A house call from the king

Reece Warren: Blunt Fontside 180

Imagine these two scenarios:
a) You enter a ceremony at the king's palace. Together with other citizens you become part of the king's majestic world. You temporarily transcend your own life as it is eclipsed by the enamouring radiance of the king's.

b) The king, travelling through the city, makes a short visit to your humble home where his presence appears anomalous. Your home is uplifted and you feel the excitement owing the peculiarity of the great resting upon the small.

Andrew Mapstone captures 
Standley's Nose Blunt 

Scott Standley: Airborne

These two scenarios are traditional analogies for the human experience of the Divine. Sometimes, when meditating on Kabbalah, one forgets about his own life as he encounters enchanting heavenly secrets about existence. When performing mitzvot, however, sacred physical acts such as observing Shabbat, performing acts of kindness, etc, one feels the Divine presence enter into his  personal little world space. In the former case, one visits Heaven; in the latter, Heaven visits him.

Reece Warren: Nose blunt

This week I had an experience which- for me - somewhat reflects the second scenario. Andrew Mapstone, one of the top skate photographers in the world, came to my home in order to shoot some photos of me on my mini ramp for an upcoming edition of SLAM, Australia's foremost skateboarding magazine. Accompanying him were two of Australia's top skateboarders, Scott Standley and Reece Warren. The trio transformed my humble front yard mini-ramp, on which I manage to perform only modest tricks, into something out of a professional skate video.        
    

Scott Standley: Backside Tailslide

My neighbours - enthralled

 I've been to several skateboarding demos at large skateparks and observed elite skaters work their magic, but to have them skate my own ramp was a radically different experience.

My neighbours were also affected. Only minutes before the crew arrived, I saw my teenage neighbours walk out of their home.  With posters from SLAM Magazine in their home, they eagerly witnessed a SLAM article in the making...