Benny Gold and all the homies...

I’ve been meaning to post something about this for over six months now!

Last April, Tranworld Skateboarding Magazine (TWS), one of the industry’s premier publications, teamed up with my good friend Benny Gold, a prominent local skateboarder and designer, for the re-launch of the magazine’s “Brain Floss” series. The series was comprised of a one to two page spread that showcased the artistic talents of a different skateboarder each month, usually an am, pro or individual with industry ties. The feature included a short Q&A and/or testimonial as well as one skate photo of the individual in action. Gold’s Brain Floss feature, which appeared in the magazine’s May 2008 issue, was the first the magazine had printed in over five years.

In honor of the Brain Floss re-launch, TWS asked gold to design two limited edition New Era hats. The finished products consisted of one orange and black San Francisco Giants themed version representing Gold’s home, the other a brown and gold retro San Diego Padres themed lid representing TWS’ abode. The two hats, of course, have long since sold out, but Gold posted a blog the other day stating that he recently uncovered a small stash of the hats and has made them available for purchase in the store section of his site. Good luck trying to find one of these hats anyplace else, seriously.

In exchange for the hat designs, TWS and New Era presented Gold with a full, two-page ad space for his clothing line, Benny Gold (BG). Gold decided to have the ad be a group shot of he and all his friends at Wallenberg, a famed San Francisco skate spot. The spread appeared in the magazine’s July 2008 issue. (Side note: that’s me sitting behind Benny, rocking a grey Benny Gold “In Gold We Trust” shirt and B.G. x TWS S.F. Giants themed hat. It looks like I have a fatty Clint Eastwood style cigar in my mouth, but it’s really a cinnamon stick. This photo was taken in early April, and I had just quit smoking like three or four weeks beforehand. Proud to say I’m still off ‘em.)

“I could have done anything for the ad,” said Gold, “but decided to show people what the S.F. scene is like today. I’m still blown away by all of the support! Over 30 heads showed up with skateboards, bikes and tall cans of beer.” He adds, “The day was f*ckin’ epic! Friendship to me is inspiring!”

For more on Gold, check out his website, www.bennygold.com. There you will find a frequently updated blog and store section as well as select works from his diverse portfolio, among other features.

Click HERE to read an in-depth story that I wrote about Benny Gold for the S.F. Chronicle last April.

Stay Gold!

Travis

(above images courtesy of BennyGold.com)

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Photo collage below by Ando (I rEMBer)