After months of planning, I learned just how stressful it can be to decide on the ideal time and place to ask for my partner’s hand in marriage. Let me save you some headaches and sleepless nights with this list of the 10 best proposal spots across San Diego County.

Inside Sunset Cliff’s Hidden Cave

When it comes to proposing in San Diego, Sunset Cliffs is often at the top of the list (even my brother-in-law and one of my best friends proposed here). For a unique twist, venture off the beaten path and consider trekking down to the Sunset Cliffs cave. The hike from Luscombs Point can be challenging, so make sure to wear sturdy footwear and check the tide charts to ensure the cave is accessible (you can only reach it during low tide). Just remember to keep a firm grip on the ring as you navigate the rocks—you don’t want to accidentally offer it to the fishes.

Among the Gardens in Balboa Park

Balboa Park, with its 130-year history, is one of San Diego’s most enchanting spots for a first date—or an unforgettable proposal. Although the Balboa Park Botanical Garden is under construction until 2025, the Japanese Friendship Garden (JFG) offers a serene and beautiful alternative. Spanning 12 acres, JFG as a beautiful and serene spot for couples tying the knot. Located on 12 acres of winding gardens full of exotic plants native to San Diego and Japan, JFG is the perfect spot for nature-loving couples. Surrounded by hundreds of cherry trees, azaleas, and camellias, you can pop the question in a truly magical setting. The garden is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a $16 admission fee, but for a more private experience, reserve a VIP photoshoot from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., giving you the garden all to yourselves.

Overlooking the San Diego Bay

For something low-key yet special, book a table for two at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse on Harbor Island and reserve a suite at the Pendry for after the celebrations. Tom’s offers fresh seafood and outdoor dining with panoramic views of the San Diego Bay, all within a historic lighthouse that offers two levels of patio seating. Imagine enjoying a plate of freshly caught salmon, a glass of your favorite white wine, and a tray of oysters, and then watching your soulmate’s reaction as you propose at golden hour. Finish the evening with a Champagne toast at Fifth & Rose inside the Pendry Hotel.

Sailing the Seas

There’s nothing quite like being on the water, away from the noise and bustle of the city. If you’re confident enough to venture onto open waters with a ring in your pocket, consider popping the question aboard a private yacht or sailboat from Triton Charters. Just to be safe, take some Dramamine, skip the shots until afterward, and maybe do a few split-squats to steady your sea legs for the big moment. (Everyone thinks they’re steady until they’re making arguably the most nerve-wracking decision of their life. No pressure.) For a more relaxed experience, a dinner cruise with City Cruises starts at $113 per person.

Among the Sealife at the La Jolla Children’s Pool

The La Jolla Children’s Pool is another picturesque location for couples looking to propose. Located along the stunning coastline of La Jolla Cove, this spot offers stunning views of the local wildlife and a variety of nearby venues to celebrate. To access the Children’s Pool beach, park (or valet) in the La Jolla Village and take the stairs on Coast Boulevard to the crescent-shaped hideaway. Avoid weekends, as it tends to get crowded—with both tourists and seals. Walk down to the end of the seawall, which juts out into the ocean, and take a knee with the coastline and a golden sunset behind you. Afterward, enjoy a three-course meal at Eddie V’s followed by drinks at the historic La Valencia Hotel patio or the newly revamped Whaling Bar.

Among North County’s Vineyards

What better way to celebrate your engagement than with a day of wine tasting? Just 30 minutes from San Diego, Orfila Vineyards in San Pasqual offers award-winning wines, tasting experiences, and stunning scenery to enjoy with your partner. Just be careful not to indulge too much in the good stuff before you pop the question—don’t let a buzz get in the way of hours of rehearsal. Time your proposal for sunset and grab a bottle of wine on your way out to keep the celebration going. Afterward, consider adding Orfila’s Wine Lovers Club to your wedding registry for the gift that keeps on giving.

Gliding Above Black’s Beach

If you and your partner are adrenaline junkies, consider proposing while paragliding at Torrey Pines Gliderport. Also, it’s hard to say no to a proposal while soaring hundreds of feet above the ground, right? Jokes aside, for $200, couples can paraglide (or, for $225, hang glide) over Black’s Beach for an unforgettable experience. Afterward, set up a romantic picnic with candles, blankets, and a bottle of wine on the grassy hillside just north of the gliderport.

On Snapdragon Stadium’s Jumbotron

Sure, it’s been done before, but what better way to shout your love from the rooftops than on a giant screen for everyone to see? Sports enthusiasts can propose at Snapdragon Stadium during a Wave, Legion, Aztecs, Seals, or MLS match, sharing the most memorable moment of their life with thousands of other fans. (Be sure to casually check with your partner beforehand so you don’t strike out on the big screen.) For more information about game-day proposals, contact guest services at Snapdragon Stadium.

In a Hot Air Balloon

Inspired by Pixar’s Up, why not take a private hot air balloon ride with your loved one via Compass Balloons? High above the city, you’ll enjoy breathtaking views of the Encinitas coastline, Del Mar cliffs, and rolling hills of Rancho Santa Fe. For $500, the proposal package includes professional photography, a drone video of the proposal, and a post-flight engagement shoot. Whether you choose a sunrise or sunset tour, you’ll toast with complimentary Champagne and create memories to last a lifetime. Pro tip: Tie the ring to a string and through a belt loop until it’s safely on your loved one’s finger—juuust in case there’s any turbulence.

Intimate Picnic on Coronado Beach

If you prefer a more private and intimate proposal, consider reserving a private picnic on Coronado Beach with the help of San Diego Picnics. Their picnic proposal packages start at $535 and include a charcuterie board, a pitcher of lemonade, and optional professional photography during and after the proposal. Celebrate afterward with dinner and drinks at Serẽa, followed by a stay at the iconic Hotel del Coronado.

The post 10 Stunning Places to Propose in San Diego  appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Deep in the sea of booths, Wali Amin settles comfortably in his abyss of folding tables, crowded with a dizzying array of used doodads: shoes, CDs, a picnic basket. Amin has been buying out storage spaces for the past 12 years—but this is far from his first business venture.

“It’s in my blood,” he says. “My father was an entrepreneur, my grandfather was an entrepreneur, and so on. They used to travel the Silk Road.”

Amin’s father was a fur merchant in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amin was a tween when the Soviet Union invaded the country in 1979. His family fled to India, where Amin earned a college degree before moving to the US in 1990.

In between shifts at a gas station and as a valet driver in San Diego, Amin slung antiques at small swap meets in El Cajon. Over time, he eventually opened a high-end Italian clothing store. He married in 2000 and started a family. Then, the 2008 recession struck, and he lost everything.

“There were times, after I went bankrupt, [that] I didn’t have the money to buy McDonald’s,” he says. “[But] we have to work, you know? This country is opportunity, and it all depends on how you take it.”

Amin turned to garage sales and storage unit auctions to rebuild his business. “The best thing about doing this is the excitement of what comes out of the box,” he says. “It might be gold, and then there’s times that rats jump out.”

A customer pauses at one of Amin’s tables to pluck a beautiful acoustic guitar—one of the many treasures Amin pulled from obscurity. The drive to make the most from the least seems to be another family trait.

“[My brother] always used to tell me that you have to make good out of your bad,” Amin says.

The post The Treasure of Kobey’s Swap Meet   appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Courtesy of Georgina Trevino

“I feel like I love to go into the chaos knowing that I can come home,” she says, adding that she often gets asked why, after all she’s accomplished so far, she doesn’t simply move. “I love San Diego. I just love being here, because I’m in between both worlds.”

Following Treviño’s Instagram is something of a whirlwind experience itself; a crash course in what it means when an up-and-coming designer generates enough buzz to where they’re becoming the go-to accessory for photo shoots and step-and-repeats for the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Lady Gaga, and Bad Bunny, the latter of whom insisted on keeping a pair of earrings she created after he wore them for a music video. “That almost made me cry,” she admits.

Courtesy of Georgina Trevino

Inspired by lowbrow pop culture as much as by ’80s punk rock aesthetics, Treviño’s custom rings, bracelets, and dangles have appeared in Teen Vogue, Purple magazine, and most recently, the Los Angeles Times, who commissioned her for a custom spread in their style magazine, Image. This is in addition to her even more notable accomplishments, such as appearances in a Nike Air Max campaign and a deal to bring her signature pierced designs to Chunks hair products. She’ll also be customizing purses and creating her own in- store intervention for Spanish fashion tastemaker Bimba y Lola inside their Mexico City storefront. Not bad for an Otay Ranch local who, only a few years ago, switched her SDSU major from painting to metalsmithing.

Courtesy of Georgina Trevino

Next up, she says she’s going to check out real estate while in Mexico City in hopes of opening her own brick-and- mortar space there. “There are so many more, other things I want to do to challenge myself,” Treviño says. “I’m just going to figure out how to do it, you know?”

The post Jewelry Designer to the Stars appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

The two were married nearly 70 years, together even longer than that. “We met at Cornell when we were 17,” Jacobs says. “I took her to a fraternity party in 1951. It was kind of a blind date—I knew of her, but we hadn’t met. We started going together after that.”

They married in 1954 and moved to La Jolla in 1966, having four sons along the way. Jacobs was a professor of engineering; Joan worked in schools and in the travel industry. When Jacobs decided to quit his tenure-track position to eventually co-found Qualcomm, Joan mostly supported the move. The couple had no idea they’d end up with a net worth of over $1 billion.

They began donating hundreds of millions of dollars to arts, educational, medical, and scientific causes across San Diego, including more than $100 million to the San Diego Symphony after its bankruptcy in the 1990s.

“That was her idea,” Jacobs says.

Today, Joan is largely remembered for her philanthropy. The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center, the Jacobs Medical Center—all are tied to her vision.

“What I loved about her was, I came from a small town—New Bedford, Massachusetts. She came from New York City—Washington Heights—so she had a bit more sophistication than I did,” Jacobs says with a lingering Atlantic accent. “She was lively and outgoing. I was shy. She filled in the blanks.”

“And she was a good traveling partner,” he continues. “Our favorite thing was going to cities and walking. Visiting art museums, galleries, music, theater. Paris, London, Amsterdam. Her favorite place to go was probably New York City.”

But they always found their way home, back to the kitchen.

“We ate three meals together at this table every day,” Jacobs says. “This is where we drank our coffee.”

The post Remembering Joan Jacobs’ Legacy appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

When Bryce Wettstein rolls up on her skateboard—her golden locks tied in low pigtails and a pinwheel pen in her pocket—I’m immediately struck by the sheer amount of talent in one place. The 20-year-old Olympic skateboarder hugs Marshall, visibly excited and nervous to be talking with a him.

Nearby, Winyl Club is gearing up for its weekly DJ set, which draws hundreds of San Diegans to a wide expanse of grass overlooked by the park’s iconic tower. Dogs in birthday hats, overflowing picnic baskets, colorful blankets, and plenty of Solo cups checker the lawn. No one is paying attention to us—no one seems to know that the future of San Diego sports is only feet away.

Shaw, Marshall, and Wettstein are three of the city’s youngest talents already on their way to sealing their names in the history books. But today, they’re just young people, playing dress-up for a photo shoot in the center of a city that is helping shape their careers.

Jump to: Jaedyn Shaw (soccer) | Jake Marshall (surfing) | Bryce Wettstein (skateboarding)

Jaedyn Shaw, 19

U.S. Olympian & Wave FC Forward

A week earlier, I sat down with Jaedyn Shaw over a Zoom call. She was in Orlando for a National Women’s Soccer League game. If you’ve been paying attention at all lately, you’ve likely heard her name in the sports world—whether you’re a soccer fan or not. At the very least, you’ve seen her next to other top athletes—such as Wave captain Alex Morgan—on billboards, buses, and social media promos, repping Wave FC.

A forward, Shaw signed to the Wave in 2022 at just 17. She earned her first US Women’s National Team (USWNT) call-up at the age of 18, making her the second-youngest player to compete on the national team. (Though it wasn’t her first time wearing a US jersey abroad—she also played on the under-17, under-19, and under-20 national teams.)

But on that Zoom call, I didn’t see the seemingly unshakable confidence and sharp-beyond-her-years instincts that earned Shaw the distinction of becoming 2022’s US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year.

Instead, Shaw sat quietly in front of me in an oversized sweatshirt, battling a cold after coming off six days of travel, training, and a game, with more coming up. It’d be a lot for anyone, but watching her, I was reminded just how much work must go into being the next big thing at such a young age. The Del Mar resident carries the weight of a city’s hopes on her shoulders.

In 2023, the International Olympics Committee asked, “Can Jaedyn Shaw fill the void left by Megan Rapinoe in the USWNT?” At the time, Shaw was 18 to the retiring Rapinoe’s 38, but the term “prodigy” was already making the rounds in the football world.

During that same season, Shaw began to seal her name in history. At age 19, she became the first teenager to score 10 US national women’s league soccer goals and helped the Wave bring home its first-ever NWSL Shield, the annual award given to the team with the best regular-season record. She’s also the first Vietnamese-American to ever represent the USWNT, a banner that she doesn’t carry lightly.

“I am biracial, so making an impact on both communities through my sport is really cool,” she says. “I’ve gotten a lot of messages on social media [from the Asian community]. They’ve backed me. That’s another side of support that I have now.”

Two years into her contract with the Wave, Shaw shows no signs of slowing down. At time of print, she’s made 19 career goals and will don Team USA’s jersey at this year’s 2024 US Olympics in Paris.

Shaw’s achieved more career-defining moves in her two years of adulthood than some pro athletes do their whole lives. But the accomplishments have, in some ways, taken as much as they’ve given. Being born with exceptional talent is only half of what it takes to truly become great. The rest requires sacrifice.

“I didn’t go to high school,” Shaw says. “I didn’t go to college, and I grew up very independent and knowing that I don’t really have time to have friends. I knew that my journey was going to be different. Everything that I was doing was to get to the next level. And it cost me a lot.”

We pause as she finds the words to encapsulate what she’s given up to don the Wave’s number-11 jersey.

“There was a point where we moved into a one-bedroom apartment so that we could have extra [money] to fund all of my opportunities,” Shaw says. “We consolidated from a three-bedroom house to a one-bedroom apartment. Me and my brother shared a bed in the living room. My parents were in the room, and we had one bathroom for the four of us.”

But the tight quarters weren’t the only reason she’s so close with her family. “[My mom and I] were together all the time,” she says. “She would take me to all my trainings— whatever I needed, she was there with me. Both of [my parents] have sacrificed a lot for me.”

They had made a promise to themselves when they were younger, she tells me, to always support their children and be at as many practices, games, overnight trips, and international experiences as they could.

“Jaedyn has always had a spotlight on her. I think her mom, Anne, was instrumental here and was always the rock for her,” says Derek Missimo, who coached Shaw from age five to eight at Solar soccer club in Allen, Texas. “This is the crux of being great. You’ve got these expectations, and I think her mom balanced her. You got to eventually play for yourself. You can’t play for other people’s expectations.”

He calls Shaw a “pro’s pro,” noticing that even at a young age, she seemed to find her purpose and passion in the game. She was supportive and encouraging of her teammates, he remembers, but with an intensity that was more dialed in.

“She has integrity; she has high character. All the things she learned from the game of soccer and athletics have played well for her in the game of life,” Missimo says. “Soccer is what she does and what she does well, but it epitomizes everything about who she is.”

It was her time on FC Dallas’ youth team, though, that really began to shape her career and attract attention. Whispers of her talent began to circulate.

“She always put her own spin on everything. It was never like, ‘I’m going to copy someone. I’m going to do exactly what they do,’” says FC Dallas coach Matt Grubbs, who mentored Shaw from age 12 to 16. “That’s where I just think she’s such a unique player. And honestly, I think she’s one of the top five players in the world.”

When Shaw got the call that she’d be joining San Diego’s new women’s soccer team, she and her family had already begun the process of moving to Washington DC so that she could pursue an education. Within days, they packed up and made their way to the West Coast.

But things didn’t truly sink in, she says, until two-time World Cup-winner and gold-medal Olympian Alex Morgan said hello to her as a teammate.

“I was like, ‘What is this right now? I don’t understand what’s happening,’” Shaw says. “It was so crazy.”

But it didn’t take long for the now-record-breaking athlete to get comfortable in her new home. “Once I played at Snapdragon, it was a whole different thing,” Shaw says. “Snapdragon just felt like home.” Finally, the hours of training, missing out on proms, saving every penny to travel for games—all of it began to feel worth it.

“What San Diego has created for us as players—especially as pros playing at a brand-new stadium in this league that’s still growing—it’s such a cool opportunity for young players,” Shaw says. “Averaging 20,000 fans a game last year, that’s not normal. It’s just raising the bar. So it’s so cool being able to play.”

Back in San Diego today, as we snap photos of her on a sunny afternoon, Shaw is once again the athlete you see on your screens. Funny, personable, confident. Kicking around a soccer ball, she commands attention, draws people in.

For the 30,000 or so fans that sell out Snapdragon at Wave games—and, beyond them, a city of more than a million residents—Shaw could be a critical part of the antidote to the curse that’s kept SD sports from a championship for more than 60 years. Under such pressure, even older, wiser players might buckle. But Shaw, her gaze steady as she lobs a soccer ball at our camera, keeps her head high.

Jake Marshall, 25

WSL Pro Surfer

I meet Jake Marshall over the phone just as he’s waking up on the other side of the world. Though he’s currently down under for the Western Australia Margaret River Pro, his Southern California roots show through his slow, drawn-out words, punctuated with a hint of vocal fry. It’s Endless Summer on the other end of the receiver.

In 2021, at age 23, Marshall began his rookie season on the World Surf League Championship Tour, ranking 18th in 2022 and dropping down to 30th last year. But this year, Marshall is putting San Diego back on the map with his sixth-place ranking as he follows in the footsteps of locals like Rob Machado and Taylor Knox.

“When I was maybe 8, Kelly [Slater] signed my backpack at an event and I was like, ‘Oh my God, Kelly!’” Marshall says. “For that kind of stuff to have come full circle, and [for me to] get to compete with him, it’s been super special.”

Though he was born in Encinitas, Marshall and his family moved to Naples, Florida from 2004 to 2006. Traveling to Newport, Rhode Island in the summers, Marshall caught his first wave in the East Coast city at the age of 7. The next year, he placed second in the 14-and-under division in his first contest, an event hosted by Volcom.

In 2006, the family moved back to San Diego, and, while Marshall loved playing all sports, it was surfing that really stuck. His dad and two younger brothers joined him in the water daily.

“The four of us would head down to the beach super early and surf. [The boys would] go to school, and then, after school, I’d pick them up and we’d go back to the beach,” says his father John Marshall. “He was in kindergarten and first grade and going to school with his hair all wet and the teacher would be like, ‘What have you been doing? You’re surfing before school?’”

At 10, he secured a Hurley sponsorship. By 12, he’d already set his sights on going pro.

“Being in the ocean and reading [it] and dissecting the lineup and figuring out where waves come in—that was really natural for me,” Marshall says. “I had a good connection with lineups no matter where I was in the world.”

He began traveling internationally, switching to homeschool to accommodate his many trips. He’ll graduate from college next year in between global jaunts.

Like Shaw, Marshall had to trade quintessential teenage experiences for the trappings of a pro athlete’s life: long stints on the road, days between heats, sometimes-unglamorous destinations, and lots of alone time. But if he finds the lifestyle hard, he doesn’t show it.

“He has an amazing style. I think that’s why so many people like to watch him,” says his younger brother, Nick Marshall. “He’s so relaxed and everything he does looks so easy and effortless, so it’s really fun to watch.”

This year, the athlete has consistently placed in the top 10 in major events around the globe— especially impressive considering that the number of pro surfers globally hovers around 720,000. But he still radiates that notorious California chill.

“I definitely think, growing up in a place like Encinitas, it’s pretty easy to stay humble and kind of true to where you came from,” Marshall says. “All the older guys who I grew up surfing with at my home break, they always keep you in check and make sure to remind you to not get too full of yourself.”

By the time of print, if Marshall remains healthy, he’ll have competed in the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro, Surf City El Salvador Pro, and VIVO Rio Pro. Next month, he’ll surf in the Corona Fiji Pro.

Will he keep up his winning streak? Who knows—but maybe it doesn’t matter. “Just being relaxed and accepting of whatever happens is the mental state that I’ve been trying to find this year,” he says.“I’ve really just been trying to have a lot of fun and not be too worried about the results that I’m getting.”

Bryce Wettstein, 20

U.S. Olympian & Pro Skateboarder

Bryce Wettstein’s phone goes straight to voicemail the first few times I call. It’s a Tuesday afternoon. I text her with no response.

“Hi Nicolle… are you on with Bryce right now?” reads a message on my phone. The texter doesn’t introduce themselves. I ask who I’m speaking with. “This is her mom,” comes the reply. “She is charging her phone.”

When Wettstein finally jumps on the line, she’s scattered, sitting in her car in the parking lot of a gym in North County. “I just got done skateboarding,” she says, in a kind of laissez-faire voice that suggests schedules have no business being in her calendar.

She speaks in a soft, whimsical, sing-songy way. It’s only been five minutes, and the 20-year-old has already given me a snapshot into her life as a young athlete.

Unburdened and carefree, she’s still very much learning how to navigate the world—her mom at her side ensuring she keeps her appointments. Watch Wettstein skate, though, and you see a fierce competitor able to hold her own among the top skateboarders in the world.

“[Her skating style is] really poetic,” says 34-year-old Amelia Brodka, an Olympian and pro skateboarder who has known the athlete since Wettstein was 7. “You can tell that she’s skating from the heart, you know? She’s doing these things that typically you’d associate with aggression, but it looks really effortless.”

At the age of 15, Wettstein was named to the first-ever USA Olympic Skateboarding team. In 2019 and 2022, she won the women’s park national championships. She finished sixth in the women’s park finals in the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics (the first time the sport was introduced into the Olympics), was a member of the 2023 USA Skateboarding team, and will make an appearance at this year’s Paris Olympics in July.

An amateur surfer, volleyball player, gymnast, singer, ukulele player, and future ballerina (she’s taking classes at her local YMCA), Wettstein is the picture of a true SoCal native. Like many kids from Encinitas, she was paddling out on a surfboard and clambering onto a skateboard at just 5 years old. By seven—the same year she secured her first sponsorship—she decided to focus on skating, allowing the water to become a place of respite instead. But the two remain interconnected for her.

“Skateboarding and surfing meet each other,” she says. “They still hold hands with each other.”

She speaks constantly in romantic phrases and vivid metaphors like this. The city, she says, reminds her of poetry. “I just know that if I didn’t live here, I’d feel like a different person— changed a little bit,” she adds. “And I think the most amazing part is [that you feel a sort of] otherworldliness in skateboarding already, but when you’re at a park in San Diego, you feel this warm kind of haze over you.”

Being with her, you sense the same warm haze.

Even the grueling grind of developing Olympic-level skills—practicing two to three hours a day on a ramp in her family’s backyard—sounds like a fun hobby through her rosy lens.

“I feel like sometimes I have this part of me that comes out and I feel competitive,” she says. “It’s almost like fire in the ocean. You only see it for a second.”

Ranked number nine in the world, the regular-footed skateboarder makes her success seem like an afterthought. She’d much rather talk about her music-writing and ukulele-playing. Or ask you what makes you happy in life.

“Getting to skate with her in a contest is really kind of nourishing,” Brodka says. “She kind of calms everybody down. You know, it doesn’t feel competitive.”

This is the beauty of Wettstein. There’s no ego here. No reminding you that you’re talking with an Olympian. She skates like a kid having fun doing the sport they love. Medals, titles, rankings—nothing seems to phase her, and maybe that’s the key to her accomplishments.

“Her skateboarding is something else. She’s weaving a web. She’s writing a poem,” Brodka continues. “And she’s the only skater that I’ve seen that skates that way.”

As we bid one another goodbye, Wettstein lets me know that, if the magazine would ever like a volunteer for our events, she’s happy to come help. “I’m a big fan,” she says.

The post The Young Locals Leading the Wave of Next-Gen Athletes appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

“You’ll find love when you stop looking for it,” you’ve all told me. “Focus on yourself and the right person will find you.” 

If I stopped looking, I’d never find anyone. I’d be at home nonstop, only spending time with close friends. Dating isn’t a fun pastime that I did for sh*ts and giggles. I’m guessing most singles wouldn’t be out there dating if they didn’t have to be. (Though, fine, maybe some people do like it.)

“Why are you searching so hard?” someone wrote in response to this column. I don’t know, Richard, I’d like a husband one day.  

“I hope you find love, because it’s not for lack of trying,” said another male Instagrammer. I don’t know if the second person was trying to come off as condescending or not, but it definitely didn’t make me feel better about trying to date.

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me to “just stop looking,” then I’d be on a yacht in the Greek Isles somewhere with a cabana boy at my side. 

I get the sentiment behind the saying—happy people attract happy people—but I also think it can be damaging—or at the very least confusing—for a lot of us to hear. Imagine telling someone trying to learn how to cook that if they just think about how good their food will be, then they’ll become the next Julia Childs. 

It’s also unhelpful for someone to hear if they’re sharing the hardships they’re facing in finding a partner.

I have never put myself out there as much as I have since starting this column. If you Google me, my dating articles pop up front and center. Strangers have brought up the series to me at events. Even our interns have said that their professor referenced it in class. 

I’m the last person who could say “Oh, I just gave up looking for love, and I found it.” Instead, I put everything out there, made my intentions clear, and met the person I’m currently dating through this column. 

This isn’t an article on how to find love like I did, because everyone is different and what worked for me may not work for you (though if you’ve been thinking about launching a dating column, consider this your sign). But it is a rant against those who will tell you to give up searching and just focus on yourself in order to attract a partner. 

There are truths to this way of thinking, of course. You should try and find happiness within yourself first and create the life you want, regardless of who is or isn’t in it. But it doesn’t take the full picture into account, because I’m betting that a lot of you out there have done the work, love yourself, and are proud of the life you have.

If you want to be in a relationship, but you pretend that you’re not looking, it means you’re not being your authentic self, and a potential partner will pick up on that. This could also lead to not making time for dates or continuing to hide out in your comfort zone (aka: in your bed with Netflix). 

With this mindset, you could also be putting off the vibe that you’re not interested in dating. You may miss a potential match if your eyes and heart aren’t open. I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve passed up on good men because I wasn’t fully ready. 

Let’s also not confuse “looking” with “obsessing.” Don’t be that person who can’t pay attention to a conversation with your friends because you’re too distracted scanning the bar for your next boo.

I don’t have the secret formula to finding love. Hell, my relationship may only last a few weeks until I’m back here with you all on the hunt (although, I’m going to bet on myself with this one). 

I am certain of a few things, though. If I never actively tried to find love, I’d likely never know myself as well as I do. You learn a lot about who you are, both in and out of relationships, and dating is essential in knowing what you do and don’t want in a partner. It’s also a good temp check to find out what parts of yourself may need some adjusting.

I also know that, because I was dating with purpose—with extra-large neon flashing signs—I was able to meet someone who I’d never have run across in my normal, everyday life. So, if you’re looking for love and need someone to do a little Tom Cruise couch jump for you as you put yourself out there, come to me. I have your neon signs ready.

If you’re new to Unhinged, catch up on all the dating chats you’ve missed here and follow along at @monicles and @sandiegomag on Instagram to know when a new article drops each week.

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Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Jubilee Day, was first formally recognized as a holiday in Texas in 1980. Americans grew more aware of Juneteenth in 2020 amid the nationwide protests against police brutality after the killings of Black Americans George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In response to the push for federal recognition of Juneteenth, President Joe Biden signed the legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday in June 2021. In June 2023, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared it a state holiday.

Juneteenth is now recognized and celebrated in some form in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Join in on the Juneteenth jubilee with these 12 events around San Diego County.

San Diego Juneteenth Events in 2024

Juneteenth Celebration Festival in Oceanside

Saturday, June 15

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., honor Juneteenth in downtown Oceanside at this long-standing annual festival. Hosted by the North San Diego County NAACP, the free event offers live music, a vendor marketplace, food, informational health booths, and a youth area, which will feature games, face painting, crafts, and other kids’ activities. Enjoy live entertainment from professional and local performers, including a “Juneteenth Got Talent” competition.

300 North Coast Highway, Oceanside

Juneteenth Summer BBQ in La Jolla

Saturday, June 15

Wear your swimsuit or your Spandex for the fourth iteration of this annual community event at La Jolla Shores. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., enjoy the scenery of the Shores with complimentary surf lessons, community yoga, live music, a beach volleyball tournament, a group run, and more. Registration is required to enjoy the free barbecue. There will also be an organized beach clean-up and a kids’ corner at the family-friendly event.

8303 Camino Del Oro, La Jolla

Cooper Family Juneteenth Healing the Community Festival

Saturday, June 15

In honor of Sidney Cooper Sr., a Black businessman and Juneteenth trailblazer in San Diego, the Cooper Family Foundation has kept this important community event going for more than 50 years. This year’s Juneteenth Healing the Community Festival will feature two stages with a full line-up of musical acts, including African dancers and a drumline, plus food trucks, raffles, and a kids’ zone at Memorial Park from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

2975 Ocean View Blvd., Logan Heights

Kinfolk Fest at Waterfront Park

Saturday, June 15

Organized by SD Melanin, the seventh annual Juneteenth Kinfolk event will bring a cultural celebration to downtown’s Waterfront Park. From 12 to 9 p.m., attendees aged 21 and up can experience live performances, curated DJ sets, dynamic art installations, and wellness activities while enjoying food and drinks. Tickets start at $25.

1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego

R&B Block Party at Quartyard

Saturday, June 15

The annual R&B Block Party returns to craft beer garden Quartyard in East Village. From 5 to 10 p.m., resident DJs and some special guests will spin genre-spanning hits, from ’70s dance hall reggae and Caribbean beats to R&B favorites from the ’90s and aughts. Tickets start at $20.

1301 Market Street, San Diego

Juneteenth Children’s Book Distribution at Oak Park Library

Saturday, June 15

The Oak Park Library branch will celebrate Juneteenth with a special children’s book giveaway from 12 to 1 p.m. The holiday is especially significant to this library branch because civil rights leader John Lewis was present at the branch’s opening more than 50 years ago and returned decades later to speak to the local community. Librarians will distribute books and provide light refreshments while supplies last.

2802 54^th Street, San Diego

La Mesa Juneteenth & Friends

Sunday, June 16

You won’t want to miss the live entertainment at La Mesa’s third annual Juneteenth event at MacArthur Park from 12 to 4 p.m. The free festival features performances by the MLK Jr. Community Choir, African drummers, and spoken word artists. There will also be a kids’ zone with bounce houses, games, crafts, face painting, and more. Bring a chair and stick around for the family-friendly fun.

4975 Memorial Drive, La Mesa

Midnight Diner Juneteenth Edition at Quiet Storm Roasters & Bakers

Tuesday, June 18

For a memorable dining experience, head to Quiet Storm Roasters & Bakers in Hillcrest. From 11:30 p.m. on June 18 to 3 a.m. on June 19, you can enjoy late-night eats and curated beats at the shop’s Midnight Diner event. The cultural celebration provides tapas-style plates inspired by the African diaspora with an Asian twist, while local DJs spin R&B classics and Jersey club songs. Tickets are $20 for a reserved seat, a main plate, a mini plate, and a sake shot to take at midnight.

3590 Fifth Avenue, San Diego

Juneteenth Celebration Virtual 5K

Wednesday, June 19

Join more than 200 people nationwide to celebrate the holiday by running, walking, hiking, or cycling a 5K (3.1 miles) in the annual Juneteenth Celebration Virtual 5K. Simply register for the virtual race in advance to get a race bib and finisher’s medal, then log your distance any time between June 19 and August 17. Proceeds will directly support the San Diego-based health organization Fit, Black, and Educated. Registration is $25.

Virtual

Juneteenth Celebration Show at Jamul Casino

Wednesday, June 19

Jamul Casino will host a musical Juneteenth Celebration featuring Alyssa Raghu from American Idol and Lorie V. Moore from The X Factor. At 6 p.m. you can enjoy dinner at The Rooftop event venue at the casino while you listen to both artists’ R&B tunes.

14145 Campo Road, Jamul

Black in Art Juneteenth Celebration at Otay Ranch Branch Library

Friday, June 21

Beginning at 4:30 p.m., you can peruse the work of Black artists and art organizations, including the San Diego Art Directory and Liberation Through Art, at this Juneteenth event at the Otay Ranch Branch Library in Chula Vista. Food will be provided for guests.

2015 Birch Road, Chula Vista

Juneteenth at Chollas Lake

Saturday, June 22

Hosted in collaboration with the Community Actors Theatre, the annual Juneteenth at Chollas Lake offers live entertainment and the chance to learn more about the history of Juneteenth. Explore music, dance, poetry, food, local vendor booths, and crafts at this family-friendly, outdoor event at Gloria’s Mesa Amphitheater in Chollas Lake Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bring a pillow or a comfy seat and enjoy the day.

6050 College Grove Drive, San Diego

The post Where to Celebrate Juneteenth 2024 in San Diego appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

He is wearing a cumberbund, which is one of the fashion world’s kindest gestures to men—an ancestor of Spanx that hides our midsections’ emancipations or the fact that the pleasure of eating Pringles sometimes disables your ability to not burrow through the entire joy silo in a single sitting.

Minutes earlier, I had stood in the hallway waiting my turn. Handlers handled me. For prep, I pondered how no carpet felt as good as casino carpet. It’s like the soft, verdant loam of money; carpet so thick and giving it’s nearly a bounce house. Eventually, the door to the PR suite opened, and a journalist exited. He looked a bit stunned from his encounter, as if he saw what was inside the glowing briefcase in Pulp Fiction, and it was Mr. Short. 

Martin Short, of course, doesn’t need the cumberbund to hide any abdominal discretions. He is lithe and vibrant and very Canadian in the most pleasant of ways. He and I have exactly 15 minutes with each other, a luxurious infinity pool of time allotted by the media architecture of press junkets. I imagine by the end of this vacation together, we’ll blithely phone Steve Martin from the gas station where we choose the proper jerky for the road trip all new buds take to cement our forever bond.

I have become mildly obsessed with what I consider to be one of the greatest ad campaigns of all time for a regional casino, Harrah’s of Southern California. They officially renamed—officially!—an entire town an hour north of San Diego “Funner, California.” And, every couple of years since 2017, they have “elected” a new mayor. The first mayor was David Hasselhoff. You’d see him all over billboards in San Diego, his handsome face that seemingly came into the world expressing a flirty wink or a double-guns. That double-guns face lorded over the city for years, proclaiming him the preeminent public official of a casino-based woohoo. Destinies had never been so perfectly aligned. 

The Hoff was followed by geometrically-chinned boy king Rob Riggle and, most recently, the towering dutchess of deadpan, Jane Lynch (I sat with Jane when she was “elected,” too. You can read about our deep, meaningful relationship here). And now, Martin Short.

I enter the large suite and Martin Short is sitting at a conference table, purple as a magnificent bruise. There is an adjacent “living room,” where no fewer than four people also sit but make no eye contact whatsoever. Then, a kitchen with three barstools, all of which are full with people charged with overseeing this interaction. It is… dead silent, as if someone has just informed the group that AI has made it into the national drinking water. It’s in my nature to not ignore anyone in a social situation, so I briefly say hello to Mr. Short and then try to make eye contact with every single person. It is unreciprocated—not in a cold way, but in a professional “please do your job; we’ve been here all day” way. 

Martin, understandably thinking I’m looking for direction, says, “You can sit over here. Ask me anything you want.”

“Okay, great,” I say. “We’ll start with politics, move into religion, and finish up with sex.”

“TROY!” the PR agent blurts.

She’s a friend, a very capable and talented person who is here on the behalf of her important client. It would be better for her if I didn’t go completely free radical, leaving her to later answer many strongly worded questions about pre-screening interviewees for obvious emotional instability. I smile and become the best professional I possibly can be.

Eight people will now watch Mr. Short and I attempt to wrestle something meaningful out of 15 minutes of conversation. Which I fully realize, having been around some famous people at this point in my life, is a lifetime. Minutes are the most precious possession of the truly famous. Their time is continually requested and picked at by the rest of us. The true interview artists can go from “Hello, my name is…” to “crying over past traumas but in a meaningful, shared way” within 15 minutes. 

I am not that professional. I mostly ask him dumb food questions. 

Here’s what should be said about Martin Short. First, I admit to having drastically under-appreciated this man’s talent. For whatever reason, I’d only seen him in roles that required him to perform with wild, almost cartoonish theatricality. Though his performances were remarkable in, say, Father of the Bride, my heart bends toward the blacker, dead-inside forms of comedy. I giddy most at the cigarette-smoke non-emotion of Lenny Bruce, Steven Wright, Mitch Hedburg, and Neal Brennan, or even the dopey, mellow wonderment of Nate Bargatze. Even The Chappelle Show was too animated for me, which I consider a stain on my ability to comprehend greatness. 

And Mr. Short, in person, is an extremely high IQ’ed Canadian with immaculate emotional composure and a hilarious, no-bullshit wit. His answers are far less fantastical and lampoonish than I expected, but express some self-deprecating insight and wry cultural criticism. “I appreciate food people; I really do,” he says. “Eugene Levy would phone me up and say, ‘Do you want to drive to the valley and go to DuPar’s?’ And I’d say, ‘Orrrrr… eat a Balance Bar and go for a hike?’”

When I ask him for San Diego memories, he doesn’t bother polishing the fakery. “I distinctly remember going to the Hotel Del and the zoo,” he says and gives me a look that says, No clue, man. And I appreciate that amount of real, which again, I hadn’t expected. I’d expected him to embellish every moment, milk it for the ersatz. He also points out, “What do you know about Hamilton, Ontario? Probably not much.” Imminently fair.

The whole time he looks at me with the same look I imagine I’m giving him. “What, dear god, are we going to get from each other in less time than the intro montage of each episode of Game of Thrones—but, hey, let’s try.” And yet, he’s game, a consummate professional, polite as ****. And we get what we get. 

The whole room laughs multiple times throughout our conversation… and not in a way that suggests they’re paid to laugh (they are). I’m laughing, too. His wit leaves the station first in any conversation—as it has been for nearly five decades now—and, more often than not, drops you off at a pretty damn funny destination. 

By the time my PR friend announces from behind me, “Two minutes remaining, Troy,” I’ve decided that I do want to get some gas station jerky with my new buddy, head toward some uniquely American tourist attraction like the world’s largest petrified wad of hummus, and stop at a grocery store somewhere, half drunk on road cosmos, to squeeze a little Charmin. 

Hard-Hitting Questions With The New Mayor Of Funner, California: Martin Short

Troy Johnson (TJ): What are you going to change about Funner, California during your reign?

Martin Short (MS): It’s going more modern and muted tones. I’m a painter. If you ever saw Ordinary People, it’s going to be as depressing as that. Changing nothing is my policy. 

TJ: What is fun to you? What gets your giddy going? 

MS: I have a lot of funny friends. 

TJ: You don’t say.

MS: I swear to you, I have had 500,000 funny dinners. So funny to me is a great dinner, great cocktails, funny people, and a good vibe. 

TJ: Let’s talk drinks. When you look at your hand, what is sloshing there?

MS: A cosmopolitan or white wine. Or, what my siblings and I all drink is rum and Cokes with a slice of lime. I’m not doing the Jack and Coke like you kids. When I was doing The Second City, I would always have a Rusty Nail. It was called a liquid Quaalude in the US and a kilt-lifter in Canada. You have one and you lift your kilt.

TJ: Your shoes are fantastic. Did you dress yourself?

MS: This is just stuff I had lying around. Dorothy-esque.

TJ: Let’s say it’s your final meal before you leave every human behind. You’re never going to see Steve Martin or any of them ever again. But you’re in charge of the menu. All that matters is you. What are you eating?

MS: I would order a Caesar salad, and then I’d go to roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, asparagus. And then for dessert, I’d go for ice cream. When I have guests at the house or Christmas or whatever it is… whenever they leave, and it’s just me, I will take that ice cream out of the freezer and leave it in the sink and let it melt. Because it’s like heroin.

TJ: I knew you were a man of distinction, but I didn’t realize you had this much distinction.

MS: I remember, in Canada, they didn’t have Baskin Robbins. My sister was going to the University of Michigan. I remember first experiencing pralines and cream, mocha almond fudge. And I would get up at 3 a.m. in the morning… I’d never tasted anything like it. So for my last meal I’d have a butterscotch sundae. 

TJ: You had universal healthcare in Canada but not 31 Flavors? That seems like Canada’s priorities may be off.

MS: No. The first thing I did when I came to the US was go to a department store and squeeze the Charmin. How soft could it be? Talk about an ad campaign that worked.

TJ: And was it soft as my middle-aged midriff?

MS: Unbelievably soft. Started making out with it and they threw me out of the department store or wherever I was.

TJ: What’s your food pet peeve?

MS: Well, I have a lot of neurotic food stuff.

TJ: Oh, GREAT. This is juicy. Here we go.

MS: I don’t eat red things. I wouldn’t eat a beet, I wouldn’t have a radish, and I don’t eat tomatoes. But I love ketchup and I love tomato sauce. But if someone hands me a turkey sandwich with tomato on it, the first thing I do is take it off.

TJ: Interesting. So you’re like a bull. Red inflames and enrages you.

MS: One time, my father was drinking milk from the quart, because he’s Irish, and I said, “Dad, be careful. I think that’s a little bit turned,” and he went “Hmmm… a little bit,” and kept drinking it. To this day, I’m traumatized. I don’t put milk in my coffee. I’ll put skim in my cereal, but just moist enough to cover the Raisin Bran. 

TJ: So what tomato hurt you?

MS: I don’t know. 

TJ: Pineapple on pizza?

MS: No. No, no, no, no, no. Mushroom and pepperoni. 

TJ: What do you have in your pantry at all times?

MS: I have peanut butter, some tuna in a can. I make poached eggs in the morning. 

TJ: That’s cooking-esque.

MS: Breakfast I can do. But I’ve never made a meal. I’ve never made a dinner. I can have a Balance Bar for breakfast, a Balance Bar for lunch, a Balance Bar for dinner, a sensible protein at the end of the night. 

TJ: Okay, that makes sense.

MS: It doesn’t, really. It sounds kind of sad. 

TJ: We’re San Diego Magazine. Do you have San Diego stories?

MS: I remember vividly staying at Hotel Del. I love the film Some Like It Hot, so that was exciting. Going to the zoo. That’s my image of San Diego. 

TJ: So, not much. We are the souvenir cup of California, but we’re getting better.

MS: What do you know about Hamilton, Ontario? Probably not much.

TJ: I know they have healthcare and their red food sucks.

MS: Exactly. 

TJ: What do you love about the resort experience?

MS: I love a good spa, but not the cucumbers. I would not eat a cucumber. You like all this stuff—you like all the foods, don’t you?

TJ: Well, not all. I’ve tried to like uni. All of my friends who’ve cooked in great restaurants say, “You have to like uni; it’s like the foie gras of the sea,” and my response is, “Really? Because it tastes like slimy gonads of a sea creature.”

MS: I’m weird because I would not eat a cucumber, but I do love escargot. I like sushi. I love steak. A good cheeseburger. But I eat a lot of chicken and turkey. And I think my favorite meal would be Thanksgiving—the mashed potatoes and turkey and dressing. In Canada, we don’t mash the potatoes because it feels too aggressive. 

TJ: You just kind of stare at them and hope they’ll do their thing?

MS: I envy the foodie. I really do. I pass people painting a beautiful gorge, and I wish I could do that. But the only thing I can do is fill in “one” and then fill in “three.” I envy someone who can get joy out of cooking for three hours with a glass of white wine and youthful music playing. But me? I eat for energy.

TJ: Someone hands you a glass of white wine, and it has two cubes of ice in it. Does it activate your über-pretentious gene where you say, “Oh dear, oh my, nobody desecrates the terroir of the wine on my watch?”

MS: No, I take the glass, I down it in one gulp, and I say, “How dare you?” You know who does? Diane Keaton will take the best glass of red wine and put ice cubes in it.

TJ: You’ve been doing comedy for a couple years—what makes you get up and do what you do?

MS: Well, I think that you love doing it. It’s trickier in any career when you realize you’ve got the rent covered. Why do you want to keep doing it? The second you become complacent—or you realize the effort you would put in at 30, you’re not willing to put in at 60—then you should move aside.

TJ: And you’re not there yet, obviously. Do you ever see yourself getting to that point?

MS: I think after the third stroke I won’t be as active as I’d hoped. 

The post I Drastically Underestimated Martin Short’s Funny appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Kitchen supervisor Ray St. Charles works tirelessly at this hub of health and community. “We love seeing our seniors get out of the house. This is a way to see them busy, feed them a hot, healthy meal, and know we’re taking care of them,” he says. The kitchen staff also prepares over 200 meals daily which they deliver to homebound Pala seniors and four other North County tribes.

And soon, more fresh food will be growing here on the reservation. The tribe is partnering with North County nonprofit Ecolife Conservation to construct a state-of-the-art aquaponics system. The unit, called the MARK—or Modular Aquaponics Response Kit— operates entirely off-grid using solar panels, battery storage, and a rainwater collection system.

Inspired by the need to address challenges of disrupted food supply chains during the pandemic shutdown, the MARK’s powers include the ability to grow more than 1,600 plants at a time, mostly leafy greens, all while using 90 percent less water and land than traditional in-ground growing, explains Connor Leone, Ecolife’s sustainable agriculture program director.

“We see tremendous potential for aquaponic systems like the MARK in San Diego and beyond,” Leone says. “They can yield more than 150 pounds of harvestable fish annually, on a 1,200-square-foot footprint.”

The kits are an innovation in aquaponics, a growing method that combines aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (cultivating plants in water). In a recirculating system, fish waste and bacteria provide nutrients directly to growing plants.

Ecolife’s partnership with local tribes is a natural fit. The nonprofit’s central mission to cultivate impactful solutions by designing and distributing new sustainable technology has long supported indigenous people.

In the tribe’s native Luiseño language, Pala means water. “Because Pala is not connected to a water district, it is vital that the tribe carefully manage its groundwater resources,” says Dr. Shasta Gaughen, Pala’s environmental director.

“This aquaponics project is a crucial step toward water conservation,” adds Chris Nejo, project lead and legal analyst for the tribe. “Everyone is feeling the effects of climate change. The system will allow us to grow vegetables and fish with very little runoff or evaporation.”

Cultivating organic native plants is an important tribal goal that the MARK system may help address.

“We have the opportunity to grow culturally significant plants such as miner’s lettuce, stinging nettle, and wild artichoke without fear of contamination caused by runoff from surrounding agriculture,” Nejo says. The tribe also plans on growing native medicinal and ceremonial plants once they are comfortable operating the system.

Later this summer, Ecolife will begin constructing a second MARK system at the Viejas Reservation with similar tribal goals such as education, crop variation, and produce distribution.

For the tribes, more food sovereignty isn’t viewed as mere independence, but an interconnectedness.

“We at Pala are fortunate with resources,” Gaughen says. “It means so much to be able to share with other tribes. This opportunity allows us to educate our youth, build new jobs, and showcase our commitment to community and well-being.” Including those seniors every Taco Tuesday.

The post Pala Reservation Looks to the Future With Aquaponics appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

“Skating is the one thing I’ve had a passion for—the thing I get the urge to go out and go out and go out [and do]. Whatever is going on, if it’s a bad day, and [you] don’t want to be home, you can just go skate.” –Jacob, 20

“[I have] a dream job, honestly. I get to be creative on my bike. I get to travel and experience so many cultures and see the world from a different point of view.” –Angie Marino, 34, professional BMX cyclist

“During Covid lockdowns, skating was the only thing available. I decided, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll give it a try.’ I used to be a figure skater. [The transition] was pretty easy because balance corresponds to everything.” –Nina, 14

“Skating doesn’t owe you anything—you could do the same trick a million times, and the million-and-first try, you’ll fall and bust your ass. You can’t take it for granted, but it’s one of the best escapes from reality.” –AJ Nelson, 28, professional skateboarder

“I like how my dad skates right next to me.” –Sophia, 7, with her dad, Biscuits, 26

“I really like dropping in—I like the feeling in [my] stomach.” –Sayen, 9

“I buy my expensive pants from skate shops and my cheap shirts from Goodwill.” –Koa, 18

“With action sports and in BMX in general, it’s about freedom of expression, so whatever mood you’re in is what you’re going to wear. I would say if you’re gonna wear baggy clothing, make sure you know to tie up one side or cuff them so they don’t get caught in the chain.” –Kevin Peraza, 29, professional BMX cyclist

“I try not to care too much about the graphics because [they] always get rubbed away, so I actually try to get a board I’m not a huge fan of.” –Aaliyah, 21

The post Photo Essay: San Diego Skate Park Fashion appeared first on San Diego Magazine.