A Few Days to Recover

I can't remember ever experiencing anything like the video of Steve Berra discussing the (BATBOX) damage suffered during his warehouse flood, and discussing it over the extremely affecting sounds of Bon Iver and their Emma song.

Watching it provides an entirely new emotional response. It is a genuine extension of the human experience, like the first time a pet dies. Or like having an old buddy who you've known for years one day suddenly get really into, say, sewing. This would feel new and different, a new experience. Except with Steve's video, here, the new feeling has that familiar Steve sheen of self-righteous manipulation.

So maybe imagine the same buddy from above sitting down over a beer and explaining his sudden interest for sewing by saying he wants to sew a shirt for someone out there in the world who needs one. That, look, it's a cold world, the wind cuts like a bitter knife or something and your buddy, being a good buddy, has got a person for whom he's gonna sew this free shirt. He's giving away the shirt to a person, thus the sewing. Or several persons. Several shirts!

But then later you learn that as a matter of fact he hasn't been sewing philanthropic shirts, but actually sewing a very complex LARP outfit for himself. That the so-called gift will never leave his own, sewy hands. Imagine this feeling. It'd be new.

Steve explains: as an apology to the shops for the delay (caused by flooding) in the Berrics promotional BATBOX / DC campaign, he is throwing in free Berrics backpacks and t-shirts, which say BERRICS on them. In the first video, Steve was dumbstruck and sad, and asked for some time to recover. But by this update video's end, Steve has chippered up some, and after a little soccer Steve's feeling good and easy-going again, and just happy that nobody was hurt. Now the rooftruck is turning from lemons to -ade right in front of our skateboarder eyes! Also newsworthy: this flood.

Bad taste, Steve. Your flood was perhaps dramatic to you, but no need to linger when real people are suffering and dying and displaced! Dude Life (just me in the office right now) supports your American right to promote and sell your goods. But let's not go grab-assing all over the minds of impressionable (stupid) young skateboard consumers. Joe Camel was a dick.