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WELLINGTON BOWL-A-RAMA - A Full Contact Sport? |
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Written by Simon Vita Photos: Dean Tirkot
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Saturday, 27 June 2009 |
Nicky Guerrero WELLINGTON BOWL-A-RAMA Who would have picked skateboarding as a full-contact sport?
WELLINGTON BOWL-A-RAMA Who would have picked skateboarding as a full-contact sport? Well, those at the second annual Wellington Bowl-a- Rama were treated to a bowl jam final that was more akin to Wrestlemania than a skate contest. The eight riders were at it from the get-go. With two, three and sometimes four riders in the Waitangi Park ninefooter, either rolling or splayed out on the bottom, there wasn’t a lot of room to move. Yet with riders the caliber of Benji Galloway, Chris Senn, Jimmy the Greek and Tim Johnson, in between the inevitable slams and near misses was some bionic skating. At the forefront of the hijinks was Chris Senn, pushing and shoving as well as grabbing the beanie off a fallen Corbin Harris. Galloway carried on from last year’s comp and was all over the bowl.
A combination of mad lines and a bottomless bag of tricks saw him emerge a deserved winner, but close on his heels was UK rider Ross McGouran. McGouran’s been living in Wellington for a month or so, and he made good use of his local knowledge, plus runs that strung together massive back-to-back airs. Johnson won more than a few new fans with his post-contest attempts to nail the end-over-end fingerflip air that eluded him during the final. He took slam after slam and left a trail of elbow blood down the walls of the bowl but eventually made the trick. A notable omission from the final was last year’s winner Rune Glifberg. The Danish maestro was off his game, in part due to a pre-contest party at a local club. It wasn’t all bad news for Denmark, however, with Nicky Guerrero taking first place in the Masters jam, pushing Pat Ngoho into second, the same place he finished last year.
Results: 1. Benji Galloway 2. Ross McGouran 3. Tim Johnson 4. Otavio Neto 5. Jimmy “The Greek” Marcus
Masters Division 1. Nicky Guerrero 2. Pat Ngoho 3. Jason Parkes |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 June 2009 )
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SK8 Insider: Era of Skateboarding: Old School or New School? |
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Written by Skategeezer
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Sunday, 21 June 2009 |
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Old school was: Less crowds; Less leaches; Less kooks; Less
self-important arrogant asses. Less quick-buck Chucks and less pretending to be
nice while pretending to listen to them. Most of those involved in skateboarding
during the late’70s through the ‘80s had some sort of role they played and were
recognized for. Like the “wheel” guy, the “trucks” guys, or the “board” guys.
There wasn’t much anything else. There weren’t any agents, personal assistants,
reps, junior mid-managers, marketing, PR, or the junior women’s sub-culture
winter apparel and key chains. Everybody just about knew everybody. You could
get everybody together in a small auditorium, and it’d be no bigger than a
small-town PTA meeting.
I have an attachment to the spirit inherent in the people who were into it
back then. More edge, more depth and emotional attachment to what we really were
all there for. I wouldn’t be surprised that most all of the people involved at
that time got into much the same way I did. I never set out and picked this as a
career; it picked me. I just went along for the ride. There were people who’d
invested more than just money into skateboarding. They gave their heart, blood,
sweat and passion to this unique activity, giving it breath, substance,
controversy and relevance. Think what you like, but look how much was given by
people like Fausto Vitello, Frank Hawk and Jean Hoffman. How many people can
compare to the level of committed initiative by the likes of Stacy Peralta,
Steve Van Doren, Eric Swenson, Paul Schmitt, Stecyk, Skipper, Red Dog, Larry
Balma and Brad Dorfman? These are just some of the names of people who went out
and made things happen.
Add to the skater element, and you have the young men who were caught in a
void at the end of the ‘70s, left to fend for themselves, to create their own,
new reality. And then there’s Thrasher, which was the internet, message board of
its day.
When it changed in the ‘90s, I had to step off the ride. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 June 2009 )
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SK8 Insider: The other shoe drops…K-Swiss enters the skate market |
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Written by Skategeezer
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Sunday, 21 June 2009 |
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We have a team jumper!
Falling so close the announcement of Koston moving to Nike, it stands to
reason that we’d be hit with another major shoe sponsorship shake up.
Former Globe pro Greg Lutzka now riding for K-Swiss. I know what you’re
thinking…what a brilliant move…after all, K-Swiss, I mean…K Swiss…but don’t take
my word for it: listen to what Greg says in the youtube video
“A company over 40 years in business making one of the most iconic shoes
in footwear history…a brand known for quality and innovation and now we’re
making skate shoes. IT’S ON.”
Wow, I can HARDLY wait…just what the world needs: more footwear companies
entering the skate shoe market.
What would have I have loved to have seen happen?
If K-Swiss have all these technological ideas about dealing with abrasive
tennis courts and they are applying them to skateboarding, why didn’t they do
this years ago? Why didn’t they share this amazing knowledge and come out with a
skateboard program?
I am sure Greg is getting a handsome paycheck from K-Swiss. I am also sure
the guys in marketing and design will do a bang up job creating his ultimate
skateshoe.
Then again, wouldn’t have been easier just to use one of their current
sponsored athletes for the skate program? You know, like give Anna Kournikova
her own skate shoe?
PS - as these things happen in threes, I am waiting for Danny Way to leave DC
and starting riding for Reebok. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 June 2009 )
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"Rip The Ripper" Art Show Gallery |
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Written by CalStreets / CWMagazine
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Wednesday, 10 June 2009 |
The Ripper graphic has become so widely known and respected in the skate world that many young artists “borrow” Court Johnson’s famous artwork to further their clients’ marketing plans or their own art reputation. Usually, we are not very stoked to see this, and these “compliments” end up in our attorney’s IN box. One day early last year we were chuckling about how many of these were coming up on the Internet, at a rate of several per month, and marveled at how many people thought enough of the Ripper to rip it off. One thing led to another during our conversation, and it was suggested we should invite some of the industry’s best artists to participate in an art show designed to let each artist interpret Court’s graphic in their own way, with our permission. Wow, what a fun thought. So Brett Hammond contacted a few of his artist friends, and discovered they were into it. Steve Caballero contacted a few more. From there, we asked Desiree Astorga to take over plans for a show at the January ASR show and used our Skate One staff to assist her. As word of who was participating in the show spread, many more artists than we ever expected asked to be a part of it, and it grew far beyond our initial estimates, to more than 60 artists. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 June 2009 )
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Written by Skategeezer
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Wednesday, 10 June 2009 |
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Over the past few years I have pointed out the myopia within skateboarding.
While I have been mocked for not following the status quo, I never waivered from
my conviction: skateboarding needs VARIETY. Thankfully, people are starting to
embrace this idea…albeit fairly slowly…this is just the beginning.
Repeatedly I told a number of people who work in this industry that things
were changing. Some folks listened - most did not. The one’s who listened and
decided to act accordingly have found themselves in a unique position…many are
actually having problems FILLING orders! The size of their operation can be best
described as LEAN & MEAN. They will make it through this storm because their
is a demand for their product and they will carefully manage
Those who have ignored what was happening have found the opposite problem:
their overheads do not match the size of the operation. Orders are much harder
to get, the competition has slashed prices and marketing costs are forever
crawling upward. It just isn’t the same old, same old.
Those who followed industry business guru Jeff Harbaugh know that he was
preaching this stuff for YEARS. Unfortunately, only a few people actually took
the time to implement the ideas he discussed.
I guess it’s a bit like reading a business book. You can read them, feel that
you’ve gained some good insights and then move on with the task at hand. I
figure about 80% or more of people who read business books don’t actually
implement the ideas they contain. Actually, I figure it’s probably like 90%!
It’s easy to read, but much harder to actually DO SOMETHING.
I had a phone call the other day from a guy that works in the skate biz. He’s
somewhat on the periphery, but he’s there…doing his thing. Sadly, I could tell
that he’s pretty shook up by the number of problems that he’s seeing out there.
Shops are closing, some manufacturers are having a hell of a time keeping things
moving forward and there’s just a general feeling that “a great sea change” is
happening. “It’s like the early 90’s all over again” he said.
While I might agree that there is indeed a “sea change” happening out there
in skateboarding, I am not sure everybody is willing to actually acknowlege it.
Which, if you think about it, is one of the reasons that things are in fact
changing…oh, the irony! |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 June 2009 )
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Munkae Trucks by Josh Rolf Made in USA |
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Written by Vendors Alley
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Sunday, 10 May 2009 |
Munkae Trucks by Josh Rolf Made in USA The Downhill Dragon Clan out of Tucson, Arizona is 100% skater-owned and operated. They are proud to debut the new Munkae Trucks, designed by Josh Rolf and manufactured in the USA. The clan says the trucks are stable at top speed yet are still deliciously carvy. The trucks feature 6160 aluminum baseplate and hanger, 42.25°, 7.7” (196mm) wide replaceable 4140 chromoly axles and Venom Barrel Bushings. munkaetrucks.com or downhilldragonclan.com |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 10 May 2009 )
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