What started out as a joke between 36-year-old Larry Unrein and his friends turned into an adventure for the Alaska man.
Unrein of Seward, Alaska, is traveling the 50 states to do a skateboarding trick called the 50-50.
“My friend said I should 50-50 in all 50 states and I laughed, but then I thought about it and it seemed like a good idea, and so here I am,” he said.
Unrein started his journey on Oct. 1, 2018, in Seattle, Washington, and has since documented himself doing the trick in 43 states. Being from Seward, Alaska, Unrein decided doing his trick in Seward, Nebraska, only seemed fitting.
“I love it (Seward, Nebraska). I went to the movies last night, ended up chatting with the lady there for a long time,” Unrein said. “I was going to kind of pass, but I think I’m going to stay for another day or two.”
Unrein, a longshoreman back home in Seward, Alaska, works from May to September on crew ships. He saves his money and travels in between seasons.
Unrein has been sleeping in a rental van and occasionally sleeps in hotels so he can shower.
Before Seward, Nebraska, Unrein was in Topeka, Kansas, where he spent a few nights in the hospital.
“I’m still recovering. I just broke a bunch of ribs in Kansas...I can’t afford to take another spill,” he said.
Unrein stopped at Seward Lumber for supplies to build what he called a safe alternative for him to use in his next couple states while he recovers.
Iowa is next on Unrein’s list followed by Wisconsin. He hopes to end his project by December 2020.
“Just because the trick is called the 50-50, 50 states, and 2020, just the numbers,” he said.
Out of the 43 states he has visited, Unrein said he thinks Utah was pretty, and he was surprised by the southern hospitality.
“(The) human interactions everywhere have been really fun, but I have found that smaller towns, say like Seward, I kind of tend to have more fun in and like,” Unrein said.
After Iowa and Wisconsin Unrein only has California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Hawaii left on his trip.
Unrein has been sharing his trip on his Instagram @salmonmoose and his Vimeo, Allen Auke.
Unrein said the biggest part of this was not to document himself doing the trick but forcing him to go places he might not have been.
