I reached out to my long time friend and world renowned street photographer, Anthony O'Donnell to help create this VERY SPECIAL CAPSULE.
Each deck features a Photo taken by Anton on a vintage Haselblad point and shoot camera, which gives the photo's a "SOUL" and "FEELING" impossibly difficult to recreate. At this point, Anton then developed the film, and converted the images to high resolution digital format files, which were then printed on our signature 7-ply Hard Rock Maple Skateboard Decks.
On Anton's daily walks about the city, he is often greeted by some mystical creature who seemingly pops out of nowhere and begins to create a wondrous spectacle to behold.
And this fine Tuesday morning in early July was no different. After dining at some prestigious over-priced hipster vegan cafe, Anton decided to take a different route home. Anton had not made it more than two blocks down this new and unfamiliar street when to his utter shock and astonishment, he stumbled upon this marvelous human, writhing and wiggling on the sidewalk as if possessed by some ancient worm whom may have eaten a few too many shards of crystal meth.
Not one to shy away from the odd and bizarre, Anton leapt into action. Freeing his trusty Hassleblad Camera from it's dark and musty cavern of a Man Purse, Anthony began pointing and shooting as if being a trained Assassin for the Queen of England was a normal 9 to 5 gig these days.
After firing off as many photo's as his fingers could manage, Anton approached the now motionless subject, and asked if he would be interested in seeing the photos once the film was developed. The Writhing, wiggling, worm man, took a few long breathes, staring directly into Anthony's eyes, and finally said: "Yes, please. I would love to see the shots you took."
Slightly taken aback by the soft gentle timber of the man's voice, Anton and the man began talking, and exchanged contact information. Anton found out the man was a Wandering Gypsy of sorts who lived on the streets of San Fransisco, who did performance art and painted portraits of tourists to make money to eat.
Anton having one of the biggest hearts on planet earth, not only came to show the man the photos when he had developed them, but he made sure to check in on his new found friend from time to time, bringing him meals, water and just taking time out of his day to chat with the man and remind him that he mattered, and was loved.
Out of all three of the photos we choose for this series, I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite, because each photo is so unique and carries an incredible story of it's own.
We hope that these photo's inspire all who see them, and let them be a reminder to live everyday like it's your last, and be kind, be compassionate and keep spreading love!
Cheers,
R.j Whittacker