Write-up by Sam DeAngelis
I left the West Coast with an uneasy feeling about how New York rollerblading scene had been underexposed the past couple of years. I will be the first to admit that yes, I grew up in and grommed out in New Jersey, but I consider myself a part of the New York skate scene just as much as anyone else. NY is my nearest scene in rollerblading and I have worked hard to let it be known that I aspire to help the industry in any way possible through photography, videography, and support. A lot of people talk game about where they are from but you need to ask yourself:
What can you do to give back to your scene?
I decided that taking the top 12 bladers out of NY on 3 separate tours throughout the East Coast, filming and skating everything we see, in order to expand the horizons and escape from the imprisoning sense of New York. I also decided to include 3 special guests to accompany our travels and offset the comfort zone. To me, this is the only way I could fully give back to a scene and industry I love so much. This way we can take our pure taken from NY and put them on the pedestal they deserve. My goal is to give the New York scene something to be proud of year after year. So with insurmountable help and planning with good friend and company owner Daniel Fabiano, The 2012 Escape from New York Tour came to life.
After two successful weekends on tour, out to Baltimore in February and Boston in March, we are now confident in the success of this project. On the weekend of April 21-22 we are heading out to Rochester, NY to finish off this three-weekend tour. On this trip we are bringing NY riders Trevor Johnson, Jesus Medina, Jose Henriquez, and a special guest flown in from across the United States. We are excited to announce that for the final leg of The Escape from New York Tour we are offering an online contest to fill the 5th spot on tour. The contest can be found here.
As we wrap up the tour, we plan on taking a month to get away and edit the project without distraction. Coming back hard in June we intend to hold a premiere in NYC to showcase an edit featuring riders form EFNY Tours Part 1,2,and 3 in one action packed piece. Invitations will be sent out to all participants, supporters, and even some of NYC’s legends. The next morning after the premiere we will release the edit online for the masses. During this weekend of the premiere we will also invite all NYC legends and tour riders to come shred the streets of NY for a piece which will be Part 4 of The 2012 Escape from New York Tour.
So stay tuned to Be-mag.com for exclusive photos, updates, and write ups about the tour. Please visit our Kickstarter page here for ways to donate to the project and also get some exclusive gear from The 2012 Escape from New York Tour.
-Sam DeAngelis
