STREET LEAGUE!

I decided to write a bonus blog this week. I know I've been strictly writing re-caps of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory as of late, but I thought I would write another one to share my excitement about Street League.

If you are reading this blog, chances are you already know I am Rob Dyrdek's biggest fan. Rob Dyrdek is not only hilarious, talented and extremely driven, he is also the most generous person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I have always been a passionate person..basically whatever catches my attention and makes me happy, I always support 110%. I can honestly say I will always support anything that Rob Dyrdek is a part of. Right now it is Street League. Street League isn't something Rob is just a part of, it is something Rob CREATED. It is his dream come true.

Ever since Street League was announced, I was thinking of ways I would be able to attend an event. I literally spent everything in my bank account to fly out to Los Angeles back in May when I won tickets through Carl's Jr. to attend Rob's Sk84life event (which was worth every penny by the way), so I knew there was really no way I would be able to come up with enough money to get out west for a Street League event. I honestly had a lot of other stuff going on, I got a small promotion at work and I kind of settled on the fact that I would have to just watch it on ESPN and hope that in 2011 Street League would hit the midwest.

Weeks went on and every time there was a little more press about the events, I would be excited, but bummed at the same time because I so badly wanted to be able to experience it live.

A little bit of back-story - I have a little brother and sister, they are twins and they are 16. I brought my little sister in May to the sk84life event because she is a little bit bigger of a fan of Fantasy Factory than my brother, so I thought she would appreciate it more. My brother has ALWAYS wanted to go to LA. He is fascinated by Hollywood and celebrities and all of that. He was kind of bummed she got to go instead of him, but I promised him that the next time I went out there, he could come with.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I was killing time on twitter like I do too often, and I tweeted that I was doing everything I possibly could to get out to a Street League event. Rob saw the tweet and he responded "@shygirl364 If you make it out there, I will give you tickets!"

My jaw dropped. First was shock, then the happy tears came. This was the second time a tweet has made me cry happy tears, the first one was from Carl's Jr telling me if I could make it out to LA, I won the sk84life contest. At this point I was determined. I had to get out to an event, it didn't matter which one, I just NEEDED to get out there. I thought about it for a few hours and decided on LA. I mean, I DID promise my brother he would be able to go out there sometime with me. Also, LA is pretty much my favorite city in the world. I do plan on moving out there eventually when I can make it happen financially. LA was the perfect choice.

We decided on flying out there Thursday, Sept 9th and flying home on Tuesday, Sept. 14th. That way, I have plenty of time for the Street League festivities and I also have a bunch of time to show my brother everything that is wonderful in LA. Luckily, my dad works for a hotel chain and he was able to help us out with hotel rooms. I got a great deal on a rental car. I also had someone generously give me some advice on twitter on how to get a discount on airfare. I am putting in a bunch of extra hours at work and I am going to actually make this happen.

Now it is two weeks until we leave and I am SO excited! The first Street League event is this weekend in Arizona and I am loving all the press it is getting. Every picture and radio interview is making me more and more excited!

A little bit of background for those who don't know much about Street League - Street League is a street skateboarding league created by Rob Dyrdek. The competition is 100% focused on street skating as opposed to X-Games and other competitions where it is about a bunch of different extreme sports. This is the first league created by a professional street skateboarder, so it is going to be so much better in every aspect than any other skateboarding event out there. There is also a different scoring system which keeps players updated after each trick as opposed to after each run, so they know when they need to step their game up.

24 of the TOP street skateboarders in the world have signed exclusive contracts with Street League, so that right there tells you it is a big deal. Paul Rodriguez, Eric Koston, Greg Lutzka, Chris Cole, Billy Marks, Ryan Sheckler, Nyjah Huston, Shane O'Neill, Torey Pudwill..and that's just a few names. I could seriously go on and on but that gives you just a taste of how serious this really is. I remember growing up playing as some of these guys in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. It's a big deal.

Anyways, it is a dream come true to be able to see these guys skate in person all under one roof. I got a chance to see Chris Cole, Sean Malto and Torey Pudwill do a little bit of skating at the Sk84life event and it was awesome. I can't even fathom how amazing this is going to be. AND I will get another chance to see Rob Dyrdek in person. I really hope I do get a chance to at least say hi to him and thank him again for everything. I know he will be super busy that day or even that whole week, so it might not happen, but I hope it does. I'd also love to meet Steve Berra, haha. I was hoping he was going to be at the sk84life event but he was out of the country. I am pretty sure he will be at the event since The Berrics is a sponsor. Honestly, there are so many people I would love to meet but getting to say hi to Rob is my priority. He has done so much for me not only as far as being generous every time I've met him, but he has given me the ability to believe in myself again after a long time of feeling like I would never accomplish anything in this world.

14 more days..my brother and I are both SO excited. So far, this is all I can think of to show him.

-Hollywood blvd
-Hollywood Sign
-Warner Brothers Studio Tour (I've taken it 7 out of the 8 times I've been to LA and it is amazing EVERY SINGLE TIME)
-Millions of Milkshakes (his idea)
-Santa Monica Pier
-Venice Beach (I've actually never been there)
-Hopefully there will be some sort of movie premiere or red carpet we can see so he can get a glimpse of a few celebrities. I know the VMAs are on the 12th but I'm pretty sure the area will be on lock-down and I don't think tickets to the event or the red carpet are available to the public
-NoHo Safe Spot Skate Spot
-Wild Grinders 711
-I NEED to drive my brother by the Fantasy Factory. I know we can't go inside, but it is so exciting just to see the big blue gate and the Dyrdek Enterprises sign. It's just so awesome to actually be standing there in person.

That's all I can think of right now...if anyone has any suggestions let me know! It's his first time and he wants to see EVERYTHING!

I am sure I will probably write another Street League blog before I leave for the trip, and I might even end up writing one on the plane. Also, you can expect a full review of how amazing the event was when I get back. That is how I plan to spend the 3.5 hours on the plane ride home.

Talk to you all soon!