We decided to try and find mark and get our grub on back in slotown.

We did eventually find bomber when we left Jonny managed to get signal and we called him he was really far away he had decided to head back on his deck and was skating back to the ranch. He was a slight bit upset but Cliff made good on the mishap by returning 50% of his money and he really spent a solid amount of time with him on the next session. That’s one thing that really stood out at the clinic Cliff spent time with each and every student. No matter the level of ability Cliff really dedicated himself to making sure he could advise in the best way possible. After some good Mexican food we headed back to the ranch and Ninja and Jonny demonstrated the art of Ranch surfing, Jonny had a mountain board and a golf cart with a tow rope that thing would whip around and really tug you out of the corners. Tending my arm I didn’t participate but I did manage to get some hilarious photos. Ranch surfing is an awesome use of good time. Everyone digested for a while and then we started to plan the next session. We first hit a beautiful mellow curved roller with no traffic at all only one problem the road condition was bad, marble to fist seized rocks and clumps of crete were all over it. Bomber, Ninja, Jonny and I bombed, carved and pumped our way down it the road wasn’t so bad but def not clean enough for multiple people to be sessioning. The next hill we hit was nice it was a dead end in a quiet community at the foot of a rolling green hill. The grade was mid and it was long enough to get good speed. The beginners kept hammering out slides with Bill just putting down slides over and over that dude was dedicated to getting it down and I am sure he did. Travis and Savage some really sick skaters came out with us to try their hand at sliding. Savage killed the hill he has solid board skills so he was throwing table tops left and right however with no return his wheels were so flatspotted that they eventually sounded like a motorized skateboard. Travis eventually took a bail onto his head after a few solid runs. He got high sided and just smacked his head on the pavement like a potatoe .A big welt grew on his head but he stayed alert and sharp so no worries. Cliff continued to do spinners and colemans. He spent a good deal of time with Bomber showing him cornering. I am sure that very soon all three of us will be able to corner quite well. Jonny’s flow continued all low and surfing the asphalt he would throw some serious slides with soul. Bruce was taking pictures and we had another photographer shooting photos while we skated eventually an old woman hollered at us but to no result. A couple kids came out and watched as we tore up the hill. With a few final pointers we all hit the hill in one final procession of slides and carves.

The ranch was getting ready for a party there was activity everywhere kids were hitting the ramp and the fire was being stoked. The meat was on the grill and we watched some of the footage from the days session as well as the LA session. Bands played and hula girls danced the night was filled with stories of races and bails past and it was an all around good time. I felt like a zombie on memory overload taking in all of the skills that surrounded us and just trying as hard as possible to remember the days advice. I watched Jonny hit the ramp killing it with pure soul. Later his three girls preformed for the crowd and I though how lucky he is to live his life the way he does. Life isn’t always easy so it’s best to make the most of it and I am sure he does. Speaking with Cliff about his travels of the past and his future plans hearing of freerides in Europe and life in Berkeley. I don’t make wishes I make plans and I am working on some now. I spent much of the night just relaxing and taking it all in. Fox and I reclined in the VIP section near our tents just watching the band and waiting for sleep. Eventually crawling into bed being lulled to sleep by the clamor of the party.

Morning burned off the dew and pried open our eyes, Breaking camp and bidding farewell to Cliff, Jonny, Bruce, Bill and Mark. We took some pictures and said our goodbyes they were on there way to some races and we wished them all the best. We thanked Cliff and Jonny again and they headed out. We broke camp at the empty ranch just looking around and thinking how awesome everything was. The memories I had are just a start I look foreword to applying what Cliff past on to us. Maybe I should move to Berkeley?

I want to thank Cliff Coleman for having this and sharing the stoke and safety of sliding. I would also like to thank the NBS Crew for riding and sharing the good times. Bomber and Nijitsu you guys are awesome. My girl fox for dealing with three really foul smelling dudes for such a long time and for driving, taking footage and providing medical support and advice. Mark, Bill and Bruce it was great to ride with you guys and I have a greater appreciation for the art of sliding after getting to watch you guys dedicate yourselves to learning. And last but far from least Jonny Miller you are one of the coolest guys I have ever met and I truly admire how and what you live for. Keep sharing the stoke.