Before Homebase610 there was Hometeam610.

Hometeam was the name of the videos I made before the shop was the shop and also how I got to know skaters from all over the Lehigh Valley. I didn’t know anything about filming or editing really but after I saw Blueprint’s “Waiting For the World” and later on, “First Broadcast,” I knew I wanted to make films like Dan Magee.

Did I? Hell no. But to this day I’ve been psyched on Blueprint Skateboards for their videos, the music they used, the ad concepts and overall board design. It’s so smart. Maybe because they’re Euro?

When I started looking at what brands to bring into Homebase, Blueprint was on the top of the list. It was a brand most skaters in the area hadn’t heard about- especially the mall based shops. Introducing independent brands like Blueprint has definitely been something I take pride in when it comes to running Homebase.

I’m sure skaters from London can relate to East Coast skaters because we both deal with weathered spots and rough ground. Maybe more so them because their towns are so much older but we all persevere through it for the skate of riding our skateboards.

It seemed like Blueprint took special care in selecting their riders from the “Waiting For the World” and “First Broadcast” days. Mark Baines was the techician. Vaughn Baker skated like he was Baker-esque hammer program. Colin Kennedy was a well rounded street skater with insane pop. Nick Jensen was tiny but still throwing down switch ollies down huge sets. John Rattray was reckless and it didn’t surprise me that Zero picked him up.  In 2011, the squad is more solid than ever- just watch Lost & Found or MFWTCB.

Then there was Paul Shier; the man with the quickest feet on a board. To be honest, I wasn’t feel his style to start. This was the era of hammers and handrails may I remind you. But as my appreciation for the finer points in skating grew, I started to understand how complex his street skating is.

Josh, Dave and I had the chance to meet Paul Shier at the Agenda Tradeshow in January. I suppose there are some professional skaters that have egos about themselves because they ride a skateboard better than others- but that’s not Shier. He was genuinely as psyched to meet us as we were on meeting him.

Shier is a down to earth homie and I’m happy to say that he, Marty Murawski and New England ripper, Kevin Coakley will be stopping by Homebase and the Bethlehem Skateplaza on March 12th and 13th. Along with a good crew from Ohio, they are coming to check out the skateplaza for the first time.

During their stay they will be hanging out at Homebase, shredding the plaza with all of us, hosting a few contests for Blueprint prizes and filming on the streets of the 610.

Save the dates y’all. Winter is over and Spring is looking like it’s off to a good start.