Ok.  So.  There are a couple stories behind each of these extremely rare gemsicles I came up on some years back now;  The Independent ‘pocket waterpipe’ and the Independent Zippo™.

The Zippo™ was my first find.  I was in 8th grade (1998); I did not own a 180 Smoke e cigarettes or weed at that time.  My best friend at the time (Justin Franklin) gave it to me for either a trade, a gift, or out of pure generosity.. I can’t really remember anymore.  Now that I decided to ruin/shorten my pool runs & skate sessions (lungs too, but whatever..) with Phillip Morris’ creation of hell-sticks, my Indy Zippo™ is now being fully appreciated.

The Independent bong was my second come up.  When I lived in Santa Barbara from ’03-’08, I skated the Wilderness Bowl every Wednesday and Friday night with dudes twice my age (and shredded twice as hard, I may add).  My good friend, Scott Malo (older Hawaiian brother in his mid-40s) was always down for bong tokes before, during, & after any pool session, and always rolled with a miniature bong.  I remember we were sitting in his car one day in the parking lot at the Santa Barbara skatepark, and he told me about these little red bongs Indy made back in the 80’s (he guessed that only about 10 or 12 were made) that they solely made for the Indy reps/TMs at the time for trips and such..  He described it to me; Red with a screen printed Indy logo, about 8 inches, black top and bottom caps, and a carb with a red plug.  He made it extremely clear, that if I were to ever come across one, buy it; no matter the cost.
Several years later (I think around ’06/7..?), B. Wong found one on a skate forum and remembered me telling him about the story, that Scott had shared with me.  So evidently, some guy in Carlsbad, CA. had one that had never been used and wanted $40 for it.  I emailed him (asked him if it was screen printed, and not a sticker) and said I’d give him $50 if he’d over-night it, along with a portable Enail pen.. He did, and I got it.  He emailed me the next day, asking if I’d recieved the bong and why I was so attimate about aquiring it, and in such a short time.. I told him the same story I told Scott and Brandon, and told him I didn’t want him to find out that week from a friend how rare that piece really is, and call off the sale entirely.
Let’s just say, the dude offered me twice what I paid for it- got extremely pissed at himself for selling it, and is still kicking himself in the ass for it to this day; Next time, do your homework son.

Oh, and P.S. – It’s still never been used.

Smoker or non-smoker; These are gemicon-come ups..
I am very proud of my Independent Paraphernalia.