Man, I got so much footage at the Finals on Monday. I’m still uploading it into my editing program. The final article along with a compilation video will be posted by Friday or Saturday. I know you’re all waiting to see some wicked performances, so here’s a little bit to get you going.
These were the demos that some of the Pros put on during their introductions prior to the actual Finals, along with Shaun Gladwell’s final run in the Amateur Division – 1st place finish – and a solid example from the master, Kilian Martin showing off why he is considered to be the next biggest name of Freestyle Skateboarding. Mind Blowing.
Just to give you a dose of what you’re going to see in the upcoming video,
Enjoy.
Kilian Martin – Demo
Stephan Albert – Demo
Guenter Mokulys – Demo
Mike Osterman – Demo
Per Canguru – Demo
Rene Shigueto – Demo
Shaun Gladwell – Final Run in Amateur – 1st Place finish
The Protest Team just keeps getting bigger, but also more and more diverse.
We got bowl rippers, flip trick masters, old-schoolers, new-schoolers and of course myself – who will skate anything and everything. But there was one thing missing, a Freestyle Skateboarder.
Over the evolution of the skateboard era, board shapes have changed dramatically, and the style of obstacles and the scenes of which we skate have changed with it. But there’s one thing that still exists, and that is the freedom of expression. Freestyle Skateboarding is a way of life. It’s you and your board making magic happen together. You don’t need a skate park, you don’t need an audience, you just need passion. I’ve been watching this kid grow for about 4 or 5 years now, and the one thing I always recognized in his skating was passion. He loves to learn and loves to try new things. And with a lot of mentorship from the legendary Kevin Harris, I knew he was only going to get better.
I talked to Ryan on the phone the night before the World Round-Up Freestyle Championships and laid down an offer of having him join the team. I was not surprised at how stoked he was about it. This kid is an amazing person, who loves to skateboard and be good at it, but is also one of the most humble people you’ll ever meet. Reminds me a lot of Rodney Mullen.
In this lifetime, and with the right support behind him, I believe that he will make a memorable mark on the skateboard community world-wide. And I am stoked to help him with that.
I went to the Finals on Monday, May 21st, 2012 of the first ever “World Round-Up Freestyle Skateboard Championships” held at the Cloverdale Rodeo in Surrey, British Columbia. I’ve been watching Freestyle skateboarding for many years so I knew what to expect, but I don’t really follow the names that much, so I wasn’t exactly sure WHO to expect… I knew Kevin Harris would be there since he was involved with making the event happen, but I also knew he wasn’t going to be competing. I knew Ryan Brynelson was going to be there since I just added him to the Protest Team, but I knew he was going to be in the Amateur division. I did not know that Andy Anderson, another one of my riders on the Protest Team was going to show up as a late entry and compete in the Amateur. He did really well too. But it was the big names people came to see, Per Canguru, Rene Shigueto, Darryl Grogan, Stephan Albert, Stephan Lillis Akesson, Guenter Mokulys and the man of the freetstyle board – Kilian Martin, who unfortunately was not competing. There were lots of people to watch, all putting on amazing displays for the crowd. No matter how they placed, they were definitely all seen as champions. The coolest thing about going to a Freestyle Contest as a spectator, is it’s almost like you transferred into another dimension. Freestyle Skateboarding is very rare, and these guys live it so they’re used to it, but any other skater now a days, gets their mind blown away when they’re watching it. It can almost knock you down a couple notches in your confidence level of how good you are on a skateboard, because these guys are frickin’ amazing. I’ve been skateboarding for over 26 years and I am still baffled by half the tricks people do in freestyle. They are definitely one with their boards.
It was an awesome event, with a great purpose.
Both my Team Riders qualified to the finals in the Amateur division with Ryan Brynelson landing in 2nd place, so close to winning behind Shaun Gladwell, and then the unknown wonder who showed up out of the blue, Andy Anderson finishing 5th. Yeah Andy!
Here are the results for the Top 5 in the Professional division:
1st Place – Darryl Grogan (USA)
2nd Place – Guenter Mokulys (Germany)
3rd Place – Stefan Lillis Akesson (Sweden)
4th Place – Rene Shigueto (Brazil)
5th Place – Per Canguru (Brazil)
For the guys who didn’t make top 5, no worries. The scores were all decimal points apart through all 10 riders. Tight competition…
This is just a taste about the World Round-Up Freestyle Championships. Stay tuned in a couple of days and I will have a full story about the event, along with some seriously mind blowing footage…
Man, it’s finally started. Last year, 2011, the world changed with the drop of the Street League Skateboarding Championships. All you could do as a skateboarder was sit in your chair and scream at the top of your lungs for every trick that went down. The competitors are insane, Ryan Sheckler, Chaz Ortiz, Sean Malto, Chris Cole, Nyjah Huston and so many more. Nyjah dominated the entire series last year and I’m sure is planning on doing that again. But the momentum of all the others is going to be driving 800 miles per hour to try to stop him. I just realized today that the 2012 Street League has begun. Hopefully I can catch a repeat of the first event since I missed it on Saturday. But here’s the schedule so now we all know when it’s happening.
Tickets for the Street League DC Pro Tour Fueled by Monster Energy will go on sale April 2 at streetleague.com.
Stop one: May 18-19
Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.
Live on ESPN2, May 19, 9:00 p.m. ET
Stop two: June 15-16
Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, Calif.
Live on ESPN2, June 16, 9:30 p.m.ET
Stop three: July 14-15
Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, Ariz.
Live on ESPN2, July 15, 7:00 p.m. ET
Championship: August 26
Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
Live on ESPN2, August 26, 5:00 p.m. ET
I’ve been flippin’ around on Youtube lately and I came across this skateboard video called “Crazy tricks skate compilation 2012” so of course I checked it. Wow, I don’t know where this guy’s been grabbin’ all this footage from but he’s definitely found some of the most intense and insane skateboard tricks of all time and put them together in one video just to blow your mind. You know Chris Cole is in there a couple of times, but no Rodney Mullen, Danny Gonzales, or Chris Haslam. Still an amazing display of chaotic masterpiece tricks, and my favorite tricks in the video would be tied between 2 people I don’t recognize –
Backside Willy Grind to Nollie 360 flip on a bleacher
&
Straight Wally to back foot impossible over a barricade
2 tough tricks I didn’t think I was ever going to see in my lifetime, but whammo, there they were.
Check the video when you’re ready
Uploaded by skateboardtimefull on Jan 22, 2012 I have to rate your video 4 out of 5 stars, only because I did not see Dan Pageau in it. Maybe you haven’t heard of Mr. Pageau, the Canadian Wonder straight out of Montreal. Dan now lives in the Vancouver area of British Columbia and is still representing hardcore. Hangin’ with Ben Chibber and riding for Monke skateboards now, he’s been putting fresh insane single trick clips on Youtube regularly. I loved your video, but I have to request another Crazy Tricks Compilation from you, with a dash of Pageau…
Check out this link to The Best of Dan Pageau. Dan’s gotta be really close in age with me, and you can tell by watching him that he’s definitely been skateboarding for a long, long time. From the baggy pants, small wheels era, all the way to the flip trick fiasco we live in today, you’re gonna see a ton of bluntslides, kinked rails, and unheard of flip tricks. My 2 all time fav’s from Dan’s video part in “Underworld Underrated” just happen to be in this video –
50-50 across and down a long, round handrail to kickflip out
&
The infamous: Nollie Lazerflip Bluntslide across a raised up picnic table
It was about 2004 when I built the 2×4 skateboard.
I built it to prove to the kids I was teaching that you can balance on anything. But I made the mistake of taking it down to Bear Creek Skate Park the evening I put it together and realized that I could actually skate it. I even did a kickflip off the bank launch on it that first day. It was gonna be trouble…
I started skating this thing all the time. I kept it in my trunk and pulled it out whenever I thought of something to try. I let the kids ride it every Friday at the Skateboard Camps I was running and they all thought it was awesome. All it was, was just a straight up 2×4 – 36” long, gripped on top and sitting on original Gullwing Pros and Powell Peralta Mini Rats. It’s in my laundry room right now, just waiting for another ride. I think the last trick I ever did on it was a switch blunt – indy out on my ramp, or maybe it was the jitterbug. Either way it’s been a year or two.
We had some good times, me and that 2×4 – kickflipped a roof gap on some portables, pop-shovits, manuals and boardslides, all kinds of craziness. I still remember early grabbing the 10 stair at Brookswood Skate Park on it and everyone going wild. One time I showed up at Brookswood for a contest in 2005 and I only brought my 2×4. 75% of the people there didn’t even know it existed, but they’ll never forget it after that day:
First run, I threw down a solid line to start, Kickflip on flat, then a big pop shovit, and then boardslide down the 4 stair kink rail; turned around and blunt transferred over the spine in the bowl to a 50-50 and then a rock fakie; jumped out of the bowl, cleared the path and early grabbed the 10 stair… Killed it!
Second run, started off with the same line, then went back and forth in the flat banks with a kickflip fakie, a fakie kickflip and then pop-shovit body varial; and of course, one more early grab off the 10 stair.
The crowd loved it, and somehow I got 4th place. Nice! I didn’t do it to win, I just did it for the fun, and I was stoked that I had 2 flawless runs.
I was filming way out in Aldergrove Skate Park about a month ago for my “Show UP Mike” contest and this kid showed up and the first thing he said to me was, “Hey, did you used to ride a 2×4? I remember you from a contest at Brookswood.” I just laughed. Good times.
Another great one was this Volcom – Wild in the Parks thing at Tsawwassen Skate Park in 2006. I had ridden my 2×4 at Tsawwassen so many times it was basic. I kickflipped up the step up no problem, early grabbed both sets with different grabs, and some other stuff, but this was a day for historic moments so I decided I was going to boardslide the Blue Rail down the 6 stair. Anyone that knows me knows that I don’t ride rails any more, but here I was hopping on to this handrail on my 2×4 and making it. So I stuck it down, Blam!! I had never even attempted to boardslide this rail on my normal board, so I have to admit I was pretty stoked that I just did it on a 2×4, maybe a little toooooo stoked. I stuck it down again for my video camera so I could watch it myself, and then I talked shit: “Joyce Rail, tomorrow. It’s goin’ down.” Any locals to the Lower Mainland should know the Joyce Rail – long green 6 stair rails, fairly high, out of a tennis court and you need plywood to land on. About 12 of us went out the next day for me to do this boardslide.
First try, got on it and jumped off;
Second try, slid the whole rail and jumped off;
Third try, came up strong, full commitment, knowing I was going to land it…
Nope.
I clipped my front wheels on the bottom of the rail, leaped over the rail trying to clear it and caught my inner thigh on the end. Smash! Faceplant.
It took me 3-4 weeks to massage out this blood clot trying to form in my leg, but it was worth it. I was getting way to cocky with that 2×4 board and needed a good dose of reality as to why I should not be riding it.
The 2×4 skateboard was built to prove a point to kids, but instead it ended up proving a lot about skateboarding to myself. I learned that I can ride anything and still rip it. It helped me express my inner self and I realized that this board would push my limits to another level, and I thank every day I got on it, and every trick I did. I’m sure someday it will rise again, but can’t say when.
Until then, enjoy what might just be the strangest skateboard video part you ever see:
Now this sounds like an amazing opportunity for the skateboarders of the Lower Mainland to experience a whole bunch of skate parks that they might not usually be able to get to. An awesome way to spend a week out of your summer. Plus I think you get to hang out with Ben Chibber, owner of Monke Skateboards, The Dry Spot, and one of Vancouver’s skateboard legends…
Here’s a write up from the Cloverdale Rodeo webpage about the amazing World Freestyle Skateboarding Competition being held over the weekend. Monty Little is from the Cloverdale area and is one of the main promoters of the event along with the legendary Kevin Harris and up and comer Kai Dunkel. I had Kai, Kevin and Ryan Brynelson here at Chuck Bailey Skate Park almost 1 year ago for the Grand Opening and they were all ripping it, I hope all 3 will be competing at this event. Freestyle skateboarders are a dying breed, but the ones that are still out there in the world practice every day and all seem to able to blow your mind at any time. Check out the video link below to see some of the competition they will be facing from around the world. I’m definitely going to try to get out for the final day of this event. It’s gonna be crazy…
We are Rounding-Up the top pro and amateur freestyle skateboarders from around the world to compete at THEWORLD FREESTYLE ROUND-UP for a chance to win part of the $10,000 in Prize Money. The four day event will be held at the CLOVERDALE RODEO & COUNTRY FAIR, just 25 miles east of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from May, 18 to 21, 2012. Over 77,000 people attended the annual Rodeo and Fair last year making this an ideal high profile location for this contest.
The World Freestyle Round-Up will take place inside a venue on the Cloverdale Fair Grounds, that has an arena setting featuring a 80 foot by 140 foot flawless concrete floor that is ideal for flatland freestyle skateboarding. Several freestylers say it’s the best surface they have ever skated on. Each day there will be several shows featuring freestyle demos and contests in three categories, Best Routine, Best Trick and a 360 Spin Off all using a Battle Format making it more interesting for the riders and audience as well. Several skaters will compete as a group each going one by one performing a routine. If a skater misses a trick, they are out until everyone has skated and it is their turn again. There will be two heats, (20 minutes each) for each show, with an announcer and DJ spinning tunes to keep the crowd and skaters pumped.
The contest also has a new judging system that has never been used before combining the scores from the five judges with the scores from the riders and audience. Note: The contestants cannot vote for themselves.
Contest promoters Kevin Harris, Kai Dunkel and Monty Little have one goal in mind. To create a fun energy packed annual event that will help put Freestyle Skating back where it belongs and move the level of competition up a notch or two. We envision something new and unique to give freestyle a chance to be back in TV, back in major magazines, and back in the forefront of the sports world.
Schedule
Friday, May 18
4 pm to 6 pm Open Ceremonies and Practice Session (6 to 7 Dinner Break)
7 pm to 9:30 pm WORLD ROUND-UP Contest
9:30 pm to 10 pm Contestants meeting
Saturday, May 19
9:30 am to 11:30 am RODEO PARADE
11:30 am to 12:30 pm Practice Session
12:30 pm to 2 pm WORLD ROUND-UP Contest (2 to 4 Late Lunch Break)
2 pm to 4 pm Women’s Rollerderby
4 pm to 5:30 pm WORLD ROUND-UP Contest
6 pm to 10 pm Women’s Rollerderby
Sunday, May 20
10 am to 11 am Practice Session
11 am to 12:30 pm WORLD ROUND-UP Contest (12:30 to 1:30 Lunch Break)
1:30 pm to 3 pm WORLD ROUND-UP Contest
3 pm to 5 pm Women’s Rollerderby
5 pm to 6:30 pm WORLD ROUND-UP Contest
7 pm to 10 pm Women’s Rollerderby
Monday, May 21
10 am to 11 am Practice Session
11 am to 12:30 pm WORLD ROUND-UP Contest (12:30 to 1:30 Lunch Break)
1:30 pm to 3 pm WORLD ROUND-UP Contest
3 pm to 4 pm Practice Session
4 pm to 6 pm WORLD ROUND-UP Finals and Awards Ceremony
Click this link to see Kevin Harris, Kai Dunkel and Ryan Brynelson last May 28th at the Chuck Bailey Skate Park Grand Opening in Surrey, BC
It’s ironic because I’m the one that feels like I’m having a rough go right now, but it’s the people around me that are in pain. 26 years I’ve skateboarded, and I’ve been out here in British Columbia since 1998. When you’re at skate parks a lot, you’re gonna see lots of people get hurt, and unfortunately, I always seem to be the one who helps them.
In the past 2 weeks I’ve had to deal with 3 arm injuries with kids, one was just a really bad sprained wrist, last Friday was a dislocated elbow on a 7 year old, and today this mountain biker decided to break both bones halfway up his forearm in Maple Ridge. All 3 of these kids were crying, half out of pain and half out of fear of not really knowing what was wrong with them. I’d have to say that the 7 year old kid, Isaac, was the toughest out of all 3 of these guys. The other 2 were 11 & 14. This little dude had his elbow completely dislocated and when I told him that, he asked me what the word “dislocated” meant. That’s how young he is. When I explained to him what was wrong with his arm and what the doctors were going to do to fix it, he got very nervous. Understandable. But the part I’ll remember forever was how no matter what, he was going to tough it out. He was one tough kid. We had to call the ambulance for him and when the paramedic asked Isaac if he could cut off his shirt to see his arm, he got no for an answer. This shirt was awesome, I wouldn’t have wanted to cut it either. And original E.T. shirt with the slogan “It’s All Good in the Hood.” So Isaac toughed it out and the ambulance attendant took off his shirt the hard way. Awesome!!
It’s always really painful for me to be the one providing people with the first aid they need and helping them to get to the next stage of getting assistance because I think of my own kid when I’m looking at them, and I think of all the times I’ve been in that much pain myself. I remember when I was 17 years old we were skating these gaps behind the CIBC in Barrie and my board shot out on me when I landed. I flipped over upside down and put out my hand to try to stop my face from hitting the ground. Of course, my arm bent straight backwards, dislocating my elbow, and then I hit my face anyway. I jumped up, screamed and shook my arm in pain – bad idea. The bones ended up locking back together with my upper arm and lower arm completely reversed. I just looked at Clayton and Malcolm that I was with and said Hospital…
It took 5 doctors and a lot of medication to put my arm back together the way it should be. They had to knock me out completely, pull my arm apart and then twist it back to normal. Damn I’d hate to be a doctor in the hospital. But they did get it together, and it works fine. And all these kids in the past 2 weeks are gonna be alright too. We have an amazing medical system in Canada, and I am very thankful for it. I’ve had a lot of bad injuries over my lifetime, and I’ve helped out so many people when they go down – broken bones, dislocations, concussions, all kinds of stuff. The biggest thing I think about whenever I see someone in need is what would I hope the other people around me would be doing if that was me lying there? Or my kid lying there? I would want them to help me, even if all they did was call someone else to help.
So when you’re at these skate parks all over the place, that we are soooooo lucky to have, be prepared for people to get hurt, it’s going to happen. But remember, when it does happen, please assist immediately, especially for head injuries, even if all you do is call 911.
You may end up someone’s hero; you might even save a life…
I was on an airplane the other night coming home from Ontario and I caught this amazing documentary on TV. The story of Reece “Goose” Tatum, the one time leader of the Harlem Globetrotters, and definitely someone who broke many boundaries in the world of racism. The documentary includes commentary from other historic father figures of the black community such as Oscar Robertson, Ernie Banks, and even Bill Cosby. These guys were all around during the times of struggle where the white man thought they were the superiors to all other races and made sure everyone knew it. A disgusting period of time which I am glad I wasn’t born to see.
The story starts out displaying some awesome, and almost unbelievable baseball tricks with the Goose just messing around with the baseball. His skills of deceptive magic were amazing. You just have to see it to understand it. I thought it was astonishing to learn that he was a baseball player by heart, not a basketball player, and it made me think of Michael Jordan and how he was totally the same. It made me very glad that both of them ended up on the NBA floors because they were both the leaders of change in how the game of basketball is played today. The Goose was credited with introducing the no-look pass and the no-look hook shot, while Michael Jordan taught us how to fly through the air for hours at a time. And they could both juggle a basketball like nobody’s business.
Reece Tatum was a baseball player in the Negro League on a team called The Indianapolis Clowns, and his magical talents were discovered by marketing genius, Abe Saperstein, who brought him into the basketball spotlight as the new leader of the Harlem Globetrotters (who weren’t actually even from Harlem) and the times began to change. Tatum would actually play Center even though he only stood approximately 6’ 3”, but due to his creative means, along with an 84” arm span, nobody could stop him from finding the basket. With the mixture of comedic genius and athletic skills, the Goose would help to attract major audiences, and it was planned for the Harlem Globetrotters to play against their first NBA Team – the “all white” Minnesota Lakers, the best team in the NBA. This was a major historic event as the Globetrotters took the win, and were immediately challenged to a rematch. They won again.
This was in an era, where African-Americans were not respected by all parts of the United States and sadly, no matter how big of a superstar you were, you were still black. You had to drink out of specified water fountains, and stay in certain hotels only. Unbelievable… But Reece Tatum was one of those men who opened the doors for the African Community to be respected as human beings across North America.
The story goes on and gets better. The Goose left the Harlem Globetrotters due to disagreements with Saperstein and began a new team called The Harlem Magicians. He had kids and took them with him on tour wherever he went. The Goose was a hero. He was respected by so many well known individuals, like Ray Charles and Sonny Liston, and of course anyone in the history of basketball or baseball. He was there to help change the world.
A tragic accident where he lost one of his sons drove Tatum into a bad state and he ended up passing away at a young age. The days of The Goose were over, but the impact he had made on society was there to stay, and the memories of The Goose would live forever.
Reece Tatum was eventually welcomed into the Basketball Hall of Fame recently, and his son, Reece Tatum III, was there to accept the honors. He had been there with his Dad through the good times and the bad, and no one respected him more. He quoted his Dad on stage with a statement that almost made me cry:
“Things change very slowly so pay attention, because if you don’t pay attention we will repeat where we’ve been before, and we don’t want to go back ever.”
What a statement. It explains a lot in my own life. And now I have another person to relate my being to. I break this statement down to what it means to me:
Believe in yourself and others will believe in you;
Trust people fully, only when you’re looking at them;
Change the world to make it better for everyone, and make sure that the changes have been accepted;
And never give up on your dreams.
He brought joy and laughter to everyone around him. Check out some of the links below and enjoy.
