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March 21, 2010
Tampa Pro 2010 Recap Filed under Whats going on?
“Not a lot has changed in the Tampa Pro Contest, except the pants are a little tighter, the groupies are hotter and flannel still seems to be in.” – random dude
Tampa Pro is one of the longest run and most respected contests out there, which would explain why corporate giants Gatorade, Redbull and Nike SB jumped onto the event without hesitation. You could name any of your favorite pros and chances are they have competed in or been at the Tampa Pro contest within the last 16 years. Koston? Thomas? Reynolds? They were all there, when the skate park was nothing more then several uncoordinated ramps in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere, Tampa. Basically right off the highway, there is practically nothing in walking distance from the park, except fast food chains, several hotel/motels and a supermarket. This would account for our grand total of 18 fast food chain visits in a time period of 6 days.
The combination of non-stop fast food and going out every night, I had a newfound respect for the pros I saw loitering around Ybor city late at night and still shredding early in the morning. Sunday was a marathon of excitement, as the semi finals, finals, and best trick were all lined up back to back. As the finals rolled in, physical space became the scarce resource, as Rowe and I tried to reserve valuable camera space with our bags. My friends would trade off grabbing free PBR from the outside bar to reserve their spot on the stairs.
As I watched the finals, I couldn’t help but think about judging this thing. It seemed practically impossible, with every skater having his signature tricks and signature styles, there seemed no foolproof way to actually score a run. How does a switch crooked down a rail stack up against a switch nosegrind? Is there a difference? Does it even matter? Considering the stressful circumstances, fast moving pace and time restrictions, the judges seemed to be pretty on point. They didn’t have the luxury of re-watching and evaluating every trick like we do now. But even after the contest, I and many others felt that some of the placing order was funny. Here is the results:
1. Paul Rodriguez – $20,000
2. Nyjah Huston – $15,000
3. Keegan Sauder – $10,000
4. Peter Ramondetta – $5000
5. Ryan Sheckler – $4000
6. Torey Pudwill – $3000
7. Luan Oliveira – $2000
8. Danny Fuenzalida – $1500
9. Greg Lutzka – $1000
10. Chaz Ortiz – $1000
11. Dennis Busenitz – $1000
12. John Rattray – $1000
Firstly, Chaz Ortiz should have scored much higher then 10th place. He had great style, decent consistency and a really good bag of tricks. I think most people would agree with me on this one. Secondly, how did Ryan Sheckler get 5th? I’m not saying this because I’m a Sheckler hater, quite the opposite- he is a super friendly, good all around guy (ok and ♥hEaRtThrobb ♥ OBV). But with his runs, I was surprised he even made it to the semi finals, with terrible consistency, landing about only half of his tricks every run. Lastly, P.Rod beating out Nyjah became a heated debate in room 224 in the Howard Johnson Hotel. Both skaters had great runs, with perfect consistency and the standard high caliber tricks. They both skate in a slow, contest calculated style which makes them easier to judge, as opposed to comparing people like Busenitz and Ramondetta. For me and the people I talked to watching the competition, many sympathized with Nyjah, as not only was his run cleaner then P.Rods, but he had a better trick selection. Don’t take my word for it though, thanks to Youtube, we have all three final runs of both skaters. Take a look for yourself.
At the end of the day, you could argue the contest results for eternity but we can all agree on one thing; The Skatepark of Tampa has a huge fucking fan. This thing is like a helicopter propeller, practically hovering above the entire ceiling. Like the skateboarding that went down this weekend, to merely describe it wouldn’t do it justice. The vibration of the rail as behemoth Brian Anderson lipslid it, the solid smack of Paul Rodriguez’s switch flip down the set of stairs and the almost terrifying sound of Busenitz’s bearings as he attacked the ramp railings are the details that need to be witnessed in person. They are what you miss in the translation from real life, to a 360x240 Youtube video or a Fuel.TV stream. Once you realize that, you, like me, won’t be able to miss another Tampa Pro for a long, long time.
See you next year.
-Ian Michna
A big thanks to Ryan Clements, Brian Schaefer, Donnie Hamilton, Rob and the rest of the Spot crew for their hospitality and amazing event coordination
photos tom rowe
Continue reading "Tampa Pro 2010 Recap"
Filed under Whats going on? | Authored by ianmichna | Comments (0)
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March 20, 2010
Javier Sarmiento on Sk8Mafia Filed under Skate News
According to the Sk8Mafia site Javier Sarmiento has been added to the pro squad. Check out the website and get a glipse of the new board. www.sk8mafia4life.com
Find more videos like this on interstate
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March 18, 2010
Focus Skate Mag's Stay Focused Filed under Video of the Day
Focus Skate Mag's 2nd Video "Stay Focused" is now available . You can download it and watch it as many times as you would like.http://www.focusskatemag.com/stay-focused/
"Stay Focused" by Focus Skate Mag from Justin Heister on Vimeo.
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Jordan Hoffart on Adio Shoes Filed under Skate News
According to the Adio Website Jordan Hoffart has been added to the pro squad. Check out the intro video.
Jordan Hoffart Welcome To Adio Footwear from Adio on Vimeo.
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March 16, 2010
Torey Pudwill on Plan B Filed under Skate News
According to the Plan B site Torey Pudwill has been added to the Pro Squad. You may have seen him rocking his new pro model this past weekend killing it in Tampa
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March 14, 2010
Tampa Pro Semi Finals Filed under Whats going on?
The following skaters made it to the semi finals. More coverage to come later.
Check out the live webcast at fuel.tv !
1. Torey Pudwill 2. Luan Oliveira
3. Sierra Fellers 4. Paul Rodriguez
5. Nyjah Huston 6. Keegan Sauder
7. John Rattray 8. Chaz Ortiz
9. Tyler Hendley 10. Fabrizio Santos
11. Peter Ramondetta 12. Matt Miller
13. Rodil Jr. 14. Robert Lopez Mont
15. Chad Bartie 16. Ryan Sheckler
17. Billy Rohan 18. Andrew Pott
19. Danny Fuenzalida 20. Stefan Janoski
21. Chad Fernadez 22. Milton Martinez
23. Anthony Shetler 24. Shuriken Shannon
25. Danny Cerezini 26. Sammy Baptista
27. Mike Peterson 28. Chris Troy
29. Neverton Casella 30. Justin Brock
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March 13, 2010
Tampa Pro 2010 Day 1 & 2 Filed under Whats going on?
It was the 13th hour in the car. I sat in the back seat with my legs forcefully cramped up against the front seat, hunching over in fetal position because it was the only comfortable position left. I leaned over my sandwich, sloppily munching on it like Golum from Lord of the Rings, crumbs dropping all over me and a water bottle somewhere on the seat floor. We had 8 more hours left to go. I comforted myself in the fact that if David Blaine could stand in a block of ice shirtless for 2 days, I certainly could sit in a car for 21 hours with breaks.
Once we arrived in Tampa and I shackled myself free of mild cabin fever, I had reached my Mecca. Tampa Pro was like skateboard porn, with at least 90 pros swirling around the venue at all times. The energy was high, with kids running around pointing at them like they were playing a big game of Where’s Waldo. All eyes were on the course as everyone was warming up, no one safe from judgment. Once the heats started, it was hard to leave the area, with constant 1 minute run action, back to back. Luckily, there was an array of free drinks, from Redbull, Gatorade, and my personal choice, Pabst Blue Ribbion. You got to love everyone dumping their money into skateboarding these days. There were some amazing skaters, some disappointments, but overall, the level of competition was high. Below are just some notable skaters to me throughout the day:
Elisa Steamer: I don’t care what she does; it’s just awesome to see her out there on the course smiling. Although her run was pretty lackluster, she landed two or three solid tricks. I also think she got hotter since the old days. Still the most OG girl skater ever
Brian Anderson: Watching videos of Brian Anderson on Youtube do not give his skating justice, because in real life you actually see how big this dude is. Not only is he tall, but broad and skates like a beast. A highlight for me was his boneless lip slide on the down rail.
Milton Martinez: This kid is a full blown shredder, attacking every obstacle like he had a bitter score to settle. His lip slide 360 shove out on the Gatorade box was notable for me.
Luan Oliveira: The footage from the two heats in the qualifiers does not do this kid justice. I stood and watched Luan skate in between heats for about an hour and a half and watched him pop the highest, most clean tricks I practically saw in the entire contest. Right off of winning Tampa Am, this cocky bastard shredded the biggest tricks and smiled after each trick. My prediction is top 3 for sure.
Mike Peterson: This guy was shredding, and to me, notable because he was doing it with the biggest grin on his face the whole time. He looked like he was genuinely having fun, and his skating to the music fit perfectly.
Overall, super successful day, and about to be a better night. Check back tomorrow morning for a review of tonight @ Czar Bar and the finals of Tampa!
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March 9, 2010
5Bordeaux Filed under Video of the Day
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March 8, 2010
Louie Lopez Joins Ashbury Eyewear!! Filed under Skate News
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Chad Bartie is now on ERGO Filed under Pro Skaters
This pairing looks to be made in heaven.
Chad is an amazing skateboarder to watch – we are psyched on his style and know that his versatility and creative energy will have an incredible impact on our program,” says ERGO VP of Marketing, Pete DiSpirito.
Bartie will prove to serve as a catalyst in raising the bar for the rest of the ERGO team with more than a decade as a professional skateboarder under his belt. His attitude is also inspirational as he humbly says that his biggest career accomplishment was having turned his passion, skateboarding, into a living.
Filed under Pro Skaters | Authored by Rowe | Comments (0)
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March 7, 2010
Spend a day with Brandon Westgate Filed under Video of the Day
CCS spends a day in NYC with team rider Brandon Westgate. Brandon walks you through his new Zoo York Institute line and stops by the CCS office for a look at the new CCS catalog.
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Element Europe in GreeceThessaloniki outtakes part 2 Filed under Spot Check
Greece may be in financial ruin right now but you would never know from this video Element Europe has posted. Life looks good in Athenian suburb of Thessaloniki Greece.
THESSALONIKI OUTTAKES PART 1 from Yves Marchon on Vimeo.
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Marcelo Bastos, Adam Taylor, and Sandro Dias take top spots at Oi Vert Jam '10 Filed under Skate News
World Cup Skateboarding reports:
Marcelo Bastos (BRA) turned it on to edge out Adam Taylor (USA) and Sandro Dias (BRA) in today's final that was televised to over 20+ million people in Brazil.
As always a full photo gallery and complete results are availble at the World Cup Skateboarding site. Check back later for a full recap.
Complete Results Here
Photo Gallery Here
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Daewon dorking around at DVS...... Filed under Video of the Day
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March 5, 2010
Dan Plunkett on Elwood!! Filed under Skate News
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March 2, 2010
Emerica Collin Provost Welcome Video!! Filed under Video of the Day
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February 28, 2010
Venture Welcomes Boo Johnson Filed under Skate News
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February 27, 2010
Bones in Dubai Photo Gallery Filed under Fun and Games
Sierra Fellers, Jordan Hoffart, David Gravette, Chad Bartie, Josh Hawkins, Aaron “Jaws” Homoki, Rhino (Thrasher photographer) and myself just returned from a 10 day Dubai mission. Lots of amazing marble structures and landscape made for a extremely productive, fun trip! Look out for the may issue of Thrasher for a solid BONES Dubai tour article.
Filed under Fun and Games | Authored by Rowe | Comments (0)
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Red Bull Manny Mania Returns for 2010 Filed under Skate News
Back for another round of mayhem, the annual comp birthed by Red Bull Team Rider, Joey Brezinski, was to take the conventional contest formula and put it on two wheels. Based around everything manual, the past few years of events have brought out some of the best manual riders in the world.
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February 25, 2010
Independent's Cayman Vacation Filed under Video of the Day
Dan Drehobl, Darren Navarrette, Al Partanen, Andrew Reynolds, Grant Taylor, Leo Romero, Alex Horn, and Chris Haslam Music Barefoot Man
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Stay Focused clip Featuring Ryan Boblits Filed under Video of the Day
Stay Focused is the latest video offering from Philly's own Focus Skate Mag. I had a chance to watch an edit at the Focus Trade Show. Full of east coast carnage this one does not disappoint. Osiris flow rider, Vu skate shop team member and homie Ryan Boblits represents Baltimore well. View the mini trailer here and look for a free download of the full length cut in March!
Focus Skate Mag "Stay Focused" Extras from Bobby Spero on Vimeo.
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