Best Alarm Clock Ever

sk8 or die

SK8 camp are coming back to the Playa for the 6th year, bringing free skateboarding for everyone. Support their Kickstarter, let’s bring more stoke. Look out for them at 7 & Esplanade, Dustfish Village.


Post by Marcus (Playa Wood, Founder of SK8 KAMP)

sk8 logo

HISTORY OF SK8 KAMP STOKE – YEAR 1 – 2011- The BEST Alarm Clock Ever!!!

As we get amped up for SK8 KAMP 2016, we wanted to give everyone a little glimpse of the magic that is SK8 KAMP, we are going to post a series of posts about the memories of each of the 5 years of SK8 KAMP. Here goes Year 1…

 

Getting awoken out of a deep sleep by cheering, I think to myself for a moment, ‘What is going on? I think I need more sleep, so let me just ignore it.’ Then, the sound of skateboard wheels rolling on a wooden ramp shakes the moving truck that I’m sleeping on the floor of and another roaring cheer reverberates…30 seconds later, the truck shakes even more and an even louder cheer erupts. Time to get up and see what is happening out there. I crawl out to find 3 or 4 skaters (who I later found out were an awesome crew from Santa Cruz) riding the ramps and about 20 people and an art car huddled around the front of our small camp at 9 & H. That was the moment I realized what we had created, a magical space where people from all over the world, all ages, races, genders, and even in any attire or none could come together and skateboard freely for the first time or the millionth time and have tens if not hundreds of people cheering on their accomplishments of landing skateboard maneuvers. This was like no other skatepark, it was only about positive encouragement of anyone who wanted to skateboard.

SK8 KASTLE 2016 Rendering
Many would call it a bad idea for trying to get sleep on the Playa to have a wall ride against the truck you were sleeping in (which may be true), but we surprisingly realized that this is what I’ll called the ‘Best Alarm Clock Ever’. Whenever there was incredible shredding going on at SK8 KAMP, it would wake me up and I could either lay there and simply enjoy the sounds or I could wake up and join the excitement. Since SK8 KAMP is a 24/7 skatepark, this way I could lay down and get some rest when the park was quiet and whenever things were going off I could choose to wake up if I wanted to join the action. Not completely rational logic, but made sense to me and that was all that mattered. The sounds of the skateboarding was music to my ears knowing that I created something that not only skaters but the many spectators could experience joy out of, as well. TRY IT OUT YOURSELF WITH OUR ‘NIGHT OF SWEET DREAMS UNDER THE RAMP’ REWARD.

This iconic (and tallest) part of our installation of our first year of SK8 KAMP was the 10’ tall, 4’ wide wall ride (we actually made a 8’ radius transition cut off at 6’ so it could fit into our moving truck, and it had 4’ of vert) that used the moving truck that we slept in as the supporting wall and this had a opposing 6’ tall roll-in to gain speed to ride the wall.

2015 SK8 KAMP
This first year of SK8 KAMP had a pretty small park with having a relatively small committed build crew and being a little unsure if everything would fit in the 24’ box truck that we rented. We staged and built the ramps before the burn at Mission Motors parking lot in San Francisco where Derek worked. We had a few late night builds with Derek, Jameson, Ilya, a couple others, and Myself. The pre-built ramps included the 2’ tall, 8’ wide half pipe and a 4’ tall, 8’ wide half pipe (purchased from two local families for $100 for the 2’ and $200 for the 4’ because the parents wanted to get rid of the ramps since the kids no longer rode them) that were separated by 2 opposing 4’ wide banks we made out of a couple manual pads that Jameson had. In the other direction of the flat bottom, we built a 6’ tall (3’ radius with 3’ of vert to re-create the Berkeley Banks) wall ride that was 8’ wide with a DJ booth behind it. And, opposing the wall ride, we had a mellow 4’ tall, 4’ wide quarter pipe. This formed a corner less bowl that we could ride around. A few great artists including Jameson, and Taylor Reinhold and others blessed the ramps with amazing artwork.

We went out to Burning Man without a plan of what we would do with the ramps afterwards. Would we burn them all or bring them back? We decided on Playa that we wanted to keep most of the ramp, but would be willing to burn a few pieces. We spent a couple days asking around if there was an ‘approved’ way to burn the ramps at Burning Man. We asked around BMORG and got the general response that if we wanted to burn them that it had to be pre-arranged as part of the burn plan for one of the organized burns, so ‘NO’. The temple in 2011 was an incredible sight (as most years are) and we decided that we wanted to do a skate session out by the temple before the temple burns and hopefully burn that ramp section with the Temple. Jameson had a pickup truck so he said, let’s load up the 10’ wall ride and roll-in and burn them with the temple. I thought there was no way it would work, but he said that he would figure it out, so I helped him load it into his truck with a little crew and went with it. No more than 15 minutes later he drove back to Kamp and said, grab your boards, and he threw on a couch with the Grandmas (from Smile for Grandma Camp that was across H street from us). Jameson said he was able to get it arranged by telling rather than asking. He drove out and said, where should we place these ramps so that they can be burned with the temple. The crew around the temple was stoked at the idea of a skate session and burning the ramp with the temple, so they in fact helped unload and set-up the ramp and carry it into the burn pile they were prepping. We re set-up the entire 10’ tall wall-ride and roll in out at the perimeter of the Temple. This turned out to be the most magical morning with amazing blue skies with puffy white clouds, a scene that almost could have only existed in our dreams. We did a session for about 45 minutes with Captain Booya, Jameson, Velly Vel, Loren Thompson, James Bones, and me that was a great farewell and thank you to the ramp before burning it.

SK8 KAMP 2014
So, we asked around to see if anyone was interested in taking them home or knew of a skatepark that could benefit from having them. Jameson who lived in West Oakland at the time said that K-Dubs who organized a community skatepark at West Oakland’s Town Park would probably be interested so I got his number so I could call him on our drive back. It did work out to put some ramps at Town Park. The 4’ half pipe and the 2 bank ramps were re-installed in West Oakland’s Town Park Skatepark that lasted for about a year before we replaced it with the 3/4 bowl from SK8 KAMP 2012.

Kool Karlo who we met on the Playa and was at SK8 KAMP almost 23 hours a day the whole burn had a warehouse in San Francisco that he installed the 2′ mini ramp in that was there until July 2016 and we hope to bring it back out the the Playa this year.

LETS BRING MORE STOKE to SK8 KAMP 2016 and 2016 BURNING MAN!

Please donate to help us build the SK8 KASTLE 2016 and share with everyone you know!

Dustfish Village

AirBnB 4 BRC: SK8 r GR8 – Oh No They Ain’t [Updates]

Burning Man hoodie, only $50

Burning Man hoodie, only $50

The Un-Decommodification of the event continues. You can now use AirBnB to book your Black Rock City accommodation. This one brought to you courtesy of SK8 camp, at 8:15 & Esplanade.

There will probably be others, for example Burner Joe says:

“airbnb has been awesome for making $ at burning man! All 17 yurts are rented and the money is the bank!”

…although we suspect they’re being tongue-in-cheek, it’s amazing how often “satire” turns into “acceptable behavior” at Burning Man.

sk8 camp boardFor $3000 the people claiming to be SK8 camp on the Internet say they will build you your own air conditioned yurt on the Playa – might be a cheaper option than an RV setup, which I hear can cost upwards of $20,000 these days. You can also buy merchandise like hoodies and skateboards with the Burning Man logo online. Burning Man used to strictly forbid the commercial exploitation of their logo for camp fundraisers, but this seems to be yet another selectively enforced rule. Pee Funnel camp can get kicked out for some ticketing shenanigans without even a chance to explain. Meanwhile, SK8 camp can create fake AirBnB listings (which they dismiss as some sort of bizarre prank)  and sell Burning Man t-shirts and hoodies (apparently not a prank)…and that’s just fine. Sounds like they know someone on the inside. You’re not fooling us SK8 camp, we get it: you’re selling Burning Man merchandise. Just like the Burning Man Project do.

The AirBnB-listed SK8 rooms are only $15/night – worth it just to have a discreet place on the Esplanade to do drugs radically express yourself:

sk8 8-15 esplanade

SK8 KAMP 2014 full layout. Accommodations are under decks in rear right (in front of scaffolding)


sk8 camp dayThe Space
Bed type: Airbed
Property type: Cave
Accommodates: 2
Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 0
Beds: 1

Amenities
Kitchen
Free Parking on Premises
Wireless Internet
Family/Kid Friendly
Suitable for Events
sk8 2013Smoking Allowed
Wheelchair Accessible
Doorman
Hot Tub
Gym
First Aid Kit
Fire Extinguisher
Prices
$15/night
$105/week
$420/month
Extra people: No Charge
Cancellation: Flexible
skate camp 2012Description

The Space

A one of a kind accommodation on the Playa at Burning Man. Stay in the spare room under the SK8 KAMP ramps!

1 of 4 8’X8′ ‘rooms’ available under the deck of the 32′ wide mini ramp. Private closet space under the quarter pipe. Tarped floor and wall to keep you protected from the dust.

Enjoy getting woken up to the pleasant sounds of skaters shredding the ramps on the incredibly smooth baltic birch skin, the unique grind sounds of the Diamond Grind coping, and the cheering of all the spectators. Perfect location to hear the sound, right in front of our speakers and scaffolding DJ stage.

Close proximity to street skate area with banks, hubbas, rails, and other obstacles.

Close to transportation (SK8 boards provided), many Art Cars pickup nearby, and Esplanade access, shower stall with evap pond provided (bring your own solar shower). Communal kitchen under a shade tent with stove, cutting boards, coolers, and drinking water. Warm piskey’s served daily (whiskey with pickle juice). Port-o-potties are located at 8:00 & C a few short blocks away. No bed provided, only a tarp. Bring your own sleeping bag or linens. No towels or soap provided. Pack it in pack it out all trash. Daily moop sweeps required. Be Self-reliant!!!

With vaulted 4′ or 5.5′ ceilings, its best suited for shorties. If you love to SK8 you’ll really love the close proximity to this 24hr rad ramp and the sounds of shredding will rock you to sleep! )'(

Guest Access

SK8 KAMP sk8 park, communal kitchen, communal shade areas, shower stall, VIP All Access Burning Man pass

Interaction with Guests

Hosts and Guests will frequently interact and the hosts will often be skateboarding on top of your accommodations.

The Neighborhood

Amazing view of the Man, and deep playa. Lots of dusty burners nearby.

Getting around

10 of 10 walk score. Great for biking. Art Cars frequently stopping by, but schedules are tough to figure out. Free parking onsite.

Other Things to Note

All proceeds of this rental will go to our Kickstarter campaign to build our park! If you’d like to donate directly please visit Kickstarter.


 

House Rules

Be self-reliant, drama free, and love skateboarding.


 

Availability

Minimum Stay: 1 night
View of what the accommodation will look like (note: this was from 2012, so it will not be this exact room, but very similar)

View of what the accommodation will look like (note: this was from 2012, so it will not be this exact room, but very similar)

[Update 8/3/14 11:20am] Sonja from SK8 camp claims that the AirBnB post is fake. She offers no comment on whether the $3k plug-n-play yurt offering or branded merchandise sales in their fundraiser are lies also.

sk8 logoIt’s not true that you can book brc accommodation at sk8 kamp through air b n b.  that air b n b post is fake. I think the main indicator is the idea you would be staying under the ramp. I don’t know, maybe you have never seen a skate ramp or been near one, but under the ramp is very non-habitable and is unpleasant. Also, the monthly rate is $420.

Please use a real example of being able to book accommodation at brc on air b n b for this blog post, if one exists, and not a fake example…

It’s not really available – it’s a prank listing. If someone contacted us saying, “i’d like 2 nights under the skate ramp” we would say, “i’m sorry, that was a joke, we’re not really air b n b ing the space under the ramp.”

If your point is that it’s possible to book BRC accomodations by the night via AirBnB, you need to use a different example. This is not an example of that.

So what is it an example of? A camp lying about their fundraising activities? Irony gone wrong? A funny prank on someone else’s camp, that they’re sour about because they didn’t think of it first?

sk8 or dieI’m not sure if Sonja has ever been to Burning Man, but if she had she would know that there are plenty of noisy places where people sleep. Some people actually quite like that, and find the idea of seeking a quiet place at Burning Man to be ludicrous. $15/night sounds reasonable in the circumstances, I guess it depends if people are skating 24/7 for 8 days, and how much you like skateboarding.

AirBnB is a real site. The listing is really there. So who is falsely impersonating SK8 camp? And why would they do such a thing? Be careful out there Burners, what is the world coming to these days when you can no longer trust a skateboarder…

SK8 Rnt GR8

To placate Sonja, here’s a link to someone else renting a dome on AirBnB.