Monday, April 22

The DRIVE Tour: Three Days In

By Mike Vallely
Special to EXPN.com

11:51 AM
Sitting on airplane en route to San Francisco. 3 days into the DRIVE tour -- so far, so good. My days have been stacked with shop signings (3 a day thus far) and then the actual video premiers at night. So far I've hit Olympia, WA, Portland, OR and Seattle. I've signed a ton of posters, done a few impromptu demos (skating inside skate shops on borrowed boards) and I've met and spoken to a lot of good people.

The video premiers have gone well. I've followed them up in each city with a Q&A session with the audiences which has led to some great dialogue, story telling and even to playing some music (acoustically) in Portland and Seattle. The people that have come to check out the signings and video premiers have been wonderful, kind people who through their words and actions have inspired me to keep swinging and reaffirmed that what I'm doing out here on the road and with this video matters. That's the way it should be... Inspiration is a two way street... It goes around and around. Being out here meeting these good people only inspires me to keep doing what I'm doing.

Mike V broke it down in an open mic Q&A for over 2 hours after the show.

Every day and every night of this tour I'm moved by the people I meet. The conversations I find myself in are genuine and go beyond talking about tricks and image. I'm connecting with other skaters at a human level, not as a professional skateboarder or as some cheap celebrity but as a person, on the level, and man, that just doesn't happen very often. I feel blessed to be able to do what I'm doing even if it is strays so far from the norm and makes me vulnerable or an easy target in other people's eyes. The bottom line is I'm not afraid to walk this walk... to do the marathon, even out on the limb with all the axes swinging. I may have a small audience for what I'm doing but you better believe I'm glad to have it and appreciate every individual who took some time out of their lives to come hang out in the shops with me and to check out my new video. I'm one lucky man.

Mike V. connecting with a member of the audience at the Seattle stop of the Drive Tour.

Still, the road gets tougher and tougher for me. Being away from my family is a drag and having to see them every night in the film has been haunting me but I deal with it. My 7 month old daughter Lucinda is crawling all over the place these days and advancing by leaps and bounds daily and I'm missing it. It hurts to be away. This balance gets trickier and trickier for me. Yes, I want to continue to be effective as a professional skater, yes I want people to see my new video and maybe even buy one but I'm not willing to blow it as a father and a husband for personal success... Success in my household and at home comes first. So I walk this line cautiously and I try to keep the picture in focus. People tell me it can't be done... I'm here, bound and determined to prove them wrong.