I just returned to LA from Virginia Beach, my hometown, for the Thanksgiving holiday. I hadn’t planned on going home for Thanksgiving, but several family members, including first and seconds cousins, I hadn’t seen in years were going to be there. The trip was “mostly excellent”; there was one element that was quite challenging, but that was nothing new really. I’ll try to dwell on the “mostly excellent” part. All in all I’m really glad I was there to share with everyone.
On my flight back to LA I had a layover in Dallas and while I was standing on the jet way, waiting in line to get on the plane, I noticed this kid in front of me with some of the coolest hair I’d ever seen. Judging by his attire and swagger and immediately thought he was a rat. Growing up in Virginia Beach a rat is a kid who is excels in many action-sport type athletics. For example he might be known as a surfer, but if you gave him a skateboard he’d do well right away. Same with skiing, snowboarding, etc. BMX, mountain biking, motocross, etc.
Anyway, so I‘m checking this kid out and I noticed he was wearing a Volcom backpack. Volcom is a surfing/action sports apparel company. Upon further inspection I saw that he was also wearing Volcom pants and a Volcom jacket…along with DVS shoes and a Vestal watch. Most people, although they may own many products of a certain brand, they don’t actually wear that many of the same labels together at the same time…unless they are sponsored athletes.
The kid was talking to another guy who was a little taller and looked a little older – they were speaking Spanish. The taller guy looked, maybe 20 and the dude with the cool hair was maybe 18. So I’m checking out the older guy and he was wearing a Red Bull hat along with a Red Bull pullover. I had it in my mind the guys were really talented, sponsored kids in something action sports-related; I wasn’t sure what it was, but I figured either snowboarding, skating, skiing, bodyboarding or surfing. My hunch was skating or surfing.
The line is moving slowly, but I finally get on the plane and to my seat, 28F, (I was born on the 28th and my last name starts with an F, so I chose 28F) and guess who is seating in my seat. Yup, the cool, crazy-haired kid. I give him the point and the nod and he gets that he’s in my seat. He moves over and I plant myself in the window seat.
After we got settled I asked him if he is a surfer or a skater and he eagerly answered “surfer!”. He’s from Costa Rica. I told him about some surf breaks that I had ridden, back in the day, in Southern California and he was quite surprised that I knew anything about surfing. His plan is, after a few weeks in California, to go to Hawaii on the 7th of December for the first time. A little later he asked me how long the flight was – 2 ½ - 3 hours I told him.
Quite a bit of time passed and we hadn’t said anything to each other so I figured I’d use some of my newly acquired Spanish on him. So I turned to him and said “Qué es su nombre?” His face lit up and he replied, “Me llamo Carlos”. I said, “Mi nombre es Stephon”. He came back with “mucho gusto”. I hit him with, “Igualmente”. He tried to keep going, but I raised my hands in defeat; I had no more Spanish to tap into. He said my accent sounded pretty good. I told him I had taken a short class at a local college. What he didn’t know was that I actually rehearsed for like a full 60 seconds before I said my first line in Spanish to him, lol! I was nervous that I would stutter or something.
So after the plane landed and we were taxiing into the gate I asked him if there were any videos of him surfing on the internet. “Yes!!” he replied, through his slightly broken English; “Google me, my name, Carlos. Carlos Munoz. I write my name and email. Are you on Facebook?” he asked. I told him yes and gave him a business card while he wrote down his name and email address. I told him I was going to check him out when I got home.
Moments later, at baggage claim, Carlos had caught up with his traveling buddy, Diego. I went over and asked him if I could get a photo with him…and his cool ass hair. His friend, Diego, took a snap shot of the two of us.
Me and Carlos Munoz - Supa star surfer @ LAX. Just
16 years old. Big hair, doing big things.
On my flight back to LA I had a layover in Dallas and while I was standing on the jet way, waiting in line to get on the plane, I noticed this kid in front of me with some of the coolest hair I’d ever seen. Judging by his attire and swagger and immediately thought he was a rat. Growing up in Virginia Beach a rat is a kid who is excels in many action-sport type athletics. For example he might be known as a surfer, but if you gave him a skateboard he’d do well right away. Same with skiing, snowboarding, etc. BMX, mountain biking, motocross, etc.
Anyway, so I‘m checking this kid out and I noticed he was wearing a Volcom backpack. Volcom is a surfing/action sports apparel company. Upon further inspection I saw that he was also wearing Volcom pants and a Volcom jacket…along with DVS shoes and a Vestal watch. Most people, although they may own many products of a certain brand, they don’t actually wear that many of the same labels together at the same time…unless they are sponsored athletes.
The kid was talking to another guy who was a little taller and looked a little older – they were speaking Spanish. The taller guy looked, maybe 20 and the dude with the cool hair was maybe 18. So I’m checking out the older guy and he was wearing a Red Bull hat along with a Red Bull pullover. I had it in my mind the guys were really talented, sponsored kids in something action sports-related; I wasn’t sure what it was, but I figured either snowboarding, skating, skiing, bodyboarding or surfing. My hunch was skating or surfing.
The line is moving slowly, but I finally get on the plane and to my seat, 28F, (I was born on the 28th and my last name starts with an F, so I chose 28F) and guess who is seating in my seat. Yup, the cool, crazy-haired kid. I give him the point and the nod and he gets that he’s in my seat. He moves over and I plant myself in the window seat.
After we got settled I asked him if he is a surfer or a skater and he eagerly answered “surfer!”. He’s from Costa Rica. I told him about some surf breaks that I had ridden, back in the day, in Southern California and he was quite surprised that I knew anything about surfing. His plan is, after a few weeks in California, to go to Hawaii on the 7th of December for the first time. A little later he asked me how long the flight was – 2 ½ - 3 hours I told him.
Quite a bit of time passed and we hadn’t said anything to each other so I figured I’d use some of my newly acquired Spanish on him. So I turned to him and said “Qué es su nombre?” His face lit up and he replied, “Me llamo Carlos”. I said, “Mi nombre es Stephon”. He came back with “mucho gusto”. I hit him with, “Igualmente”. He tried to keep going, but I raised my hands in defeat; I had no more Spanish to tap into. He said my accent sounded pretty good. I told him I had taken a short class at a local college. What he didn’t know was that I actually rehearsed for like a full 60 seconds before I said my first line in Spanish to him, lol! I was nervous that I would stutter or something.
So after the plane landed and we were taxiing into the gate I asked him if there were any videos of him surfing on the internet. “Yes!!” he replied, through his slightly broken English; “Google me, my name, Carlos. Carlos Munoz. I write my name and email. Are you on Facebook?” he asked. I told him yes and gave him a business card while he wrote down his name and email address. I told him I was going to check him out when I got home.
Moments later, at baggage claim, Carlos had caught up with his traveling buddy, Diego. I went over and asked him if I could get a photo with him…and his cool ass hair. His friend, Diego, took a snap shot of the two of us.
Me and Carlos Munoz - Supa star surfer @ LAX. Just
16 years old. Big hair, doing big things.
Later, when I got home, I searched for Carlos on the internet and it turns out he is only 16 years and is the Costa Rican National Surfing Champion and reportedly the hottest prospect to come out of South America. The kid is the truth on a surfboard…and yeah, we’re Facebook friends. I’ll definitely be following his career very closely.
I love the feeling of being a fan, impressed by the talent of others.
http://www.stephonfuller.com
2 comments:
oh man i love this story!
Thanks Mr S!
AB
Yeah, it was a complete pleasure to meet Carlos.
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