Redsky Surf & Snow

Bring the pain! The 2011-12 Snowboard season is finally here!

Mark — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:23:43 +0000

BRING ON THE PAIN! What happened to the early season snow falls you said we’d have Mr. Weatherman? You kind of fibbed on that one didn’t you! Well this weekend (12/10) most everyone opens up for the long awaited snowboard season. We’ll have the parking lot set , AKA The Parking Lot Lab, up firing as soon as we can. Until then go hit some of our fine local day areas like Mad River & Mt. Brighton, give them a little love because the both work the local scene pretty hard & don’t have that big corpo mentality like some (that we won’t mention). Remember always to point it once in a while, don’t talk crazy sh!t, don’t hate, jump higher & support your local snowboard shop. Get it while you can!

Alvederzane 2011 wind season, I won’t miss you!

Mark — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:00:59 +0000

What a crappy wind season, it showed so much promise early on & totally let us down in early fall. By late February or early March I’ll have totally forgotten how to ride or jump a wave! A few good days few & far in between don’t make up for the epic disappointment that we’ve suffered this year. In theory we still have a few more opportunities to ride before the bottom on the thermometer drops out so my gift to you is the last one “confirmed” in our end of Erie gets a Red Sky gift pack from the best shop in the world…….Red Sky. Once again it has to have a witness & one of our local riders, not your friend Vinnie up in Lake St. Clair. Basically, if you’re on the blog, you’re in the contest.

“First Sunday” Rail Jam 11/6/11

Mark — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:14:21 +0000

Thats right, someone is whipped!

The Good, the Rad & the Gnarly~Summer 2011

Mark — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:18:47 +0000

The setting: Ryan, Mark & Don head east to ride one of their favorite wave spots on Lake Erie only to be hasseled by the Man. This is based on a true factual account (sort of)…….

Mark & Ryan: sure looks like a good ol’ fun windy day, I think we’ll meet up with Don for some non destructive riding out east, those waves will be super nice

Don: hey, gee willikers its good to see you guys, oh-oh looks like security is coming our way!

Mark: no need to worry, I’ll just read him some bible quotes!

Tuco (the security guard): I’m looking for the owner of that TW edition Jeep. He’s tall, curly haired, he smokes a cigar, and he’s a pig!

Ryan: (pointing at Don) that’d be Don

Tuco: (to Don) I like big fat men like you. When they fall they make more noise. And sometimes they don’t get up.

Mark: ummm, sir, Don doesn’t fall as much as he used to!

Don: yeah, what he said! (hands the guard a note)

Tuco: [trying to read a note] “See you soon, id… ” “id… ” “ids… ”
Don: [taking the note] “Idiots”. It’s for you.

Mark: hey,take it easy, He’s just trying to do his job!

Blondie (the other guard to Ryan): Put your drawers on, and take your gun off.

Ryan: I’d rather put my gun on and take off my drawers!

Mark: We just want to score some of those tasty waves sir, we mean no trouble.

Don: (starts to set up) dang, I got my lines all screwed up again!

Tuco: You never had a line around your neck. Well, I’m going to tell you something. When that line starts to pull tight, you can feel the Devil bite your ass.

Ryan: thats not the only thing thats bit his ass!

Mark: Calm down Ryan, that potty mouth of yours is gonna get you in big trouble!

Tuco: If you save your breath I feel a man like you can manage it. And if you don’t manage it, you’ll die. Only slowly, very slowly old friend.

Mark: die, he ain’t gonna die

Tuco: There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend: Those with a line around the neck, and the people who have the job of doing the filming.
Mark: well I ain’t filming & the line isn’t around his neck yet!

Ryan: All right, If you are marina security, where are your badges? Let’s see them

Security Guards: “Badges, to god-damned hell with badges! We have no badges. In fact, we don’t need badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges, you god-damned kiter and pink car driving fool!

Later that day after Ryan was arrested during his court appearance on the trumped up charges:

Judge: wanted in    counties of this state…
              …the condemned is found guilty of the crimes of murder, armed robbery…
              …of citizens, state banks, and post offices…
              …the theft of sacred objects, arson in a state prison…
              …perjury, bigamy, deserting his wife and children…
              …inciting prostitution, kidnapping, extortion…
              …receiving stolen goods, selling stolen goods…
              …passing counterfeit money, and contrary to the laws of this state…
              …the condemned is guilty of using…
              Therefore, according to the powers vested in us…
              …we sentence the accused here before us…
              …Ryan Benedicto Pacifico Juan Owens Ramirez…
              …known as the “Rat”…
              …and any other aliases he might have…
              …to hang by the neck until dead.
              May God have mercy on his soul. Proceed!

Mark & Don: boy thats harsh for just wanting to catch some crispy waves!”

Ryan: [shouting as hes drug out of the courthouse] Hey, Security! You know what you are? Just a dirty son-of-a-b-!

Tuesday Ride Nights 2011-its better than working!

Mark — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:52:56 +0000

Ladies, this one is for you!!!!! MARK!!!

Its Ryan & he's flying!

Come on out & ride with the crew on Tuesdays!!! The goal on ride nights is first & foremost to get out on the water & ride. If the direction & winds co-operate you can try out some of our small trainer kites or jump on the barney windsurf board- if you’re a newb. Need some pointers, advice, help setting up or just are tired of riding on your own- then come on out! Remember Tuesday ride nights do not replace a lesson, they are more to complement it. Ride nites will go down if the winds are strong enough to ride, with gas a $4 a gallon no one needs to head out to the beach unless its looking promising!

Booty!!! another one for the ladies (& Carl)

S’No joke man, I need to ride. Come on winter!

Mark — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:00:09 +0000

Here we go again, waiting for the local areas to open up to signify the start of the snowboard season. The second sign that season is upon us is the annual flood of riders coming in & asking about being team riders for Red Sky- now I’m not gonna lie, we hear a lot of crazy stuff…… A LOT….so since its hard to choose a team rider on his word alone, we’re going to have tryouts, its our own version of “Destination Truth”. We have a sign up sheet for perspective team riders here at the shop so if you think you might be Red Sky material sign up. Stop in and we’ll give you more info about what we’re looking for and expect. The most important thing to remember when you’re thinking about trying out is this- if you’re not down with us, we’re not gonna be down with you. That means if you ride ski co. gear & stuff we don’t support, you’re probably not gonna be chosen as a team rider. AND the other important question to ask is what you can do for us. I would rather have the stoked kid that loves to ride, tries hard & is always riding than the one trick contest pony with the harsh attitude. Also this season we’re going to have a few free rail jams, the one we held last year was just the beginning we hope to make them an annual event complete with prizes & swag! Lastly, get out and ride because its fun, being cool is just an added bonus. If you have any better ideas or are going out riding, jump in here and let us know. Red Sky……out.

Hey Bud, lets party! Wind season is finally here!

Mark — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:27:24 +0000

Stu Nahan: [Spicoli is dreaming that he's won a surfing competition] Hello everybody! I’m Stu Nahan, and I’d like you to meet this young man. His name, Ryan Spicoli. And Ryan, congratulations to you. Things looked kind of rough out there today.

Ryan Spicoli: Well, I’ll tell you Stu, I did battle some humongous waves! But you know, just like I told the guy on ABC, “Danger is my business!”

Stu Nahan: You know, a lot of people expected maybe Mark “Cutback” Musgrave or Don “Jungle Death” Renuart would take the honors this year.

Ryan Spicoli: [laughs incredulously] Those guys are fags!

Stu Nahan: [oblivious] That’s fantastic! Let me ask you a question. When you get out there, do you ever fear for your life?

Ryan Spicoli: Well Stu I’ll tell you, kitesurfing’s not a sport, it’s a way of life, you know, a hobby. It’s a way of looking at that wave and saying, “Hey bud, let’s party!”

[focuses on Stu's sport coat]

Ryan Spicoli: Where’d you get this jacket?

Stu Nahan: [evasive] I got this from the network. Let me ask you a question. What’s next for Ryan Spicoli?

Ryan Spicoli: Heading over to the Luna Pier and Catawba internationals, and then me and Biz are going to wing on over to Flint and jam with Eminem!

[to the two girls next to him]

Ryan Spicoli: And you guys are invited too!

Thats right Ryan, its not a sport, its a way of life. Well said Bud! Now lets all get out there & party before its too late! Yeah boy!

Tuesday Ride Nite 2010

Mark — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:11:28 +0000

Back for a third year, you’ve heard about it, you’ve dreamed about doing it, now is the time~ Tuesday Ride Nite!!!!! Your chance to ride with the bros! Kiteboarding & windsurfing in the pristine waters of Lake Erie. Every Tuesday nite this summer is ride nite! Come ride with us! If you wondering about the windsurf & kiteboard scene come on out & check it out for yourself. See 1st hand what its all about. Its not a demo, its not a free lesson, we’re inviting you to come out & ride. We’ll be changing spots looking for the best wind so call the shop, email or keep watching the blog to see where we’ll be heading every Tuesday! We’ll have all of our gear so if conditions permit we might even let you have a crack at it! We hope to be hitting the water by 5pm. Stop on out and say hi, bring your own stuff & ride with us or just come on out and see if its something you might want to do! Questions? Lets hear’em. See you on Tuesday!

I come from the water…

Mark — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:33:36 +0000

Another spring, another start of a new water season. Damn, they sure seem to come & go too fast. I started thinking about my “highlights”, not from this season but from all the seasons past. In no particular order here is my top 10-I know I’m leaving a lot out but these I readily remember. If you notice most of them involved an “event” more than the classic “dude, it was blowing 40 & I was going off” stuff. Here they are: 1- the first Hatteras trip, so big & cold, Pete ended up ditching his rig in the shore crunch as the rip had him. 2-the fat guy clutching onto the beer cooler in the middle of Erie after his boat sank, yep, Don & myself saved him…CRAZY! 3- a fin in the butt-as it sounds. Quite painful, Don doctored me up 4- Don & myself in the gorge, snowboarding in the morn, catching 45 mph winds on the Columbia river in the afternoon. Priceless. 5- Don, Gary Cook, Tom & myself niteriding & hiding from the rangers special forces like after GC got busted! More funny than I can explain. 6- My 911 winter ice rescue, I still to this day blame my 911 rescue on Don. 7- Ryans 911 spring rescue. Damn, it sure is funny when its not you being rescued! 8- Ryan bass fishing incident! As funny as it was, I knew right then he was gonna be something special. 9-Climbing the Valley of Death cliffs, it really sucked getting washed into them, sucked even more leaving my gear & climbing 3 stories out. 10- Pulling the “dead” guy out of the ocean in Hatteras, pretty F ed up! The common factor to all this is Don, Ryan or both were there for all of these. Moral of the story, for me at least, riding with your friends is were its at. I’ve been lucky to always have had a solid crew……if you don’t, you can’t even imagine what your missing!

Shut up & Snowboard

Mark — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:02:44 +0000

Tick tock, get out & ride while you can. I can do a blah blah, I threw a 1080 blah blah, blah blah…..shut up and go riding! We probably have until mid March locally & early April if you’re willing to drive up a a little ways in Michigan. We don’t want to hear ya belly aching in May that this season sucked & there was no were worth riding. We don’t want to hear how sweet you are-we’d rather see it. Oh & we have a sweet parking lot set up, hurry & hit it while you can, ITS FREE!!!!! And its also the 3rd rated park in Ohio! There are only a few rules for the Red Sky Parking Lot Lab to remember: 1- Ride at your own risk 2-Keep ski tips up……AND away from the PL lab. Enjoy!!!