DVS Grip It and Phlip It Phillipines Tour Article at Skatepark of Tampa

DVS Grip It and Phlip It Phillipines Tour

Posted on Friday, December 18, 2009 by Gabe

Words by Gabe Clement
Photos and Captions by Daniel Castillo

As the idea of going to the Philippines was brought up, I could feel the excitement in the air around the office. When the news of our destination hit the ears of our riders it was apparent that I was going to be disappointing a few guys with the bad news of, “The trip is full.”

The only rider I knew was going for sure was Daniel. What would a trip to the Philippines be if we didn’t take the only dude on the squad that is Filipino? I have traveled all over the globe with DL and he always has tons of fans that are excited to see him outside of Los Angeles. Manila and Cebu City were no different. The kids buzzed with excitement and DL really handled the demos like a true champ.

The only let down was the fact that DL would not eat Balut in his Motherland. Suck the juice and eat the bird!

It is always a pleasure to travel with Daniel, even if some of the native food scared him off (it did the same to me)...

First off, I was so glad to be back in the Philippines. I haven't been back since 2000. This is me and a Jeepney. These things are like the buses out there and are usually decorated with their own logos.
One of the many monuments in Manila. A lot of times there would be skate spots at the monuments. This monument was huge and the spot there to skate was buttery. Watch out for the piss on the ground though...among other things.
Manny Pacquiao. He’s the best pound for pound boxer ever and pretty much THE KING of the Philippines. This dude had advertisements everywhere out there. Didn't get a chance to meet him though.
Manila sunsets are awesome.
At the demo in Manila they had a big ass banner of the poster of the trip. I've never seen my face so big in my life. It made me feel weird. They also had name cards in front of us. I felt pretty important.
Traffic in the PI is gnarly. I thought LA traffic was bad, but we ain't got $h!t compared to over there. People are driving whatever works. There were a lot of motorcycles, bikes, and other things...
This is on our way to the demo in Cebu. We were only here for one day. It seemed a lil’ more country out here.
Jeff Gonzalez and I - he was one of the riders for Aloha Boardsports. He killed every spot we went to and skated the demos with us. This dude is a ripper out there. Look out for him.
My peoples and I. This was after our demo in Cebu. They were very psyched that we were out there.
This was from the demo in Manila. This was the biggest product toss I've ever seen.
The dude eating balut is Freddy Gonzalez. He’s the owner of Aloha Boardsports. He’s the coolest distributor I've ever met and homie could skate too. He showed us the best time anyone could have in the Philippines. Props to Freddy. You could see Reda in the backround. Reda ate two baluts before Freddy started to gooble down on his. As for me, I didn't touch one.
A lot of spots we skated we had permits for. In this case we were at a park, not a skate park, that was not opened to the public yet. Jeron's board fell into one of the ponds there and one of the workers went swimming to get it back. Filipinos are very nice people.
Pool shreddin’ time. We skated this pool in Manila. It seemed like an old abandoned hotel that they made into a skate/BMX park. Zered skated the spot for three hours straight in the heat and killed it. He definitely got some bangers in there.
Like I said before, the traffic in the PI was so gnarly. Luckily we had police escorts everywhere we went in Manila. Here is a photo of them leading us through traffic. That’s the only time I think I'll ever have that treatment for skateboarding. These dudes would also direct traffic if we were skating in a crowded place.
Zered chillin’ at one of the parks we tried skating at. This place looked like Mr. Miyagi's backyard.
2PAC tags. Gotta' love Pac. I've seen his name or a mural of this dude in almost every country I've been in. "Ain't nothin but a gangsta" party in the Philippines.
Gabe taking a nap from the humidity, San Miguels, and all the bomb food we ate out there. Reda taking a nap from his talking and baluts...
Here’s a pic from one of the many delicious dinners we had out there. Peace to Freddy, Moonie, Chris, Rozie, Carlo, Jie, Jeff, and everyone from Aloha Boardsports. This was the best tour I've ever been on. I'll be back soon. Peace.


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