Well, the aliens over at Alpinestars are doing just that. The Alpinestars crew will be at Ambush on Saturday, February 25th at 1:00 pm to “abduct” 5 lucky winnners and a friend (a guardian if you are under 18) and take them down to the Supercross event at the Georgia Dome that night. Each winner will receive a ticket to Supercross, a pit pass, a pit tour, track walk, and a gift pack from Alpinestars. Alpinestars will even take you out to dinner. After the “abduction”, you will be transported back to Ambush. In addition, Ambush will also be offering a buy one get one 50% off discount on all Alpinestars gear for the day.

Get abducted by Alpinestars and have an amazing story to tell your friends.

Josh is recovering in record time. Less than three months ago, Josh was laid up in a hospital bed with tubes and bags coming out of his chest, stomach, and intestines. The doctors were unsure if he would survive let alone skate again. With the grit and determination found only in a strong few, Josh found a way and should be back on a board soon.

Physically, Josh is recovering nicely. Financially, the aftermath is still havinging over his head. Josh has ammassed an astronomical amount of medical bills and he needs your help. You and Josh share a common love of skateboarding and through that love you can help him get his life back to normal again. By competing in the Josh Butler Benefit Jam, you will be helping out a fellow skater in his time of need. This contest is not simply about being the best on a skateboard. This contest is about being the best human you can be.

Every penny from the Josh Butler Benefit Jam will be donated to the Josh Butler Medical Fund. Every cent collected in the form of contest entry fees or raffles will go towards making his life whole again. Registration is now open at both Ambush Board Co. and Progressive Skatepark. Sign up now, compete against your friends, win prizes, and make a positive impact in a fellow skateboarder’s life.

Compete in the Josh Butler Benefit Jam on Saturday, March 3rd at Progressive Skatepark. The contest kicks off at 6:00 pm. Entry fee: $20 for product jam, $10 for best trick, $10 for mini-ramp jam.

The drunker you get…the worse you play pool. The worse you play pool…the drunker you get.

“Team building” has always taken on a weird form at Ambush. Last time we got together, we shot a bunch of guns. For some reason, no one wanted to shoot the target at center mass. Everyone was aiming at the poor criminal looking guy on the target’s crotch.

The time before that, Jordan got us in trouble. This time, it was win or barf.

At least I didn’t have the distinction of being eliminated in the first round of the Hella Gnarly Pool Tournament. Those that did ended up praising the porcelain god before the night was over. The tournament started with 36 of Ambush’s finest pool players. First place was $100 cash (suddenly upped to $200 by a less than sober Chuck), second place was a Shake Weight, and third through 36th was just more time to binge.

Everyone was super competitive while they were in the tournament. Once they were eliminated, it was time to do something horrific while mocking the Shake Weight.

The semi-finals pitted Ambush’s determined owner, Chuck Morrow against an always mellow Chris Richardson and Mike “Pool Shark” Myers against Danny Peterson. I’m sure the semi-finals matches were brilliant displays of billiards excellence…but I was too busy watching Jordan and Brock sing a duet to “Bohemian Rhapsody” on the karaoke machine. Mike and Chuck advanced to the finals.

After an inspiring game, Mike was victoriously crowned the Hella Gnarly Pool Tournament Champion.

5,289 acres. Vail is massive. In contrast, Cataloochee (my local mountain), is only 15 acres. Vail is roughly the same size as the entire city of Kennesaw, GA, the birthplace of Ambush Board Co. That’s one big playground. Translation: heaven for snowboarders. It took us nearly two days and over 12 hours to ride the entire mountain. If we spent the amount of time in the park that we wanted to/should have…we may never have seen the whole thing.

60,136 vertical feet. According to Vail’s Epic Mix app, that’s the total distance in height we rode in a little more than 15 hours. 60,136 vertical feet. That’s the equivalent of riding from the peak of Mt. Everest down to sea level twice…plus 2,000 feet. We rode more than 11 miles straight down. Who knows how much the total distance was (although we estimated approximately 30 miles). Our bodies were snowboard starved and we feasted like it was our final meal.

Twenty-nine inches. Denver didn’t want the snow. The city had business to conduct, an airport that needed to function, and a population intent on making it’s way to work and school. Vail was starving for snow. The mountain had yet to completely open, which is incredibly rare for early February. It was the storm of the winter and it was heading right towards us. We couldn’t wait for the squall line to wallop Vail and deliver two feet of snow on a silver platter. We could almost taste the powder we would score the next morning. Only the storm never came…not to Vail at least. The following morning Denver employed 82 snow plows to clear the streets while Vail remained untouched. Most  snowboarders would have been frustrated. But…living in the South has made us unbelievably appreciative of any snowfall we can get. It was a treat just to be out there riding at speeds that, due to small, moderately pitched mountains, you simply cannot reach down South.

104 degrees. The perfect temperature for an outdoor jacuzzi. Our tired bodies slumped motionless in the bubbling, steaming bath. We moved only to sip from our beers. In between stoic gazes, we nodded silently to one another in acknowledgement that this was an amazing trip. May all your travels be epic.

I’ve been watching the Winter X-Games the past few days and it has got me pumped for snowboarding. That coupled with some new videos like The Art of Flight and Defenders of Awesome have made me all about some fresh pow pow this season. The only problem is…I haven’t seen any. I have only had the chance to ride the East Coast so far this year and I am a little embarrassed to admit it. The times I was able to go looked something like this:

From what I have heard and read, the West coast hasn’t got much snow love either. Danny Kass has been kickin’ it in Park City a lot this year, but he fled to Japan for a while to find his pow pow.

If you’re watching live camera feeds of snowfall (or lack there of) and are totally bummed about it like I am, I’ve found a video to lift your spirits. Hopefully our season isn’t over yet! Pray for snow!

I have stuck with exactly zero New Year’s Resolutions. That’s not to say I haven’t made any positive life changes. I just haven’t been able to make any life changes based on a random calendar day. But this year, for the sake of “I told you so’s”, I am going to give it a go. My New Year’s Resolution: To ride more. Shocking isn’t it. It shouldn’t really be that hard, right? It’s not like I am trying to quit smoking or lose weight. I’m not trying to get an advanced college degree or hike Mount Everest. I am just trying to ride more. So why does this resolution seem so difficult to attain?

Life is merely a collection of seconds. Actually, life is a collection of millions of seconds strung together. My definition of living life to the fullest is using those seconds wisely to create the best possible experience. As we get older we add more things to our lives. More responsibilities at work, rent/mortgages, bills, family, etc. These things take up a bunch of those seconds leaving precious few for skateboarding, snowboard, and surfing. In essence, my New Year’s Resolution is to manage those seconds more carefully to ensure that I can shred more. Managing time is one of life’s most difficult aspects. I think I am up to the task…especially when the rewards are so great.

Here are the rest of the guys’ resolutions:

Stormy Pruett – “skate more and pay my car down”

Brian Johnson – “go back to school”

Jake Roberts – “why wait until New Year’s to make a resolution?”

Charlie Brown – “skate more and stop being lazy”

Max Yoder – “have a good time and drink more water”

In the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, November 27th, Ambush Boarding Co. friend and team rider, Josh Butler, and a group of friends were hanging out on the front porch of a buddy’s apartment. By all accounts, it was a normal house party. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But, while everyone at the party was chilling out and having a good time, three criminals were casing the joint. They passed by a few times and looked in the direction of the apartment. At one point, one of the villains asked for marijuana.

Josh and crew were disengaged and uninterested in the three thugs. They were doing what normal people do at parties: having fun. Josh had no idea that his life would permanently change in a matter of seconds. In an instant the nonchalant passers by became armed robbers. Two of the men pointed guns and demanded money and cell phones. One of the guns was aimed directly at Josh’s face.  Instinctually Josh pushed the gun towards the ground. In the process the criminal fired the gun into Josh’s abdomen. The bullet tore through his stomach before exiting his colon.

Andrew Edge, Trey “Catnip” Abad, Zach Newman, and Ben Hayes picked up their wounded friend and stabalized him until the ambulance arrived. Andrew put pressure on the bullet hole in an effort to supress the bleeding while Catnip, Zach, and Ben comforted Josh and motivated him to fight.

Josh was rushed into surgery at Grady Hospital. The surgeons repaired the gunshot wound and immediately began work on Josh’s bladder, stomach, and intestines. During surgery, Catnip assumed the unimagineably diffcult responsibility of calling Josh’s mom.

The ER waiting room swelled with friend’s, family, and those whose lives Josh has touched. The support, along with Josh’s strength and mental toughness, helped him pull through the surgery. Josh is going to survive, but the next six months are going to be a challenge.

The road to recovery starts now. Although Josh is still hospitalized, he is improving rapidly. He is eating solid food and walking unassisted for several yards at a time. Josh is learning to manage the pain and live with with the knowledge that he will be unable to skate for at least six months. The healing process will take a long time, but with your help the comforting can begin immediately.

Josh’s medical bills are already astronomical. On top of that, add six months of nurses visits, physical therapy, another scheduled surgery, antibiotics, pain meds, and on and on. It’s a staggering sum that could financially destroy Josh and his family. So we are appealing to you for help. Please donate any and all you can to help Josh recover from this unconscionable act of violence.

Those of you who know Josh understand that he is one of the most fun-loving, inspirational, and tough guys around. He can disarm you with his kindness and small town charm. He can motivate you through his actions both on and off a skateboard. And, most of all, he can befriend you with his loyalty. It is tough to see something as senseless as this happen to a person of his character. Show Josh that violence and brutality will never win and that caring and generosity will help overcome all odds. Donate to the Josh Butler Medical Fund.

The Josh Butler Medical Fund has been set up through SunTrust Bank. To donate online by credit card or Paypal, please click here.

To donate by cash or check, please visit any Atlanta area SunTrust Bank and ask to contribute to the Josh Butler Medical Fund.

We are a little more sane here at Ambush. We are having a nice little Black Friday Sale where you can save a bunch of money. But…we won’t make you stand in line for hours and get trampled by the big box barbarians. This sale is for everyone and it lasts all day.

$100 off any 2012 complete snowboard (board, boot, and binding)

$20 off any complete skateboard

Buy one get one 50% off on all clothing (of equal or lesser value)

And, for those of you who like to get up early, take an extra 10% off from 7 am – 10 am.

Happy Thanksgiving.