Hippie Mike is a man of many talents, many skills and many creations. A master of construction, Mike loves to build and create unique and custom projects, but he also takes the same mind frame to everything else he does.
The world is about to change for 19 year old Andy Anderson, a unique Canadian skateboarder that can literally skate everything. Ranked the #1 Amateur Freestyle Skateboarder in the world at the moment Andy has gotten himself a little bit of attention from some interesting folks, but once they realized that this kid is not a Freestyler by Trade but actually a fearless shredder in Bowls, Pools and any obstacle on the streets, they wanted to see more. So we are putting together a creative video that will showcase his all-around talent on his skateboard. Andy Anderson is definitely a One of a Kind skateboarder, learn his name, and check out this little teaser put together by Hippie Mike to give you a small taste of the type of footage you are going to see in the near future – stay tuned for more coming real soon…
What a gorgeous day on June 21st 2015 – International Go Skateboard Day, combined with Father’s Day!! It was beautiful outside and Protest Skateboards was part of something very special this year as Hippie Mike joined forces with Kristen O’Keefe of DC Shoes and Ryan McGlashan ofHeritage BoardShop to bring a long overdue event to The Westshore Skate Park in Langford BC. This park has been around since the early 2000’s and has produced some awesome skateboarders in it’s time, but it is all coming to an end soon as the land was recently sold to Sobey’s so they can put another Thrifty’s Grocery Store in the area and the park is supposed to be removed in September. Skate Park deconstruction is always a sad thing and no one likes it, but what’s worse in this situation is there is still no plan for a replacement park anywhere. There are issues with the surrounding areas not showing the support they should be in today’s world to keep the kids off the streets and in a positive place. So the idea was to get out there to Langford and give these people something to talk about. As you will see in the video tons of kids and skateboarders of all ages came out to have a fun time together, and lots of parents were present as well showing their support. Everyone had a great time, they skated, they ate free hot dogs, they jammed out to awesome tunes, and they proved that there is a large skateboard community in there town that needs a place to go. This is the second event we have hosted in Langford in the last 2 months and there has been over 100 people present at both. It is very important that everyone around sees the how much this type of facility is needed. There is a big meeting this Saturday night June 27th atThe Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre around 6pm. Please show up, show them photos, show them videos, make them aware of what you need and why…
Big thanks to Ty Williamson for coming out to Langford on Go Skate Day and filming this video of the event we put on in collaboration with DC Shoes, Heritage Boardshop, Vulcan Bolts, Burn Bros and Fury Trucks. The Westshore skate park is on the cutting block to be removed after summer and there is no replacement plan so this video really helps to show how many people in the community utilize this facility, how many of them are young kids and are supported by their parents, and how a little support can go a long long way. Please share this video far and wide to get lots of recognition that can be used to promote the fact that this community needs to step up and help these skaters and their peers to have a place to spend their time positively expanding their minds in the future.
What a beautiful way to kick off the summer, on the first day of summer, but with an awesome style skateboard competition. This is only the 2nd year for this annual series, but you can already tell Hippie Mike’s Super Tour is here to stay for a long long time. Tons of shredders showed up at Chuck Bailey Skate Park in Surrey for the first stop on the tour and each category was great to watch.
In the Mini division there was only 6 kids but that’s okay since it’s all about kids 10 years old or younger, and 2 of them travelled long distance to be part of it. Little Presley from Squamish tore it up with style, and Ryder from Saltspring Island put it all on the line as both of the attacked the biggest obstacles in the park. And those obstacles seem even bigger when you’re a Mini.
The Beginners were going off, and watching them made everybody realize what was to come in the higher categories because these kids had serious talent, and they were the “Beginners”. Jericho, Alex and Ryan were the ones to overcome above the rest by utilizing the ledges, quarterpipes and gaps the best they knew how and really use their determination to not give up and git ‘r done.
Intermediates set a whole new level for the contest, getting down on the rails and ledges. There was a serious mixture of talent and age in the finals from Emmanneul who is only 11 but rips it up to Stefan and Nathan who are much older and still rip it up. JR got the crowd going, but somehow Nathan came through in the end with some serious business to take what might have been his first ever contest win. Frontside crooks over the fireplace channel to fakie and to regular? Yeah this guy was lighting the place up….
The ladies category was pretty mellow but all the girls did their best and it’s always great to see the whole park sitting back and cheering for the girls. Monique overcame the other 3 to take home 1st place.
When Advanced started everybody knew it was not going to be easy to judge since there was 25 guys that were all going to go off, and that’s exactly what happened. Every single person in Advanced threw down but only 10 moved up to the finals, and only 5 of them were taking home prizes. It got pretty heated and chaotic out there with 10 guys skating at once but that’s how you separate the mice from the men. East Van Caleb blew away the crowd and the judges and went home with the victory.
Thank to everyone for coming out. It was great to see so many people at the first stop of the tour. Eve Feaver destroyed in the advanced category at 43 years old. Joe Buffalo hung out all day giving continuous props over the mic and even tried to skate in Advanced. Ryan Barron got out there and landed some awesome tricks that no one else could do. DJ Cuz-O kept the vibe hot all day long with sweet tunes that never stopped. The City of Surrey threw down a Free BBQ. And Hippie Mike lit up the mic steady and solid all day as usual.
Stop #2 is July 18th at Queenborough All Wheel Park in New Westminster
Don’t miss it!
Results
Mini – 1. Ryder; 2. Presley Huska; 3. Kaelen Faux
Beginner – 1. Jericho; 2. Ryan; 3. Alex Pasqua
Intermediate – 1. Nathan Gladue; 2. Tate Roulette; 3. Emmanneul; 4. Stefan Bakker; 5. JR Barron
Another successful year in Victoria for the VeeDub Skateboard Contest, hard to believe this was the 12th annual. Protest Skateboards was proud to be a sponsor as usual and this year we actually got to head over to the island and hang out with the crew. Hippie Mike hobbled on to the ferry with his crutches and drove over a bunch of dudes in the big black van so they could get in on the action. All the kiddies in the younger categories were going off pushing their boundaries to new limits which is always awesome to see. Other than the injuries that plagued the day, everyone had a great time and people left with many new stories to tell. Andy Anderson headed over with us and put on a show in the Old School Category as well as during the Advanced Best Trick letting his name be known on the island. Merrick Orr represented hard all day for Protest on his fresh Protest Riot Deck and destroyed the bowl. Lots of people went hard in the Advanced Best Trick and there were a bunch of NBD’s that went down topped off by Isaac Walker as he switch kick flipped the long step up with ease….
Check out the video recap from Luke Connor to see some of the chaos during the Best Trick contest
With the Westshore Skate Park at risk of being removed sometime this summer, Hippie Mike figured it was a good time to head over to Langford and do something special at the park. Join him this Sunday on Go Sk8 Day as he works alongside Heritage Boardshop and DC Shoes to host a Best Trick Contest and Free BBQ for all the islanders in Langford, BC.
June 21st, 3-6pm
Sponsored by DC Shoes, Heritage Boardshop, Protest Skateboards, Vulcan Bolts, Burn Bros, and Fury Trucks
Hippie Mike’s Super Tour is back for the second year and the dates are set along with the 4 locations being locked down. This year is going to be amazing as Mike is preparing to hold contests at 4 of the best made skate parks in the Lower Mainland / Fraser Valley.
Starting off near the skytrain route at Chuck Bailey Skate Park in Surrey you know the hype is going to be big and the tricks are gonna get wild; heading over to Queensboro Park in New Westminster the creative lines are going to flowing in every direction; joining into The Tsawwassen Sun Festival next to get busy at one of the most sunniest and funnest places Tsawwassen Skate Park in South Delta you know the lines will be awesome as it is one of the best contest parks of all time; and then finishing it off back on the skytrain route downtown Vancouver at the Vancouver Skate Plaza. This place hasn’t seen a contest like the one Mike is going to bring in a long long time.
With the help of all the sponsors, and of course Mike’s trusty sidekick DJ Cuz-O this year is going to be a great one for Hippie Mike’s Super Tour, it’s going to help grow the skate community by bringing more kids together and once again branch out to different cities to help build a stronger bond between the skate community and regular old society.
Get your food donations ready, learn some fresh lines, and show with a smile at all 4 of these amazing events
June 20th – Chuck Bailey Skate Park in Surrey
July 18th – Queensboro All Wheels Park in New Westminster
August 2nd (Sunday) – Tsawwassen Skate Park in South Delta
The latest run of boards has arrived at the Protest Warehouse, from the Bob Marley and Malcolm X decks to the crazy coloured Lion Head and of course a memorable look at the unforgettable Vancouver Riots, the 2015 Summer Series is about finding your freedom, making a statement, and doing what you believe is right in every situation of life while shredding the parks and streets on your board. And stay tuned for the latest edition of our Protest Cruiser Decks coming soon with an awesome new graphic designed by the one and only Andy Anderson.
These decks are distributed exclusively in Canada by Platform Distributionhttp://platformdist.com/ so ask your local stores to order you one in if they don’t already have stock. For all other sales enquiries contact Hippie Mike by email through the Contact section on the website…
Protest Skateboards – We do what we do because we know what needs to be done and refuse to sit around waiting for someone else to do it for us
Another awesome year for The World Round Up Freestyle Skateboard Championships, this year definitely had its highlights – from local boy Andy Anderson winning the Amateur division, 12 year old Isamu Yamamoto placing 4th in his first ever Pro contest, Guenter Mokulystaking the trophy home in his 100th contest, and all the way to the new guy from the United States Derek Elliott busting out an insane, never been landed before, Jawbreaker in the Best Trick contest…
All the regulars were there like Rene Shigueto, Takashi Suzuki, Stephan Albert, Stefan Lillis Akesson, Mike Osterman, Per Canguru, Kaue Arouja, Christian Heise, Guenter Mokulys, and many more, and all the usual behind the scenes guys that help make the contest a success like Monty Little, Kevin Harris, Kolby Harris, AJ Kohn, Russ Howell, Jim Goodrich, Ryan Ellan, DJ Cuz-O, Lyle Chippaway and Tony Lum, and of course myself Hippie Mike doing the filming. It’s an amazing and unique event and as Kilian Martin states in an interview in the video “Freestyle was never meant to be judged” so this makes it extra tough to be the guys with the pens in hand. It’s amazing to watch these guys do the best that they can do in their own styles and hope that that will be better than the next guy and the best that he could do.
In the Amateur division Andy Anderson came out strong proving that he had been actually practicing Freestyle this year, his runs were solid, unique, and fully choreographed to the songs he had chosen. But he was facing 2 Brazilian machines – Kaue Arouja and Diego Pires Afonso. The top 3 of this category was uncatchable and it was definitely a battle to the finish. Somehow Andy took the gold medal by 1 point in the Finals. The crowd was stoked!!
In Pro it was just plain insane. Everybody was having killer runs and landing harder tricks than last year. Mike Osterman and Guenter Mokulys were bouncing back and forth on who was in 1st over the weekend and both of them wanted the gold. But little 12 year old Isamu Yamamoto from Japan was sitting in 3rd place after the Semi-Finals and you know he could taste it too…
Boards were breaking, trucks and kingpins were crumbling, and no one was ready to give up. This year felt the most intense for people actually wanting to win it. At his 100th Professional Contest, the 51 year old German machine Guenter Mokulys squeezed back in to 1st place during the Finals to take his 11th World Title. 2nd, 3rd & 4th place were all 1 point apart with Mike Osterman, Rene Shigueto and the little man Isamu Yamamoto. What a contest!!
Guenter added to his victory the next day by winning the 360 spin-off while Diego came out of nowhere in the Longest Coconut Wheelie competition hitting 80 feet long! Derek Elliott made history at the Round Up in the Best Trick Contest by stomping out a JawBreaker which is doing a handstand on top of your nose and top truck while your board is standing vertically on the floor. You need to watch the video to see it…
With true emotions in the air, the entire weekend was a hit. All participants had a blast, all spectators were super stoked, and the Freestyle Family tightened up once again.
Thanks to George Powell for coming out to watch the Finals and support this event, thanks to all the people that dedicate so much time to making it happen, and congratulations to Stefan Albert for winning the Henry Candiotti Award for being the smoothest skater of 2015…
Until next year, check out the vid
AMATEUR DIVISION
Andy Anderson – 263
Kaue Araujo – 262
Diego Pires Afonso – 251
Derek Elliott – 237
Dillanger Kane – 233
Mic Murayama – 226
Adam Flood – 224
Austin Shelton – 223
Daniel Trujillo – 216
Chadd Sinclair – 213
PRO DIVISION
Guenter Mokulys – 265
Mike Osterman – 260
Rene Shigueto – 259
Isamu Yamamoto – 258
Stefan “Lillis” Akesson – 254
Christian Heise – 245 / 243
Per Canguru – 245 / 238
Lucio Lima – 244
Jesse Whalen – 243
Daniel Garb – 242 / 241
Takashi Suzuki – 242 / 240
Shen “Dominick” Meng 240 / 225 / 224
Jacob Whitt – 240 / 225 / 222
Felix Jonsson – 238
NOTE: Ties were broken by using the 2nd
highest scoring runs and in some cases
the 3rd highest scoring runs.
Well, I’m back in Japan and off to a good start. The main reason being, the video that myself, Marc Whitelaw as well as the other people at BYC Collective, is finally finished and online. This video took us a long time mostly because we decided to incorporate some CG effects into it to make it really stand out. Not many skate-videos go this route, but we figured it would help us stand out and really build our own niche with skateboard videos.
I met Marc through a friend I once worked with back when I was at West 49. This guy was a huge fan of Kilian Martin and Brett Novak’s work, and he was really interested in making a major skate-video to help build a name for himself in his industry. When we first met up two and a half years ago, we hit it off right away and have been good friends since then.
This project took us quite awhile to complete mostly because of our animated robot friend, Ollie, who we plan to use in other projects in the years to come. For now, we hope you enjoy our first project in what we expect to be a long and incredible adventure. Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like to present you with: Ampersand.
2 Champions indeed, 1 who has won a lot of contests in his shirt life but never in Freestyle, and the other who has won 11 World Titles and this one was in his 100thprofessional championships. The glory story starts in the Amateur category where 19 year old Andy Anderson came out strong in his 4th year at the World Round Up event and really showed the regular crowd and other participants that he had been practising. Andy had some serious choreographed runs that matched right to the music and were full of unique tricks that only he could do. Day 1 and 2 he sat in 2nd place position behind Brazil’s Kaue Arouja who is on the verge of turning Pro and both of them were skating super solid at the Finals. Andy’s smooth flow and untouchable style somehow beat out the technical insanity that Kaue brings to the table every run. Way to go Andy, holding down the title in Canada!
In the Pro division, 51 year old Guenter Mokulys reminded the other competitors why he has so many world championship titles and awards. This guy is unbelievably consistent and always puts on a demo for his runs. He stomps his tricks, showcases maneuvers that only he could do, and lights up the crowd big time. Guenter felt the pressure from young bucks Mike Osterman, Isamu Yamamoto and Rene Shigueto but he kept on pushing on and came out on top once again. Taking home the gold to Germany at his 100th contest, that’s historic.
Amazing runs from all competitors, this event is so beneficial to have in Canada.
Check out the winning runs below
2015 World Round Up Freestyle Skateboard Championships
