The salt on my skin and the smile on my face serve only as a small reminder of the time that I have spent and the memories that I have made in California over the past few days.

As I sit and wait for my connecting flight from Cincinnati to Toronto, my mind wanders back to the warm air, bronzed bodies, and breakfast burritos of Long Beach. The cold waves, cold beer, and cool people of Carlsbad. And last but not least, I can't help but think of the coffee shops, the Sugar Shack, and the countless surf shops in Huntington Beach.

All in all, California is a trip…

Last week I came to LA for the premier of 'Once I was A Champion', a film that chronicles the life of the greatest friend that I have ever known, Evan Tanner. I was greeted at LAX by Gerard (Director), Sophia (Colour Correction and Gerard's fiance), and Wade (Evan's best friend from Amarillo). That night we sipped on 100 proof Scotch and shared some stories about our lives and our relationship with Evan.


 
The following morning Gerard and I ran 100 flights of stairs and successfully completed 100 burpees (10 flights of stairs followed by 10 burpees). That afternoon we all set off to pick up Johnny (One of Evan's closest friends since they attended Caprock high together) before heading to the premier in LA later on that evening.

There are no words to describe the feeling I had as we entered the theatre together. I was anxious for Gerard, Lance, and Kirk (as well as everyone else who was involved with the film), nervous for myself, Johnny, and Wade, and generally excited for all of us at the same time.

'Once I Was A Champion' is an unbelievable film. Without getting into too much detail or potentially 'spoiling' anything, all I will say is that I am honoured to have known Evan the way I did and to have been able to participate in such a beautiful work of art… It was a perfect night. I was able to reunite with Renzo from Hardknocks Muay Thai (the gym Evan and I trained in LV) and meet with a lot of people whom I know were close with Evan.

Jorge, Johnny, Me, Wade, Dan at the Screening.

Jorge and I at Screening.

The film will have its official World Premier in June and is nominated for 'best documentary'  at the Los Angeles Film Festival (June 16-26 2011). Please, if at all possible, find the the time and make the effort to go and support this film!

The last few days of my stay were packed with a number of interesting experiences. We visited muscle beach (where we all experienced defeat at the hands of the very public gymnastic rings). We walked the boardwalk in Venice and watched as Johnny aka 'muscles' was harassed by a ridiculous amount of street vendors and hustlers alike. I also got to hike a rattle snake infested mountain and visit Evan's apartment in Oceanside. I was granted the opportunity to try and catch some waves and rewarded for my efforts with a drink or two from a few of the 'local's' watering holes in Carlsbad.

The rings... it isn't fair.

Me, Johnny, and Lance.

Gerard, Wade, Me, and Johnny before Wades Departure.

California has it all.

A big shout out to everyone who made my stay in California an incredible experience. Thank you to Kirk for his hospitality, Gerard and Sophia for taking me in, letting me crash on their couch, and for treating me like a family member. Thank you to Lance for taking me to the waves and for giving me a taste of the local culture. Also, thank you to Johnny and Wade for being great friends and brothers alike.

BELIEVE.