Risen Magazine Summer 2008

faith hope love

Rainn Wilson :: RedCloud :: Gretchen Bleiler :: Mark Crear :: Serj Tankian

summer2008

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Nobody Knows My SoulNobody Knows My Soul

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contentssummer 2008

looking insideRisen’s first editor traces Risen’s journey.

Q-5Jon Foreman :: The singer/songwriter lays human

fingerprints next to “something else.”Dustin Leigh Seltzer :: A beauty queen escapes to “reality.”Rheanna Downey :: Sometimes a song will locate God in

an unlikely place.

miracles :: brew briggsIn the mid ’70s Brew Briggs was one of California’s top surfers. By the ’80s he had had found another road to happiness. In the ’90s something happened that has no rational explanation. We call them miracles.

FHLIn his first column for Risen, our new managing editor, Matt Marquez, gives compelling reasons to “remain.”

expressionsJeremy Cowart :: Photographer Jeremy Cowart sees things

that may or may not exist.Chuck Anderson :: This artist has influenced your life

more than you might realize.

pulseKatherine Heigl, Keri Russell, Dustin Hoffman, Eva Longoria Parker, Ice Cube, Hilary Swank, Queen Latifah, Diane Lane Ashton Kutcher, and Lisa Kudrow .

the well :: the faith of a child It took half a century, but the words are worth the wait.

amare stoudemire :: nobody knows my soulWhen the Phoenix Suns power forward went above the rim, he landed in a place of eternal dreams.

gretchen bleiler :: the cool warmth of winterOne of the world’s top athletes, a snow angel, a gold medalist, Gretchen Bleiler nonetheless finds herself alone, but not lonely in the backcountry.

mark crear :: the alchemist’s runOlympian Mark Crear reveals the secret of turning “silver to gold.”

rainn wilson :: mr. schrute, meet mr. wilsonOffice star Rainn Wilson meets his alter ego, Dwight K. Schrute, and finds out that God does have a sense of humor.

redcloud :: all these things make me cryTaking his name from one of history’s most famous Indian chiefs,indigenous rapper RedCloud hopes to lead his people to higher ground.

serj tankian :: too many hatsLead vocalist and rhythm guitar player for System of a Down, Serj Tankian went looking for something that might notbe musical.

D.O.P.E. :: death or prison eventuallyTwo skateboarding icons take a message of hope behind prison bars.

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8 R I S E N m a g a z i n e

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here’s a pivotal line in Lord of the Ringswhere Gandolf says, “There is one Lord of

the ring, only one who can bend it to his will.And he does not share power.” Like that ring,the message we are asked to carry has provenheavy. Unlike the ring, no one person can carryit alone. We need your help, your input andyour prayers. With that and God’s guidance,the burden will become light.

While we are thankful to those who havetaken Risen this far, we have recently movedeverything under one Southern California roof.Sadly we have had to say goodbye to somewonderfully talented staff members, simply be-cause they live thousands of miles from us.Allan Camaisa, a brilliant and proven entre-

preneur, and Risen’s original investor, is return-ing as the publisher. Owen Leimbach, who hasbeen with us a while, will continue doingeverything from writing stories to managingthe Web site. Rob Springer will still do layout,Dane Wilkins will hold it down as proofreader.Laura Funk is back running the office, and afresh young writer named Matt Marquez willhandle the managing editor’s slot. I will returnas editor. Our staff of gifted freelance writers,photographers, and artists is also staying on.

While together we form a strong team, ifwe lack humility we will fail in our mission to“encourage Christians and reach out to others.”It’s taken a while to realize that the core of ourmessage is nothing that we thought up, or ever

could have thought up. We are no more mas-ters of it than Job was when God asked him,“Where were you when I laid the foundationsof the earth?” We may have written the wordsand snapped the photos, but cannot makepaper and ink breathe spiritual truths any morethan we can make them walk. We are not thevine, but a branch that, without being attachedto the root, will wither over time. We are notRisen; He is Risen. The best we can do is be-come His and your humble servants. Thank youfor praying and walking with us, this far.

With thanks and blessings,Chris Ahrens and the Risen Magazine staff

First of all, I would like to thank you, our read-ers, for believing in Risen Magazine. While youwill notice a few subtle changes in our contentin this issue, we are not finished yet. In fact, wewould like to invite you to give us your input bycontacting us at [email protected].

Secondly, I want to thank those whofounded the magazine and saw it through itsnumerous transitions. From the early contribu-tions of Hagan Kelly and Scott Hancock toMike Sherman, Steve Beard, Nick Purdy, andReid Davis, thank you for holding Risen in yourcapable hands.

But why another magazine when hundredsof them litter the bookstores? We at Risen hopeto rise above the gossip and rumors that oftenchoke print media, to reveal faith, hope, andlove to a thirsty world.

The Risen staff are blessed to take the batonand run it with the mission to “encourageChristians and reach out to others in faith,hope, and love.” In that regard, we don’t inter-view “only Christians” because we feel thatdoesn’t reflect on John 3:17: “…for God did notsend his Son into the world to condemn theworld…” We don’t profess to be another church

newsletter or publication, because we are ahigh-quality crossover magazine, exploring thetalents of musicians, actors, athletes, artists, andphotographers who often use their gifts to ex-press their faith.

We hope you grow with us on this incred-ible journey.

Thank you and God bless,Allan CamaisaPublisher, Risen Magazine

LORD OF THE ZINE

ENCOURAGE AND REACH OUT

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PUBLISHER :: Allan Camaisa

EDITORIALEDITOR :: Chris Ahrens

MANAGING EDITOR :: Matt Marquez

TRAFFIC CONTROLLER :: Laura Funk

COPY EDITOR :: Dane Wilkins

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS ::

Steve Beard, Kelli Gillespie, Owen Leimbach, Trish Teves,

Jewly Hight, and Corey Moss

ARTART DIRECTOR :: Rob Springer

PHOTO EDITOR :: Bob Stevens

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS ::

Estevan Oriol, Tim Tadder, William Branlund, Kurt Iswarienko, Bil Zelman

ILLUSTRATION :: Zela

ONLINE EDITOR :: Owen Leimbach

RISEN Magazine is a subsidiary of RISEN Son, LLC. The views expressed by the subjects interviewed in RISEN Magazine are not necessarily those shared bythe staff or publishers of RISEN Son, LLC.

All interviews are recorded live and exclusively for use by RISEN Magazine. Interviews remain the sole property ofRISEN Son, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of thecontents of this magazine may be reproduced without thewritten consent of RISEN Son, LLC.

PRINTED :: USA PUBLISHED :: San Diego, CA

SUBSCRIPTIONS :: 858.875.1111 - risenmagazine.com$19.99 for a 1 year subscription (4 issues) • $29.99 for a 2year subscription. Canada and outside of the US pay$25.99 for a 1 year subscription • $41.99 for a 2 yearsubscription. Payment must be sent with order. Send allorders to Attn: Subscription Department. For fasterservice please inquire about credit card payment.

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POSTMASTER:

Send address changes to RISEN Son, Po Box 291823Kettering, OH 45429

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Tel. 858.875.1111 • Fax: [email protected]

Copyright © 2008 “RISEN” is a Trademark of

RISEN Son, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

P.S.As you may notice, there has been a change of staff atRisen Magazine. The magazine is now run by its originalpublisher, Allan Camaisa, and the staff is centered underone roof in San Diego, California. We would like toacknowledge the great work of previous staff, which washeaded by Michael Sherman, Steve Beard, Nick Purdy,and Reid Davis. They are responsible for much of thecontent in this current issue. We are grateful for their workon this and on previous issues.

Cover Photo :: Kurt Iswarienko

faith hope love* *


Risen Magazine: Where do you thinkideas come from?Jon Foreman: Hmm. I think the best art has a bit oftranscendent light shining through it from the outside.That part can’t be manufactured, human fingerprintsalongside something else. I always equate songwritingwith archeology—every day wake up and dig; some daysyou discover a lost world that’s been under your feet allalong.

RM: It seems the creative process requiresgreat ego, thinking that people are going topay to hear what you have to say, and greathumility, to be open to all sorts of input.JF: If you ask a group of children, “How many of you areartists?” every one of them would raise their hands. Askthe same question to a group of adults and very few wouldadmit to having an artistic streak. A child has thin skin,completely transparent, completely honest. We lose this.We get hurt, we learn to protect ourselves, we put maskson. I think in that sense we lose ego and humility at thesame time. Pride is mostly a mask to hide insecurities.

RM: How does fame treat you?JF: Fame is weird, fun and cancerous.

RM: What are the occupational hazards of atouring musician?JF: I end every tour with bruises, but the hardest thing isto stay grounded. Picture a potted plant transferred fromone pot to another, daily. It can wear on you. Playing musicis the best job in the world, no complaints, but that’s theoccupational hazard. I guess it’s not unique to music,though; you could lose your soul in any endeavor.

RM: In your profession, the bigger yourname, the better for business, while yourfaith requires a decrease in self. How do youreconcile the two?JF: I’m still trying to figure that out. Spotlights and loudmusic and the small still voice.

Throughout this year, Jon Foreman will be releasing fourE.P.s: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer. They can be purchasedthrough the website: JonForman.com

Switchfoot front man, all around good guy, and deepthinker, Jon Foreman needs a book to explain himself.Lacking funds for such a project, we distilled his thinkinginto five easy pieces, AKA Q-5.

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Risen Magazine: How did you go frombeing raised in a conservative Baptistbackground to competing in beautypageants?Dustin Leigh Seltzer: I was home-schooled, didnot have a television in my house, and grew up on a farmwith five younger brothers. So I suppose it is very ironic thatI ended up in beauty pageants. I don’t remember anyoneraising their eyebrows about me competing in pageants.

RM: Were you bummed about beinghome-schooled?DLS: Some people say home-schooling doesn’t preparea child for the real world, but I think I had the best of bothworlds. Maybe some home-schoolers don’t get outenough, but my family and I participated on sports teamsall year round, plenty of extracurricular activities, and ofcourse we had the family band. I’ve traveled all over theworld with our band.

RM: It seems as if women who compete inbeauty pageants have an odd dose of ego.After all, they are putting themselves outthere to be judged on their physical beauty. DLS: Sometimes I do wish that the swimsuitcompetition would disappear because I don’t think it is agood way to measure someone’s worth or beauty. But it isimportant to be physically fit, to take care of yourself, and tobe healthy. I have to be honest with you … I did not expectto win Miss California. It was the Lord’s plan for my life.There were fifty-four other girls from around the state thatwere very prepared and qualified. I did not even think Iwould make the top ten. I still look at it as a miracle.

RM: You competed in the Amazing Racetwice. The second time was for the all-starseason. Why do you think they asked youguys back?DLS: I think the Race loved us so much because we werenot what they expected. They expected ditzy blondes whowouldn’t last very long. But that’s not who we are; we werefeisty sometimes and we fought really hard. But throughthe Race I realized how big the world is. We get sowrapped up in our own little lives, our agendas and goals.We forget that there are billions of other people out theredoing so many different things. For instance, some womenin Africa travel barefoot for miles with containers of wateron their head before the sun even rises.

I also enjoy listening to other people’s life stories. So,I’m working towards a degree in family and marriagecounseling. I did not feel like I wanted to wait around forsomething to happen after the Amazing Race. But Ibelieve there are extraordinary things you can do when youput yourself in a position to be used by the Lord.

RM: Why did you choose to go back tograduate school when most women in yourposition would ride the coattails of fame andbeauty to make a living?DLS:I think it’s easier said than done to try to makeyour way in the world with just a pretty face. Plus, I’m notsure that I would feel fulfilled even if that was an option.There are certain things that I’ve been gifted with that Iwant to use to help other people. One of those things isthe gift of encouragement. Dustin is attending graduate school in Orange County. Sheenjoys encouraging young women to fulfill their dreams.

Dustin Leigh Seltzer: Beauty queen, reality TVstar, musician, and a really good listener

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Risen Magazine: Do you seek a connectionthrough music?Rheanna Downey: Music is a connection that isalready there that I’m not always aware of until after it’swritten. Sometimes I’ll write a song and not know whyI’m writing and two days later I’ll figure out what God istelling me through it. That makes it supernatural in myopinion.

RM: Do you feel you can get somethingfrom just about any song?RD: Somebody could write something from completeegotistical self-centeredness, but I could find God in it,yeah.

RM: You once had a producer tell you towrite dance music because that’s whateveryone was listening to.RD: I did. At first I was offended, but then I laughed.Who is somebody to tell you what your art should be like?Nobody has that right.

RM: He was thinking strictly of sales, right?RD: That brings up the question: should art even be forsale? At the same time, the artist needs to eat, but thereneeds to be a piece of the art that is given. My first CD

was in a jewel case, but I always felt weird about that. Now,all of my CDs are handmade. When I take half an hour tomake a CD case and hand-sign it and charge five bucks,I’m putting my entire heart into it. I feel I’m givingsomebody something more.

RM: What are you trying to communicatewith your work?RD: I really identify with brokenness and pain, so I tryto communicate healing and comfort. The artists that havedone the most for me have done more than supply a goodmemory. They have taken me to a place that was healing. Ibelieve that’s part of my role, to give people a safe placeand help them walk through things. Jesus Christ was aman perpetually giving His life for other people and in theend He was broken. People think they’re on this upwardspiral to heaven, but I think we’re in a downward spiral, toChrist. In that spiral there’s brokenness and faith, whichrequires you to run blind. There’re all these things you haveto go through in order to identify with Christ.

To order Rheanna Downey’s latest CD, go toMySpace.com/Rheannadowney. Each CD comes in a uniquecover, soon to be collector’s items, handmade by Rheanna foryou.

Along with the voice, Rheanna Downey has some deepthoughts and insightful opinions. Five answers laterand I’m still contemplating.

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AmareStoudemire

Nobody Knows My SoulWriter: Chris Ahrens Photography: Kurt Iswarienko

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Risen Magazine: I know you love music; doesit have any influence on your game?Amare Stoudemire: I don’t think so. Music issomething that influences my lifestyle, but notreally my game.

RM: We interviewed Tupac’s Shakur’s mother,Afeni, a while back. It seems that you andTupac have similarities, in struggle and passion,and love for your mothers. Even your firstname and his middle name, Amar, are similar. AS: Growing up in the streets of poverty andbeing able to make it out . . . it’s similar toTupac’s life and his mother-son relationship. Mymom was definitely an inspiration in my life, thethings that she stressed and taught me, from aspiritual standpoint. I think it definitely helped.

RM: You could have gone a lot of differentways, but you continued moving toward play-ing in the NBA. What helped you to do that?AS: All my friends were in the streets, but Ihad a goal in mind. I hung out with them, butmy goal was to be successful for my family, be-cause at the time they needed some help. Thatkept me strong. I was always like the mentoramong my friends, and I always gave themwords of encouragement and tried to lift themabove the situation, even at a young age.

RM: Did you ever feel a sense of destiny?AS: Since the age of eight, I knew I would makeit to the NBA. It was an internal feeling I hadwhen I was a kid. When I went to school andplayed ball or whatever I did with my friends, Iwas always a little bit better, a little taller, a littlefaster and that kept my confidence going. I justkept growing as a person and as an athlete.

RM: Your tattoos seem to tell a story. AS: Yeah, Cartoon, a famous tattoo artist, doesmost of them. All my tattoos are dedicated toGod, really. My kids are young and if I diedright now they could get to know me by my

tats, what I stand for and what I believe in andhow I made it out of poverty. My tattoos are atestimony.

RM: What fuels you more, love or anger?AS: I think love is a greater fuel. Amare meanslove, so love is definitely something I cherish.Anger fuels me as well, but not as much as love.You can be in and out of situations, but lovehelps you not to take it out on anybody else,but to better that situation. Anger can get youstarted, get you thinking about the situation.

RM: Did you get into a lot of fistfights as akid?AS: I got into fights all the time. Whenever Ihung out with my older brother, he would makeme fight with kids my age. Nine out of tentimes I’d end up being the winner. Fighting wasa part of our culture. We would wrestle, weloved to slap box. Even now, I rough up some ofmy friends, just for the love factor, it’s genuine.

RM: What would cause you get into a realfight?AS: Well, it takes a lot to get me to fight. Theperson on the other end of it has to do some-thing that pushes my buttons more than twice.I let it go a few times and if they still don’t re-spect the fact that I’m bein’ genuine about it,they still push my buttons, it sets the alarm off.It takes a lot, but when it happens, it happens.

RM: You walk into an arena with 10,000 peo-ple shouting your name, and some of them arebooing you. Still, you have to have this confi-dence and this feeling that you’re nearly super-human. Yet, being a man of faith, you need tocombine that with a sense of humility. How doyou pull that?AS: I look at basketball as my job, my career.My faith is my life, everything besides basket-ball. After basketball, you still have to have faith,or your spirituality, whatever you believe in. Your

career could last fifteen to twenty years, but yourspirituality is what gets you over the hump. It’swhat keeps you humble, keeps you focused.

RM: You face every distraction in the world onthe court, including some beautiful women try-ing to make eye contact with you, and some ofthem want to get you up to their rooms; howdo you stay focused?AS: It’s easy for me to blur it out because whenI wasn’t “Amare Stoudemire superstar basket-ball player” those people didn’t really care. Now,I don’t care. You can look all you want, you cantry to get close all you want, whatever, and itdoesn’t faze me. I’ve been through the ups anddowns, I know how it feels to be overlooked ornot looked at as an equal. So, it doesn’t botherme anymore at all. I take it for what it is; I cashmy checks and go shopping, splurge and havea great time with my friends and family.

RM: One of your tattoos is from Mathew20:16—what does that mean to you?AS: It’s a testimonial about poverty—The firstshall be last and the last first, many are calledbut few are chosen. When you’re growin’ up onthe streets it’s kind of tough to be successful.Due to slavery we’re still a few steps behindand it takes a lot more to be what you want tobe, because you’re not able to see what you needto see. You’re not able to touch what you needto touch. You’re not able to grow, all because ofslavery. That’s why I started my Each OneTeach One Foundation. I made it out [ofpoverty] due to being a great basketball player.A lot of kids aren’t going to be able to dunk onShaquille O’Neal, or shoot over LeBron James.Some players, some kids can’t do that, sothere’re more ways to make it out besidessports. We’re trying to stress the fact that edu-cation is the way.

RM: What are the roots of Each One TeachOne?

hoenix Suns power forward/center Amare Stoudemire enters the Opus–LA photo studio, and fills the room withhis frame. Those on hand to interview, photograph, promote, and befriend him—most of whom are of average

height and, presumably, physical ability—are gobbled up by his shadow. This is more than a testament to sheer size; there’san intensity reflected mostly in the eyes, predatory one-way mirrors that would be scary to face anywhere, especially in hischosen arena, a basketball court. You could get better odds of defeating a cheetah in a game of tag than of scoring againstthis guy. Anyway you look at it, you lose.

But where does the internal power come from that separates him from the rest of us? Good genes, hard work, and pas-sion certainly play a part, but the fuel that lights the fire to power the body that moves the ball comes from a place so deepit has yet to be mapped, a mysterious place called the soul, a place we went looking for, a place that nobody knows.

Interviewed and photographed exclusively for Risen Magazine.

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AS: It’s a phrase I thought of about four yearsago. I was in a conversation with my friendsand words and phrases started comin’ out ofme, and that’s one I hung onto and wanted tostamp on people’s lives.

RM: How would you define God?AS: Love. Love is what God is all about.

RM: How would God define you?AS: He would define me as Israel, Son of God,that’s what I am. I stay positive, positive ways ofgoing about things. You gotta raise your voice attimes, sometimes you gotta force the issue, butfor the most part you just gotta be positive anddo the right thing. When you do the right thing,the spirit of love, the spirit of God will take youwhere you need to be, take you to the top.

RM: You palmed and swallowed thoseM&M’s in your hand pretty quickly. Otherthan that, do you have any special diet?AS: [Laughs] One thing I love is Powerade, it’sa great drink. But no, I don’t eat shellfish, Idon’t eat pork, I don’t eat beef, I don’t eat cat-fish. I eat turkey, fish, and chicken.

RM: Would you go to war for any reason?AS: I’d go to war for my family. If anybody puta hand on my kids there’s gonna be repercus-sions; there’s gonna be trouble. I stand forwhat’s right and I’ll fight for what’s right.What’s right is right, what’s wrong is wrong.It’s that simple.

RM: As a kid, did you ever promise God any-thing?AS: There’ve been a lot of prayers, I’ll tell youthat. I definitely wanted to help my family, asfar as my mom and my older brother and myyounger brother. I definitely wanted to be thebest I could be for them, so I told God that ifhe would allow me to be the best basketballplayer I could be, I’d do a job for Him, I’d be anambassador. That’s what I’m doing now.

RM: What do you look for in a friend?AS: Honesty, I think that’s what makes friends,someone who is totally honest. You know he’sgonna be honest about any opinion. I thinkthat’s what a lot of people in the world need. Agirl comes up and asks, “Do I look fat in thisdress?” Oh man, don’t ask me that question.[Laughs] I pick it up quickly when people aren’tbeing honest with me. It’s like a sixth sense.

RM: If pride made the greatest angel into the

devil, how does a person resist being prideful?AS: There’s a thin line, you can be proud ofwhat transpires, but when you become con-ceited, you have too much pride and you treateverybody else like whatnots.

RM: Do you recall any strange dreams you’vehad?AS: The only person I told this to was mymom, but I was on a basketball court with a

few friends. I went up to dunk and all of thesudden I kept going up. Now I’m over thebackboard looking down and still goin’ up. NowI’m in the clouds lookin’ down and still goin’ up.Now I’m over the city of Phoenix and I can seethe skyscrapers and I’m still goin’ up. All of thesudden I get to this land, this place where therewas nothing but fruit. There was fruit every-where, fruit baskets, fruit trees, everywherethere was fruit. I grab something from a treeand take a bit [makes crunching sound] and go,‘Man, that’s nice.’ I’m up there for like an houror so. It’s like, Man, where am I? Then all of thesudden it’s like [makes falling sound] I fell backdown to the court. I ran home to tell Momabout it and I woke up.

RM: Do you have any idea what that dreammeans?AS: I’ll tell you what it means; it means thatI’m on the right track—that’s what I take fromit. Whatever I’m doin’, I’m doin’ a solid job. Tobe able to reach a place with nothing but peaceand quiet and surrounded by fruit. Fruit is filledwith natural vitamins, a beautiful thing, a beau-tiful gift.

RM: What does it feel like to fly?

AS: In my dreams?

RM: No, I’m talkin’ about flying on the court.AS: Man, it feels good, it feels real good. To beable to take off in front of 18,000, I mean, comeon. It’s like a rush and the best thing about it iswhen somebody wants to challenge you. Theway I look at it is that when a guy tries to blockmy shot, he’s trying to embarrass me, so I’mgonna embarrass him. Move out of the way;just get out of the way.

RM: Will it be a hard transition for you whenit’s time to leave basketball?AS: Not for me, I don’t think so. There’s moreto life than basketball. A lot of players say bas-ketball is their life; they eat, breathe, and dreambasketball. Basketball, basketball, basketball.Well, it’s the same for me, but when I’m doneI’m done. I’ll hang my shoes up and let my songrab the ball.

RM: One of your tattoos says “Nobody knowsmy soul.” AS: You can judge someone’s character, butyour soul is what’s in you. It’s like your andGod’s secret. Somebody asks you what’s yoursoul, you can’t even tell ’em. Nobody knows mysoul. The tattoo is Jesus carryin’ a guy who can’twalk. He’s been workin’, strugglin’, tryin’ to feedhis family and he can’t do it no more. Jesus iscarryin’ the guy and it’s like footprints. No mat-ter what you’re goin’ through, you can make itjust by believing, by having faith, being posi-tive and having love.

RM: What did you do with your first bigcheck?AS: [Laughs] Half of it went to savings. Theother half, I think I bought my mom a housebefore I bought myself one. I bought her ahouse and a car and everything else went to,you know . . .

RM: Where do you see yourself in 10,000years?AS: [Laughs] Ten thousand years? Man, youknow, back in that dream, on that land with allthat fruit, quiet and peaceful, with my kids.

Amare Stoudemire continues to jump high andhelp kids.

All my tattoos are dedicated to God, really. My kids areyoung and if I died

right now they couldget to know me by mytats, what I stand forand what I believe in

and how I made it outof poverty.

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nowboarding legend Gretchen Bleiler’s voice is melodious and friendly, made more so because she punctuates manyof her words with laughter. The reason for all this apparent happiness—that she is paid to do exactly what she loves

most, snowboarding—could make one jealous. Don’t be. She’s earned her right to joy, ridden hard, hurt herself, come backand ridden harder—winning nearly everything she’s put her heart into, including two Vans Triple Crowns, two U.S. Opens,two X Games, two FIS World Cups, and an Olympic silver medal. Her peers love her, as do many snowboarding maga-zine readers who have voted her into the top spot.

Summarily, Gretchen Bleiler is a pretty, tightly focused competitor who knows how to have fun and can pack a punchwhen necessary. Ouch! That’s gonna leave a mark.

Interviewed and photographed exclusively for Risen Magazine.

RISEN Magazine: What don’t people knowabout you that you want them to know aboutyou?Gretchen Bleiler: [Laughs] That’s prettyfunny because I just did a story and the writerasked my family what people don’t know aboutme. My brother, my mother, and my dad allsaid pretty standard things. My coach, Ricky,said, “She loves corndogs.” Not too many peo-ple know that about me. I’m a midwestern girl,so I guess that makes sense. [Laughter]

RM: Don’t take this wrong, but it must havebeen difficult for guys to ask you out—I meanmost guys usually like being better than theirdates at sports. GB: [Laughs] I’ve always been pretty athletic,

so I could never … I’ve had a boyfriend for thepast four and a half years, and luckily he’s goodat pretty much everything he tries, and hepretty much kicks my butt at whatever we do.I think that’s one of the reasons I love him somuch. I could never date someone who didn’tsnowboard or love being out on the mountain.It’s too big a part of my life.

RM: During those moments when you’re outin the backcountry alone, do you ever get asense of wonder, a sense of something biggerthan yourself ?GB: Absolutely. That was one of my goals thisseason, to limit my competitions—after the XGames I’m only going to compete in threemore contests, in order to get more into the

backcountry, and film more and shoot photosin powder. I spent the last two weeks in Utahwith photographer Stan Evans working onthat. We’re back there, it’s freezing cold, andthere’s silence, not a noise, and there are allthese beautiful, enormous mountains aroundus, and it’s so peaceful. I understood then whysnowboarders spend an entire season in thebackcountry filming their video part, becauseit is so peaceful, just you and nature and youhave to respect it, cuz you never know what’sgoing to happen, when a storm’s going to comein. You just never know, and I think that’s soinspiring.

RM: Does it take a little time to disconnectfrom the cell phone and the computer?

Gretchen BleilerThe Cool Warmth of Winter


GB: I have no problem disconnecting withthose things. I have all of my friends alwaysemailing and on MySpace, but I’m not verygood at that. I love getting rid of it all.

RM: You’ll see two people of similar abilityand suddenly one takes off and becomes aworld champion and the other ends up wait-ing tables—why do you think that is?GB: I think hard work and desire. Desire is ahuge one. If you have a goal and a dream andyou absolutely want it, finding the desire to getit comes naturally, at least for me.

RM: So many people who get to the top of asport are driven by unhappiness; you definitelydon’t seem like one of them.GB: [Laughs] No, some people who aren’tconfident in themselves feel they need to goout and be great athletes in order to get atten-tion. There are so many different reasons whypeople drive themselves. For me, I grew upwith three brothers. I’ve always been very com-petitive. If I’m not good at something I alwayswork my butt off until I am, to see if I could doit. When I first started snowboarding it wasthis new challenge that brought a different …it kind of took me on a totally different paththan was traditional. I love that it was differentand new and kind of brought me into a differ-ent group of friends, and I wanted to be thebest at it.

RM: When was the last time you were bad ata sport?GB: [Laughs] Actually, I played ice hockeywhen I was younger. All of the girls on theteam were my friends, but they grew up inAspen and were figure skaters before they wereice hockey players, so, naturally, they were goodskaters. I picked up ice hockey pretty well—Iwas good, but not as good as some of these girls.We were one of the few ice hockey teams at thetime and we went all over. I remember going toTexas and my coach sat me on the bench formost of the tournament. I was so pissed off andlater I had a sit-down lunch with him, sayingthat I wasn’t a benchwarmer, and that I was

considering quitting hockey to see how far Icould take my snowboarding. He tried to con-vince me not to quit ice hockey, saying that witha little work I could be really good. I said, thankyou very much but I’m done. He still lives inAspen, and when he sees me he says, “Aren’t youglad you chose snowboarding?” [Laughter]

RM: When was the last time you were scared?GB: I feel that I’m scared every time I go up onthe mountain. I mean, it’s my job to go outthere and push myself every single day in orderto be up there with the best women in snow-

boarding. I was scared today, it was a flat lightday, freezing cold, and I’m working on thistrick. I mean, I wasn’t terrified, but I’m scaredbecause I’m pushing past my comfort zone.

RM: Have you ever been scared to the pointof being debilitated?GB: When I was in Utah there was this gapjump, kind of like a cliff with a catwalk belowit. You had to get a ton of speed and clear about20 feet and it was a 30-foot drop. If you didthis you would maybe get the cover of a snow-board magazine, and this one girl I was with,Jamie Anderson, she did it. I almost did it, butbecause I’m not as confident in that area, Ibacked down. I was scared and I also knew thatmaybe it wasn’t my time to do that. It pissedme off. I think that’s a part of being a profes-sional snowboarder, you have to make difficultdecisions in order to prolong your career or stayin it. You have to know your limitations. I thinkmaybe I’ll want to do it someday, but it suckedat the same time, cuz Jamie did it and she killedit. But, such is life.

RM: Do you ever have any recurring dreams?GB: I do, but I forget them until I have themand then I think, “Oh, there’s that dreamagain.” I think I have multiple recurringdreams, but I don’t recall what they are.

RM: I would think that global warming is a bigissue for someone dependent upon the snow.GB: Absolutely. Go to StopGlobalWarm-

ing.org. I’ve got a PSA and I talk about it asmuch as I can. I gave everyone a CFL lightbulb this year [for Christmas]. Obviously it’svery important to me. Last season was such anawful season for snowboarding. We had a con-test in New Jersey canceled altogether. Notonly did they not have enough snow, but alsothe temperatures were not even cold enough tomake snow. Then we had the world champi-onships in Switzerland in the middle of Janu-ary and it’s pouring down rain for a solid weekand the birds are chirping. It felt like spring-time. Going to places in Europe, the locals will

tell you how much the glaciers have recededjust in their lifetimes. It’s so apparent and it’severy one of our responsibilities to start takingaction, just small lifestyle changes like teach-ing your kids to unplug appliances whenthey’re finished with them, turning off thewater when you finish brushing your teeth, nottaking 20-minute showers and being efficient,living an efficient life, more like Europeans.People in Europe and New Zealand are somuch better with their lifestyles than Ameri-cans. I actually have my own signature line withOakley this year and within the line is a jacketand a pant that are made from recycled mate-rials that are also recyclable.

RM: I totally agree with that, but one of thedifficulties comes in trying to convince peoplethat they might only need, say, one pair of sun-glasses. I don’t want to get you into troublewith your sponsor, but how can you promoteless consumerism?GB: I’m a professional snowboarder. I get onplanes once a week to travel the world and Idrive a car. Oakley’s not perfect, and I’m notperfect, but we are making an effort in the rightdirection. We want to keep making those ef-forts. It’s too bad when companies get theirhands slapped for saying they’re eco-friendlywhen they’re not 100 percent. Then they be-come afraid of trying to make a difference, sothey won’t get criticized.

RM: It seems that everywhere in the U.S. small

25S u m m e r 2 0 0 8

houses are plowed to make way for massivehouses and redundant shopping malls that re-quire lots of resources to build and to heat.GB: Definitely, we use so much more than weever need, and I think we need to get back tobeing efficient and being smart with whatwe’ve got and make some lifestyle changes.Imagine if every family did that, how muchbetter off we’d all be.

RM: When people get their joy from some-thing outdoors, they want to be involved withnature, not destroy it. When people are in

touch with nature, they tend to be satisfied andnot need to buy a bunch of stuff.GB: Yeah, exactly. It’s not about being mate-rialistic.

RM:There are two different athletic goals: howsomething feels internally and how it looks tosomeone else. Winning must feel good, butwhat does it feel like to fly?GB: It’s amazing. I go out there every singleday and do it. I don’t know if it’s necessarily fly-ing that I love, but the whole package—beingwith your friends, being outdoors, and pushingyourself to fly higher and higher. That’s what Ilove. It’s so satisfying at the end of the day.When it’s summertime I love to surf, and thewarm beach atmosphere, but when fall comesaround, the snow calls.

RM: But you enjoy surfing?GB: Yeah, my boyfriend and I just bought ahouse in Carlsbad [California], near the beach.

RM: Is that so you could be close toShaun White?GB: [Laughs] Yeah, you know it.

RM: I’m going to switch tracks for a mo-ment—have you ever been in a fistfight?GB: [Laughing] No, I haven’t. I’ve punchedsomebody before, but I’ve never been in a fistfight.

RM: What did it take to make you mad

enough to punch somebody?GB: Actually …[Laughs hard] I hit someonelast winter after the U.S. Open. There were thesetotally obnoxious frat guys at this bar and wewere having some drinks and playing darts andfoosball. They were drunk and they started in-sulting us, and started just honing in on me.Somebody told them to be careful of what theysaid, and they automatically attacked evenharder and said some of the rudest things any-one has ever said to me in my life. I got soangry and we decided to leave. We all left, butI was so pissed off that I let this guy talk to me

the way he did. I said to my friends, “Hey guys,I forgot my hat inside.” I went inside, found theguy, punched him in the side of the face, wentto the counter, found my hat, and left. [Hardlaughter] I couldn’t believe I did it, but I hadall this adrenaline running through me. WhenI walked back outside the guys all asked,“What did you just do, Gretchen?” I said, “Ipunched that guy, let’s go, let’s go.” They said,“You did what and you didn’t tell us?” They hadsaid something about my hair and it reallypissed me off. Honestly, I’m not a fighter, butyou don’t treat people that way.

RM: What is going on in your life aside fromsnowboarding and surfing?GB: I just launched my new Web site,GretchenBleiler.com, and this fall I’m workingto develop an all-girls photo shoot and half-pipe competition. I’m inviting the best girls inthe world in springtime to Aspen. We’ll be of-fering spa treatments, a workshop on globalwarming, do some cooking clinics, yoga work-shops, and a night out on the town. I’m reallyexcited about it. It’s something I wanted to puttogether for a long time now. It’s called theSnow Angel Invitational.

RM: Where do you see yourself in 10,000years?GB: Wow, dead. That’s the first answer. Sec-ond answer? Um, I think I might have to stickwith dead. [Laughter]

Gretchen Bleiler won a gold medal f in the 2008X-Games half-pipe competition. She lives inAspen, Colorado, and continues to excel in inter-national snowboarding competitions.

27S u m m e r 2 0 0 8

nly a few people in the world can say they were the “fastest man on the planet.” It’s even more exclusive to earn thatdistinction twice. Mark Crear, the 1996 and 2000 Olympic silver and bronze medalist, happens to be in this very elite

club. Twice ranked as the world’s number one at 110m hurdles, Mark could literally walk through any city in the worldand say, “I’m faster than you, you, you, and even you.” Now retired from the sport, Mark enters the room with his baritonelaugh and charismatic style, giving everyone big hugs and “some love.” It’s been four years since his last professional race,yet I am convinced he could give most of the world a 90m head start and still win. Today Pastor Mark Crear shares thenews that the power of faith, hope, and love can get you over life’s hurdles and turn anyone’s silver into gold.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in San Diego

Mark Crear

The Alchemist’s Run

Risen Magazine: You turn forty this year andyou’re not that far removed from being numberone in the world. Do you still get that “itch” totry to make another run at racing?Mark Crear: No. I have to thank God that Iwas blessed to do and accomplish everythingthat I wanted to do in the sport of track andfield. Just the ability to be able to represent yourcountry, represent your faith, and go out thereand compete is awesome. In 2004, I took fifthand I needed to take third to make my thirdOlympic team. Some ugly dude beat me, butit’s all good. [Laughs]

RM: Are you defined by your Olympicmedals?MC: Defined? No. I have done so much, fromwriting a book, speaking in prisons and corpo-rations, going into full-time ministry, seeingpeople getting saved, baptizing people—therehave been so many other things that outweighmy medals. If I’m going to be defined by any-thing, I hope it is more by my character andheart to serve the Lord than any medals orrecords I have achieved.

RM: When did you know that running wasyour gift?MC: I knew I could compete at a world-classlevel when I was at the NCAA Championshipswith USC. That was by far the most meaning-

ful victory to me. I was number one in theNCAA and the pressure was on. Everyone waslike, “Oh, you’re gonna win!” and I was thinking,Tell that to the seven other guys next me. I hadto shoulder the pressure of being number one.

For so long up to that point, I was the“other guy” in the lane next to “that guy.” Iknow what the other guys racing are thinkingstanding next to me: Who are you to be get-ting all that attention? And when you take yourstarting position, you can see the media downat the finish line waiting around the lane theythink is going to win. If you are in lane two andall the cameras are in lane six, you’re thinking,Man, I’m gonna show all these people who Iam. And of course, you’re supposed to be in thezone like I was—comma [laughs]—but some-times you can’t help but feel the pressure. Iwent on to win that race and when I clearedthat last hurdle, it was like a hundred poundscame off of me. It was then I started to believethat maybe I could do this at the next level.

RM: You talk about knowing your purpose alot in your book and Web site. You had a giftfor running, but when did you know your pur-pose?MC: It’s funny, because I think track found me,I didn’t find track. I started track and field inmy eleventh grade year of high school. Myhigh school track coach approached me and

asked me to come out and run track. My lifewas in a hurricane at the time. I didn’t knowwhat I was going to do with my life. I was re-ally lost. I was thinking girls, shorts, tights, youknow, and I really went out for that. But some-thing happened when I started running. I fellin love with the sport. Every time that I ran, Ijust felt this weight come off of me. This wasthe one thing I had that no one could takeaway from me.

You know, God is so amazing with hisperfect will and permissive will. He will alwaysfinish the good work. I see now that even thenI was being led to my purpose. However, youhave to be always aware, be obedient and sub-missive to his leading in our lives. I always triedto be sensitive to what was going on and triedto act on God’s leading in my life. There is adifference to wanting a hand-out and a hand-up. I didn’t want a hand-out; I wanted a hand-up. All I needed was a lane to run in and Iknew the rest would work itself out.

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but whenI realized my purpose, I just had to take thefirst step. We all just have to take the first step;God has already taken the second step for us.

RM: You refer to your relationship with Godfrom an early point in your life. Were youraised in a Christian home?MC: Man, wow. Well, I don’t know if I can say

Writer: Matthew Jon Marquez • Photographer: Bil Zelman

O


I was raised in a Christian home. [Chuckleslightly] Well, I can say my mom knows andloves the Lord. I believe she is saved. My lifegrowing up was such a roller coaster that thestability of a home life and church family justwasn’t there. At one point I went to live withmy dad and that was tough, because I had todeal with abandonment issues and stuff. Onething I can say about my father is that he played

piano in a church. So, in some ways I was stuckin a church, but I realize now that even then Iwas still being fed [spiritually]. I think thathelped me later on in life when I went to col-lege. Looking back, I can see that God was al-ways putting people and situations in my lifethat would encourage me to get past the toughspots in my life. Again, it’s a matter of listeningto God’s leading. So, God was always a part ofmy life, even when I was a little kid.

RM: Early childhood experiences can shape usinto who we are as adults today. How do youfeel your early life events shaped you? MC: Man, my childhood was really rough. Mychildhood was not an enjoyable part. Back thenwhat I was going through and even when I wastrying to get into USC, I started to really turntowards the Lord. I remember crying and tear-ing-up all my papers—struggling. I startedpraying, listening to the gospel music, andstarted running towards the Lord. And littledid I know that God was looking down on meand saying, “It’s gonna be okay. I’m getting youtough.”

I think if we had any idea what God has instore for us, none of us would ever want to doit. It would be too much, but He is alwayspreparing us, you know?

RM: Your experience at USC seems to be apivotal point in your life, both professionallyand spiritually. How would you have definedfailure prior to then and how do you definefailure now?MC: Yeah, USC was a turning point for me.Prior to then, I didn’t have any concept of fail-ing. The expectations for me were not thereearly on. But when [USA Track & FieldCoach] Jim Bush tells me he believes in me

and is going to give me a full scholarship toUSC, then it became different. I’m like, “Wow,you’re doing this for me?” Up to this point, Ididn’t have to worry about grades or reportcards. When I got to USC, there was GPA andprogram eligibility rules, doing your homework,and staying ahead with your classes. I found outthat nobody cared that I was an athlete. I had todo the work or I didn’t make the team.

But there again, from an early part in mylife I knew I wanted to graduate from college.I wanted a degree. I wanted to be a positiverepresentation for my culture, for the blackman in America. Back then, there were somany stereotypes of black men being unedu-cated, a thug, and I wanted to run from the sto-ries of my father and other men in my familythat failed to graduate. I realize that I wantedto be different than all of that. There just had tobe something different. One of my role modelsback then was [Renaldo] Nehemiah, who wasa famous hurdler, and he spoke so intelligently.There was just this aura about his whole per-sona that lured me to be different. That’s whatI wanted to be. When I got to USC, I realizedI was given a hand-up—not a hand-out—to besomething different. To run towards somethingthat would be life-changing and good. That’swhen I realized failure would be anything less.

RM: You mention your father and your rela-tionship with him quite a bit. Have you recon-ciled your relationship with him?MC: Well a lot of this is in my book, but I didreconcile with him. You know, sometimes youlook for people to change and that’s when youforgive them—“if ” they change. But when youstart growing in the word of the Lord, you re-alize that you have to love them through theirfaults. You need to protect yourself, but youhave to love them unconditionally.

To make a long story short, God told meif I wanted to make it to Sydney in 2000, I hadto forgive my father. Now, I’m not one to mockthe Lord’s directions and I wanted to competeat Sydney. So, in 2000 I picked up the phoneand told him, [Pauses in reflection] “I want tolet you know that I forgive you and I love you.”

RM: That’s how you began the conversation?MC: Yeah, just like that. He responded by say-ing, “Thank you, Mark. Praise the Lord. I loveyou too.” He started crying and I felt as thougha thousand pounds lifted off of his shoulders.You know, sometimes we condemn people somuch and all they want is to be forgiven. We’resupposed to love them and forgive them. Weput them under tremendous pressure when we

don’t forgive them. Nobody wants to feel thatpressure. I felt the lift, more so, for him thanfor me. I didn’t do wrong that was done, but itwas my obligation to free him from the thingsof the past. God had already delivered me frommy past; I wanted him to have the same free-dom. I think we all have that same obligationto set people free everywhere we go.

And to wrap up that story, the circum-stances worked out that I got to take my fatherwith me to Sydney. It was a good moment forhim. He got to take all the pictures and get outof the country. It was a good moment—it’ssomething he can take to his grave and knowthat he went to the Olympics with his son. Itwas my way of saying, “It’s all forgiven.”

RM: You’re a pastor now. What is one lessonyou would like the Church to learn today?MC: Oh, wow, that’s pretty deep to consider. Ithink one thing the Church needs to learntoday is that it needs to be honest and trans-parent with itself and to the generations com-ing up. I see so many leaders of ministriessuffering. The system of the church has pre-vented its leaders from being transparent. Nowwe have these pastors who are “leading bybleeding” and they can’t tell anyone they aresuffering. It’s wrong. The church needs to relaxand stop worrying about their building funds,campus development, and growing theirchurches. This just puts more and more pres-sure on its leaders to be less transparent. Yeah,that’s something the church needs to learn.

Pastor Mark Crear is a bestselling author and anationally recognized motivational speaker. Formore information on Mark’s journey, check out hisautobiography, Why My Silver Is Gold, or hisWeb site, www.markcrear.com.

knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but when I realized my purpose,I just had to take the first step. We all just have to take the firststep; God has already taken the second step for us. I

31S u m m e r 2 0 0 8

hen I blabbed to everyone I knew that I was going to interview Dwight, nobody asked “Dwight who?” Instead, theyoffered advice. “Hey, start off with the word Question” (the preface used by Dwight on the hit TV show The Office

whenever he is about to ask something he considers important). While I didn’t take their advice I did realize that RainnWilson—or more accurately, Dwight K. Schrute—has achieved single-name status, in my circle at least, offering hope toless famous nerds living in quiet desperation. Here then is a leader for them, a patron saint elevating the paper shredderto iconic level.

I only watch TV one night a week, and then it’s The Office. At other times I catch the show online or rent it on DVD,scouring everything, including the extras for the big laugh that will surely come. And so I know all about Dwight. So muchso that I could even fabricate his backstory—my guess is that as a child he got into trouble regularly for using his BB gunagainst his neighbor’s pets. He flunked English and saw no point in art, but achieved straight A’s in science after buildinga shortwave radio to spy on Russian agents living in nearby Lackawanna County. He raised chinchillas for meat and hides,using every part of the animal, right down to the teeth and claws for decorative necklaces that he sold at his roadside beetstand. Facts: Dwight’s forebears are Amish and he would have gone on a lifelong rumspringer if he did not consider him-self morally superior to most other human beings. Having a worm farm since kindergarten, Dwight is currently the world’sleading authority on night crawlers. Still, I was a bit nervous in talking to the man who had the power to make me laughharder than anyone on TV.

I had many questions, and one problem, which was not what to ask but who to ask it of. Like many of you, I getDwight and Rainn confused. With that in mind, I decided to interview them separately. Oh, and I didn’t begin the in-terview with the word Question, because Rainn would have thought, Here we go again, and Dwight would have counteredwith another question.

Dwight Schrute and Rainn Wilson were interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in Los Angeles.

Risen Magazine: Hello Dwight. I have a fewquestions I would like you to answer.Dwight Schrute: Sure thing.

RM: What are the origins of agritourism?DS: Agritoursim began in the Middle Ageswhen owners of castles would rent theirrooms to crusaders on their way to the Holyland. They learned various farming tech-niques. The Macedonians were very good atthat. [Laughter]

RM: Do your Amish roots cause conflict aboutthings like using buttons and driving a car towork?DS: My ancestors are Amish, but I am notAmish. I am a big fan of buttons and mod-ern technology. I try and incorporate themodern world with the more primal world.For instance, if my computer goes dead, Icould use it as a blunt instrument to kill astag. [Hard laughter]

RM: You have a fairly constant smirk. I assumethat’s because you’re on the verge of laughing atall the funny things you hear and say.DS: No, it’s because I’m a better person thanthose around me.

RM: I once heard you say that you loveMichael Scott more than his mother does. Isthat true?DS: Yes, I love him more than his mother loveshim. Without even thinking I would put a let-

Rainn Wilson

Writer: Chris Ahrens • Photographer: Tyler Shields

W

Mr. Schrute, meet Mr. Wilson


ter opener through my jugular for MichaelScott, in a second, in a heartbeat. [Hardlaughter]

RM: Rainn, same question: Do you thinkDwight loves Michael more than his motherdoes? Rainn Wilson: I get a sense that everyoneloves Michael Scott more than his motherloves him. At some point, season five or six, wehave got to introduce Michael Scott’s mother.

RM: There’s a theory that ideas came fromoutside of oneself; where do you think ideascome from?

RW: Um, wow, that’s a good question. I thinkthat through years of training, in whatever fieldyou’re in, the arts or the sciences, you kind ofprime your instrument in a way that you willmake the right decisions and gain the rightkind of instinct about the problems that are infront of you. In that sense you kind of set your-self up for divine inspiration.

RM: You play a convincing nerd; did you everget chased home from school and shaken downfor lunch money as a kid?RW: I think I have nerd genes, because it wasin my blood pretty early. When I was in sixthgrade I was kind of the same as any other kid,you know, kickin’ the soccer ball and runningaround and acting goofy. But you’re not reallya nerd until you hit junior high school, then, allof the sudden my interests were like readingscience fiction books, Dungeons & Dragons,pottery, chess. In seventh and eighth grade, itkind of solidified.

RM: Were your parents hippies?RW: My parents really weren’t full-on hippies.They didn’t do drugs, because they were Bahais.They weren’t into political peace marches, butthey were alternative, bohemian types. I thinkmost people, a lot of people in those years, like’69 to ’74 ... everyone was alternative in someway, whether it was eating seaweed, doing yoga,macramé, whatever it was.

RM: I only ask because I couldn’t find Rainn in

the Dear Abbey book of children’s names.RW: Yeah, the name is definitely the bohemiantype. Although I’m lucky because my momwanted to name me Thucydides, after theGreek historian and author of the Pelopon-nesian War. [Laughter]

RM: What don’t people know about you thatyou would like them to know?RW: That they’re welcome to borrow moneyfrom me anytime. [Laughter]

RM: What do you find funny?RW: That’s a very good question, actually. I justread the new Steve Martin memoir, and I

thought that was the best analysis of how com-edy works. Anyone who wants to learn any-thing about how comedy works should readthat book, because of all his years doingstandup. I thought it was fascinating.

RM: When I first saw Steve Carell, he kind ofreminded me of Steve Martin. There’s nothingsuggesting the clown, a guy simply dressed thatcould be an insurance salesman until the flawsin his thinking cause everything to unwind.RW: Yes, he has such a plain, average de-meanor. There’s nothing about him that looksimmediately funny. Then it becomes funnierand funnier and funnier. I tell you, Steve Carellis . . . What I find funny is when Steve Carellis at the top of his game.

RM: Do think that God has a sense of humor?RW: Absolutely. Yes, He has a tremendoussense of humor. Example? I can’t think of oneright now. Um, let me think. Poop, everyonepoops, all things poop in some way. [Laughter]

RM: Where do you see yourself in 10,000years?RW: [Laughs] I see myself in heaven, doing asitcom for the trillions of viewers that havepassed away.

RM: Hopefully they will all have to pay you atleast a dollar. RW: That’s what I want, to cash in. [Laughter]

Rainn Wilson lives in the Los Angeles area withhis wife, Holiday, and their son, Walter. Duringthe writer’s strike Rainn spent lots of time athome with his family. Dwight Schrute spent histime off designing the world’s first virtual beetmuseum.

I think I have nerd genes, becauseit was in my blood pretty early.

Writer: Chris Ahrens / Photographer: John Dole

37S u m m e r 2 0 0 8

Risen Magazine: How were you introduced tohip-hop?RedCloud: Man, it’s funny you say that, be-cause I was raised on the music of my father—oldies, Hendrix, Santana, Chicago … But welived in Hawthorne, and growing up there inthe ’80s, everybody was into hip-hop. The firsttime I heard hip-hop, I thought it was cool butthat it didn’t hold up to the music my dadplayed in his bomba, lowrider car. Then, one dayin the sixth grade at lunchtime, a bunch of kidswere walking to the grassy area. I ran, wantingto see my first big fight on school campus. ThenI saw these two tall black guys who were maddoggin’ each other, bumpin’ chests and talkin’smack. This one guy says, “Yo man, anybodyhere kick a beat box? This fool thinks he canget me.” I was like, What is he talkin’ about?This guy next to me covers his mouth [Red-Cloud perfectly imitates a beat]. Then the guysstart makin’ fun of each other, and makin’ itrhyme, baggin’ on each other’s shoes, on theirclothes, on their mamas. At every punch line,the crowd would erupt with laughter. Theywere both good and I was tryin’ to pick my fa-vorite.

It caught me off guard, and I could seethey were makin’ it up as they went along –freestylin’. The bell rings and they shake handsand walk away, in opposite directions, and thisone dude has a big crowd around him, saying,“Yeah man, you served that fool.” And thisother guy’s walkin’ away with his posse aroundhim and they’re cheerin’ him on. The wholeweek, everybody’s talkin’ about that battle be-tween those two dudes. After that, I tried

freestylin’, cheesy things like, “Yo, crusin’ downthe street, there’s a blue car, it’s goin’ really fast,it’s goin’ really far.” Then I learned about mili-tant hip-hop: Public Enemy, X-Clan, NWA,fight the power stuff. I was like, this is it.

RM: Do you think battle rap curbs gang vio-lence?RC: For sure. In high school we’d go to thehouse parties. My gangs were Hawthorne Pyruand Little Watts. I would go to a party andthere’s some dudes from Lennox 13, there’ssome dudes from Lawndale, oh snap, LittleMobsters, Florence is over there. Sometimesthere’s a DJ and he’d say, “Who’s the best MCin this place?” and someone from this crew andthat crew would go. Of course I would step upand grab the microphone and outshine allthese dudes. Afterwards it was always like,“Props, Homie.” Nobody would meet in theparking lot, everybody respected.

RM: Tell me about your gang days.RC: From 1986 to 1989 Hawthorne Pyru andLittle Watts were connected. By the time I gotjumped out in eighth grade, in 1991, theydidn’t get along anymore and so I ended upgetting jumped out by both gangs. That’s whereI got this knot on my forehead. [Points to scar]

RM: “Jumped out,” what’s that mean?RC: Jumped in means four or five dudes beatyou up to get in [the gang], blood in. Whenyou get jumped out of the gang, the sameamount of dudes beat you up, just a littlerougher, and that’s your initiation to get out,

blood out. Usually it’s very hard to get out. Idid it before I got out of high school. It was aproblem, but not like I would have had if I werea 12th grader.

RM: What connected you with your indige-nous heritage?RC: I was adopted at eight months and raisedhardcore Chicano. My birth father is from theChiapas tribe in Mexico, and the Juagenio tribehere, the San Juan Capistrano Indians. Mymom is from Jalisco; the indigenous peoplethere are the Huichol. But the biggest Indiantribes in the United States are right here in SanDiego, the people selling oranges on street cor-ners, the Cholos running around the streets ofLA, those are the warriors of today, the tribesof today. This is their land and they get treatedas if they’re trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean,when they’re just trying to hop a fence back toCalifornia. We pretend that California, Ne-vada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, aren’tMexico. That was all our land. We’re not immi-grants. Imagine being called an immigrant onyour own land. When I started getting intohip-hop with some of the homies at my school,we learned about all these chiefs, even theMexican and Incan chiefs. Tupac Shakur gothis name from an Incan Indian chief. I realizedI should be proud of being who I am, and whoI am is indigenous.

Before I become a missionary to Africa, Ihave to be a missionary to my people here.That’s my heart, the indigenous people.Whether you’re Canadian, Alaskan, the North-ern Plains tribes, East Coast Iroquois, one of

’m sitting at Syntax Records in Lemon Grove, California, tapped out to the beat, marinating on the words and gen-erally enjoying the uncollected works of RedCloud, an indigenous rapper who at that moment is driving from the

hospital after visiting his mother, who just survived a difficult surgery. When a particularly catchy track ends, Syntax co-owner Tim Trudeau slides a DVD into his laptop and up comes the song “Tapatio,” accompanied by a video of the samename, starring “Cloud” as Trudeau alternately calls him, and featuring another up-and-comer, Pigeon John. Midwaythrough the jubilant clip, RedCloud enters the studio and takes a seat near me. The video trails off, its main player intro-duces himself, and we begin talking, not about music but lunch. Following his lead I order rolled potato tacos. By the timefood arrives, half an hour later, I have yet to ask my first question, discussing instead everything from the vatos in the’hood he grew up with, to passive resistance, to the wisdom of warrior politics as practiced by his great ancestors.

Turns out, RedCloud is as well-versed in the history of the music he loves as he is in of the indigenous people hehopes to protect. He carries a wound on his forehead from the gang he left and an unseen wound on his heart left by thosewho were charged with protecting him as a child. And while I could hear an occasional tinge of pain in his voice (and hislyrics), I found him filled with self-determination, love, joy, and gratitude.

RedCloud is well aware that he bears the name of a great warrior, a man who sacrificed everything for his people.Please listen closely—Makhpiya-Luta, RedCloud in the English language, has something to say, and not all of it ends inneat rhymes.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine at Syntax Records in Lemon Grove, California.


those 500 tribes in Mexico, you’re indigenous.That lady selling roses on the corner is Indian,a lot more than the guy with the blue eyes andthe Jesus beard who might be a third [Indian].[Laughs]

RM: You could be on the verge of a big break-through in your career, but that’s not always agood thing for someone of faith.RC: I’m aware of the traps. I do 150 shows ayear. I go from a nightclub to a church the next

morning, from that church to a powwow, fromthat powwow to a festival, from that festivalwith 20,000 people to a coffee shop with 100people, from that coffee shop to a reservation,to a youth group, to an MC battle at somecrazy club in Compton. God is awesome; Hetrained me and raised me in a certain way, sothat I’m prepared for war. I’m not lookin’ forPuff Daddy status.

RM: How were you trained?RC: I was trained by battle MCs—the TunnelRats, LPG, Christian dudes. When I got saved,I didn’t know there was Christian music. Ididn’t even know I was a Christian. I just knewthat I loved Jesus. I got saved through an exBlood. Lennox and Little Watts and Redondowere all there. The dude that led me in the sin-ner’s prayer is one of the baddest dudes on themic against other rappers. The fact that theywould battle and not cuss? You gotta begood—you break that dude down withoutcussing. It’s improv, so it’s out of your heart andif you mess up, that’s bad. We trained not tocuss, to break down the dude’s ego, cuz rightnow that dude’s got a big head. Break’m downfor the Lord. I get tempted sometimes, I havemy crutches, I’ll say frick instead of the “f ”word, shoots instead of the other word.

RM: What makes you cry?RC: My wife will play slow music in the carand I’ll think about my mom, my dad, mybrothers in jail, my nephews, my nieces, whatheroin, crack, and meth have done in my fam-ily–that makes me so angry. My pops, my poorpops. My real dad, where is he? My real mom,

why didn’t she want me? Why was I adopted?I think about my poor wife when I’m on theroad. When I see injustice, the treatment of mypeople. When indigenous people are treatedbadly, I weep. Worship music every Sundaymorning, I’m bawling. I’m the guy in the cor-ner with his head in his hands. Man, all thosethings make me cry.

RM: If I had never heard the word God, howwould you describe Him?

RC: Without sounding cheesy, God is love,God is light. God is life. God is mystery. Godis real. I don’t care what anybody says, I’mwalking evidence of that. If anybody asks whoGod is there’s an action [Opens arms wide andenfolds them]. A blanket for the cold.

RM: Did you learn manhood from your father?RC: A lot of men are stoic and cold. You gottabe there for your kids; you gotta listen, be aprovider, a leader, a servant, a disciple. My dadwas cold, didn’t talk much, but when he toldme he loved me, it rocked my earth. When Igot to go in his lowrider, oh man. My dad wasthat classic lowrider, looked like the logo forLowrider Magazine.

One day I got into a fight with this kid,and I beat him up in the classroom. Afterschool he follows me to my house. He runs to-ward me and tackles me. My head hit the floorand I almost blacked out. He punched me inthe face and then got off me. He got off me be-cause my dad was there. I thought, I’m so gladmy dad’s here. My dad picks me up and dragsme toward him, like chase him, get him. I’mlike, dang, I just got knocked out. Man up, thatwas my dad. He wasn’t the most perfect ormost loving father. A little more love wouldhave been good. In the end heroin got the bestof him and he wasn’t himself.

RM: As you know, many of the old Indianchiefs were like servants.RC: That’s the way I think about it, man. I getto my shows first and I meet with everybodyand I hang with everybody. I’m carryin’ my DJ’sequipment and when they break down I help

them. I’m the first there and the last to leave.Ministry starts when you lend a helping hand.

RM: What does the name RedCloud mean toyou?RC: It’s the name of one of the greatest chiefsever, Makhpiya-Luta. Before he died he had tomake some crazy decisions to save the lives ofhis people. I want to be a guy who makes thosetypes of decisions, to save his people. Whenyou see the sunrise in the morning, the clouds

are red around it. To me the sun is the best rep-resentation I have of God. With it comes life,light. I want to be around the Son of Man, theSon of God, day and night. Sunrise and sunset,like a red cloud.

RM: What would you fight to the death for?RC: My people, my Creator, even though Hewould want me to fight to the life. But I servea mighty Creator and I don’t think He wouldwant me to kill anybody. Any man can break abuilding down, but not any man can build abuilding. Any man can kill a person, but ittakes a skilled man to heal. It took a skilledman to heal my mom this morning, to help her.Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.

RM: Where do you see yourself in 10,000years?RC: Man, I think I’ll be sitting with God andasking all the questions, or maybe you won’teven have to ask. I’ll see my dad and my momand not have to worry about things that get inthe way of seeing God, like paying the bills. Allthe things of your dreams will be waiting foryou. You’ll see a lion, kickin’ it. No death. We’llsee all the animals that have passed away. Somepeople say dogs don’t go to heaven; whatever,my dogs do. [Laughs]

RedCloud’s newest CD, Hawthorne’s MostWanted, is available in record stores and onlinethrough SyntaxRecords.com.

Serj TankianToo Many HatsWriter: Corey Moss / Photographer: Tyler Shields

43S u m m e r 2 0 0 8

Risen Magazine: When I think about themaking of this record, I picture you in total iso-lation.Serj Tankian: It was very personal. I’ve had myown studio for years and I have been writingand recording for years. I have hundreds andhundreds of tracks. Some are electronic, someare experimental, some are for film, classicalpiano and string, some are jazz—there’s rockstuff, punk stuff, goth stuff, noise stuff. I’vewanted to do a solo record for a long time. Peo-ple always ask me why. Well, I was a solo artist

before I was in a band, we all were. I have allthese songs I need to get out in different waysand these are songs I needed to sing on.

RM: How, then, did the record take the paththat it did?ST: Honestly, I didn’t know I was making arock record. I just picked songs that wouldmatch my voice from the collection I was put-ting together. Then I started arranging them,starting with piano and acoustic guitar andrough vocals, and then layering and layering. I

guess it could be dangerous because you’redoing it all without a band and it may notsound like a band in the end, but it worked.Modern technology for you.

RM: The album covers a vast amount ofground, both musically and lyrically. What aresome of the subject matters that are mostprevalent?ST: There’s personal love, love stories, pain sto-ries associated with love that are personal buttranscend to the universal in some ways. There’s

erj Tankian’s inaugural solo album is as solo as solo comes.The System of a Down singer wrote every song, played every instrument (with the exception of the drummers who

replayed his programmed tracks), produced the project, and released it on his Serjical Strike label.“Too many hats!” Tankian laughed. “It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s the most fulfilling thing because you can only

blame yourself if you mess up. And you cover as many of the bases as you can, trying to inject creative stuff into market-ing, publicity, photography, videos…”

And those creative touches are clearly evident. Spoken word evangelist Saul Williams wrote Serj’s bio. Serj gave hisbacking band the all-too-ominous name The FCC. And he’s surveying every journalist who interviews him on the mean-ing of civilization (more on that later) to ensure he’s “learning something too.”

All this and he still finds the time to take on the most important cause of the Armenian race. Not bad for a solo act. Interviewed and photographed exclusively for Risen Magazine.

S


political stuff, theoretical, and philosophicalthings having to do with civilization and timeand what those mean to us. There’s humor,there’s art for the sake of art, like Zappa-esquearrangements. There’s an acoustic song that’svery dramatic and guttural, an original per-formance that I left in there, which is whereI’m going with the next [solo] record, a lot ofstrings, orchestral elements, and jazz—morestripped down than rock.

RM: Tell me about the title, Elect the Dead.ST: It’s named after the last song on the record.

As with all of my songs, it’s open to interpre-tation. And I’ve heard some amazing ones. Letme hear yours first.

RM: Probably because we’ve discussed politicsso much in the past, but my first thought wastying it to the Armenian Genocide, with electbeing another word for honor.ST: That’s a good one. That’s in my top fournow! I haven’t thought of it that way, but I loveit. One is that our leaders today aren’t compe-tent, so we have to look at leaders from thepast: JFK, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., etc.Another interpretation was that the victims ofthe epitome of civilization should be the oneswho elect the next leaders, so it’s a just struc-ture. Those who have died from starvationbased on bad health care, for example. Gener-ally, I think we need the wisdom beyond ourphysical world, even history itself, to be able tograpple with the times we live in today. Weneed to elect ourselves as responsible people inour own lives to lead ourselves. That wisdom isavailable. And I think everything points to thatdirection with Elect the Dead.

RM: You said some of the songs have to dowith civilization. How so?ST: The concept of time and civilization are in-terrelated to me. Civilization is interesting be-cause man has been on the planet for millionsof years, yet civilization has been around foronly 10,000. And everything we call history is

within those 10,000 years. Every modern reli-gion was built within civilization. None ofthem came from the indigenous past. Andbased on everything going on in the world, sci-entifically, civilization itself is unsustainable inits current progression—overpopulation on oneside, and on the other side, depleting naturalresources at an accelerated progressive rate. Sowhy don’t we realize civilization is over and justcall it what it is? Which opens up the questionof what do we do next. And that’s somethingthat would definitely take global communica-tion. But we’re not even there yet. We can’t the-

orize a world without civilization. It’s our drug.We’ve lived in this city our whole lives and can’tsee outside of it. We don’t know, we just wantto fix it, and that’s what is interesting to me.

RM: There’s angst in so many of your songs,yet over the years I have known you, there hasalways been a distinct calmness to you. Is thatbecause music is such an outlet for you? ST: Maybe. I haven’t really psychologically ex-amined that yet. But a good friend said to me,“Isn’t it weird that happy people make darkmusic and dark people make happy music?” Ithought that was pretty intuitive.

RM: The last time you were in the public eye,a few years ago, there seemed to be someprogress in your fight to get the ArmenianGenocide recognized. [Although 1.5 millionArmenians were reportedly killed by OttomanTurks between 1895 and 1915, both the Turk-ish and American governments refuse to rec-ognize it as genocide.] What’s the latest?ST: Thanks for asking. There’s another resolu-tion in the Senate and one in the House. In theHouse, there’s a majority already of co-spon-sors, so if Nancy Pelosi brings it up, it will getpassed. There’s a lot of recognition and aware-ness in the U.S. specifically. A lot has to do withthe permeation of activity from non-govern-ment organizations, including my own band.That’s good to see because awareness is the firststep. It would be great if Congress passed a res-

olution, but it wouldn’t be the end, becauseTurkey has to stop denying it and admit itthemselves. And also then deal with whateverjustice requires. It’s a long road. The importantthing is more people are aware of it, so it’sharder for politicians to lie.

RM: How has taking on that cause shaped youas a person?ST: The understanding of hypocrisies of denialof genocides has opened my eyes to other in-justices around the world and that’s helpedshape my character. But it’s also my philosophy

of life that you have to open doors to peopleand let them in traffic. That’s the way to createchange.

RM: So do you miss having the band around?ST: Of course. People always ask me if it’s bet-ter or worse. I think there are pros and cons toboth. If your vision is strong, you can make thatvision come true immediately. I like to think ofit in this metaphor: I love playing basketballwith my friends; you pass and you work as ateam. But then it’s nice to go out and shoot byyourself on a nice clear day.

Serj Tankian is promoting Elect the Dead.

The understanding of hypocrisies of denial of geno-cides has opened my eyes to other injustices aroundthe world and that’s helped shape my character.

47S u m m e r 2 0 0 8

dept:Miracles

Risen Magazine: Give us the details of youraccident.Brew Briggs: We had been living in Bend,Oregon, when I got the call that the Win-dansea Surf Club had a spot for me in a teamcompetition in Santa Cruz. We had been inOregon for about six months and thought,What the heck, let’s have a little family vaca-tion. We had a great time and decided to headhome on Sunday.

Sheri Briggs: We spent that night in LakeShasta and the next morning went to breakfast.The kids were all happy, we went hiking by thisbeautiful waterfall, and everything was perfect.We got into the car and I took the wrong turnthat put us hours behind schedule. When wegot within about two hours of home, we hadour shoes off, and we let the kids lay down, forthe first time ever, without their seatbelts.

RM: How old were the kids?SB: Lilly was two, Emily was five, Nathan wasjust turning eleven, and Eric was fifteen.BB: We stopped at a gas station and prettymuch the last thing I remember was buying

Eric a candy bar. I took over the driving, andthe rest of the story has to be from Sheri.

SB: We had only been on the road about fifteenminutes. It is a little two-lane road with Kla-math Lake on one side and this cement barrieron the other. We were cruising along at 55 or 60miles per hour when suddenly I looked ahead tosee a car pulling into our lane, coming right atus. There was nowhere to go. I screamed, Brewswerved, and we hit the car. I was completelyaware, thinking, Oh my gosh, what a big crash,and I kept wondering when it was going to end.The next thing you know, I’m sitting on the sideof the road, and I have Lilly, my two year old, inmy arms. I have my eleven-year-old son, and Icouldn’t get to my other daughter. The first thingout of my mouth was totally from the HolySpirit: “No weapon formed against me willprosper.” It was like I yelled it out from the sideof this road. Eric was in the van and Brew wason the other side of the highway, on the lakeside, underneath the van.

The kids and I had flown approximatelyfifty feet, and Brew, who knows? Miraculously,our insurance adjuster was in the car right be-

hind ours. He came to our house two weekslater and was able to tell us that when we hitthe car, we flew straight up, flipped once in theair, came down, hit the side rail, and flippedtwo more times.

RM: I heard you describe it as like a flock oflittle ducklings on the side of the road.SB: I don’t know how, but I grabbed my baby.I was covered in glass, but my kids didn’t haveany at all. Because of all the glass in my body, Ibelieve that I was thrown through the windowand that they all came flying next to me. It ap-peared to me that the Lord had just laid every-body down. Lilly didn’t even have a scrape, butlater they found a very minor fracture to herskull that they said happened in the best pos-sible place. My son had scraped all of the leftside of his body, from the top all the way down.He was just one big, bloody mess, but it wassuperficial and he was fine. I was yelling,“Emily, wake up in the name of Jesus,” whenshe started to yell. She was about ten to fifteenfeet down the road. Behind the insurance ad-juster was a nurse, two cars back, that came tohelp us.

Writer: Chris AhrensPhotography: Bil Zelman

t was the mid 1970s, a great time to be young and healthy, especially if you were one of the top surfers in Californiaand being paid to do what you loved best. Brew Briggs was running at the front of a burgeoning pack of pro surfers,

leading a life that most kids only dream of, growing up on the then pristine beaches of La Jolla, California, and pickingthe numerous fruits of the earth. With model-good looks, amazing athletic ability, and the Pacific Ocean as a playground,he had it all. Yet if you asked him today about the greatest times of his life, those days wouldn’t even garner honorable men-tion. Instead, he would take you to a day that most others would consider tragic, a day he doesn’t entirely remember be-cause he had slipped into a coma, a day when his wife and four children were hurled through space and caught by handsthat don’t let go. But this is not just Brew’s story, it is the story of Sheri, the wife he loves, and a united family that cele-brates Memorial Day, not because of those who died, but because of those who lived and now mark out a time that noneof them will ever forget.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine at the Briggs home, in Clairemont, California.

MEMORIAL DAYThe true story of one family’s survival

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49S u m m e r 2 0 0 8

dept:MiraclesBB: The guy in the car coming toward uswanted to pass all these cars. When he hit us,it put our car between his car and the barricadeand pinched us into the air. The insurance ad-juster said that you could have driven a semitruck underneath our van.

SB: He said that he saw everything flying outof the car, and you couldn’t tell if it was peopleor blankets. I began praying and praying, but itwas not me. I was in a horrible circumstance inthe natural, but the power of God was comingout of me, and all these peoplewere coming up to us, prayingover us. God just set us up. Oneguy came up to me and said hethought Brew was dead. The vanhad landed on its wheels, and hishead was less than half an inchfrom the wheel well. The ambu-lance was coming when I sawEric coming toward me. He wasbarefoot, walking over all thisglass, and he was saying,“Where’s Dad?” I said, “I don’tknow, pray.” The next thing youknow the insurance adjuster isthere and he and Eric try to lift the van off ofBrew. He was unconscious, and they had tokeep putting the van back down on him, whichwas just killing Eric.

When another guy showed up to helpthem, Eric was able to pull his father out fromunder that van, not knowing if he was dead oralive. He had broken every bone in his face, buthe was alive.

You hear about the peace of God that sur-passes all understanding. There was not anounce of fear. It was so amazing. It was themost amazing moment of my life! I was in totalcontrol and we were waiting for the ambulanceto come. Brew was the big concern. The injurieswere so minor on our kids that they wanted torelease them from the hospital that night. Theyfound a minor break in the growth plate ofEmily’s arm, but it was so minor they didn’teven cast her. They found two little patches ofgravel in her arm that they got out. Nathan wasall scabs. Lilly, my two year old, didn’t evenhave a scratch on her, but later they found thatminor fracture. I lost a tendon in my toe andhad lots of glass that had to be removed. I hada broken cheek and a head gash, a broken footand a broken toe.

BB: I had a broken hand, broken feet, a brokenknee, and a broken arm. The biggest one was my

right knee. My feet had been crushed and allthe bones in face. They wired my jaw shut.

SB: They took me to surgery and ended upkeeping the kids that night. The nurse whowatched the kids ended up staying on duty. Wefound out later that there were constantly fa-talities on that stretch of highway, so it was abig deal that anyone was alive. It amazed thedoctors and the nurses. We were admitted be-cause of this one nurse, Julie Brown, she was amissionary with eight kids, and she watched us

like a mama bear the whole time we were there.On the third day my husband was coming to.He didn’t even look like himself, he was a mess.

BB: I didn’t really know what had happened, butI remember the first time they took me to seemy wife and I asked, “Did you feel Him?” be-cause I had felt held by the Lord the entire time,like I had been in a Plexiglas ball. I knew thatmy body had been slammed, but I had no fearand didn’t wonder if anybody was dead. I felt likewe were in the hands of God. I was able toleave the hospital on the fifth day. Our experi-ence from that day on has been profound.There’s no way any of us should have even lived.

SB: When Brew asked me if I had felt Him, Istarted crying because I knew we were in thehands of God the whole time. We were on thisradical high. Then, the fourth day was bad andscary. I think the kids were in shock and no-body was eating. I found a big gash on the backof my head, and the doctors were trying to tellme that something was really wrong in Brew’sbrain. I could barely keep my eyes open whena brother in Christ rushed down from Bend tobe with us. After he saw me, he ran around toall the churches, stopped their services, and toldthem to pray, saying we needed a breakthrough.I was under that feeling until eleven o’clock

that night and when I woke up, it was gone. You know, if there was a sign that said

“Sign up for this major car wreck,” I wouldnever do it, but I would never trade that. Spir-itually, it was a catapult. I feel privileged. Thereare still pieces of glass that come out of me andI call them my memorial stones because theymean so much to me. Like my scars, I’mblessed to have my scars.

So many amazing things happened, it’simpossible to tell it all. For instance, the daybefore the crash, the Lord jolted my aunt topray for us. She got her Bible out and wrote the

words from Psalm 91:10—He will give His angels chargeconcerning you. They will bearyou up in their hands lest youdash your foot against a stone.She wrote it out, put all ournames on it, and put it onour refrigerator and prayedover it the day before. Theangels literally . . . I kind ofhave this picture of themcatching us. God has givenus a great miracle and nowwe can go out and movemountains.

BB: My jaw had been wired shut, and when itwas time to take the wires off the guy gave meeight shots of novocaine. Those wires are in yourgums and really hard to get out, so he’s puttinghis foot on my face and pulling the wires out,but I was numb and it didn’t matter to me. Onthe way home I stopped by the river, pulled outmy fly rod, and all of the sudden I started tohurt. I reeled in and on the way home nearlypassed out from the pain. When it’s in your headit goes straight to your brain. I was screamingand lying on the couch when Sheri and herbuddy came up and said, “Let’s pray for you.” Iwas in such excruciating pain that I was about topull my hair out. They laid hands on me and thepain went away. I still can’t explain it.

RM: Are you two still in love?SB: Yeah, absolutely.BB: It’s been fifteen years and five kids and itjust gets better with age.

The Briggs family currently lives in Clairemont,California. Each Memorial Day they celebratethe time of their deliverance. They run a women’said foundation called Bridge of Hope. For dona-tions, contact Sheri Briggs at [email protected].

If you or someone you know has experienceda miracle, please contact our managing editor,Matthew Marquez, at [email protected].

She got her Bible out and wrotethe words from Psalm 91:10—

He will give His angels charge con-cerning you. They will bear you upin their hands lest you dash your

foot against a stone.

D.eath O.r P.rison E.ventually I go to prison and finally hit rock bottom, and realize what am I here for? why was I created?

– Christian Hosoi

he 1950s were innocent, the ’60s were re-bellious, and the ’70s were a hyperactive

blur enhanced by the rise of cocaine, whichalong with heroin became the biggest scourgeour land had ever endured. Then came crystalmethamphetamine.

Failing to deliver on their promises, thesesubstances instead led to the fall of many, in-cluding four of skateboarding’s most influen-tial players: Bruce Logan, Jay Adams, DennisMartinez, and Christian Hosoi. What startedin the light quickly faded to black.

It all began in the late 1950s, before mostpeople had ever seen a skateboard, and a youngBruce Logan tore his steel-wheeled rollerskates apart, nailed them to a two-by-four, andbegan what he called sidewalk surfing. In thenext thirty-six years, Logan would win everymajor skateboarding event there was, includ-ing the 1975 and 1976 world championships.

When the focus in skateboarding shiftedfrom street tricks and downhill to ramps andpools in the mid 1970s, the boys from Dog-town took what nobody was offering. A kidnamed Jay Adams quickly became one of theirleaders. Jay led the surf/skate charge with aone-two punch felt around the world.

Looking to Bruce and Jay as mentors, San

Diego-based Dennis Martinez rose throughthe ranks to grab the 1977 world freestyle titleand the 1978 U.S. championship. “He was sup-posed to be the next big thing; they weregrooming him for a top spot in the company,”said Dogtown’s Skip Engblom.

Then came a new era, dominated by tech-nical wizard Tony Hawk and the high-flyingChristian Hosoi. Tony had the tricks, butChristian had the style. As the skate star of the’80s, as he is often called, Hosoi rented WC

Fields’s house in LA and built a ramp in thebackyard. There, his legendary parties ran asdeep as his talent.

Then, one at a time, Logan, Martinez, andHosoi descended into cocaine and crystal dark-ness, and Adams acquired the deadly habit ofshooting heroin. Miraculously, all four skaterslived to tell the tale, as they, eventually, dedi-cated their lives toward recovery, channelingthe energy once used to get high into helpingothers stay clean and sober.

The idea for a movie on the aforemen-tioned players didn’t occur to me until Decem-ber 2005, when I was seated across fromDennis Martinez, enduring Christmas hip-hopin a church basement. As Dennis slowly un-wrapped the details of his life, a completemovie rolled out before me—the brief years asa touring professional, followed by two decadeson the streets, robbing people at gunpoint,playing Russian roulette, watching close friendsOD or get gunned down. Realizing thatLogan, Adams, and Hosoi had taken similarpaths, I wrote a synopsis for the movie. But Iwould have to write it again and again andagain, as the story continued to morph, andsome skaters cleaned up, while others went toprison or died, even before a first draft wascompleted.


T

These were all differentstories, yet somehow allthe same—four kids rose

fast, lived like rockstars, fell hard, and rose

again, God’s power lifting them higher than

ever before.

Writer: Chris Ahrens • Photography: Bil Zelman


It took two years from the day of that firstmeeting to produce the movie that would becalled D.O.P.E. (Death Or Prison Eventually).And now, forever engraved in my memory arefour lifetimes of athletic achievements andcheering crowds, hundreds of thousands ofdollars won and lost, championship trophiesheld high and the diminishing returns of thequickly fading rush brought on by the sorcerythat stopped them. In less time than it takes toget a high school diploma, all four skaters hadfallen from great heights, from a slow-motiondream, into skateboard hell, landing Hosoi andAdams in prison, Logan and Martinez home-less and on the streets. While the rise and falltook years, redemption took less than a second.Even so, the bloodstains of lost friends wouldremain a permanent reminder, forever stampedon their hearts.

This was my first attempt at moviemak-ing, and in one way it was easy—I mean thestory . . . One of the first professional skate-boarders and the figurehead of the biggest skate-board company of the mid ’70s meth-driven toa homeless camp beneath a freeway bridge. Apillar of Dogtown stooping to use heroin-di-luted gutter water to spike his veins. A rising starjust hitting full stride before a sixteen-year ad-diction to meth and coke took his winnings, hissanity, his soul, and nearly his life. A child starthat flew higher than anyone before him, devas-tated by meth, rebuilding his life in a prison cell.Turning off a dime bag, they would each findanother chance, a new life, a new identity, nearly.These were all different stories, yet somehow allthe same—four kids rose fast, lived like rockstars, fell hard, and rose again, God’s power lift-ing them higher than ever before.

There were other spokes on this wheel, butit was Dennis who was the hub—his life hope-ful as an American dream, sad as Vietnam, re-demptive as the cross, thrill-addicted toeverything from empty pools and freestyle toguns and needles, an adrenaline-starved partic-ipant in games of Russian roulette—six-to-oneyou’ll beat the devil, before, pow! a nineteen-year-old friend pulls the trigger three times.Game over. The seven-month-pregnant girlwho died in his arms from a bullet meant forhim. The guns put to his head, the world cham-pionship cup traded for $500 worth of coke.

The idea was there—the money wasn’t.Then SurfRider Foundation CEO Jim Mori-arty suggested I meet his friend Michael Clif-ford, the man who introduced me to BrianStewart, the head of the twin charities BoatAngel and Car Angel. We had enough cash(and not a cent more) to finish the film, and we

hired an award-winning director to help usspend it. While excellent at his craft, the direc-tor never did see into the church basement.After trying out two other competent directorsand realizing nobody was going to share my vi-sion from that night, it was my turn to attemptto bring this story to life.

The first thing I did was call skater/actorJason Lee, to ask if he wanted to narrateD.O.P.E. He claimed he was a little busy, theunderstatement verified months later when Ilooked up to see his face on a Hollywood bill-board, realizing he was playing the lead as Earlin My Name Is Earl, the soon-to-be-hit com-

edy. Natural Born Killer Juliette Lewis fit theprofile but was busy doing a play in London.Risen had just interviewed gangster-turned-actor Danny Trejo around that time. We calledTrejo, and he eagerly agreed to the project andhad us meet him in a Compton bar, where hesat sipping soft drinks, surrounded by a gangof infamous bikers, watching his son Gilbertplay music for a fundraiser. We recordedDanny’s hard voice in a van that night, made aquick trailer for the film, and continued chip-ping away at the remaining rock.

We begged favors of friends like P.O.D.,Switchfoot, Dance Floor Prophets, and Ar-rested Development, along with the stablefrom Syntax Records, including upcoming in-digenous rapper, RedCloud, to get the rightmusical mix.

Through the blood-soaked labor of BFC,Scott Yamamura, Jesse Schluntz, and others,the film was completed, but where to release it?We considered venues in Hollywood and inour hometown of San Diego. The ASRTradeshow seemed like a natural. Then Cliffordmentioned doing something at Calipatria State

Prison, where we had filmed, treating menserving up to eleven life sentences to a day atthe movies.

Because of work by men like Calipatria’sChaplain Richey, the date was set for Novem-ber 16, 2007. Through the efforts of the oneand only Doctor Prison, national media was se-cured. Due to mounting security risks, however,we were unable to bring any news cameras intothe prison except for Bil Zelman’s, whosesteady-handed stills accompany this piece. Wemoved ahead and soon were seated in an in-door/outdoor prison facility, the sun reflectingagainst the screen, erasing our two-year effortby noon. Former Manson Family memberDennis Rice took over, telling of his attempt tofree his pal Charlie [Manson] with an arsenalof stolen guns. Hosoi and Martinez were nextwith stories of gain and loss and still greatergain, followed by the beat of RedCloud and hispartner DJ Wise, who were just shifting intohigh gear when something louder than rapbroke in and the prisoners were down and we,the visitors, lined up against the wall. Theprison was being locked down and we werebeing held there for our own safety. Hearingthat violence had occurred on another yard, theremainder of the show was canceled and themen returned to their cells. We were thankingour hosts, stacking chairs, packing up, when theman in charge, Lieutenant Shawn McLinn,said we could proceed with our second show-ing, which again was a big hit with the menand, this time, played all the way through.

At about the same time we were playingour first show, a team led by veteran KentLucas was previewing it to hundreds of in-mates in W.J. Estelle and Holliday prisons inTexas, where it was followed by the music ofDance Floor Prophet’s front man Ricky An-drade, who is responsible for several of thesongs on the D.O.P.E. track. The Texas reportwas similar to our own—tears of repentanceand joy had flooded the yard.

No prison record is required for attendingsubsequent showings of D.O.P.E., which weexpect to play in select theaters this spring. Wewill also continue doing outreaches to prisonsand high schools (thanks to Jon Sundt and hisfoundation). Or you can order the D.O.P.E.DVD online at www.dopethemovie.org.

D.O.P.E. is coming, and as big, bad Danny Trejosays, “ You’d better watch it!”

...prisoners were down and we, the visitors, lined up against thewall. The prison wasbeing locked down and we were being held there for our

own safety.


by Matthew Jon Marquezdept:F.H.L.

remain

o “remain” is to sustain, endure, be long-standing, constant, and always stay - a

word not conducive to our pop-up, A.D.D cul-ture in the West. There is often an unexpressedanxiety with remaining with something orsomeone too long, right? We tend to prefer thesterile processing and scanning of the nextthing for its most valuable assets and how itmight most benefit us for the next unseen mo-ment in our lives.

There is a quote from Jesus of Nazareth Ihave been reminding myself of lately, “Remainin me, and I in you.” There is a lot more to thequote, but the first sentence is what has en-couraged me the most and caused me to stopmy machine like processing of all my “whatifs” and draw deep breaths of relief from freshwind.

The word “remain” hits me with its truemeaning of Jesus’ request of my own long-standing commitment to be in his presence. Ifyou are a follower of Jesus, like me, then youmight feel the sting of this reality. How manytimes have we treated our relationship withhim as casual as a one of our countless ‘friends’on our Facebook or MySpace? You know, theones that add to your total number of friends,but never make your top friends list. You aregrateful for their contribution to your status,but have not connected with them in some-time.

Yet as followers of Jesus, he asks us to re-main in him. To be in his presence constantly.To stay put and linger…and he will in ours.

I realize our hesitancy to yield to this sortof consistency. There is so much happening inthe world, right? It just does not seem feasible

to remain in his presence and risk missing the‘other’ thing taking place. Maybe it just doesnot seem practical. I get that too.

What I also get is Jesus never asks us tostop being in the world. He just asks that weremain in him and he will remain in each of usas we live it out. I tend to forget he wanted tobe in the world too. Becoming flesh he walkedamongst humanity and listened, loved, healed,and took his presence in the very proximity ofthe toughest places - even the cross. All in ef-forts of entering into the presence of our ownlives daily. When we remain, we usher him intoour life situations no matter where they occur.

Right now you’re reading this article andyou might be facing a mountain of stress. Infact, maybe you’re reading this magazine in ef-forts to avoid facing a daunting issue. I hopeyou come to know you are not alone. You canendure, stand strong, and even persevere if youwill take a moment to enter in his presenceand remain there with him. Jesus actually de-sires to share this moment with you and helpyou through it. I hope you know that becauseit is true.

As much as we are apart of ever changinginformation landscape, we are also called to becommitted to the things we believe in. We areto stand confidently, express our hearts withpassion, and embrace the Hope that each of usbelieves in. However, how can we ever be con-fident, compassionate, and contemplative if wefail to remain constant with the one thing thathas been patiently awaiting our daily attention?

Whether it’s the closing moments of myday or with the break of each new day I am al-lowed to experience, I must take with me the

presence of my steadfast relationship in JesusChrist everywhere I go. I wished I could tellyou every day was ‘walk in the park’, but that’snot how life is dealt to us, is it? However, I amconfident the more I remain constant in mypursuit of him, the more I realize he has alwaysbeen right there beside me.

If you are like me, then you know theweight of anxiety’s presence and how desper-ately you seek a moment of exhale to allow theeuphoria of fresh wind and good times to rush-in and course through your veins. If you are likeme, then you understand the mantra of “Mylife will be better when….”

I hope there are more of you that alsoknow by living this type mantra is to live by apersuasive lie. Please know, your life can be bet-ter now and it is a matter of stop living in the“was” and the “what will be” and embrace thenow. Anxiety has no weight or presence thatwe do not give it permission to have over us.The euphoria of the moment is just as simple asthe next breath away; even in our most painfuland lonely of moments it is tucked in therewaiting for us to draw it deep within us and letit go, but we have to learn to remain.

In each of these moments, I draw-indeep a fresh wind for my sails and thestrength to prevail knowing that he remains inme. And if there is anything that confirms myfaith, hope, and love in Jesus, it is my ac-knowledgement of his lingering presence inmy life everywhere I go.

FHL is a new and regular column by Risenmanaging editor Matt Marquez.


hile many photographers approach ashot with an eye trained on a particular

subject, Jeremy Cowart intuitively takes in thewhole of the scene through his viewfinder. Hisis the eye of a graphic-artist-turned-photogra-pher. Used to worrying over the details of a fin-ished product—be it album packaging or aWeb site—in his new line of work he scans thescene and goes after the nuances that shape thefully realized “big picture.”

“I recently read somewhere that composi-tion for most photographers is way in the backof their mind,” says the husband and father oftwo, a Nashville native. “It’s one of the lastthings they think about. A lot of them maythink about the facial expression or the pose,whereas for me composition is number one al-most all the time. That’s the first thing I do—compose the photograph—then I think aboutpose or expression and work my way down.Composition is huge, and I think that’s frombeing a designer.”

Cowart’s unique hybrid perspective is evi-dent in an image of singer/songwriter JeremyLister: with perfect clarity he captured a half-shaded dusk sky, distant trees, dumpsters andpower lines, discarded sign letters strategicallyarranged, shadows stretching across the asphalt,

and the subject standing in a theatrical stance.The overall effect is striking. Another case inpoint is an Imogen Heap image: her medita-tive silhouette and the barely visible line of treesbehind her are submerged beneath an effectthat looks something like underwater papier-mâché. It’s texture taken to the Nth degree.

While those two musicians may not behousehold names, Cowart has worked with hisshare of high-profile subjects—and not just inthe music field. He’s shot Sting, Rob Thomas,and the Backstreet Boys; indie acts like Heap,Feist, and Iron and Wine; and a host ofNashville-based country and Christian talent,in addition to Sacramento Kings forward RonArtest, actors Courtney Cox and MinnieDriver, and the cast of the Fox television dramaPrison Break.

“I think it’s more natural for me to do alot of different things, but the world that I’mtrying to get into, they want to put you in abox,” says Cowart. “Whether I like that or not,that’s just the way the photography worldthinks: ‘Oh, you’re the guy that does this.’ SoI’m trying to tune in a little more on a smallervariety.

“I like the idea of advertising becausethere’s a lot of really creative advertising stuff

dept:Expressions

Writer: Jewly Hight

W


going on right now. The cool thing about it isinstead of putting all the time into a full dayand getting eight to ten setups and shoot[ing]as much as you can, [for a music photo shoot]it’s ‘Give us one shot that’s absolutely amaz-ing,’ and that to me is really appealing. It’sspending all that time thinking about one pho-tograph instead of 200. That to me is a muchbigger challenge and much more interesting.”

Considering the work Cowart used to do,it’s not surprising that his photography has astrong sense of texture, color, and overall co-herence. He earned a degree in graphic designand founded the Nashville-based Web firmPixelgrazer, keeping a healthy distance fromphotography and the complex array of gear itrequired until the digital revolution hit.

“It was right about the time that digitalcameras really started becoming a legit way ofshooting,” Cowart recalls. “I got [one] andstarted shooting textures to incorporate into mydesign work, because you can never have toomany stock photos and textures. Most of myfriends are musicians, so I started taking my lit-

tle dinky camera out and shooting them for fun,and one thing led to another. The next thing youknow a [record] label’s asking me to shoot oneof their artists with my little camera.”

Cowart went into photography full-timein 2005. A month later he was in Africa trav-eling with relief organizations and shooting hisfirst book. It’s called Hope In the Dark and itfeatures a collection of potent images of peopleliving amongst rampant poverty and HIV in-fection, with reflections written by Jenna Lee,director of Blood:Water Mission. Cowart con-siders it his most important work to date.

“The main goal was just to put a face onthese people,” he says. “I’m most proud of [thebook] just because of what it means. It’s reallychanged people’s perspectives and even mine.Those things are forever, whereas a musicphoto shoot is just a project. I definitely wantto do more things that are bigger than just aphoto shoot.”

To see more of Jeremy’s work go to www.JeremyCowart.com.

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dept:Expressions

Risen Magazine: We’ve had all sorts of presi-dents—rail-splitters, soldiers, and lawyers—but never, to my knowledge, an artist. Whatartist living or dead would make a good U.S.president?Chuck Anderson: My wife was watching thatshow Antiques Roadshow a few weeks back andthere was actually some discussion about one ofthe presidents also being a fairly talentedpainter. I can’t remember who it was, so I guessthat doesn’t really count for anything. So to an-swer your question, I think I’d probably vote forNorman Rockwell. I’ve always loved his workand knew he was a man of integrity when Ilearned years ago that he personally respondedto a letter my grandfather wrote him, invitinghim to speak at his church. The letter hangs onmy grandparents’ wall to this day, signed byRockwell, and I think it says a lot about him.Not only that, I just learned by doing a little re-search that he [Rockwell] wanted to enlist inthe Navy for WWI but was eight pounds un-derweight. So that night he devoured donuts,bananas, and liquids and made the cut the nextday. I think that says a lot about how hard he’dwork to get things done!

RM: The world is basically run by type A per-sonalities: function is king. What might things

look like if an artist were president of the U.S.?CA: I think we’d be able to find much more cre-ative, innovative, and pioneering solutions toproblems with someone who liked to thinkmore artistically and had a big imagination. I’dlove to see a president during a State of theUnion be like, “Oh, hey, I wanted to show every-one this drawing I’ve been working on . . .” Ha.

RM: If you could make one law, what would itbe?CA: Just one law, huh . . . ? I think I’d make itillegal for anyone to purchase, think about, orlook at a Bluetooth headset for their cellphones if they planned on using it anywherebut in a car, and even then there would be apenalty. But seriously, I think I’d probably wantto make a law that would enforce fixed gasprices, or something like that . . . or put a capon prices for a set time, where they could neverlegally surpass a certain price during a periodof time. That way, even if it was a little on thehigh side, people would know what to expectand plan for.

RM: Public art is so controversial—howshould decisions be reached on what should beplaced in public?CA: On a local level, some kind of vote would

huck Anderson has influenced your life more than you might realize. Justpost high school he began illustrating for such clients as Nike, 555Soul,

Pepsi, Sony, and Reebok. A mere five years later he has padded the résumé to in-clude Absolut, Adidas, Bic, and Microsoft. His work tends toward an ethereal di-rection, yet he is down to earth in conversation. With an ear to the street and aneye on our ever-changing culture, Chuck Anderson is all around us.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine

Writer: Chris Ahrens

C

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seem to make the most sense. The people liv-ing in the town where said art is going to bedisplayed are going to have to look at it everyday, so I’d imagine the best way to decidewould be to ask them what they think about aproposed public piece of art.

RM: In our time, Michelangelo’s David wouldnot be permitted as a display of public art.What is your take on that?CA: My take on that is that our culture needsto lighten up and stop being so fussy andscared about the human body, especially in thecontext of a classical sculpture or painting.From what I understand, it’s hardly an issue inEurope, but here in America, one flashed bodypart and everybody just goes crazy. It’s a sadthing, really, that things like David would beconsidered vulgar by anybody’s standards.

RM: Do you feel you picked art or art pickedyou?CA: That’s a great question . . . I really don’tknow how to answer besides saying both. Thereare a lot of things I’m passionate about—Iloved playing sports when I was growing up. Iwas smart enough in school, however, that ifI’d really wanted to I could have pursued other

things, but I honestly just always had it in meto create things and be an artist. So I feel likeI was really born with a strong passion to be anartist and then went with that passion and car-ried it out. So I’d definitely say it picked meand I obliged.

RM: Do you attempt to convey any onethought through your art? If so, what is that?CA: Not really, I don’t have a specific messagein my work like a lot of artists do. Not that Ihave nothing good to say, but I feel that whatI’m best at is conveying moods and makingpeople feel a certain way when they see mywork. I’m not going to try to come up withsome convoluted piece of art that revolvesaround world issues or politics, because, quitefrankly, I just don’t feel like that’s somethingI’m good at or really called by God to do. I likeit when people respond to my work by tellingme it reminds them of their childhood, or atrip they took one time, or a place they’d like tovisit someday, or just that it reminded them ofa dream or idea they had. That’s what I’m bestat conveying.

RM: I just got back from viewing some Amer-ican Indian cave paintings, all apparently spir-


dept:Expressions

itual. Would you consider creativity sacred orspiritual in any way?CA: Yes, definitely. I strongly believe that Godgives artists their talents and allows them togrow those abilities at their own pace. I firmlybelieve that much of my success is a direct re-sult of asking God to bless me, my family, andmy work. I often look to prayer and God whenI need inspiration and always seem to find itwhen I need it most. It’s without question a sa-cred and spiritual thing, just on different levelsin different ways to each artist.

RM: I hate this question, but could you pleasedescribe your process?CA: I wish I had a good answer for your ques-tion. I don’t really have a set process. Everyproject both personal and commercial seems tobe different for me, so things are always chang-ing and evolving as far as how I do it, why I doit, and what steps I take to get there. So I’ll getus both off the hook by just stopping there, ifthat’s OK.

RM: Are there any pieces of art you covet?CA: Yes, there are dozens of original EdRuscha paintings I would love to own. I thinkit would also be amazing to own like ten Barry

McGee painted glass bottles. Honestly, I’d payquite a bit for a few of those.

RM: If there was a fire, what five items wouldyou take from your house?CA: Do my wife and my cat count? If not, Iwould grab my external hard drive, which hasa back-up of all my work, emails, and contactson it (or my computer if I had time!), myEpson 3800 printer, as many of the books Iown as I could carry, the KAWS vinyl toys I’vespent too much money on over the years, andour black Eames rocker chair. Keep in mind,all the important things like wedding/honey-moon photos are on my external drive and I’massuming I’d already have my wallet and phonein my pocket. I’m really not that shallow. Ha.

RM: Do you ever dream art projects?CA: I must, because a few months ago my wifeasked me in the morning what time I’d goneto bed and apparently I responded, “18 by 24.”

Chuck Anderson’s book, No Pattern, and manyof his prints are available through his Web site:www.nopattern.com.

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Katherine Heigl – 27 Dresses>> On Her Relationship with Her Sister“My sister and I are super, super different; we’ve always been likenight and day. She was, growing up, more of a tomboy and I wasmore into Barbies, and hair, and make-up. She has the mostbeautiful long dark hair and she would never let me play with it.Now I force my agenda on her. [Laughing] Now I’m like, ‘You’rewearing make-up and I’m going to put it on you.’ And now she letsme ... she’s gotten far more patient with me as we’ve gotten older.But it’s so interesting because there is a four-year age difference.When you’re younger that’s huge, and as you get older, you relate toeach other better. You understand each other better and that age gapreally closes. We’ve become really close in the last five to ten years.”

Dustin Hoffman –Mr. Magorium’s WonderEmporium>> On Making It in the Industry

“My teacher … Barney Brown—when I was eighteen years old and Ifirst decided I wanted to be an actor

because I was a failure at everything else—he said, ‘Stay with it.’ Hesaid, ‘Go to New York,’ I was in Los Angeles, ‘Go to New York andstudy. You’re not going to work for over ten years, you’re going to bewaiting tables, they’re not going to really have any sense of yourvalue,’ he says, ‘until you probably almost get to be thirty.’ And hewas exactly right. I waited tables twelve years. He was the first onewho said, ‘You’re an actor.’ Without him I wouldn’t have stayed with it.”

Keri Russell – August Rush>> On Pressures of Performing as a Child Star

“When I was on the Mickey MouseClub when I was young, there werenineteen other kids with me so itwasn’t like I was the one kid andthere were 200 adults around.Basically, it was a small high school.So I think that did sort of save me. But I definitely related to thatfeeling, that performance pressure of being really young and notgetting to go to the birthday parties or normal school things becauseyou were doing this other thing, which was great, but there issomething to be said for the normal stuff too.”

Eva Longoria Parker – Over Her Dead Body>>On Handling Business vs. At Home with NBA-Star Husband Tony Parker

“I’m pretty much a control freak in business and my career, as far aswhat I’m going to do next and what I need to be doing now. But inmy romantic life, not at all, I’m so laid back. Tony really takescontrol of everything. He’s really always planning everything. Heplans the vacations, he plans the dinners, he plans our schedule …so I really love to sit back and let Tony do that.”

Ice Cube – First Sunday>>On Church“My mother always had todrag me to church—it wasfew and far between. WhatI see church is about, whatpeople really get off on it, isto uplift their spirits—theirdaily spirits, or just to settheir mind straight on thepath they want to live; thelife they want to live.Church is a great thing.”

by Kelli Gillespiedept:Pulse

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A veteran of both broadcast and entertainmentjournalism, Kelli Gillespie travels regularly to both U.S.and international locations interviewing the biggestnames in the entertainment industry. Talking one-on-one with top talents, she uncovers what drives thesecelebrities—their hopes, passions, fears, and of course,their current projects. With the world at their feet, whatimpact, if any, are they leaving?

Diane Lane – Untraceable>> On Women Who Work“Women are just expected to change hats; it’s just normal.Whatever your job is—leave it at the office and come home and bemom, cook in the kitchen. All those stereotypes are true. My hat isreally off to the people in law enforcement because there is a lot ofheart there to do this. Of course there’s an element of pride and egothat you have to have invested, and I identified with that too, ofcourse, as an actor. But to really get the bad guys—oh man, you goto bed and just feel so good about yourself. In that way it’s verysatisfying.”

Lisa Kudrow – P.S. I LoveYou>>On How She Met

Her Husband“Actually, I had a checklist andI’m not kidding ... they allticked off, all the categories.But he was dating myroommate, so that’s off limits.So I ignored him andpretended he didn’t exist. Andthen six years later we met ather birthday party—because itdidn’t work out betweenthem—and we started dating.But he couldn’t come backinto my life until I was donewith the checklist.”

Hilary Swank –P.S. I Love You>>On Arguing“Something that I think is soimportant in a relationship is to beable to argue, and argue healthily. Ithink that’s when you really learnmore about the other person. Ifyou’re arguing it means you’reactually speaking your mind andsaying what’s in your heart. Andyou just learn more about theother person.”

Queen Latifah – The Perfect Holiday>> On Staying Grounded“I just think it’s my personality type. I’ve never really beenjudgmental; I always sort of looked at myself as no better or worsethan anyone else—that’s kinda where we all start. I’m just verythankful for everything I’ve been able to accomplish, and I know Ihaven’t done it all by myself and I’ve been very blessed. There areperks that come with success and the entertainment industry, but italso has its challenges and it’s a lot of work. I try to keep it all inperspective. Plus, my mom, she ain’t trying to hear that. I go homeand I got to walk dogs and pick up poop. So you know, it’s kindahard to be too conceited when you’re picking up doggie poop.”

Ashton Kutcher – What Happens inVegas>> On His Marriage

with Demi Moore“For me, successful relationships arerelationships people work on when theirrelationship is going good. Wheneverthere is an argument or a fight, then youwork things out and you work on it …but good relationships are relationshipsyou work on when it’s going good.”

dept:Pulse


dept:The Well

ne of my earliest memories is ofseeing Jesus standing at the foot of

my bed. I was no more than five years old andit was long past midnight as I watched Himappear, then disappear just as quickly. I ran towake my mother and tell her what had hap-pened. She believed me, and never forgot thelook on my face at the time.

Even though this is one of my favoritememories, it became temporarily dim as I over-analyzed it, and smothered it with layers ofother thoughts. Upon entering my mid-teensI became certain it was nothing more than avivid dream, the result, no doubt, of eating toomuch ice cream late at night. Now, I am not sosure. And it really doesn’t matter. Whether itwas dream, thought, hologram, or in-the-fleshmanifestation, the idea was planted deep in mysoul that Jesus Christ was alive and that Hehad something to tell me. I was pretty sureHe was about to speak to me that night,but He left my bedroom without a word.Perhaps He was silent then because He waswaiting until I had burned through my in-evitable teenaged rebellion, where I foundall my atheistic teachers to be no more reli-able than anyone else.

As I grew in years, knowledge, and wis-dom, it became once again logical that Godhad visited Earth as a man and told us all howto live. This now seems at least as believable asan infinite universe that came into existence onits own, or that my kitchen table consists of bil-lions of spinning particles too small to be seenamong eggs and toast.

The return to childlike faith is a goodthing, and in the adult mind can give rise toworlds long forgotten, wonderful worlds wherecelestial kings offer their lives for their subjectsand glorious kingdoms await the true seeker.The greatest fairytale in the world is true andyou can play a part in it!

When I was a child I spoke as a child, Ireasoned as a child, but I also had the faith ofa thousand adults. I had no doubt that a manwas swallowed by a great fish, seas were partedby the wave of a staff, a big boat was filled withevery type of animal, and a king had returnedfrom the dead. Thoughts recorded thousands ofyears before my birth eventually found theirway into a child’s illustrated Bible, to find newenergy beneath the plum tree in our backyard.There I would sit for hours and converse withGod, before recording my dog’s sounds andmovements, while trying to figure out his lan-guage. My goal was to teach our dog, Cookie,how to rake the leaves, something neither of usever figured out. But I learned a lot aboutGod’s love of animals at that time, not onlydogs, but the mice that shared their food withtheir tiny babies, and for birds that built nestswhere they laid their eggs, which hatched togive life to more birds. I still wonder how theyfigured it all out.

Then came the long godless years filledwith weekends of drunken blasphemy, wherelighting a preacher’s pant cuffs on fire seemedfun, until I went home and cried in my bed. Ididn’t know it then, but I was merely repeatingwords taught by those more educated than me,

that God was a myth, maybe dead, or old andsleeping, or watching powerlessly while Hiscreation was poured down the cosmic sink. Thechaotic universe was reflected in my thinkingand behavior and the seeking of fulfillmentthat never measured up to the plum tree.

In early adulthood I discovered what Iknew as a child—that my bedroom and theplum tree held universes within them, and thatin them I could learn much that would carryme through middle age.

It’s been half a century since I sat beneaththat tree, longer since I awoke to a great lightin my bedroom. Cookie is gone, as are the lov-ing parents that brought him home to me. Yes-terday I sat beneath a different tree, in adifferent backyard. It took a while, but gradu-ally I entered the child’s world again, a worldwhere good conquers evil, and good and badfairies battle for the souls of little boys andgirls. The good king lives there and banishesdarkness before twilight, turning tears to price-less pearls. It is a place reserved for anyonechildlike enough to seek it.

Jesus was finally speaking to me, and Iheard a message of love that will not grow oldas I do. In the stillness thoughts without wordsand visions and worlds and ancient storiescome to life. He has begun to tell me what Iwas not young enough to understand in myroom, a thousand years ago.

After half a century, the writer begins to understand unspoken words.

Unless you become as a little child, you will by no means enter the kingdom of God.–Matthew 18:3

Writer: Chris AhrensIllustration: Zela

Risen Magazine Summer 2008

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