This past weekend was our 2nd annual Waffle Heads Summit, put together by Clayton, Ed, Joey, and I (Wearing Waffles, Strictly Waffles, and Under The Palms). While Eddie and Joey had to be there in spirit, due to prior engagements, Clayton and I still managed to hold down the fort, with a little bit of assistance from Renee, Tintin, my nephew Ray, and everyone else I’m failing to mention! We also cannot express our gratitude to Tak and Mike of Blends for allowing us an awesome space to host our gatherings at. Without them, this wouldn’t be an annual thing. Thank you so much guys!
Although the pics may not show it, we had a pretty good turnout throughout the afternoon. Mostly familiar faces, as well as a few new ones. We love to see it. Special shout-out to our buddy Greg, who showed up again this year, who only keeps up to date with us through our website, so Greg, if you’re reading this, leave a comment or email me, so we can keep you in the loop on a normal basis, and just to say hello!
Some folks had to dip out early and they missed out on a very special surprise. We received a special visit from our hero, Steve Van Doren! We were stoked…shocked…humbled. To be honest, I was a little sad that everyone who showed up earlier, wasn’t there to experience it. Hell, I was sad for everyone who couldn’t make it out this year! He spent about a good hour there with us. (It might’ve been 30 minutes, but it felt like an hour lol!). Telling stories about Vans, and going through his camera roll on his phone, showing us a bunch of top secret stuff. Upcoming projects; private projects; personal family pairs; etc. He was catering to the crowd for sure. He knew we were the sneaker fiends, and we were drooling over the stuff he was sharing. We may or may not have been sworn to secrecy. At least it sounds cooler that way, hehe.
Steve has the biggest heart. He’s exactly who you’d imagine him to be. He is the epitome of authenticity, and it’s no surprise he’s an inspiration to many, including me. As you know, he’s been busy for the past few weeks down in Huntington Beach, for the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing, and if you follow him on social media, he’s not just out there sitting around and shaking hands. He’s working the booths. He’s grilling. He’s constantly on the move, all while trying to beat the brutal heat this past week. After a full Saturday of doing all that, he took time out to show up to our gathering, and chop it up about Vans. He even supported Blends and purchased a pair of Vaults! Extremely humbling, and his day wasn’t even over after that. He still had to go back to Vans HQ to do some more filming for another project! We’re not worthy to say the least. And of course none of this would’ve even happened if it weren’t for our friend Jason. Mahalo again bro. Seriously.
But wait, there’s more! Hehe, so if that wasn’t already a dream come true for us Vans nerds, you’ll be stoked to know that we just might get to host a gathering at Vans HQ next year, centered around our community. It’s all dependent on a few factors, like covid, other priorities, budget, etc., but we’re going to try and push hard to make this happen for us and y’all, so stay tuned! How cool would that be?! Man, we can’t wait. Until then, enjoy a few snapshots from this past weekend’s event, and do everything you can to make it out next year. You won’t want to miss it!
tons of pics after the jump
DOPENESS!!!!