46 HIGH TIMES I OCTOBER 2019
Team Embassy riders
are always grinning
and grinding.Recently, I reached out to some skaters for their take on cannabis use in skateboard-
ing, and the message was clear, straight-up harmony.
I met up with Texas’s own Embassy Skateboards team when they were in town for
one of the biggest competitions of the year, the Vans Pool Party—an invite-only aff air
featuring some of the hottest skaters on the planet. This was the last year they’d be run-
ning the contest out of a giant mall in Orange County, southeast of Los Angeles.
Security was omnipresent at the mall, so we dipped out to the parking lot between
heats to smoke tough and reflect on the big show. Like them or not, corporate-spon-
sored skate contests are almost always a necessity in professional skateboarding. While
these events are awesome for the spectators, they can be rough on the riders, who have
to shred on demand and sometimes slam hard into the concrete. The highs and lows of
flashy contests can take their toll on skaters who would rather skate on their own terms
instead of against the clock. The vibes were definitely diff erent the following day at a
backyard skate pool party where I got some shots of the Embassy crew in action while
the team enjoyed California’s enlightened cannabis freedoms.Skaters kick back during Embassy’s Basic Bowl pool party.Embassy
pro Colin
dominates
the bowl.