While most of us were looking up at the mountains, stoked on the cold, big snow winter we were having, AG wakeskater Tanner Champion was hard at work on any and all local water he could find unfrozen! They say the difference between making it and not making it is not the amount of talent that you are born with, but the hard work and the practice hours you are prepared to put in. If this is the case then Tanner has a huge future ahead of him filled with hard earned success. Check out this edit and consider how many layers you were pulling on while he was making it happen…. AG
The AG skate team is killing it already this Spring and the boys are getting recognized. DVS and sister company Lakai wanted a kid on the streets of Nanaimo in recognition of the sick skate scene here in town. AG has been the home of Lakai, DVS and Matix in Nanaimo for a long time now so our friends came to see us and one conversation on the DVS bench later, they had the name Kaden Martin ringing in their ears. Watch the guy for 5 minutes and you see why they are so pumped to be involved with him. Kaden and the boys are working hard on pumping out some sick new footage so check back to see Nanaimo’s only Lakai, DVS and Matix skater getting it done… AG
Winter might be almost over but here is a sick edit to keep the passion flowing. Make the most of the stoke and get up again or just bask in the glory of one of the sickest winters in history…
When was the last time you did something without fear? Without thoughts of the consequences? Is Monday a goal to get towards without injury? Or the time to reflect and compare stories about the weekend sessions?
It’s a feeling in the pit of your stomach, the ache of uncertainty replaced by the hot flush of adrenalin as you push the realms of possible. Caught up in the moment you forget all the what ifs and maybes, you forget the last time you lost grip, couldn’t find traction, didn’t have enough speed. Your thoughts fade and are replaced by instinct, uneducated, uncorrupted pure instinct. Your body takes over, you stop reacting to learned failings and rely on past successes. Every sinew of your body works together without fear, without hesitation, to land that trick, to make that corner, to reach that transition.
Without fear we reach our potential. Without fear we are for fleeting moments everything we can be. This isn’t the you you have created through years of accepting limitations, through putting up subconscious roadblocks to stop you achieving because maybe just maybe you will fail. This is your innate ability to stop thinking and to exist without fear.
When the skate kid looks at a 7 set and hits it this is how he feels. Stoked on the encouragement of friends, searching for that story, that trick, that feeling of stomping it, no possibility of failure exists. To acknowledge this as young and brave, is to accept that consequences age us, and that age defines us. To call this what it is, is to honour it as an attitude to exist by. To live like this, to shun limits and self-imposed restrictions; this is why we strap in, why we paddle out, why we drop in. This is our Alternative Groove…
Whatever the weatherman may say and the snow may try and show us otherwise Summer is on the way. For all of you who have been stoked to get on a new longboard it is time to go. Our Sector 9 longboards arrived and are in the shop waiting for you. Between the bamboo build and the easy living graphics these boards are prime and ready to make your summer.
The surf buzz is back and the pilgrimages to the West coast are in full flow. For all of you heading out that way drop in and fill your needs. We have car racks, suits, boots and so much more waiting to fill that gap, and a board selection to rival Kelly Slater’s garage just waiting for you to take your pick.
On the topic of new boards team rider and all round good guy Taco just picked up his new Aloha AF1 Tour. In the words of the guys who built it “The AF1 Tour allows you to explore the most critical sections of the wave, and is the essential board for the committed surfer looking to maximise their performance.” No doubt Taco will let us know if it lives up to the billing and as the photo shows he is certainly pumped to find out!
AG has been a long time supporter (and users) of the OGIO product. They can set you up for travel, getting your gear carted around in an organized fashion or keeping you hydrated and full of supplies. This week we brought in two of their epic gear bags the Trucker 8800, this bag carries a colossal 8800 cubic inches of gear. What does this number mean in real terms… this.
Enjoy the extended weekends on Mount Washington, there is still time to ride so take advantage of the great winter gear deals with snow pants starting at $45 here at AG. There are two more weekends to go and then it is up to the Snow to Surf race on May 1st to close out the season in style. If you are game and are entering the sufferfest, see you there…
Big thanks to Dragos Neaga for showcasing the Kaden Martin and Chase Torrie from the AG skate team. With the sun out and the temperature beginning to rise let’s hope this is the first of many.
You can feel it in the air. The breeze is warmer, the mornings earlier and the evenings filled with the sweet smell of BBQs. At AG this means boxes, boxes and more boxes of the good stuff for Spring and Summer.
So what do you need? Shorts, we got ‘em, bikinis we got ‘em, the latest offerings from Spy optics and Dragon, in the case. A limited run 5′5″ Kelly Slater endorsed Wizard Sleeve!!!!!!! On the wall. Ripcurl, Xcel, Channel Islands, Firewire, Insight, LRG, Volcom, Sitka, Orb, Adidas, Cons, Supra…. to name but a few! For those of us who are going to squeeze every last turn out of this epic winter you are not forgotten. Come snap up the last bargains of the season with winter goods on sale at up to 70% off.
So roll on Spring, bring on long evenings, slushy park laps, epic surf sessions and lazing in the sun, soaking up the rays enjoying a time… AG
The sun is shining, the park is dry and Chase Torrie is shredding for Cons. As Spring firmly plants itself on the Island, AG team rider Chase is stoked about his new Cons Pappalardo OX shoes. “They’re really nice and they skate real good” says Chase, and with more deliveries dropping at the store every day come in and grab a set before you head to the park, hit the streets or go rip the bowl. This kid is set for big things and AG is stoked to support him all the way. A big thanks and shout out to our friends at Cons for making this happen. Check in regularly to see footage, results and photos as Summer unfolds… <
Photo Luke Connor
To choose your Cons come by the store or check out the site and give us a call. 250 3907433 http://www.converseskateboarding.com/
Luke Connor framing Chase. If this were a game of H.O.R.S.E. who do you think would have edged the first round? Check out the Alternative Groove Facebook page to see FJ as the competition…
How many people can look out of their window and see what we see? Drive down the Island Highway and you have so many constant reminders that where we live is different. I’m not talking here about the license plate in front of you with the marketing catchphrase “The most beautiful place on earth” staring back at you. But, stop and think about it and there is some weight behind that.
Take an average day in the store at AG, we check the snow report at Mt Washington and look to see not if it has snowed, but how much. To see if that record snow year is in sight or if it is just another run of the mill 5 metre plus season. We talk to customers about where to surf on either coast, seeing the surprise and delight that first time a person realizes that they can surf on the South Island, or that there is a place nearby, by the point, where the wind hits…. you know the rest. It is amazing to hear the stories from some epic session where the snow was falling but the waves were the best they’ve ever been, listening to the excitement in the customer’s voice about how the next storm set is shaping up to provide something even better.
You begin to realise that we don’t have to wait.
Last night after work I drove over to Doumont and for an hour as the dark came ever closer I squeezed in just one more trail over and over again. Soaking wet, tired and oh so stoked I climbed back into my truck enjoying how good it felt to be riding in March.
More and more it seems that the Island does not seem to get bogged down and restrained by the constraints of the ‘real world’. If there isn’s deep snow to ride, a wave to surf, a trail to ride. Go take advantage of one of the other amazing options we have here for a day or two, as conditions will change, and your passion will be able to be sated again. Until then think of the skate kids among us, sun, rain or snow, they are waiting for their chance. If they are not at the Park, you can be sure they’re on our couch watching videos until the pavement dries.
As a guy from a long way away who has made this Island home, where we live is pretty special, and the things we see and can do… priceless.
Thanks for checking us out! Alternative Groove, or AG as we are known by our friends, is a Vancouver Island shred shop located in Nanaimo, BC. We've been around for over a decade stoking people out on surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding at a grass roots level.
We love the fact that we get to support the best brands on earth, including local and up incoming brands! We're also not limited to so-called board sports, we have a rad selection of casual shoes, clothes and sunglasses as well.
Hours
Mon - Wed 10 am - 6 pm
Thurs - Fri 10 am - 8 pm
Sat 10 am - 6 pm
Sun 11 am - 5 pm
201-6750 Island Hwy North
Nanaimo, BC Canada V9V 1S3
