'Life of Ryan' Episode Three - Season Two
Jan 23 2008 / Los Angeles, CA
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Mother/manager Gretchen is trying to give Ryan some information about an upcoming trip to Texas where he's going to make promotional appearances and take meetings but he seems distracted and not ready to discuss it. He says his mother switches back and forth from manager to mom and it's not fair. He wants to focus on what he does.
"My life is... I skateboard. That's all I do."
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The trip is an important one, we find, because of how it ties into his Plan B relationship. Plan B is one of his major sponsors and there's an upcoming video coming out, along with a tie-in to the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Houston he needs to attend. The trip he needs to take will be without his friends -- one of the first trips in awhile he will take solo -- and they seem as bummed about it as he does.
So before he goes on the trip he has one more day of fun with his pals, including girl who's a friend Kayla. A group of them goes miniature golfing (at Boomers, in case you're interested) and when there's a break Ryan tells Mitch to take Taylor and Casey home so he can drive Kayla home. After he drops her off, there's a little hug goodbye but nothing else. The next morning Ryan has a download with Casey about the drop-off and Ryan says he's not worried about his upcoming two-week break since Kayla will also be out of town. The conversation is interrupted by mother/manager, reminding him of upcoming meetings about his businesses and other details. Ryan shoos her off and later as he prepares to leave and she tries to help him get on the road. Though she is trying to help he seems like he's having trouble communicating with her.
In Houston, Ryan gets to hook up with his Plan B mates, Jereme Rogers and P-Rod. We get to follow the three, along with Plan B co-founder Colin McKay, around on a shoot at different spots around the city. They get hassled pretty much every place they go and Ryan informs us that they hit four spots, got kicked out of each one, but he still managed to hit three tricks. Not bad.
Back at his hotel Ryan gets a call from Tony, who informs his that Kayla was spotted going to a concert with an ex-boyfriend who was back from college. In a flashback, we learn from Casey that Kayla was in a relationship for three years with her now-in-college-ex, and that Casey is worried that Ryan's moving too fast. Ryan is bummed from the news and tries to call his mom to talk. She launches into business talk and appears to completely ignore Ryan's news about Kayla with a "huh" before going right back into business talk. Doh! Not cool. Ryan tries to get a word in edgewise as we cut to commercial.
The next day Ryan preps for his day and spends some time with Jereme. He talks about Kayla and his concerns and Rogers gives him some advice: Make sure she knows his career is first.
"Girls are cool, but we want to make the most out of our skateboarding when we can because this is going to be pretty short-lived when all is said and done," he says.
Ryan seems to take the words to heart.
After the talk, Ryan takes part in the Make-a-Wish Foundation demo and gets to meet 15-year-old Kasie from Florida. She's been diagnosed with Thyroid cancer and her wish was to meet the skater, and he is happy to spend some time with her. He talks with her about skating and how nervous he is. She's even more nervous and it is an interesting moment when they both realize they are just teenagers who are facing extraordinary situations. Kasie gets some photos with him and watches him as he skates in the demo. Overall, she seems stoked with the day and Ryan seems humbled by the experience.
Ryan gets back home after the trip and has a heart-to-heart with his mom. Meeting Kasie has made him reflect on his situation and he says he doesn't want to fight to her anymore. They agree to try and do better with their relationship as mother/son and manager/client -- both understand that they need to make some changes. But it seems that the lines of communication are opening up.
After the conversation Ryan skates in his backyard park and Tony and Casey come over. Is seems that Kayla is still on her trip and he's barely heard from her but everything seems fine about the concert. He and Tony may have to stress about relationships, but Casey's "married" they joke. Ryan's final narration is that he doesn't want to spend any more time worrying about the small things.
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Random Notes from Episode Three - Season Two
- This was one of my favorite episodes of the show -- I enjoyed seeing Ryan hanging out with other skaters and going out and hitting spots, etc. Plus the Make-a-Wish Foundation thing, who could have a problem with that?
- Speaking of Make-a-Wish... Want more info about Kasie? Here's a little. No word of her current condition since this was a couple of months ago. But here's a MySpace fan page for her you can join. See seemed like a great kid.
- I'm confused. This is the second episode out of three that didn't have any home movie footage. I don't know whether to be elated or worried about its inevitable return.
- I love Jereme Rogers. He's a crack-up. Had some great advice but the thing that was awesome was how he was imitating the security guard at one spot. Hilarious.
- I've heard Ryan say that he's really close with P-Rod and Rogers and that they pray together before comps, etc. Not a lot said about religion on the show but Rogers is really open with his, P-Rod and Ryan less so. No point, just an observation since I can make 'em. ;)
- As can be seen in the recap, this was a decidedly family-free show. No Randy and limited Gretchen. No Shane and one Kane shot. And I don't think he's ever taken a trip that we've seen without his mom or his superagent tall man.
- This week's Casey and Taylor sighting: A hug plus some time playing miniature golf. But the "married" statement seems to lock down they are still steady. Maybe since they are married they no longer feel the need to show public displays of affection. That's cool. Consider this topic done.
- Not done: Kayla and Ryan. Countdown to the first kiss. The little hug was good, but Ryan's got to hook up with someone before he's 18, right? lol. Well, not really, but he does deserve some stability in the female dept. Speaking of which, Tony should be getting some action right? I guess the show's called "Life of Ryan" for a reason (and not "Life of Casey, Parker and Tony" -- that's next season).
- This week's editing question: The last segment of the show featured a newly-shorn Sheckler talking to his mom. When did he get his haircut? What happened in the 10+ days he was apparently traveling? I'm no brain surgeon but Ryan Sheckler getting his hair cut would make good TV. Hell, Ryan Sheckler THINKING about getting his haircut would make good TV. I bet the hair could be sold on EBay.
See you all next week.
- Greg Baerg
