Mission from legend Kareem Campbell, if you choose to accept it…
Let Jackalope friends and fans know we’ve dropped anchor by way of… handpainted pirate flags?! That’s right.
You see, what had happened was… Andy and Kareem got to talking a few weeks before the event. It was all hey man, miss you bro, and how do you wanna rep GHOST/SHIP at Jackalope?
Kareem, being Kareem, fired off the most epic idea ever. Pirate flags. Handpainted. Hung high and proud for all to see.
And when you get the word from Reem? It’s a no-brainer.
But! And here’s the crazy part–the Jackalope boys were thinking the SAME thing! Serendipity rules, and we had no idea how quintessential our pirate flags would become over the weekend.
Picture it. A few weeks after the Kareem convo. Andy Howell and Kris Markovich are hard at work spray painting apparel and decks, and bam! The legendary artist/pro-skaters are commissioned by Jackalope Fest to paint a skull and crossbones flag for the crow’s nest on the pirate-themed street course.
So they get to sprayin’ and guess who’s coming to dinner? Kareem Campbell, fresh off the plane and probably not thinking too, too much about his killer pirate flag insight of yore.
“Reemoooo,” the G/S crew yells, hyped OUT, as you can imagine.
And poof! Markovich hands him the very flag he manifested, wet paint and all.
Kareem doesn’t skip a beat, just grabs it and gets to gettin’ with Andy. They trudge through the VB sand, past vert ramps and half pipes and street courses, oh my, until they get there...
To the pinnacle.
To the–drumroll, please–CROW’S NEST OF DEATH.
Kidding, it wasn’t called that but if you were lucky enough to see the tricks that popped off on this thing–Ollie to Front Pivot and Front Smith, Bean Plant to Fakie–you know what I’m saying.
So Andy and Kareem climb the crow’s nest, wave the pirate flag around, and adhere it to the structure and voila, this is the magic way GHOST/SHIP starts their Jackalope 2024 weekend–straight out of the wildest little fever dream.
If you know us, you know that’s just how GHOST/SHIP rolls.
But let’s back it up, just for a little. Walk with me…
Breakfast. Two legends. Andy Howell and Kris Markovich chow down over eggs and toast before they head to the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art to install Howell’s solo art exhibition, Skate & Destroy.”
…which goes swimmingly. A killer reception. Family, friends, and fans from near and far, new and old, drop by to celebrate Andy’s creative take on the raucous world of skateboarding. He even dropped some serious truth.
“The exhibit epitomizes the rebellious and creative spirit of 80s skateboarders, bonded by an intense passion for their 'useless wooden toys.' In places like Virginia Beach, skateboarding was a criminal act associated with society’s outcasts. Skaters communicated through a secret language of surf slang and trick names like Boneless One and Fakie Ollie Smith, codifying our unique culture.”
And if ya don’t know, now ya know…
Our Skate & Destroy MoCA hang is truly rad and helps buy us some time before the crew’s AirBnB check in to the weekend GHOST/SHIP Compound–an astroturf topped banger backed by the Virginia Beach skyline where the sunsets may as well be actual fire.
It’s the chill pad of all chill pads and Markovich’s favorite place to nap. zzZZzz. But there ain’t no rest for the wicked and after a night of GHOST/SHIP Crew toasts and cheers, the sun is once again rising for Day Two.
S.K.A.T.E., you’ve probably played. As Andy and the homies set up ship, the Crew takes to the “flat ground" before the course is fully laid out for a quick game. Despite the soggy plywood, local legend Mike Fava still comes through with the W.
Things only get hotter from here. Collin Graham, Mike Fava, and the Brothers O’Neal (king rippers Ronnie and Dylan) absolutely demolish Jackalope’s pirate street course.
As the crew sets fire to the street course, Forest Da’ Barber arrives, barber chair in tow.
Wait, his barber chair?! We’ll get back to that. Fava has bigger fish to fry.
During the Best Trick warm-up, he jacks his leg all the way up and ices it with a cold beer because science.
He goes harder and harder to land his tricks, but in the wildest turn of events, he breaks his tibia and is carted off on a stretcher.
A STRETCHER.
But worry not. He recovers like a madman on a mission over the next few months, and surprises us all for Jackalope 2025 in ways we did NOT see coming…
But back to the now, Jackalope 2024. The late-night afterparty, Have a Good Trip, feels like the truest way to finish the day.
We host it with Surf’s Up Exotics at Love Song Back Bar and the dance floor is ablaze with bodies thanks to Kill Devil Disco..
The crew sleeps well. Dylan, in fact, almost sleeps through everything–the clamoring of pots and pans, the smell of crispy fried bacon (thanks, Andy!), and the early-A.M. debauchery of the GHOST/SHIP crew ready to take on Day 3.
Remember the barber chair? We promised we’d bring it home.
As day breaks over GHOST/SHIP’s third day at Jackalope, Forest opens his chair and offers fresh, free cuts to the public–a testament to his good heart–before he competes for Best Trick.
And it’s the most chaotic mini-ramp comp we’ve ever seen...
But Forest locks in, fighting for his life AND his tricks, until he walks away with a back tail backside flip, front nose blunt rewind, switch front blunt, blunt front disaster rewind, nollie 5-0 kickflip, blunt 5-0 270 revert, and front tail revert.
And the Win.
And $190 cash, handed over by fellow G/S skater, Collin Graham, who by the way, goes all the way off.
Collin fully represented in the Pro Street Best Trick, Open Vert Best Trick, and Vert Open, pulling off his own delayed channel Elguerial.
“Nothing better than the best event of the year, Jackalope Fest, in my hometown,” Collin says during his speech. “Love you, Virginia Beach.” Awwww.
(Shoutout to the boys at Big Belly Food Truck, who hook us up all weekend in their GHOST/SHIP swag, gifted by Andy!)
But wait! There’s more.
After a hellish layover, Dominick “Domo” Walker shows up on the last day to compete.
He makes it to the Skateboarding Street Open finals, where Kareem and Andy watch courtside as Domo pulls all the stops—dance moves, photobombs, krooked grinds, and rail variations, to name a few.
And just like that, we’re celebrating the final night at the G/S Compound. Sigh, all good things must come to an end, but this end is killer.
VB’s own Rude Rich leads the G/S Crew to an oceanfront spot where his hook-up treats us to an after-hours buffet. And get this, there’s a slide! And a massive Jenga set, which Kareem loves.
We indulge all we can and snap one more iconic GHOST/SHIP Crew photo before the homies take off for various adventures all over the world.
But not before Domo hops in the Ship and sails back to the Outer Banks with Andy for his first visit to the beach that’s so inspired our brand. But that’s a story for another time…
Stay tuned for our Jackalope 2025 coverage and rejoice! We’re coming back for 2026 and our founder, Andy Howell, is locked all the way in for this one… 😈🏴☠️