Metro Skate Shop

Nestled in a little shopping center next to the Sunvalley mall is a shop that is so cutty one might not know it's there. Yet this shop has a lot of clout...like having a team that is fronted by a rider that has had a killer 09. The skater I'm speaking of is "The Duff Man" aka Cory Duffel, along with Mr. Duffel the shop has a mini ramp stuffed in to the back of the shop, killer product line up and an owner who is down by law and rips himself. The man I'm speaking of is Joel Jutagir. Joel keeps the scene alive out in the Pleasant Hill area by offering a chill spot for the locals to kick it and skate if weather goes south and calls for rain, or if you just want to get your mini ramp on. I had a chance to catch up with Joel and ask him how he does what he does and get his shop documented on "film". Sit back and see how a local shop gets things done.

Christian

C: Name, age, location, title

J: Joel Jutagir, 34, Pleasant Hill, Skateshop Owner

C: I can remember this shop being here when I was much younger. How long have you guys been at this location.

J: We've been in business for ten years. Metro moved locations about 4 years back, bigger space, bigger ramp not much else has changed.

C: I heard you mention a partner before, what happened there?

J: The first few years of business were a struggle, we're talking Top Ramen, and King Cobra for days on end. We were not only not making money, but my partner was losing cash by commuting from SF every other day. He ended up getting a job in the city and cashing out his share for a steadier paycheck. He still shreds a lot though, skated the flower shop SF with him a few weekends ago.

C: Do you have a staff? As I think about it I have only seen you holding it down.

J: One of my team guys Taylor holds it down on the weekends, so i can get some time on the board. I notice he's getting damn good at mini ramp lately :)

C: Can you give me the lowdown on the ramp.

J: The ramps fun, if you support the shop, its a free ride. Walk in here with a setup from the mall and its all bad, five bucks and the stinkeye!

C: Your shop is getting ready to release a film. How long has that project been rolling?

J: Red Asphalts been in the works since we started as a shop, Corey Duffel's brother Stephen put our first vid together about 8 years back, we'd always wanted a full length, but that one clocked in at about 12 minutes. Then there was loads of talk, but all of us have that malady where we still like to have fun out there, cameras in tow and pressure to land the gnarly trick are a hard pill to swallow, but it finally came together, just took us three times as long. I hope when it premiers everybody thinks it's worth the wait. Our filmer/editors Alex Kissinger and Jesse Gale have been working hard to make the vid something unique ...RED ASPHALT 3-24-10

C: As a true mom and pop operation how do you stay afloat.....you know the economy and all?

J: Just try and treat our customers well, have the goods that keep em coming back to see us!

C: How does the shop involve itself in the community?

J: We build stuff for kids to skate, speak at career days, host demos, teach skatecamps, you name it, if it involves skateboarding, we're down.

C: Joel I have seen you skate, you rip. Whats your background?

J: Thanks! I moved from Fl to Sf to skate, had so much fun in the city, all the good stuff was still skateable. as soon as I moved to the East Bay, I started meeting all the guys that'd later become metros shop team. Things started taking a different turn, shot a lot of photos and filmed, got sponcered thanks to Corey. Had some shots in the mags. It was amazing, but at the same time I was starting up the shop and Metro woulda gone the way of so many other cool skater owned businesses if it didn't get some attention. Its still a balancing act, but it feels good having something out in the world that represents my point of view with skateboarding. Good times!! FMS - fuck mall shops!

C: Thanks for your time, any parting thoughts or shout outs?

J: Thanks to my wife Kate for always understanding while I was out late nights on the skateboard and Metro's team for always inspiring me with their skating and being who they are, everyone thats supported the shop over the years we wouldn't be here without you! THANKS! Keep up the good fun.

Jam Bam Thank You Ma'am

Packed between TGIF and the return of a work week is a couple of days that can hold huge potential. This past weekend was pretty packed with all kinds of happenings and plenty of opportunity's for photos. First up was a mini ramp jam out at 6 Twentyone. Del was there and provided some rhymes to skate to and tons of folks showed up and watched a ruckus event go down. Ripping was done, Ron Allen did the M.C. services and Bruce Rodela, and Steve Brockway helped judge. Some of the rulers included Brad McClain, Chris Jatoft, Josh Mattson, Ryan Carpenter and Thomas Beeson to name a few. To be honest it felt like the ramp might collapse after that session.
The next event was the Deathwish jam held at Townpark in Oakland. Again a huge load of people turned out and all kinds of heavy hitters were there to be seen. This was a great way to finish up the weekend...sun, skating, and takin' photos.

Christian

Dave Chami Interview

I'm kinda sitting here trying to get my head around how to usher this one in. F*#k it, here it goes. Mr. Chami is on super look up to status, his shots have been admired by myself and countless other skateboarder oglers, and they may not even know it, for a long ass time. For me to have him here and fielding questions and providing everybody with a gallery of some stellar stuff has got me all ramped up! So while I ride a high you all take a few moments to read and look and maybe catch a bit of a contact yourselves.

Christian

C: Name
D: Dave Chami

C: Age
D: Skateboarder

C: Location
D: Oakland California but originally from Pukekohe New Zealand

C: Profession
D: Photographer (Senior Photographer for Transworld Skateboarding magazine)

C: How long have you been shooting skating?
D: Since 2001 so 9 years

C: What kind of steps did you take to become the well published photographer you are today?
D: It just started out as a fun thing to do, to shoot photos of my friends skating and learn about photography through trial and error. I just shot lots of photos and when I thought the ones that I was shooting were good enough to be printed in a magazine I started sending them in. I never imagined that I could ever make a living from doing this but strangely enough that's what has happened

C: You get to shoot some famous people in the industry. That must be pretty exciting.
D: Yes but it's just as exciting to be shooting a photo of a buddy who is ripping. I do still get nervous shooting skaters that I admire, particularly if I've just met them.
Actually the first big gig that was thrown my way was to shoot the entire Lakai team in Australia in 2006, I remember O'Meally calling me and asking if I could do it and of course I said yes but I remember just sitting stunned for about half an hour or so afterwords. It was scary and exciting that I was going to be shooting some of my favorite skateboarders, especially Guy Mariano cause he had just gotten back on the scene.

C: It looks like you get to travel a bunch, is that fun?
D: It's definitely the biggest perk of the job, to experience different cultures and places, just to see how different people live. A few years ago my wife Sam really pushed me to travel, we were living in Australia and I was pretty content there but I finally relented and we went and lived in Europe for a couple of years. That experience of having to fend for ourselves in a foreign country where English isn't the first language was so valuable for me and ended up opening a lot of doors. Sometimes on skate trips you really don't experience too much of the local culture because you're so busy with demos or filming and shooting photos so I plan to keep travelling as much as possible no matter what I'm doing for a job, I have the bug now!

C: Outside of skating what is your favorite thing to shoot?
D: My wife Sam

C: Digital, film, or both?
D: This question is so hard for me because I still can't figure out how i feel about digital. I use both but I'm always happier with the film that I shoot, it just always looks better to me. I started out shooting film so to me digital is almost like cheating and you completely miss out on that moment of going to the lab with butterflies in your stomach wondering if you fucked it up or not, some photographers probably don't miss that but I do... I guess the process of exposing film and the care you have to take is more of an exact art than digital photography. There are also so many more options as far as equipment if you shoot film, like different cameras and formats, and I've always found playing with something new keeps it fresh. Of course there are the obvious advantages with digital, it's a lot faster, you can correct things on the spot and if you do make a pigs arse of it you'll probably be able to fix it in post anyways.

C: Formal schooling, apprenticeships, or self taught?
D: I went to film school and worked on movies and tv commercials as a clapper/loader in New Zealand so I understood the relationship between film, shutter speeds, and exposures, composition and lighting etc. I applied that knowledge to shooting skateboarding and picked up some tips on using flashes etc from a couple of guys who were kind enough to impart a little knowledge, thanks Rene Vaile and Mike O'Meally
www.renevaile.com
www.mikeomeally.com

C: What are the things you like best about going on a shoot? The things you most dislike?
D: I like being outside and having fun skating with friends and the fact that you never know what the day is going to bring, as much as you might try to plan things out shit just never works quite as you envision, and I like that. I like everything about shooting skateboarders but I dislike the cops and anyone who tries to tell me what to do.

C: What might be a dream gig come true for you?
D: Being given the opportunity to move to America and shoot for Transworld was pretty fkn amazing, my boss Skin Phillips took a chance on me and I'm really grateful for that, cheers Skin! Asides from that it would be awesome to get involved with a company and shoot a whole advertising campaign, but to be honest I'm pretty happy with how things are.

C: Any advice you would share with up and coming photographers out there.
D: Get stuck in, don't be afraid to experiment or ask questions, there is a wealth of information on the internet too. Use different cameras, shoot your friends for practise and have fun with it

C: Thanks so much for your time, I super appreciate it. Any shout outs as we close this up?
D: Thanks to my wife Sam and anyone who has shot photos with me or run one of my photos
www.davechamiphoto.com

Santa Rosa Meets Jersey Barrier

What to do today with a bit of spare time....something kinda boring or skating? Ok I'll go skate and see what shakes out. Berkeley filled my need for a session then what next? Oh yea that cat Antonio skates all the time so I will give him a call and see whats crackin'. He is down and with him is Steven, time for introductions. Antonio Gilmore and Steven Tran are homies from Santa Rosa. They both have great attitudes and are down to session what ever. They know some spots, I know some spots and between the three of us I see a lot of great things happinin'. These are a couple of shots taken at a jersey barrier over in Emeryville. Oh and there will be more to come from these troopers!

Christian