Paine's World

Franklin Paines Skatepark Fund was given access to the Urban Outfitters Head Quarters within the Naval Yard in Philadelphia, for a massive party. The event was designed to raise money and awareness for the Paines Park Project by bringing people into the large facility for a night of fun. Buses were sent throughout Philadelphia to escort guests to the private facility. Inside the party, DJ's and musicians performed, skaters from the Nocturnal team and professional rider, Kevin Taylor, skated a half-pipe provided by Red Bull, and people played inside the Box n' Bounce before heading onto the dance floor. VentilationX helped the event go smoothly by managing the front gate, hosting the Box n' Bounce, and holding down the dance-floor while documenting the party. After a long night of partying, we collected as much untouched food as possible because we were preparing to leave for our cross-country tour, "Hop, Drop, & Roll," in two days, and we knew we would need the sustenance.

FAVES at Jinxed Gallery

Freight train graffiti artist, FAVES, of NETWORK, WH, & FS, recently exhibited his work at Jinxed Clothing Company in South Philadelphia. He shared a show with artist, Ryan Beck, who studied at Temple University and is known in the Philadelphia skateboarding scene. FAVES, a native Philadelphian who grew up in New York City during the subway art era, took his art to the freight train scene. Known for his 'flying boxcar' moniker, colorful pieces, and outrageous photo collection of freight art, FAVES' canvas work successfully recreates the side of a freight car complete with a 'flying boxcar' streak. The opening night of the month long exhibit was a party that attracted legendary graffiti writers from all over the East Coast and skateboarders from Nocturnal, including professional rider, Kerry Getz. VentilationX attended the gallery event to support FAVES, whose work was featured in our first video, X.Y.Z.. The team also networked with various skateboarders and graffiti artists at the event, promoting the company and its interests.

Sundance 2008

The 2008 Sundance Film Festival was the second team-wide appearance in Park City, Utah. The team met manager/producer, Andre Robert Lee, at the Salt Lake City airport after a long flight from Philadelphia. We drove from Salt Lake to our rented space in the heart of Park City. Our agenda for the festival was to promote the eminent release of, X.Y.Z., to network with other filmmakers, and spend some time developing the snowboard section of the team on the slopes to insure a future for VentilationX in winter sports. VentilationX attended film screenings, panel discussions, and music concerts, in both Park City and Salt Lake during the festival. Outside of the massive parties, the team spent a great deal of time with Andre Lee, meeting with industry professionals. The festival provides a fun environment to work, but play even harder. VentilationX continues to utilize the festival to develop a nation-wide fan base of people directly related to entertainment media who can help promote the movement.

The 50 MC Battle

The 50 MC Battle in Philadelphia was a several week competition that was hosted by The Arts Garage. Contestants freestyle battle rapped to the final round in search of Philadelphia's best unsigned MC. The judging panel for the final round consisted of Mike Trampe of HipHopDX.com, DJ BedTyme 357 (Remy Ma's Official DJ), and J. Hatch of Inasirkil Music Group. DJ No Phrillz spun records and kept the event going late into the night. VentilationX attended the event to document the battle. We networked with various people from the music industry and got to see performances by East Coast artists like Sic Osyrus and Reef The Lost Cause. After a long night of battling, a winner was chosen and the event came to a close.

Don't Play Boys

VentilationX directed, produced, shot, and edited the first music video for recording artist, Nemesis. Nemesis contributed songs to VentilationX's first movie, X.Y.Z., which began a business relationship between the two parties. When Nemesis decided to make a music video for one of the tracks he permitted VentilationX to use, he naturally approached the team to put it all together. The song, "Don't Play Boys", wrestles with issues that the rapper faced on the streets of Palm Beach, Florida. The video portrays the internal struggle between staying true to his gangster past while embracing a business dedicated future. The video portrays a diverse group of individuals from different walks of life, ushering in the new generation of hip-hop culture. The video was released under H2E Records, a Philadelphia group which has since broken up. Since the videos release, Nemesis has been working with VentilationX to form a section of the company devoted to music. Once negotiations are finished, Nemesis plans to be the first artist to sign with VentilationX, LLC.

The New Yorker Festival

The New Yorker hosts an annual festival in Manhattan. This year, David Belle, the creator of parkour, was brought to New York from France to talk about and demonstrate the movement he developed. The author of the article, along with a translator, interviewed him in front of a large gathering before exhibiting his skills alongside fellow traceurs (people who practice the art of parkour). VentilationX attended the event to network with others traceurs, document the occasion, and meet David Belle. After the interview and group demonstration, we approached David Belle and spoke with him briefly through an interpreter. The New Yorker Festival was an extremely worthwhile experience for the team; we got to meet the leader of a movement and a community to which we belong, while promoting our efforts to a new group of people.

Campus Philly

College Day on the Parkway is an annual event hosted by Campus Philly, an organization devoted to motivating college students to stay in Philadelphia to live and work. The event brings students together with different companies for free access to the cities museums and a public concert. Artists like Talib Kweli, Armor For Sleep, and The Cool Kids have performed at past events. Skateboarders and SuperCross Riders schedule regular demonstrations, setting-up ramps and obstacles for different tricks.The Franklin Paine Skatepark Fund has participated in the event to promote their front running project, Paine's Park. VetilationX was brought in to sell product and raise awareness for the effort by educating Philadelphia natives on the project. We danced, spoke to local students, and distributed product, while documenting the event. Our participation in College Day has brought new energy to the event, and spread awareness toward the Paine's Park Project and VentilationX.

Feel The Love

Franklin Paines Skatepark Fund threw a fundraising event for it's front running project, Paines Park. The 'Feel The Love' event was held in the Phoenix building adjacent to LOVE Park and City Hall in center city Philadelphia. Guests picked up passes inside LOVE Park and then followed the red carpet into the event. The ground floor and penthouse levels were devoted to the fundraiser. Information was distributed, promotional items were given away, and pieces were sold to raise money for the park. Prominent figures from Philadelphia attended the event to show their support and generate more attention for the cause. Paines Park Project would require about 7 million dollars to complete and would need support from the city, state, corporations, and private donors. VentilationX was invited to the event for our participation in the project and being members of the board. We talked about VentilationX and our involvement in Paines Park with other guests, documented the event, and partied on the penthouse deck late into the night. When the open bar shut down and the crowd dissipated, we made our way home.

Airforce NutriSoda

VentilationX was introduced to Airforce NutriSoda through manager/producer, Andre Robert Lee. NutriSoda was an up-and-coming beverage company designed at making health friendly drinks. They wanted VentilationX to make a promotional video for the company to market their products online. The company flowed us product, we storyboarded our commercial concept, and we began shooting. The video took two days to shoot, one day to edit, and then it was posted on the web. It was an exciting development for the team to be flowed product from a corporation, but the video also attracted negative attention. Certain parkour and freerunning enthusiasts took offense to the commercialization of the activities and had criticism of our decision. The criticism was thoroughly considered; however, VentilationX still supports their decision to make the video.

Sundance 2007

Members of VentilationX traveled to Park City, Utah, with manager/producer, Andre Robert Lee, to attend the Sundance Film Festival. After flying from Laguardia Airport in New York City to Salt Lake City, we drove to the house we rented for the festival. The teams goal was to promote the upcoming release of our movie, X.Y.Z., and to network with individuals from the entertainment industry. Alex Favin and Andre Lee had attended the festival previously which made the teams introduction smooth. We attended movie screenings, panel discussions, workshops, and parties throughout the festival. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the area, set inside the rocky mountains, and got to discuss VentilationX's expansion into winter sports. The festival was a success for the team and served as a great opportunity to promote our efforts and stimulate a larger fan base.

X.Y.Z.

X.Y.Z.

'X.Y.Z. exposes the talents of VentilationX as they tour the East Coast. The team visits Philadelphia, New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, and Miami capturing stuntwork across multiple disciplines. X.Y.Z. is an insight into the creativity, style, and determination of VentilationX, a multi-faceted group of individuals striving to make their mark.' Excerpt from 'X.Y.Z.' DVD.

X.Y.Z. began as a VentilationX talent exposition filmed in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Our goal was to simply make a DVD the documented our various talents that we practiced in our neighborhood. We had vision, but we did not realize that we had all the tools necessary to make things happen until we linked up with our manager/producer, Andre Robert Lee. Andre acted as a mentor to us and helped channel our creative energy into a focused mission. Having already established himself in the filmmaking community, Dre was able to guide us through various steps in order to complete goals. Once we saw how far we could take our local talent exposition, we re-invented X.Y.Z. and started from scratch. We picked five of the most prominent East Coast cities and hit the road...

Philadelphia

'VentilationX's birthplace was the foundation of X.Y.Z. Long days and long nights were spent on the streets of brotherly love, filming and promoting for the team.' Excerpt from 'X.Y.Z.' DVD.

Philadelphia acted as a spring board for VentilationX's tour of the East Coast. Not only was the video concieved here, but it was the first location illustrated in the video. It is the most developed section of the project because of its close proximity to the team. Philadelphia was a wonderful place to shoot in. It was familiar enough to provide the team with a comfortable place to begin, but big enough that it had lots of exciting aspects to explore.

New York City

'Heading home for some of the team members, New York City was a hustle of it's own. Staying immersed in the heart of East Coast culture with manager/ producer, Andre Robert Lee, brought VentilationX's filming and networking to a new level.' Excerpt from 'X.Y.Z.' DVD.

New York City and it's five boroughs are the pinnacle of the East Coast. The team was able to make great strides shooting in the big apple with Andre Lee and the teams' native New Yorkers. The group shot with professional videographers and photographers in notable locations around the city and on Manhattan rooftops. New York provided the team with a closer look into the entertainment industry and the future of the company.

Washington D.C.

'VentilationX infiltrated the nations capital and took the city by storm. Pushing the movement to the nation's forefront was accomplished by filming at embassies and monuments, breaking all the rules.' Excerpt from 'X.Y.Z. DVD.'

Washington D.C. was a beautiful city to film in. Locations were abundant, but heavy policing made shooting difficult at times. The team had to step up their game and perform stunts quickly to avoid being hassled by law enforcement officials. Traffic in all of the cities visited was something the team had to take into consideration, but D.C. operates with strange traffic patterns due to government activities. Despite the various obstacles that existed beyond the extreme sports and artforms, the team completed their goals and enjoyed shooting in the nations' capital.

Boston

'VentilationX went North to Beantown where they spent the least amount of time touring, with the fewest teammates present. Nonetheless, the mission was completed and a good time was had by all.' Excerpt from 'X.Y.Z.' DVD.

VentilationX drove to Boston to shoot for several days. The team stayed with Josh Briggs of Dopamine Records in a small town outside of Boston. Even though the entire team was not together, the members who made the journey North were able to hold it together and do a solid job. It was abnormally hot during the visit which presented the team with another hurdle, but they group was able to stick together and do what was necessary for the tour.

Miami

'VentilationX took X.Y.Z. to the South for the final leg of the tour. The team was able to demonstrate it's interest in expansion through cliffjumping, and waverunning on the Gulf Coast.' Excerpt from 'X.Y.Z.' DVD.

VentilationX flew to Florida twice during the filming of X.Y.Z.. The first visit was spent in Fort Lauderdale and Miami capturing the diverse interests of the team, with an emphasis on graffiti and cliffjumping. The second journey was to an island on the Gulf Coast. The team was able to film on waverunners and celebrate the completion of their first tour in a house on the beach.

Mission Statement

VentilationX is a movement and a way of life embodied in a company. The company consists of a group of filmmakers, photographers, artists, athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs, and more. Our mission is to become a healthy conglomerate, leading a positive revolution within the communities we belong, to develop a global unity among forward thinking people who want to creatively better the world. If you love the place you live, but want to challenge rules and authority to move forward positively, join the movement called VentilationX.