The second pair of the set of non-staggered RGP’s (17×8.5 ET13) I bought off eBay came in this week. The guy shipped them via the US Postal Service. I can’t really understand why anyone would do that. I barely trust the USPS with my bills… let alone some ultra-rare BMW wheels. Not to mention that shipping these with UPS would have been cheaper anyway.Sure enough… the box was found upside-down on a brick doorstep – with the box ripped, and the wheels scratched.

The wheels don’t even fit inside of the box… and what about some kind of padding?! Newspaper isn’t that expensive.

Close-up of some of the scratches:

I tried to file a claim with the USPS for the cost of repair. The lady got hella attitude with me, said they don’t do that kind of thing, and if they did… they keep the wheels. That would be awesome if I could drive down to Pep Boys and just buy these off the shelf. The moral of the story here is A: Sometimes you get what you pay for on eBay… and B: PURCHASING INSURANCE WITH USPS IS A WORTHLESS SCAM. I would imagine if your item is lost, they would pay out… but otherwise – SCAM.

I managed to swing a nice retouch for the “Gifts Your Trashy Girlfriend Can Afford” spread in the 2nd issue of Wrecked Magazine:

The original photo by Joey Redmond:

This is the BRAND NEW Slide America Trailer16,385 Miles, 30 Days, 19 Cities, One Nation.

Slide America 2008 Trailer. from Andy Sapp on Vimeo.

This trailer will be included on the upcoming retail release available in stores everywhere February 2008.

The retail release will have the same documentary (with minor edits), but will be crammed full of extra bonus features.

I launched the new Slide Style™ website today. Since I have been stuck in bed unable to do anything with my shattered collarbone, it gave me a chance to get everything up online. It’s awesome to see a complete catalog of the things we’ve made over the years.

Check it out:
www.slidestyle.us

Just got back from the surgeon for my checkup. got some x-ray MADNESS. i took the pics with my sidekick… so the pictures aren’t great… but you’ll get the idea.

7″ plate, 8 screws, and a bone graft.

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I’m out of surgery, and back home. I cant feel my shoulder at all… but I can feel that my collarbone isn’t grinding its bones against itself anymore. Before surgery you could actually hear them grind when I would try to move.

The Dr. said it was much worse when they opened me up… that the surgery was the way to go. Originally it was an option to let it try and heal on its own. I really fuckered it up bad, so I know I made the right choice by going under the knife.

I really did it this time. I had a serious fall off my skateboard on Saturday night. I major case of wheel-bite sent me flying, both feet in the air, off my board, and onto the pavement… landing right on my shoulder. I managed to break my collarbone in 4 places, one of which punctured my lung slightly. The ER didnt even see the lung… and they said i cracked two ribs, but my orthopedic surgeon confirmed they’re just bruised… not cracked.I have to go into surgery on Thursday to have a plate put in my shoulder. Who would have thought that a rock wedged under a skateboard wheel could inflict so much damage.

The first Slide Style™ deck came in today! It’s awesome to see something go from screen, to printed wood. This was really just a test run, to see how it would turn out… which was a bit darker than I designed. Overall, the quality is great!

The 2007 Nopi Nationals was host to the Nopi “World Drift Finals”. Unfortunately… I don’t have much good to say about the weekend. Rather than go into detail… I will just say that this was the worst drift event I’ve competed in to date. I honestly left the speedway on Sunday hating drifting… and left wondering if all of this is even worth it.

I finished designing the first lineup of Slide Style™ decks!

Despite a mechanical failure rendering my car useless for the weekend…
I did manage to get some solid face-time with Jason and the crew from Speed TV for an interview!

Not only did the guys at S3 Magazine allow my car to grace their cover… they handed the layout and retouch task off to me. Overall, I’m very pleased with the result! Big thanks to Dosa Kim for the sick firebird illustration on the hood! And to Carlos Richard for the photo for the cover!!

The original photo:

After breaking a sway bar end-link during tandem competition, I mananged to bring home a 2nd place finish! The track was very high-speed, and incredibly bumpy. Trying to tandem with a broken end-link was interesting to say the least… but overall a great event!