Words and Photos: Aaron Smith - SkateboarderMag.com
I went on my first official Skateboarder Magazine trip back in February. I wasn’t working for Skateboarder yet so I guess this was my trial run. A van excursion to Tempe, AZ was about the easiest “warm up” trial trip you could do with leaving the state. I was really excited to go. I had been to Arizona a few times before and let’s be honest, it’s not the most exotic place you could travel to but it was a start. Pushing aside the excitement about my first real trip, going with the Stereo and WeSC team was a big added bonus. When I was younger and was still “trying to be a pro skater” I had always wanted to send my tape to Stereo. It’s strange how tables turn. This trip was a trail run in all sense of the word. It was a trail for me as well as a trail for the Stereo team who had just added a few more riders and had a new team manager at the reins. So taking everything into consideration, Tempe, Arizona was the perfect place to give everyone a shot.
Tommy Fynn
Chris frontside 5-0.
Kyle Leeper putting on sun screen.
Clint Peterson
The whole gang, plus a few we picked up along the way. (From top left to bottom right) Steven Webb, Mark Spencer (Filmer), Christian Maalouf, Tommy Fynn, Raymond Molinar, Benny Fairfax, Alex Schmidt, Clint Peterson, Eli Reed, (Bottom left) Random Homeless Guy, Kyle Leeper, Chris Pastras, John Sullivan (Stereo Team Manager), Steven Synder, Jack Sabback and Ray Barbee.