What the Hell?...continued

Pro-tec Classic helmets are used because their outer shell is designed for multiple impacts and rough handling. It costs Smith $18 wholesale for a helmet and about $5.25 to mail it to your door. Everything is free, shipping included. Smith has mailed HELLmets all over the United States and even to the United Kingdom. For those who have the $25 to afford a helmet, your payment helps someone less fortunate receive theirs for free. Custom paint jobs are also offered for a fee, (a minimum $50 donation) some of which include the Bad Brains Banned in DC album cover, Misfits Crimson Ghost, and a Hammer & Sickle (my personal HELLmet…)

What about HELL in the future? Smith would love to see chapters all over the country and even world; the more people working together for a great cause, the more of a positive impact the organization will make. However, for now, he has college to focus on, and is too personally invested in the mission of helping everyone live longer to let things become overextended and spiral into deterioration. For now, Smith wants to keep things centralized and efficient... yet he is welcoming help with open arms.

ORDER YOUR OWN HELLMET (or contribute to the cause)

Website: www.hellmets.org

Email: helpingeveryonelivelonger@gmail.com

Myspace: myspace.com/helpingeveryonelivelonger

ROCKED LIKE A HURRICANE

Name: Ariele Hertzoff
Location: Boston, MA
Occupation: Photographer
My bike: 1969 black Raleigh single speed

Favorite place to ride in Boston: I like riding in Jamaica Plain, that’s where I live, there’s a bike path that goes Downtown and there’s the JP pond that’s nice to ride around just for fun. Riding over the Mass Ave Bridge is always nice, and the bike path along the Charles River is also one of my favorite things to do when I have free time.

Love/Hate riding in Boston: The nice thing about having a bike in this town is that a lot of other people have bikes too, so I can ride with groups of friends when I go out, which is great. I love group bike rides! In terms of this being a safe and easy city to ride in.... Well, let’s face it, it’s terrible. There are roads I hate riding on because they’re so dangerous. The city grid is so old and there just isn’t always enough room for us to share the roads with cars, which are usually driven by people who are maniacs behind the wheel. I have had a lot of close calls, and I’m pretty sick of it.

Why Everyone Should get a HELLmet: Zack is a great guy and he deserves the support for starting this. But, like I said, I’ve had a lot of close calls, and almost everyone I know rides bikes and almost all of them have been hit by a car or doored at least once. I know a lot of people who don’t want to bother with helmets, but after two people I know died in the span of a year in this town on their bikes, it just makes me realize how quickly and easily it can happen to anyone. We are practically naked out there on our bikes compared to people in their cars and SUVs. Might as well protect ourselves as much as we can if one of them decides to slam into us when we least expect it.