I got a call from my buddy Colby saying he got a new RED camera and had an idea for a shoot in SLC. With the whole Covid stuff going on he wanted to go shoot some skateboarding in the desolate city. I quickly agreed because yeah! How often do you get a private shoot with a RED camera! We have never really skated together so I let him know I’m not the greatest skater but could crack a few Ollies but don’t have too high of expectations. He assured me he was mostly thinking filming mostly just pushing through the streets. Sweet! Low expectations on both ends!

We make plans to meet up in SLC on a Tuesday at 930 P.M. Tuesday morning I put on some Khakis and my favorite DC skateboarding shirt and head off to work. Pretty busy day at work remodeling an apartment. Painting, some trim, demolition, and clean up. Made the day go by fast and the next thing I know its 5 P.M. and I’m off! Colby texted me saying “Hey make sure to wear a white shirt so you show up better in the dark.” Dammit of course my favorite shirt is black! Oh well, didn’t want to head all the way home (which is in totally the wrong direction) so figure I’d just go pick up a shirt.

Roll into the Walmart parking lot, throw on my mask, and head into the store. I’ve been listening to The Game all week and was a little hyped to get me a Dickies white tee. Quickly make my way over to the mens clothing department. They have a variety of Dickies shirts and I find what I was looking for! A white Dickies pocket white Tee. And Walmart so it was like 9 bucks! So I grab the Tee and look at my current pants situation. They were wrecked since I worked all day in them. I knew they would look terrible on such a quality camera so searched for some matching Dickies Khakis. They had grey, black, and way too big. Dammit. So had to opt for some “I don’t even remember the brand” khakis. But they were the right color and stretchy. So no need to even try them on. Paid and out to the car.

Made it down to SLC earlier and decided to change into the new threads and get some food before the long night ahead. Restaurants were just opening up so made my way into the Blue Iguana. Ive been to the Red and it has always been fantastic! Excited to try the blue! Oh and its Cinco De Mayo so seemed fitting. Ordered the cheese enchiladas and a Dos Equis. Didn’t want to get anything too heavy to stay light on my feet while skating. Sitting there by myself I was feeling pretty good sitting in my new clothes just relaxing and enjoying some me time. There is something to be said about going out in a new outfit! I mean everyone was checking me out. Or maybe they were just trying to figure out if my date was ever going to show up. I could care less. One more beer, finished dinner, and I was out of there.

Still had a hour to kill before the meet up so I start skating my way around town scouting out spots that I think would be alright to shoot at. Making sure to keep it casual to not get hurt or get the fresh white tee dirty before we start shooting. Skating around I felt like it was going to be a good night. I was a little worried about the pants with not even trying them on but they actually fit well and had a really good stretch. Was happy I had some new skating pants because I really do dislike skating in jeans. Colby called me and said he was at my car so I made my way back. When I arrived he was sitting in his passenger seat playing with his camera. We exchange some love, reminisce a little bit, and start talking about the ideas for the night. We both agree on just some cool shots around downtown making the city look completely empty while cruising solo.

We set out and hit up spot after spot. It was pretty eerie with the whole city to ourselves but things were going pretty well. I think we had run ins with about 3 police officers and a couple security guards through out the night. Everyone of them was completely cordial and cool for the most part. One saying “yeah its hard to find stuff to do’ to another one saying “just don’t hurt anything and be safe.” I would attribute it mostly to the both of us being in our mid thirties, carrying a big ass camera, and we were actually just rolling around. It was pretty cool tho. Was skating well and didn’t end up having to tuck and roll till pretty late in the night. And even then kept the tee looking pretty good. We finished up all the shots we wanted, or we just got way too tired and I was feeling it in my back, around 2:30 A.M. We shoot the shit for a minute and then head our separate ways.

I get home and tear off my clothes to jump in the shower. Checking out the shirt and pants I was impressed of their performance on the night. And still look good after being abused all night long. (insert dirty joke here) A couple days later Colby sends me a rough draft of what we shot. It blew my mind. The quality of the camera paired with Colby’s skills were remarkable. Even for a rough draft I enjoyed the hell out of it! I couldn’t help but notice how well the shirt showed up. Good call Colby. He’s a real professional. But I did like the style of the white tee and khakis. Super simple, very comfortable, and looked good without the trying to hard vibe too it.

Looking back on that night really changed my perspective on everything. All I want to do now is wear Dickies Tees and khakis everyday. And for about $26 for the kit I could probably make that happen. No more trying to figure out what to wear. Just grab a shirt and pants and go. And you know you are going to look good! I cleared my closet out and back to Walmart to pick up a couple more sets!