Friday, May 28, 2010

Party? yes, please.

TONIGHT is the much anticipated CD release party for HEAD DOWN's new album. Songs from How it All Breaks Down will be rocking the Vic tonight in Timmins.  Fuck yeah.  Give it a listen at Head Down's myspace page. 

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Home for the summer.

THIS will be home for Justin, and I for the next couple months.  Ice Chest Lake, just a 30 minute drive from Timmins.  Normally it's still pretty chilly up here this time of the year (snow is always a real possibility) but the weather this past weekend was unreal with 30+ temperatures and sunny skies!! I swear that if I had shut my eyes, I could still think I was in the Phillies.  Hopefully it's a small taste of what is to come this summer...

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Made in the U.S.A

(Gonna have to get used to North American portion sizes again.)

Japan...Ayoooooo!!

JAPAN AIRLINES (JAL) is king!  After checking in for our flights in Manila, they informed us that they had accommodations at no charge for us in Tokyo because we had to overnight.  Don't ask me why the airline put us up in their own hotel, but it sure was a nice surprise.  The Nikko Narita Hotel was a classic Japanese business hotel; efficient and clean.  After we checked into our rooms, we decided to hit up the lounge and drop some serious Yen for some Asahi beer, and sushi.  We flew out the next morning; clean, and well rested for our next 2 flights, AMAZING! If ever you have a chance to fly with JAL, I say take it!!

Monday, May 17, 2010

I told you!

(Photo: Unleashed Wake Magazine)

CONGRATULATIONS to Raph Derome for winning this past weekend's Nokia FISE contest in Montpellier, France.  This kid is on a roll; in the last 2 weeks, Raph won the Jr. Pro Men's division at Wake Games in Orlando, and placed 2nd at Wake N' Beach (France).  Also worth mentioning is that Canada was well represented at FISE with 3 of the top 4 spots going to Canadians with Kevin Henshaw in 3rd, and Oli Derome in 4th.  Félicitations les p'tits castors!!

Phillies Retrospect 4.0

ANOTHER year, and another trip to the Phillies is just about done.  Actually it is over, I'm writing to you from Tokyo right now.  
Each visit to the CWC has always comes with a different experience, and purpose.  Last year's mission was getting footage for my part in Craig McCallion's movie Legit; while the year before's headline was partying it up in Cabana 44, and me jumping into some shallow water, and breaking my ankle.  Anyways, this year's trip was all about living the dream, and living it to the fullest. While we may have been forced to cancel our plans for Thailand; chilling with Byerly, swimming with whale sharks, having the opportunity to film early mornings alone on the cable, and hitting up the system 2.0 staircase setup have all made this year's trip one that is pretty hard to beat.  
The weather was absolutely phenomenal; I mean, we honestly had 31 days of pure sunshine!  Soooo HOT!  And as always, the food was great: simple and cheap.  While my riding may not had been as hot as I would of liked, it was still good all in all.  Needless to say that I was nursing a sore knee, and a strained hip flexor which had set me back about a week.  Luckily tho it wasn't anything too serious, and we still managed to get some decent footage. 
Finally, I would just like to finish by saying THANK YOU to the people of the Philippines.  Never have I met such genuine, and selfless people.  May their way of life serve as an example to us all through their great deal of patience, sense of community, and pure content for everyday life.  These people have nothing, but yet they seem to have it all.  Hopefully I will have taken some of that great spirit with me, and appreciate just how easy I have it.  


Thanks to everyone for keeping up with the blog...and stay tuned as we still have a whole summer ahead of us, looking forward to it.  Cheers!

Manila Ink

THANKS to our good friend Paul Henry Familiaran from Republic, for showing us a great time in Manila.  Not only did we get a tour of Republic headquarters, but Paul also took us to Manila's best Thai restaurant called Som's, it was amazing!!  We also got to enjoy a last bottle of Tanduay rum with our wakeskater friends from the CWC, Tynna and Diana.  Thanks for having us over, gonna miss you girls!
(Justin getting a little touch up on his sleeve at P&P Tattoo in Manila on Sunday night)

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Ollie Ross' Double S-bend...


Ross's Double S Bend from Jamie Colvin on Vimeo.

WHILE we were in Manila, Ollie Ross continued to throw down at the CWC.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

CWC Send off...PARTY!!

BEER PONG is truly an international game, well at least at the CWC it is.  On Friday night, everyone decided we would be in for a good party since us, the Aussies, and the Germans will be leaving this weekend. The night started off with a few innocent drinking games, and quickly turned into a full blown disco party. The San Miguel's were flowing, and the Tanduay rhum was a shootin'!!  Needless to say things got pretty messy by night's end.  While these pictures may not entirely do the night justice, they will surely give you an idea of where we going...Cheers to good times with good people!

Friday, May 14, 2010

New Video!

OUR FOUR WEEKS have nearly come to an end at the CWC.  Yesterday I skimmed through Kelsey's USB key, and found a shit load of videos from our trip.  Thanks again to Jamie Colvin, Ross, and Harvey for sharing their videos with us.  Hope you have as much fun watching it as I did making it.  The song comes from a sick band, Greater than Giants, out of Edmonton, and who played in Timmins the week before we came out here.  

Names and Faces. (feat. Greater than Giants) from Johny Bonney on Vimeo.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Morning Project 05.13.10

EARLY MORNING set on one of the world's sickest, and about the only permanent, unique urban style rail setup for wakeboarding.  Justin, Charlie Sirois, and myself had the pleasure of hitting this thing, and it did not disappoint.  Great f"cking time!!  Big thanks to Leigh for waking up early to snap a few photos, cheers brotha!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Riding Days/Nights.

(Johny pressin' the evening 05.12.10)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

4 more years! 4 more years!!

CONGRATULATIONS to Governor L-Ray Villafuerte for securing his third consecutive mandate as Governor of the Province of Camsur.  For those who don't know, the Gov is responsible for creating the CWC, and making it one of the best places in the world to wakeboard.  Better yet, he has managed to generate a sizable boost for the local Camsur economy by creating hundreds of jobs and attracting boat and cable wakeboarders from every corner of the globe.  Yeah, it's party time!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

"That's not Snowflake! That's not Snowflake!!"

THE WHALE SHARKRhincodon typus, is a slow moving filter feeding shark, the largest living fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 12.65 metres (41.50 ft) and a weight of more than 21.5 tonnes (47,000 lb), but unconfirmed claims report considerably larger whale sharks.  The shark is found in tropical and warm oceans, lives in the open sea with a lifespan of about 70 years.[2] The species originated about 60 million years ago.  (wikipedia)


Swimming with the "Butanding" from Johny Bonney on Vimeo.

"Butanding" is the local name for the whale shark.  I cannot describe the feeling of swimming alongside these giant fish.  It was intense, peaceful, and surreal all at the same time.  After four trips to the Philippines, this was my first time experiencing the whale sharks, and I am very happy that I didn't pass it up. We had a lot of fun, with a great group of people (Aussies, English, German, and Spanish).  I will never forget the sight of that massive fish...all I could think of was Ace Ventura when he's swimming in the shark tank, and yelling: "That's not snowflake! That's not snowflake!!" haha 

Friday, May 7, 2010

New edit! 05.06.10

HAD some camera troubles the last few days.  Finally sorted it out with a little help from my English friend Jamie Colvin (www.jamiecolvin.com), cheers mate!!  Enjoy.

@ the CWC: vol. 3 from Johny Bonney on Vimeo.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

A Good Morning!

TODAY was a good day for filming.  We had them open the cable for us at 7:30 am, and enjoyed a private session while filming.  Justin stuck three frontside toe 7's for the first time on film, and I stomped a heel front 7 among other things.  Gonna take the rest of the day to work on a new edit that's been on the shelve for the last week! haha I'm on island time here...stay tuned.

Some Perspective.

CHECK out my friend Olivia Wycech's "The Thai Red Shirts" blog entry.  It offers an unfiltered, first hand experience of what's really happening on  the streets of Bangkok, Thailand.  -->Read The Thai Red Shirts


(Photo: Olivia Wycech www.simplyolivia.com)

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

No pain, no gain.

(after his first four days, Charlie Sirois is left burnt, sore, and blistered)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Insurance? Check.

"Do we get our money back?"-Justin
"Yes sir. The full amount"- travel agent
                                
                         "but, it will take four to six months to process"
 "...I beg your pardon?"- Justin

NEVER leave home without travel insurance eh, because it's for bullshit like this you may need it (unless of course you decide to jump into some really shallow water and brake an ankle, travel insurance would also be good).  Anyways, we called our travel insurance today, and filed a claim that will ensure me a full refund for all "pre-paid arrangements made before departure". Beautiful! haha  But on the other hand,  it also cost us 3,020 pesos (about 75$ CDN) to extend our filipino visas, and another 150$ to extend our stay here at the CWC. So, it kinda evens out in the end I guess.  Finally, I asked the travel insurance rep what would happen if we did go to Thailand, and he basically explained that if anything would happen as a result of the political crisis (i.e. missed flights, injuries, hotel bookings), we would not be covered because we knowingly "ignored the potential for trouble".  So yeah, no gimmicks here; travel insurance is pretty sweet. 

Monday, May 3, 2010

Thailand is a no go...

IT'S OFFICIAL, we will NOT be going to Thai Wake Park in Bangkok, Thailand.  The travel advisory remains in effect, as the situation continues to deteriorate there.  We're pretty bummed out about the whole thing, we've been hearing nothing but good things about Thai Wake Park.  These sorta things are unpredictable, and comes with the territory when travelling; you gotta be flexible, and ready to change with things on the fly. I guess it just wasn't meant to be this time around.  At least it will serve as motivation to try again next year; I mean, it's gotta be done.  Thailand is too sick to pass up.  As for now, I'll just keep enjoying the ride at the 'ol c-dub. Tomorrow morning we will need to go to a Philippines Airlines sales office in Naga to officially cancel our flight to Bangkok, and after that we'll need to visit the Immigration Bureau to extend our tourist visas. To think, we are at the midway mark of our trip with only 2 weeks to go, WOW! Time to shred...

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Take Notice...

RAPH DEROME.  This video comes from my friend Yan Roy at wake2wake.ca.  It features Quebec's prodigy that is Raph Derome, the younger brother of fellow ripper Oli Derome.  They are absolutely killing it right now...Together with Yan Thibault, they will be competing in next week's infamous Nokia FISE all rail contest in Montpellier, France...t'entend.  Best of luck les boys!!