TALES OF DREW
Stories of Andrew from friends, and family.
wrote on July 31, 2022
at
5:25 pm
I’d like to share a story about one of my oldest and Best friends in the world… Andrew Grabowski. Andrew was known by many names over the years, Lil Reynolds, Drew, Drew-da-dude, and my go to, Reynz.
Reynz and I met about 18 years ago on the one and only Nichols ave in good old Eastwood with a skateboard in one hand and a dream in the other. We all gravitated to Reynz back in the day not just because he was absolutely nasty on a skateboard, but because he was such an easy person to get along with. Back then, he was so short and had such a big board (8.0) but the dude could switch double heel easier than I could ollie. We were pretty close growing up in Eastwood together and had some really wild adventures. As the years rolled by I drifted here and there and we lost touch for a couple years.
In 2018 and I found myself living in Albany NY, a big new unfamiliar city I didn’t know anyone in. In the midst of me trying to get settled in I got a random call from my old pal Drew who told me that he had also just moved to Albany and was now living with our mutual friend Jesus (Adam). I was so stoked to have one of my boys living close by and once we started hanging again it turned into an almost daily occurrence. I’d pick him up from work almost every night, and on our days off we would skate or drive around Albany looking for new spots to skate. As we drove around he would yell, “BRO pull over I think I saw a gap”. We would stop, he’d jump out with his deck, and by the time I had park and made my way to the spot, he was already busting some wild trick over it. It was an amazing 2 years, we didn’t have many other friends in Albany and definitely none that we have known as long as each other, so hanging out together again was like second nature.
One day Drew and I went skating he brought his Polaroid camera and said he wanted to get a couple shots. At that time I was still new to photography but I totally fell in love with his Polaroid camera. He told me that a single photo cost about $2.50 a pop, but there is nothing like it, getting your pic as soon as you take it. At that time I was getting ready to drive out to Las Vegas to go to EDC for the first time, a massive 3 day music festival I’ve been trying to get to for years. While we were taking a few pictures and skating around Drew gave me an idea that would changed my life forever in so many ways. He said, “you should bring a polaroid with you to Vegas with you and use it as an icebreaker”. I thought it was an awesome idea, but with film being so expensive it didn’t seem very feasible. That was when he told me about the fuji film, which was basically a mini Polaroid that was much more affordable but with the same aesthetic. So I took the idea and ran with it. I got fuji and a bunch of film before I left and made my way from Syracuse all the way to Vegas.
On the second night of EDC while in a crowd of over 100,000 people I took a picture of a girl named Jackie…a picture that would change my life forever. We clicked right away and we spent the rest of the festival together. Unfortunately, as all good parties must come to an end, we had to go home. I drive back to NY, and she drove back home to CA, but the spark was there. Over the next few days as I made my way across the county, Jackie and I talked almost the entire time, and before I even made it across New Mexico, we were dating. EDC was in May of 2019 and by the end of 2020 I found myself driving across the county again, but this time Jackie was with me and I had my entire life packed in the back of a minivan on our way to Southern California, where I have been happily living ever since.
Without Drew’s idea I never would have met Jackie, and I never would have discovered my passion for photography. Sometimes the littlest things make the biggest impact. I flew back home to NY in October 2021 to visit. While I was there Drew and I hung out a few times and I had the chance to tell him how much his small idea changed my life. He was so happy for me he gave me a hug! And if you know Drew that’s a rare thing. I’m sad to say that’s the last time I saw him in person, but we did stay in touch over the phone when we could. I will always cherish the time that we did have together. I will forever miss Reynolds because he touch my life in unimaginable ways, as I know he did for others as well.
You were truly one of a kind my friend.
I Miss and Love you homie…
I’ll be rolling a spliff later thinking about you..
The one the only Andrew Grabowski.
Reynz and I met about 18 years ago on the one and only Nichols ave in good old Eastwood with a skateboard in one hand and a dream in the other. We all gravitated to Reynz back in the day not just because he was absolutely nasty on a skateboard, but because he was such an easy person to get along with. Back then, he was so short and had such a big board (8.0) but the dude could switch double heel easier than I could ollie. We were pretty close growing up in Eastwood together and had some really wild adventures. As the years rolled by I drifted here and there and we lost touch for a couple years.
In 2018 and I found myself living in Albany NY, a big new unfamiliar city I didn’t know anyone in. In the midst of me trying to get settled in I got a random call from my old pal Drew who told me that he had also just moved to Albany and was now living with our mutual friend Jesus (Adam). I was so stoked to have one of my boys living close by and once we started hanging again it turned into an almost daily occurrence. I’d pick him up from work almost every night, and on our days off we would skate or drive around Albany looking for new spots to skate. As we drove around he would yell, “BRO pull over I think I saw a gap”. We would stop, he’d jump out with his deck, and by the time I had park and made my way to the spot, he was already busting some wild trick over it. It was an amazing 2 years, we didn’t have many other friends in Albany and definitely none that we have known as long as each other, so hanging out together again was like second nature.
One day Drew and I went skating he brought his Polaroid camera and said he wanted to get a couple shots. At that time I was still new to photography but I totally fell in love with his Polaroid camera. He told me that a single photo cost about $2.50 a pop, but there is nothing like it, getting your pic as soon as you take it. At that time I was getting ready to drive out to Las Vegas to go to EDC for the first time, a massive 3 day music festival I’ve been trying to get to for years. While we were taking a few pictures and skating around Drew gave me an idea that would changed my life forever in so many ways. He said, “you should bring a polaroid with you to Vegas with you and use it as an icebreaker”. I thought it was an awesome idea, but with film being so expensive it didn’t seem very feasible. That was when he told me about the fuji film, which was basically a mini Polaroid that was much more affordable but with the same aesthetic. So I took the idea and ran with it. I got fuji and a bunch of film before I left and made my way from Syracuse all the way to Vegas.
On the second night of EDC while in a crowd of over 100,000 people I took a picture of a girl named Jackie…a picture that would change my life forever. We clicked right away and we spent the rest of the festival together. Unfortunately, as all good parties must come to an end, we had to go home. I drive back to NY, and she drove back home to CA, but the spark was there. Over the next few days as I made my way across the county, Jackie and I talked almost the entire time, and before I even made it across New Mexico, we were dating. EDC was in May of 2019 and by the end of 2020 I found myself driving across the county again, but this time Jackie was with me and I had my entire life packed in the back of a minivan on our way to Southern California, where I have been happily living ever since.
Without Drew’s idea I never would have met Jackie, and I never would have discovered my passion for photography. Sometimes the littlest things make the biggest impact. I flew back home to NY in October 2021 to visit. While I was there Drew and I hung out a few times and I had the chance to tell him how much his small idea changed my life. He was so happy for me he gave me a hug! And if you know Drew that’s a rare thing. I’m sad to say that’s the last time I saw him in person, but we did stay in touch over the phone when we could. I will always cherish the time that we did have together. I will forever miss Reynolds because he touch my life in unimaginable ways, as I know he did for others as well.
You were truly one of a kind my friend.
I Miss and Love you homie…
I’ll be rolling a spliff later thinking about you..
The one the only Andrew Grabowski.
Admin Reply by: Drewsdad
❤️ Thanks Casey! Wonderful story, I am sure he was happy that it worked out for you. 🙂
