Snoop Dogg

Last Year

Last year, I had the opportunity to meet the legend Snoop Dogg. He made an appearance at the Tilly's in Santa Monica. I went the day before to buy the Neff t-shirt and our wristbands to meet him. Snoop was cool to all his fans. Tilly's had a professional photographer their to snap photos, which they later put on their website. This helped move the lane faster. I think more autograph events should use this method. The security for the event said no autographs, but Snoop was classy and signed for anybody that asked. Since I already got a ball signed by him at an all star event, I decided to respect the event and not ask. All I really wanted was a photo op and a chance to meet Snoop. This was a great event that ran smooth. Thanks to Snoop, Neff and Tilly's.

This is the shirt we had to buy

 

 

Me and Snoop

 

Betty White

 

 

 

 

Last December, I had the honor to meet the legendary Betty White. Another fun fact about me is that my favorite show of all time is The Golden Girls. This was one of my favorite signings I have ever been to. It was a book signing at the Santa Monica Barnes & Noble. She was their to promote her book "Betty & Friends, My Life at the Zoo". Betty was amazing. I had her sign the cover of my book and it turned out great. This was bittersweet for me since, I would have liked to meet all four of the Golden Girls, but sadly Betty is the only surviving one left.  Also Barnes & Nobles prevented people taking pictures with her and no outside items to be signed. But the opportunity to meet her was good enough. Thank you again Betty White.

Betty signing copies of her book

 

Me waiting to meet Betty

 

 

Golden Girls

Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin has helped bring the Clippers out of the Laker's Shadow in Los Angeles. I am still a Laker Fan, but I love watching Blake and the Clippers play. I have been lucky enough to meet Griffin three times. I met him at the Upper Deck store in Huntington beach during his rookie year. It was a paid signing, but it was worth it. I had him sign a basketball. I got another ball signed when he made an appearance at the Kia booth at the LA auto show a few months later. This ball I had Baron Davis. This is a piece I want to get framed with a picture of Blake dunking over the Kia. The third and last time I met Blake was the picture above. This was from his meet and greet at the grand opening of a Microsoft store. He was nice all three times. He is very good to his fans.

Freddie Roach

The Wild Card Gym in Hollywood for me is the mecca of boxing gyms. The aura of greatness streams from wall to wall. From the outside it looks like an ordinary building. On the inside some of the best boxers in the world call this place home. Fighters like Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan, JC Chavez Jr, Peter Quillin and many others. Other athletes and celebrities outside of boxing come here to be inspired and workout. The man who makes all this possible is trainer Freddie Roach. This man is not only a great trainer, but also a big heart. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met. He welcomes everybody to his gym. He takes time to stop and talk with fans. He has never turned down an autograph request. Unfortunaltely, Parkinson's disease has slowed him down, but it won't let it stop him. He is still one of the best trainers in boxing. He has gone through a slump as of late, but I believe he will make it back to the top of his sport. Roach is the definition of class. I wish him all the best and success. Ive met Freddie several times. I'm a member at the Wild Card Gym and hopefully my little 5 year old brother will be trained by him one day.

 

 



Me and Freddie Roach

Kurt Rambis

Back in May, I had the opportunity to meet Laker Legend Kurt Rambis. He made an appearance at the Hollywood Park and Casino in Inglewood. It was kind of neat to meet him at a place right across the street from The Great Western Forum, where Showtime was born.  Rambis teamed up with ESPN for a meet and greet with fans before a Laker game. I love going to ESPN signings at the casino, because they give you free food. I went to the Norm Nixon signing there as well and they always treat the guests great. Kurt was another nice guy. He signed a warm up jersey and a Laker Poster for me. I took a picture with him, but the camera was broken. This is the same camera that messed up my Freddie Roach. I guess I didn't learn my lesson (lol). Ive since bought a new camera to prevent this mistake from happening again. At this event I also won free LA Galaxy tickets, which in itself was an awesome experience. I got to see Beckham and Donovan both score goals.

Upcoming Signing

Pete Wentz of Fallout Boy

 

 

Book Signing

Barnes and Noble

The Grove in LA

Jan 14, 2013 

7:00 pm

Ke$ha

This is kind of a weird story. About a  year ago I had won Movie Premiere tickets from a radio station. I can't even remember what movie it was and what radio station I got them from. All I remember was The Rock was the star of the movie. We arrived in Hollywood to find a giant line of people waiting to get into the premiere. It turns out the they gave out way more tickets then they had seats, so many people were not able to get in. So they formed a line for a chance some extra seats became available. I decided against waiting in line, so me and my friends started heading back to the car. We took a short cut through an alley back to the backing lot. When we I noticed what looked like a concert being held in an outdoor venue. Which I later found out is the back lot stage for the Jimmy Kimmel Show. The view from the alley was amazing. It was like having backstage passes. We decided to stick around to see who was going to perform. This was around the time Ke$ha just hit the mainstream with her hit "Tik Toc". After her performance she exited the stage and walked right by us. She was nice enough to stop and take a picture with us. I didn't have anything for her to sign, but it was a pretty cool experience. She is very pretty in person!

Puppet!!!!

My Dad lives in East LA, so I spent alot of time in Boyle Heights growing up. Their is a tremendous amount of culture and history in this city. I became a big fan of Chicano movies. Some of my favorites include Blood in Blood Out and American Me. So it was a big surprise for me one day last year, when I walked into Frank and Sons and saw Danny De La Paz signing autographs. For those of you who do not follow Chicano cinema, you probably might not know who he is, but for me this was huge. Danny portrayed two major roles in two pretty influential films. He played "Puppet" in American Me and he was the star in the movie Boulevard Nights. Frank and Sons is one of my favorite spots to go to for my Autograph needs (along with Michaels). And what a deal I got, for only 20 bucks I got to meet Danny and got a 16x20 movie poster of American Me. This is going to be a project to try to get the other actors to sign as well. I'm most interested in trying to meet the filmmaker and the star of the film Edward James Olmos. Danny was a great guy. This was a real treasure for my autograph collection.

Me and Danny De La Paz

Fight Night

Today was a great day of boxing. This was my first time watching a boxing match live in person and it did not disappoint. Every fight, was entertaining and thankfully all the fighters I was rooting for pulled off the victories. It was cool to see the fighters I met this past week at the Media Workout at the Ponce De Leon gym. The main event was a thrilling fight in which Amir King Khan won on a 10th round stoppage. Golden Boy Promotions put together a fan fest between fights, where you could meet some of the boxers. I brought along a couple pairs of Everlast sparring gloves to get signed by some of my favorite fighters.

Autograph Recap:   Adrien Broner- Glove

                               Peter Kid Chocolate Quillin- Glove

                               Robert The Ghost Guerrero- Glove

                               Leo Santa Cruz- Glove

                               Joseph JoJo- Diaz Jr. Glove

                               Referee Joe Cortez- Ticket

                               Paulie Magic Man Malignaggi- Ticket 

                               Andre S.O.G. Ward- Ticket

Also in attendance-  Canelo Alvarez

                               Sugar Shane Mosley

                               Freddie Roach and Pepper Roach

                               Oscar De La Hoya

                               Danny Swift Garcia and Angel Garcia

                               Danny Miracle Man Jacobs

Fan Fest

Adrien The Problem Broner

Leo Santa Cruz

Joseph Jo Jo Diaz Jr.

Robert The Ghost Guerrero and Peter Kid Chocolate Quillin

HOF'er Joe Cortez

Paulie Malignaggi

Amir Khan vs. Carlos Molina Media Workouts

If you have not noticed by now I am a big boxing fan and Amir Khan is my favorite boxer. So when I heard he is going to make his comeback fight at the LA Sports Arena I made sure I bought tickets. The fight is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, which always throws great events leading up to the fight. Oscar De La Hoya makes most of the events open to the public and also makes the fights free to watch on television. Oscar is always doing great things for the community. Fellow Boxing champion Ponce De Leon just opened a new boxing gym in the city of Montebello. Golden Boy held an event today to not only promote the gym, but also to showcase the fighters for this Saturday's Amir Khan vs. Carlos Molina. Another surprise Golden Boy provided was a special toy drive. Anybody who donated a toy would receive 2 free tickets to the fight. I made the trip to Montebello to check out Amir Khan and the other fighters. It was a great event. All the fighters were great to the fans. Champion Abner Mares made a special appearance, I found out later he is good friends with Carlos Molina. Boxing reporter Elie Seckbach was also in attendance. He is one of the most hardest working reporters in the game. I want to give a special thank you to Oscar, Golden Boy and Ponce De Leon for this great event.

 

 

Autograph Recap: Virgil Hunter signed glove

                             Deontay Wilder signed glove

 





 

Me and Oscar De La Hoya

 

Me and Abner Mares

 

Me and Deontay Wilder

 

Me and Haroon Khan

 

My little brother and Amir Khan

Kendra Wilkinson

 

 

I had the biggest crush on Kendra when she was The Girls Next Door. I thought she was the hottest of Hugh's 3 girlfriends. So I jumped at the opportunity to meet her. I actually went to two book signings, both of which were at Barnes and Nobles. The first event I took my mom, because she is a huge fan of Kendra's new show with her husband NFL player Hank Baskett. They are both great people. Hank was nice enough to take a photo with my mom and Kendra spent time and chatted with her before the signing. I continued my collection of books signed on the cover. I'm not a fan of having book signed on the title page. Both times I met Kendra she was down to earth and genuinely nice.

Ice Cube

Back in 2004, I had the opportunity to meet Hip Hop Legend Ice Cube. I heard there was a movie being filmed at the 99cent store by my house. I decided to go along for the ride. I had no idea who was in the movie. When we arrived we found out that Ice Cube was in the movie, but wasn't sure if he was going to be in the scene that they were filming. They continued filming well into the night. I got to meet actors Faizon Love and Fedro Starr. Love is best known for his role as Big Worm in Friday and Starr is know for his role on Moesha and Dance360. Ice Cube arrived in a black SUV well after Midnight. He was another true class act. He stopped and talked with the small group of fans that came out to watch. While they started filming again. I went back to my house to grab something for him to sign. I found a Cd. Ice Cube signed it and added "Stay Cool" to his signature. It was a great experience to meet a Legend and also to get to see a movie being made. I saw the movie when it came out months later and it was neat to see the scene they were filming at the 99cent store.

Manny Pac-Man Pacquiao

 

 

Wednesday, after a long day of graphing I decided to cap off my day with a trip to the Freddie Roach's Wild Card gym. Manny Pacquiao is training for his December fight with Marquez. Since Pink Dolphin and the gym are about 5 minutes apart, we made the pitstop. The gym is closed during Manny's camp but he stopped and signed some autographs before leaving in his Ferrari. Manny was kind enough to sign my boxing glove for me. He is the true Pound for Pound boxing King. If Floyd ever steps to the plate I will be in Vegas for that fight. Thank you to Freddie Roach for being a great guy to his fans. This was a great way to end the day. I was able to meet Oscar, Abner, Manny and Chris Brown. This has been a successful day in graphing.

Chris Brown

Wednesday, on my way to the boxing press conference, I heard that Chris Brown was hosting an event at the Pink Dolphin store in Hollywood. Since I was already going to be in Downtown, I decided to make the trip. I picked up my little brother and cousin, I knew they were big Chris Brown fans. This event is at the same location where I met 2chainz. When we arrived at the store I was shocked to see there was only about 20 people in line. After about 30 minutes the line grew to close to 100. Word started to spread fast that Chris Brown was going to be there. At the begining there was some confusion about what was required to meet Chris Brown. First we were told any purchase from the Pink Dolphin store would entitle us to an autograph. Then when Chris arrived his people said we had to buy a black pyramid/pink dolphin t shirt or hoodie. The shirt was $34 and the hoodies were $80. I didn't mind since I've been wanting a Pink Dolphin shirt since the 2chainz signing. There was a guy that was in charge of the security that a an asshole. He was rude for no reason. Apparently Chris Brown's camp wanted to photos taken, so security made everyone keep their phones in their pockets. If someone even looked at their phone they were asked to leave like they were scolding a child. That guy was truly a Douchebag. Chris Brown made up for it though. He was great to his fans. He had alot of positive energy. He was nice enough to sign my Serato Record. It was last minute so it was all I had in my car. The event was well worth the 34 bucks. Thanks to Chris Brown and Pink Dolphin.

Some fan was lucky enough to snap a quick photo

(this was the shirt we had to buy)



Mares vs. Moreno Press Conference

This past Wednesday I decided to make a trip out to to the Abner Mares vs Anslemo Moreno boxing press conference at Staples Center. This was the final presser before their Nov. 10 fight. I arrived about a half hour into the conference. It was hosted by Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy promotions. It was pretty cool to see Oscar speak just a few feet from his statue. Once the press conference ended the fighters started their one on one interviews with reporters. After the interviews the fighters stopped to sign autographs. The only autograph I wanted was Abner Mares. He was originally from Jalisco Mexico and now trains out of Hawaiian Gardens. A couple of the guys in his group noticed my boxing gloves with the Mexican flag on them and pointed them out to Abner. Maces then walked over and signed my glove and posed for pictures. He was a great guy, a true champ. I had already met Oscar twice before and didn't really want to bother him, but I noticed he was signing so I asked him to sign my other Mexican glove. After I got my gloves sign I noticed a large man wearing Team Jordan brand clothes. I thought he looked familiar. Then I realized it was "trainer of the year" Virgil Hunter. He has gained fame recently for training Andre Ward. I was more excited to meet him, because he is the new trainer of my favorite fighter Amir Khan. Virgil was a class act, and real down to earth. Overall it was a great event, but it was just the beginning of my graphing day.

Abner Mares

Me and Virgil Hunter



Flashback Friday

 



Years back, while in High School, me and my family took a trip out to Las Vegas. This was my first trip out to sin city. I found out quickly there wasn't much to do when your under 21. We stayed at Circus Circus, which was pretty fun. I spent most of my time riding the rides. Me and my cousins decided to walk the entire strip(we had no clue how long the strip is). By the time we got to the end we wanted my Dad to pick us up lol. During the mini-vacation we took a stroll through the shops at Caesar's Palace. While walking a sports memorbillia store caught my eye. I noticed a sign that said Pete Rose was going to make an appearance. I had to meet him. Charlie Hustle, the all time Hit King and the most controversial athlete ever. The prices at Field of Dreams were pretty reasonable. Everything in Vegas is expensive, so $60 bucks for a signed baseball was worth it. Pete Rose was another class act and an autograph pro. He new all the tricks to make the signature look perfect. I got to sit next to him and chat for awhile. I told him I'm from Bellflower and he sang the Cal Worthington theme song(car delearship on Bellflower Blvd). This was the highlight of the trip. This ball would later become victim to a spill of red juice(ruined the ball). So the next time I was in vegas I made a pit stop at Field of Dreams to get another ball signed. Ironically months later Rose made an appearance at Living Spaces in La Mirada. It was a free signing, so I made the trip to get a bat signed. All three times Pete Rose was great. I hop he gets into the HOF soon.

The Logo

Last year, around this time, I made a trip out to Barnes and Noble for a Jerry West book signing. Normally there are no outside items allowed, but for Mr. West just a chance to meet him would be worth the wait. My friend is a big basketball fan so he came along. I brought a Lakers warmup jersey and a basketball just in case. I was shocked when the line started moving, that he was signing eveything the fans brought (one item and the book). Jerry West was great to his fans. He greeted and started conversations with everyone . I have never been to a signing with such a big name and the person displayed such high class. I had him sign my warmup. Its a project I've been working on. I want to get my favorite Lakers of all time to sign the jersey. So far I have gotten: Jerry West, James Worthy, Michael Cooper, Mychael Thompson, and Kurt Rambis. Hopefully I will get the chance to have Kobe, Shaq, Magic and Kareem to sign it. My friend didn't have anything to get signed, so I gave him the ball. It was nice to have such an awesome experience at a book signing for a change. I have the up-most respect for Jerry West. I wish him all the best.

Douche Bag Of The Month

September

Mike Trout

Today the Oakley store at the Irvine Spectrum, held a meet and greet with Angel Rookie Mike Trout. Me and my cousin Marco(Man Cave lol) decided to make the trip. I knew there would be a huge turnout, because Trout is quickly becoming one of the best players in baseball. Its just too bad its all going to his head. The signing was free, so people can't complain about "No outside items" but the way the event was executed was class-less. People waited in line for many hours. Some people even spent the night to "meet and greet" one of their heroes. I thought Oakley did a pretty good job on their part. They provided a ball or a photo to get signed. Both the ball and the photo were low quality, but still better then the usual small black and white photos that most other events offer. There were also no posed photos allowed. Which is good and bad. It does make the line go faster. But once inside I experienced one of the most disrespectful acts I have ever seen. Mike Trout wouldn't acknowledge his fans. He didn't try to make conversation or even make eye contact. People were forced to be rushed right by him. They gave you the option of a photo(which were already signed) or a ball which he would sign(with black sharpie and no SS) and toss in a box on the table. The guy that was sitting next to him was an asswhole. I called out Mike's name and the guy sitting next to him yelled out "No". Mike didn't even look up. At that point I didn't even want the auto. They were giving out shirts that said "Trout 4 MVP". I refused to take one. Its not just about the autograph, its about the experience of meeting the player. I end with Trout is another example of a person who needs to be knocked down a level. He needs to learn to respect his fans. Ive been to signings with bigger names that have treated their fans 100x better. Jered Weaver, Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick are all true class acts and should teach this youngster some manners.

Melky Cabrera 4 MVP!!!!!!

Flashback Friday

Back in 2000, I was lucky enough to attend at Nutty Professor II movie premiere. The event was held at Universal Studios. It seemed like every celebrity in Hollywood was there. I was young then, about 11, so there were probably people I didn't recognize. My mom was able to get VIP passes to walk on the red carpet and attend the afterparty. The movie was great and Eddie Murphy was hilarious as usual. I got a few autographs but I don't remember where they are now. When we got there we had to wait in a line to get into watch the movie in the Ampitheatre. The first celebrity we seen was singer Ginuine. He walked by fast by the time I recognized him he had already went inside. After the movie we walked on the red carpet into the the theme park. They blocked off a portion of the Universal for the after party. They had set up what looked like a club. There were Power 106 Djs playing music and the dancefloor was packed. There were celebrities just walking around mingling. I got to meet Jay Z, Heavy D, Derek Fisher, Montell Jordan, Shamar Moore, Tia or Tamara (not sure which one lol), one of the members of Bel Bev Devoe( I think it was Devoe), and other actors from the movie. Eddie Murphy walked past me but he was swarmed by people. Janett Jackson was at the Movie, but I didn't see her at the after party. It was a school night so I had to leave early, but I had a blast.

 

 

 

Me and Jay Z

 

NBA All Star Event 2011

 

Last year Westfield Culver City Mall teamed up with the NBA, Adidas, and Foot Locker to put on an All Star event. During the All Star weekend  they invited fans to experience the NBA up close and personal. There were many big names on hand. Westfield held autograph signings with: Kevin Love, Brandon Jennings, Kevin Durant, Snoop Dogg, Robert Horry, Shannon Brown,  and Derrick Rose. There were also special appearances by Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Ray Allen, Bun B, Carmello Anthony and Joe Johnson. The signings were held in different parts of the mall and at different times. Some were held at the same time, so you were forced to pick which player you wanted to see. I came to this event with low expectations of autographs. I figured there was no way many of these big names would sign outside items. I assumed they would provide small photos for the players to sign. I decided to not to bring anything to get signed. When I arrived I was surprised to see that there wasn't a very big turnout and most players were signing what ever item you brought. So I bought what I could.

Recap: I met Kevin Durant and had him sign an All Star pennant flag. I was a bit disappointed I didn't have a basketball at the time to have him sign. But he was a great guy and very down to earth. I met Big Shot Rob Horry, but I arrived late. To make sure he got through the end of the line he was only signing photos the mall provided. I respect the fact that he stayed after to finish the line. I also met Kevin Love and Brandon Jennings. I also had them sign an All Star pennant flag. Snoop Dogg was signing at a shoe store. If you bought his shoes, you would get the opportunity. Me and my cousin decided to wait and try to meet him as he left. Snoop was another class act. He stayed and signed for a group of people outside of the mall. I had him sign a basketball. I didn't get autographs, but I got to see Carmello Anthony and Bun B.

 



 

Me and Kevin Durnat

 

Me and Brandon Jennings

 

Me and Robert Horry

 

Kevin Love

Carmello Anthony

 

Snoop Dogg (Lion)