Words by Josh Zickert
On the final day of the Taiwan tour we dug up a treasured jackpot in Kaohsiung: A perfect roller coaster launcher along the river on a beautiful spring day. It was a little skinny, which made it tough to hit, however it was beaming with magic. Can’t imagine anything more fun to get the day cookin'.
Caroline Duerr rolled in from the top, Bonestalone dropped in on the vert wall in the back, Yiyo tossed a back three off the middle bump, and Juan Pablo tweaked a sky high grasser and then started floating massive back threes as the 5-0 rolled up. FIVE (our filmer) chatted with the female officer and convinced her to give JP one more try. JP got twisted up and the board almost took out FIVE’s fisheye!
On to the the next spot—a much needed sit down meal. Over the previous nine days, the pace was fiercely rapid and many lunches were spent grabbing Seaweed Maki Rolls at 7-11 or Family Mart. Hearing the Family Mart Jingle (when the door opens and closes) over what felt like 100 times a day really starts to grow on you. I found myself hummin’ the tune all day long. A little research showed that the famous doorbell chime was created by the Japanese composer Yasushi Inada in 1978.
By nightfall, we were trying to win prizes shootin’ hoops, firing BB guns and riding the ferris wheel on top of Kaohsiung's famous mall. Leo Heinert scored a nose manny up and around a curved skinny ledge inside a magic sparkly garden. Brandon “Bonestalone” Bonner capped the night off with a gap Ollie from a rooftop to a stage. Nearly 360 flipped it too.
We went straight from the sesh to catch the 5 A.M. bullet train back to Taipei and then directly to TPO International Airport. The Jackpots and Bullet Trains Tour was a wrap. One of the best adventures of my life.
Catch the world premiere in NYC on March 14!
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