Z 80's

With the sun beating down on a warm August day, I got an anonymous tip at Jazz Push headquarters that Manimal Beard was in close proximity. We have been searching for Beard many years now and unfortunately had grown jaded with tips of false hope. despite all of my misses in the past, I had a feeling that  today could be the day. The low raspy voice that came through the telephone line told me beard was close.

I grabbed a small crew of trusted friends to go on this journey. Jade Warrior and Daniel Parks were men of reliance that could handle any terrain on the way. At high noon I drove from headquarters to meet at Pasture Park with Jade and Daniel.

The pasture was trashed with broken glass, ketchup and vagrants walking like the possessed. If the former mayor was here to witness the debris he would have been disgusted. Daniel did what he could to clean the pasture and soon we were on the hunt for Manimal Beard, but what we thought was him soon became a mirage. The heat got the best of us and we had to face the fact that he was not in proximity. We took our frontside shove-its and left.

We headed toward the coast and dropped anchor at a hardy location. We could sense that Beard was closer than ever. Jade Warrior rushed down up and down stairs, trying his hardest to find the beast. I decided to check the walls with Daniel. I was getting nowhere looking for Beard. I could smell the asphalt sizzling on the ground as I rolled in and out of hardy walls. Daniel was luckier than I, jumping over curbs and riding up walls finding hints that the beast was at one point here.

Looking for a clever manimal can get tiring, so we took a well deserved lunch break.

The last stop was at the beard ramp where the beast once resided. As we searched we initially did not find much. The masonite holes, dirt, and broken ramps began to wear the crew down. Jade Warrior suffered an ankle injury and I began to grow tired. I decided to lay down and recoup from such an exhausting adventure. As I closed my eyes I slowly gave up on my dreams of seeing beard. I left my hopes behind me and went down dream street.

I heard some noise in the distance but didn't think much of it. After hearing it again I opened my eyes to see what the commotion was. It was at that point where I finally saw him. Beard was right in front of me! I always thought I had looked in every nook and cranny at beard ramp but the obvious stared into my eyes. Beard snapped his tail and grabbed his board as he jumped back into the woods. Those few glances of Beard made me realize why I enjoyed searching for him every weekend. It doesn't matter If I ever catch beard. It's the search that makes the thrill of Manimal Beard worth it every time.

Daniel Parks

Method Grab

Tuck Knee

Japan

Judo