Shot of the day #141: Memories of Spinjas

Shot with iphone. Click to enlarge.

On the way to work this morning, I was driving down Venice Blvd when a familiar sight smacked my eyes; I saw 4-5 sign-spinners on the corner of La Cienega, twirling their adverts at a furious pace. Instantly I was thrust back to the 311 shoot, watching these talented guys work their magic as the world passes them by. Funny, I was more annoyed and pissed about the slings and arrows shot at the Spinners in the 311 video more than my work being slammed; Im sure all the armchair critics making snide and sometimes downright MEAN remarks on the message boards can barely balance a basketball on their fat fucking fingers let alone be out in the sweltering sun for hours on end making an art out of spinning a piece of plastic on their bodies effortlessly. Here are guys who actually made an art out of human advertising, and I gotta admire that like I did when we first discussed the idea. Watching hours of spinner videos, I really grew to admire their home-made skills, and in a way, if anyone sees any of these guys and thinks of the video, than in a way...I did my job. Yet, people still gave the main kid Matt a lot of flack for what he did well in the video. As Nick Hexum once said..."Fuck the Naysayers cause they dont mean a thing.."

This pic was actually taken as i was coming HOME, almost 10 hours later...and the SAME dudes were on the same corner, spinning away with the same fervor and passion, and I then noticed: two of the "Spinjas" from the 311 shoot were out there! Guess their 15 minutes of fame dried up quick, huh? I kid, but it was cool to see them out there, pushing DANCE FLICK (not a bad marketing tie-in) as they spun their signs, some even listening to music as they did...I wonder if they're rocking out to 311 in their earbuds...probably not.

Joe