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Tracing Skylines. A difficult review

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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5955 - Karma: 3,455
I just watched Tracing Skylines the other day and I felt the need to write a review. Not to critique the skiing per se but to comment on the filler and attitude of the movie.

Sean Petit should not be an actor. His skiing is sick but what editor decided that we needed to listen to him hog the stage and make lame jokes in various forced environments. It is not funny at all. That leads me to the Kids. What is up with these highly contrived, empty parties set up by sponsors with a few dudes jumping at any chance to look like they are having the time of their lives in front of the camera. For fuck sakes, that is just so awkward to watch. You want a party scene? Let Cosco have a segment. Take a note from SKIDS, not just their name. The phone skit? mid-2000s MSP called and they want their screen writer back.

Then there was JP, Julien, Plake and Seth. In the Haute Route of all places. Why was there more talk about a truck full of guys in ski masks in Detroit (another film crew obviously) then there was about these legends on a legendary traverse and the implications of skiing lines while doing it. Holy legit batman. It's unfortunate the filming wasn't top notch during that segment but at least give the situation credit.

Detroit. Do people not feel embarrassed by this segment? Great skiing, creative location, huge effort on those builds. props. Just show that shit. What I don't need is a thug life documentary of slow motion shovel carrying baggy pant pans. Hard beats and balaclavas. I'm not shitting on the hip hop influence. I like baggy shit too. Just remember, it is an influence, not your life. Do you guys actually act like this on a day to day basis? Why act for the camera.

Great skiing to all the athletes. PBP, that was an embarrassing movie. I feel ashamed saying that. 16 year olds flame on.
Sep 24 2013 12:24PM
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MothaHucker
Posts: 4678 - Karma: 2,589
Well I liked it
Sep 24 2013 12:30PM
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Turkelton
Posts: 2829 - Karma: 8,558
I saw you in a ton of ski films dude.
Sep 24 2013 12:30PM
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5955 - Karma: 3,455
No you didn't actually. What's your point? I am critiquing the movie. Actors don't critique, viewers and critics do. Anything else to say?
Sep 24 2013 12:32PM
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papermache
Posts: 1096 - Karma: 616
reviews tab?
Sep 24 2013 12:33PM
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STAUSS
Posts: 8232 - Karma: 3,311
for fucks sake, someone give cosco a seg!!
Sep 24 2013 12:34PM
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joshua
Posts: 5046 - Karma: 1,280
I agree with the party scenes. The phone one was kind of funny IMO, but the pool party one at the end was just weird. The movie could have used a bit more action and rider-based segments IMO. I was bored like 2 minutes into the movie with all that Mexico stuff.
Sep 24 2013 1:02PM
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Hodor
Posts: 503 - Karma: 2,578
I loved the skiing in the Detroit segment but the way they portrayed the city really distasteful. They made it seem like going into Detroit was like walking into the front lines of a battle or something. They also portrayed the city and its people as completely hopeless and downtrodden. How would you feel if some film crew came to your city and made it appear to be a total piece of shit. I am not saying that Detroit is a beautiful perfect place but there is a certain responsibility of filmmakers to be ethical in their representation of a place they film.
Also the whole ski mask in the car thing was fucking stupid. These skiers dress like thugs and try to act like thugs and freak when they see a car!!!! Kind of seemed like pussies. The most messed up thing is that afterwards, they just went back to the suburbs (where most of these skiers are probably from) and talked about how much safer they felt.
Sep 24 2013 1:08PM
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griz_lee
Posts: 483 - Karma: 647
personally knowing most of the people on the detroit trip and hearing their stories first hand I can 100% say they were incredibly terrified. Run ins with meth labs, vagrants, and local thugs are no joke. When ever they ran into the police they were surprised they hadnt been robbed or shot yet. Im not saying I know what Detroit is like but the Tracing Skyline segment was a mild version to what they actually experienced.
Sep 24 2013 1:36PM
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Coityy
Posts: 166 - Karma: 426
seriously during the detroit seg i said to my friend i feel embarrassed for them, they looked so fucking dumb, probably should have stayed in suburban schools instead of old heroin dens
Sep 24 2013 1:55PM
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ALaw
Posts: 2616 - Karma: 1,552
yeah, if you actually talked to the people on the trip you'd know how sketchy it actually was...
Sep 24 2013 2:16PM
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SteezoSaurus
Posts: 2630 - Karma: 2,670
I couldn't agree more. The shitting staged scenes were fucking retarded. I paid money to see Sean Pettit ski, not try to be an actor.

On a more positive note Josh Stack and Joe Schuster fucking killed it!! Definitely have more respect for those doods after seeing this movie.
Sep 24 2013 2:27PM
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Kretzschmar
Posts: 6691 - Karma: 97,873
well that's because it kind of is a piece of shit. the city is essentially run by the government, they had the highest rate of homicide per 100,000 people in 2012, along with ruins and buildings collapsed everywhere.

I'm not trying to make this a political argument by any means, I'm just pointing out some facts that kind of show that it is a piece of shit.

Sep 24 2013 2:34PM
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ski0
Posts: 2321 - Karma: 5,370
I agree that they portrayed detroit poorly but some of those areas did look sketch , and they did have a ton of expensive gear on them, I dont blame them for being scared. But now they just look like pussies.
Sep 24 2013 2:44PM
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t_rob
Posts: 6433 - Karma: 11,458
I was on that trip. I usually like to steer clear of movie related talk because I worked on the movie but...

The skimask incident was no joke.

The whole string of events unfolded over 2.5 hours and at one point two trucks tried to box in the car I was in. It wasn't OMG we're getting rolled up on, let's run away as fast as we can. There were a few minutes that morning where all I can remember thinking is this is not how I'm going to die. I have no issue admitting that and I feel insulted when people question the validity of the incident.

I'm not willing to go into the full details of the incident with NS but I will tell you that we have a good idea that the building was under 24-hour surveillance, the ski-masked guys were the 3rd line of defense, and what was going on in the building.

We pieced that together after talking about the incident and talking to the streets. We knew none of that at the time. Our mindset when the "assistant to the property owner" was talking to us was this is sketchy so we're going to leave now. Our mindset after the ski-masked guys rolled up was to get out alive.

Those guys weren't street the thugs that flash gang signs for cameras. That was calculated organized crime at its finest.
Sep 24 2013 2:44PM
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J.D.
Posts: 21362 - Karma: 5,141

That's super disappointing to read, Brian... I haven't seen the movie yet, so obviously I can't comment, but having hear that the general level of ski flicks this year was generally cause for people to be proud of the sport I would have hoped that PBP of all companies would partake. They're usually right at the front of the pack when we have a good across-the-board year for ski movies.

Sep 24 2013 2:47PM
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Turkelton
Posts: 2829 - Karma: 8,558
Holy. Sounds so crazy
Sep 24 2013 2:52PM
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Hodor
Posts: 503 - Karma: 2,578
Ok, I stand corrected, I won't argue with that because that does sound pretty damn sketchy. I guess it just didn't come through as much when I first watched the film. Btw congrats on making an awesome segment. You could really tell how much work you guys put in. Filming, features, and skiing were top notch
Sep 24 2013 2:56PM
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skiierman
Posts: 28699 - Karma: -5,563
What goes on in your n00b skull?

"Oh man, they're really making Detroit look like shit and so sketch... I've never been there but I once heard from someone a while ago that it's like not totally bad at all. They must be from some safe suburbs like I am. Gawd they look like idiots!"

Sep 24 2013 3:13PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10434 - Karma: 9,753
I talked with Karl quite a bit after the trip happened. It was far sketchier than what the movie showed. But the movie was about skiing, not showing you all the sketchy stuff that happened.

As for skiing in Detroit, I think it was cool to see people go after it as hard as they did in a place so unique and foreign to skiing. The skiing was sick, the filming well done, and it was different than anything I've ever seen. I don't know why people would have issues with it.

Also, its not like it is the first movie where you had lifestyle shots of the skier's just walking around. That's in every movie. I watched for the skiing, which was sick. That's all that mattered to me.
Sep 24 2013 3:30PM
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5955 - Karma: 3,455
And that is totally legit. It is unfortunate that is wasn't portrayed as so in the movie. I think a great story line would be, hey we are middle class people that enjoy skiing and have been influenced by popular cultures take on hip hop. We came to Detroit because the contrast would make for a great segment. What we really saw was mind opening and terrifying. Things can be far more different than you can imagine.

Instead we got a segment that glorified thug life without any humility to their real situation. Then they got scared. Then they kept romanticizing thug life. There could have been such good story.

Iggy, the slow mo swagger walk is not new. I agree. It has been overdone and is totally unnecessary. What are they trying to accomplish with that shot? They are hard? How about smiles? Skiing is fun. Or something potraying the technical difficulties of the builds (which they did in part.) And every urban segment doesn't need dope beats, yo.

I too watched it for the skiing. Not shitty acting. So cut that crap out.

Stack killed it. He's a goofy motherfucker and he didn't even act like a goof in the movie. Just straight goods.
Sep 24 2013 3:59PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10434 - Karma: 9,753
I guess I would just add that maybe we see it through a different light because ON3P sponsors both Karl and the PBP movie and I know a lot more about the trip than what was conveyed in the segment.

It was an extremely difficult trip. Karl was there for an entire month filming. Super physical, lots of sketchy situations they really shouldn't have been in, tons of building for each features...I think, for me, what is cool about the segment is knowing how much work went into it and coming out seeing a sick final product. Maybe the segment just didn't do enough to convey that.

As for the thug life aspect, I didn't really get that feeling, but again, that is just my take. I will watch it again and see if I think of it different. To me, it seemed like a bunch of skiers out of their element, put into some situations they were not comfortable in, but deciding they were there to do a job and to tough it out to get the shots they needed. I can tell you, from talking with Karl, there was no thug life attitudes anywhere around. It was incredibly safety conscious and the scenes where they are concerned for their safety are real.

It is a bummer that some people weren't totally stoked on the segment, but that is your opinion and I totally respect that. I'm just trying to shed some light on how much hard work went into making that segment and what my take was, knowing a bit more about situations they found themselves in.

As for the slow mo swagger walk (as you so aptly put it), I make skis, not movies, so it really isn't my place to comment.
Sep 24 2013 4:20PM
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griz_lee
Posts: 483 - Karma: 647
Did you watch the same segment that i did? I will give you the slowmo walk is kinda played, but it gave a perspective of what the environment is like. What was this comment about the dope beats? there was one song out of 3 that used a pretty good local detroit rapper. And the other two were awesome 70s rock songs from detroit mo town legend Jonny Thunder! how could it get any better than that? for the most part I felt that the segment had a positive vibe. The experienced a lot of gnarly shit and came out stoked!
Sep 24 2013 4:28PM
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CKpolicy
Posts: 2587 - Karma: 2,463
I'm picking up what you are laying down, but how would one take that approach? You can just come out and say that, but that lacks creativity. You could try to play up their discomfort in the situation, but that seems hard to read, and paints your athlete in a somewhat negative light. As for the music, that needs to be assumed, there is no point in addressing that directly. Music is there to set a mood of a segment, not to define the socio-economic status of the rider in it.

Is anyone really romanticizing thug life at this point? I mean really think about what "thug life" is. What is the point of going to detroit if you are going to ignore all the defining aspects of the city? The city is in disrepair, the inhabitants of the city generally have adopted much of urban culture, the segment is going to have a different feel than Warren Millers take on Jackson Hole in 1984.
Sep 24 2013 4:29PM
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UncleGerry
Posts: 1291 - Karma: 1,377
I haven't even seen the movie but I can tell that you probably hit the nail on the head with this review. Sean Pettit really is just annoying as shit and not funny. He should be one of those guys who just has a "let my skiing do the talking" segment in movies. His segments used to ruin MSP movies with all his silly stupid bullshit.

Also, I can only imagine how retardedly "gangsta" the Detroit segment was.Not to mention that Karl Fostvedt is probably the furthest thing from being a thug. Kid is lucky he didn't get gang raped and shot.
Sep 24 2013 5:08PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10434 - Karma: 9,753
you were saying?
Sep 24 2013 5:30PM
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Hewbird
Posts: 151 - Karma: 174
This, saw the review before the movie-don't really get it. I get how you can say they looked like pussies but you can't portray the exact situation through a film.
Sep 24 2013 5:44PM
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Holte
Posts: 10730 - Karma: 7,744
Maybe I'd just had a few more beers than you guys when I watched it, but until I see it again I'm standing by my statement that it's the best Poorboyz movie since EDIAS. It was a little cheeseball at certain points, but such a nice break from the 4-minute single rider format. And it's not like it was trying to be Into the Mind. PBP stepped up their game in editing, cinematography, music, graphics and flow.
Sep 24 2013 5:52PM
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danbrown
Posts: 11932 - Karma: 21,775
oh so you know him?
Sep 24 2013 5:54PM
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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
this is the only part of this that i agree with. the beach scene in mexico got old fast, and the random parties were pointless. and the phone call was painful to watch.

ill agree that the skiing and the layout was the best that its been in a while, although it was missing a few segments that i normally enjoy (durtschi, dane, etc), it was a step in the right direction. if they had cut out the corny parting (i even kinda liked the stevens one but i may be jaded because thats my home mountain) and the phone call it wouldve been better
Sep 24 2013 6:14PM
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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
also inb4 this post is downrated
Sep 24 2013 6:14PM
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UncleGerry
Posts: 1291 - Karma: 1,377
Oh damn dude you know what? You're right. He's from Ketchum, Idaho. So fucking ghetto! And upon a google search, I saw that he got arrested once for being drunk and getting caught with weed after running from the cops. I keep forgetting, ski bro is the new thug. I'm sorry. What the fuck is wrong with you people, this site sucks.
Sep 24 2013 6:19PM
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SFB
Posts: 8895 - Karma: 26,346
then leave
Sep 24 2013 7:08PM
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shredwards
Posts: 417 - Karma: 68
wait so you all want to to pretend to be thugs and immitate black culture but when it comes to a real life urban scenario you DONT want to see it in a movie. I think it was probably a life-changing experience for some of these pussy white skiers to walk around the inner city and experience a new type of adrenaline and fear. Not saying i wanted them to get shot, just the irony was not lost on me. Plus they did a lot of creative things with some sketchy situations/resources. props
Sep 24 2013 7:25PM
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Tree60
Posts: 1438 - Karma: 4,961
Get your fucking head out of your ass. Skiing "thug" doesn't try to emulate black culture anymore, save maybe the first drop guys. We're past the days of Tanner Hall poppin his bottlez on twerking girls. I want you to go around any type of real urban gangster culture and find somebody wearing a 3XL tall tee with a picture of a fucking lion on it. Go find a thug wearing 4 different tall tees mimicking the color of the rainbow. Just because people wear stuff that is big for them doesn't mean they went to go through the streets of compton selling crack. Skiers don't emulate thug culture, they emulate SKIING culture. In fact, the initial tall tee wearing didn't even come from "thug" culture, it came from snowboarding, which came from skateboarding, which had some people that actually lived that life. Karl fostveidt in no way thinks hes a thug, along with everyone else on that trip. The irony you mentioned only exists in your dumb little head, for whatever dumb reason you have.

tl;dr:
Im getting really tired of people thinking that skiers are trying to be hood-rats. Nobody wants to go sell coke and get murdered because of it. The only similarities are baggy clothes and some people listen to rap. Both skiing culture and "Ghetto" culture are much deeper than that.
Sep 24 2013 7:37PM
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J_BISCHOF
Posts: 2082 - Karma: 1,449
im pretty sure that definition is on like, the wikipedia page for detroit. It's not a big surprise that it's true. The city honestly looks like hiroshima after the bomb.
Sep 24 2013 7:40PM
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p.hemingway
Posts: 108 - Karma: 18
"Obviously another film crew"?! Your an idiot!!!
Sep 24 2013 7:47PM
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5955 - Karma: 3,455
Scott, Your first two paragraphs, I agree with wholeheartedly. I want to feel the same way after that segment as someone who knows what actually went down. I feel that is the responsibility of the ski segment. That is, unless they are just making ski porn. Obviously they weren't. I think there was a hell of a story to go with the sick skiing.

I am not trying to shit on Fostvedt. I think these issues are all coming to storyboard/cinematography/editing. Someone can be hiking a rail with a balaclava on having fun or showing strain from a session or the urban scene can kick in with some heavy rap, an overplayed pan of baggy pants and some melodramatic editing. I am not saying Karl is a try hard thug wangster. As a side note, I think it's dope that the song was from Detroit.

I will watch it again as well and see if some of my opinions weren't just knee jerk reactions to one or two overplayed scenes/editing styles that skewed my perception of the rest of the movie.
Sep 24 2013 8:07PM
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5955 - Karma: 3,455
Despite not seeing the movie, you know the truth. This is the most important part of my original post though. Please stop this lame shit.
Sep 24 2013 8:11PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10434 - Karma: 9,753
No worries. I totally understand where you are coming from and if the storyboard/editing didn't work for you, that is totally fine. If you didn't like the movie, I'm in no place to tell you what you should or shouldn't like. Its your opinion, so I think it was good that you put this stuff out there.

My aim was just to add some context to the discussion.

For the record, I have yet to sit down and watch it start to finish. We've just been really really swamped building skis and I haven't seen Petit's section yet so I cannot comment on anything there. Only seen the intro, Detroit, and Steven's Pass segments. Hopefully I will get to sit down and watch it start to finish sometime this week.
Sep 24 2013 8:19PM
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danbrown
Posts: 11932 - Karma: 21,775
ahaha look up the definition of the word thug for me. urban dictionary or websters, whichever you please. then highlight the part where it says thugs walk around in slow motion carrying snowshovels wearing baggy snowpants and balaclavas
Sep 24 2013 8:21PM
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5955 - Karma: 3,455
A good conversation is always nice, and yes, it is just my opinion. Don't worry about the rest of the film and keep pumping out sweet skis to slay pow on.
Sep 24 2013 8:23PM
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Bittner
Posts: 3675 - Karma: 1,573
And the dumbest member of the month award goes to.....^
Sep 24 2013 8:27PM
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j-bo
Posts: 347 - Karma: 329
Cosco is a Kid....................... Whoops
Sep 24 2013 8:31PM
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Kretzschmar
Posts: 6691 - Karma: 97,873
well according to many polls it is the "Saddest City in America" or at least in the top 5 in many of the polls i checked.


#2 here in 2011

Sep 24 2013 9:25PM
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coreyroy
Posts: 144 - Karma: 180
the icing on the butthurt provoking cake haha people need to understand this is your opinion, they are acting like this was published in freeskier
Sep 24 2013 10:37PM
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 5955 - Karma: 3,455
no shit sherlock? Did we have a chug life style segment? no.
Sep 24 2013 10:43PM
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JAHrig
Posts: 738 - Karma: 2,649
Karl is a straight stone cold killer thug. More like its lucky he didn't shoot or rape anyone.

On a serious note, I thought the Detroit segment came out sick and as others have already said if you hear any first hand experiences on the trip it definitely did not sound like a cake walk. I think the segment was very well done, probably the best in the film. I kind of agree with the party scenes but I think overall Pbp did a good job putting out something different then their last few films.
Sep 24 2013 10:46PM
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Gr0mo
Posts: 707 - Karma: 3,663
Anyone saying they were playing up detroit to be worse then it is has no idea what Detroit is like. I'ts one of the most dangerous cities in america. I spent time in some pretty rough areas and I can tell you a group of white kids with ski gear would get robbed in about 10 minutes. It's honestly amazing they didn't get mugged.
Sep 24 2013 10:47PM
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pikupfulofsnow
Posts: 2077 - Karma: 9,696
I was in Detroit for a couple days working with PBP for this segment.
As soon as we entered the areas to build/shoot i told Cody if someone tries to attack us without a gun I'm going to hit them with a hammer.
Whoever says this place isn't ghetto hasn't been to Detroit. I shot in Compton with RAGE for Booter Crunk and Compton is Aspen compared to Detroit. Hemlock you are a hater fool! You wouldn't last one day on my program in Detroit, you'd be the pussy bitch running for your life.
Sep 25 2013 12:13AM
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Mkvackay
Posts: 1903 - Karma: 5,460
haha i grew up in lake county, il...
Sep 25 2013 12:16AM
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