Thursday, April 6, 2017

JEFF HO x SHEPARD FAIREY and me
our collaboration print goes on sale this morning
10am PST

read the whole blog at OBEYGIANT

Here's my segment:
When I was a kid in the mid 70’s skating the school yards in West L.A., hanging out a bit at the beach in Santa Monica, going by the Zephyr shop to get some Cadillac Wheels or to look at the boards, Jeff Ho was not in sight. Jeff Ho was an enigma. I never knew Jeff personally until many years later, but we eventually became good friends.



Something most don’t realize is that Jeff started the ZEPHYR skateboard team to help kids, mostly street kids, hoping to give guidance and care, to help steer them to good. A lot of those skaters would become known the world over, and Jeff not only helped those kids back then, he continues to this very day doing the same for so many, on the down low, out of the spotlight.



Jeff is worshiped around the world. I’ve seen people bow down to him in the middle of the street when they see him, swearing he is the all-time best surfboard maker (Jeff was inducted into the Surfboard Shapers Hall of Fame just a few years ago). He was a skater before he was a surfer- he is an artisan in the water, on the street, and with the board.


(the original photograph as it appears in MY RULES)

Jeff has more integrity than most anyone I have met. He is a living legend and a real icon. All these are reasons, on top of those you’ve likely seen in the “Dogtown and Z-Boys” film, why I approached Shepard to collaborate on this fine art screen print. We looked at the few portraits I made with Jeff that afternoon, a few years back. Shepard was really drawn to this one (no pun intended), the same one that appears towards the end of my MY RULES book, accompanied by Jeff’s essay. Shepard can explain more on why he picked this one, but I can tell you that I’m stoked to have done it again. I feel Shepard’s graphic representation of some of my photographs, in his icon-creating style, is an honor for the subjects as well as the collaborators, because the man is a craftsman and an intelligent, stand-up guy like few others in his field. Dig it.” – Glen E. Friedman



Limited edition, 300 of each of the two color ways signed by all three of us.

They go on sale 10am PST at ObeyGiant.com in Store under Prints.


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