The Last Night in Town...

Beautiful Sean Newton photos of the Etnies shoe colorway I designed. This shoe never made it to production but for it to make it to the sample stage is unreal to me. The Etnies Cobras Local 77 tee shirt made it into the line and I can't tell you how weird it is to see skateboarding super star Ryan Sheckler wearing it on TV. A long way from where the spirit of the Cobras Local 77 (no Etnies attached) all started, that's for sure. I wonder if Chris Yankee knows who Ryan Sheckler is?

Another Sean Newton pic, from a couple weeks ago. Me at Birdland. Me, me, me, my, my, my, oh me, oh my. This blog has always been self-serving. I take some heat for that but make no excuses. I remember someone referring to my "blog" and I had no idea what they were talking about. A "blog" is like an online diary. A ridiculous notion. Who fucking cares? If I go back to old blog posts, some of them are brutally long and bogged down with every last detail about every last thing that may or may not have mattered. At that time I was promoting Deliverance Clothing, a tee shirt and accessory brand I was trying to make work. It was fun to come up with designs and make them real. Eventually I changed the name to the Deliverance Project as the the "Clothing" part of the deal was more of a burden than an asset. With the exception of a few high points where I sold a shitload of mesh hats to Dans Comp, Deliverance lost money from day one. Things were different back then. I made a lot more money in my real job, didn't have any kids, less responsibilities, different priorities... Times got tougher, right along with a family forming before my eyes. The best of times in the worst of times. I couldn't gamble hundreds of dollars on poorly executed shirt graphics any more. I still have dozens of 77/Butterfly hooded sweatshirts--hundreds of dollars just sitting in boxes, going nowhere. It was a good run, no regrets. I've kept the blog going to document BMX as I see it, I suppose. Mostly I see the trails in my backyard as I ride them by myself. Birdland, as I named said trails, provides absolute joy in my life and sometimes an escape from reality. Most of the time, Birdland is an enhancement of reality. I ride out there almost every single day that I am home, weather permitting. Usually it's for about 20 minutes but that is enough. It's just me, so as soon as I catch my breath, I'm in for another run. Birdland has been running great lately, I might add, but it's not much to write about. I don't really do any tricks, besides an occasional tire grab or something of a similarly intermediate level. Tricks are so not important to me anymore. I guess I contradict myself because at the skatepark all I want to do are technical little jib tricks, but at the jumps, flowing through is all I got and all I really want.

Anyway, getting off subject. This blog has been fun. It's been a good run. Not sure what the purpose is anymore though. As of August 16, I am officially 100% involved in BMX again and I couldn't be happier. Where ever we are in life, we are no more than the accumulation of our experiences. In the time since Deliverance started in 2002, I've experienced so much that I can barely get my mind around it. To a point, I'm sure that documenting a lot of those experiences here has led me to where I am now and for that, I am truly grateful. Deliverance was never more than an idea. The idea that I could do things my own way and on my own terms. It was my gig and however weird or wacky it became, it stayed the course of my vision. I saw it through and I think now is a good time to shut it down. Whether this is your first time reading this or you've been here for the whole ride, thanks. I appreciate it. It's been fun, bro.