SKBSG SK8 NEWS UPDATES

Sk8mafia Am Video Premiere Photos

I don’t have to tell you the house was packed with pretty much every skater in SD. Last night the La Jolla Museum Of Contemporary Art, which probably hasn’t had a skate video premiere since Plan B’s Virtual Reality, held two capacity crowd showings of the full-length Sk8mafia video. You can probably guess who had last part, and he didn’t disappoint. After all was said and done, many people claimed some of the gnarliest footage in the video may have belonged to Jamie Palmore and Brandon Turner (who, by the way, is out of the cage and was in the theater). The Friends section is nice and long and the soundtrack has plenty of classic California gangster rap. Be sure to stick around after the credits for an introductory part of new guy Marshall Heath. Oh and today there is a massive skate jam down at Memorial Park.

2009 Shanghai KIA X Games Asia

The city of Shanghai will once again host KIA X Games Asia, Asia's premiere action sports competition, as it returns to China for the third consecutive year -- celebrating 11 years of Asian X Games events.

This year the event will showcase more than 200 of the best action sports athletes from more than 20 countries and five continents in world-class competition in the sports of Skateboard, BMX, In-Line Skate and Sport Climbing. New to the Asian X Games, this year's event will also feature a Moto X Big Air demonstration. Televised live from Shanghai's KIC Jiangwan Stadium, X Games Asia will air May 1  May 3 on ESPN Asia networks and will be organized by sports broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports along with the Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Sports Federation. The event will also be shown on ESPN International networks in Latin America, Australia, Middle East and Africa.

"We are thrilled to be back in China, and look forward to delivering another exhilarating event to action sports fans in Shanghai," said Rick Alessandri, senior vice president, X Games Franchise. "We are excited to work closely with KIA Motors to continue this tradition of bringing world-class action sports competition to China."

This year, competitors can look forward to an increase in prize money for the event, and Skateboard, BMX, and In-Line participants for the street discipline can also expect a new course design that will resemble real street conditions.

The KIA X Games Asia has earned a strong global reputation with a significant increase in awareness about action sports in the region. Last year's event was enthusiastically received by the Shanghai community and broke attendance records with more than 52,800 people passing through the gates of Yangpu district's KIC Jiangwan Sports Center — an increase of more than 55% from 2007.

The Games are bolstered by the addition of a new Silver Sponsor in Mountain Dew and the elevation of Apparel sponsor Pony to the Silver category. New brands like Doritos and Cold Stone have also picked up sponsorship packages. And ESPN has entered in to a collaboration with licensing agent IMG for the launch of an X Games consumer products line planned for later this year in China.

Leading up to this year's event, KIA X Games Asia 2009 kicked off with a three-city, eight-stop roadshow tour in December and will finish at Shanghai's Wanda Shopping Mall April 25-26. The roadshows include demos in BMX freestyle and In-Line skate, musical performances, entertainment acts, prize giveaways and an interactive mini-skate park for spectators to test their skills.

Event Partners
The event is proudly sanctioned by the Chinese Extreme Sports Association and is organized by ESPN STAR Sports, the Shanghai Media Group and the Shanghai Sports Federation. The Shanghai Yang Pu District Government is the event's Special Organizer and the Shanghai Sports Competition Management Centre is the co-organizer while the Shanghai Extreme Sports Association is the supporting organizer. The KIC Jiangwan Sports Center is the official venue.

Details and a list of scheduled athletes for KIA X Games Asia 2009 will be forthcoming on http://www.kiaxgamesasia.com/ for the public and http://www.espneventmedia.com/ for media.

SKBSG SK8 NEWS UPDATES

Red Bull's Manny Mania returns to New York on June 7th for the invite only pro contest then hits the road for am contests all across the country.

SKBSG SK8 NEWS UPDATES

You've seen it on the Lakai site , on Crailtap and four pages full of message board, but it's hard to believe. I still don't believe it, even after Crailtap's Aaron Meza e-mailed me back "He gone..."

I followed up by e-mailing Kelly Bird and he wrote me, "It's true. Not sure what he's doing, but it's definitely not another company under Podium. It should all air itself out over the next couple days," and followed up by writing, "Sort of happened quickly, but will create a better situation for both Lakai and Eric going forward. We're all friends at the end of the day." I'm still incredulous, but I guess we'll have to wait to hear what happens over the next couple days. Berrics shoes?—Josh Brooks

P.S. If this news makes you feel sad, go here to see the dude from Eastbound & Down use skateboarding to never become a slave (poached this off the Lakai site, but, still, it's hilarious).

SKATE NEWS

Mark Appleyard knows what he wants out of life, and it's surprisingly simple: good weather, good food and good friends. That, and skating — lots and lots of skating. While many pros with less than half Appleyard's talent are out chasing beverage sponsors, jewels, fortune and fame, he's taking it easy — skating for fun with friends. Know why? Because Appleyard knows that skating is its own reward, "It's just the greatest thing ever — what else is there to life?" Well said, Mark.

When you have the skills that Appleyard has, you don't have to live with the distractions that can keep you from that greatest thing ever. So yeah, being Mark Appleyard must be pretty damn sweet.

NEW PRODUCTS

SKATE NEWS

LAFAYETTE SAFE SPOT, SKATE SPOT OPENING FEB 24th AT 3:30PM
The Rob Dyrdek/DC Shoes Skate Plaza Foundation will open its first Safe Spot, Skate Spot, February 24th at 3:30pm at Los Angeles' Lafayette Park.
Feb 23, 2009
The Rob Dyrdek/DC Shoes Skate Plaza Foundation, in conjunction with the City of Los Angeles and CKE Restaurants, Inc., will host the grand opening for the Lafayette Park Safe Spot Skate Spot. Professional Skateboarder and MTV star Rob Dyrdek will be on hand to open the new street skateboarding facility developed through his foundation. Following the opening ceremony, the DC Skate Team will be on hand to skate with local skateboarders.

The Safe Spot, Skate Spot is a program developed by The Rob Dyrdek/DC Shoes Skate Plaza Foundation to support legal and safe skate spots for communities interested in developing skateable areas for their skateboarders. Based from the skate plaza concept, the Safe Spot, Skate Spot program will provide an alternative option for communities to develop real street skating terrain given limited budgets or space restrictions. The Lafayette location is the first Safe Spot, Skate Spot to be developed under the Foundation’s new program.

WHEN: February 24, 2009, 3:30pm Rain Date: March 3, 2009, 3:30pm

WHERE: Lafayette Multipurpose Community Center 625 South Lafayette Park Place Los Angeles, CA 90057 (North west corner of the park near the intersection of Commonwealth and Wilshire)


Tom Penny can go underground for years and not have a care in the world about what people are saying, or what is going on in “the industry”. It’s this careless attitude that is so vividly portrayed in his skating and makes him such an attraction, just peep that fakie tre flip - butter. In case you’ve been wondering, Penny has been filming non-stop for the new Flip DVD, Extremely Sorry, which we’ve all been waiting for forever. As hard as Penny goes, you can expect a solid part, no doubt. Peep the full Fakie Tre Flip sequence below.