Canberra, Australia via SCL - Daniel Boyle

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 08 Apr 2012 17:29

Hey Mat - thanks for the comment!

That's something I'm trying to do more - get some videos with cool footage of the background. As I'm never going to match with the best players in the world for hard shred - it's cool to see an awesome background.

This was a pretty cool place called Quintero, it's about 2 hours from Santiago (the capital, where I live). We went to a few places along the coast yesterday, but it was sooooooo crowded because of the easter weekend. Apparently though Quintero is "not for rich people" - so it wasn't so crowded. I liked that place the best.

Today we went to these enormous sand dunes and crossed over them. I took a few photos, will post them another day. Not really much shred today.

Oh yeah, I have a camera now, so I can actually film some cool videos. Just before coming to Chile - actually before we left to travel in Asia, I lost my camera. I have no idea where it went but it was a pretty annoying time to lose it. So anyway, I got a new one - it was on a good discount. It is a point and shoot one, but has great zoom (12x) and some cool features which I still have plenty to learn about using.

The other reason I would like to make more videos with cool scenery is to inspire other players to come and visit Chile (or South America in general). Maybe Sernatur (the government tourism agency) can pay me for this service...

dyalander · Post by **dyalander** » 10 Apr 2012 19:05

Hey Daniel - apologies for not really being in touch - entirely my fault, I've been flat out for a while now.

I just had a look back at your last few posts and sounds like you're slowly but surely settling in and have some good ideas keeping you busy. I like the South America Freestyle idea - sounds really interesting. Intrigued to see your TV appearance - I'm picturing a South American soap opera where you play the evil footbag playing villain Manuel who after shredding his way to the top cops a footbag in the head and falls into a coma while his pregnant lover (whose husband thinks the baby is his) plots to the pull the plug so her secret shame will never be revealed.

I'm a bit behind in your interview series, but I enjoyed the interview with Phil and look forward to getting around to the more recent interviews.

Usual story here in Sydney. Mitch and I are playing regularly, we meet once a week and try to play twice a week total. Ian's busy as always but we try to keep in touch. There's been no talk about nationals so I've proposed we do a low key even in Sydney in October, I haven't had much feedback.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 11 Apr 2012 18:10

Haha! I know a guy who is a TV producer - maybe i could pitch that to him. His current work is a Chilean version of "Secret Diary Of A Call Girl" - Diario Secreto de una Profesional. I'm sure he is responsible for many other crimes against television viewing!

I was checking the forum the other day and liked the idea of an end of year nationals. If I fall into a big pile of money (for example if this successful soap opera begins a ten year stint in TVN), you never know.

Unfortunately the storyline is a bit more boring. It was one of these talent shows. It is based on "Odd One In", which was first in the UK with Peter Andre as host

Here the show is called Salta a La Vista. As a matter of fact I can see a huge billboard for the show from my bedroom window.

I'm not even sure if I will end up in the show at all - but I got paid for it, which is fine anyway. I have been meaning to do a write up of it, but same for me, time is hard to get a hold of.

I have a great number of ideas, some of which I think have great potential, some of which I have started working on, and some of which are no good.

I was hoping to get the interview series as a weekly thing, but that's not always possible. I do actually have one up my sleeve that I did before starting the little project. I plan on getting back in to it.

Qantas have started flying directly here from Sydney to Santiago. Hopefully that will bring the prices down. Also, last time I talked to Phil he said he was strongly considering moving to Australia - his Dad is living in Sydney already. You should get in touch with him and get him shredding hard and growing the Sydney scene!

I met a kid last week that plays freestyle football (well he's just beginning, but has a few tricks. We had a good little kick around. I was meant to meet him again this week, but I had to work unfortunately. I have started teaching some English classes now. I have a private lesson - it's an intensive course until the month, the guy is a tattoo artist. He is heading to Denmark for a tattoo convention. He knows some English already but he wants to build his skills. He is a nice guy.

I also taught a class on Tuesday, and again tomorrow at Pirque - this place is in the end of the world (it's outside of Santiago). It takes me three metros and a bus to get there.

Next week I am planning to head to Pichilemu, which is a surf town a few hours south. They are holding a big wave competition there and it looks like I will be able to line up an interview with Ramón Navarro, who is a Chilean surf legend and a "hellman". This could also be a good opportunity to give some people at Quiksilver, Red Bull, etc some funny little ideas about marketing campaigns involving a pelotita....

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 21 Apr 2012 18:38

I played today and I played pretty well. Got a couple of cool runs on film. I played twice actually, both times for about an hour, maybe a bit more. We are down at the coast with a friend, Pablo.

First I played at the house, there is a small little swimming pool, so I played next to that. In that session I hit alpine blurry whirl, which I have not done in sometime. I also came super close to ripped warrior>mobius (actually it was on the way back up for a handcatch, which I dropped, but I did not have good control), which is a combo I have been working on. I was also working on mobius on the flip side, but let's not talk about that....

Actually I also had a short session earlier, I had phoenix>blurry whirl>spinning ducking osis come off my foot - that is something I should not have too much trouble with, but I have never hit it before.

I went for quite a long walk then played by the beach at El Quisco. This was a great spot to play. I hit flip blurry whirl, which is very rare for me. Was also working on double spinning (needs more work).

I guess these sessions were mixed sessions, started working on lots of different things, but the best thing was I was playing fairly well.

By the way, this is a different beach to Pichilemu - I might go there next week. Boca Juniors will also be playing in Chile in a few weeks time.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 22 Apr 2012 16:05

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdVM0CI9BHU[/youtube]

A short video from my session yesterday.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 23 Apr 2012 19:17

Nice. I've met you at tournaments and stuff, but I don't think I'd ever seen you play before this! Looks good.

Also... looks like an ideal shred spot. I missing being able to jump in a pool right after shred.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 27 Apr 2012 13:26

that was at a friend's place down near the beach - it was a bit cold that day for swimming. When we were living with the mum of my wife, she had a pool and it was great to jump straight in, then I have a friend who lives not too far away and he has a rooftop pool. Unfortunately both those places are now closed for the winter

Jumping straight into a pool or the beach is so awesome. One of my best footbag memories was playing in Lausanne in Switzerland and then jumping into the lake after the session as the sun was going down.

We just met at Worlds in Oakland - I didn't really play too much during the week there - hope to see you at another tournament sometime soon!

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 07 May 2012 18:50

Yesterday I met with some freestyle football players - they play every Sunday at Bellas Artes, which is walking distance from my place, so I will join them each week.

They were pretty nice guys and had some good tricks up their sleeves. I haven't played Footbag with anybody else since leaving Australia, which was six months ago. I have been trying to play almost every day, but it will be good to have some company.

I will give these guys some bags too, try and get them hooked. I actually came across them through Facebook. Somebody had told me a long time ago that the jugglers usually practice in that same park on Sundays, though I had never seen any there (the park has been under reconstruction though for quite some time).

Anyhow, I had a pretty good session yesterday, hit a few good tricks. I came very close to ripped warrior bsos, which I haven't done before. Also hit enterrage, which I have hit a few times, but I'm not so confident in that trick.

I kind of hurt my hip though, I hit pdx grifter (I think that is new, though I can't really remember. I probably won't try that so much again though). Also have a bit of a sore ankle, that was from a couple of days ago, I was walking on our wooden floor in socks and then slipped and crashed to the ground. Would have been comical to an onlooker, however there were no onlookers.

At least it wasn't like last year where I did the same thing, except down a flight of stairs in Nepal.

May have a couple of things coming up, footbag related. To begin with I will give a demonstration at a school later this month. I need to get some more bags too, I am running out.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 15 May 2012 16:36

they showed me on TV. I mentioned the filming a while ago. Here is the link

The footbag playing was a short part of it (it's at the end of the video).

Basically the filming was a pretty big pain. They screwed a lot of things up and made me wait for a long time. However, that was my first time on TV playing footbag, which has long been a goal of mine.

I think I might have been on some news reports when I went to Malaysia last year, but I never saw anything. I have been in the newspaper and on the radio quite a few times, but the TV was new.

I played today, just a short session, in non-footbag shoes. They are not too bad for playing though, they have a decent clipper surface.

It is starting to get quite cold now, which is not so good for outdoor sessions. We have quite a bit of space here in the apartment, so I can play a bit here - but I like to leave the house to play.

I am going to give a footbag demonstration at a school in a couple of weeks. Also have a couple of friends coming from Australia next month, really looking forward to that.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 19 May 2012 12:42

Hi mates.

I have played the last couple of days, and both days have been frustrating sessions. Both times a complete inability to progress on my run length. Always dropping somewhere in the 9-12 contact range.

Today I had ripped warrior>spinning ducking butterfly>spinning ducking osis come of my foot, but didn't quite get there in the last clipper.

My legs have been kind of sore lately, that has contributed to these poor sessions.

I am going to play again with the freestyle football players tomorrow. I couldn't make it last week as we were out of town.

I am also going to develop some plans about how to promote Footbag in Chile. I have a number of ways, just have to get it going, which is always the hardest thing.

Now that I am a TV * however...

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 20 May 2012 13:09

A totally weird day today. I met with the freestyle football guys and by the end of the day we were giving a demonstration inside one of these madman churches.

I wrote more in a different blog - http://capital-eyes.blogspot.com/2012/0 ... lesia.html

Let's just say, that was weird.

Good to meet those guys though. We had six people (including me) in the session this week. I am hoping to go every week. There is so much potential to develop links between freestyle footbag and freestyle football, especially in a country like this where both are really only just starting out.

There is a freestyle football competition in Argentina at the moment I think actually, though I don't know too much information about it.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 22 May 2012 13:44

Played today - just under an hour. Not a great session, but not too bad. My best run was 34 contacts. Dropped on pdx whirl. I think that's the biggest thing I'd like to work on - well two things actually, long runs and variety.

The other thing I want to work on is starting to build a scene here in Chile. It is hard to begin with nothing, but I think if I can make some good connections with these freestyle football guys, that could be the beginning of something.

I got a call today from another TV guy - they want me to come down and have a meeting at TVN. I'm not sure, but I think TVN is the biggest channel. He didn't say anything about the show, just that he wants to meet on Friday. So I will go there, that's after I give a presentation at a school (and also judge their "English Song Festival"...)

So the boss at the newspaper also runs a web hosting company and he asked if I would like a domain name, so I got footbagchile.com. I am working on setting that all up now, but that is another step in my ideas. I want to try and work with a couple of foundations in getting the idea of footbag to kids etc.

One thing I need to do now is buy a bunch of footbags to sell/give away. Honestly I would prefer to just give them away, but of course, that is not a very profitable way.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 23 May 2012 17:02

Didn't have a proper session today. Went to the match between Colo Colo and Iquique (3-3 draw).

I have embarked in a new project, which will take years/never be completed. But my idea is to film a short video inside every stadium in Chile.

Here is the first, at Estadio Monumental (Colo Colo home ground)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTKLazclbXU[/youtube]

After this short little run, some of the fans suggested I should take the pitch for Colo Colo (they have had a poor season this year and barely made the finals. At haftime they were down 2-1.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 24 May 2012 09:17

LOL. That'd be funny if you became a player on an underperforming Chilean soccer team.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 24 May 2012 16:43

I would never play for Colo Colo (not just because I am a fan of "La U", their enemies. Recently one of the players received death threats from the head of the "garra blanca", the main supporters group.

Good support, right!

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 24 May 2012 16:47

Good strong session today. Although I didn't really hit long runs, I hit a couple of good combos, including phoenix>ripped warrior and I only just missed spinning ducking osis after the RW.

I was feeling really good about my game, it was one of those sessions where it was good to play. I had kind of a big lunch, drank a beer or two and was feeling kind of lethargic. Before coming upstairs I decided, ok will kick around for a little while. That turned out to be a great idea.

Earlier in the morning I walked up Cerro San Cristobal. That was another good idea too. It is a great feeling to get that good energy from exercise. Now I am off to watch La U in the Copa Libertadores - that's like the South American Champions League. Just going to the bar to watch it. They are favourites to win, so let's see how it goes. The winner plays Boca Juniors in the semis. (They are playing Libertad from Paraguay).

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 24 May 2012 16:51

Oh yeah, this is what I meant to add in the last post.

Tomorrow I will give a demonstration in a school. (I will also judge an "English song contest")

Then I will go for a meeting at TVN (the biggest TV station). They saw my appearance on Salta a la Vista and want to do something (not sure what, let's see).

Then I have another meeting, a girl is looking to start promoting English through sports. That is an exact idea I have been thinking of how to go about, so it will be very interesting to talk to her.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 29 May 2012 20:04

Going to just make a short post before I go to bed.

Had a very good session this afternoon. It has really been good for me lately - I have been playing before coming home - rather than coming home, getting changed, etc (then you check some emails, maybe drink a beer, have a nap, oh no, it's the next day)

Instead of that, I have been playing directly in the courtyard below our building. This is a great place to play actually, it's a big wide courtyard and there's always a few people around.

Today I had some good runs, one of about 35 guiltless - at this time there had been some people taking photos on the other side of the courtyard. They came over to me and it turned out they were journalists. They took a few photos of me, then another journalist called me later, so tomorrow they will interview me. So hopefully it makes it to print! The paper is Las Ultimas Noticias - which is the extreme tabloid farandula. Aside from that, I think it is the most read newspaper, so they're doing something right....

I also came very close to hitting alpine food processor. Probably the closest I have come. I also got a guy from those guys from the TV. They had already called once to reschedule, then they called again to re-reschedule. I told them that I didn't have time for that, which I think was a good call on my behalf.

Those guys screwed me around (oh yeah, I didn't report on the meeting, it was like an information session - with the same production crew from the last meeting). So in reality, I don't really want anything to do with them.

I did get paid $100 for my efforts last time though...but I really have to question whether it was worth it.

So anyway, I have been trying to play every day and it is going reasonably well so far. I have also been writing down some various goals each day - not necessarily Footbag related, (sometimes they are), but simply planning the day and ticking off things that need to be done.

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 01 Jun 2012 12:00

I was in the newspaper today - http://www.lun.com/Pages/NewsDetail.asp ... 2&bodyid=0

Nathan · Post by **Nathan** » 01 Jun 2012 20:54

Just wanted to say thanks for all the hard work you're doing with appearances and exposure. I hope it pays off!

Shred looks good, too.