DAVE MULL - BS TAIL
BOTTOM RIGHT: ALEX WARNER, ELEMENTAL AWARENESS
there are specific programs called focus
groups, used to challenge campers in other
ways that skateboarding doesn’t. Among these
programs were the art shed, music shed, zine
program and my favorite, Elemental Aware-
ness. Elemental Awareness is a 4-day program
that teaches campers basic wilderness
survival skills for primal living. Campers are
taught skills such as building a shelter out of
nothing more than branches, sticks, and pine
needles, starting a fire using only friction and
pieces of wood (the hardest skill I was not able
to actually master), water purification, making
bowls and spoons and foraging for food and
learning how to cook it. I grew up loving nature
and camping so being able to take part in this
program was an absolute privilege.
But of course, I wasn’t there to just take part
in camp activities. I was there to shoot skate-
boarding. There are six different parks at camp,
all of which had their own unique flow with
different types of obstacles to hone in skills of
all areas. My favorite park to shoot at was the
mega mini ramp. There were multiple campers
skating at any time, so I would just stand on
the deck of the ramp with my fisheye and
one flash and could shoot multiple tricks in a
matter of minutes. One of the rippers that was
constantly skating the mega mini was Stella
Reynolds; yup, the Boss’s daughter! The apple