I wanted to make a post showing the Christmas presents that a few shoe companies sent me (Perks of the job. God, I love this job…) so I set up a sweet studio in my new cubicle in Carlsbad and got to work shooting the products. (Thanks guys!) Then while…um…uploading the photos from the camera I found some other photos on the “camera” that I thought I’d share. So here are some random photos from the past few weeks of things I’m psyched on.

Christmas present from Vans.

Holiday gift from Osiris.

Non-religious celebration bestowal from DC.

Only Nike would do this… Fully custom Nike 6.0 Snuggie.

If I ever go hunting, I’m wearing this so I don’t get shot. And so I can still operate my gun while staying warm, of course.

And while on the topic of Snuggies…

Sunset outside of Whole Foods in Long Beach. You can never go wrong with a nice sunset and palm trees.

I’m ramping up my cooking game these days. Made this tasty dish last night with my new rice cooker. Turning into a real adult…

I had these in Costa Rica, then again in Panama, then again in Ecuador. And in Ecuador I had my friend Chaso teach me how to make them. First time I burned the shit out of them and they were terrible. Last night I nailed it and they were delicious.(Fried plantains, or in Spanish, “patacones.”)

From Ecuador to Louisiana, I love me some good food. These buggers are scrumptious! Crawfish are the best…

And if you want to clog your arteries even more, head to a seafood restaurant in Louisiana for the fried seafood platter: stuffed crab, hush puppies, catfish, shrip, and oysters. My mouth just started watering as I typed that.

Somehow for the past four years I forgot this existed, and for that I feel like I should apologize to the great people at Blue Bell. Their banana split flavor ice cream is probably the best ice cream you could ever buy in a tub.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana is finally getting a public skatepark! Amazing! Long overdue… Can’t wait to ride this thing!

My sister’s dog Katana is the chillest animal I’ve ever seen. You can throw things at it, sit on it, and pull up it’s upper lip and flick its teeth, and it still won’t move a muscle. She just don’t give a fuck.

And here is the fancy cube I’m posting this crap from… Office life.

I always tell people, “There’s a reason I’m on my side of the lens…”, but at the beginning of 2009 I set a goal of making a video part that I felt was better than the last two sections I put together. I had a ton of fun riding and filming this year, and I’m really happy with the end result. Thanks to all the people I rode with and who helped film. Enjoy, and see you at the spot in 2010!

Music: Pat Benatar, “Heartbreaker”
Yes, I know the song was used in Jason Enns’ part in the 2002 Demolition video. Nothing but respect for Enns and Demolition…I just liked the song and thought it fit this edit well.

Andrew Brady over at Fuel TV did an interview with me on fuel.tv. Check it out…

I’ve been talking about building a new flatland bike for about a year now and finally got around to getting it all done. I’m super pumped to start riding more and have plans to enter a few beginner contests next year, so I’ll be seeing you at the spot! I wanted to show off my new whip and say thanks to the companies that hooked me up so I did this full bike check and filled out everything just like I always have the pros do. Enjoy… - Fat

Name: Fat Tony
Age: 27
Height: 5′ 10″
Weight: 160lbs
Location: Long Beach, California
Shouts & Thanks: Joel Gurga at Tip Plus, Clint Millar at Colony, Jim Bauer at Odyssey, and Steve Blackey at The Bicycle Source. Thanks for making this bike happen!

All photos by Fat.

Frame: Colony Cube, 18.85″, Shane Badman Signature
Fork: Colony DejaVu, Simon O’Brien Signature
Bars: Flatware Bayou Bars, Terry Adams Signature
Stem: Flatware
Grips: Odyssey Gedda
Barends: Odyssey Par Ends
Headset: Colony
Clamp: Integrated
Seatpost: Colony Pivotal, 330mm
Seat: Primo Balance Pivotal
Cranks: Flatware Twombolts, 160mm with Primo bottom bracket
Sprocket: Flatware, 22t
Chain: KMC
Brakes: Fox Overload Deluxe High Tops
Front Tire: Odyssey Frequency G, 1.85″, Chase Gouin Signature
Front Wheel: Colony Clone
Rear Tire: Odyssey Frequency G, 1.85″, Chase Gouin Signature
Rear Wheel: Nankai freecoaster hub with 9t cog laced with Primo spokes to a Colony Clone rim.
Pedals: Colony Fantastic Plastic
Pegs: Colony

Modifications/Other/Extras: Cut the flanges off the grips.

Which parts do you go through the most?
I’ll probably go through grips and bar ends the quickest on this bike from trying backwards hitchhikers, but it’ll be a while before I ever need new ones, haha.

Describe your bike setup and how you like your bike to feel…
Gotta be solid, quiet, and dialed. I get really annoyed with rattles, wobbles, loose stuff, etc.

What part are you most particular about or do you feel makes the biggest difference on your bike?
On a flatland bike, probably the wheels. If the wheels don’t roll smooth and fast or the hubs are loose, it drives me insane.

Switch-footed peg wheelie in a circle. Shutter by Chad Johnston.

Lately, when not traveling or working I’ve been doing a lot of hardcore chilling and relaxing. That means lots and lots of me laying on my couch, watching TV, and touching the screen of my iPhone. In no particular order, here are some of my new favorite ways to mindlessly entertain myself…

Sabra hummus is awesome. It’s the best pre-packaged hummus I’ve found so far. Albertson’s usually only has either original or roasted pine nut, but both are dynamite. The only downfall is that I really like Whole Foods’ jalapeno pita chips so I have to go to two stores to get my pita chip/hummus fix. And even though it makes my farts absolutely wretched, I don’t consider that a downfall because let’s face it. Horrid smelling farts are funny as shit.

If you aren’t familiar with TFLN (textsfromlastnight.com), then you have either been living under a rock, or have much more of a social life than I do, making it unnecessary for you to fill your time with pointless Web sites like this. Whatever the case, TFLN is really entertaining and a great way to pass the time. Here’s a quick screen shot of some of the shit people in my area have said recently. Is Long Beach fucked up? Not really…go check your area code.

Hoarders is a show on A&E about compulsive hoarders. It’s a bizarre psychological disorder where people just can’t throw shit away and it gets so bad that it causes serious problems. I don’t know why I’m so fascinated by these people, but the show is pretty damn good.

MSNBC has a good series called Lockup Raw where they profile prisons and inmates. I guess just like Hoarders, it’s a way for me to see people and their personalities that I’d never get to see otherwise. Lesson learned recently from this show: Never call someone a “punk ass bitch” in prison unless you want to get shanked.

Tool Academy is by far the best bad reality show on the air right now. It’s entertaining on so many levels. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, it’ll make you pissed, it’ll make you happy… And it’ll probably make you dumber, but I’m taking my chances because I’m hooked. Anyone know where I can catch the second episode? I missed it!

No, this photo doesn’t allude to porn even though that’s a good way to pass time too. This is all about Poorman’s Bikini Beach. If you live in the L.A. area, you gotta back me up on this… It’s a late night, super low budget show for trashy dudes who like to see chicks in bikini’s. An old guy (Poorman) walks around with a microphone at bikini contests, amateur bikini wrestling matches, and other weird events documenting low clas girls in bikinis. I couldn’t believe it the first time I stumbled upon this gem. I see an Oscar in Poorman’s future.

And last, but certainly not least, Breyers ice cream! Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry is my favorite, but I usually keep at least one other flavor in stock (currently Snickers) just in case I’m in the mood for something different. Ice cream and doughnuts are my favorite foods, but because Breyers is made from milk and says “all natural” on the carton I trick myself into thinking it’s more healthy than doughnuts and okay to eat every night.

Way back in February I booked a flight to New Orleans for the last week in August for the Flatland Voodoo Jam. But then X Games popped up and was the same day, so I had to re-book my flight for another time. That other time was this past weekend. I had high hopes of riding my ass off, hanging out with my old friends, and seeing my family. I got to do all of the above, but had a few hangups along the way including, but not limited to:

- My luggage and bike not showing up until late the second day of my trip.
- Losing my phone and wallet in the French Quarter. (Thank the stranger with a good heart who found it and gave it back to me two days later.)
- Forgetting my computer charger in California.
- Forgetting my keys in my car.
- Ass hole security guards in both New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

But instead of harping on the bad, let’s focus on the good… Check out the photos!

This video was shot at the recent KOG contest in Japan. Amazing… If there is one thing that stokes me on riding BMX more than anything else, it is young kids riding!

Just found it randomly through Google images and thought it was rad.

Sort of reminds me on a very office geek version of one of my favorite artists, Andy Goldsworthy. If you aren’t familiar with his work, check out these images (also dug up from Google), then buy some of his books on Amazon. They are always good to have in your collection.

Seriously…come on…

Spotted on krtschmidt.com.

The best granola is Bear Naked. They sent me free samples once and I loved it. Now I lost their contact info so I have to buy it. I’m eating Banana Nut right now but also love Mango Agave Almond. The best hummus is from Phoenix, Arizona and I wish I could have some mailed to me.

I went for a bike ride today around Long Beach. At my house (a mile from the beach) it was bright and sunny. At the beach it was crazy overcast. So bizarre. I laughed.

Near the beach I saw a ton of six year olds learning to sail. I have to assume their parents are well off. I’m jealous of the homes I saw while riding around the marina and can’t wait to buy my first condo here in Long Beach. Hopefully it’ll happen soon…positive thoughts!

Here are two photos of the food shelves in my kitchen. Guess which section is mine, and guess which is my roommate’s. And guess which one of us will still have his health at the age of 35, haha.

I went to Woodward West this past weekend. There were pretty sunsets.

I already Tweeted about this, but I seriously can’t believe Daniel The Intern wears shoes like this.

This is epic… Wish there would have been a video camera on hand for this occasion.

The Nike 6.0 Huntington Beach contest is coming up, then X Games, then DK Dirt Circuit, then Portland Dew Tour. All should be awesome…