Woodward skatecamp has been expanding their facilities into China’s second largest city, and just finished building the park at Woodward Beijing. With a full outdoor plaza and indoor everything else, it looks amazing. Take a look at the photos below. Stay tuned for more photos and videos from the grand opening on May 15th.
The Skullcandy crew headed to Northern California and the home of Corey Duffel for a recent photo shoot featuring some of the new SKDY goods. Go behind the scenes as they journey through the streets of San Francisco, to inside Corey’s home and DeathBeat workshop.
This Thursday’s footage comes in the form of Stereo flow rider Curtis Rapp enjoying a nighttime mini ramp session back East. Go catch Curtis and a host of other East Coast staples in Chris Mulhern’s new video, This Time Tomorrow. Also, get the full story on our man Curtis here. Welcome to Spring.
Rob Dyrdek, founder of Street League Skateboarding, revealed yesterday the launch of the first-ever professional skateboarding league where skaters will compete in a three-stop arena-style skate contest series that will offer up a million dollars worth of prize money, making it the highest paying contest in skateboarding’s history. Twenty four pros, including Chris Cole, Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka, Torey Pudwill, PJ Ladd, Sean Malto, Mike Mo Capaldi, Mikey Taylor, Billy Marks, Tommy Sandoval, and Paul Rodriguez, have signed multi-year contracts and the first of three comps is set to being on August 28th in Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
With cement skate plazas being bulit for each course and with judges using the Instant Scoring Experience, a Dyrdek inspired type of scoring, looks like things will be getting very interesting in the contest world. Read the full press release below. The world’s best street skateboarders sign to the first million dollar professional tour with three stops in 2010
LOS ANGELES, CA (March 24, 2010) – Street League Skateboarding™ announced today that for the first time in history, street skateboarding competition has been organized into its very own professional league, with the best skateboarders in the world competing head-to-head in a series of individual tour stops in the summer of 2010. Founded by twenty-year professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek, Street League™ is truly the future of competitive street skateboarding.
Signed to multi-year contracts, a total of twenty-four of the world’s biggest skateboarding stars will compete in Street League™ exclusively. The first pros that have signed are arguably the top skateboarders in the world and include Chris Cole, Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka, Torey Pudwill, PJ Ladd, Sean Malto, Mike Mo Capaldi, Mikey Taylor, Billy Marks, Tommy Sandoval, and Paul Rodriguez. The Street League™ pros will be battling it out for more than $1MM in prize money on a 3-stop arena tour this summer.
Dyrdek, in discussing the origins of the league says, “It has been a dream of mine to create a professional tour that bridges the gap between true street skateboarding and contest skating, which to date has been fragmented and misguided. Street League™ is more than just a new contest series; it will redefine the way skateboarding competitions are done.”
Chris Cole, 2009’s Dew Tour Champion, Maloof Money Cup Winner, two-times X Games gold medalist and Thrasher’s Skater of the Year, in regards to his exclusive commitment to Street League™ adds, “It’s what we have always wanted – it’s a contest circuit that is actually created, owned, and operated by skaters.”
To maximize the talents of these street skateboarding stars, Street League™ has designed authentic concrete skate plazas to be built on the floors of world-class sports arenas. In addition, Street League™ brings with it the exclusive use of the instant scoring technology, ISX (Instant Scoring Experience™), to the world of skateboarding. Using real time scoring and an exciting proprietary format, Street League™ will tell a compelling story about each skateboarder’s performance and will have fans on the edge of their seats from the first trick to the very last.
The inaugural year of Street League™ features a 3-stop arena tour beginning at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona on August 28th, Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California on September 11th, and the final stop in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center on September 25th. The skaters will be competing at each event for the largest prize pool in skateboarding history.
Street League™ is the culmination of more than five years of development, which began with a professional contest Dyrdek held at the opening of the world’s first skate plaza he built in Kettering, Ohio in 2005. Building on the knowledge gained from this event, Dyrdek and his team began planning for the launch of the league, consulting for and developing several major skateboarding events to serve as additional case studies.
IMG Action Sports, the go-to event production company in the industry, is producing and executing Street League™ in 2010. The worldwide leader in skate park design and construction, California Skateparks™, will provide skate plaza construction. Instant Scoring Experience™ is a partnership between MXi, Dialsmith, and Street League™.
For more information go to www.streetleague.com.
About Street League Skateboarding ™
Street League Skateboarding™ is the first sports entertainment property that gives professional street skateboarding its very own league for individual competition. Street League™ features the exclusive participation of the world’s best professionals, over $1MM in prize money, and real skate plaza course design inside world-class arenas. Driven by the need to enhance the experience of live professional street skateboarding, Street League™ utilizes real-time scoring and a proprietary format that makes every trick count. Street League™ is the brainchild of twenty-year professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek. More information is available at www.streetleague.com.
New news in the shoe world today. Longtime ruling pro Steve Nesser has made the switch to Ipath. Peep his requisite welcome video below—two minutes of new footy!
Spice up your desktop each week with a new wallpaper. This week we’ve got Eli Reed doing a frontside hurricane on a street sculpture in Japan. Check the All Roads Lead To Disney Tokyo article in our spanking new May issue that hit subscribers and skateshops last week. The mag will be on newsstands April 6. Click on the image for the desktop-sized version, then drag to your desktop or right click to save it.
Photo: Sean Cronan
Tulio Oliveira Age: 22 Home: L.A./São Paulo, Brazil Sponsors: CityStars, Airwalk, Mountain Dew Year you started skating:2003 Video you can’t wait to see: Street Cinema 2 (Next Citystars VIdeo) and Classic video (Brazil—me and my friends have been filming for 3 years, it’s dropping in 2010). Newest music you’ve acquired: Dom Kennedy, Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane. Next meal: BBQ. Last good interview you read: P-Rod, Rodrigo TX. What makes you laugh: So many things, but Family Guy its pretty good. What scares the crap outta you: Spicy food! Daily skate crew: Manny Salazar, Rudy Patino, Carlos Zarazua, Nigel, Dan the man, Herman Jimenez, Andrew Pott, Ytalo Farias, Tiago Lemos, Renato Ratinho, Thomas Teixeira, Kimathi, Dayne Brummet. Who hooked you up: Dayne Brummet, Paul Rodriguez , Kareem Campbell. Best thing about your hometown: Friends, food, family.
I have followed skaters all over the world and Tulio had been one of the rawest skaters I’d seen, and we all know that Brazil has brought out some of the most gifted skaters. When I had the chance to meet him and talk with him, I realized he was perfect for Citystars. After speaking with the team and already having him in mind, I knew we had a new team banger for the terror squad. I’m blessed to know him as a friend and as a teammate. Be on the lookout for the Brazilian stallion of the future.—Kareem Campbell
FKD Bearings has an interview up with the Golden Boy Paul Rodriguez. Find out about The Valley, Mini Pauls, being a father, and helping build skateparks.
Yeah, the saying, “your favorite skater’s favorite skater” has become pretty cliché, but there’s still no one better than Gino to which the phrase most applies. Every taste of skating he gives us only keeps us salivating for more. So, will he ever put out another video part? And what’s up with his shop in Long Island? Well, here are the answers. Looking back on the past twelve months, what have been the highlights for you?
2009 was pretty much me just my getting my life back in order. I was in some legal trouble at the end of 2007, so I had to go away for a while. I returned home at the end of 2008 and had to start from scratch. I had to find a new place to live, and my business partner opened up POETS while I was gone, so when I returned, I jumped right into being a store owner. It was a bit foreign, even though I had a shop for a second in 2003. I hadn’t skated in a long time, so I gradually got on the board whenever possible, and that was a bit tough too. POETS had its one-year anniversary on August 25, and I made it out West a few times to catch up with everyone at Chocolate and all my close friends out there. I did some skating and just tried to get in the mix again. Now I’m pretty much trying to balance owning a store and skateboarding, and so far so good. How did getting on Mighty Healthy come together?
Mighty Healthy came about through my old friends Ray and Dennis. I’ve known them forever, and I guess when Ray saw that I was amped to skate and I was willing to put myself out there, he figured, “Why not team up?” Mighty was going to hit the skate world and I’m getting back in, it so let’s do it together. What about Nike? Is there anything in the works?
Nike has been great to me and they have stuck by my side through my down times. As of now, me and my friend and business partner Matt Bell finished up a shoe for POETS, which should drop in Fall 2010. Also, I’m working out a contract for the next year or so. My main goal is to keep it realistic as far as what I can produce. Take us through an average day in your life? How has your day-to-day changed from years past?
My day-to-day goes like this: I’m up at six every morning, naturally. I hit the track around the block and run three or four miles, breakfast, news, stare at the telly for a while, get on the computer and do the usual—check mail, the business account, bills, jot down what needs to be done for the day ‘cause I’ll forget real quick. Around ten or eleven I’ll head to the shop, open up, et cetera. It’s winter and there’s snow on the ground, so there’s not much skating going on. Some of the fellas from Long Island will hit some indoor parks now and again, so I try to get out with them whenever possible. Still it’s not enough. There’s nothing worse than wanting to skate but you can’t. I close up shop at eight, head home ‘cause I got a nine o’clock curfew due to parole, and that’s pretty much it. I grab some dinner, check the boob tube, and fall out by midnight. The day-to-day has changed dramatically—it’s a lot more boring and groundhogish, but at the same time that’s how I like it.
Gino in The Chocolate Tour ['99].
Have you been filming at all for the Chocolate video? Will you have any footage in the video? A full part?
I’m not going to say I’ve been fully committed to filming for this Chocolate vid because let’s face it, it’s been tough just being on my board consistently enough to feel confident enough to film. My main concern right now is getting through this winter, getting on the board as much as possible, take a few trips to Cali, and hopefully by May 2010 I’ll be off parole and I can make a better effort to coming through for this vid. As of now, I have a few clips, and of course I want to come through with a lot more for my team and myself. The desire is definitely there. What’s the hardest thing about running a skate shop?
The hardest thing for me is the constant socializing. Some days I’m just not in the mood, but you gotta be down to show love to everyone who walks through the door. What’s the best thing?
It’s been cool seeing people come through from all over, like other states, Europe, and a lot of friends from the past I haven’t seen in years. Do you think you’ll ever move back out to California? Why or why not?
I can’t see myself moving back to Cali. It’s just not ever a thought that crosses my mind. I like living on the east coast and I like the occasional trips out West. It isn’t that deep, I just feel at home here.
Gino in Trilogy ['96].
You’ve been on countless skaters’ favorites lists. Who are some of your favorite?
Skaters of all time:
Natas [Kaupas], [Matt] Hensley, Mike V, and each and every person who rides or has ridden for Girl and Chocolate. Styles of all time:
Of course J Lee [Jason Lee], [Matt] Hensley, and each and every person who rides or has ridden for Girl and Chocolate. [Jason] Dill, Huf, [Ronnie] Bertino, ‘Reem [Kareem Campbell], [Tom] Penny, D Way. Those come to mind first. Video parts of all time:
Wow, let me think. Natas in Streets On Fire, Hensley in Hocus Pocus, Vallely in Rubbish Heap, Dune [Chris Pastras] in Two World Industries Men, Gonz, J Lee, Rudy [Johnson], and Guy [Mariano] in Video Days; Tim [Gavin] and Henry [Sanchez] in Pack Of Lies; Chico [Brenes], Shiloh [Greathouse], [Song] and ‘Reem in Love Child and New World Order; [Sean] Sheffey in A Soldiers Story; Rick [Howard], [Mike] Carroll, Sheffey, [Pat] Duffy, and D Way in Questionable; Keenan [Milton] and Guy in Mouse; D Way and J Wray in Revolution; [Andrew] Reynolds and [Jim Greco] Grecs in 2G; BA in Yeah Right!; Guy, Marc [Johnson], [Mike] Mo, Carroll, JB [Gillet], Jesus [Fernandez], and [Lucas] Puig in Fully Flared; and Rune [Glifberg], [Geoff] Rowely and Bob [Burnquist] in Extremely Sorry. How’s that for a breakdown?
Kennan and Gino in Mouse ['96].
Inspirations—inside and outside of skateboarding:
My dog Gus R.I.P.; my mother, father, and sister; Guy’s comeback; Mike Bossy’s 50 in 50; Marc J’s consistent innovation and dedication; all my good friends working hard doing their thing; Joe Pesci laying in the weeds over in Secaucus, restin’. Like anybody, you’ve had your highs and you’ve had your lows, and have spent time on and off the board. But skateboarding is something that always calls us back no matter what cards life deals us. What about skateboarding can’t we get enough of? Why do we keep coming back for more?
The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.
15 Sightings from Chami’s Hard Drive
Cairo Foster hits this rail from the back for a lipslide ride.
The Berkeley banks cop a sweet lein to tailslide from Mr. Caswell Berry.
The backflip was lunacy (March 2010 issue) but Chris Jatoft’s stalefish ain’t playing either.
You’d never know he is injured half of the year, Corey Duffel flies out to crooked grind.
When Buena was going, Emmanuel Guzman was juicing it, frontside air in the corner.
City boy Jimmy Cao pounces on switch heels.
Jon Goemann rides a roller coaster boardslide in Oz.
Lem Villemin eats double sets, nollie heelflip.
Matt Miller keeps the Embarcadero flame lit with a tall back Smith.
Paul Trep kept the Bay Area on it’s toes for a minute, back Smith at Daryl’s spot.
Silas Baxter Neal’s nosegrind took the cake, but it was all skill to bring this lipslide back into the bank without deck checking.
He had ‘em on lock, so I made him do 10 of them, Taylor Bingaman owns nosegrinds.
Keep your eyes peeled for this kid, Taylor McClung holds a curvy frontside bluntslide.
Tony Manfre boosts a tidy frontside flip in the hood.
Osiris just posted some new footy of Chad Bartie skating the PQ park in San Diego, California.
Come get TWS DVDs and gear super cheap! Saturday March 27 in our parking lot.
Congrats to Bradley Elias, the overall winner at the Delano, CA stop on the Element MAKE IT COUNT International Contest Series. Skaters from all over the California Central Valley came to compete in the contest, where Chad Muska, Chad Tim Tim, Darrell Stanton, Levi Brown, Mike V and others were on hand to judge. Bradley will join contest winners from all over the world at the finals at Element YMCA Skate Camp June 20, 2010.
Javier Mendizabal hails from the beautiful lands of Vizcaya, Basque Country, Spain. H’s a staple on the Gravis skateboarding team and is one of the best skaters to ever come out of Europe. Look for Javier to be joining Arto and the rest of the Gravis team as they float about Europe the next few weeks in search of new spots and fine wines, oh yes and to promote Arto’s new shoe(s).
Real’s Online Catalog 3rd Strike is now live with new behind the scenes footage of Peter Ramondetta from his recent ad. Plus a new Actions Realized deck benefiting the Harold Hunter Foundation, a new Classic Pro Oval series, and pro one-off decks from Justin Brock, Ernie Torres, and HUF. Check it out.
Plan B announces today that Paul Schmitt Stix Factory will be its new exclusive board manufacturer. See the official press release below.
In continuing promotion for the HBO series How To Make It In America, peep this mini-documentary, The Get By, about New York City skateboarding with footage and interviews with Gino Iannucci, Anthony Pappalardo, Fred Gall, Billy Rohan, Zered Bassett, and many more.
With so much drama in the LBC, Kevin Romar is still ripping it up. Kick back with some Gin & Juice on this week’s Blind Sunday Funday.
See what the Blind team is up to next at Blindskateboards.com and at twitter.com/blind_MRVISE.
Organika’s master of the skate and smart guy has a new ad for Organika rolling around and taking a massive grass gap to school. Watch it here.
START OF CONSTRUCTION SIGNALS COUNTDOWN TO FIRST-EVER MMC BIG APPLE CONTEST
NYC Event Set for June 5-6, 2010 in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens: World-Class Skate Park to Be Built & Donated to City through “Adopt-a-Park” Program
The Maloof Money Cup co-presented by Vans today released the design for the street course that will host the world’s best skateboarders at the 2010 Maloof Money Cup in Queens, June 5-6. The one-of-a-kind skate park, designed by pro skateboarders, will be donated to the City after the event through the NYC Parks & Recreation Department’s “Adopt-a-Park” program.
Construction of the 16,000-square-foot skate park (being constructed on top of the former Astral Fountain in Flushing Meadows Corona Park) gets underway this month, signaling that the countdown to the first-ever Maloof Money Cup New York has officially begun. Pro skaters Chris Cole and Geoff Rowley, NY skate legend Steve Rodriguez and Joe Ciaglia, president of California Skateparks, led the design of the world-class street course.
“The Maloof Money Cup New York street course was inspired by real skate spots from each of the five boroughs,” said Rodriguez. “We’ve replicated and improved spots like the Ziegfeld ledge, Con Ed Banks and the Brooklyn Banks 9-stair rail. It will no doubt be exciting to watch the MMC pros ‘break in’ the course that will become the local spot for many NY skaters for years to come.”
The 16,000-sqare-foot course was inspired by NY street spots within the five boroughs, such as:
· Original Brooklyn Banks 9-stair replica rail
· Union Square rail/steps
· Police Plaza 7-stair rail/various stairs
· Ziegfeld ledge
· Chrystie Park ledge
· Exchange Place street gap
· JFK Banks
· Con Ed Banks
· Pyramid ledges
· Flushing Meadows Park ledge-over-the-grate replica
· Various rails in public parks and the aesthetics of many of the “spots” in Brooklyn
Maloof Money Cup New York – June 5-6, 2010
MMC New York will feature the VOLCOM STREET PRO as well as the World Industries amateur championship. The NY contest will offer free tickets distributed at partner outlets (seats are limited) and will also feature a 50,000-square-foot festival village hosting action sports retailers and a variety of skateboarding activities for all ages. The NY prize purse is nearly $250,000 in cash and prizes, with $100,000 going to the winner.
“New York was first on our list of expansion markets because it’s the headquarters for skateboarding on the East Coast and is home to some of the most iconic skate spots in the world,” said Joe Maloof. “With the Brooklyn Banks now closed for four years and the Unisphere set to close indefinitely, the timing was perfect for us to bring the Maloof Money Cup to New York City. The skateboarding community is really phenomenal in how open and inclusive they are of everyone. We’ve always wanted to build a park that we can leave intact for everyone in the community to enjoy, and thanks to the NYC Parks & Recreation Department and support from Vans and other sponsors, we were able to make it happen.”
Sportsvibe caught up with the Birdman for a sit down recently while he was in Abu Dhabi for the Laureus Sports Awards. Sit back for the next ten minutes and hear Tony Hawk talking about being bullied in school, turning pro at 14, the 900, and his appearance in The Simpsons.
Check these videos showing Levi Brown, Dallas Rockvan, Nick Garcia and more skateboarding barefoot.
These were filmed in support of TOMS Shoes’ upcoming One Day Without Shoes on April 8th in which it asks everyone worldwide to go barefoot for the day, part of the day, or even just a few minutes to experience what millions of children endure regularly.
Ambig’s 2nd video for Woodward skate camp is live on its site.
Antihero’s 3rd strike catalog is now live. Full new series from Dennis McNett plus two new Traipsin videos. Don’t Traipse On Me and Traipsin Salbaland. Check it out.
Craig Glover and his shop in Santa Clarita, California (Mike Franklin’s hometown) Push X-Change are having three different benefits to help him with his medical costs. They will be raffling off tons of skate product to help raise money.
The first event will be Wednesday March 24 at Skatelab in Simi Valley, California. The second and third events will take place at the Santa Clarita skatepark at dates to be announced. Peep the flier below and a special video of Mike way back in 2005 that Craig filmed.
Get well soon homey!
Words by Dan Watson No matter how much someone loves skating, you can’t skate 24 hours a day. Some literally spend days at a time playing video games online with their buddies, some go the opposite direction and spend their free time chasing down pro-friendly ladies, while others wash away their time with countless adult beverages. However, some skaters choose to use their time more wisely and get involved with making music, and with the influence rap has had on skateboarding over the years, it’s no surprise that many skaters have taken up rhyming as a pastime, some with better results that the others. For better or for worse, here are ten of the most well-known skaters to try their hand at it.
Silver Trucks has its own covey of the Tampa Pro up. Check Paul, Nyjah, and Chaz in this video. Check all of our coverage here.
Wes Kremer and Shuriken Shannon went on a Vegas trip recently. Check the recap with voice mail from Wes.
“I have put all my camera gear from the last 16+ years for sale on Ebay. There is a ton of stuff. I am trying to get the word out, and I wanted to see if you could possibly spread the word by posting a link on your websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc, or forward the link on to anyone that might be interested.”
This is a hot trend—take your favorite pro’s latest video part and play it our yourself in EA Skate. Joey Brezinski was emailed this video from a super fan.
In February, 2 photo exhibitions were held to help raise money for the Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation. Boards were also signed by the Girl team after their two demos in Sydney on February 21st and in Melbourne on Feb 25th, as part of their epic Oz Adventure.
It was a hot night in Sydney and even hotter in the China Heights gallery. The Girl guys made it to the Melbourne show after a ball tearing demo at the Riverside skatepark. Big thanks to everyone who came to check it out, and special thanks to Hardcore Australia for the generous support of the show. As of this posting the tally for the CLCRF is at approximately $15,000 and counting.
Anyone interested in buying a print and helping to support this worthy cause, please go onto www.mikeomeally.com and email me.
From the article in our February 2010 issue, here’s John Cardiel commenting on his Sight Unseen video part. Find out the story behind Gonz’ intro, the slams, the skateparks, and the Union Square gold rail.
For more TransWorld video parts and interviews from our list of 10 Skaters Who Changed The Decade, click HERE.
Are you looking for exposure? Are you looking to get hooked up with free product? Would you like your footage to be viewed by the Crailtap crew? Well then check out Val Surf’s Online Skate Video Contest, Free For All.
Crailtap is giving away a package with products from Girl Skateboards, Chocolate Skateboards, 4Star Clothing, Royal Trucks, and Lakai Footwear to the winner of our Online Skate Video Contest Free For All! All Crailtap wants from you is your video, 3 minutes or less, that showcases you best moves.
Get more info here.
Nate Sherwood sent us a note to let us know he’s on new clothing endeavor Deep End and is welcoming Eric Ricks to the team. Check the video below featuring new footage of Eric. And if you don’t know who Eric Ricks is, do as The Nate-O says—Googlehim.
Thunder’s 3rd Strike Catalog is Now Live with the new Thunder Titanium lights and new Pro trucks from Chris Cole, Dennis Busenitz and Billy Marks. Plus Thunder video Billy Marks Knows backside flips.
Check these videos showing Levi Brown, Dallas Rockvan, Nick Garcia and more skateboarding barefoot.
These were filmed in support of TOMS Shoes’ upcoming One Day Without Shoes on April 8th in which it asks everyone worldwide to go barefoot for the day, part of the day, or even just a few minutes to experience what millions of children endure regularly.
Peep the TumYeto weekend pocket cam and get ready for a shreddy weekend of your own! Dan Murphy, Leo Romero, and more.
