ESPN Skateboarding

"It looks like Normandy back there!" the cop said as he smashed his hand on the locked, metal screen door of the L.E. apartment. "Let me inside the house right now!"
Shirtless and smug, Angel Ramirez replied, "It wasn't us."
"Your house is permeating with firework and marijuana smoke. You guys have been stewing in it for so long you can't even tell." The cop punctuated his statement by jamming his finger into the screen.
Angel threw up his hands in exasperation. "Well, it's not us," he said.
Out of anyone at the house, Angel was the best to answer the door to the officer investigating a fireworks-induced noise complaint. It's not that Angel was the most sober (because that he was not), rather this 5'5 smart alec had complete control of the situation—the upper hand—and the cop was furious.
"Is there a real man in there? Or just some sugar-cream puff, candy a**,momma's boys!?" The cop yelled, poking the screen again.
Angel seemed to grow eight feet tall, standing there before the cop, laughing in his face. The whole group had remained silent up to this point, but when we saw the cop couldn't do a thing, couldn't by law enter the house without permission, Angel became our fearless leader and we laughed with him.
Neen Williams walked in from the kitchen with a plate of steak-hot off the grill, sauced to perfection and cut into bite sized pieces for everyone to share. In a move of desperation, the cop turned to insults. Unable to break Angel, his un-phaseable opponent, Neen became his target. "Hey bro, nice hair," he said, "I and I. Fight the man! Rise up against mowing my dad's lawn!"
Neen set the plate on the table, took a piece and ate it. He swallowed, didn't even look up at the cop, and said to the room at large, "The steak is done. Help yourselves."
This little scene sums up Neen perfectly. He can't be bothered with nonsense. He is contemplative and determined. His mind is set on skateboarding. Nothing or no one can distract him. Neen let Angel handle shooing the cop away, shutting the door behind him as he left and rejoined the group for his 3 a.m. steak snack.
Of the roommates that inhabit the L.E. Apartments—Nick Trapasso, David Reyes, Montay, Pat "The Sinner" Pasquale—and all of the regulars, Neen is the Master Splinter and the Ninja Turtles rolled into one. He has a sage's stature, the inquisitive mind of a scientist, the eye of an artist, and the palate of a chef. He is also the mischievous party dude, a trait well masked by his calm demeanor. After all, it was Neen who started the firework fight that night. —Griffin Collins

In your house, no one would care if you slept for a week. Why do you get up everyday?
I get up to live, to see what life has in store, and to get a little bit of skating in.

You have a lot of people coming through your place, who actually lives there? And who are the regulars?
Nick Trapasso, Monte, David Reyes, Nay Nay and I live there. Sinner lives on the couch. As far as the regulars, you got Angel, Tony Silva, Matt Bennett Griffindor (Griffin Collins), JuJu--so many. And, can't forget about those ladies too.

You share a room with David Reyes, how is that?
Awesome.

Your place reminds me of the old Warner Ave. house. It is so refreshing to see a chaotic skate house, filled with so much talent. Are there any plans to do a group project with the whole house?
Fo' sho. Hell yeah! There are talks and ideas of making a video. We have some footage and want it to come out soon, but there is still more we got to get. It is the L.E., just all the madness. Something new that you may or may not like. But, it is what it is. No team, only the homies.

Who is making L.E.?
Everyone that is in it will be involved in making it. We all have a say.

I know you have plans and have to be somewhere, so what are you getting into later tonight?
I am supposed to go back to the house and tattoo up some homies [A transvestite walks under the balcony where we are talking].

Hey, is that a transvestite?
Yes. That is a dude my man...But yeah, I got two tattoos to do when I get back, but after that, I am going to skate North Long Beach park with Matt Bennett.

Who are you tattooing?
Nick and Tony Silva. Nick's is all ready to go. I still got to draw Tony's out though.

You tattooed Antwuan Dixon. What did he get?
Antwuan's the homie. I have so much respect for him. He came over with Sinner and said he wanted a solid black weed leaf somewhere on his face.

Where did it end up?
Well, we sat around fighting, Sinner, Antwuan, and myself, about where it should go. Sinner is Mr. Critical. If you have a question, Sin is the man to go to. He is so analytical. It ended up under Antwuan's eye. I've never done a face tattoo. I've really only done them on a handful of homies. It was gnarly. I knew that would hurt so bad and I don't want to inflict that kind of pain on a homie, you know? They ended up talking me into it. Actually, I got to get back and pick up supplies for tonight.

Do you want to say anything more?
Thanks to all the homies. All the boys and girls. Thanks to all my sponsors. Thank you Grif for the coffee, my family. L.E. is coming soon...