Epicly Later'd Ali Boulala

[foley_]

When Yoon started tearing up that was so tough to watch, I don't know how people can just keep pointing the camera in that situation.

That was Su Young Choi not Yoon Sul.

[Julz]

^^^Heath has an episode or two in the Epicly Later'd Emerica tour serie they did back in '06-'07

[French manicure]

^well said Quit Sinnin

[abudabi]

i dont follow these last 2 comments. did some posts get deleted?

[Julz]

i dont follow these last 2 comments. did some posts get deleted?

Ummm... I guess both messages were directed at Quit Sinnin.

[abudabi]

my bad, i dont know how i missed Quit Sinnins post.

[QUIT SINNIN]

^^^Heath has an episode or two in the Epicly Later'd Emerica tour serie they did back in '06-'07

Nah I know, I still watch them all the time haha.

I just mean I think there's a lot more to his story that needs to be told, particularly his life post retirement (check out the We're Really Doing It blog). He was one of the more enigmatic pros who shyed away from the spotlight yet still developed a cult following. I mean if he did a second one on Spanky, Heath should absolutely get a closer examination.

[tura]

i'm sure it was more cocaine than alcohol involved in the tragic accident...easy to get some in australia from what i heard

What are you basing that on? Coke is pretty easy to get in australia but still not close to as easy to get as alcohol. Driving drunk is way sketchier than driving fried anyway.

[Julz]

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^^^Heath has an episode or two in the Epicly Later'd Emerica tour serie they did back in '06-'07

[close]

Nah I know, I still watch them all the time haha.

I just mean I think there's a lot more to his story that needs to be told, particularly his life post retirement (check out the We're Really Doing It blog). He was one of the more enigmatic pros who shyed away from the spotlight yet still developed a cult following. I mean if he did a second one on Spanky, Heath should absolutely get a closer examination.

Oh yeah, in that sense it would definitely be interesting, it would also be cool if the guys (or the guy ?) that did the kayak/treking trips with Heath would chime in !

[tura]

Also, I found myself with a lot of questions about Ali and his current situation. They did an excellent job covering his past, but even when his friends talked (besides his ex-wife) they always seemed to be talking in the past tense.

I'm interested in what he's doing now. His ex mentioned he had a job. I'm curious about this - where does someone in their early-mid thirties, no real work experience, serious prior convictions, and an understandably damaged psyche find work? I'm also interested in what a day in his life looks like now, besides the midday count and self-coaching.

I think you might have hit the nail on the head GAY when you suggested skating and intoxication might be too entwined in his mind to have one without the other. Especially since he mentioned the sad thing being not that he can't skate but that he doesn't try - I think a sober solo session at a carpark down the road would be totally alien and difficult to relate to the endless party that it once was.

Cool to see all the love for Ali here. I hope we outnumber all that hate that's out there, all those hateful youtube comments. Mad respect to Ali for pushing through a life that must be so different from any life he's known

[Pretender]

Very poignant episode and probably my favourite of the series so far. It's sad to see Ali now, he seems like a shell of his former self. It's as though he lost the part of his carefree attitude that made him who he was, nonetheless it's still amazing to see he's come through it and found success. Someone told me he was working at a family restaurant/bar but I don't know if that's true anymore. Whatever he's doing I wish him the best in life and hope he can stay sober and find happiness.

[witty pseudonym]

Woah...

[get gnarly]

      This series was so well done. I think the way that it was edited was perfect. Some people have mentioned how explicit it was in terms of the specific details of Ali's drug use and drinking, but I believe that it is super important to emphasize the reality of the story. I go to AA meetings regularly and Ali's descriptions of his thinking during his using, after the crash and after getting sober were more poignant and relatable than anything I've heard within the past year.
      A lot of people saw this as a really sad episode, and I agree that it is tragic, but I think that there is definitely a lot of positivity to be seen in it. Ali had such a gnarly history with drugs and alcohol, and he managed to get and stay sober for over two years. I truly believe this series has the ability to inspire someone struggling with similar problems to get sober. I am so glad I watched this and hope Ali continues feeling better every day.
      To everyone else is this thread who is sober/clean, good shit and keep it up.

[hufs calve muscles]

Well said get gnarly. Props.

[360 frip]

Also, I found myself with a lot of questions about Ali and his current situation. They did an excellent job covering his past, but even when his friends talked (besides his ex-wife) they always seemed to be talking in the past tense.

I'm interested in what he's doing now. His ex mentioned he had a job. I'm curious about this - where does someone in their early-mid thirties, no real work experience, serious prior convictions, and an understandably damaged psyche find work? I'm also interested in what a day in his life looks like now, besides the midday count and self-coaching.

I think you might have hit the nail on the head GAY when you suggested skating and intoxication might be too entwined in his mind to have one without the other. Especially since he mentioned the sad thing being not that he can't skate but that he doesn't try - I think a sober solo session at a carpark down the road would be totally alien and difficult to relate to the endless party that it once was.

Cool to see all the love for Ali here. I hope we outnumber all that hate that's out there, all those hateful youtube comments. Mad respect to Ali for pushing through a life that must be so different from any life he's known

Don't quote me on this, but I think it has more to do with the bone marrow and neural problem he has. I thought this was covered in an interview and is why he can't even walk too easily. I'm sure it must be hard to want to return and battle for a flat ground flip psychologically though too. It kind of just seemed like he wants to move on to different things too...

[KoRnholio8]

I'm interested in what he's doing now. His ex mentioned he had a job. I'm curious about this - where does someone in their early-mid thirties, no real work experience, serious prior convictions, and an understandably damaged psyche find work? I'm also interested in what a day in his life looks like now, besides the midday count and self-coaching.

he mentions opening his dad's restaurant before deciding to go to rehab, so he could be working there still

[jonnysheen]

at some point, Tom Penny's story needs to be recorded somewhere

Probably not going to happen. i remember in one episode O'deil asked Arto Sarri if Penny had mental health problems.

[ben shraider]

That was beautiful. Such a roller coaster life hes lived. I'm stoked hes moving on and living his life. I loved the edit and really like that O dell didn't do the whole " hi welcome to epicly laterd, this episode is about blah blah, i know I've said this before but this skater really is the best skater ever".

Dollin is a person.

How so? Dude didn't say anything stupid in this episode, and has generally seems like a good reasonable person.

[SodaJerk]

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remember when he talked about doing it for the first time and he said he told himself "this is going to be the only time"? it was right at the part where he had that gnarly slam

[close]

I heard "This is not going to be the only time," and that makes more sense because of his personality. Like, he knew there was no way he was only going to 'try' it...

[close]

That's what I heard too. He was diving into the rabbit hole that wasn't filled with rabbits but instead filled with drugs.

I know the "This isn't going to be the only time" feeling so well. Every time I "tried" a different substance I knew that once was too much and a hundred times not enough. Whilst I'd argue that I ever fit into what most people would consider an addict, my impulse control and reckless nature would lead me to repete things where I knew the consequences of my actions were negative. I've been very fortunate not to have suffered in the long term and with the love and support of my wife avoided these situations for nearly nine years now. I still drink and have never had a physical addiction to alcohol but I'd say my drinking is habitual and I'm always considering pulling the trigger on that being my last vice. I'm not sure AA would be suitable for me though as I'd feel like an imposter not having the same level of dependence if imagine most people there are dealing with.

[JB]

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Also, I found myself with a lot of questions about Ali and his current situation. They did an excellent job covering his past, but even when his friends talked (besides his ex-wife) they always seemed to be talking in the past tense.

I'm interested in what he's doing now. His ex mentioned he had a job. I'm curious about this - where does someone in their early-mid thirties, no real work experience, serious prior convictions, and an understandably damaged psyche find work? I'm also interested in what a day in his life looks like now, besides the midday count and self-coaching.

I think you might have hit the nail on the head GAY when you suggested skating and intoxication might be too entwined in his mind to have one without the other. Especially since he mentioned the sad thing being not that he can't skate but that he doesn't try - I think a sober solo session at a carpark down the road would be totally alien and difficult to relate to the endless party that it once was.

Cool to see all the love for Ali here. I hope we outnumber all that hate that's out there, all those hateful youtube comments. Mad respect to Ali for pushing through a life that must be so different from any life he's known

[close]

Don't quote me on this, but I think it has more to do with the bone marrow and neural problem he has. I thought this was covered in an interview and is why he can't even walk too easily. I'm sure it must be hard to want to return and battle for a flat ground flip psychologically though too. It kind of just seemed like he wants to move on to different things too...

i think this is probably the major factor. if you look at his knee when hes sitting down cross legged, it looks totally fucked up. the psychological thing is probably tough to deal with too. im sure he still thinks of shane every time he thinks about skating. try landing a kickflip with that on your mind.


and my bad for missing the "this is not going to be the only time". i watched the whole thing on my phone at the laundry mat.

[breathnaigh]

Kind of cruel to film Dollin in the midday sun like that

[jomeara1]

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Antwuan needs to watch this

that shit was heavy as fuck

id love to see one of Shane Cross and people talking about him with friends and family, hopefully one day.

well done Patrick and Ali

Ali riding a Baker board at the end, do you think they gave him that to ride because of the story and how Baker came from him?

[close]

I'd agree, but there's no way Antwuan still possesses the critical thinking skills to apply this to his life. He'd probably just say "I don't like mopeds, doo doo doo" and go about his day.

[close]

if antwuan cant stop for a minute and think about his current situation (no home of his own, no reliable source of income, no bank account, not even a working phone, pending cases, ect.) and realize that he needs to make some lifestyle changes, hes not going to get anything out of watching this. andrew almost died in a car wreck before he decided to get sober and ali even said that he thought andrew was a fool for making that decision.

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How was Ali able to afford his addiction and party life style for so very long?

[close]

if theres a will, theres a way. especially when it comes to drugs. nobody ever stops doing drugs because they cant afford them anymore. just look at twuan. dude has no sponsors and no job as far as im concerned, but still drinks, smokes and snorts coke regularly.


great episode, pat and everyone who made it happen. its pretty much a miracle that ali was able to wise up and get clean after being in the shape he was. very few people have the kind of strength it takes to beat addiction. my brother has watched people die from overdoses. hes been robbed at gunpoint while buying drugs. had a drug dealer shoot his gun off next to his head after he nodded out in a dope house. been brought back to life a handful of times after ODing and probably lived through a ton of other shit that would make anyone else never touch drugs again and he still chooses to go back to dope over and over again. addiction is no joke. im really thankful for ali for sharing his story.

[close]

Damn dude I am sorry to hear about your brother.� I hope he gets the help he needs.� I can relate to that myself, having family members battling drug and alcohol problems.� It really is no joke.� They lie, steal, and will pretty much do anything to fullfill their addiction.� Unless they do something about it and get help, they will always put that first and everything/ everybody else that they care about second (at least from the people that I have dealt with).� �

[close]

thanks man. i feel like i vent about him way too much on here, but he's my window into addiction and i know it affects a lot more people than just the ones who care to talk about it. i never want to seem like im seeking sympathy or anything like that, but i hope that anyone dealing with their own shit or knows someone who is, might be able to take something away from what i post.

hes doing ok now as far as i know. hes been sort of on a clean streak for the past year and a half now with only two separate relapses. one was some pills he got from someone while out promoting drug awareness with his rehab group (go figure) and the last time was about a month of so ago where he did some dope that was laced with fentanyl and he almost died from that. i love him and everything, but ive seen him hooked up to machines at the hospital enough times to the point where it almost doesnt even bother me any more when shit happens to him. i know if he ever died id be a mess, but after dealing with this stuff for the past 5 or so year, a lot of my compassion has been lost. ive told him that im always there for him if he needs me, but i cant be there to hold his hand every day and make sure he doesnt do anything stupid.

I feel you on that man.  Same exact thing with my cousin who has been constantly in and out of rehabs, overdosing, lying, stealing etc to the point where everyone in the family just feels like there isn't any hope for her and that this addiction is so ingrained into her life now (shes been an addict for 12 years), that she wouldn't know how to be normal anymore.  We all have thought this about her at one point but at the end of the day we have to just keep our hopes up and have faith.  Same goes with your brother, just never give up no matter what (and I know you won't).   

[jomeara1]

I love the fact that he got really into RC and would demand to go to the "Hobby." RC cars are dope. I always wanted a Grasshopper. I want to play with this...

I wanna kick that thing lol...its like a soccer ball!

[ADOLF SHITLER]

tbh im surprised he could even hold it together that well if he was smoking rock like that

[beazlocal]

Great series, be well Ali

[GAY]

tbh im surprised he could even hold it together that well if he was smoking rock like that

Speed is one of those things that allows a person appear to hold it together until the wheels fall off and then it's a huge disaster.

[Nick]

really heavy to see Dustin Dollin sipping a beer during the episodes 

[ohhgreenworld]

really heavy to see Dustin Dollin sipping a beer during the episodes 

It's definitely in bad taste..

But then again, it's hard for the interviewee to understand the tone of which the documentary will be made. Yes, it was about ali whose life is obviously traumatic, but there have been more lighthearted documentaries about such topics. Ive also noticed (and someone mentioned it above) that alot of these interviews have been used in other productions, like that aussie filmer that also talked about chima in his EP.

My thinking is that PO casually asked dollin to get a drink/food and talk about a variety of things, chima, ali, ect... However, if this was the case, you think that Patrick would inform Dustin of the more dramatic tone he was aspiring towards with Ali's episode...

Note that Patrick extends the shot of Dustin taken a swig, definitely a filmmaker's metaphor that some people will never learn.

I just hope Dustin dosent follow the same route that so many of his friends have become victim to

[abudabi]

i wouldnt say it's in bad taste. everyone knows dollin still drinks, him intentionally not drinking during 1 interview would just be superficial bullshit.

[pinch a loaf]

Dollin doesn't exactly know how to be respectful in interviews, like this one, where he pretty much insults the hosts and their jobs