RVCA HQ

One of the first things I had planned on our agenda the day after we flew in from Hawaii was to pay a visit to our friend Pat Tenore and Eric Thomas over at RVCA. Unfortunately both were in Europe on business and weren't scheduled to be back until later that day. Fortunately Chili was kind enough to take some time to show us around. RVCA was currently in the middle of moving their warehouse out the HQ and major renovations were under way. From the sounds of it the plan was to have this place be a major inspirational facility for everyone who works in the building as well as visitors who regularly walk through RVCA's doors.

RVCA x Cinelli seriously who doesn't Pat know?

A piece of Tim Hendrick's custom tattoo gun on display.

The legendary Herbie Fletcher's artwork on display. It's pretty amazing to think of what a big impact Herbie has left on surfing let alone how much his entire family has impacted surfing / skateboarding / watermen / art. 

This is what I wanted to see! I'd been here a couple years back when RVCA first moved into this space. The set up is a lot different from what I can remember. This is Pat Tenore's personal gym that is reserved for him and his friends. It's like having your own skatepark (which they do)! The RVCA Gym has become pretty popular place with it's signature white color theme and RETNA artwork gracing the background of the ring. As far as I know, Pat and RVCA were the first and probably the only company in the surf / skate / art industry to have such a venue. Not so surprising when coming from the mind of Pat Tenore!

 While we were checking out the RVCA Gym I noticed that Michael Bisping was rolling! I'd seen a bunch of his fights as well as some photos of him working out at RVCA but to see him in person was pretty cool. I'm not sure if this is what Pat envisioned when he built this gym but with the amount of world class athletes that come thru here, he's definitely done something pretty special. I'm sure that BJ Penn also has something to do with the popularity the RVCA Gym has gained thru the years.

Got to meet BJ Penn's boxing coach the one and only Jason Parillo. During our visit Parillo was busy giving a one on one with one of his clients but was kind enough to take the time out to snap a photo. He even offered a little training session if I came back later that day. Unfortunately we were on a tight schedule and I wasn't able to take him up on his kind offer. What an honor and privilege to meet Jason in person!

Mr Cartoon's 1939 Chevy Master Deluxe

Big Mahalo to Chili for the tour of the RVCA HQ and for all the aloha!