TheGoodLife! Presents: Burton Snowboards Apre in May 2013
When we’re in the mountains, the snow gods seem to follow us wherever we go. As it turns out, when we bring the mountains to the city, the sun gods seem to follow us as well. That was the case again this year as we celebrated snowboarding in Spring at our second Burton Snowboards “Apres in May” at Milk Studios Penthouse. As a packed rooftop of our closest friends and fam sipped Sailor Jerry and Reyka cocktails and ice cold PBR between booze infused ice cream cones and jello shots, DJ’s Jasmine Solano and Queen Majesty took it from poolside island vibes to all out dance party while the sun had it’s most brilliant set of the year. Burton pro riders Danny Davis, Mikkel Bang, Mark Sollors, and Kelly Clark kicked it with friends like Danny Kass, Ricky Powell, Roofeeo, Toni Garrn, Mel D Cole, Ian and Aku of Santigold, Amy Gunther, and of course Jake Burton himself at what has become NYC’s official summertime kickoff party. Relive the epic night in pictures from Jake Breinholt after the jump.
The calm before the storm: Mikkel, Mark, Kelly and the Burton crew are ready.
Snacks were plentiful – from Bavarian Pretzels…
To the Spuds Bar and Chili Station.
Then on to the sweets.
Boozy Ice Cream anyone?
You can’t beat an old fashioned cone.
Sadaf behind the fully stocked Sailor Jerry and Reyka bar.
And then it began.
Jake and Donna in the house.
Jasmine Solano and Queen Majesty are selector royalty.
Aku and Desiree of Santigold were all smiles.
Toni Garrn looking angelic.
Raise it up!
Burton sighting.
Lollipop hypnosis.
And then it happened. The most beautiful. Sunset. Ever.
Again.
And Again.
As the night slid in, Jasmine took it up a notch.
While we gave the sun one last goodbye.
Obviously, Craig is the man.
The deck stayed crackin!
Feeling it.
Recent collaborators Ryan Keely and Ricky Powell.
Ladies Love Cool Jake.
We could’ve gone til dawn! See you next year!
We’d like to welcome our newest columnist: actor, model, snowboarder and woman of the world 
In July 2010, I traveled to Cambodia with fellow journey woman and homie, Jauretsi Saizarbitoria as guests of the anti-poverty humanitarian organization OXFAM . As one of their Sisters on the Planet ambassadors, I signed on to help bring awareness to the effects of climate change as it relates to poor communities, especially poor women.
In Cambodia and in poor communities all over the world, people are feeling the effects of climate change right now. These are people who have had the least to do with the destruction of our planet, yet are suffering the most. When your livelihood depends on agriculture, extreme changes in weather can have devastating effects. It’s a matter of life or death, feast or famine. Increased drought and flooding leads to loss of crops and income, increased hunger and food scarcity, mosquito-borne diseases. And in Cambodia, a majority of the population makes their living through agriculture, that means the majority of its citizens are vulnerable.
OXFAM partners with local organizations on everything from sustainable farming methods to community based savings programs. The success of such programs depends on the involvement of the women of each community as they, like women all over the world, are the glue that keeps the community together. They hold it down but are often left out of the discussion when it comes to policy making and are the ones most unprepared when disaster strikes. It is by engaging and empowering them that real change can occur as women are vital to the health and prosperity of a country and its people. No disrespect to the men of the world.
Armed with our cameras and an arsenal of bug repellant, Jauretsi and I arrived ready to get “hands-on and knee deep”, as our itinerary stated. And so we did. In only 5 days, we covered a lot of ground from Phnom Penh to Siam Reap. Our trip was jammed packed with field visits and bumpy van rides through the beautiful Cambodian countryside; fresh coconut and ice cold Tiger beer; hot hot heat and ancient ruins.
We met people making due with what little they had and striving for better. People who greeted us with warm smiles and even warmer hearts. People emerging from a painful past with hope for the future. It still blows my mind that it all went down in five days. I wish I could have stayed longer. I know I will return again.
Coming soon on my blog 
In honor of the international day of herbal peace-keeping also known as 4/20, TheGoodLife! has unleashed the eccentric musical geniuses of Ricky Powell and DJ Smoke L.E.S. for Professor Puffington’s Lost & Found Loose Joints…Deluxe Edition Mixtape. The 5th installment of a continuing collaborative mixtape series, PPL&FLJ…DEM clocks in at an appropriate four hours and twenty minutes and spans the sonic continuum from Sylvia Striplin to Lee Morgan to ODB. As DJ Smoke puts it “TheGoodLife!, Professor Puffington and myself chipped in to roll the fattest doobie of a mixtape and then Cheech & Chong, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and George Carlin sprinkled in some hash” and the perfect 4/20 mixtape was born.
