Category: Interviews (Page 20 of 46)

Red Bull Wake Open 2013: Wakeboarding like you’ve never seen before

July 3, 2013 / Tom Edwards

Competitive wakeboarding is a sport that is still in relative infancy. Sure, we’ve all seen decked-out wakeboarding boats being trailered around on the freeway (you may even be an active participant in the sport), yet this year’s Red Bull Wake Open is sure to blow the doors off any preconceptions regarding wakeboard competition in the United States. That being said, make your July 4th week truly epic and complement it with a live viewing of the competition as it airs on July 6th, 4:00 PM ET on NBC.

Wait, so what’s up with the Red Bull Wake Open?

For starters, take a jam-packed Tampa Convention Center, throw in Red Bull’s presenting prowess, then try to imagine a giant floating skatepark with 36 of the world’s greatest wakeboarders battling it out for overall victory – a win that can only be accomplished after remaining on top for all three of the stages: Boat, Big Air and Park.

Red Bull not only raised the bar for wake contests during last year’s inception, but shattered it, dishing out some of the most exciting competitive wake footage ever televised. This year, as goes Red Bull tradition, the event looks to reinforce its dynamic approach to the sport and provide yet another launching pad for the best wake athletes to showcase their skills.

Competitors aren’t limited by a particular discipline, so unilateral domination will be a distant prospect. Who wants to see one guy crush the field in a focus he dominates anyway? Yeah, me neither – doesn’t make for the most exciting TV. Instead, riders will have to exhibit their skills in each of the three stages, allowing for major comebacks and other unpredictable elements to take place. The eventual victor will truly be the most well-rounded wakeboarder in the world.

Chatting with #1 Ranked Phil Soven

Before getting into any competition or sport, it’s always good to hear from the guy/girl at the very top, and we had the chance to touch base with Phil Soven. At just 24, his wakeboarding resume is more decorated than that one neighbor who takes Christmas more seriously than you ever thought possible: 4-time Pro Tour Champion, 3-time King of Wake, 3-time World Champion and 4-time World Series Champ.

As if his ruthless winning wasn’t already sending enough shockwaves through the wakeboard world, his life off the water definitely has. In 2012, Phil took his ambitions into the homes of millions as his reality show, “Wake Brothers,” blew up in popularity through MTV. Adding to his notoriety, Soven then made the decision to break ties with his longtime sponsor Liquid Force and ride for the smaller, rider-owned company CTRL.

Interviews, Recreation, Sports

Phil Soven Phil Soven interview Red Bull Open 2013 Wake Brothers wakeboarding

Bucky Lasek Shreds the Dew Tour and Gets Gold in Munich X Games

June 28, 2013 / Tom Edwards

The underside of a very large rock would be the assumed living place of someone not familiar with the name Bucky Lasek. As far as action sports go, his notoriety has reached mammoth proportions, spreading out year after year thanks to consistent success in competitive skateboarding, car racing and an ability to foster a hearty presence in popular culture due to his affable personality.

What is that, you say? I’m missing one of his most crucial qualifications? Yeah, I guess I should respect the fact that he had one of the best characters in “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.”

Dew Tour 2013

Last weekend, the Dew Tour kicked off another year with a more streamlined contest schedule — Beach Championships in Ocean City, MD, June 20-23; City Championships in San Francisco, CA, October 10-13; Mountain Championships in Breckenridge, CO, December 12-15 — less events, yet each one bigger and better than ever before possible. The competition in Ocean City was steep, yet Bucky ripped it up and showed his native state fans one hell of a time.

In the Skate Vert semis on Thursday, he went on to finish just behind Pierre-Luc Gagnon for second place, staking a claim right off the bat that X Games gold wasn’t enough to satisfy his 2013 craving for victory. The following day, he was able to stand atop the number one spot and take first in the skate bowl semi-final.

The Skate Vert finals saw Bucky continue to pour on the goods, snatching up the victory from Gagnon and reinforcing his reputation as a continued, proven success in the Dew Tour. The final day in Ocean City included two final rounds in the Skate Bowl. After exciting runs from each competitor, the degree of talent was made apparent as Bucky was forced to take the second spot to winner Pedro Barros.

Gold in X Games Munich

Keeping up his already searing momentum for 2013, Bucky clinched overall victory during the Skateboard Vert in yesterday’s X Games after rocketing to the top following some less than favorable first few rounds. He was able to overtake Gagnon and a whole other slew of young and veteran riders by implementing some more risky maneuvers into his final run.

Age? What is this age you speak of?

When you brush over this guy’s accolades, it’s almost shocking to remember that he is 40 years old. Not 40 years old and running a monthly 10K, but 40 years old and crushing dudes half his age in an extreme sport that requires incredible talent and ruthless guts. It’s almost the norm to associate such longevity with a decline, regardless of how steep the pitch, but glossing over the aforementioned results, coupled with his gold in this year’s X Games, really makes associating Bucky with any sort of downturn a nonsensical notion.

How does skating stack up to car racing? What was it like playing as himself for the first time in the video game “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater”? Get inside the mind of a ridiculously cool dude and read on for the exclusive Bullz-Eye interview:

Interviews, Recreation, Sports

Bucky Lasek Dew Tour Munich X Games pro skateboarding skateboarding Tony Hawk's Pro Skater X Games

Ryan Dungey gunning for 2012 MX Championship repeat

June 21, 2013 / Tom Edwards

Ryan Dungey is sheer class. Every sport witnesses a wide range of talents that pour their lives into the fragile hope of one day reaching the top, yet rarely do young phenoms storm the scene and rack up the kind of success that Dungey has already seen.

After a string of noteworthy performances in the amateur ranks, including a victory in Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Championships, a promising young Dungey was pleasantly surprised by an offer from Team Suzuki to join their factory team, and in 2006, made his professional debut at just 16.

Feeding off the tutelage from motocross elite Ricky Carmichael and Roger DeCoster, accolades continued to roll in, including 2007 AMA Rookie of the Year. Despite these successes, it wasn’t until 2009 that Ryan really layed down the hurt on his competition, sweeping the 250 Motocross and Supercross Lites championships and gaining a victorious momentum that steamrolled into 2010, where he accomplished what only one other rider has: win the 450 Supercross and Motocross championships in a rookie season.

2011 saw Dungey’s talent continue to thrive, and despite landing on the podium countless times and bringing home the win for team USA in the Motocross of Nations, he fell just short of overall victory in both the Supercross and outdoor seasons.

A new team and machine were no doubt risky moves for Dungey coming into 2012, yet it didn’t take long for him to put the hammer down and bring Red Bull KTM its first ever Supercross victory. A broken collarbone sidelined the champion for a large chunk of the remaining Supercross races, yet he still managed to win the final two events. During the outdoor season, Dungey rode away from his competitors and into the books as being the first rider to win a 450 Motocross Championship for KTM.

Interviews, Motorcycles, Sports

motocross MX championship Red Bull Budds Creek National Red Bull KTM Ryan Dungey Ryan Dungey interview

The Light from the TV Shows: A Chat with Kelly Lynch (“Magic City”)

June 20, 2013 / Will Harris

I can’t vouch for anyone else’s experience with the phenomenon of “going viral,” but in mine, when you collaborate with someone and the resulting effort ends up being viewed by literally millions of people, it creates somewhat of a bond between you, mostly because…well, it’s just weird, y’know? Or maybe it’s just weird for me because more people know about a story Kelly Lynch told me in our Random Roles conversation for the AV Club – you know, the one about how Bill Murray or one of his brothers will call Lynch’s husband, Mitch Glazer, whenever “Road House” is on, just so they can say, “Your wife’s having sex with Patrick Swayze right now” – than have ever read any other interview I’ve ever done in my entire career.

Either way, I’ve kept in touch with Ms. Lynch ever since that phone interview, getting to meet her and Mr. Glazer in person a few months later and earlier this month I was even invited to ask her and Danny Huston a few questions when they made an appearance on Huffington Post Live. After we wrapped up that brief virtual encounter (they were in the studio, I did my bit via Google+ Hangouts), I sent her a hopeful Tweet, saying, “Maybe we can still do a proper interview to talk about Season 2 of ‘Magic City.'” The next thing you know, we were back on the phone with each other, talking about where we’ll see her character, Meg Bannock, headed this season, how she handles work-related discussions with her husband, and how awesome it is to see Sherilyn Fenn turn up on the series.

Bullz-Eye: How are you?

Kelly Lynch: I’m good! Well, I’m surviving. Mitch had a big party up at our house last night for his post-production group, who are some of the best post people I’ve ever been involved with. I mean, from sound to the music to the CG…they’re just amazing. A lot of them have never done TV, don’t want to do TV, and won’t do TV, but they’ve been Glazed, as we say. [Laughs.] He’s a beloved guy, and they just fell in love with the show and fell in love with Mitch. So we had a food truck and a bar with mojitos and margaritas and stuff. We still have a pitcher of margaritas in my fridge that’s calling my name. I keep going, “No!” So I’m surviving, but needless to say, I had a few more margaritas last night, and I may yet have a few more today. But it was really fun, and it was really great to be able to say “thanks” to all those guys and gals. Half of the show is putting it all together.

Entertainment, Interviews, News, Television

Danny Huston James Caan Kelly Lynch Magic City Mitch Glazer Olga Kurylenko Sherilyn Fenn The Light from the TV Shows Will Harris

A chat with Steve Schneider of “Hey Bartender”

June 16, 2013 / Bob Westal

Celebrity chefs are old news. Even so, the idea of a celebrity bartender will strike many people as odd, even if you use the increasingly popular term “mixologist.” Nevertheless, celebrity bartenders are well on their way.

29-year-old Steve Schneider isn’t remotely a household name, but that can change. He is clearly one of the world’s best known mixologists, with more than a little rock star flair. He also pretty much walks away with the new documentary, “Hey Bartender,” which opened in New York recently and began a slow nationwide roll-out in Southern California, Seattle, Denver, Columbus and elsewhere this past Friday.

Directed by Douglas Tirola (“All In: The Poker Movie”), the film is a charming, rough around the edges, information-rich treat for anyone who’s interested in the idea that cocktails might be more than a matter of pouring booze into a cup. Such famed cocktail mavens as Dale DeGroff and my personal favorite, David Wondrich, are featured, as are many of the nation’s best bartenders. Yet it’s Schneider who dominates the film with his journey from downtrodden former Marine – his career was cut short by a severely traumatic training accident – to the multiple-prize winning principal bartender of New York’s supremely acclaimed Employees Only bar.

It’s a bit much to call Schneider the Bruce Springsteen of bartenders, but his salt-of-the-earth, bridge-and-tunnel mixture of sincere pride and humility feels very familiar, and he does not lack for showmanship – he even sports a hammer that might remind some of a certain Norse thunder god. “Hey Bartender” captures the man’s skill, bravado, and iron-clad work ethic, but it doesn’t quite capture the generosity or enthusiasm that I encountered when I got to talk to him via coast-to-coast telephony not long ago.

Bullz-Eye: Congratulations. Everything seems to be going right. Aside from the movie, I understand you’ve won another contest.

Steve Schneider: Yeah, I just won a competition a couple of weeks ago in Chicago with Anthony Bourdain. It was fun. Anytime you get a chance to go to Chicago, it’s fun.

BE: By the way, I’m not sure. Exactly where are you from, originally?

SS: I was born in Bergen County, in Jersey.

BE: So you’re basically a Tri-State area boy.

SS: Yes, I am.

BE: Boy, I have so much to ask and I’m not sure what to start with.

SS: Let it ride, you know. Whatever you need.

BE: Okay, cool. It’s actually to the credit of the film, they don’t make a big deal about your hammer, but I think people want to know about the hammer anyways.

SS: It’s more of a symbol than it is a tool. I mean, it’s a great tool to use. It’s used to crush ice. We have a machine to do it. It’s good for a home bartender or a bar that’s a little slower. You can afford to put ice in a canvas bag and crush it and make juleps or swizzles or any other types of drink that require crushed ice to make it really cold.

Entertainment, Food & Drink, Interviews, Lifestyle, Movies, Vices

Barmagic bartending Dale DeGroff Dave Wondrich Employees Only Hey Bartender John Hogan mixed drinks mixology Steve Schneider Thor Tobin Ellis