Protest Skateboards has been around for over a decade and there’s one thing they were always proud of – having strong decks that don’t break easy. Over the years Protest has dealt with a few different manufacturers and always liked to keep it Local. They have now found the best of the best to produce their decks, they’re strong, durable, solid and tough to break.
Thanks Folk Skateboards!!
Check out the owner Hippie Mike trying to break a Protest Deck on the ramp (it had been cracked for 3 weeks prior to this)
As the snow starts falling today and the rain has been nonstop for over a month we are all in need of some good summer love. Since it’s a long while away it’s great to have a video like this come out and get us exited for what we got too experience this year. One of my favourite days of the year every year is Canada Day – July 1st. Hundreds of amazing people gather every year on this day and skate Seylynn Bowl for the kickoff of the annual Bowl Series and just hang out.
Steve Denham, Jonny B., Steve Lange, Cuz, Mike Strato, Andy Anderson, Adam Hopkins, Hippo, Bushman, Eve, Dave Boyce, myself (Hippie Mike), and so many more who you are pretty much guaranteed to see every single year. It’s a great time and a great party and tons of awesome skating is sure to go down.
Here’s a Rolling Podcast Video recap of 2012 Seylynn Bowl Series. Late as always, but this year, I’d have to say Perfect Timing!!
Here’s a quick little video of 3 of the Original Team Riders from Team Protest – Jeff Cole, Cisco Gooding and myself Hippie Mike. Finally after revamping the Team and bringing on Jordan Strong as the filmer many months ago, we get a taste of the good old days. Protest Skateboards began in 2001 and these 2 were my top choice for representing my company along with Jon Irvine. Between the 4 of us we showed unique skills, technical talents, crazy obstacle choices and reckless abandon. With Jon back in Ontario now, he’s still a part of our Team and always will be, but it’s tough to do the long distance thing for filming and such. It’s been a great run over these past 10/11 years of Protest and it’s really only just beginning. Hopefully this little video will stoke these 2 awesome skaters to come out more when we’re filming and get some footage going again. Low and behold there will be a Protest Video released in 2013, so they’re gonna have to, pressure’s on now…
34 years old, 27th year on a skateboard. It was nice to get to skate with someone the exact same age as me, with the same amount of experience, but who hasn’t gotten overweight and lost his pop like myself. Thanks Paul Machnau for reminding me that age is just a number. Unfortunately, I can’t erase all the massive injuries that have slowed me down over the years, but I’m happy just rippin’ around and throwing down the occasional banger. There’s one thing I know about being a “Skater for Life” is that your life constantly changes, and you gotta just go with the flow. Good thing we have amazing places like Seylynn Bowl and Griffin, Queensborough, Chuck Bailey and White Rock where us old dudes can go and just surf as fast as possible and not worry about obstacles, ’cause I feel lately like I’m really losing my street skills.
Either way, it was a beautiful sunny day last Thursday and we headed out to skate one of my all time favourite Skate Parks – Tsawwassen. I skated this place so much for the first 5 years it was there that people actually thought I lived in Tsawwassen. So many tricks on the lock there it still amazes me what I can land there that I wouldn’t try anywhere else. Jordan Strong, Ryan Barron, Justin James, Paul Machnau, Chris Haslam and the Birthday Boy himself – Hippie Mike all tore it up that day with the park to ourselves. It was great to skate with all these guys that have all been part of my life at different times and eras.
Okay it’s here, the Protest Best Trick Contest, and it’s open World-Wide!!
Compete to win a huge Prize Pack containing:
a Protest – Hippie Mike Deck, an Old School Shaped Protest Team Deck,
2 T-shirts, a Trucker Hat and a Custom Protest Skateboards Hoodie.
All you have to do is film any trick, anywhere, edit it into a video that states your name and what trick it is, upload it to Youtube or Vimeo and submit the link on the website www.protestskateboards.com
Then get your friends to vote for your videos.
On December 17th, voting will close and the Top 10 videos (ones with the most votes) will be judged by the Protest Team and a winner will be chosen.
Winner will be announced December 20th, 2012
Here’s an example entry video.
You can submit as many different tricks as you want as long as they are in separate vids.
With this weather going back and forth and being completely unpredictable we had to pick and choose where we were skating on Sunday. It was a toss up between Tsawwassen Skate Park or White Rock Res, so we chose the quieter one. Still a bit puddley when we first arrived but that was not issue for these Protest boys. It was Andy Anderson, Jordan Strong, Jaden Easton-Ellett and myself Hippie Mike just chillin’ at the Res. Andy and Jordan threw down a couple lines while Jaden and I stuck to what we do best and only rode the nasty obstacles.
It was the first closed in bowl with coping in Surrey, and when it was in the planning stage for the Guildford Park I was very adamant that we got a Bowl. There was too much of the same street stuff popping up everywhere and those parks get boring after a while. So Guildford Bowl was built, along with a tiny, somewhat pointless Street Section. Of course now you have to be thankful for the street section because that’s all that will be skateable for the next year and a half until the construction is complete. Once this Lap Pool is built then New Line will come back and build something fresh for us to ride in the remaining footage between the building and street section.
This Park helped to teach a lot of the young kids in Surrey how to hit coping. I remember when it was new and at my Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey Contests there the young kids would all avoid the Bowl and just ride the street stuff, and now almost everyone focuses completely on the Bowl at those events. It also created a group of friends that localized that place, Allen Handley, Myke Johnson and Randy. These guys all know how to shred this spot. It’s a shame that we’re losing it, but life goes on.
Here’s the Video by Protest Skateboards of our Final Film Session at Guildford Bowl. Lots of people showed up including Andy Anderson, Brad “Fighter” Muscat, Jordan Strong, Dale Kind, “Giver” Michael James, Riley Allen Clerihue, Adam Lewis, Josh Lewis, “Hasbrown” Mike Shulze, Dustin Locke, Derek Mayer, Stephan Burke, Matt Cook, Ryan Brynelson, Bachouch Michael, Myke Johnson, Randy, myself and Allen Handley who absolutely destroyed it all day. No one will miss that Bowl as much as this guy.
I’m not completely sure when the fence will go up and the Bowl will come down but it could happen at any given moment, so take your chances and get there for one last session
This is the last Protest Teaser I had in my collection to share. Right in the heart of the filming time frame for the What the “F” Video a lot of these tricks didn’t make it in. Cisco Gooding, Jeff Cole, Jon Irvine, Nathan Lintunen and my self Hippie Mike all laying it down. If anything you need to watch for 3 reasons
The Christmas Morning Cannonball off my roof
Jon Irvine’s Fandangle Fingerflip
Cisco Gooding attempting to need a Proctologist Appointment – Ouch!
Well, the title says it all. We were definitely gettin’ loose back in these days. The video starts at one of my birthday parties back when they were like 150-200 people getting wasted in the yard while we put on a ramp demo. Then it moves into Leeside Tunnel where it was time to get tech, and of course there’s some rocks and dirt spots in there too. You can figure out the Time Period by what stage Leeside was at, if you’re hardcore enough to be a part of that scene.
Some crazy tricks in this video, especially thrown down be myself and Jon Irvine, the master of Ridiculousness – blunt kickflip rock on the volcano in Leeside?? I think it’s safe to say no one else wants to do that one…
